Press release courtesy of the American Farm Bureau photo credit: AFBF Photo, Mike Tomko
The American Farm Bureau sent President Donald Trump a letter Jan. 31 expressing concern that new tariffs levied against Canada, Mexico and China may inadvertently create financial hardships on U.S. farmers and ranchers. Historically, retaliatory actions often target U.S. agriculture but then ripple throughout the U.S. economy.
“Last year, the U.S. exported over $30 billion in agricultural products to Mexico, $29 billion to Canada and $26 billion to China – our top three markets by value combined for half of total agricultural exports,” the letter states. “Any effort to impose additional tariffs on these nations’ imports runs the risk of significant retaliatory measures against U.S. agricultural exports. We ask that you carefully consider the impact on American farmers and ranchers, associated businesses and rural communities when determining potential trade actions. For decades, American agriculture has strongly supported efforts to open the world to our agricultural and other trade products.”
The letter also provides broader context about the importance of international markets to U.S. farmers and ranchers, stating, “Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the borders of the United States and over twenty percent of U.S. farm income is based on agricultural exports. Expanding opportunities for U.S. crop and livestock producers to access international markets will boost farm income in the United States, while preserving existing access is critical to maintaining farm income. U.S. agricultural exports amounted to $174.5 billion in FY2024, and – historically – every $1 of U.S. agricultural exports results in over $2 in additional domestic economic activity.”
Over 20% of U.S. agricultural products are exported. For many commodities, the percentage is significantly higher. U.S. actions, including implementing tariffs, that ultimately increase costs and drive down prices for farmers and ranchers would be especially difficult at a moment when so many are already facing insolvency.
The letter continues, “We urge your Administration to make certain that any action taken in the near- or long-term with Canada, Mexico and China does not make it more difficult for American farm families to raise a safe and affordable crop on domestic soil.”
JONESBORO — New interests in school safety have emerged with the mass shooting at Parkland, Florida, and the Westside Shooting’s 20th anniversary fresh on everyone’s mind.
In light of the Parkland shooting, President Donald Trump advocated for arming teachers in the hopes of preventing more mass shootings in a tweet.
Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again – a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States.
The debate of having firearms on campus is not isolated to public schools; it provides a point of contention for colleges and universities as well.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 10 states including Arkansas currently have provisions allowing concealed carry on postsecondary campuses. Provided a person has passed the required courses — including the standard concealed-carry courses and the specialty enhanced-carry courses — gun owners may legally carry their weapon on college grounds.
Dr. Michael McDaniel, A-State Faculty Senate chair (photo by Christopher Lee)
Arkansas State University Faculty Senate chair Michael McDaniel explained how A-State’s Faculty Senate reacted to the new law.
“It’s hard to speak for the entire faculty. About the only thing I feel comfortable saying is that I believe that the faculty were reasonably comfortable with the situation we had prior to this new law,” McDaniel said.
Prior to House Bill 1249, now Act 562, colleges could opt out of allowing concealed carry on their premises, but with the passing of Act 562 this is no longer an option.
“With the new law we lost that option, so now we can’t opt out. It is the rule and it is the law,” McDaniel continued.
Bill Smith, A-State’s associate vice chancellor for marketing and communications, echoed the idea in a short but strong statement.
“The law is the law and we can’t change that,” Smith said.
Even though the law has officially gone in effect, understanding faculty and student opinions about the new conceal carry law is important for gaining insight into how the law and its implementation are perceived.
Some faculty members like associate professor of political science Richard Wang said they feel they were ignored.
“As you know, the university said, ‘No, we’ll opt not to have concealed carry on our campus.’ Joining with A-State are all the other universities in this state, plus junior colleges, plus the campus police forces, plus the local police, the county police and county sheriff offices all around the state, joining … It’s a coalition, and they all said, ‘No, we want to keep the local option, the option here,” Wang said.
Wang has taught at Arkansas State University for 31 years. He said he was surprised to hear the law passed. You can hear more of Wang’s opinions about the concealed carry law by watching the video below:
Dr. Brandon Kemp, interim Dean of associate engineering programs (photo by Christopher Lee)
Brandon Kemp, A-State’s interim associate dean of engineering programs, echoed this sentiment when he heard the new concealed carry law had gone into effect.
“My first opinion was that it was ridiculous. As a faculty we have voiced our opinions over and over again that we don’t want guns on campus,” Kemp said.
