America received re-elected Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States, who pledged to be a “peacemaker and unifier” for the nation from day one.

Following suit to President Ronald Reagan’s second swearing into office in 1985, freezing weather made the event difficult to hold outside and the 2025 inauguration proceeded indoors at the Capitol Rotunda.

After J.D. Vance’s official swearing in as vice president, Trump was joined side-by-side with his family as he took oath to begin his second term as president.

In his inaugural address, Trump addressed areas of concern for the country’s immigration policies, “inflation crisis” and “energy emergency” among others to create a “flourishing” America. He also declared a “national emergency at the Southern Border” where he plans to stop all illegal entry and will also designate cartels as foreign terrorist groups.

SFSU microbiology student Lupe Amigon said she is worried about Trump’s plans for immigration as they will have an effect on her family members.

“My sister is an immigrant,” Amigon said. “I’m worried about her and my family who will have to come to terms with this. It’s depressing.”

In his plans to move forward, President Trump said America will once again be a rich nation in American-made manufacturing, placing tariffs and taxes on foreign countries to “enrich citizens” and defeat inflation with his infamous words, “drill baby, drill.”

SFSU cellular and molecular student, Isaac Walker, said he didn’t have any strong feelings about the inauguration. However, he is interested in seeing what tariffs will do for the country.

“Tariffs will change global trade,” Walker said. “It will have an effect for years to come. I’m not sure how it will play out.”

With the assistance of his administration, Trump also said he will change the way the government operates with a stop to government censorship. Instead, there will be a reinstating of free speech and a military focused on strength and not politics.

Although kinesiology student Leo Dujardin didn’t watch the inauguration nor has any particular interest in politics, he said all he can do is hope for the best.

“He’s been president before,” Dujarin said. “I don’t feel that his policies will change what happens here in San Francisco. I’m not for limiting people’s freedom, but he did say he would bring back freedom of speech, so that’s kinda cool.”

In his closing remarks to the nation, Trump shared his vision for the next 4 years in creating an America that is “prosperous and proud.”

“Nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans,” he said. “The future is ours and our golden age has just begun.”

(Autumn Rose Alvarez / Golden Gate Xpress)

A presidential cabinet is usually made up of 25 members who are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The cabinet acts as an advisory board in a multiplicity of areas spanning each member’s specialty. Members include the vice president and leaders of the 15 executive departments.

Although not all members of President Trump’s 2025 cabinet are officially inducted, below is a dive into the background and current positions of the eight who have been approved and nominees who may soon be elected into position.

Vice President

JD Vance

Vance is the 50th vice president of the United States. Representing Ohio, he served as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 2023 to 2025, up until his current White House role. He is a Yale University graduate and a Marine Veteran.

Vance ran his campaign alongside Trump, advertising the idea of making the “American Dream” a reality through methods including U.S.-based manufacturing and tariffs on foreign countries.

Secretary of State

Marco Rubio

Rubio has had a long history in politics, from becoming part of the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, three-time reelected Republican of the U.S. Senate and opponent to Trump in the 2016 presidency. Rubio’s experience as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee is believed to make him fit for this position.

As Secretary of State, Rubio will be Trump’s foreign affairs adviser and consultant on international relations.

CIA Director 

John Ratcliffe

Ratcliffe was the Director of National Intelligence during the last leg of Trump’s first presidential term and COVID-19 pandemic.

As CIA director, Ratcliffe will supervise the operations against military, cyber and other attacks to the U.S.

Defense Department Secretary

Pete Hegseth

As a former FOX News contributor and co-host, Hegseth also served in the Army National Guard for 19 years.

Hegseth’s position as Defense Department Secretary gives him the duty of leading 1.3 million service members worldwide and heading the deployment of the military on U.S. ground. In this role, Hegseth is also in close quarters with national defense policies and the Pentagon.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary

Kristi Noem

Noem was a two-term governor of South Dakota from 2019 to her resignation this year. Noem will be a vital piece in implementing Trump’s immigration plans.

