Courtesy Photo
Does executive privilege trump education?
By Kaley Muse Managing Editor
This past November, Donald Trump became the second president in history to serve two non-consecutive terms, the other being Grover Cleveland in 1893.
With this new administration came a multitude of executive orders, and the one to garner the most attention was Trump’s proposal of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.
The goal of this executive order was to abolish the Department of Education entirely, granting those powers to the states instead, all on the belief that the public education system costs a lot of unnecessary money.
As this order is targeted at the public education system entirely, every level of education will be affected, from K-12 to higher education institutions like Cameron.
So, if and when this happens, what will it mean for Cameron?
Katherine Hansen, Director of Student Support Services (SSS), Acting Director of Upward Bound and Open Doors, said that, so far, the executive orders aren’t affecting her departments yet, but the announcement of freezes on funding caused a panic.
change federal agencies, create or remove them.”
Another executive order Trump made was to remove Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs throughout all public education institutions across the U.S.
“If TRIO grants were to be eliminated, that would put nearly thirty staff and student workers out of a job at Cameron, and end funding to support 1,076 students annually.”
- Katherine Hansen
Director of
Student Support Services (SSS)
Hansen said that those in her department are still working to provide the best service they can.
According to NBC News, Senior White House Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, President Trump does not possess all the power to dismantle a federal department like that of the Department of Education.
“A president can request a move like this,” O’Donnell said, “[but] Congress is the only body with the power to
“There were a lot of questions about how long it might last and what it would mean in the long term,” Hansen said. “The timing was also towards the end of the month, and we had many staff and student workers who were expecting a paycheck at the end of the week.”
What’s Inside
Earlier this month, Trump gave schools (K-12 and higher education) a two-week deadline to end any and all DEI programs or lose federal funding.
This task has been given to the heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk
Trump believes this is the solution to combating wokeness in the American public school system.
Fifth grade Social Studies teacher at Cache Public Schools Robin Muse said that Trump will be taking away the protections of many students by doing away with the Department of Education and, consequently, the funding it provides.
“Kids with disabilities are protected under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) from laws in states that would limit or take away their services,” Muse said. “Kids from homes with little to no food rely on schools to feed them two good meals a day.”
At the collegiate level, Hansen is worried about the students who benefit from bodies like SSS.
“There is not a clear plan of how Federal Student Aid would be managed moving forward, and there are risks of access to those funds becoming more limited,” Hansen said. “If TRIO grants were to be eliminated, that would put nearly thirty staff and student workers out of a job at Cameron, and end funding to support 1,076 students annually.”
TRIO services were enacted before the federal Department of Education was created.
“They [Upward Bound, Talent Search and Student Support Services] fell under the Department of Health, Education, and
within the United States education system, she remains hopeful for her departments and the services they provide.
“This is also not the first time that Presidential candidates have discussed dismantling the Department of Education, and we know this cannot be a unilateral decision made only by the President. TRIO has historically had strong bipartisan support,” Hansen said. “I share all of that to say that while there are many reasons to be nervous, we also have reasons to be hopeful.”
Hansen urges those that have strong feelings toward President Trump’s recent executive orders to speak out.
“Looking up your local and state representatives and contacting them about social issues and funding allocations can make a big difference!” Hansen said. “If you are in support of TRIO programs, especially if you were/are involved in one, contacting your state senator and sharing the positive impact the TRIO program had on you and your education can be instrumental in showing support.”
Oklahoma Senate Bill 1017:
A proposed audit of school-based medicaid
Amanda Purser Managing Editor
Future Aggies across Oklahoma are sitting in primary schools right now, being shaped by their education journey.
These students may face major changes in their daily school experience, with the latest legislative proposals of 2025.
A shift in political climate following the Presidential Election found both the federal government and states nationwide seeing significant changes.
Americans are being inundated with so many new bills and policy changes that it is hard to keep up.
Although some suggestions are intriguing, they quickly saw an influx of attention and a spotlight being shed.
When that spotlight is cast from social media, the rate of information being spread and the
expectation.
Such was the case for an Oklahoma Republican Senator from the neighboring city of Elgin.
Dusty Deevers is an evangelical Oklahoma City University graduate who makes it clear, both online and out loud, that he is a Christian first and insistent on pushing that ideology across the state.
With that in mind, Deevers authored and introduced Senate Bill 1017 (SB 1017), which was met with immediate disapproval.
Following the negative public responses and a petition that received over 3,000 dissatisfied Oklahoma signatures, Deevers pulled the bill.
