By Olivia Cushman
As students, staff, or soon-to-be graduates of Western New England University, the 2020-2021 school year is simply one that we will never forget. Unprecedented times like these surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the reawakening of the nation on the issue of systemic prejudice in the US, and, of course, the truly unique election behind us, 2020 will go down in American history as simply one of the worst.
With that being said, not only do we have a new president of the University this year, but a new president of the entire country. Joe Biden’s presidential administration will lead the country for at least the next four years.
History has been made again and again during the 2020 election, and the weeks following Biden’s inauguration have also been memorable, but not for the best reasons. During Trump’s last few weeks in office, the far-right led breach of the capital has raised many arguments and speculations surrounding Trump’s eligibility to have been president in the first place — part of which led the Democratic House of Representatives to conduct a second impeachment trial for Trump. This makes him the only president to be impeached twice in one term.
All conspiracies aside, Biden officially took office on January 20, and he has already started to erase Trump’s presidency. According to Biden’s memorandum, all new and pending rules in the last days of Trump’s tenure will be reviewed by department and agency heads. On day one, Biden committed to fulfill one of his top campaign promises, which was to put the US back into the Paris Agreement on climate change, since Trump had withdrawn from it in 2017.
Over the course of his first ten days in office, Biden signed an executive order to conduct equity assessments of all government agencies and reallocate resources to “advance equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
Biden’s proclamation reversed Trump’s policy that barred entry into the US for refugees and residents from seven predominantly Muslim countries and orders plans within 45 days for resuming visa processing.
Biden passed another executive order requiring mask wearing and social distancing on all federal properties. With the US surpassing 400,000 deaths from COVID-19 early January, another Biden administered order created the position of the COVID-19 response coordinator, who will advise the president and oversee the distribution of vaccines, tests, and other supplies.
Many more executive orders were passed under Biden, including revisions of immigration enforcement policies, the incorporation of undocumented immigrants into the census, a renewed focus on the climate crisis and subsequent cancellation of the Keystone XL permit, and the ban of discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Biden terminated the construction and funding of the wall at the southern border, reaffirmed DACA (Deferred Admission for Childhood Arrivals), assisted veterans with debt, and reversed Trump’s transgender military ban. Among the numerous other executive orders and overwrites of Trump’s presidency, we can still expect more to come, much of which is to provide the American people with financial, occupational, physiological and psychological relief from the COVID pandemic.
With Biden’s first 100 days in office only 10% done, he has accomplished more of what he promised during his campaign than many other presidents prior — and rightfully so. With the national public health crisis and many more global and social issues at stake, Biden is certainly under pressure to provide relief not just for the American people, but for the world. With the productivity and groundbreaking achievements of the first 10 days, I think it’s safe to say that we can expect to see much more change for the better of the future.
