On Tuesday, Jan. 28, President Donald Trump pushed for a pause on federal funding for programs, causing confusion among students.
Initially, when the Office of Management and Budget released the pause on federal funds, grants, loans and assistance it was not described in detail to specific programs this would affect, according to a Jan. 29 New York Times article.
With a lack of detail, some students began to worry that this pause would affect the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Students need to complete a FAFSA application to be eligible to receive federal aid such as grants and loan, according to the The Federal Student Aid webpage.
Xzander Smith, a third-year public relations student at San José State, felt an added stress to his life when he heard the news of this freeze.
“From a student (point-of-view), pausing any additional help feels like your future is out of your control and in a waiting game,” Smith said.
At SJSU alone more than 21,504 students received financial aid for the 2022-2023 academic year and more than $104.5 million in aid came from federal aid for the same year, according to the SJSU Financial Aid and Scholarships Office Brochure.
Lidia Rocha, a library and information science masters student, brought in concerns surrounding this confusion that go beyond having the money to pay for school.
“If these grants get affected, as a fast recipient it would be virtually impossible to pay tuition,” Rocha said. “It could create mental stress that will affect studies making the number of students that drop increase.”
The White House later clarified that federal loans, Pell grants or any other student aid were not affected by this freeze, according to a Jan. 29 Associated Press article.
“It’s created confusion on who they’re trying to benefit or whose side they are on,” Rocha said. “At the moment it really seems that they don't care, which leaves me and other students wondering what the end goal is.”
The following day of this order, Jan. 29, Matthew Vaeth, acting director for the Office of Management and Budget, told officials the funding freeze memo had been rescinded, according to the Jan. 29 New York Times article.
“It’s a step in the right direction to pause this action but it leaves me wondering if they are doing this to lower the government budget or do they systematically want to take away aid for those who systematically have been disadvantaged such as low income or (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) leaving little resources,” Rocha said.
The programs affected directly go against Trump’s administration ideologies, those programs include immigration, foreign aid, climate and energy, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Funding for research has also been paused, according to the same CNN article.
Kai Sano-Lim, a fourth-year international business student, sees this action as a point of regression for the United States.
“I personally see the turning back of (diversity, equity and inclusion reform) to be regressive to everything the United States has constructed up to this point,” Sano-Lim said. “It is becoming more and more alarming that the majority (of) public American opinion has changed.”
While no disruption in research efforts have yet to be reported on campus, there is a target on diversity, equity and inclusion that could affect SJSU.
Tuesday, Trump has signed to begin shrinking the Department of Education; it can be assumed more confusion will arise, according to the LA Times.
“All of this is just causing further headaches for the future of Americans and I’m certainly concerned of the long-term implications and how this will end,” Sano-Lim said.