As Homeland Security Secretary, Noem will oversee border security and anti-terrorism concerns.

Department of the Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent

Bessent served as the CEO of the global hedge fund, Key Square Management. He was also the former money manager for investor and philanthropist George Soros.

As the secretary in this department, Bessent is responsible for managing the country’s finances, improve economic growth and make job opportunities possible for Americans.

Department of Transportation Secretary

Sean Duffy

Duffy served as a district attorney in Wisconsin before becoming a U.S. House member from 2011 to 2019. During this time Duffy was a Financial Services Committee member and advised the subcommittee on insurance and housing.

Now overseeing all of the nation’s transportation matters, Duffy’s role includes national and regional safety for highways, vehicles, aviation, railroads and more.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator

Lee Zeldin

Zeldin was a member of the New York Senate from 2011 to 2014, and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. Just two years before this new role, Zeldin unsuccessfully ran for governor of New York.

Zeldin will be responsible for enforcing laws and regulations that protect the environment and  ensure the public’s health and safety.

Director of the Interior Secretary

Doug Burgum

In addition to running for president in the 2024 election, Burgum served as a two-time governor of North Dakota and was CEO of accounting software company Great Plains Software.

In his new position, Burgum manages federal land and natural resource conservation methods.

Department of Energy Secretary 

Chris Wright

Wright has been CEO of the Denver company Liberty Energy, an oil and gas producer since 2011. Wright has a degree from MIT and experience in electrical engineering but does not have a background in government.

Wright’s responsibility is to make the country’s energy policy and nuclear infrastructure. His plans include becoming energy-dominant with fracking, oil and gas.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary

Doug Collins 

Collins was a Baptist minister for 11 years and served in the Air Force and Navy before joining the political realm. In 2007, he was elected to the Georgia statehouse and joined Congress in 2012.

As the Veterans Affairs Secretary, Collins will oversee the care of veterans, which includes health, education and financial benefits.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary

Scott Turner

Turner is a jack-of-all-trades. In between his nine NFL seasons, Turner interned for former congressman Duncan Hunter. Although he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, Turner became part of the Texas House in 2013. Most recently, Turner headed the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in 2019 under President Trump, which aimed to help distressed communities.

In his new position, Turner will be in charge of America’s housing needs, including plans to reduce homelessness and help low-income families.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Russell Vought

Vought is no stranger to his position as he is returning to it from Trump’s 2016 presidency. Before his White House position, Vought was, among others, policy director for the House Republican Conference and executive director of the Republican Study Committee.

Vought’s returning role is responsible for implementing the president’s policies and plans that are carried out across the Executive Office.

Director of National Intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard

Gabbard served in the Hawaii Army National Guard for 17 years and has served in the United States Army Reserve since 2020. Gabbard was a democratic congresswoman representative of Hawaii and unsuccessful 2020 presidential candidate. In 2022, Gabbard officially left the Democratic party.

In her new position, Gabbard will be in charge of overseeing the National Intelligence Program, its budget and advise the president in intelligence insights related to potential security threats, cyber attacks and more.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Son of politician and lawyer Robert Kennedy, Robert Kennedy Jr., has made a name for himself as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and author. Kennedy most notably ran in the 2024 presidential election as a democrat, then independent and later endorsed President Trump.

Kennedy’s new role is responsible for the nation’s access to healthcare, including the regulation of Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

Department of Agriculture Secretary

Brooke Rollins

Rollins is returning to the White House as she previously served as the Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives and Director of the Domestic Policy Council for the first Trump administration. Since then, Rollins founded the nonpartisan, nonprofit research foundation America First Policy Institute.

In this new position, Rollins will be responsible for directing research and educational activities in areas of nutrition, conservation, farming, forestry and others.

