Millions across the United States took part in the “Hands Off” protests this weekend. People went out into the streets to tell President Donald Trump and his administration to take their hands off of the various government departments and programs that have been shaved and shaken by the push for so-called “government efficiency.”
Maine specifically has been targeted ever since Governor Janet Mills talked back to Trump at a White House event with all the governors. First, it was a Title IX investigation into the state Department of Education. We allow transgender track athletes in our state and that will not be tolerated by Trump. Then, we were the only state in the nation to have our Sea Grant removed. This funding is essential to marine education programs at this university, as well as marine assistance across the state. All of these actions are entirely unnecessary, and hurt everyday Mainers.
The Maine Campus urges the Trump Administration to take its hands off our university.
President Trump and his administration have chosen to target our beautiful state and university because he was bothered that our governor had the courage to challenge him. Trump is taking that challenge out on us. It is disgusting and despicable the way our university has been turned into a bargaining chip by this deals and trades administration.
While one of the first, the University of Maine is not the only university to be targeted by the Trump Administration. Many universities have been punished by the administration. Notably, many Ivy league universities have been subject to attacks from the Trump Administration for the protests against the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict. UMaine is a public university that serves this entire state.
This university is vital to the state of Maine. If the Trump Administration’s goal is to shut down our university, this state would end up with no engineers, nurses, teachers, etc. Trump is not aiming to dismantle this state, he’s aiming for pure punishment. Trump aims for chaos as a retribution tool. Much of the attempted attacks on this university have been reversed in a short amount of time, especially those that are targeted directly at the University of Maine, rather than consequences of nationwide executive action.
The rhetoric that Republicans in power are creating around universities can be just as threatening as the funding cuts. The political science professors at this university typically share flyers for clubs related to politics. However, after Professor Rob Glover shared a poster for the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to the department email list, he was quickly persecuted by the Maine Wire, a right-leaning media outlet. Republicans dangerously took normal practice out of context to create social media backlash against a professor who was just doing his job.
Our university is not a pawn on the oligarch’s chess board. Our university is filled with hardworking staff and students. From professors losing their research grants to the students losing their campus jobs, we are victims of an administration that does not care who it hurts to get their way. Donald Trump needs to get out of our university and get out of our state.
My job is to share the opinion of the Maine Campus. However, our place is to elevate and showcase the stories of real impacted community members. If you work or learn at the university and have been directly impacted by the Trump Administration’s attack on our university, share your story to opinion@mainecampus.com.