‘If people can say Joe Biden is sleepy, there’s some more to be talked about.’

Melanie Fellows is a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Wisconsin studying biomedical science. Fellows has various concerns regarding the future under the Trump presidency after the first 10 months, including issues such as education and contraceptive rights.

Starlette Schuler: What are your overall opinions about the Trump presidency so far in the first 10 months.

Melanie Fellows: It has not been great. That’s what I will say.

Starlette Schuler: Is there anything that you’ve seen that’s been going on that you have liked or disliked?

Melanie Fellows: Yeah, obviously the government shut down, the fiscal, the annual budget not being passed. It is affecting families on food stamps, anyone on government assistance negatively. I’ve heard, obviously, abortion things too. Nothing is very well created for different people, not even the standard middle-class person.

Starlette Schuler: Are you worried that Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) defunding would impact your college?

Melanie Fellows: Yes, I probably would not be able to go to college.

Starlette Schuler: Are you worried about any policies that could come out and impact your life in the next three years of the Trump presidency?

Melanie Fellows: Yes, more specifically about the birth control aspect of it. With the abortion things, it’s like he’s trying to take away all forms of contraception. More of the preventative aspects too.

Starlette Schuler: Do you think there’s a fear of censorship, and or do you think it’s happening right now?

Melanie Fellows: Yes, especially with the government shutdown and CBS that got kicked out of their place, like their recording studio in I think it was the Pentagon. So now they can’t record there. They can’t publish, they have to do everything on their own. They don’t have access to the military, like their military connections that they used to have. So now they are getting a censored version of what is happening.

Starlette Schuler: As a student, do you fear your freedom of speech being taken away?

Melanie Fellows: At this point, yes. With FAFSA being defunded and obviously school systems, people are going to not get the education they deserve and continue to live uneducated about politics or anything regardless. That takes away so much ability for people to formulate their own opinions and speak freely and uninterrupted.

Starlette Schuler: Do you fear false information due to censorship at all?

Melanie Fellows: I think it depends on where you get your news from. But that can definitely be more sparse once there is more censorship. So you won’t necessarily be getting false information, but you’ll be getting the dumbed down version. Not quite as detailed.

Starlette Schuler: Do you feel like if Kamala Harris were to have won the election, do you think this country would be better off?

Melanie Fellows: Personally, yes, obviously she’s the more democratic version in that I come from a middle-class family. So, I do think that would positively benefit, especially with taxes, the inflation, probably less war and inserting ourselves into global war, focusing more on the United States debt.

Starlette Schuler: Do you think Trump is fit to be president of the United States?

Melanie Fellows: No, if people can say Joe Biden is sleepy, there’s some more to be talked about.

Starlette Schuler: Do you think Trump is for the American people?

Melanie Fellows: The upper-class American people. Not all Americans. So, no.