Parlee Center Joins Stand Up For Science Rally in Philadelphia
On March 7, thousands of scientists, academics, and students, including many Parlee Fellows, rallied across the country in support of science. While Fellows attended the Stand Up For Science Rally in Philadelphia, 31 other major cities also held official demonstrations. Over 148 independent demonstrations were held across the country and abroad.
In light of the Trump administration’s federal funding freeze, delaying over $1.5 billion in funding for the National Health Institute (NIH), scientists, academics, and students have been catapulted into political advocacy and activism to protest against the threat the administration poses to medicine and science at large. While the NIH has partially lifted the freeze on grant reviews, proposed funding cuts and additional layoffs threaten the livelihood of all of us. Not only has this freeze gutted many programs and scientific research, it also raises many ethical dilemmas about healthcare, science, and our society at large.
Stand Up for Science is a project of Science for Good, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, with three overarching policy goals: to end censorship and political interference in science; secure and expand scientific funding; and defend diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in science.
The Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good engages the campus community in an ongoing conversation about science and the ethical responsibilities that scientists and citizens share in ensuring that scientific progress benefits society and minimizes harm. Like the rest of the Quest curriculum, it fosters an environment for critical and ethical thinking.
When asked about the rally, Parlee Fellow Tilly Dumaine ’25 said, “Attending the Stand Up for Science Rally alongside our professors and research mentors embodied the mission of the Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good. As fellows, we are not only committed to scientific inquiry but also to addressing the societal issues that intersect with science. The ongoing attacks on science and medicine are a call to action, demonstrating how we must continue to defend evidence-based knowledge and foster public trust in science. Our studies with the Parlee Center remind us that science must be prioritized by the government, given its profound social implications and its role in shaping a safe and healthy society.”
Parlee Fellow Vienna Gurev ’28 said the demonstration was important to her. “It brought me a sense of community and resistance,” Gurev said. “Listening to the speakers and being in a crowd of like-minded people was inspiring and powerful. It gave me the opportunity to actually get out and do something instead of just reading the headlines and feeling anxious. It signaled that we won’t just sit back and let these attacks on science and our most vulnerable happen; instead, we stand up for our collective future.”
As a Parlee Fellow and attendee of the rally, I believe the two are closely intertwined. An Ursinus education is based upon the four core questions, and I believe science, higher education, and critical thinking are vital to our society and overall success. The dismantling of the Department of Education and the defunding of science should serve as a red flag to students and people everywhere. If we care about our futures, our science, our medicine, and our education, we must speak up. Attending this rally may have been the first step, but it is far from the last. I truly hope that demonstrations in response to actions such as defunding science will help students realize how important it is to be involved and educated about politics. The concept and desire for our careers and personal lives to not be political is long gone now, and we must fight for what matters to us, because the things we are passionate about are always worth fighting for.