Latest news with #MarchforScience
Technical.ly
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Technical.ly
Fight for the future: Science Town Hall gives Philadelphians a chance to question elected officials on budget cuts
This is a guest post by Marion Leary and Amanda Rabinowitz, co-organizers with Philadelphia Science Action (PSA), an organization that works to promote science and scientific thinking for the advancement of society. is a media partner for PSA's town hall on May 29, where people are invited to discuss firsthand with elected officials their plans specific to science and climate change. The future of scientific inquiry and academic freedom is in jeopardy. For the past four months, the scientific community has watched as the Trump administration continues its assault on science and higher education. Trump and his team decimate years of life-saving research through mass layoffs and abrupt funding cuts — interrupting progress and halting discoveries on the verge of a breakthrough. In Philadelphia, we have seen universities targeted, ostensibly for their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and many researchers and federal employees have lost grants and jobs. Even greater losses are expected if Congress approves the sweeping science cuts outlined in Trump's proposed budget, now under consideration. This is a moment of urgent action. Protests and rallies are important, but they are not enough. We need our federal and state elected officials to hear from you, their constituents, about how the Trump administration's anti-science policies are affecting your lives — and livelihoods. Equally as important, we need them to tell us firsthand how they plan to stand up to the Trump administration and protect the scientific community in Philadelphia. We are the group that brought 20,000 people together for the March for Science in 2017 under the first Trump administration and put on the Stand Up for Science rally earlier this year. Like many in the Philadelphia area, our work at Philadelphia Science Action (PSA) and lives have flourished because of the vibrant science and higher education community. Philadelphia is known for its 'eds and meds', a city home to academic institutions, health system, and biotech companies. All are crucial to a thriving economy in the Philadelphia region, as there are over 1,200 life sciences companies, close to 40 hospitals and health systems, and over 100 colleges and academic universities. Our livelihood, progress and innovative spirit depend on the health and science sectors thriving. Which is why our organization, Philadelphia Science Action (PSA), is hosting a Science Town Hall with our Pennsylvania elected officials. PSA's mission is 'to promote science and scientific thinking for the advancement of society, and to champion evidence-based thinking and political dialogue.' We are the group that brought 20,000 people together for the March for Science in 2017 under the first Trump administration and put on the Stand Up for Science rally earlier this year. We are demanding that our elected representatives take up the challenge of defending science in Greater Philadelphia by bringing the conversation to them. In partnership with the Science History Institute, Skype A Scientist and Start Talking Science, we are hosting a Science Town Hall at the Science History Institute from 6 to 8 pm on May 29. Make your voice heard by speaking directly to your representatives As our congressional representatives consider Trump's proposed budget — the blueprint for enacting his domestic agenda — they must recognize the grave consequences of allowing science and innovation to be gutted. Thus far, Congress has failed to adequately protect our region, confirming cabinet appointees and placing our nation's health and future in the hands of those openly hostile to the public sector. Equally urgent is the responsibility of our state and local leaders to step up and strengthen support for science, research and innovation here at home. As national leaders in research and innovation, Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should be at the forefront of efforts to protect the freedom and sustainability of American science and higher education — not only because our region's economic strength and cultural vitality depend on it, but because we have long stood at the vanguard of advancing the public good through science. That's why it's so important for the Philadelphia community to show up, speak out and get the answers they deserve. The Science Town Hall will provide an opportunity for scientists, researchers, students, educators, clinicians, entrepreneurs and the community direct access to the elected officials who represent them. Attendees will have an open forum to voice concerns, ask questions and discuss with policymakers how they are supporting the Philadelphia scientific community. This is our chance to help shape the future of science, technology, engineering/education, math/medicine in Philadelphia and to influence the policies needed to protect our scientific community.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'We will not comply': Demonstrators rally in Spokane, across country in protest of Trump's policies
