Tag: Donald Trump

WVU Students, Community Members Participate In Nationwide Protest On Campus

Around 75 people showed up at the student union at WVU’s Morgantown campus to protest the closing of the university’s office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as other federal and state actions. It was part of a nationwide “50501” protest of President Donald Trump’s policies aimed to bring protestors to all 50 state capitols simultaneously Wednesday.

A nationwide “50501” protest of President Donald Trump’s policies aimed to bring protestors to all 50 state capitols simultaneously Wednesday, but students unable to make it down to Charleston held their own demonstration at West Virginia University. 

Around 75 people showed up to the campus “free speech zone” in front of the student union at WVU’s Morgantown campus to protest the closing of the university’s office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as other federal and state actions.

Marin Dagger, a third-year science major who helped organize the demonstration, said the peaceful protest was meant to show leaders and policymakers that opposition exists.

“Try to make the university, and the administration even, maybe even the state officials, see we are here,” she said. “We aren’t going to just sit here and be complacent in (the face of) these harmful actions that are affecting marginalized communities.”

As a trans woman, Dagger said she has at times felt unsafe and alone on campus but being approached by other members of the LGBTQ community emboldened her to organize around this issue. Dagger said the protest was in part to show opposition to state and federal actions affecting marginalized communities, but also to show solidarity and support.

“We can all work together and everyone here is not your enemy,” Dagger said. “More people are full of love and trying to get people’s rights back than it may seem.”

Students that came out to the event, like senior Gabriela Reyes of Pendleton County, expressed concern that executive orders targeting transgender athletes or undocumented immigrants is only the beginning of a larger erosion of rights.

“I don’t think some people understand that, that it’s not just others, people who they think aren’t like them,” Reyes said. “It affects everyone, and I think it’s just important to protect our freedoms and our rights.”

Reyes said she hopes to see the Student Government Association take a stand at their weekly meeting Wednesday night.

Students were also joined by community members like Ginny Aultman-Moore. A retired social worker, Aultman-Moore said she doesn’t expect the demonstration to change a lot.

“I don’t know that they change a whole lot, except for the hearts of the people that participate in them,” she said. “I know that I need this at this moment. I need to connect with other people. I also would like my representatives to hear my voice. I have been calling them, and I would encourage everyone to let their representatives know how they feel about what’s going on right now.”

Organizers say more protests are likely.

Ginny Aultman-Moore holds up a protest sign in front of the Mountainlair, WVU’s student union building in Morgantown Feb. 5, 2025.

State Capitol Demonstration Part Of Nationwide Trump Protest

On Wednesday afternoon, around 300 people gathered with signs and chants on the Capitol steps, participating in a nationwide “50501” protest of President Donald Trump’s policies.

On Wednesday afternoon, around 300 people gathered with signs and chants on the Capitol steps, participating in a nationwide “50501” protest of President Donald Trump’s policies.

Signs and speakers, gathering around a loudspeaker, carried messages against federal and state policy on LGBTQ protections, deportations, federal funding threats, and billionaire Elon Musk’s access to government information amid Trump’s effort to cut government programs.

Women’s March West Virginia President Robin Cutlip attended the event, after the group posted information about the planned West Virginia 50501 event on social media, but said the group did not organize the protest.

“We are stronger together,” Cutlip said, speaking on the loudspeaker. “We can defeat this. We have to make sure that we continue to share each other’s posts, that we continue to be there with each other. Today was not an organized event. Why did it need to be? Look around. This is what happens when the people of America come together.”

Representatives from the ACLU of West Virginia were also there, monitoring the protest and passing around volunteer sign-up forms.

Andrea Vincent, a teacher from Weston, said she came because she was concerned about Trump’s efforts to eliminate the federal Department of Education and related funding.

“Our state is so dependent on that federal money, the people of West Virginia, this is not a party issue anymore,” Vincent said.” This is for our future.”

Last week, the Trump administration issued, then rescinded a memo freezing trillions in federal funding. At a press conference Jan. 28, Gov. Patrick Morrisey acknowledged federal funding accounts for almost half the state’s overall budget, and that his office was “going to try to unpack (the freeze announcement) and talk with the Trump administration.

Morrisey has not commented further on the freeze, and his office has not responded to WVPB’s request for comment this week about the status of talks with the Trump administration.

Vincent says she has seen school closures in Lewis County before and now teaches at a middle school that receives federal Title I grants, which support school budgets in communities with high poverty rates.

“It’s happening right now,” Vincent said, referencing school closures in the state. “I see this happening every day. I see its effect on children.”

The event ended with protestors marching around the Capitol perimeter, starting towards the Governor’s mansion. They chanted against Trump, Musk and Morrisey.

WVU Will Close Diversity Office To Comply With State, Federal Orders 

The West Virginia University Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be replaced by the Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance. The new division’s goals include compliance with Title IX and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to a statement released by the university, the change is being made to comply with Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s Executive Order No. 3-25 as well as Pres. Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14151. Both orders block organizations from using government funds to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Popularly known as DEI, the term has become shorthand for efforts from organizations like universities and companies to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people.

In an email to WVPB, WVU officials said the university “remains a welcoming community open to all.” 

“The new Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance, led by Vice President Meshea Poore, is positioned to carry out its core mission and to serve all within our University community,” the email reads. “We continue to work internally with units campus wide as we evaluate the specifics and potential effects (of) the federal and state orders. Once our review is complete, we will have a better understanding of the impact and will provide more specific, unit-level guidance to members of our campus community at that time.” 