A Jonesboro native who has worked at Arkansas State University for over seven years, Kemp said allowing guns on campus added unnecessary risk to the campus. He said it also adds confusion to first responders during an active-shooter threat.
“If we have an active-shooter situation and we have people on campus — whether it be faculty or students — who are pulling out their firearms to combat the situation, then the first responders — the police and SWAT — now they have a much more difficult situation,” Kemp said.
Dr. Erik Gilbert, professor of history (photo courtesy of Arkansas State)
While concerns about increased gun violence with more guns on campus is rational, Erik Gilbert, professor of history at A-State, has already written two articles about the topic of concealed carry on college campuses.
Gilbert cited his articles as his opinion of the new concealed carry law.
In the article, Gilbert encouraged faculty to relax about the idea of guns being on campus.
I can almost guarantee that if you have a few semesters of teaching under your belt, at some point there have been students with guns in your classroom. If those illegally armed students were not moved to violence by the content of your course or the statements of their fellow students, it seems highly improbable that a new group of legally armed students will prove to be more volatile or violence-prone than their scofflaw peers.
Gilbert ended the article by stating, “Don’t worry about the presence of legally carried guns in your classrooms. If you are going to worry, worry about someone illegally bringing a gun on campus with the intention of causing mayhem, not someone who legally carries a gun in the hope of protecting himself from harm.”
In his second article, “Campus Carry Is Not About Preventing Mass Shootings,” Gilbert argued the choice to allow concealed carry on campus is less about the ability to stop mass shootings and more about letting individuals choose how they wish to defend themselves.
Gilbert wrote, “If you happen to be locked down in a classroom during a mass shooting, wouldn’t you rather be able to shoot back if the shooter comes through the door? If you would rather resort to throwing coffee cups or iPads, as some campus police might advise, that’s a valid choice and I would not try to dissuade you.”
The article, published by Inside Higher Ed in 2017, cites many sources to show how concealed carry has affected mass shootings in states where it is allowed, and how concealed carry benefits students.
College Republicans Rep. Chandler Jones (photo by Christopher Lee)
Members of both the College Republicans of A-State and the Young Democrats discussed their opinions on the topic of concealed carry on campus.
“I’m thankful for the state of Arkansas legislature to pass this because it shows that they think of us as humans, they think of us so that we’re allowed to protect ourselves,” College Republicans Rep. Chandler Jones, a pre-professional biology major, said. “I’m thankful and I do think it will be more of a preventative measure; someone who is mentally ill would know that they’re also going to be met with force.”
Jones said he sees the new law as an opportunity, ensuring students have the right to defend themselves if necessary during a mass shooting. You can listen to more of his points below.
Dominique Phillips and Anthony Sumlin of A-State’s Young Democrats discussed the organization’s opinion of the law.
Young Democrats Rep. Dominique Phillips (photo by Christopher Lee)
Phillips also serves as president of student diversity and recruitment.
“I feel like I speak not only for myself but for my party when I say that I feel like the new laws might cause a bit of a problem,” she said. “In general, you can’t fight violence with violence, you can’t fight fire with fire. You’re allowing guns to be on campus now, even going throughout the so many courses that you have. That doesn’t change when a person has a mental breakdown or a mental issue.
“As far as someone acting as a guardian, it’s a little tricky because I see that and I can see the positive side of how they will be able to fight back,” Phillips said. “But at the same time, is it guaranteed that someone will be able to muster up enough courage to go out and shoot someone back?”
While the College Republicans and Young Democrats sit on opposite sides of the concealed carry on campus debate, both parties agreed mental health reform is necessary to prevent mass shootings like Westside and Parkland.
“I feel that not only in public schools — in high schools and elementary, middle schools — but also in colleges there needs to be a more open discussion about mental health awareness,” Phillips said.
A-State’s Young Democrats Anthony Sumlin, a biology and chemistry major, echoed Phillips’ opinion.
“I think the response should not be, ‘Oh well, let’s give more people guns to hide on themselves.’ Personally I feel like we should do more with educating teachers on how to spot mental health issues and really getting rid of that stigma that mental health is something to be ashamed of,” Sumlin said.
You can listen to more of Sumlin’s statements below.
Jones also said he believes mental health reform provides the key to stopping mass shootings.
