GEORGIA ENGLE
On Jan. 27, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo calling for a temporary pause in all disbursements of federal financial assistance including, but not limited to the Department of Education.
Three federal judges have blocked this order, forcing the OMB to rescind the memo. According to NPR, the memo sparked panic and paranoia from students who receive federal aid to fund their higher education.
At a Jan. 29 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to clarify the implications of the memo, she said, “It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs. It means no more funding for the Green New Scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. […] Again, people who are receiving individual assistance, you will continue to receive that.”
The Department of Education has stated that the freeze will not affect federal Pell Grants and student loans, but it may affect work study programs and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grant. Federal work study (FWS) provides roughly $1 billion annually to about 600,000 students on over 3,000 campuses nationwide. The program covers up to 75% of student participants’ on-campus wages.
One out of every 10 full time, first year undergraduates receives FWS support, and more than 33 million students have benefitted from the program since its inception.
In a Jan. 28 email , USF Provost Eileen Fung assured the USF community that “federal student aid funds, including Pell Grants, federal student loans, and federal work study, as well as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will not be paused. Federal student aid will continue to be awarded and disbursed.”
According to the Education Data initiative, 34% of undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant nationwide. 42.7 million student borrowers have federal loan debt, and Federal student loan debt
represents 92.4% of all student loan debt.
USF politics Professor Stephen Zunes, who is recognized as a leading scholar in nonviolent action and U.S. foreign policy, said he believes the memo is a form of control.
“It could be a way to withhold student loans unless [Universities] drop any DEI initiatives, or any accommodation for trans students, or allow anti-zionist professors to teach or students to demonstrate, to place universities in this dilemma of choosing to lose federal funding or lose a bunch of students.”
He continued, “It’s extortion, basically. They are targeting universities because they are generally progressive and support the rights of women, minorities and not to mention, question the dominant paradigm, which is what universities are supposed to teach: being able to think critically.”
Zunes said that the administration can not freeze federal funding. “Legally speaking, they can’t do anything. They need to go through the process of an act of Congress,” he said. The Congress would have to approve any federal funding cuts with two-thirds approval, which is unlikely.
Yan Chen, sophomore International Studies student, is employed in two work study jobs. “The freeze wasn’t surprising to me,” said Chen. “The administration is showing that they are willing to restrict
growth in any way. It’s the same with taking away DEI, if they take away your job and your education, what else do you have in America?” said Chen.
She continued, “I probably wouldn’t go to this school if it wasn’t for work study or federal funding.”
Sofi Pardo, sophomore communications major, stated that the memo made her fearful. “When I learned that Trump was planning on freezing student loans, it didn’t feel real […] It only felt real when USF sent their own clarification, and that’s when fear started to kick in. I literally would not be here without my student loans, and with my financial plan already being tight, I have no wiggle room for Trump to change his mind.”
She continued, “I do not come from legacy admissions, I do not come from generational wealth, so I must take out loans to build my future. Trump will not take away my ability to work for my future.”
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, News Editor: Deeya Gupta, Sports Editor: John Lindroos
