SANTA CRUZ >> Students, faculty, staff and community members gathered by the hundreds in front of the Science and Engineering Library at UC Santa Cruz for the Stand Up for Science rally alongside protesters at the Seymour Discovery Center and others in more than 30 cities across the country.

The national movement was inspired by recent layoffs and funding cuts to federal science programs and departments such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others and “to call on policymakers, institutions and the scientific community to uphold the integrity of science, protect its accessibility and ensure its benefits serve all people.”

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, Stand Up for Science, has three primary policy goals: the restoration of federal scientific funding and reinstatement of wrongfully terminated employees at federal agencies, an end to governmental interference and censorship in science, and a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in science.

“I was a kid in the ‘60s and foolishly thought the achievements and the victories of the ‘60s and ‘70s — in civil rights and feminism and gay rights and the anti-war movement — would endure, but things do not endure unless they are nurtured,” said UCSC professor emerita Donna J. Haraway at the rally Friday afternoon. “I feel like gatherings like this are one piece in the puzzle.”

Haraway was the first in a panel of scheduled and impromptu speakers who stood up and spoke to the importance of science Friday, after which UCSC Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology professor Needhi Bhalla shared insights.

“What we are seeing is not only an attack on science but an attack on expertise,” said Bhalla. “I know we are all anxious and concerned about what these federal cuts to biomedical research mean for us as scientists and as Americans, because we know that that work is essential to keep people safe and healthy.”

Following Bhalla was Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department Chair and professor Karen Ottemann, who outlined all the ways that science has personally benefited her life and the lives of those close to her.

“My brother had lymphoma and had a low chance of survival and was treated with drugs that were cutting edge, targeted to his lymphoma, and he survived,” Ottemann said to the applause of those gathered. “My mom has glaucoma. Twenty years she would be blind, but now with the treatments that have been developed, she can see just fine.”

Ottemann encouraged those at the gathering to think about how education and science has benefited their lives and to share those stories with those around them.

“Almost all of the discoveries that have been made, started at a university,” Ottemann added. “That’s because our country decided that that’s the way we want to do it. We want to have research and development and training at universities. So let’s remind them. That’s what we’re doing.”

After the panel of professors addressed the crowd from atop a wooden bench and without the aid of a megaphone, Haraway invited anyone at the gathering to talk about the importance of not only science, but also the need for equity, inclusion and differing perspectives in scientific research.

To stress the need for diversity in research, Bioinformatics Analyst at the UCSC Genomics Institute Ash O’Farrell took the bench to talk about how seatbelts and airbags were designed to protect the average sized man, which led to to higher rates of injury of women in car crashes.

“When we talk about DEI and what it actually means and how it’s being used as a shorthand for anything that certain people don’t like anymore, we need to keep in mind that we’re not only talking about the careers of marginalized individuals, which is absolutely vital, but we need to keep in mind that it also helps us in outcomes,” said O’Farrell. “Let us not forget that when airbags and seatbelts were first implemented, they were calibrated to the average man working in those areas. The average woman, who is lighter and shorter, had a higher chance of dying. We often have these blind spots and they don’t come out of malice the majority of the time. But if we don’t have a diverse group of people who are working, these things are going to be missed.”

First year UCSC student Cameron Paloutzian also spoke to the importance of including diverse perspectives in scientific research and the dangers of spreading scientific disinformation.

“We know how much suffering and dismay that causes,” said Paloutzian. “We need to realize that science isn’t for you, it isn’t for me and it isn’t for them. Science is for everyone.”

After numerous students and professors spoke, the rally ended with Haraway calling for a moment of silence for science. After most had dispersed, she told the Sentinel that the robust gathering instilled her with a hope for the future.

“I am really, really pleased to see the turnout here today,” said Haraway. “The energy was fabulous and the young people here are amazing. This was a large crowd and a very diverse crowd and made up of people who are attuned to the connection of science and science injustice in the tissue of the work. There was a lot of passion in this gathering. I think that speaks to the near future. We will not go away, and I feel hopeful.”

For information, visit standupforscience2025.org.