“Restricting buying guns now really isn’t going to slow down someone who wants to get a weapon from getting it cause they’re on the streets, they’re sold illegally. So I think it needs to be more mental health,” he said. “Screening these people, getting more help for these people, more … maybe facilities. More money distributed there, I think that’s what needs to be our first step.”
The new conceal carry law has clearly struck a nerve with faculty and students alike, but it is unclear how it will affect the educational climate of colleges and universities. Even with the division the new law has caused, what is clear is the law will continue to create debates about campus safety.
Daniela Canizales, a dreamer, attends a pro-DACA protest on the A-State campus. She remembers nothing of her birth country after coming to the United States as an infant. Photo by Kimberely Blackburn
By Kimberely Blackburn
Delta Digital News Service
JONESBORO – President Donald Trump announced his decision to discontinue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a decision placing those brought to the United States as children by undocumented immigrant parents, often known as “dreamers,” at risk for deportation.
Trump’s decision comes after lawmakers from 10 states demanded he take action against the program, which they called “unlawful and unconstitutional.” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter penned by himself and other officials, including Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, giving the Trump administration until Sept. 5 to make a decision on DACA. After this date, the group would proceed to federal court.
In a prepared statement, Rutledge said, “While we are a compassionate country, the United States is a country of laws, and President Trump recognized that President Obama’s DACA program went far beyond the executive branch’s legal authority. Congress has always been the proper place for this debate, and I am pleased that the President is granting Congress an additional six months to legislatively address this issue.”
The Impact
One dreamer, Bryan Hernandez, said his parents decided to leave Mexico City after someone robbed his father at gunpoint. After coming to the United States at the age of 6, Hernandez said he does not remember much of his birth country.
Hernandez said his parents brought him and his sister to the United States for a better education and more work opportunities. He said his parents work as a roofer and a maid, having previously worked for low wages as migrant workers.
Edica Tamez, a friend of Hernandez, said she remembers when Hernandez’s 4-year-old brother worked as a migrant worker alongside his family. Tamez said the child knew his family needed money and wanted to help.
Tamez said she often saw a similar work ethic in the Hernandez family, remembering Hernandez’s now 16-year-old sister reacting to being approved for DACA, after being denied twice.
“She was so relieved she could finally work. She could finally help her family and go to school,” Tamez said.
Brought from Monterrey, Mexico, 18 years ago, now 19-year-old Daniela Canizales said she remembers nothing of her birth country. Canizales said she fears how the end of DACA affects her educational opportunities. While currently not in school, she said she wants to study social work.
Canizales said her parents brought her and her older brother to the United States for a better education. She says DACA also provided opportunities for her brother and sister-in-law to provide for their 6-year-old daughter.
Edica Tamez and dreamer Bryan Hernandez protest the end of DACA. The A-State Young Democrats protested in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Photo by Kimberely Blackburn
The Aftermath
The Young Democrats of Arkansas State University staged a protest on the A-State campus. Those in attendance included Kayleigh Schalk of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Schalk said she attended the protest because of her belief that it is unfair for children to be sent away from their home.
Schalk said she attended class with dreamers in a small Missouri university, finding them to be kind and hardworking. One, Schalk said, worked odd jobs and swept up the trash after all the events and ball games.
Special Sanders, outreach director of Arkansas Coalition for DREAM, said Arkansas requires dreamers to pay out-of-state tuition. This is often close to double what Arkansas residents pay. Sanders said when DACA ends, dreamers will most likely not be able to keep their identification or their jobs.
Sanders said she does not think Congress will pass legislation to help dreamers. She said if something does not change, she will return to the streets in protest.
Dylan Herekamp, also in attendance for the protest, said he did not know any dreamers personally. However, he said, that did not matter to him. Herekamp said his goal will always be to stand up and support dreamers, and he encourages everyone to write or fax their lawmakers and make their voices heard.
A Deal in Progress
Late Wednesday night, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a joint statement after meeting with Trump which said “We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.”
Sarah Sanders, press secretary for the Trump Administration issued a Tweet which said, “While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to.”
Uncertain Future
In response to DACA critics, Canizales said she wishes everyone would become fully informed on the issue. Canizales said everyone should do research and learn of the issue before making snap judgments.
Hernandez said the future of his family remains uncertain and his education remains a concern.
“(This decision) takes away the opportunity, the change for an education that we always wished for,” Hernandez said.
Delta Digital News Service 