On January 20, 2025, 47th President Donald Trump was sworn in to serve his second term inside the Capitol Rotunda. Within the first day of his presidency, he signed over 25 executive orders, including removing birthright citizenship for couples under a visa and pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords.
This year’s inauguration was historic, as it was the second inauguration ever to be held indoors and the second time a president has been elected to two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland. With frigid temperatures moving throughout the East Coast, the inauguration took place inside the capitol where tech CEOs, members of Congress, former presidents, presumptive cabinet members, and President Trump’s family members all attended.
Many members of the Stevenson student body have involved themselves in various elections, state, local, and national through phone banking and campaigning for local leaders. AP US History teacher Peter Anderson noticed less engagement from Stevenson youth this year however.
“I think writ large this was not an election that seemed to galvanize a lot of student support on either side when compared to 2020 with Biden and 2009 with Obama,” Anderson said. “That’s not to say that young people didn’t care about the election, but rather that I didn’t feel the same energy from students in the halls and in my classroom.”
On Trump’s first day in office he signed an executive order aimed at removing birthright citizenship for the children of all couples in the US on a visa. Yana Malpani 26’ is concerned over how such an action could impact Stevenson’s large immigrant community.
“I think for the Stevenson community, a lot of people don’t have citizenship and many of my friend’s parents are on visa,” Malpani said. “So I think this could spark som fear in people in the area.”
In looking at Trump’s plans while in office, Anderson believes the second Trump term will be similar to that of former presidents. He explains how this administration is taking a blank approach towards economic and social policy initiatives.
“I think Trump’s plan for a hundred executive orders is similar to FDR’s plan for the Great Depression with his hundred days initiative,” Anderson said. “They’re also similar presidents in the fact that both are trying to fix economic problems and have a populist appeal.”
For many seniors, this was the first election cycle that enabled them to vote both at the national, state and local levels. For first-time voter Jacob Zerull 25’, becoming familiar with the candidates he was voting for, was very important to him. He emphasized his desire to research various candidates and policies prior to voting. Zerull found many opportunities within the school to connect with candidates.
“Something that I did going into the election was educate myself on the various candidates, both at the national level, but also, the local level,” Zerull said. “Through the political action club, and their events and fairs, I was able to meet several of the local politicians and leaders on the upcoming ballot.”
Another prominent aspect in this specific election cycle was the increased role that social media played in fueling campaigns. With many campaigns turning to TikTok, Instagram, and X, candidates sought out opportunities to increase voter turnout, especially that of the younger generations Zerull noticed a drastic increase in political advertising he saw on social media but encourages the need for students to do thorough research when voting for candidates.
“I remember during election night, the news were talking about Trump’s influence over male college students, and specifically Trump’s participation on podcasts, like the Joe Rogan podcast,” Zerull said, “I believe that Trump’s use of social media ended up gaining him a lot of attention. At the end of the day, it’s still essential that students conduct necessary research about candidates so they have an understanding of the policies that they support. We should be voting for leaders who we believe will be able to make meaningful change.”