Apr. 19—"Science makes America Great," "Vaccines work" and "Fund biology, not bigotry" were some of the signs raised in the cool, spring air late Saturday morning on the edge of Mission Park in Spokane. The "March for Science" rally drew well over 1,000 people who condemned President Donald Trump administration's deep cuts to science funding and medical research. The protest, organized by Spokane Women & Allies Action Team and Spokane Pride, was one of several protests Saturday across the Inland Northwest and country that denounced Trump and his policies as undemocratic. Elsewhere in Spokane, Young Activist Leaders of Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane organized a rally, "Money for People, Not for War," Saturday afternoon at B.A. Clark Park on Division Street and Garland Avenue. Two weeks earlier, thousands of protesters lined Division and poured into the park decrying Trump administration policies as part of the nationwide "Hands Off!" movement. Saturday's protest at the park called on Congress to protect funding for Social Security, education, the environment and other "lifeline programs," according to PJALS' Facebook page. In Coeur d'Alene, demonstrators gathered at the busy intersection of U.S. Highway 95 and Appleway Avenue, also the site of the Hands Off demonstration earlier this month. Back at Mission Park, protesters lined strips of grass along Mission Avenue from Perry to Superior streets holding signs as drivers going by honked in support. Two of the protesters, Melissa Lewis and Jacob Brodbeck, dressed in costumes. Lewis wore a penguin suit that read in part, "I AM P.A.T.T. PENGUINS AGAINST TRUMP TARIFFS!" in reference to Trump's tariffs on uninhabited islands near Antarctica that are home to penguins. Lewis said she bought the costume online the day she heard the news about the tariffs on the desolate islands. While tariffs are a concern for Lewis, she said she most worries about the threat to human rights and people's freedoms under Trump's leadership. "But, this was a fun way to play with it," she said of the costume. She said she hopes lawmakers listen to protesters' concerns because they, including Democratic elected leaders, are not doing anything in response to the Trump administration's actions. "I'm tired of them playing like this is a football game," Lewis said. "This is our lives. This is our country and they're not doing anything." Jacob Brodbeck dressed as Jesus and held a sign that said, "AS YOU'VE DONE TO ABREGO GARCIA YOU'VE DONE TO ME," referencing the Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, deported to El Salvador and who the Trump administration has cast as a gang member. Garcia's family and attorneys deny that claim. Brodbeck's sign was also inspired by a Bible quote, he said. Brodbeck said he started protesting when Trump ramped up deportation efforts. "We got a fascist in the office and we need to get rid of him," Brodbeck said. Brodbeck, a Christian, wore a robe and a ring of thorns on his head as Jesus had before his crucifixion. Brodbeck also smeared fake blood on his face ahead of Easter Sunday. "I'm really happy with how many people showed up today considering the weather, and I thought there'd be a big letdown after the big one on (April 5 at Clark Park)," he said. "But Spokane, man, Spokane was great." While protesters stood along the street, others gathered in the park to listen to speakers voicing their concerns about cuts to federal agencies and programs, like the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Medicaid. They urged lawmakers to restore and expand funding for medical research, which is critical to saving lives. Jacquelyn Belock, Cheney City Council member and Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement director at Spokane Falls Community College, said community colleges, not just universities, are "feeling the squeeze" from higher education cuts. "We are losing good educators because we don't know where our funding is going to come from," she said. "We have students who are on the verge of mental breakdowns because they don't know where their funding is going to come from next quarter." Belock said other federal agencies, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which supported families affected by the Gray fire on the West Plains, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have been "gutted all under the guise of equality," Belock said. "We will not comply," she said. "We will maintain educational justice. We will talk about climate justice. We wil provide access to education for everyone in our region."