Department of Commerce Secretary

Howard Lutnick

Lutnick is a Wall Street broker, chairman and CEO of several financial service firms. At the age of 29, Lutnick became president and CEO of the firm Cantor Fitzgerald, in which he later headed a relief fund for families of his co-workers who passed away on 9/11.  He served as co-chair of the Trump-Vance Transition Team during the 2024 election.

As the secretary of commerce, Lutnick will manage agencies including patents and national security, oversee trade agreements and policies, and see to the promotion of U.S. businesses.

Administrator of the Small Business Administration 

Kelly Loeffler 

Loeffler wears many political hats, first as part of the 2020 U.S. Senate representing Georgia and later serving various committees in areas of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. She also founded RallyRight, a technology start-up, and the voter integrity non-profit Greater Georgia Action.

In her new position, Loeffler will assist in small business concerns including loans and assistance programs for entrepreneurs to help preserve free competition.

United States Trade Representative 

Jamieson Greer 

Greer served as chief of staff to Trump’s first-term trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. In this role, Greer was involved in tariff negotiations and the U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement. He was also part of a Washington law firm and practiced in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

In this new role, Greer will oversee the coordination of trade policies and worldwide negotiations. He will act as the president’s adviser and spokesperson for trade-related issues.

Department of Education Secretary 

Linda McMahon

Before entering politics, McMahon and her husband founded World Wrestling Entertainment. She was appointed to the Connecticut Board of Education in 2009 and later ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Connecticut’s U.S. Senate. Most recently, McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.

In her new position, McMahon’s responsibilities include advising the president on educational policy issues, administering proper funding for equitable education and overseeing necessary services for students.

While there have been no confirmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests or raids near San Francisco State University, students and campus organizations are bracing for potential impact.

On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the southern border. His campaign promises of mass deportation are already taking place across the nation.

Trump’s executive orders, which are aimed at expanding deportation efforts, have led to increased fears within immigrant communities. San Francisco, a sanctuary city, has long been a refuge for undocumented individuals. However, recent rumors and incidents are causing heightened anxiety.

On Jan. 23, rumors spread of a federal deportation agent being aboard a Muni bus and approaching a middle school student.

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office released a statement to address widespread panic.

“After conducting a thorough multi-agency review, we are confident and relieved that there was no federal immigration enforcement action on a Muni bus yesterday,” the statement said. “At the same time, the fear in our community is real, and that fear makes all of San Francisco less safe.”

In response to ongoing concerns, San Francisco leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the 1989 sanctuary city ordinance on Jan. 28.

ICE opened a new field office to enforce immigration laws under Donald Trump’s in San Francisco. Officers from the office have only arrested one person at the time of publication for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, according to their website.

But closer to home, SFSU’s first week back to school left an unnerved atmosphere with rumors that ICE agents were on campus and entered the Administration Building.

“What we heard this week, and again, they are rumors, did impact some of our students,” said Dr. Frederick Smith, SFSU’s Vice President of Community Inclusion and Equity, to Golden Gate Xpress.

On Feb. 7, a man impersonating an ICE agent was spotted eating at a local taqueria in the Mission District. The man was later identified as Daniel Goodwyn, one of the Jan. 6 pardoned rioters, and leader of a local Republican Party group who later pled guilty in 2023 to his role during the Capitol insurrection and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

“This is a terrorist seeking to intimidate our immigrant community and stoke fear,” said San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder in a statement.

Fielder cited federal laws that prohibit impersonating a U.S. officer or employee.

“If and when they come back to the Mission, they will be dealt with.”

Despite the absence of confirmed ICE arrests or raids near campus, SFSU student organizations are preparing for a potential shift in the safety and security of their community.

Student organizations that support undocumented and immigrant students, like La Raza, IDEAS and MELA de San Pancho are reaffirming their responsibility to protect and prepare their community.

“We’re working on having an official schedule for when office hours will be,” said Isabel Parrado, La Raza historian and ambassador. “But we are also committed to the idea that in an emergency situation, we will do what we can and what is needed to get the room open to house anybody who needs this space.”

