“On March 7th, 2025, thousands of scientists, academics, and students, including many of the Parlee Fellows, rallied across the country to Stand Up For Science,” states Parlee Fellow and Philadelphia rally attendee Ashton Newswanger ’26. “With official demonstrations in 32 major cities and over 75 independent organizations across the country as well as abroad, people everywhere organized in support of science.”
Stand Up for Science is a project of Science for Good, a Washington DC- based non-profit organization, and has 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. Newswanger asserts, “These three goals fundamentally align with the Parlee Center, and as such, Fellows such as myself were eager to attend in support of not only our future careers but the sanctity of science and medicine at large.”
Parlee Fellow and rally attendee Tilly Dumaine ’25 states, “Since the recent presidential inauguration, there have been extreme governmental attacks on the sciences. In response to this non-partisan issue, rallies in support of the sciences have been organized in major cities all across the nation.” Members of the science department faculty at Ursinus organized transportation for students to attend the Stand Up for Science Rally in Philadelphia. According to Dumaine, “Students and faculty alike created posters and attended the rally, where approximately 2,000 protestors listened to speeches from various speakers from different science and medical backgrounds. Faculty directors and student fellows of the Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good made up a large portion of the Ursinus group that attended the protest.”
“The Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good encourages and educates our campus about science, and equally or even more importantly, the ethical responsibilities that we as scientists must hold ourselves and others accountable to ensure scientific progress benefits society and minimizes harm. It plays an incredibly important role for our students – educating and fostering an environment for critical and ethical thinking. Our work and values are pivotal to society, especially now,” explained Newswanger.
In response to recent government decisions and policies, Newswanger says that “we have seen some violent and devastating impacts on science and communities across America.”
“I do not believe we can truly comprehend the harm of a spending freeze to our largest bodies of science and medicine, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Health Institute (NIH). This freeze to the NIH alone stalled applications for $1.5 billion in medical research funding, which is used to fund research for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and much, much more (Rob Stein, NPR),” said Newswanger.
Newswanger states, “Not only has this freeze gutted many programs and scientific research, but it also raises many ethical dilemmas about healthcare, science, and our society at large.” In a call to action, Newswanger adds, “I see no better time than the present to prepare our students to fight for the future of science and carefully approach the ethical dilemma that will arise from this.”