Stand Up for Science Rallies Will Protest Trump Attacks on Research

Amid President Donald Trump's attacks on government scientists and science funding, researchers are arranging rallies to "Stand Up for Science" in Washington, D.C., and nationwide on March 7

Among the slew of actions that President Donald Trump has taken during his first weeks back in office has been a barrage of attacks on federal scientists and scientific funding. The administration's science agencies have fired thousands of employees, attempted to freeze research disbursements and proposed new policies that would reduce funding into the future.

Against this backdrop, a team of early-career researchers is organizing nationwide rallies on March 7 to "Stand Up for Science""a call for people across the U.S. to demonstrate to show their appreciation of science and its benefits to society. Rallies will take place in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Nashville, Tenn., Austin, Tex., and many other places across the country. The network of stationary rallies is set to take place eight years after the March for Science protests that met Trump's first administration"which Stand Up for Science's organizers hope helped prepare scientists to wade into politics.

To learn about Stand Up for Science's plans and goals, Scientific American talked with three of its lead organizers: Colette Delawalla, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at Emory University, Emma Courtney, a Ph.D. candidate in biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Sam Goldstein, a Ph.D. candidate in health behavior at the University of Florida.