SB 1017 proposed various changes to Oklahoma education, one of them being how funds are allocated for school-based medical services. This drew the attention of teachers, therapists and parents
Oklahoma students are currently using Medicaid funds to cover costs related to needs illustrated in their Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Students with documented disabilities from physical, behavioral, intellectual and speech issues (among others) are eligible for an IEP.
Those plans, approved by education and medical professionals, can identify various therapeutic measures and alternatives to traditional classroom routines that can help these vulnerable students thrive and succeed.
Our education and healthcare systems have evolved, allowing these programs to exist, continue and succeed.
In turn, students who are ill-equipped for conventional methods of education have more resources for a better-suited learning
More students are able to progress this way, becoming better prepared and welladjusted.
For some students, the therapy, medical care and exams they receive as part of their IEP can often be the only way to identify symptoms and diagnose conditions early on, allowing for intervention and treatment.
State Department of Education (OSDE).
Children are in school five days a week, for about nine months out
“Our education and healthcare systems have evolved, allowing these programs to exist .”
- Amanda Purser Managing Editor of Cameron Collegian
a teacher or education professional might be the first to recognize changes, issues or behavior that could indicate an underlying condition may be present or a problem in the child’s personal life.
If we limit or hinder the resources and accessibility of programs like IEP’s, students will suffer. Oklahoma should be doing everything possible to increase our education ranking nationally.
Children are eligible for public school from age four, and until they reach eighteen, are required by law to attend an education program to completion.
In the 2022-2023 school year, 701,258 Oklahoma students were enrolled in public education according
of the year, and in a classroom for six to seven hours each day.
That means, on average, a student spends about 30 to 35 hours a week in a classroom, which is nearly equivalent to a fulltime job.
With so much time spent in school, it’s not
Senators taking precious time to draft bills that are not only confusing and cumbersome but also not conducive to bettering students in any way are not contributing to the solution.
We owe it to our youth to do better, pay attention to these proposals as well as those we are electing to fulfill important positions of power
Courtesy photos
Representation In Media Representation In Media
Ciera Terry Voices Editor
The past few years there’s been a spike of representation in media for woman of color and the queer community.
Its been a long time since queer stroylines and people of color – black woman especially – have gotten a spotlight on the big tv shows.
When I was growing up, I read and watched all kinds of media and never saw the screens reflect my lived experience.
Theres a phrase called “Disposable Black Girlfriend” thats been circuling around social media for a while. Many people have noticed a pattern that when Black women are in media, their purpose is simply to be place holders until “the one” shows up for the main love interest.
When I did watch Tv and film, I saw this trope, and it was isolating to say the least.
So to get to a point in time where I get to see more black women have such rich and diverse storylines is something to be grateful for.
Although diversty has gotten better , the film industy is still behind in regards
to spotlighting woman of color.
A couple characters come to mind, Bonnie Bennet from The Vampire Diaries, Amber Bennett from Invincible, Nicole (Summer Madison) from “The Summer I Turned Pretty, Josie (Ashleigh Murray) from “Riverdale,” Zoe (Melanie Liburd) from “This Is Us,” and many many more.
The majority of fans never notice the difrrence of how woman of color are treated in shows. But the reason why its important to gain presepective on it is because it often deeper than just fictional characters, real life people are impacted as the treatment that actors receive isnt much better.
Audiences get unbelievably outraged when they’re not the target audience, and its a wonder to me because black girls, me included, have been forced to do just that our whole lives.
Woman of color casting and arising queer storylines have caused an uprising.
Many woman of color have gained roles that were previously white in other forms of media.
Rick Ridon who wrote the popular Percy jackson series casted Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Halle Bailey was cast as the little mermaid
which produced widespread hate.
The Netflix show runners of Bridgerton casted Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma along with Masali Baduza from the “Bridgerton series.” Baduza ended up playing the previously male character, Micheal Stirling, the producers changing the name to Michaela Stirling instead.
All received a tremendous amount of hate, death threats and racist responses.
While the media is freaking out and getting mad at so-called “DEI” hires, I am (in contrast) ecstatic about the casting choices.
But its one thing to cast and have diversity, its another to actuualy take action and make those who bring that diversity, feel safe and repersented, and yet, there is a lack of that.
In October of 2024, Variety fair posted an article interviewing current studio marketing executives of popular media. They said the following:
“ Studio marketing executives who talked with Variety agreed that the best defense against toxic fans is to avoid provoking them in the first place,”
The cover for the article showed queer and people of color characters.
