YSDA hosts panel on Trump’s impact

KYLE SCHECK
PHOTOGRAPHER

EMMA FIGLEWICZ
PHOTO EDITOR

3/24/2025

On March 12 the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) put together a panel that included reflections from four professors who gave their insights on President Donald Trump’s first 50 days in office.  

The panel consisted of Derick Hulme, Professor of Political Science, Prathim Maya Dora-Laskey, Associate Professor of English, Murray Borello, Instructor of Geology and Environmental Studies and Ben Taylor, Assistant Professor of Political Science.  

The panel was organized by the group to address questions about the Trump Administration’s actions circulating on campus.  

“Our group had been approached by many students with questions and concerns about some of the actions that the Trump administration has taken thus far. We wanted to provide an event that would help to ease some of these concerns or at least provide an avenue for students to ask questions and hear discussions from professors who have more expertise,” said Mallory Fenskie (’26), YDSA Co-President.  

“We wanted to identify professors who had expertise in areas applicable to many of the changes we have seen in these first fifty days of Trump’s second term as President to give students multiple perspectives on the complexities of this administration,” said Fenskie.  

“Doing panels like this is something we should be doing more often. You would hope there would be hundreds of students who are really curious about what is going on in the world. It is important that students learn about what can be done to address the threats that Donald Trump presents,” said Hulme.  

In recent months, Trump has significantly cut federal funding for several programs, particularly in environmental science, raising concerns among students on campus.  

“I had a student who is an environmental studies science major and she’s very nervous about her future with her career plans. Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the scientific community. He has made it abundantly clear that there is a war against the sciences, enterprise and climate change efforts,” said Hulme.  

Since the panel aimed to educate students about the current political issues facing America, YDSA implemented measures to ensure that all students felt safe and supported in expressing their opinions. 

“We decided to follow a similar format that we have in the past, where students submit anonymous questions via a Google Form. This allows us to moderate the questions as they come in,” said Fenskie.  

Alma College is no stranger to political protests and discussions. As a liberal arts institution, the campus welcomes open conversations over current day issues to build a well-rounded and informed student body. 

“I think it’s important to hold consistent, open conversations that allow students to direct questions toward professors, who are likely to have developed over many years an interpretive sensibility giving them a more concrete purchase on the present,” said Taylor.  

“It’s never wrong to stand up for fellow humans; it’s good to be on the right side of history. I am involved in several organizational networks and would be happy to match students up with groups,” said Dora-Laskey.  

“The most important things students could have learned is that the future depends on all of us. It’s not that some people make the world and other people simply receive it. We all make the world together,” said Taylor.