UMD community members react to Trump’s first 100 days in office
By: Ashna Balroop
Last week, Donald Trump surpassed 100 days in his second term as president of the United States.
During this time, he has signed over 30 executive orders ranging from cutting diversity, equity and inclusion programs to recognizing male and female as the only two sexes. Here's what some University of Maryland community members think of his term so far.
Niambi Carter, an associate professor of public policy at UMD, believes that the Department of Government Efficiency will hurt students' job opportunities. Trump and Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, have cut thousands of jobs from the federal workforce, according to Reuters.
“Many of our students who would be going to employment in the federal government, who want to be public servants are not going to be able to do that anymore. Not in the same way,” Carter said.
Carter believes that Maryland being a Democrat-leaning state makes it a very easy target for the Trump Administration. She said this ultimately connects to the revocation of research funding to UMD.
In April, UMD President Darryll Pines told The Diamondback that the university has experienced about $12 million in cuts to research funding.
“Stopping those funds from coming into the university not only stymies research and progress that can be made in the medical field and other places, but also harms the bottom lines of these institutions,” Carter said.
In addition to cutting research funding, the Trump administration has been under fire for its treatment of immigrants. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legal permanent resident of the United States, who was deported to El Salvador in March, has been at the forefront of these conversations.
Karine Lewis, a freshman communications major, is upset about this treatment.
“If immigrants don't have due process, none of us have due process, because someone can just simply say you're a criminal, or just say you're an immigrant and then just take your rights away immediately,” Lewis said.
Freshman Alexis Bernal, a criminology and criminal justice major, agrees and is also concerned about the mass deportations Trump has spearheaded during his first 100 days.
“I’m brown, I’m Latina, so I have a lot of family who are immigrants,” Bernal said. “My parents are immigrants, and it just hurts to see how he doesn't see people as people.”