New York Times
08-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Science, Politics and Anxiety Mix at Rally Under Lincoln Memorial
Shortly before noon on Friday, Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, stood on the steps below the Lincoln Memorial tuning his acoustic guitar — a 'very sweet' Huss & Dalton, he said, with a double-helix of DNA winding down the neck in pearl inlay. The nation's anxious scientists could use a song. Dr. Collins, a biomedical researcher renowned for leading the Human Genome Project in the 1990s, had steered the N.I.H. through three presidencies, into 2021, and continued working at the agency until his abrupt retirement a week ago. Now he was a headline speaker for Stand Up for Science, a rally to protest the Trump administration's drastic cuts to the federal work force and to federally funded science. The organizers weren't sure how many people would show up — they later estimated that the crowd had peaked at 5,000 — nor quite what to expect. In 2017, tens of thousands gathered on the Washington Mall for the March for Science. The collective mood then was as much perplexity as defiance at Mr. Trump's suggestions that America could be made greater by greatly reducing the Environmental Protection Agency and perhaps never mentioning climate change ever again. This year's crowd was met by Lincoln, over-large and stone-faced in his chair. The organizers had chosen the site for its postcard view of Capitol Hill, perhaps less aware that the 16th president was a champion of science. He established the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 and, an avid astronomer, often visited the Naval Observatory. Early in his career, Lincoln often carried a volume of Euclid under his arm; he studied the mathematician's argumentative logic to hone his own as a lawyer. Image Dr. Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health, invoked the Gettysburg Address — 'of the people, by the people, for the people' — and noted that it applied to taxpayer-funded science, too. 'We have to sing about this,' he said. Credit... Eric Lee/The New York Times A scientific S.O.S. Credit... Jason Andrew for The New York Times Beaker, the Muppet lab assistant. Credit... Jason Andrew for The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'What would Albert do?': Scientists from UCLA, USC protest Trump's policy changes
Hundreds of scientists marched under sunny skies in front of federal offices in Los Angeles on Friday as part of a day of nationwide protests against Trump administration policies. Pushing back against perceived threats to research and science, they bore on-theme signs, including one that read 'What would Albert do?' accompanying a photo of Einstein. The rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building drew graduate students and professors from USC and UCLA and was held under the banner of the Stand Up for Science movement, which drew inspiration from the March for Science held in 2017 shortly after Trump began his first term. Many scientists once again feel under attack. In a matter of weeks, the second Trump administration has slashed jobs at science agencies — including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement (again), clawed back research papers under review at scientific journals to scrub terms that the political right has railed against, such as "transgender," and terminated funding for global health programs. The administration has also attempted to block grants and reduce funding for research institutions. 'We have seen incredible disarray and attempts to dismantle a very effective research infrastructure in this country. And we have to say, enough is enough,' Judith Currier, a professor of medicine at UCLA, said at the demonstration, that took place in the shadow of offices for agencies including Veterans Affairs. At least 32 coordinated rallies were held across the country Friday, anchored by a march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., attended by thousands. Duke Han, a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at USC, said that although he wasn't as involved in the March for Science movement during Trump's first stint in the White House, he chose to participate in these protests because the level of interference has grown in significance. Science has historically been considered nonpartisan, but events in recent years have galvanized those in the field to speak out. "A lot of us are trying to figure out what we can do," Han said. "A number of us are becoming more politically active, or politically active for the first time." For Han, the impact isn't theoretical. He says his institution has become more cautious about giving offers to graduate students. A grant that was supposed to fund research he's involved with to identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease is five weeks late. He reached out to contacts at NIH but believes "it's something that's happening above them." Several people at the protest said that the money used to fund scientific work pays dividends — and that losing it can have disastrous consequences for biomedical research, pharmaceutical development and more. Younger scientists shared the concern at the event. An international student at UCLA said the reason she came to the United States was for the "great opportunities" for research. "But look at the situation now," said the 21-year-old undergrad, originally from India, who declined to provide her name because of how it might affect her immigration status. Katherine Karlsgodt, an associate professor at UCLA in the psychology and psychiatry departments, who helped organize the Los Angeles rally, said she was "very upset" by the barrage of changes and concerned about their ramifications. Alterations to science agency funding "have the potential to just completely derail scientific research and medical research [and] have a huge impact on universities and university budgets and our ability to train students and do research and basically everything that we do." Karlsgodt caught wind of the Stand Up for Science effort but was disappointed when she didn't see a local rally on the books. Then some people at UCLA and USC got to talking, she said. One of her students — Dylan Hughes, a PhD student in the clinical psychology program at UCLA — booked the site and they began trying to spread the word. By the evening before the event, 300 people had RSVP'd. Expressions of anger and alarm intermingled with hope and solidarity at the rally. Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" played as scores of attendees mingled and flashed pithy signs to cars speeding down Wilshire Boulevard. Honks elicited cheers. A dog in the crowd sported a sign announcing, 'Dogs against DOGE,' around its neck, a reference to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, who has led much of the Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts. What's now a national movement began as a Bluesky post. On. Feb. 8, Colette Delawalla, a graduate student in psychology at Emory University, announced online that she was planning a national protest for science, according to the New York Times. It hit a collective nerve, and other scientists quickly hopped on board, evolving into Stand Up for Science. Behind the rallies are policy goals outlined on the group's website, including ending political interference and censorship; restoring and expanding research funding; and defending diversity and accessibility. Back in L.A., Hughes, the UCLA PhD student, who helped spearheaded the local event, urged people to take in the moment. "This is a really dark time for science and for humanity," Hughes said, "but there's an energy that we've created here that's really helpful and has the power to change the world." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
‘What would Albert do?': Scientists from UCLA, USC protest Trump's policy changes
Hundreds of scientists marched under sunny, blue skies in front of federal offices in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Friday as part of a day of nationwide protests against Trump administration policies seen as a threat to research and universities, bearing on-theme signs, including one that read 'What would Albert do?' accompanying a photo of Einstein. The rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building drew graduate students and professors from USC and UCLA and was held under the banner of the Stand Up for Science movement, which drew inspiration from the March for Science held in 2017 shortly after Trump began his first term. Many scientists once again feel under attack. In a matter of weeks, the second Trump administration has slashed jobs at science agencies — including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement (again), clawed back research papers under review at scientific journals to scrub terms that the political right has railed against, such as 'transgender,' and terminated funding for global health programs. The administration has also attempted to block grants and reduce funding for research institutions. 'We have seen incredible disarray and attempts to dismantle a very effective research infrastructure in this country. And we have to say, enough is enough,' Judith Currier, a professor of medicine at UCLA, said at the demonstration, that took place in the shadow of offices for agencies including Veterans Affairs. At least 32 coordinated rallies were held across the country Friday, anchored by a march on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., attended by thousands. Duke Han, a professor of psychiatry and family medicine at USC, said that although he wasn't as involved in the March for Science movement during Trump's first stint in the White House, he chose to participate in these protests because the level of interference has grown in significance. Science has historically been considered nonpartisan, but events in recent years have galvanized those in the field to speak out. 'A lot of us are trying to figure out what we can do,' Han said. 'A number of us are becoming more politically active, or politically active for the first time.' For Han, the impact isn't theoretical. He says his institution has become more cautious about giving offers to graduate students. A grant that was supposed to fund research he's involved with to identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease is five weeks late. He reached out to contacts at NIH but believes 'it's something that's happening above them.' Several people at the protest said that the money used to fund scientific work pays dividends — and that losing it can have disastrous consequences for biomedical research, pharmaceutical development and more. Younger scientists shared the concern at the event. An international student at UCLA said the reason she came to the United States was for the 'great opportunities' for research. 'But look at the situation now,' said the 21-year-old undergrad, originally from India, who declined to provide her name because of how it might affect her immigration status. Katherine Karlsgodt, an associate professor at UCLA in the psychology and psychiatry departments, who helped organize the Los Angeles rally, said she was 'very upset' by the barrage of changes and concerned about their ramifications. Alterations to science agency funding 'have the potential to just completely derail scientific research and medical research [and] have a huge impact on universities and university budgets and our ability to train students and do research and basically everything that we do.' Karlsgodt caught wind of the Stand Up for Science effort but was disappointed when she didn't see a local rally on the books. Then some people at UCLA and USC got to talking, she said. One of her students — Dylan Hughes, a PhD student in the clinical psychology program at UCLA — booked the site and they began trying to spread the word. By the evening before the event, 300 people had RSVP'd. Expressions of anger and alarm intermingled with hope and solidarity at the rally. Sam Cook's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' played as scores of attendees mingled and flashed pithy signs to cars speeding down Wilshire Boulevard. Honks elicited cheers. A dog in the crowd sported a sign announcing, 'Dogs against DOGE,' around its neck, a reference to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, who has led much of the Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts. What's now a national movement began as a Bluesky post. On. Feb. 8, Colette Delawalla, a graduate student in psychology at Emory University, announced online that she was planning a national protest for science, according to the New York Times. It hit a collective nerve, and other scientists quickly hopped on board, evolving into Stand Up for Science. Behind the rallies are policy goals outlined on the group's website, including ending political interference and censorship; restoring and expanding research funding; and defending diversity and accessibility. Back in L.A., Hughes, the UCLA PhD student, who helped spearheaded the local event, urged people to take in the moment. 'This is a really dark time for science and for humanity,' Hughes said, 'but there's an energy that we've created here that's really helpful and has the power to change the world.'
