SALISBURY, MD — Members of the Salisbury University scientific community gathered Friday to voice their concerns about the Trump administration's federal cuts to scientific agencies. The event coincided with a national protest in Washington, D.C. and other rallies nationwide.
Faculty members in various natural and social sciences spoke to a crowd of approximately 25 people. One of the speakers, Dr. Noah Bressman, an Assistant Professor of Physiology at SU, shared how federal grants supported him early in his career as a scientist.
"You can't just take an undergraduate fresh out of college with no research experience and tell them 'cure cancer,' you're going to need some training," Dr. Bressman said. "This requires smaller projects so that they can make bigger and more important discoveries later on."
The Chair of the Psychology Department, Dr. Meredith Patterson, said federal funding from the National Institutes of Health allowed her to become the scientist and educator she is today. With the present uncertainty surrounding funding, Dr. Patterson said faculty are struggling with how best to advise students.
"We don't want to discourage them; we want to be creating new scientists, but we also want to meet their realistic expectations," Dr. Patterson said. "So, we feel very helpless as far as how we're able to help our students."
Other faculty members spoke against information censorship, research grant cuts and the politicization of science.
Colin McEvers, a political science student at Salisbury University and the Chairman of the Lower Shore Young Republicans, said that the negative effects of the funding cuts are likely temporary.
"In the long term, I think it's going to have a positive effect on the country and the people and the economy too," McEvers said.
Former Salisbury University Provost Dr. Tom Jones, who attended the rally to lend his support, said he is concerned about how these cuts will affect America's standing in the global scientific arena.
"If we don't have the financial support to do that, we're going to stagnate," Dr. Jones said. "The rest of the world is going to be the leaders in science and not us, and we need to stay there."
Participants were encouraged to write to their local representatives to advocate for reversing the funding cuts.
"Science has nothing to do with politics." Dr. Jones said. "It's about seeking knowledge, seeking facts, and providing theories."
Thirty-two official Stand Up for Science rallies were held in cities across the country Friday. The movement is the descendant of the March for Science that took place in 2017 during President Trump's first term.