by Sarah Yves-Baloucoune

When politics starts touching social life, it doesn’t always turn out well.

From his Jan. 20 Inauguration to the writing of this article, Donald Trump has signed 75 executive orders, primarily focusing on government reform, immigration, border security, and more. 

His policies started with the legal recognition of only male and female genders by signing executive orders proclaiming that only birth assigned sex matters. Ever since the beginning, he had the idea and opened a manhunt for immigrants, even citizens if they have no proof of citizenship on them at the moment, but also Native Americans because the tribal IDs don’t count as proofs to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

His actions were questionable, like firing and un-firing nuclear workers, but in this article, let me present to you one of the lesser known but still present realities of people being put at risk due to the cutting of funds. 

 In a society built on money, we will always find a group in need of support. In a world built on international relations, we will always find a country that is overlooked, such as the less rich and popular developing countries like mine, Senegal, but also more famous ones like Argentina.

The funds given by the government were financing non-profit organizations like Child Protective Services, as well as scholarships and grants.

Cultural grant students are students chosen by the host country to share their cultures and impact their local communities in order to create bonds and make friends and families around the world. 

However, exchange students are in great dread. 

The funding cuts have affected the lives of thousands of students in high schools and colleges. The system of grants for students depends on government funds.

They create bridges between countries and communities, opening people’s minds to diversity and helping people know and discover the unity of each culture and take the best of each to make life better.

What if these bridges didn’t exist? 

The world would be doomed. In a world like ours, making peace with everyone is the only way to survive. 

What if a country with a lot of resources decided to collaborate with a country that has a lot of knowledge? Two spirits making one strong body is the best way to improve and make life easier. 

The development of the world would have been pretty much slower if the relations between countries weren’t as good as they are now. As an example, people around the world have access to plastic, which was created in Belgium, or petroleum, which is from Saudi Arabia.  

Without these diplomatic exchanges between them all, there would be no long and cheap conservation of products with plastic containers, no fuel for the cars and machines with petroleum, nor a lot of small objects we all have in our lives like scissors, gardening tools and sewing equipment.

But with the new policies, nothing is sure. The kids who were supposed to be connections between two lands and create a friendly bond between the two countries might never come.

As a result, the home country and host country might not work together again and, even worse, stop acknowledging the existence of one another. 

Until today, the future of the grant student programs is unknown, and this may be the last time we will see grant students in the U.S.

by Tyler Anthony

There is an oligarchical, absurd, and distinctly American phenomenon that has been plaguing this country. U.S. Fascism is the biggest danger to societal freedoms and signifies the fraudulence of “The American Dream.” We must recognize this. This is the road our leaders have walked us down, but by letting go of their guidance we can forge a path to far more individual freedoms and real liberty.    

The U.S. Empire was built on the back of exploitation. The moment the pilgrims began their slaughter of the Native Americans, the spirit of U.S. Fascism was born. The pilgrims needed a class to oppress to contribute to the British Imperial machine.

120 years after that, slaves were brought in from Africa for the first time. 160 years after that the U.S. invaded Mexico. 15 years after that the country was so split on slavery that they warred over it. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives because the rich didn’t want to give up their free laborers. The rich couldn’t stop themselves from engaging in the cruelest of human behavior in exchange for the gain of capital. 

The one institution that separated the power of capital from the power of politics was democracy. That separation has become smaller and smaller with every passing year, and now we’ve found ourselves fully submerged in a Fascist Oligarchy. A country that once revolted against the powers of imperialism now stands as the biggest imperial force on the face of the planet. Our ruler is a venture capitalist who conned himself into the presidential role, then was bought out by Elon Musk.

Over $250,000,000 was donated to the Trump campaign. To the average person, that money would completely change the course of their and their families’ lives. To Elon this was just .07% of his wealth. How could you be the single most powerful man in America and still be for the people. The answer? Elon is not. Trump is not. 

Feux-Populist rhetoric has elevated the status of Elon Musk and Donald Trump among Republicans to working class heroes. They have an iron grip on the government and culture and are inching us closer to World War III. This is a scary thought, yes, but it’s time to consider the fact that this may really be the road we’ve gone down. 

In fact, during the creation of this column there have been two major events that have dipped us further into fascism — Trump’s trapping of Zelenskyy and his aggression against Greenland. Inviting Zelenskyy to be disrespected at the White House was anything but a subtle tell of whose side he’s on. Nor is his praise of Russian Oligarchs as “Very nice people.” 

