On Nov. 5, 2024, Former President Trump won the presidential race against Vice President Kamala Harris with 312 electoral votes.
The Highlander wanted to see what the University of California, Riverside (UCR) students think about a second Trump administration and how it will affect their communities. Here is what they said:
Question: Do you have any concerns about reproductive freedoms or access to healthcare for women under the Trump administration?
Arianna Castro, Biology, Second year (she/her), Women’s Resource Center
“Trump has said a lot of things … He said that he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban and in all honesty, I think he says that to protect himself. The crazy thing about politics is that all these politicians … truly just want to have control over women. They want the patriarchy. Politicians are grounded on this weird, awful [belief] that they should be in control of what we do and how we handle our bodies.
“We, of course, are terrified to see what is going to continue to happen because putting abortion bans with the states has already caused so many problems and so many deaths.
“But we are not only scared for our reproductive rights but … [also] for our rights as women. We are trying to fight these barriers [in the patriarchy] every day; we are trying to become a new progressive world. However, we are constantly reminded through the Trump Administration and through the Republican Party that they don’t feel as if we matter … What is so concerning for our reproductive freedoms and access to healthcare is that if they want control over us, they will take it. It’s important to just have faith that our generation will not allow that control to be taken.”
Question: Do you think a Trump administration will pose challenges to the LGBTQ+ community, particularly to LGBTQ+ students?
Ro Zheng, Psychology, Third year (any/all), LGBT Resource Center
“I am a member of the queer community and I’m honestly really scared for my friends and my well-being and safety after this election. I definitely don’t think it is going to be a good thing for us … As soon as we saw that Trump won, all my friends on social media were freaking out. People were saying scary things and everyone was just really scared. I know that there are other things we can do … there are spaces for us like the LGBTQ Resource Center. But it sucks that we can only feel safe in a space like this … and that once we leave this space, the world is not safe anymore.
“I am also someone who wants gender-affirming care … but it feels like I need to move up my timeline a bit or it won’t happen anymore. I see people worry that they won’t be able to marry their partner because those laws are going to get rolled back. People are worried that their hormones, their surgeries, won’t be allowed — things that they need for their mental and physical health … So honestly, it feels like the world has gotten a lot more scary.”
Question: How will a Trump administration affect the undocumented community?
Maria Rodriguez Francia, Business, Third year (she/her), Undocumented Resource Center
“I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous once Trump was elected. The good thing is that I know that UCR has a very strong support system. I was able to talk with the lawyers and immigration attorneys we have. This was mostly because I am aware of these resources and aware of what’s happening with these events …
“I was able to inform myself and kind of get an image of how it’s going to look like. The immigration lawyers were able to explain the process and debunked some of the things Trump said, so it made me feel a lot better. It was very nerve-wracking to hear what he said before [about us] and know that he was elected. I think it’s scary when you are not informed. It’s scarier to know that you’re not certain about what’s going to happen in the future.”
Question: How do you feel about the future of climate change policies under the Trump administration?
Anahita Hooshyari, Sociology, Second year, (she/her), Green Campus Action Plan (GCAP)
“The Trump administration is going to reverse any work that grassroots organizations, like GCAP and the Sierra Club, are doing … They are going to remove them; they are going to silence their voices and basically reverse all of our efforts because of the mass expansion that is going to come from their economic wants. They care more about fracking and economic expansion in land-use without repatriation; without caring about Indigenous rights; without caring about how to conserve water and air … But that doesn’t mean hope is lost, there are so many organizations out there and disciplines coming together for this. This is not a loss of hope; there just needs to be more effort on our part and we aren’t going to give up.”
Question: How do you think another Trump administration will impact Black Americans, particularly Black students?
Selah Okonkvvo, Environmental Science, Fifth Year, (she/her), African Student Programs
“A Trump administration will be very problematic for Black students and members in the Black community. There is already a fight for racial equity and I think his presidency won’t strive for progressive … His presidency brings a lot of racial tension in this country and division among everyone. As a Black person, you don’t really feel safe under his administration.
“I don’t feel safe as a Black woman in this country under his Presidency. I have to be very mindful of where I go and what I say. He doesn’t bring union, he separates us. And in terms of schooling, lots of Black students — at least the ones I know — rely on financial aid. The fact that he wants to dismantle the Department of Education [means] we will have the short end of that stick.
“I worry about what FAFSA is going to be like [because] I have a younger brother and he has two more years of university and my mother worries about that. [I’m concerned] about how we are going to pay for school; we as minorities rely on [Pell Grants] to pursue higher education … So, I just don’t feel safe.”
Compiled by: Cecile Diroll, Opinions Editor, Spandana Janapati, Asst. Opinions Editor
