UCLA SPG STANDS UP FOR SCIENCE
“Research funding is under attack—what do we do?” “Stand up, fight back!”
On March 7, 2025, UCLA SPG joined hundreds of students, faculty, and science supporters in a Stand Up for Science solidarity rally outside the Wilshire Federal Building near campus. Rally attendees protested the Trump Administration’s wide-ranging attacks on the scientific enterprise and workforce.
In a dizzying 6 weeks, the Administration disrupted the NIH’s grant review process, rescinded grants and fellowship opportunities, fired federal scientists, removed environmental and public health data from online repositories, promoted ideological, anti-scientific language regarding climate change and gender identity, and threatened universities with a 15% indirect cost rate, a severe reduction in biomedical research funding.
Hundreds gathered at the Wilshire Federal Building, just over a mile from UCLA campus. Photo credit: @paulpharoah.bsky.social on BlueSky.
UCLA SPG President Erin Morrow helped plan the event alongside other graduate student leaders (Dylan Hughes, UCLA; Kathleen O’Hora, UCLA; Margarid Turnamian, USC; Stephanie Wert; UCLA) and faculty (Carrie Bearden, UCLA; Katie Karlsgodt, UCLA). Erin assisted with coordinating event logistics, confirming speakers, and creating the program.
[Left] Jess Phoenix called scientists and science supporters to action at the rally. [Right] Dr. Jennifer Silvers delivered a passionate speech in front of a large crowd of rally-goers.
The event featured speakers like Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist, writer, and former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, who reminded rally attendees that “this is our shared human heritage: Your ability to ask why and to doggedly pursue the answers until you have facts, and evidence, and data supporting them—that’s your superpower. They cannot take that away from you.”
Dr. Jennifer Silvers, an Associate Professor of Psychology at UCLA, professed that as scientists, “we are the soundest investment you can make,” a statement borne out by the fact that each dollar of NIH research funding has a return of approximately $2.50 to the US economy. She also spoke about how attacks on science impact her own family: “My daughter deserves to have treatments, she deserves to have people fighting the good fight to create innovations to allow her to have a happy and healthy life.”
Former SPG President Kayla Lim led a letter-writing table to help attendees communicate their concerns about scientific funding to their Representatives in Congress. Nearly 200 letters, many handwritten, were collected at the rally.
A key next step for UCLA SPG is coordinating advocacy efforts with science policy groups across different universities and institutions. SPG remains in contact with Stand Up for Science organizers nationwide, and will continue collaborating and mobilizing to support critical scientific research and education.
The rally organizing team consisted of graduate students and faculty from UCLA and USC.
