The Stand Up for Science rallies are a response to the Trump administration’s actions, which critics see as a threat to scientific progress.
By Richard Sima, Ellie Silverman, Scott Dance and Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post
On any other Friday, Meghan Bullard would probably be immersed in data on a novel treatment for multiple sclerosis, the subject of her dissertation as a graduate student at Georgetown University.
But on this Friday afternoon, she was standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial holding up a sign that read “LITERALLY TRYING TO CURE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS BUT OKAY …” She was one of hundreds who gathered there to push back against a series of executive orders, funding freezes and other administrative edicts that they say threaten the foundations of scientific research and could carry deadly and costly long-term consequences.
The demonstration, which also included dozens of satellite rallies and walkouts across the country, marked the first major protest focused on actions by President Donald Trump’s second administration that have cast many scientific and biomedical research efforts into turmoil. Scientists organized the rallies under the banner “Stand Up for Science” with specific demands: an expansion in funding for scientific research and the reinstatement of initiatives on both diversity, equity, and inclusion and accessibility within government-funded science.
And they’re calling for an end to political interference in science.
Without science, “I wouldn’t be here today,” Emily Whitehead, who was facing a terminal cancer diagnosis until enrolling in an immunotherapy clinical trial at age 6, told the crowd. “I stand up for science so kids can grow up to be the next generation of scientists,” the University of Pennsylvania sophomore said. “I stand up for science because science saved my life.”
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