As Temple continues navigating executive orders from the White House, students have increasingly gathered in new and existing groups, like Temple Get Free, Temple Immigration Rights Advocates and Queer Student Union, to address social and political concerns.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump and his administration have issued a number of executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion policies, immigration and gender expression. The Trump administration has cut federal aid to higher education institutions on the basis of alleged antisemitism during on-campus pro-Palestine protests, including $400 million in grants from Columbia University on March 7, the Associated Press reported.
Later that day, Temple President John Fry emphasized the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and reinforced the guidelines for on-campus protests in a statement to the community.
Student engagement tends to fluctuate in response to national events, said Jared Clemons, a liberal arts professor who specializes in race, political economy and behavior.
“One thing I think is kind of clear, is that people have a lot of questions about a lot of executive orders, a lot of which are kind of legally nebulous,” Clemons said.
On Feb. 25, Temple Get Free protested on campus to “demand” Temple to defend student freedoms and refuse to comply with the “MAGA agenda.”
Some members of Temple Get Free are also involved in different advocacy organizations on campus, like Temple’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Temple SJP was placed on interim suspension in October 2024, The Temple News first reported.
In a speech outside Sullivan Hall on Feb. 28, TGF and SJP member Carson Delia spoke about Temple’s temporary suspension of SJP, calling it a limitation on free speech.
“That is why we are here today demanding President John Fry protect our right to protest,” Delia said. “Temple has always been a home for protest.”
Despite Delia’s statements, Fry repeated the university’s commitment to allowing protests of all viewpoints on Temple’s campus, despite unclear ramifications for doing so from leaders in Washington, D.C., in a series of emails to the university community.
TIRA began as a movement on social media this semester to spread awareness about Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The group came together following Trump’s anti-immigration executive orders. Their efforts were fueled by ICE sightings in Philadelphia.
They focused on distributing “Know Your Rights” cards to inform people about their legal rights during interactions with ICE. The group also translates resources for non-English speakers on their Instagram page.
“I think that’s what has kind of shocked our students,” said Ana Gonzalez, a senior gender studies major and TIRA’s president. “To see [ICE raids] going on around us, and you’re seeing like a rise in student organizing and student activism on campus, and that’s where that’s coming from, because these issues are hitting close to home. They’re in our communities now, and they’re affecting us as citizens, as community members.”
TIRA’s mission is to help the immigrant community, both at Temple and in Philadelphia, and give them the resources and knowledge they need to advocate for themselves and others, Gonzalez said.
Beyond their direct help, TIRA provides students with ways to become more engaged in activism. TIRA plans to partner with immigrant-owned businesses and local food pantries in order to support undocumented individuals and other marginalized communities.
While activism hasn’t directly increased because of the recent election, more students are worried about executive mandates affecting research grants and diversity, equity and inclusion policies, Clemons said.
In past decades, activism often revolved around defined ideological goals, where modern movements usually talk about justice and fairness in a bigger way, addressing a variety of intersecting social issues.
Many existing student groups want to focus on advocating for those that are being targeted by the executive orders.
“I think our primary purpose is being a social, safe place for queer students, where we are trying to plan more events to give back to the community and try to advocate,” said Alex Thomas, president of QSU. “We’re currently in the process of planning a handful of them, like we’re planning a fundraiser for a local queer organization.”
Groups like QSU have encouraged students to attend campus community events discussing executive orders.
Black Student Unions across U.S. campuses are facing significant challenges with new state laws targeting diversity, equity and inclusion, some of which are being forced to disassociate from their universities due to budget cuts and policy changes, The Guardian reported.
Similar groups are also examining the financial and political factors which affect higher education including tuition, student debt and advocating for more transparency in university decision making.
“Politics are messy,” Clemons said. “The clearer we can be, or clearer people can be about the nature of these issues, I think the more efficacious they could be if they want to actually change something about it.”
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