In Trump’s America, the terms ‘woke’ and ‘social justice warrior’ have become insults that equate caring, compassion, and awareness to weakness.

At a moment in history when the United States president is setting a dangerous precedent while undermining human and environmental rights, the Sonoma State administration seems to be turning its back on its core values. The massive proposed cuts to the university’s programs and faculty inadvertently mirror some of Trump’s most damaging executive orders. 

As soon as President Trump was inaugurated, he reversed decades of progress in a matter of days. He withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, threatened to end birthright citizenship, started mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, eliminated DEI initiatives, and among numerous other executive orders, declared that there are “only two genders: male and female.”

In his inaugural address, Trump also said “we will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” 

Colorblindness when it comes to race in this nation may sound like an idealistic condition on its surface. However, it is particularly problematic in that it ignores real and present institutional discrimination, and the historic experiences of people of color, such as mass incarceration, residential schools, internment camps, detention facilities, and hate crimes, not to mention slavery and genocide.

This nation has historically shifted blame for people’s disadvantages onto the individual, while systematically restricting women, people of color, or people with queer identities, from the same opportunities reserved for affluent, cisgendered, heterosexual white men.

All of which can be learned about in a women’s and gender studies course.

The best plan Sonoma State administration could come up with to alleviate the nearly $24 million budget deficit is to eliminate entire departments that directly address what Trump is threatening. Specifically gender and racial inequality and environmental degradation. The elimination of departments include but are not limited to: geology, environmental sciences, economics, and women’s and gender studies.

Bianca Zamora, a women’s and gender studies alumni who graduated from SSU in 2011, is now the Assistant Director for the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access, in a Learning Community at Stanford University. 

“The elimination of WGS at SSU would not just be an academic loss— it would be irresponsible in our current climate,” Zamora said.

Zamora continued to explain that this decision “would reinforce the larger current political narrative that the histories, lives, and academic contributions of LGBTQ+, immigrants, survivors of trauma, and BIPOC communities are expendable. The WGS program has consistently produced leaders who go on to challenge injustice, shape policies, and build more equitable institutions.”

Ironically, the initial email sent by Interim President Emily Cutrer announcing the extensive budget cuts, stated that the proposed changes are necessary to “meet the changing needs of future generations of students” and will help the school “continue to be a major force for economic, environmental, and social progress in the North Bay and beyond,” while quite literally eliminating programs of study focused on the economy, the environment, and social progress. 

If we’ve learned anything from our college education thus far, especially as we navigate the reality of a warming climate and an increasingly polarized political atmosphere that is effectively and presently threatening hard-earned civil rights, we recognize that what current and future generations need is more education, not less.

What we need is to better understand our planet’s ecosystems and the anthropogenic effects on biodiversity, and to learn how to integrate this understanding into our future careers and personal choices. How will Sonoma State prepare future generations without access to courses in environmental science and geology?

What we need is awareness of the darkest parts of our nation’s history, its abuses of power and oppressive acts against people of color, women, immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, people of lower socioeconomic status, or the intersectionality of any of these identities, so that we are better prepared to create spaces that promote collective well-being over systems of greed. How will Sonoma State prepare future generations to preserve important human rights for all, without access to courses in women’s and gender studies?

Shawn Ramus, a fourth-year women’s and gender studies major and WGS club president explained just how critical the department is in making a positive difference.

“It is not hyperbole to say that without WGS, the world would be unlivable for a large part of the population in the U.S. Understanding how race, sex, and gender affect everyday interactions has helped guide multiple social movements and fights for equal rights. The culture around the world is changing and the U.S. is still left in the dark ages,” Ramus said.

 “Book bans, restrictions of identity, and the criminalization of minorities. These are the tactics of fascist, authoritarian regimes that have killed millions and millions of people across our history. Too much of America thinks that we have moved beyond these issues, but we are finding out, in real-time, just how important it is to study and learn about the ideas that WGS teaches,” Ramus continued.

It is worth exploring in conversation among faculty who best know the curriculum, where else in the departments that still remain will provide education about climate change and historical and present experiences of marginalized communities to a comparable degree. For instance, will more courses in sociology, biology or multicultural studies be made available as general education courses? 