In November 2024, La Raza, in collaboration with IDEAS, hosted a Papeles Para Todos panel in the Cesar Chavez Student Center.

IDEAS advocates for nonresident tuition exemption and undocumented students. The organization’s members said they’re focused on getting the most accurate updates and resources for any students whenever necessary.

“We’re trying to identify what is the best way we can support students and we have realized it’s with resources,” said Sharon S., an ambassador of the organization.

During the fall semester, IDEAS met with SFSU President Lynn Mahoney to discuss support for undocumented students. Sharon S. said they were not fond of Mahoney’s response.

“The best we got was what felt like a PR response, which was like ‘we’ll do the best we can according to what the law says,’” Sharon S. said. “We responded by pointing out that undocumented students need more assurance because saying ‘we’re willing to go as far as to protect you as the government would’”

IDEAS, along with other on-campus organizations, are creating a united front around their community. They say the true safety net comes from organizations leaning on one another. This collaboration also includes those outside of campus, like Faith in Action Bay Area. The group has created a rapid response hotline, which IDEAS said has been a good source of guidance..

MELA de San Pancho’s members said they vow to continue holding events that uplift their Latinx community during these uncertain times while also being the best outreach and resource for immigrant and undocumented students.

“Seeing everything going on in the media and in our communities, especially when it can impact our friends and family, it can be so heavy to carry,” said Dulce Ramos Gomez, vice president of MELA de San Pancho.

The organizations keep in frequent contact with one another, coming up with different ways to support their community.

“We are communicating with other cultural orgs, especially like Latino cultural orgs,” Parrado said. “We’re building a communication network between ourselves, like a rapid response where we will try to stay as united and coordinated should there be an ICE presence on campus so we can best support our members or honestly anyone who feels threatened.”

In the midst of the Trump administration’s policies to uphold the belief that there are only two genders, San Francisco State University athletes and the LGBTQ+ community are determined to preserve the campus and playing fields as accepting environments.

President Trump’s signage of the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order on Feb. 5 also changed the NCAA’s policies requiring all student-athletes to practice and compete on mens and womens teams respectively.

As of 2022, there are 520,000 NCAA student athletes. The NCAA’s president, Charlie Baker, testified during a December congressional meeting that he was aware of fewer than 10 NCAA athletes who identified as transgender, a number representing fewer than 0.01% of the organization’s athletes.

This follows a streak of orders since his inauguration affecting the LGBTQ+ community, including the defense from “gender ideology” and protection of children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.” This supervision of funds mirrors January’s federal funding freeze aimed to cut off money for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion organizations to instead reinstate merit-based hiring.

However, a loss of federal funding is what CSUs, including San Francisco State University, fear and why some departments on campus remain silent.

Due to concerns about the funding process, Interim Director of Athletics Brandon Davis said the athletics department and presumably others are “hesitant to speak until they get clarity.”

But as university departments remain on the hush, students and athletes alike are choosing the alternative.

Olivia Rollins is a co-captain of the University of San Francisco women’s rugby club. According to her, about 70% of the team identifies as LGBTQ+. Rollins said she felt disheartened after hearing about the ban and is determined to keep the team an LGBTQ+ friendly environment.

“What you identify with and what you feel safe as is way more important than any sort of biology,” Rollins said. “I also think that, especially for rugby culture in general, it’s very positive and very uplifting.”

Regarding biological male and female physical traits, SFSU women’s rugby club co-captain Anna Timmerman explained that while there are some genetic differences between men and women, playing sports goes beyond someone’s chosen gender.

“I know that there have been arguments for people saying that genetically, men are built with more muscle mass,” Timmerman said. “And women technically have more fat mass than men. But I think the same thing that goes for sports is like, it doesn’t matter who’s playing it. It’s about how hard you train. And I think mindset is a really big component in this.”

However, for water polo captain Jake Ni, who oversees the co-ed club at SFSU, swimming is more body autonomy dependent. Ni points to the larger height and “classic hip bone thing” between men and women.

