A panel discussion in Fox Hall revolved around a series of questions posed to faculty experts.
Politics can be overwhelming.
To help Eckerd College students navigate the current political climate’s sea of news and executive orders, the EC Feminists club hosted a panel discussion and Q&A with faculty experts on Feb. 27.
Political science and human development professors; Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Beverly Warren, Ed.D.; and Coordinator of Title IX, Section 504 and Equal Opportunity Michelle Espinosa, J.D., were presented questions prepared by EC Feminists members. The questions were divided into categories to ensure a range of topics could be covered in a timely manner. After completing each section of questions, the floor was opened to the audience for a Q&A on the given subjects—which included highly politicized equity initiatives, the economy, the environment and immigration.
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Beverly Warren, Ed.D., (left) and Coordinator of Title IX, Section 504 and Equal Opportunity Michelle Espinosa, J.D., answered questions from the audience.
Each panel member shared with the audience their area of expertise. In his introduction, Anthony Brunello, Ph.D., professor of political science, described his Authoritarian Political Systems course. In the past, his class had evaluated other nations and countries, because they had the fitting authoritarian theory and model. “Now I get to study our own,” he said.
EC Feminists initially raised questions about what the implementation and enforcement will look like regarding an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The panelists touched on the fact that public schools are in a different boat, while Eckerd is more protected as a private institution. While Eckerd must comply with the law, Espinosa said that Eckerd continues to promote inclusivity and the principles the College stands for. “There may be some wording change; there may be some context of things changed and modified, but it’s not an elimination of things,” she said.
The discussion later delved into education and what the Department of Education is responsible for, what the implications of dismantling it would be, how to find credible news sources that aren’t biased or even too neutral, and the status of birthright citizenship.
“The 14th Amendment was created in order to ensure that formerly enslaved people in the United States would have citizenship in the U.S.,” said Professor of Political Science Mary K. Meyer McAleese, Ph.D. “The president cannot—by himself—undo the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.”
She added that it is therefore a constitutional issue that will likely end up going to the Supreme Court. Her news sources suggest that it would be absurd, nearly impossible, for the Supreme Court to side with President Trump in this case, she said.
When asked how the government is currently handling deportation efforts, Meyer McAleese said, “This is really worrisome because some of the deportation is not just of immigrants or migrants who may not have proper documentation, but even U.S. citizens now are heading towards jails in Guantanamo and El Salvador.”
This is unconstitutional and violates international law because it violates fundamental human rights, she said.
EC Feminists members also questioned what mass deportation would look like for our economy, with faculty responding by touching on what industries in particular would be hit hard, such as agriculture.
“In addition to thinking of our economy, we should also be thinking about humanity,” Warren said. For whether individuals are first-generation Americans or not, along with contributing to our labor pool, they bring different perspectives to our country. “There’s a great intellectual drain that happens when we do not have different people of different backgrounds contributing to our society.
“So as we consider those from other countries, the LGBTQ community, those with disabilities, and regardless of how we feel about a group or identity,” Warren explained, “we need to also think and hold firm to the fact that we’re talking about people.”
When asked what they had hoped students would gain from this event, EC Feminists co-President Nadia Plechaty, senior sociology student from Littleton, Colorado, said, “I hope students will understand that the recent actions of this administration have profound impacts. I want students to also feel empowered to educate themselves more on these issues, speak up about them and get involved in some way to resist.”
“Education and hope,” added Ariana Policella, co-president of the club and senior sociology and women’s and gender studies student from The Villages, Florida. “The world is really scary and confusing right now, but we need to keep using our voices and our hope for the future.”
Brunello urged the audience to not “obey in advance,” a theme discussed in the book On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, encouraging us to not freely submit power to authoritarianism.
“Live the world you want to see,” Meyer McAleese said.
