Tufts students and faculty joined hundreds of protesters at the Stand Up for Science Rally on Mar. 7 at the Boston Common. Protesters advocated in support of federal funding for science research.
The event was held by Stand Up for Science, an organization dedicated to ending censorship and political interference in science, securing and expanding scientific funding and defending diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in science.
At the rally, speakers shared their personal experiences and explained the effects from the Trump administration’s cuts on federal funding for university science research.
“I’m a scientist, I’ve spent my career in the pursuit of science and the teaching of science, so it’s something that’s very important to me,” Roger Tobin, professor of physics and astronomy at Tufts, said in an interview with the Daily. “I’m not sure that people outside the discipline really understand the long term damage that can be done by not having federal support for the scientific enterprise.”
While not currently a recipient of federal grants, Tobin attributes recent feelings of uncertainty in his department to recent freezes on federal funding for scientific research.
“In our own department, so far no one has lost their funding, but it can happen,” he said. “It’s not so much that it has directly affected my work or my life, but I see it threatening the underpinning of this whole structure, and will affect a lot of people that I work with and care about.”
Speakers at the rally also shared stories of lives saved by advances in medicine that were funded by federal grants.
“I think it was a lot of very thoughtful, personal [reflections] but also larger-picture [themes], reminding anyone listening of how many things we expect and rely on that can just go away,” he said.
Professor Tobin attended a previous rally in 2017, titled the March for Science. Demonstrators that attended a science education conference on that day marched the streets of San Antonio, Texas chanting and carrying signs. Tobin pointed out similarities and differences between that event and the one this year.
“Honestly, the situation right now feels a lot more dire. At that time, there was a lot of anti-science rhetoric, or a lot of denying science or paying no attention to science.” Tobin said. “There was not the same kind of systematic attack on the actual structures that support the doing of science in this country.”
First-years Tori Guarini and Jules Amorosi also attended this month’s rally, a decision driven by their interest in research.
“I’m really passionate about research in the medical field, and seeing the government cut research, that blows my mind,” Guarini said. “Going into this field, I never thought it would be something that would be at risk. It seems like it should be a pretty consistent thing.”
Amorosi also shared a passion for science and frustration with the changes being made under the new administration.
“To see things that we care about getting defunded or people not being able to do work that’s really important for our country, is just sad to see,” Amorosi said. “Also, it’s affecting both of the fields we want to go into. In four years I’m going to graduate, and then what’s it going to be like in the field I want to be in?”
After the rally, Tobin described it as “inspiring and moving” to have hundreds of people uniting in support of funding for scientific research.
“I always wonder, ‘Does anyone care?’” Tobin said. “But I think you have to do what you can do, [like] getting out there and showing solidarity with the rest of the community and being just one more voice.”