Which in my opinion is highly problematic.
Black History Fact
Its baffling to me how although protective proceders are used, ultimtly the executives simultaneously agreed, it was creatvly restriting to the audience to speak out on the actors behalf.
Why everyone has become so terrified to challenge bigoted, and homophobic views is beyond me.
People exist in spite of those views.
People will continue to exist in spite of it so actively attempting to not create and explore certain storylines and give spotlight to people of color characters to not “provoke” toxic fans,is fuel to a fire.
That mindset is part of the problem, catering to silence and ignorance just ecourages and insinuates that behavior is okay.
With the recent rise of violence and hate speach towards people in media and in every day life, no one’s willing to take the steps necessary to create a space of safety
There has to be an active effort to create fundamental change in the way we view each other and the way we treat each other.
People in authrtive positions can not preach words of inclusion and support for repersentation while simultaneously weapenizing it to cater to their own generalizations.
Do you know that “The Watermelon Woman,”directed by Cheryl Dunye was one of the first black lesbian film to be produced? It was also one of the first feature films to be directed by an “Out” Black lesbian according to Newfest in their article about Black queer cinema. The story follows Cheryl, a young Black lesbian, who works a day job in a video store while trying to make a film about a Black actress from the 1930s known for playing the stereotypical “mammy” roles relegated to Black actresses during that period. This ilm is available on youtube, Prime, and Apple Tv.
Courtasy Graphics
Companion and Bodily Autonomy
This review contains spoilers.
The science-fictionhorror film “Companion” was released in theaters on Jan. 30. The film stars Sophie Thatcher (Iris) and Jack Quaid (Josh).
“Companion” follows Iris as she goes on a trip with her boyfriend Josh’s friends – Kat (Megan Suri), Kat’s boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend) and couple Eli (Harvey Guillen) and Patrick (Lukas Gage).
However, while on the trip, Iris is nearly sexually assaulted by Sergey. Iris kills him out of selfdefense, thus leading to the group’s attempts to cover up the murder and
the reveal of Iris’s secret: she’s not a human, but an android.
Beyond that, “Companion” plays with the idea of androids as a metaphor for womanhood and stolen bodily autonomy. This is obvious when the film reveals that Iris is a Companion Robot, which is technically meant to be a romantic partner for the user – but, really, everyone within the film agrees that Companions are mainly used for sex and not much else. Iris eventually discovers that Josh modified her code to allow her to kill Sergey on behalf of Kat. This plot point directly correlates to the theme of stolen autonomy. This could
also be the film’s way of commenting on how women are punished for defending themselves in cases of assault, seeing as Iris is subsequently hunted by the humans for trying to escape the fate they had in store for her. With artificial intelligence increasingly slithering its way into our conversations, it’s no surprise that recent films concern robots and our complicated definition of humanity. On a deeper level, American fears over rescinded abortion rights and the stolen autonomy of women have added layers to robots in film as we see in “Companion.”
Although I enjoyed the film greatly, I undoubtedly believe this is a movie best
watched if you haven’t seen the spoiler-ridden trailers. “Companion” does a great job of sneaking hints that Iris is a robot (like Josh asking for a detailed weather report or his nickname for her – “Beep-Boop”).
If you’re like me and had a million trailers pop up in your feed, it’s hard to avoid the plot point.
“Companion” has been heavily compared to “Ex Machina” for having a similar premise, but I would disagree with that comparison. The general idea of androids being representative of women’s autonomy and other social issues is nothing new; the few similarities between the films are basic elements like character archetypes
and minor plot details.
Tonally, “Companion” is very different from “Ex Machina” and the thesis of the films are so different that the comparison is entirely surface level.
I loved Thatcher’s performance as Iris. I definitely think any sore points in the movie were made up for by the depth she added to the role.
She is endearing to the audience and very easy to empathize with in her search to gain control over her body. But Thatcher also adds an edge to her performance that makes Iris fun to follow, especially after the film takes more of a thrilling approach to the mounting events.
Jack Quaid has also proved himself as a great
performer in the role of Josh. He does well at presenting himself as an otherwise innocent, doting boyfriend at the beginning of the film. Later on, after Iris’s identity as an android is revealed, we see just how sinister of a person Josh actually is. It’s an interesting character archetype that has come up more and more often lately: the average “nice guy” who turns out to actually be a terribly evil person on the inside. Despite a few issues with how the film was marketed, I had a great time during “Companion” and I found it to be a compelling and entertaining story. I give the film 4 out of 5 stars.
