In the days and weeks since Jan. 20, consuming news about another Donald Trump presidency has felt like drinking water out of a fire hose. That feeling is intensified for the reporters and editors in our local network, who are writing about how decisions made in the nation’s capital affect the communities and universities they cover. 

Here’s a sample of just a few stories our reporters published last week:

We wrote about the tangible impacts a federal grant freeze could have for universities in Mississippi, Ohio, El Paso and Texas more broadly. In North Carolina, Brianna Atkinson wrote about the chaos that unfolded as news about the grant freeze sparked concerns at the state’s research universities, which receive billions in funding from the federal government annually. The grant freeze was ultimately rescinded by the Trump administration the next day. So, were all those day-of stories moot? Atkinson doesn’t think so. 

“We still decided to pursue this story, because these are experiences that researchers are still going through now,” she said. As she reported about how the UNC system was grappling with how to proceed, she was surprised to hear a researcher tell her “‘no one knows what's going on, and everyone is freaked out.’ It kind of mirrored my reporting experience of trying to figure out what was going on.”

Our local network has also been asking about how mixed-status families are navigating the current political climate. And while there’s been a lot written about how undocumented students are feeling, Maddy Franklin spoke with a different demographic. In Pittsburgh, people attending college on a student visa have their own unique concerns about what the next four years hold for them.

“In Pittsburgh, a sizable international student community exists here, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was on their minds as I read about universities around the country advising students to return before Inauguration Day in anticipation of travel bans and the like,” Franklin told me. “There won’t always be a need to localize national topics, but this didn’t feel like one of those times.” 

Our reporters are reporting on what the return of President Donald Trump means for higher-ed in their communities. If you have questions we should be asking, email me.

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Elsewhere on Open Campus

In Texas: Sneha Dey spent time with Isabella Mapes, a young mother in San Antonio navigating parenthood while also attending community college. One in four Texans is raising a child while getting a college degree.

In Chicago: If they submit the financial aid application, students risk outing their undocumented parents, Lisa Kurian Philip writes for our partner WBEZ. But if they don’t, they could lose out on the chance at college.

In Colorado: A new report shows the state’s college attainment levels didn’t change much from 2022 to 2023, but the number of Native American residents with a college education has declined, writes Jason Gonzales.

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