Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Volume 122, Issue 18
VISTA The
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“OUR WORDS, YOUR VOICE.”
Volume 119, Issue 19
UCOSA election still unclear
Jake Ramsey Editor-In-Chief
The University of Central Oklahoma Student Association (UCOSA) held its organization’s presidential election last Tuesday. With no clear majority, the election went to a run-off between Alex Webb and Emma Martinez for president and vice president, and Meleah Meyer and Rylan Bolt for president and vice president, respectively. As of publication, Monday, April 14, results for the election have yet to be published. The Vista has contacted election committee officials, who would not comment until a meeting with UCOSA advisors Cole Stanley and Nicole Doherty had been held. Election Commissioner Jake Eads told The Vista: “The Election Commission is currently reviewing and investigating all aspects of the election results, including a grievance submitted by Meleah Meyer and Rylan Bolt. This is an unprecedented situation within UCOSA, and we recognize that our systems and decisions must adapt as we grow. We ask patience The University of Central Oklahoma’s Old North, a landmark of the UCO campus. (VICTOR LOPEZ/THE VISTA) and understanding as we continue to make informed decisions that shape the future of our Neither candidate commented on the matter to As the story develops, The Vista will conorganization. Above all, we must remember tinue to publish the most recently available that we are all human, and thoughtful deliber- The Vista. information online at ucentralmedia.com. ation is essential in maintaining fairness and integrity in the electoral process.”
Students at UCO have visas revoked Jake Ramsey Editor-In-Chief
Four international students at the University of Central Oklahoma had their student visas revoked last week in a string of revocations that took place across the country, following a new wave of government scrutiny. Visas can be cancelled for the following reasons, according to U.S. Government Statutory and Regulatory Authorities: - The individual is not eligible for the visa classification (this includes ineligibility under INA 214(b)). - The visa has been physically removed from the passport in which it was issued. - The individual is subject to an IDENT Watchlist record in System Messages for an arrest or conviction of driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, or similar arrests/convictions (DUI) that occurred within the previous
five years. UCO could not comment as to why these four students had their visas revoked. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security could not be reached for comment, as of publication. 6% of the UCO student community is made up of international students, representing 75 countries according to university officials. “There are concerns that international student enrollment could be impacted, particularly in the short term,” said Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Adrienne Nobles, in an email to The Vista. “UCO is monitoring US Department of Homeland Security communications for any guidance on this issue.” There is no clear pattern or trend in terms of nationality of students. Students from all regions of the world are being impacted, according to a NAFSA report on the matter. Historical precedent shows that students who had their visas revoked were still allowed to keep
legal residence status and complete their studies. The lack of visa only limited abilities to leave the country and return. The lack of clarity of what is leading to revocations can create a sense of fear among students, Sarah Spreitzer, vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education told the Associated Press. “The very public actions that are being taken by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security around some of these students, where they are removing these students from their homes or from their streets, that’s not usually done unless there is a security issue when a student visa is revoked,” she said. “The threat of this very quick removal is something that’s new.” As the story continues to develop, The Vista will continue to update the UCO community. International students who have been affected or are at risk of being affected are encouraged to contact the paper.
Dr. Zhu, UCO’s Dr. Michael Metzger Chair Professor of Economics, broke down what a tariff war is, “When we impose tariffs, the foreign country is going to impose tariffs too. That’s why we call it a tariff war.” A tariff war, like any other trade war, is an economic war. Dr. Zhu expressed that with any kind of war, economic or not, there will be casualties. The tariffs imposed on goods from other countries are going to cause prices to go up on those goods when they enter the United States. So, demand is naturally going to decrease. If demand decreases, then American importers will purchase less from foreign countries, and the same goes for foreign countries that will import less goods from the United States. This will cause domestic and foreign businesses to struggle and in turn, economies are going to start struggling tremendously. That also means American families and individuals are going to struggle financially and the United States could possibly end up in an economic recession that could lead to mass unemployment and layoffs. So, with all the negative effects that a tariff war will eventually have on the United States, why would Trump continue with his tariff policies? One reason is that Trump believes that American manufacturing is the best option when it comes to the American people buying goods. There is some truth to this. Increasing manufacturing in America will provide more manufacturing jobs, which have begun to decline drastically, because of high labor costs and other factors such as automation replacing workers.
While there is some good in American manufacturing, purchasing goods from American manufacturers is not always the best option. Dr. Zhu elaborated on what could potentially happen in American manufacturing and how prices could be affected. “If we raise the price of foreign goods, so foreign cars for example. Originally the car cost $30,000, now a 100% tariff will just raise the car price to $60,000. That means that if you want to buy this car imported from a foreign country, you have to pay $60,000. That’s too much. So, Americans will buy a car produced in the United States for a lower price, but why would the American producers continue to charge $30,000 for the car?” They would not. If American manufacturers start to experience higher demand for goods because tariffs are causing foreign goods to be priced too high, then the American producer will also raise their prices. Trump may want to return jobs to America and in theory lower prices, but the laws of supply and demand are not going to bend for the president. “In addition, bringing manufacturing back to the States may not be so easy due to supply chain issues, and, we better not hope for a large increase in jobs in the manufacturing sector as nowadays robotics are replacing humans on the assembly lines,” said Dr. Zhu. As of now, smart phones, computers and other electronics have been spared from China’s 124 percent tariff.
President Trump postpones tariffs Ella Spurlock Managing Editor
On April 2, President Trump announced a series of tariffs that were categorized as “reciprocal.” These reciprocal tariffs ranged from 10 percent to 50 percent and were calculated by the administration for about 90 different nations across the world and because of this, the stock market began to fall drastically. In a turn of events, on April 9, Trump backed away from these reciprocal tariffs. Now, there is currently a 90-day pause on all reciprocal tariffs and the percentages for these tariffs were lowered to at or around 10 percent for all nations affected. The postponement of these tariffs helped the stock market rise again, but one country was exempt from this tariff pause. China is the only nation that was exempt from a lower tariff rate and instead, the tariff rate for China rose to 124 percent. Trump released a statement on social media that stated, “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 124%, effective immediately.” This statement came after China had already been hit with a tariff of 104 percent. So, why would Trump keep raising tariffs on China? Well, because China retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by placing their own on the United States. Essentially, the United States is in a tariff war with China.