Editorial: My country, 'tis of thee

From coast to coast, territory to territory and from one instance of American colonialism to another, we have a lot to love work on. 

During this time of romantic love and happiness for Valentine’s Day, we are reminded of another kind of love. No, it’s not self love or platonic love: it’s love for your country. And right now, that could be a complicated relationship. 

Often, fixing a relationship first requires diagnosing the problem. Is someone in the relationship a bit controlling? Are we too passive in being controlled? 

If the first step to moving forward is understanding what’s going on, then understanding current events is a good place to start. In pursuit of improving our relationship with the country in which we live, we’ve researched and sorted through the recent executive orders from the White House, filtering it down to the ones we think will most impact the Central Michigan University community. 

Here's the executive orders we think should be on your radar:

Ending Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs 

When President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, he signed the executive order to terminate DEI programs, policies and activities in the federal government. 

“Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great,” the executive order said. 

That means each federal agency must close its DEI, DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) and “environmental justice” offices and positions, according to the order. 

The order also requires the end of all equity-related action plans, grants and performance requirements for employees.  

“Federal employment practices, including Federal employee performance reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and shall not under any circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements,” the executive order read. 

At the Central Michigan University Academic Senate meeting on Feb. 4, President Neil MacKinnon and Provost Paula Lancaster said they are waiting for more guidance on what these orders will mean for CMU and advised the faculty to continue academic business and programming as usual.

Two sexes 

Under the executive order, Trump also signed a recognition of only two sexes: male and female. The order also established that “sex” is not the same as “gender identity.” 

“’Gender identity’ reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex,” the order read.  

The order requires federal agencies and employees to: 

• Use the term “sex” and not “gender” in federal documents; 
• Implement changes to government-issued identification documents to reflect the holder’s sex; 
• Remove statements, policies and regulations that promote “gender ideology”; 
• End federal funding of “gender ideology.” 

Removal of illegal immigrants 

“Protecting the American people against invasion” executive order enforces federal agencies to executive immigration laws, pauses federal funding for non-profit organizations that “facilitate violations of our immigration laws” in regards of illegal immigrants and encourages hiring of more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. 

It orders the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that ICE’s primal mission is enforcement of federal laws related to illegal entry and presence of unlawful immigrants. The order also requires Homeland Security to end the presence of criminal organizations and human trafficking through executing the immigration laws.  

“Enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” the order read. “The American people deserve a federal government that puts their interests first and a Government that understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.” 

However, illegal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes and “growth in illegal immigration does not lead to higher local crime rates”, according to an article from the Marshall Project.

To ban or not to ban: TikTok

For anyone else who is chronically online, you likely remember scrolling through TikTok during its final hours on Jan. 19 and watching the error message appear at 10 p.m. There was sadness, rage, despair, the whole nine yards - only to be replaced with perplexity as the app came back online 18 hours later, thanking the incoming president for his efforts to keep the app alive.

Huh.

The chinese-made app from ByteDance had the executioner’s ax looming over its head for months thanks to a piece of legislation signed by former U.S. president Joe Biden on April 24, 2024. The ban was issued due to privacy and national security concerns, and gave the company nine months to sell or divest to an American-owned company to avoid a shutdown. The issue bounced between courts before landing in the Supreme Court, who decided to uphold the ban just two days before it could take effect, according to NPR.

Creators, small businesses and general consumers were left scrambling in the months prior to the ban, according to the Associated Press, hoping to find an alternative platform to switch to that wasn’t owned by Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk.

On his first day in office, Donald Trump ordered the extension of the TikTok ban for 75 days, setting April 5 as its new deadline to sell or divest. However, the extension only allows the app’s continued operation in the U.S. it currently cannot be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, and the app cannot receive updates during this time.

Kissing your FAFSA goodbye (Just kidding… Unless?) 

College isn’t cheap. Luckily, universities have financial aid offices, and both the federal and state government offer an array of scholarships, grants and other aid to help students pay for their education.

… Or they did, until Jan. 27, when the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a federal funding freeze for all federal financial assistance programs. Chaos would ensue from organizations across the country until a federal judge blocked the order on Tuesday, and the White House rescinded the order that Wednesday. NPR says confusion continues to grow as the administration said they are still planning to review federal spending, and saying that the pause wasn’t meant to be interpreted as “across-the-board.”

