On Friday, protesters gathered in Washington, DC, and at more than 30 satellite protests nationwide in what appears to be the largest pro-science demonstration of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The “Stand Up for Science” rally, led by a small team of scientists, comes amid historic cuts to publicly funded research and firings at science agencies across the federal government. As I previously reported:
Since taking office, President Donald Trump and his administration have put research funding on hold; paused communication and travel at the National Institutes of Health; removed or edited websites related to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) at NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration; slashed funding for universities’ “indirect costs” (a move academics say will limit research); and fired hundreds of federal employees across the government’s health agencies.
On their website, the Stand Up for Science organizers call for reversing those measures—ending “censorship and political interference in science,” securing and expanding scientific funding, and defending diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science.
In New York City, hundreds of Stand Up for Science protesters gathered in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, holding signs reading, “Science Makes America Great,” “Fund Facts Not Felons,” and “Girls Just Want to Have Funding for Science.” At times, the crowd chanted in call-and-response, “When science is under attack, what do we do? Fight Back!”
Several signs noted science’s role in saving lives. One attendee, a New Jersey resident who asked only to be identified by first name, Richard, held a small sign that said, “Government Funded Biomedical Research Saved My Child’s Life.” At 14, he told me, his daughter was diagnosed with cancer. With the help of a new drug called an immune checkpoint inhibitor, she recovered. In a few weeks, she’ll graduate from college, he says, with plans to attend medical school. The “miracle” drug is what inspired him to protest. “It did literally save her life,” he said.
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