More than 1,000 scientists and students met at UC San Diego to protest against the potential reductions in the financing of scientific research.
SAN DIEGO – More than a thousand teachers of graduate sciences and students gathered outside the Library Geisel of the UC San Diego on Friday to protest the potential federal financing cuts that threaten scientific research.
The “stand up for science” demonstration occurs while UC San Diego faces the possibility of lose more than $ 150 million in federal funding. The demonstrators expressed their concern about the impact of these reductions in current research and future scientific discoveries.
Cathy Gere, professor of history, made parallels between the current situation and the historical challenges to scientific freedom. “My community of historians of the panic sciences right now while we are looking at the disturbing resemblances between this era and science under the dictatorships of the past,” said Gere.
Grace Cawley, a doctorate. The student of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, underlined the broader implications of the financing cuts. “When funding is reduced, this has not only an impact on researchers. It threatens all the infrastructure that supports ocean science and resource management,” said Cawley.
The rally also highlighted the concerns about the future of scientific careers. Brenda Bloodgood, associate professor of biological sciences, noted: “Already on this campus and throughout the country, there is a frost on the hiring of new teachers”. Bloodgood added: “We must defend science. Defending science, or we lose a generation of scientists and all the discoveries they would make.”
The demonstration took place in the same place where, a year ago, the police had to break a demonstration during the war in Gaza. On the other hand, Friday’s rally remained peaceful.