This poses the NATO question. What does Europe do if America leaves NATO? Europe has been very vocal in support of Ukraine. If America secedes from NATO then nothing stands in its way. Trump has been very open in his imperialist rhetoric. His talk of taking Greenland “One way or another “ should strike fear into the hearts of our politicians, but as long as the heavy wealth of the lobbyists lines their pockets, no one will take a stand. 

We can’t rely on politicians; we have to rely on the community. We need to take America back from the ground up.  Put aside our grievances with each other and fight fascism. Politics has become far too much of a popularity competition. It’s time to retake it as the people’s voice. 

Become involved in your community. Write articles for it. Get involved in homeless shelters, even run for office — anything to have some real populist control in this country.

The rapid escalation of Trump’s presidency into a fascist oligarchy has happened at such an incredible rate that we have got to put away social differences to fight this or we will all pay. Except the ones who have the money.

by Ifrah Daber

Elon Musk, standing as the current richest person in the world. His wealth amounts to over 300 billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of February 2025. He found his success in companies like Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and Xcorp, along with the social media app, formerly known as Twitter. 

Due to this success, his strong shift into politics and especially his outspoken support for President Donald Trump in this most recent election was sudden, especially given his moderate views in the past. He tweeted in 2018. “To be clear, I am not conservative.” He stated that he was independent and voted for Democratic candidates for many years. So when he opened his wallet to give over 250 million dollars to Trump and his allies campaigning last year, it was directly opposed to his past words and opinions.

These new opinions and support, also came with a new position in government, a brand new department, focused on making the governments spending more efficient. Appropriately, they named it The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE for short. 

Given Musk’s new position in the Department of Government Efficiency, some Americans have seen this as exactly what the government needs to handle the high costs of living and lower their taxes. However, others see this as completely unethical and a blatant disregard for middle-class Americans in favor of the 1%. 

To understand both sides, one has to understand exactly what both sides believe and how Musk’s actions are perceived, along with what exactly he has been doing since his appointment as a special government employee. 

A special government employee is a role in Congress that allows branches of government to bring in employees temporarily for specific roles. They are usually used as consults and can only work for no more than 130 days in a year. 

So what power does that give Musk? Mostly, he is the same as any government employee. He can be given information, including sensitive information, if it is relevant to his job. So he was fully in his right as a special government employee to have access to the Treasury Department payment system, since he’s employed to try to find out how to make the government, specifically the economic side, more efficient. 

Some lawyers are concerned about this role for Musk, especially given the possibility of him breaking the rules and laws of his position. Specifically, critics worry about the Hatch Act, a federal law that was created in 1939 that prohibits any department employees, including special government employees, from engaging in partisan political activity while performing their duties or on federal property. 

On Feb 11, Musk went to the Oval Office wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, which might have been a violation of the Hatch Act. However, the Office of Special Counsel, which would be the one to enforce the law, has not made an official announcement on Musk’s choice of hat wear.

However, the Government Executive, a news site, has quoted Laura Nagel, an employment lawyer who represents federal employees, to say that she views the use of “political paraphernalia” as a violation of the Hatch Act. So there is a debate on the topic, but nothing official has come of it so far. 

But Musk’s wardrobe aside, most of his supporters care more about what he has promised and not what he chooses to wear. Musk has taken the responsibility and his focus on cutting waste, using the Department of Efficiency as his way to do so. At the first Trump Cabinet meeting, Musk spoke of how the American debt is unsustainable and that America will go broke without some sort of drastic change. 

“That’s the reason I’m here,” Musk stated in regard to the national debt. He said he was confident that he could find 1 trillion in savings. He claimed that his efforts were motivated by saving money for the taxpayers. 

This position is one that many hear and naturally support, especially given the rising cost of living for average Americans. A poll done by J.L. Partners in late February found that around 60% of Americans viewed their tax dollars as wasted by the government, and 67% supported DOGE’s purpose to save their tax money. In addition, a Harvard Caps/ Harris poll found that over 70 percent of Americans support the U.S. Government Agency focused on the efficiency initiatives, and along with 60 percent believe that DOGE is helping cut major government spending. 

However, 58% of voters in Harvard Caps/Harris say that DOGE should not have access to sensitive information on Americans that benefit from government programs, such as names or social security numbers.

