By Mars Marte
This past summer, news of Project 2025 overtook social media, including Instagram and TikTok, across hundreds of posts dedicated to rejecting or supporting the project. But what exactly is Project 2025? The “Mandate for Leadership,” as it is otherwise known as, began its journey in April 2023, but remained unknown due to its lack of coverage. Project 2025 represents a dangerous step toward a future where attending higher education institutes will no longer be a right for some.
The plan was drafted by at least 100 conservative agencies and former Trump administrators at Heritage Foundation–a research and education organization with a mission to promote conservative views, according to its website. The foundation is headed by Kevin Roberts, who is a policy researcher who previously served as the Chief Executive Officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
On the surface, the project appears to be a list of policies drafted to serve as a blueprint for the transition to the next Republican president. When plunging into the document, a restrictive nature lurks in its shadows. The proposal complexly covers an innumerable amount of topics, some of which directly impact students. Hidden within the 900 pages of the framework are multiple propositions to eliminate student loans for higher education.
Without government financial assistance, higher education becomes increasingly inaccessible. Many students rely on federal student aid, determined by the state’s Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) and Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). These two funding applications are vital for those who seek to further their learning as the price of college continues to hike upward.
According to the non-profit organization Democracy Forward, the Graduate PLUS and Parent PLUS Loan programs, which are both issued by the Department of Education (DOE), face the threat of removal if Project 2025 is enacted. These two loans gain support from parents and graduating students to help students finance their academic goals. The assistance of the Graduate and Parent Plus Loans is fundamental in ensuring that those who seek undergraduate and graduate-level schooling can receive it regardless of monetary status. Cutting these loans out of the framework condemns a future generation to limited access to higher education.
The mandate also seeks to direct funding towards international business studies with nearly half of the DOE funding going into these programs, according to Democracy Forward. By directing the majority of institutions funding into international business programs, funds for other disciplines will be slashed in the process. With a lack of funding, studies that fall outside of this group risk the threat of closures, as schools will struggle to provide salaries for professors and invest in the materials needed for the classes to function.
New areas of study will dwindle as funds will be funneled to keep pre-existing majors afloat. The education system currently suffers from a lack of funding, according to the American Bar Association, and Project 2025 will limit previously available academic pursuits even further.
Throughout the mandate, accessibility of student loans is continuously targeted, even for those who are in “Blue” Democratic states. The proposal seeks to deny access to loans to students who live in a state that provides in-state tuition for undocumented people. New York State is one of the 25 states that offer educational opportunities to those without citizen documentation, according to the Higher Education Immigration Portal. If this proposition comes to fruition, students across the state face a grim reality.
Essentially, Project 2025 seeks to curate a system that retaliates against states that differ from the conservative views embedded throughout the outline by seeking to divert money away from “area studies”–courses that combine various disciplines like politics, economics, and sociology in order for students to gain a comprehensive understanding of a region’s history, politics and society. In doing so, the normalization of an America for some, not all, is furthered.
“Congress should wind down so-called ‘area studies’ programs at universities (Title VI of the HEA), which, although intended to serve American interests, sometimes fund programs that run counter to those interests,” as stated from Project 2025’s outline.
The proposed mandate threatens to dismantle the foundation of higher education. By restricting and cutting funding for vital programs, countless students nationwide will lose access to their academic ambitions. Under the suggested mandate, schooling systems will further perpetuate economic inequality, creating a system where knowledge and growth are only accessible to those who can afford it.
We cannot allow this new system to neglect students who may already lack the funding to achieve their degrees. We must show up for local and state elections to shape a future for all Americans, and reject short-sighted proposals such as Project 2025. United students will never be defeated!