On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America and has hit the ground running, making changes ever since.
The Biden administration has set forth more executive orders in his first two weeks as president compared to many previous presidents. So far President Biden has signed twenty-five executive orders.
A few of these executive orders include rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, preventing discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and expanding COVID-19 testing.
Senior English Education major Ashley Moore said, “I am most excited about Biden rejoining the Paris Climate agreement because global warming is something that I worry about a lot and I want the United States to be more environmentally friendly.”
During the two weeks that Biden has been in the role of president of the United States, there have been various decisions made that have brought both excitement and anger to the American people.
Biden’s decision to discontinue the permit of the Keystone XL oil pipeline is one of the few decisions that has stoked division between the Democratic and Republican parties. The Democratic party seems to be content with this decision as it will be saving wildlife and important land, while the Republican party is angry because many people will be losing a job as the construction has been halted.
The pause on student loan payments is one action done by Biden that has made numerous current college students and college graduates very happy and feeling hopeful.
“Hopefully the promise of student loan forgiveness will come about soon,” Junior Elementary Education major Taylor McNair said.
From the beginning of Biden’s campaign, President Joe Biden has continued to call for unity among the people in the United States. The division in the country is not something that can be ignored, and he recognizes that.
However, there is still a great deal to look forward to while Biden is in office even though there is a lot of disagreement occurring among citizens.
“In the future, I am looking forward to seeing what he does in education. I will soon be an educator myself and I am excited that his wife is an educator and will most likely be influencing what he does in education,” Moore said.
It is evident that the education system in the United States is not the best. With the Biden administration having influence from an educator, Dr. Jill Biden, it is exciting and heartwarming to know that change will be coming soon. As this change begins to occur, there is hope for younger generations to be a part of an education system that is centered around their wellbeing, and not focused on standardized testing and test scores.
Ellery McNeil, a junior double majoring in conservation biology and educational studies, said, “I like his executive order to reverse the transgender military ban because I believe that gender identity should not bar someone from any job or service.” McNeil adds that “I want to see a lot of social reform especially in regard to the LGBTQ+ community, immigration reform, women’s rights, and issues surrounding the justice system.”
The possibility of the minimum wage being raised to $15 is something that many people are hoping for and looking forward to. “I think that the movement toward $15 as the minimum wage is good,” McNair said, “the cost of living has made $15 the living wage.”
As Joe Biden continues to make changes during his first term as president, we can expect to see more of a push for people to wear masks and social distance as he fights to get the COVID-19 spread in the United States under control.
Photo by Wren Brooke