“A random guy that swam competitively for the men’s, just to switch to the women’s, it’s like, there’s a huge discrepancy between the two,” Ni said.

Despite these differences, Ni said that competing on a gender-based team is concluded on a case-by-case basis of skill and strength. The type of competitive mindset and skill level is what earns you a spot on the team, said Ni.

“So for the women transitioning to men, I’m like, ‘have at it,’” he said. “If you can match our skill level, you’ve earned your spot on the team right? If they’re like 6-foot-4, highly muscular and like highly athletic and have been playing for years, then just recently transitioned, became a trans woman. Yeah, we’ll have to take that with a grain of salt because even the stature itself is huge.”

Gray K. identifies as non-binary and works at the Education and Referral Organization for Sexuality at SFSU, a peer education group with Associated Students. They say the sports ban and other anti-transgender legislation have made LGBTQ+ students feel on edge.

“I think it’s more dangerous [to be LGBTQ+] because more right-wingers and Trumpers are empowered,” Gray said. “They literally [have been] empowered to be loud.”

According to a 2021 study conducted by the UCLA School of Law, transgender people are four times more likely to be victims of violent crime compared to cisgender people.

“I’m scared for other people,” Gray said. “I’m scared for my friends. I’m scared for everybody.”

But on and off the field, Gray says transgender athletes’ teammates should feel a sense of community towards one another, not discomfort.

“I want to reassure women who feel like they’ve been fighting for women’s rights that they also [should] feel in community with these trans women,” Gray said. “Because you are, whether you believe it or not.”

Echoing Gray, SFSU rugby player Samantha Varona said the ban won’t change the team’s acceptance policy “regardless of where someone stands” on the ban.

“I don’t really think that this is something that will deteriorate our team or any other teams,” Varona said. “I know many teams we’ve played against don’t have an issue with it [transgender athletes] and I know me and my team, we don’t either.”

According to Davis, the CSU is still considering its plan of action in response to the ban.

Students who wish to identify as nonbinary on the financial aid application will now need to choose between two options as of the Trump administration’s new executive order on Feb. 4.

The executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” makes it so that students who are looking to use the gender-inclusive term while filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, will now only be able to identify as two genders: male or female.

“I don’t believe it’s fair and I feel like this could be a bigger issue than a lot of people may realize,” said Olivia Papandrea, a design student at San Francisco State University.

“Resolving ongoing problems with the 2024-25 form, reflecting biological reality by referencing sex identifiers, and beginning the process for the 2026-27 form on time will allow the Department to earn back the trust of the American people,” said Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron in an announcement.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “release delays or unnecessary politicization of the form” can put a hold on a student’s future.

With FASFA being targeted with the most immediate effects of this executive order, it calls into question what the future of the LGBTQ+ community will look like.

Tria Rosa Valbuena is an SFSU student pursuing her master’s in social work. Valbuena is a part of the Associated Students’ Queer and Trans Resource Center, a program that brings LQBTQ+ events, resources and services to SFSU.

“It’s the start of a very worrying system — the elimination of the concept of queerness,” Valbuena said. “We’ve already seen the villainization and dehumanization of queer folks in the language they use. They’re now trying to remove all acknowledgment of their existence.”

According to the executive order, “gender ideology replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true. Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one’s sex.”

So what comes next after FASFA? With minor effects beginning within the first month of Trump’s presidency, the future of limitations targeted toward the LGBTQ+ community is highly anticipated.

“I think it’s telling that it’s happening now,” said biology student Blaise Slattery. “I’m not a part of the community but I feel for them that they have fear in the beginning of changes.”

According to GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, the order could also limit LQBTQ+ individuals from being issued a passport that accurately reflects their gender, limit appropriate housing and healthcare to incarcerated trans individuals, reverse the rules for individuals to receive safe access to housing and remove the mention of gender identity from language and forms.

“When you think about it in the bigger picture, it’s scary,” said Ryder Asher, a business student. “You just have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and reflect.”

