UW-Green Bay professor gives Secretary of Education an “F” grade ahead of Wisconsin stop
WATCH FULL CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR SHELTON HERE.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Ahead of Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s Tuesday visit to Wisconsin, Opportunity Wisconsin hosted a conversation with UW-Green Bay professor Jon Shelton about the Trump administration's failed leadership during COVID-19 and how it's impacting Wisconsin educators and students. It’s been 114 days since President Trump said we’d soon have zero COVID-19 cases in the U.S. We now have 2.3 million cases and more than 122,000 deaths.
“Without some significant federal policies to get the economy going again you could have a lost generation of people coming into the job market and being put behind several years because of this,” said Professor Shelton. “We’re at an enormous crossroads and what happens in the next few months is utterly crucial.”
Earlier this year, the lives of college students were thrown into chaos. They were forced to quickly abandon campus as their professors scrambled to figure out how to conduct their classes and exams online. However, the future for the Class of 2020 is no less grim. The shaky foundation of President Trump’s economy and the ongoing global pandemic have potentially robbed them of their futures.
“In a time of national crisis, what the government should be doing is enabling American citizens, not enabling corporations,” said Professor Shelton. “Ensuring that people have access to jobs, guaranteeing that people who are in college can stay in college and come out with a degree and without tens of thousands of dollars of debt that’s going to cripple their livelihoods forever - that’s the promise of America.”
When asked what letter grade Professor Shelton would give the Trump administration for their handling of the pandemic and Secretary DeVos for her oversight of America’s education, Professor Shelton responded “D” and “F,” respectively.
“There’s been a really troubling history from this Department of Education, especially in the past few months as we’ve seen the Department implement the CARES Act,” said Professor Shelton, referring to the additional requirements Secretary DeVos established that would largely prevent undocumented, international, and DACA receipient students from receiving emergency funds via the CARES Act. “To cut them out for ideological reasons is just troubling...it’s evidence of a Department of Education that’s not really valuing what’s important.”
What the economy actually needs to recover is a government that helps end this pandemic, helps workers and families keep their heads above the water, and starts to fix the underlying weaknesses that have made this crisis so much worse than it needed to be.
WATCH FULL CONVERSATION WITH PROFESSOR SHELTON HERE.
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About Opportunity Wisconsin
Opportunity Wisconsin is a coalition of Wisconsin residents fighting for an economy that works for working people. Through our stories, we’re elevating the real consequences of the destructive economic policies championed by President Trump and his allies these past three years, and showing how they have made Wisconsin’s economy worse off. Join us in demanding our elected officials focus more on growing the economy for middle class folks and expanding opportunity for all Wisconsinites, not just the wealthy few. To learn more about Opportunity Wisconsin, visit OpportunityWisconsin.org or stay connected on Twitter at @OpportunityWI and on Facebook at Facebook.com/OpportunityWI.