On July 31, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that a ballroom would be added to the East Wing of the White House. In the past, White House events have been held under tents in the South Lawn or in the 200-seat East Wing, though President Donald Trump and many others frowned upon that due to finding it inconvenient.

The project will cost around $300 million, though it is privately funded by 37 of Trump’s millionaire followers. The project seems to be growing as Trump has more ideas and gets more donations. The ballroom was originally set to allow for 650 people, but that has since been upped to close to 1000 people, enough to fit a whole inauguration. 

The ballroom project isn’t just an addition to the White House; it is a reflection on how out of touch people in the top one percent are with the general American public. America is seeing its newest “let them eat cake” moment as the Trump administration and MAGA complain about nothing being done to help the shutdown, but then have all their donors fund a side project instead of spending their money helping get people off the streets.

Trump has also made massive cuts to the Department of Education, though it is clear that he and his donors don’t mind funding projects that will benefit the Trump administration. The cuts will give the government and large business owners more power, but negatively affect every other person in the United States. The more educated people are, the more they learn to figure out what’s true and false and how to question the government. 

State High students need to see where the government and millionaire’s ideals lie. Wealthy donors giving funding towards a vanity project instead of necessary things like education and SNAP will greatly affect students. 82nd District representative Paul Takac, who represents much of the State College area, said that during this time, when the government and millionaires seem to be out of touch with the general public, it is necessary for people to create their own sense of community. He explained that he has had many conversations with people in SCASD about what they are going through.

“I’ve talked to many of your classmates, and I know many of them are on public assistance, whether that’s for food or other programs, certainly for healthcare. All of those things are at risk right now. So, I think the meaning of community is to reach out to others in your community who need help, both in the short and long term,” Takac said.

Takac said that signing up for volunteering can greatly help those in our community. State High itself has multiple programs and consistently sends out information about volunteering. Takac said that also just providing a safe space for people to ask for help and then helping them is critically important.

Takac also said that some of the policies or actions that the current administration is taking are immoral. He said that it is concerning that so many donors and politicians feel forced to play along with Trump, and even more so, that some seem completely willing. 

“Unfortunately, this administration demands concessions from individuals and companies and others…they actually will actively seek retribution or punitive consequences for people who don’t follow along with what they want,” Takac said.

School board member Jesse Barlow discussed how students who are disabled or disadvantaged could greatly benefit from the money that is being donated to the ballroom and the money being lost in the Department of Education. In addition to direct federal funds, students benefit from educational research so that teachers and administrators can better understand how to teach and help students.

“It covers essentially support services, mostly for disabled and disadvantaged students. We have some of that money going to four schools in the district. It also funds educational research,” Barlow said. “It’s really abandonment, I would say, of the most vulnerable students in the system.”

While Takac focused on avoiding retribution, Barlow stated it more directly, saying that they expect something in return.

“Nobody gives you that kind of money unless they want something in return…this is sort of a president who kind of governs, not through law, but through, ‘I’ll do you a favor. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine,’ kind of governance,” Barlow said.

Speech and Debate President, Cece Vanness, sees Trump’s vanity project as a symbol of how wealth can be misused. Instead of using their vast wealth to help the average person, like students at State High, it is being used to fund a ballroom, ignoring real-world problems like hunger.

“Money could be really…better distributed…Elon Musk can single-handedly fix world hunger, and he chooses not to. We have problems at State High; we have students that aren’t able to afford food. And so we need to be…actually focusing stuff there…We shouldn’t have people that are that rich just refusing to help,” Vanness said.

Vanness thinks that State High students can step in and make a difference even when the rich are ignoring our needs. She talked about how taking the time to vote, educate yourself and question the government is important. For example, Vanness volunteers with food drives and voter registration as a high schooler.

“I think definitely making sure that we’re voting in the local elections…we are doing a food drive. I’ve also done…voter registration, and it’s honestly so enlightening to remember…you are a person in the United States, you can have a voice, you can make an impact,” Vanness said. “Speaking more of defunding education, people learn to question the government through education.”

Vanness explained that the reason she wanted to be Speech and Debate President was for exactly these kinds of issues. She wants younger people to learn how to pull apart bills and look at something critically.

“I want kids to remember how to think critically. That is the entire reason that we do stuff like this [speech and debate] is to build critical thinkers, people who are able to address things,” Vanness said.

Even though the ballroom project may seem like it doesn’t impact local students, the impact trickles down. Money that could be given to those in need, including local students and their families, is instead used for political gain. State High is full of well-educated students who can critically assess the current administration and see some of the adults in their lives supporting these politicians. When the next presidential election arrives, most current high school students will be old enough to do the voting for themselves.