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), chair of the Appropriations Committee and directly responsible for negotiating federal spending under Trump, worded it best in a statement to NPR: “While it is not unusual for incoming administrations to review federal programs and policies, this memo was overreaching and created unnecessary confusion and consternation.” 

At this time, it is still unclear if programs such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Michigan’s Head Start Program, and more will be affected in the future, but the state’s attorney general Dana Nessel has joined the coalition of 22 state attorney generals filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the freeze.

“This freeze not only jeopardizes the well-being of Michiganders, but it is a clear violation of the Constitution and the laws that govern our country,” Nessel said in the press release. "I will not stand idly by. My office will continue to fight for the rights of Michiganders, and today, that means holding the federal government accountable for this unprecedented and illegal attack on our citizens and our future. We will not let these critical programs be taken away.”

College protesters face expulsion threats - this time, federally

After Oct. 7, 2023, tensions rose on college campuses across the U.S. as protests and encampments began calling for U.S. support of Gaza, or for universities to divest from Israel. When tensions died down, many faced threats of suspension, expulsion or arrest from their colleges, according to The Washington Post.

Trump made these threats on his campaign trail, as reported by NBC News, but now that threat is on paper, and specifically targets international students. The president signed an executive order calling to “prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.” On college campuses, he asks institutions to “monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff” and after investigations, if warranted, to “remove such aliens.” The Department of Justice has already formed a task force to enact these investigations.

In an article written by Sarah McLaughlin, scholar for The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), she said this threat does not just affect international students, but domestic ones as well, and that “this development should worry all Americans, regardless of their position on the Israel-Hamas war.” In a conversation with Al Jazeera, McLaughlin said that legally speaking, free speech protections for international students are “complicated,” but the order has raised an ethical question: “Do we want deportation to be a consequence for expressing political views disfavored by the White House?”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported more than 1,400 incidents of antisemitism on college campuses across the U.S after Oct. 7, with 732 taking place between Oct. 2023 and the end of 2023. While a report from Reuters found that the organization did not count protesting the Israeli government's actions as antisemitic, ADL’s leaders did stress that Jewish people should not be targeted for the actions of Israel. 

CMU has seen protests for Palestine’s liberation, events centered around teaching the history of Gaza, and detailed reports from Central Michigan Life explaining the conflict and the multiple perspectives on it. Currently, CMU’s Federal Policy, Order and Directive Updates page has not been updated, citing any investigations are taking place. The university’s Discrimination and Harassment Policy also still stands, citing not to discriminate against anyone for their religion, ethnicity and national origin among other things.

If you’re transgender, 18 is not an adult

Tragic news for the freshman transgender population at CMU because, according to our president, you cannot make decisions about your own body until you are over 19 years old, not 18. And here we thought college and adulthood gave us the ability to live our truths and find ourselves…

An executive order signed on Jan. 28 titled “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” sounds like it’s meant to protect children from some violent, odd crimes, but in actuality its directed at limiting gender affirming care for minors, both surgically and medicinally. Within the order, a child is defined as someone under the age of 19; and the over-dramatic word choice of “chemical and surgical mutilation” targets puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy and surgeries such as top surgeries and bottom surgeries that directly change the breasts or genitals. 

The order also mentions prohibiting any surgeries that alter a minor’s physical appearance to reflect their gender identity, which could include minor surgeries like facial feminization/masculinization surgeries.

Currently, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other LGBTQ+ rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, with seven families of transgender or nonbinary children attached to the suit. Additionally, the Supreme Court heard a similar case back in December from the state of Tennessee, which banned gender affirming care for minors in July of 2023. On Feb. 7, the Trump administration said in an official letter to the court they support Tennessee’s law and don’t wish for the case to be dismissed in court, a reversal from the Biden administration’s order.

For minors in Michigan currently receiving gender affirming care, Nessel released an open letter saying healthcare providers must abide by state law and cannot refuse care to transgender patients. However, MLive reported that healthcare provider Corewell Health has decided to halt taking on new minor patients for gender affirming care; though a spokesperson confirmed minors already receiving the care would not be affected.