DOGE has claimed to make large progress in this; they posted receipts on their website “doge.gov” having a total of 65 billion dollars in savings, but there are discrepancies in the actual amount that has been saved, including mislabeling amounts, claiming they saved 8 billion in ICE contracts when it was 8 million, as well as reportedly listing the same 650 million savings from a contract with USAID multiple times as new savings. Along with other inherent errors, many were called out by media organizations like CBS and Politico. 

Musk has prided himself for being transparent, which is the original reason he created the website. He acknowledged these errors at the Oval Office: “Some of the things I say will be incorrect and that should be corrected.” 

Despite these inconsistencies, he still praises his organization and himself. He spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee, wielding a gifted chainsaw, claiming it was a metaphor for how he would “take a chainsaw to bureaucracy.”

So, what exactly have DOGE and Musk accomplished?

Starting early, Musk started using tactics that are similar to when he took over Twitter, now “X”. He immediately tried to downsize, to get rid of any employees and programs that were deemed to be a waste, it being “obvious,” he’s quoted as saying. He sent out emails demanding that employees of multiple departments list the tasks they completed, as well in some instances revealing names and titles of people that he wants to cut, making them public targets for the people. Musk and Trump have also tried to freeze Congress-approved funds, an illegal act. 

But what likely is the most controversial is that it’s clear that those who support DOGE want fast change and are willing to deal with the “temporary hardships” that Musk stated would come for ordinary citizens. A perfect example of the “ends justify the means” is that even if there are some mistakes, to many, it is seen as a necessary investment. 

Though there are still many against Musk and DOGE, many of their reasons are through the lens of political ethics and the possible red tape that DOGE has crossed in pursuit of it’s goal. 

 New Mexico representative Melanie Stansbury spoke out directly about how she condemned the actions of DOGE. She said in her opening statements at a Subcommittee meeting, “Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal agencies, shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers, withholding funds vital to safety and well-being of our communities.” 

Other Representatives, such as California representative Robert Garcia, said, “We should not stand by as the richest man on the planet gives himself and his companies huge tax cuts while the American people get absolutely nothing.”  

Many of these ethical concerns are made worse given how much Musk’s companies have received in funding from the government, along with how closely his companies work with the government. Elon Musk has reportedly received at least 38 billion in federal contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits, according to data from the Washington Post, including a reported 456 million dollar loan from the Department of Energy. Throughout the years, the amount of money he’s received has grown.

The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, when asked about the possible conflicts of interest, simply said that Musk would determine for himself if there are potential conflicts with his business. With very few checks and balances, many are anxious that Musk could run rampant with no one to stop him.  

This has led to many states suing Musk and President Trump on the basis that the authority he had over DOGE was unconstitutional. 

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes even referred to DOGE as “the whims of a single unelected billionaire.” Mayes argued that the Appointments Clause of the Constitution was violated when Trump created DOGE since the agency was created without congressional approval and gave Musk too much power as a special government employee. 

“He has transformed a minor position that was formerly responsible for managing government websites into a designated agent of chaos without limitation and in violation of separation of powers.”

Currently, 14 states have sued Trump and Musk over what they believe is an abuse of power. The large concern for them is clear: the idea of such a wealthy man in government is unethical, and he is given too many privileges. 

There is also controversy of the programs he’s already cut, from slashing over 80 independent research contracts at the Institute of Education Science, firing FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) workers, the explanation being that the organization was allegedly spending money on housing migrants in hotels. DOGE also fired workers at the National Institute of Health that focused on dementia research. 

The USAID organization, that is focused on providing humanitarian resources around the world, was targeted by DOGE, Musk claiming it to be a criminal organization,  and that funds are used for deadly programs. Though many of USAID’s programs that are frozen greatly impacts millions around the world. This including but not limited to, clinics in Africa for HIV patients, and the “Safe Mobility Offices” in many South America countries, a plave were migrants could apply to be legal citizens.

Though DOGE’s said goal is to get rid of waste and corruption, many who oppose Musk would argue that these programs are anything but waste, that they are vital to those who depend on aid from the United States.

Which side you stand on depends on how you view Musk, how you view his position, and if you believe that he can make ethical decisions given his position. It’s clear that the people need a change, that there is frustration in the cost of living, but is DOGE the answer to that? Or is this hatchet style of cutting funding going to do more harm in the long run for the people?  We the people will just have to wait and see.