This review contains spoilers.
Since I’ve had an unintentional streak of watching android-heavy films as of late, I figured I ought to cover “Ex Machina” next, which I recently watched for the first time.
“Ex Machina,” released in 2014, follows Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a computer programmer who stays at the home of Nathan (Oscar Isaac), a brilliant tech CEO, to administer the Turing test to Nathan’s android Ava (Alicia Vikander).
The film was the directorial debut for Alex Garland, who previously worked with acclaimed director Danny Boyle on writing the films “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine.”
The screenplay itself is well written, but I admittedly wasn’t too deeply invested in the characters. The characters were less like actual, fleshed out people and more like philosophical vessels to carry the thesis of the film. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I personally could not feel a deep connection to them since they
don’t feel entirely real; there’s a sense of uncanny valley (which may very well be intentional) that left me feeling very disconnected from them. I love morally complex characters, but these I could not stand behind, especially Nathan.
Still, I was curious to see how the story progressed, mostly because the tension in the film had a very steady and gradual build up. The character stories are very layered in the sense that they are all playing their own mind games against each other. It’s like the characters are playing 4D chess right in front of your eyes.
Although the film succeeds in making Ava the self assured, hyper intelligent robot she is, it’s difficult to truly empathize with her during her escape. Ava makes it out at the sacrifice of another android woman (Sonoya Mizuno) – a Japanese robot –who never speaks and exists solely to be a maid and sexual servant to Nathan. Additionally, at the end of the film, Ava literally wears the skin of a defunct Asian android in order to appear more human. It’s a quiet scene that is perhaps meant to be empowering for
Ava, but I personally found it a bit disturbing. It’s strange to see a white character visibly taking from a woman of color.
While I’m unsure if Garland intended to comment on the real world racial disparities between white women and women of color, the commodification of the (notably unnamed) Asian android was not lost on me.
Most of Nathan’s robots are built in the image of women of color, hypersexualized, scarcely dressed and tucked away in a closet when he no longer has use for them. Nathan’s dismissive attitude towards the robots, on top of being a strangely reclusive and outright abrasive man, makes him utterly despicable as a person. Isaac does a great job of making you hate Nathan while still holding some fascination for the mere fact that he created Ava, who outsmarts her own creator in the end. Caleb is also strange on a slightly smaller scale. He becomes wholly invested in Ava because he comes to believe she has romantic
feelings for him; and, despite being unsure of the validity of her feelings, he begins to show attraction to her. It is because of Caleb’s attraction to Ava that he decides he wants to help her escape Nathan’s control. If she were just any robot, it’s unclear if he still would have helped Ava; as it turns out, she was only manipulating him into helping her in the first place because she knew his attraction would ultimately lead her to freedom.
The film has received numerous awards for its screenplay and visual effects; in fact, “Ex Machina” won an
Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 88th Academy Awards. The awards don’t lie – the film has beautiful visuals, and the CGI on Ava is incredibly well done. Many of the effects succeed in creating a “too-perfect” image, which is slightly uncomfortable to the viewer but fitting for the subject matter.
Although I do have concerns about the racial implications displayed in the film, I think “Ex Machina” has plenty of good commentary on how men treat women and the misogyny ingrained in society. For this, I give the film 4 out of 5 stars.
Amelia Lozano
A&E Editor
Amelia Lozano A&E Editor
Courtesy Photos
CU Succeed Workshop Series:
Make it Make $ense: The Loan Process
Alyssa Martinez Student Life Editor
At 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 24 in the Buddy Green Room of the McMahon Centennial Complex, the Office of Student Development held the CU Succeed Workshop “Make it Make Sense: The Loan Process.” The workshop speaker was Jeremy Toombs of the Student Enrichment Center who spoke to students on how to navigate loans and the world of borrowed money. The workshop provided a free barbeque lunch to students who attended.
Toombs is the current Financial Resource Specialist, and his role is to help Aggies learn about the costs of college, financial aid and other important financial decisions.
“One of the ways I have been privileged to be a part of CU Succeed this year as well as years in the past, is to present different financial literacy topics,” Toombs said.
While exploring the world of borrowed money, Toombs started off with explaining how different types of interest are calculated.