Other public universities in the state similarly say they are reviewing policies, and will release updates in the near future.

Marshall University, whose efforts are distributed across various areas within the institution including the President’s Commission on DEI, said in an email they anticipate “having an update next week regarding the university’s progress on the Executive Orders, particularly as they pertain to DEI.” 

Marshall officials also confirmed several pages related to the Commission on DEI have since been unpublished as part of the university’s review.

An official with Shepherd University told WVPB via email that the university’s vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusivity position had not been filled for close to a year. 

“The University does not have any procedures, policies, or programs in place that provide special benefits or treatment to any person or group based on race, color, sex, ethnicity, or nation of origin,” the official said in an email. “We are proud to offer our diverse community of students high-quality and innovative programs that position them for success as global citizens and leaders. We are reviewing and evaluating our policies in light of the Executive Order. We are anticipating some further guidance through the WV Higher Education Policy Commission for understanding the scope of the directives and the manner in which our report for the Governor will be assimilated.”

In a recorded statement released Thursday night, Gov. Patrick Morrisey reaffirmed his commitment to rooting out what he called “preferences unlawfully benefitting one group over another.”

“I’m a believer, like many of you, that God looks at us, the rule of law looks at us, as equals,” Morrisey said. “We have an equal protection clause. We care about the rule of law. We care about freedom. We don’t want special preferences unlawfully benefitting one group over another – race, color, age, ethnicity. We have to make sure we’re taking steps to treat everyone the same under the law.”

The governor said this is just the beginning of efforts to “root out DEI” in the weeks and months ahead.

Morrisey Urges Cooperation With Federal Immigration Enforcement

On Thursday, Governor Patrick Morrisey ordered state and local law enforcement support for President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 “Securing Our Borders” executive order.

Through an executive order to state law enforcement and  a letter to local law enforcement on Thursday, Governor Patrick Morrisey ordered support for President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 “Securing Our Borders” executive order.

“West Virginia is going to partner with President Trump make sure that we’re going after this deadly issue as long as I’m in the governor’s mansion, to do everything we can to partner with them on these critical issues,” Morrisey said at a Thursday press conference.

Morrisey said 72 people in West Virginia had been identified by various law enforcement agencies as illegal immigrants as of Wednesday night – many of them already under arrest on other charges. He said 10 of those detained had been moved out to Kentucky by Thursday morning.

Morrisey said he did not have information on whether any detainees were under 18 years old.

The letter to local law enforcement, said Morrisey, intends to “protect the residents of our state” by working with federal agencies to “swiftly determine the precise location of illegal aliens and act decisively to detain, prosecute, and return them to their place of origin.”

“We are a small state far from the southern border,” the letter continues. “West Virginia undoubtedly has far more illegal migrants residing within our borders than we are presently aware of. That must change. And it will change—soon.”

Morrisey framed the announcement as an effort to curb the “flood of deadly fentanyl” distribution into the state, saying, “Illegal immigration issues go hand-in-hand with the drug epidemic in West Virginia.”

“I’ve always thought the last 12 years, there’s more we can do here in West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “I was Attorney General. I kept wanting to get access to data to learn more about the scope of the illegal immigration problem.”

Data from federal agencies shows most illegal drugs brought into the United States are transported by American citizens at legal ports of entry. 

“I know that it occurs in both areas, between and within the ports of entry, and so if you’re committing a crime, you’re equally culpable either way,” Morrisey said.

Morrisey did not provide new data from the governor’s office linking the enforcement push to fentanyl distribution.

“We’re going to be cracking down pretty hard on illegal immigration here in the state,” Morrisey said. [Voters] “sent President Trump to the White House, they sent me to the governor’s office to do exactly that.”

This story was distributed by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKYU in Kentucky and NPR.

Federal Funding Freeze Memo Rescinded, Questions Linger

This week, President Donald Trump’s administration introduced then rescinded a memo freezing trillions of dollars in federal funding.

At his press conference on Tuesday, Governor Patrick Morrisey said his administration was planning to talk to the Trump administration about the freeze and review of federal funds. Morrisey said federal funds make up almost half of state revenue.

The freeze was initially announced in an internal memo on Monday, leading to widespread confusion ahead of a 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline for the freeze to take effect. However, a federal judge paused the freeze late Tuesday afternoon.

Then Wednesday afternoon, the Trump administration rescinded the memo. A review of federal funds for compliance with Trump’s recent executive orders can still continue, and confusion lingers after Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the freeze itself was not rescinded.

State Medicaid portals were temporarily unavailable on Tuesday but have since been restored.

“The West Virginia Department of Human Services is aware of the recent federal funding freeze and continues monitoring potential impacts on our programs,” Communications Specialist Angel Hightower wrote to in a Wednesday email to WVPB at 1:25 p.m. “At this time, our financial processes are operational.”

According to a recent Pew study, federal funds cover over 80% of West Virginia’s Medicaid costs.

Foster Care Crises And Inflation Worries, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, News Director Eric Douglas discusses the state of West Virginia’s foster care system with Erica Peterson, editor at large for Mountain State Spotlight.

On this West Virginia Morning, News Director Eric Douglas discusses the state of West Virginia’s foster care system with Erica Peterson, editor at large for Mountain State Spotlight. This week, the nonprofit newsroom is publishing Peterson’s three-part investigation into the state’s foster care crisis.

Meanwhile, the inflation rate has dropped in recent years, but remains a concern for many Americans. John McGary with WEKU asked Kentucky residents about their thoughts on inflation with a new administration in Washington.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

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