The uncertainty of the traction the executive order will gain leaves the trans community in constant fear of the future of how they identify and how they will be perceived.

“I’m fearful for a lot. I’m fearful that they will eventually try to deny people hormone care,” Valbuena said. “I worry that my legal protections from hate crimes to discrimination in the workplace will be removed. I worry that I will be forced to change my gender-identifying name back to the one that I had on my birth certificate. Quite frankly, I worry about an escalation of these policies.”

On March 1, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States, an order that also rescinds former President Bill Clinton’s mandate from 2000 requiring federal agencies to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.

According to the White House’s official website, “Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.”

However, Jannet Martínez Reyes, treasurer for La Raza, feels that the order does the opposite.

“It’s weird to see how he’s claiming, or just the administration in general, is claiming that this is going to unify people when we can see that it’s only really trying to unify specific people,” Martínez Reyes said. “It’s a complaint that people have heard constantly, like that racist bullshit where it’s like ‘oh speak English, you’re in America.’ Now he’s reinforcing that and he’s giving validity to that.”

In 2022, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences found that over 80% of Americans spoke only English in their day-to-day life, even if they were multilingual. 

Frederik Green, chair of the modern languages and literature department, said that this executive order isn’t particularly important in a country where over 350 languages are spoken, but it could have impacts on federally-funded language services.

“You can choose if you want to do it in Spanish or in Chinese, or if you want a translator that will provide translation services, which of course, is wonderful, right? This is what America is about,” Green said. “But those services —  that’s what might, of course, get cut, impacted.”

Similarly, Spanish professor Ana Luengo noted that the order is “completely against immigration and against all multilingual education.”

“I believe it is very consistent with his entire policy of criminalizing migrants and also of trying to create a homogeneous American identity, which is what he represents,” Luengo said.

Citlali Hernández, a senior Spanish major, noted that although this order will affect the country in slight ways, it doesn’t hold as much gravity as other executive orders Trump has signed.

“It is not something that changes the structure that we already have. Although he has signed this order, it doesn’t mean that all our diversity automatically disappears,” said Hernández.

Green said he felt that the order’s target audience was people who feel threatened by others who speak a language they don’t understand.

“With immigration having become such a highly politicized topic, it serves both to stoke up more fears,” said Green. “‘Everybody who doesn’t speak English needs to be kept out because now we have this executive order.’ But it also sort of reaffirms those people who feel that, yeah, you know, people who don’t speak our language are somehow threatening. What’s of course, really, really, really sad is that there’s nothing threatening about a foreign language. It’s only threatening if you don’t understand it.”

Green, who is from Germany, noted that in Europe, every country has a national language. In theory, a national language isn’t a bad idea.

“However, this, of course, happens in this current political climate and the current political president when, at the same time, we see so many other pretty unthinkable things happening in the federal government and happening with regard to immigrants,” Green said.

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump has signed several orders regarding immigration, including declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, expanding detention centers, and attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship. The elimination of language services could be yet another crackdown Trump has taken.

Martínez Reyes spoke from experience about how language services affected their mother’s ability to receive help at an optometrist’s office.

“She couldn’t do her appointment because she couldn’t fill out any of the paperwork,” Martínez Reyes said. “She couldn’t speak to the people and they weren’t making an effort to try and like to speak to her. That was before the English executive order was signed. And before things got cut in a state that has so many more resources than others do. So it’s like, where are we going from here now? If this is the baseline, where are we going?”

In California, this order will likely not have a big impact. English has been the state’s official language since 1986.

“I feel that sometimes we think of California as an oasis where everything is great, but in 1998, there was a vote here against multilingual schools,” said Luengo. “And in 2008, there was a vote against same-sex marriage. California is not the liberal oasis that people think it is, not at all. It’s very easy for that to change.”

Green said that a possible solution to resolve the stigma around other languages is to implement more language education.

