The Emory Wheel Since 1919
Emory University’s Independent Student Newspaper
Volume 106, Issue 4
Emory community reflects on Trump’s plans to abolish Department of Education By Anya Agarkar Contributing Writer The U.S. Senate voted 51-45 on March 3 to confirm Linda McMahon as the U.S. Secretary of Education. McMahon, who previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Association, has promised to work with President Donald Trump to ensure the Department of Education runs more “efficiently” and to downsize the department. After picking McMahon for the role, Trump said her goal should be to “put herself out of a job.” The Department of Education is a cabinet-level agency responsible for administering the Pell Grant federal aid program, managing funding to low-income K-12 schools and running the nation’s system of federal student loans, among many other services. Trump’s proposed changes to the department’s efficiency or a complete department shutdown could pose threats to higher education institutions, including Emory University. Pell Grants face an uncertain future, especially with 19% of Emory’s undergraduate students receiving the aid. At a University Senate meeting on Feb. 25, University President Gregory Fenves shared his concerns about the future of the Pell Grant program. “We should be worried with the Department of Education and potential changes in that,” Fenves said. “Pell Grants are already underfunded. I do have concerns about the Department
Printed every other Wednesday
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
of Education’s support for student loans.” Young Democrats of Emory executive board member Royce Mann (25C) echoed this sentiment. He said that the decision to shut down the department and eliminate Pell Grants could be “extremely consequential.” “There haven’t been clear plans released by the Trump administration about how they would go about administrating and keeping these grants going,” Mann said. “Already, we’ve seen Republican leaders work to roll back some of the progress that was made under the Biden administration when it comes to student debt relief.” The Pell Grant program is projected to face a deficit in the current fiscal year for the first time in over a decade, exacerbating education professionals’ fears about the future of higher education. If Congress does not act to close the funding gap, the effects could be devastating, Rachel Fishman, director of the Higher Education program at New America told Inside Higher Ed. Fishman also voiced concern that increasing funding for the Pell Grant program may be more difficult than ever under Trump’s second administration. While McMahon has stated that she plans to maintain Pell Grants, the Trump administration is reviewing the program as part of its his efforts to decrease government spending. Trump has expressed
See FACULTY, Page 3
Martinez, Grotjan win SGA runoff By Spencer Friedland and Siya Kumar Managing Editor & Asst. News Editor Tyler Martinez (26C) defeated Seth Weinfield (27C) in a runoff election yesterday to secure the Student Government Association (SGA) presidency. Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B), who ran alongside Martinez, was elected vice president. Martinez garnered 802 (58.36%) votes compared to Weinfield’s 572 (41.63%) votes. The vice presidential race was a closer call, with Grotjan earning 707 (51.45%) votes to pull ahead of Maahi Sethi (27C), who received 667 (48.54%) votes. In total, 1,374 students voted in the runoff elections, 334 less than the general election that closed on Feb. 28. Grotjan described the runoff as “nerve-racking” and said she and Martinez put their heart and soul into the election. “It was really beautiful to see — all my supporters and all my community come together and rally together to support ideas that both Tyler and I had,” Grotjan said. This marks a shift from the general election, in which Weinfield garnered 615 (36%) votes while Martinez amassed 583 (34.13%) votes. Similarly, Sethi ended the vice presidential general election ahead of Grotjan, with the candidates earning 700 (40.98%) and 558 (32.66%) votes. Since none of the candidates
Courtsey of Zoe Grotjan
Tyler Martinez (26C) and Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B) won the SGA president and executive vice president runoff elections. received more than 50% of the votes cast in the general elections, the races advanced to runoffs. Treasurer of Alpha Tau Omega Walker Liu (26C) and Alpha Kappa Psi Vice President of Service Kenneth Power (27C) ran on a joint ticket to be SGA’s next president and vice president, but were unable to continue to the runoff after both placed third in the general election. Martinez currently serves as the Emory University National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) second vice president, while Grotjan is the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Council SGA representative. Martinez and Grotjan hope to imme-