The next topic presented to students was types of debt with loans. A secured loan is backed by collateral as opposed to unsecured, which doesn’t require collateral. An installment loan is for a borrower to get a lump sum of money and repay it in regular payments over a period of time such as for a car loan which students are likely to take out. The final type they learned
about was a revolving loan, in which a borrower can draw from and repay repeatedly, usually in the form of a credit card.
Following that, was the importance of budgeting to ensure a student can make their payments on time and live within their means.
Toombs shared links to loan and tax calculators to help get an idea of how much they should expect to pay in taxes and on loans as well.
Courtesy Graphic
In the next section
Toombs spoke about how important it is to know certain rights as a consumer, especially when it comes to taking out sums of money.
Tombs discussed one of the most common types of loans a young person can take out, student loans. There are several types of student loans, including installment loans, subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans. Subsidized loans accrue no interest until six months after a student finishes with school, at which point repayment needs to begin. Unsubsidized loans accrue interest immediately, and it begins compounding so they have to be paid immediately.
Toombs also explained there are limits on how much a student is offered and how much they can borrow as well as payment options to repay that debt. The standard terms are setup for 120 payments over 10 years. Income driven terms can affect the percentage rate to match their income.
Graduated repayment starts off low and gradually increases as it is based on their income. For public service loan forgiveness, borrowers would qualify for after 120 payments and ten years of public service.
Next Toombs spoke about the differences between federal and private loans. Federal loans and aid tend to have lower interest rates
but have specific GPA and other requirements. Private loans on the other hand, are credit based and might have a lower initial rate but take a lot more responsibility onto the borrower.
When taking out loans it is important to know they can affect credit, as it follows consumers throughout life and may affect rates for any other type of aid in the future, as well as debt to income ratios.
Finally, Toombs spoke about how credit cards work. They can be looked at as a loan that must be paid back in full every month or, they gather interest and fees which could negatively affect a credit score.
Senior business administration major Destiny Arrowood learned quite a bit at the workshop.
“I enjoyed listening to Jermey talk about important topics college students should be more informed on,” Arrowood said. “I learned a lot I didn’t know before.”
For more information please contact the Office of Student Development at student_development@cameron.edu.
SGA President Impeached
On Feb. 24, 2025, members of the Student Government Association Body called forth a motion to initiate impeachment hearings against President Nathan Weston following the circulation of petitions signed by a majority of the active SGA
membership, in addition to the Executive Council.
The motion passed with 16 members voting in favor and one voting against.
There will be more on this story in issue 5 of the Collegian.
Photos by Alyssa Martinez
Gwen Hunt has spent 26 years of her life teaching and kicking “axe” at spin (stationary cycling).
Behind her passion for fitness is a story of resilience, personal growth and a commitment to health that has shaped Hunt both inside and out.
Her path to fitness was rocky, enrolling in a physical education course her first semester at Cameron despite never setting foot in a gym. She dropped it shortly after starting.
“That is my biggest regret,” Hunt said. “Because I did not get into fitness until years later.”
Hunt leads a bootcamp class at Bishop Middle School in addition to working at Cameron.
The class focuses on instilling confidence in students as well as developing physical
strength, so they feel capable in any fitness environment.
Hunt believes it’s important to have a friend to motivate you in your endeavours.
Polly Hillas has been exercising since third grade, granting her a healthy lifestyle. She particularly likes working out at the Aggie Rec Center.
Hillas and Hunt were racing each other on spin bikes 24 years ago; now, Hillas attends Hunt’s spin class.
The experience often reminds them of their competitive spirits, reflecting on past workouts.
Hillas’s commitment to fitness has improved her own physical and mental health while also having a ripple effect on her family, motivating her husband to follow suit.
Hillas has noticed an increase in muscle as well as energy and overall wellness.
For Hunt and Hillas,
fitness is more than just a workout; it’s a lifelong investment in health.
The cardiovascular benefits of spin, which have been well researched, align with their goals of improving personal heart health.
“That’s the name of the game,” Hunt said. “Getting that heart rate up and then bringing it back down. It’s all about the intervals.” Hunt makes for an excellent teacher, motivating attendees to feel comfortable but still push themselves to improve with every ride.
“No challenge, no change,” Hunt said.
Hunt hosts spin classes at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Aggie Rec Center spin room.
For more information on classes offered at the Rec Center, go to https://www.cameron. edu/events-andactivities/campus-life/ aggiereccenter/groupexercise.
Ramona Villegas Sports Editor
Photo by: Ramona Villegas
Graphic by: Matthew Hasley
Graphic by: Matthew Hasley