What do students expect from Biden?

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Photo courtesy of: Gage Skidmore/flickr

President Biden took office on Jan. 20 and immediately began issuing executive orders. Among these were the order to rejoin the Paris climate accords and stop construction of the Mexico border wall.

A new president has been inaugurated and there is expected to be a lot of policy changes from the days of the Trump presidency. By inheriting the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden will have a lot of work to do. On the first day of his presidency he had already signed 12 executive orders.

 

One thing that has divided WHHS students is the desire for an attitude change. Critics have considered Trump’s attitude brazen while his supporters have considered him bold. WHHS students seem split on whether Biden should continue to be headstrong like Trump or be more calm and end the days of non-stop tweets.

 

There have been many conflicting ideas about what the top priority of Biden should be. 

 

While many people believe he should focus on  ending the COVID-19 pandemic, a topic always in the news today, others think that Biden should bring back unity to the United States. 

 

“[Biden should] fight covid because we are in a terrible situation and someone needs to do something about it,” Cora Phalen, ‘22, said.

 

Other outspoken people believe that dealing with climate change and reforming the police should be of key importance. 

 

Biden has already rejoined the United States into the Paris Climate Accords, limiting greenhouse gas emissions. However, much of WHHS believes he has not gone far enough. These students want the controversial Green New Deal to be passed, so far President Biden has not put his support behind this. 

 

Zakia Wilson, ‘25, who supports the Green New Deal said, “Trump didn’t take his role as president as seriously. He called climate change a hoax. I hope that Biden takes this seriously and helps decrease it.” 

 

There is also some clash on the police. SENIOR Alexandra Nelson said, “[Biden should] defund the police because people shouldn’t be scared of those who are meant to protect us.” 

 

Some students want less change and instead want reform in the police bureaucracy.

 

Many students hope Biden can do something to end the divisiveness that caused the capitol raids and has been the center of attention for the past four years. 

 

SENIOR Jack Giglia hopes that Biden will “be unifying and politically moderate,” and thinks that if Biden tries to pass a leftist agenda it will only add to the political unrest. 

 

SENIOR Lila Herzig, despite being politically liberal, thinks we should not return to life before Trump saying, “As much as I would love for the world to be “normal” and to live a life where politics does not affect me, that world can never exist if Biden tries to return to ‘normal,’… we would be taking one step forward instead of a potential five steps forward.”  

 

“I want to see [Biden] and all of congress go through with the promises they made to get elected,” Terra Nelson, ‘26, said.