Pitt students are weighing in on how President Donald Trump’s second presidential term has affected them and their country so far.
Wednesday, Nov. 5, will mark the one-year anniversary of Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election. Students are divided on how his second presidency has shaped national policy but agree the past year has increased political discourse on campus.
One area students found significant is the Trump administration’s approach to immigration and foreign policy.
Julia Cassidy, president of College Republicans at Pitt and a junior political science major, pointed to President Trump’s heightened deportation efforts and involvement in the current Israel-Palestine conflict as examples of where she believes he has been effective.
“All of his work on the border so far, in closing them, [has] been done really well so far,” Cassidy said. “I think the ongoing deal in the Middle East has been good. I’m hoping that we’ll see that play out in full, but even the steps in just getting the hostages released were a huge feat in and of themselves.”
Some students, such as Olivia Pinocci-Wrightsman, president of College Democrats at Pitt and senior political science major, disagreed, calling Trump’s immigration policies “devastating.”
“When you stop treating people with dignity and humanity, that’s a whole other conversation that I don’t think is justified in any circumstance,” Pinocci-Wrightsman said.
Madeline Kauffman, a junior political science major, said she believes Trump is deliberately using immigration and border control to increase division and fear in the U.S.
“I think he’s using fear in order to incite violence and hatred across our country, and he knows exactly what he’s doing,” Kauffman said. “I can almost say for certain, he’s probably doing it purposefully so our country becomes more divided.”
Trump’s policies regarding gender and diversity issues were also notable for students.
Cassidy listed the federal removal of DEI programs and Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in the NCAA as changes she found to be positive and effective.
“There were lots of DEI programs that I thought were using funding for ways that were not what they should be going towards,” Cassidy said. “The Title IX Amendment, where he removed the right of transgender people to participate in women’s sports in the NCAA, was a big one.”
Rowan Wechsler, communications director of College Democrats at Pitt and a sophomore political science major, said he believes the Trump administration’s executive decision to only biologically recognize men and women as two unchangeable sexes was “disgusting.”
“I think the fact that they said that trans people don’t exist on one of their first days was disgusting to me,” Wechsler said.
Wechsler said he believes that trans people are being vilified and the Trump administration should represent them impartially, regardless of their personal opinions.
“I think he’s villainized trans people and, whether you like them or not, they are American citizens,” Wechsler said. “They [trans people] are your constituents, and you have to represent them.”
One place where many students seem to agree is that Trump’s presidency had a significant impact on campus over the past year. Cassidy said she believes Trump’s presidency has encouraged the University to broaden its views on free speech and to support conservative students more.
“[College Republicans] feel[s] a little bit more supported on campus and feel[s] a little bit more empowered in sharing our ideas,” Cassidy said. “We know that there are actually more people than we realized on our side.”
Breanne Francis, College Democrats at Pitt’s political director and junior political science major, says that there has been more communication between them and Pitt Republicans than ever before, pointing to both clubs’ desire to retain free speech on campus.
“We’ve [Pitt Dems] had more conversations with Pitt Republicans this year than we ever have,” Francis said. “It’s [Trump’s presidency] gotten all of us to agree on at least one thing — free speech needs to be protected on campus more, so that’s a good thing.”
Despite increased dialogue, Kauffman believes Trump’s presidency increased political polarization and assumptions on campus.
“Just because someone is a Democrat or a Republican doesn’t mean that they’re a bad person,” Kaufmann said. “But as of right now, it makes you assume certain parties believe certain things. Politics has never been like this.”