Gilda Geist: More than 400 people gathered in Woods Hole this afternoon to "Stand Up for Science." The rally was part of a national movement that's grown in response to the Trump administration's policies, which organizers say are a threat to scientific progress. I was there with Eve Zuckoff, who is here with us to debrief today's events. Hi, Eve.
Eve Zuckoff: Hi, Gilda.
Gilda Geist: So first, let's start by setting the scene. I saw a lot of very creative signs. One person had a collage rendering of Mar-A-Lago underwater 鈥� a climate change reference. Someone else had a sign that said, "Grab them by the data," which is, of course, a reference to one of President Trump's most famous lines that I cannot say on the radio. What did you see?
Eve Zuckoff: Well, first of all, let me take a step back and just say that the rally took place outside, in front of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's waterfront building, which is one of five or so Woods Hole scientific institutions that have been cuts. And people from all of these institutions were represented at this rally. As you said, it looked like more than 400 people, many of whom had to stand across the street, it was overflowing. And they ranged from young scientists to older retirees, a ton of whom carried these handmade signs, as you described. I saw, "Got plague? Me neither. Thank science;" "Girls just want to have funding for science;" and "So bad that even introverts are here."
Gilda Geist: So there were around five speakers, some scientists, some local elected officials. What did they have to say?
Eve Zuckoff: Yeah, well, speakers included people in the science community, like Dr. John Holdren. He was the science advisor to President Obama. There was Dr. Max Holmes, who's president of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, one of these Woods Hole institutions. And then there was also Congressman Bill Keating, who actually had a moment with the crowd, basically making the point that science affects every aspect of our lives.
"As I look around here today, I notice everyone is dressed warmly," Keating said. "You've got coats, and hats on, and scarves. Maybe that's because you got up in the morning, saw the weather forecast and science told you how to dress to stay warm here today." And the crowd cheered.
Gilda Geist: So yes, as the congressman said, it was a cold, windy day, but there was still a pretty big turnout. So why do you think this issue matters so much in Woods Hole in particular?
Eve Zuckoff: Well, locally there's the human impact. We have, again, at least five major science institutions here, which employ more than 2,000 people locally, and they rely largely on federal funding. In fact, it's about 80% of the budget for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). And as one speaker pointed out, that doesn't just include scientists. It includes IT specialists and custodians and dining staff and so many more people. So that's a lot of people who could feel the ripple effects of these cuts.
Gilda Geist: Also, as speaker and Woods Hole resident Jim Newman pointed out 鈥� he's an engineer who has worked at a few of these institutions 鈥� he talked about the fact that for a long time, opportunities to contribute to the sciences were reserved for mostly white men. Now, of course, we have different attitudes about who can do science, but there's still years of institutional racism there that makes it harder for marginalized groups to break into the sciences. The Woods Hole science community has been trying to address this issue. One of the ways they did that was through a program called the Partnership Education Program. But now that has come under fire, too, as you've reported, Eve. Can you tell us more about that?
Eve Zuckoff: Sure. So the Partnership Education program, PEP, is a summer program that gives opportunities to college students from underrepresented groups to come to Woods Hole and be immersed in the scientific community. But that program operated using federal funding, and it's now been cut by the institutions under pressure from President Trump.
Gilda Geist: What's next for this movement? We know people care about the future of science, but what are they planning to do about it?
Eve Zuckoff: Well, the Stand Up for Science organizers really wanted this rally visible to policymakers. That is the target audience. And they developed three clear policy goals. So first, they want the end of, "censorship and political interference in science." Second, they want "diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in science" defended. And lastly, they want to see "secured and expanded scientific funding." They specifically want federal employees who lost their jobs to get rehired. And they want a 20% increase in federal scientific funding over the next three years. So, Gilda, today was just the beginning, and it demonstrated just how much energy is behind these ideas. I mean, I counted hundreds of Stand Up for Science rallies around the world today, and in every state of the country except for three. And we even checked out a live stream of a rally in Washington, D.C., where there were thousands of people in front of the Lincoln Memorial listening to speakers like Bill Nye the Science Guy and many others, who spoke about science as a public good.
Gilda Geist: That's CAI's Eve Zuckoff. Thanks so much.
Eve Zuckoff: Thank you. Gilda.