Nonetheless, lower enrollment in these majors, as cited by the interim president, doesn’t justify their removal from the curriculum. If anything, it shows a need for a more robust recruitment process, or marketing for the importance of a degree in these fields as the world quite literally depends on it.

Lianna Hartmour, another alumni of SSU women’s and gender studies who graduated in 2007 said, “We need leaders to serve as activists in our community to stand up for people’s rights and understand how all of these injustices are interconnected, which students are well equipped to do after studying WGS. And it isn’t just majors who are impacted– teaching general education students is equally meaningful.”

Hartmour currently serves as the Board President at Verity, Sonoma County’s sexual assault prevention, intervention and healing center. 

Hartmour and Zamora are examples of the leadership for social justice they both speak of coming from the women’s and gender studies major at Sonoma State.

Current students of women’s and gender studies echo each other in the sentiment that the department has contributed to more than 30,000 hours of community service in Sonoma County through required internships.

Xochilt Martinez Balladares, a fourth-year women’s and gender studies major said, “Without women and gender studies, society would lose an essential avenue for understanding and addressing systemic inequalities.”

“WGS programs help shed light on issues that often remain invisible in the mainstream like gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ rights, and the social construction of gender roles. WGS plays a vital role in creating informed, empathetic individuals who work toward positive change. Without it, we would likely see a lack of diverse perspectives and a weakening of movements for social justice,” Martinez Balladares continued.

Madelyn Boyd, a double major in sociology and women’s and gender studies said that women’s and gender studies has provided more than just an education, it has created a safe space to be themself.

“The community and safety that comes out of WGS cannot be replicated. I am aware we are trying to create queer spaces within the HUB, but those will not be able to be utilized if the education does not match them, nor having the faculty being able to advise the best ways to create those spaces. WGS created that safe space. Taking it away during a time when our rights are being attacked leaves us with having to go into hiding due to fear of being targeted,” Boyd said.

Similarly, Zamora explained that her decision to major in WGS was “deeply personal.” 

“As a first-year student, I enrolled in the Queer Lecture Series, where I heard a guest speaker discuss Queer Latina representation in the arts. That moment was life-changing. For the first time, I saw myself reflected in academia,” Zamora said. “I realized that my identity, my struggles, and my existence were not only valid but worthy of study, advocacy, and celebration. I chose WGS because it gave me a language to articulate my experiences and a community that empowered me to fight for change.”

Women’s and Gender Studies Professor Charlene Tung said that without women’s and gender studies, society would be less open-minded and less adept at critically thinking through an intersectional lens.

“And that is so necessary in today’s world, where we see immigrants, BIPOC folks, LGBTQ folks and the intersections of those communities all having their freedoms and rights curtailed by our federal government,” Tung said.

On a more local level, Tung explained that many alumni of the department go on to work for non-profit organizations and schools in Sonoma County, in addition to the internship work and actionable requirements of their coursework.

“We teach and encourage students how to make a difference in the world around them,” Tung said.

“It also strikes me either as deeply, morally questionable to eliminate a WGS department at this historical moment, or deeply ignorant. In either case, it’s problematic that our university administration– both at SSU and CSU levels– would occupy either position. It shows us how much work still needs to be done, even in academia,” Tung continued.

“I feel numb and shocked,” Martinez Balladares said. She shared that the uncertainty of the program has taken a toll on her emotional state. 

“It’s been difficult to come to terms with the fact that something so vital to both myself and our community could be taken away. Sitting in classes knowing that my professors may not be here after May is heartbreaking. But they have shown up despite what’s happening to still educate us and encourage us,” Martinez Balladares continued.

What kind of message does it send right now, when the core values of Sonoma State are “diversity and social justice, sustainability and environmental inquiry, connectivity and community engagement,” and entire departments which most closely represent these values are being eradicated? 

Particularly at a moment in history, when the federal government is already working against these critical values of diversity, social justice, and sustainability. It is the responsibility of academic institutions to prioritize such values above all else, to prepare future generations to build a more equitable society for all.