diately begin working on extending library hours and providing free printing to students. In the future, the pair have plans to add two student representatives to the University’s Board of Trustees. Additionally, Martinez and Grotjan said they want to work with the University Senate’s Committee for Open Expression and other student government organizations at Emory to rewrite the current Respect for Open Expression Policy. The MartinezGrotjan ticket also campaigned on creating a system for peer advising to “help lighten the burden” for the Office of Financial Aid, in addition to providing aid to students navigating
See NEWSOME, Page 2
'I want peace': Ukrainian students share perspectives as U.S. aid grows uncertain By Kimble Schiller OxSGA Desk Amid tumultuous global politics, Ukrainian students at Emory University hang onto every news update, cognizant of the consequences that new developments could have on their families and the region. On Feb. 28, an Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump turned into a shouting match, causing uncertainty about the two countries’ diplomatic relationship. The encounter between Trump and Zelensky comes three years into the war in Ukraine, which began after Russian troops invaded eastern Ukraine under the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the war began, the United States has given Ukraine almost $200 billion in military aid, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Last week, Zelensky visited the White House to sign a minerals and defense agreement with the United States, but the hostile meeting led to a hold-up in peace and mineral rights negotiations, causing some Ukrainian students to grow increasingly worried about their country’s future. Mary Kravchenko (28C), a student
Courtsey of Wikimedia Commons/R hododendrites
People gather in New York City's Times Square in February 2022 to protest Russia's encroachment into Ukraine. from Vyshneve, Ukraine, said her “heart is in pain” for Ukraine and her family. “It’s just been a lot of uncertainty, a lot of worries,” Kravchenko said. “I really can’t do anything with it because I cannot impact [the United States’] politics in any way.” Kravchenko fled Ukraine when she was 16 due to the war and said she worries daily about her family’s safety.
“They are unsafe every day, and I’m really worried about their life and safety,” Kravchenko said. “This situation between U.S. and Ukraine — it’s been very alarming to me.” Kravchenko added that the fears of the average Ukrainian are missing from media coverage of the war. “The news talks about what Ukraine and U.S. and other countries have to do, but it never talks about Ukraine’s safety, and this is what I’m
NEWS Guest Speaker Discusses OPINION Staff Share Research on Black History ... Serendipitous Stories ... P AGE 3 P
worried about as a Ukrainian citizen,” Kravchenko said. “As a person whose family is in Ukraine, I want peace.” Mariia Sukhomlinova (28C) said she feels a “psychological” distance between her and her family due to the war. She expressed that it is difficult for her to fully grasp what her family and friends in Ukraine are going through. “I don’t want to reach out [to my best friend in Ukraine] and sound ungrateful,” Sukhomlinova said. “I don’t want to call her and be like, ‘I have so much homework I have to do,’ and her having to respond with, ‘Yeah, you get to go to college.’” While individuals wrestle with the state of foreign affairs, nations continue to try and navigate the delicate diplomatic situation. At the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly on Feb. 24, the United States sided with Russia in voting against a Ukrainian resolution that demanded Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Despite this, the assembly approved the resolution 93-18. Valentyna Burlaka (27C) said she is “enraged” at the turnaround in support, calling the United States’ recent actions a “betrayal” to Ukraine. The recent U.N. vote highlights the United States’ policy shift from unwavering Ukrainian support
A&L
P
PAGE 4
Writers Dedicate Works Of Art To Loved Ones ...
PAGE 7
under former U.S. President Joe Biden to a more uncertain approach under Trump. Associate Professor of History Matthew Payne called Trump’s recent press conference with Zelensky a “clown show” and said that the United States siding with Russia against most of the U.N. was surprising, “even for the Trump administration.” Nataliia Zelinska (27C) said she worried about the current administration “abandon[ing] Ukraine” and hoped Americans would be “more vocal” in their support on account of their shared principles. “The values of democracy and freedom are as important to Ukrainians as they are to Americans,” Zelinska said. Zelinska acknowledged the new “unpredictability” compared to the previous administration's unwavering support and said the general worry about the future has impacted her. However, she is trying to focus on what she can do to not panic and emphasized that it’s crucial to keep Ukraine in “daily conversation.” Payne cautioned about an excess of “instant experts” and wanted to remind students not to fall victim to “disinformation and misinformation” online.
See UKRAINIAN, Page 2
SPORTS Track Teams Compete
At UAAs ...
Back Page