“I mean, there are so many great reasons to learn a foreign language,” Green said. “And yet we as a country don’t do it. And honestly, our policymakers are doing everything to discourage young people from doing it. And that, you know, that is the real tragedy.”

According to Luengo and Green, the number of languages offered at the university has shrunk from about 10 to seven within the past five years.

“I believe it is an extremely monolingual university,” Luengo said. “This worries me a lot because a third of the students are Spanish speakers. And I always think that, as a professor, this is also what I try to demonstrate: You all already have the power to access knowledge at a higher academic level, and knowing the language can open so many more doors for you. But this university doesn’t support us at all.”

As a student, Hernández believes that learning a new language and being multilingual opens doors, both culturally and personally.

“If people have the opportunity to learn a language, even if it’s only five words, and they can remember those five words, I think it’s a little piece of community that people can have that shows they’re trying to learn about your community and others.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education in March, one that threatens San Francisco State University’s federally funded programs that have supported the university’s high-needs students since 1997.

One primary objective of the Trump administration’s 2024 campaign is to eliminate the Department of Education in order to reduce the teaching of “a one-sided and distorted view of American history” and “send all education work and needs back to the States,” according to Trump’s website. In a public statement following the signing of the order, President Trump said that the department’s functions of providing Pell Grants to college students, funding Title I schools and resources for children with special needs will be “fully preserved” and “redistributed” across other federal agencies. However, funding toward college student retention programs and disability services are possible casualties of the department’s closure.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, SFSU received more than $575,000 in federal funds for the two TRIO programs, Student Support Services and Student Outreach and Academic Retention, according to a Department of Education document. They serve over 300 students who are first-generation college students and those considered “low-income” along with students with disabilities.

Antonella Cortez, an SSS program coordinator, said the purpose of these programs is to provide students with free resources and advising up to their third year.

“We support them with tutoring, specifically in math and English,” said Cortez.

SSS also provides workshops to support students’ understanding of financial literacy, academic success and professional development, according to Cortez.

SOAR is a similar program that started in 2015 that provides priority registration for only transfer and STEM students. SOAR Program Director Juan Carlos Gonzalez started his SFSU career in the SSS-TRIO program in 1997 before becoming a founding member of SOAR.

Funding for these programs generally goes to staffing in order to keep up with individualized support for students.

“The tutoring is more specialized, which is very helpful,” said Issac Corona, a second-year civil engineering student. “For the longest time, we had no business tutor, and I was struggling in accounting until we got Juan.”

Alongside specialized tutoring, one-on-one academic and financial advising is something the TRIO centers provide to all of their students.

“I love meeting with Alisa,” said Corona, referring to his adviser. “She’ll always tell me whenever I really gotta lock in and do something, which happens a lot more often than I like to credit myself for.”

Providing this service for hundreds of students means hiring a lot of staff, many of whom are current SFSU students like Corona.

“Most of our expenses are used up in personnel,” Cortez said. “But when we do have times where we’ve had small surpluses, we’re able to also provide grant aid to students.”

Everything TRIO services provide helps vulnerable SFSU students.

“When we take up students based on a need,” said Cortez, “We can look at whether we can assist them financially as best we can given the resources we have on hand at the time.”

The TRIO programs at SFSU are forward-funded on a five-year cycle, and this cycle’s grants are renewed during the Summer 2025 semester. According to Cortez, both TRIO services submitted program continuation proposals last July.

With President Trump signing the executive order to dismantle the department late last month, uncertainty over continuing to receive that funding is on the minds of the coordinators.

“In February, we received communication that we were on a list of programs to be frozen,” said Gonzalez. “The outcome of that was that a judge halted the freezing of those funds.”

Federally funded education programs now have to hope that other branches of the government will try to reverse Trump’s orders as they come. Funding education has previously been a bipartisan endeavor, but with more far-right-leaning Republicans holding the majority in Congress, there is much less certainty.

“It would be an act of Congress that TRIO programs will no longer be funded,” said Gonzalez.

