Student Affairs NOW Current Campus Context: Campus Voting Data, Federal Funding & Loan Caps
Feb 25, 2026
Dr. Felecia Commodore, higher-ed researcher focused on policy and access, and Dr. Crystal Garcia, student affairs scholar centered on civic engagement and equity, discuss scrutiny of student voting data, the SAVE Act and FERPA concerns, funding stability amid tighter federal oversight, and proposed graduate loan caps with risks for diversity and professional pipelines.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Federal Scrutiny Turns Voting Data Political
- Federal scrutiny of student voting data reframes civic engagement as potentially political rather than purely educational.
- Crystal Garcia notes the Department of Education claimed FERPA violations without specifying what identifiable student information or which political entities received data.
Student Data Signals Social Movement Trends
- College students historically drive major social movements, making student voting patterns strategically valuable.
- Felecia Commodore highlights that access to student data could reveal emerging trends before they surface in broader elections.
Press Leadership Publicly And Quietly Support Students
- Use institutional collectives and advocacy to ask leadership hard accountability questions.
- Crystal Garcia advises speaking at regents/board meetings and supporting colleagues and students even when full institutional pushback feels unsafe.