Friday afternoon, hundreds gathered at the Rhode Island State House to protest recent federal actions that organizers say have imperiled the future of scientific research. Providence was one of over 30 cities across America where the rally, hosted by the grassroots campaign Stand Up for Science, took place.
The four-hour rally called for expanded federal funding, an end to “political interference” in research and protections for diversity, equity and inclusion in science, according to rally organizer Margaret Crane, an implementation science fellow at the Warren Alpert Medical School.
“We really just want to end censorship in science and let scientists do their own science,” she said. “The scientific process has a really rigorous review for what gets funded, and we’d like that to be based on scientific priorities, not political priorities.”
In just over six weeks, the Trump administration has attempted to cut grants from the National Institutes of Health, enact a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans and end federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. While these actions have been tied up in litigation, the orders have caused ripple effects across the nation through hiring freezes and funding cuts.
The Trump administration’s actions have personally impacted Christopher Schmid, a professor of biostatistics and a volunteer at the rally. Schmid was involved in a project at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Providence working on treatments for veterans who have difficulty breathing. But soon after joining the project, he was let go.
Schmid characterized the termination letters sent to him and his colleagues as “highly insulting” as it implied they were being let go because they were “not qualified for this job.”
Last month, the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management ordered federal agencies to fire federal probationary employees in an effort to reduce government spending. Schmid was one of these probationary employees. These efforts have since been challenged in federal court.
The Providence VA Medical Center and the White House did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Schmid said that the cut on federal funding is a “tragic loss of resources for absolutely no reason at all.”
“People come (to Brown) to study because we are a world leader, and to lose them would just be a tragedy — not just for us … but for science, for the country and for the world,” he said.
Teresa Schwemmer, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rhode Island, said she attended the rally because her research in climate change is “one of the targets” of the funding cuts.
“It puts not only my career at stake, but the future of the planet at stake,” she said.
Jane Sharp ’91, another attendee and an OB-GYN at Women and Infants Hospital, said that in women’s health care “politics has really impacted access.”
“There’s a lot of clinical trials right now that are halted, trials that are helping people with cancer, and we are losing scientists,” Sharp said. “We are losing research because of this, and it’s going to impact health care for years to come.”
Sharp and Schwemmer both noted that many of their peers had been laid off as a result of the funding cuts.
“I’m hoping our elected officials can see how important this is to us,” Sharp said. “I’m hoping that the population can see this is not some esoteric event that’s going on but something that’s going to directly impact some of their lives.”
Olivia McKissick GS, who is currently pursuing a PhD in neuroscience at Brown, said “science has been a really important part of what makes America great,” yet “we’re in danger” of losing this value.
She described researchers’ mindset as “scared,” citing uncertainties with the future of research funding.
Stephen Chapman, an antiquarian dealer, attended the rally for different reasons.
“I had colon cancer,” Chapman said. “Without science, without the means to find out I had colon cancer … I (would have) most likely died.”
Chapman held a sign that read “I am a survivor thanks to cancer research — end Elon, not research,” referring to Trump-ally Elon Musk.
Despite widespread uncertainties about the future of science and research, attendees felt hopeful about the future of scientific research after attending the rally.
“I’m really excited to see this many people” rallying for science, Schwemmer said. “I hope that we can make an impact on our representatives so that they start fighting back harder.”
Claire Song is a university news and science & research editor for The Herald. She is a sophomore from California studying Applied Math-Biology. She likes to drink boba in her free time.