California Sen. Adam Schiff is one Congress member who is fighting to continue spending over $125 billion federal dollars on education services, including Pell Grants, Title I funding and funding for schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

“I am committed to using every lever at my disposal to block any illegal, unconstitutional cuts or executive orders dismantling the Department of Education,” said Schiff in an email response. “As President Trump aims to seize control of every aspect of government and remake it in his flawed image, I will hold him and his administration accountable every single day and be a constant check on every abuse of power,” the email said.

California Sen. Alex Padilla echoes Schiff’s position in federal funding for education.

“I do not support any efforts to terminate the Department of Education,” said Padilla in an email. “I believe that an investment in public education is an investment in the future of America.”

Padilla shared his interpretation of the department’s mission, including “promoting student achievement, fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” He said the quality of education impacts the nation’s workforce and is a factor in keeping U.S. citizens in the running for global jobs.

“Education transformed my life, and I am committed to ensuring that every student in California and across the country receives a high-quality and equitable education,” Padilla said.

The future of the Department of Education remains unclear as federal judges and the current administration continue to watch President Trump’s orders.

One current student and four alumni of San Francisco State University have been impacted by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The current student, who was nearing completion of their degree, had their visa revoked, according to an email sent out by President Lynn Mahoney. Academic Affairs is working with the Division of International Education to assist in finding alternative ways to complete the degree.

All four former students who recently graduated were participating in the STEM OPT work experience program.

SFSU is another university added to the growing list of institutions across the nation where international student visas are being revoked. Neighboring Bay Area schools like Stanford University, UC, Berkeley and San Jose State University have also been affected.

“This is a new and unprecedented situation no one has ever been in before, that is hard to advise because the information is constantly changing,” said Marilyn Jackson, Assistant Vice President of the Division of International Education. “But what we can do is invite international students to our office hours, to Zoom meetings, to email us and we will always be as transparent about what we know and what we don’t know and we realize that sometimes we don’t have satisfying answers because again, the situation is always changing.”

On Monday, the Dream Resource Center, in collaboration with I.D.E.A.S., hosted a “Know Your Rights” training workshop led by Immigrant Legal Defense attorney Adhemir Romero.

Immigrant Legal Defense is a nonprofit that serves students, staff, faculty, immediate family members and recent alum at nine California State University campuses and 34 California Community Colleges.

The workshop thoroughly went over the rights of those who reside in the U.S., including individuals who are immigrants or international students here on visas.

“Everybody present in the United States has the same rights. The laws apply equally to everybody. We’ve seen this administration detain residents, detain citizens, deport citizens,” said Romero. “It could happen to anyone so everyone should know their rights and everybody should know how to exercise their rights and feel comfortable doing so.”

According to the Division of International Education, International Students made up about 8.3% of the total student population in Spring 2024. About 3.5% of undergraduate enrollment is international students, while 11.25% are a part of postgraduate enrollment.

The CSU gave an update on the status of visa revocations as of last week, stating that it is working with campuses and is continuing to provide assistance to all students in need.

“The CSU is committed to the well-being and success of all our students and celebrates the rich diversity of backgrounds and perspectives that our international students contribute to the CSU,” the CSU’s weekly update post said.

As of April 15, a total of 70 CSU students have been impacted by visa revocations since the start of the year, according to the CSU’s weekly update.

Victor Ramos, a third-year student at SFSU, said the CSUs should be focusing on bigger issues across its campuses.

“They’re worried about individuals who are able to be on this campus for sometimes more than one semester,” Ramos said. “When they should be worrying about current issues that are going on on campus like budget cuts and program losses from athletic departments.”

A third-year international student from Japan, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of government retaliation, said he chose to come to SFSU because of the diverse culture in the city and on campus, as well as the school’s good business program.

“I understand what the government is doing, but at the same time, I have a right, we have a human right to be here,” the student said. “Our visa is for studying. I chose to come here for my education, so I am feeling sorry for those who have been affected.”