WHO PAYS THE PRICE?: THE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES OF DEFUNDING EDUCATION

By Victoria Rivera

From withdrawing federal funding to allowing ICE raids on elementary school grounds, President Donald Trump’s administration has put into motion multiple controversial bills that have severely impacted public schools.

On March 20, Trump took the final step to dismantle one of the conservatives’ greatest sources of pushback: the federal Department of Education.

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Federally regulated education has always been a point of contention for right-wing parties. Though the majority of Republicans want to see improvements such as more transparency in the use of federal funds by higher learning institutions, a core tenet of the department, since the bill’s creation has always been a point of contention.

Republican Secretary of Education Linda McMahon touted state’s rights in a March 20 press release. “Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.”

Though masqueraded as being a way to let the federal government refocus their spending elsewhere while lightening the load on tax payers, the pushback against the Department of Education is founded in bigotry.

Project 2025’s official statement on the matter directly uses the term “woke ‘diversicrats’” in relation to racial and LGBT diversity in school grounds, directly claiming to “safeguard civil rights” by wholesale rejecting critical race theory and similar “woke” ideals. With schools beginning to ban pride flags due to being a “political symbol,” removing DEI, and the systematic erasure of Black history, wanting to return power to states is a dicey excuse at best.

By removing all federal oversight, public schools will turn into echo chambers where marginalized groups will be left behind. Actual hard won civil rights protections will be systematically eliminated. Educational inequities would be exasperated due budget cuts and the removal of guidelines that mandated a certain standard of quality– effectively targeting low-income and other marginalized populations

Coupled with House Republicans wanting to cut its federal work study programs in half, severely limiting students’ chances to find a job on campus to support themselves, even private institutions like Barry may begin to suffer.

Over 90% of Barry University’s student population is on some form of financial aid, whether from scholarships given in-house or from federal sources.

Barry University Provost Pablo Ortiz told the Buccaneer that changes in federal policy don’t just affect public schools, they impact private schools like Barry, too.

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“In fact, a lot of their funds and grants are actually for private universities and private education systems. For [Barry] students we see a lot of federal funding for the grants in particular,” he said. “It could have detrimental impacts on the student body. There are many students who would have to drop their studies. Students that come from underserved parts of the population that need their funding.”

Future students will only face more difficulties, as without the Department of Education, accreditation agencies could be disrupted. This would make it that credits gotten at Barry may not transfer to other colleges and vice-versa, as well as raising concerns about applying for graduate programs.

A whole generation of young workers could be delayed from entering the employment sphere or getting into college at all. Despite claims of cutting down on “federal bureaucracy,” the White House has replaced its red tape with an equally binding web.

In the face of these obstacles, Barry intends to try and support their students. The provost confirmed that prices of tuition, food and other expenses on campus will not increase.

“The most important thing for us is to fight very hard to keep our students whole. We recognize any reduction in student funding means we will have to make up for that difference. We cannot pass that bill onto the students. They’re going to be the ones needing the support. Barry [already] benefits from students coming,” said Ortiz.

Photo Credit to Barry University "Dr. Pablo Ortiz"

When asked how these policies might affect minority students at Barry, Provost Oritz said that “Barry University is not changing or turning away from its mission.”

“We will never do that. We have core commitments that are built into the university. We want an inclusive environment,” he said. “What we do need to recognize collectively [is] that there is a lot of discourse right now that is triggering intense reactions from our government.”

One such reaction was the abolishment of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at public universities.

In previous coverage, The Buccaneer was unable to confirm whether or not the Barry program– JEDI Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion– was still in operation. The provost says it is.

“JEDI has not stopped, we have not cancelled JEDI. JEDI continues to do the work it's done. It's now tied into the work we do with our Adrian Dominican beliefs,” he said. “It's still happening, we are a very diverse university that happens to be in the middle of one of the most diverse communities in the country.”

The provost encourages students to stay informed about these policy changes and reach out if they have questions or concerns. When the future is so uncertain for students, Barry will always of- fer its Financial Aid Office in Farrel Hall which can be contacted through 305-899-3100 or 1-800- 695-2279. Any student can also go to Barry’s website directly to email faculty there or even schedule virtual meetings. “If you’re suffering more than you were before, we have resources on campus,” he said. “You don’t need to face this time on your own.”