Around 250 students, faculty, and community members gathered at UC Santa Barbara to take part in the nationwide March for Science, voicing concerns over federal National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health grant cuts to scientific research.
Organized by the University of California’s academic workers union — UAW Local 4811 — local members of the national group Researchers Against War, and UCSB’s Women in Science and Engineering, the demonstration on March 7 mirrored a larger movement throughout the United States. Scientists, researchers, and supporters are pushing back against the Trump administration’s proposed federal funding budget reductions and job cuts. These reductions, specifically targeted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and potentially the Department of Education, directly impact funding for scientific research, including projects that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
A UCSB graduate student from the Physics Department (who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation) fueled the crowd, leading chants of “Shame!” as she shared her frustration as a student researcher. “Science is a public good, and as such, it should be funded by the government,” she said. That includes state government. Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a 7.95 percent budget cut to the UC system in January — resulting in a potential $396.6 million loss in funds dedicated to the 10 UC campuses. The grad student and others said the potential cut has raised concerns about the future of public education and accessible scientific research in California. Reduction in state funding could lead to the layoffs of professors, the elimination of majors, and decreased enrollment numbers, they said.
Professors wielding megaphones voiced their frustration and anger over not just the sweeping federal cuts but at the Trump administration’s broader negative stance on science and DEI policy. Speakers also took aim at tariffs, criticized Elon Musk’s growing influence in the White House, and called out possible cuts to the Department of Education.
“Our plan was for UCSB to take a stand,” said graduate student researcher Madeline Vailhe. “This is part of a national movement. We wanted to have an outlet for people to express their concerns about the current administration’s policies on science funding.”
“Personally, we’re being affected at UCSB,” Vailhe said. “There’s researchers who had guaranteed funding that are seeing their professors tell them, ‘Oh, you actually might want to graduate early.’ There are postdocs who have had their projects just fully cut entirely.”
As the march wove throughout campus, echoes reverberated — “Elon, Elon, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side” — as marchers and a crowd of supporters traveled through UCSB’s Davidson Library across campus to the Life Sciences building.
Bruce Tiffney, an emeritus faculty member in paleontology, emphasized the broader implications. “Science is integral to the survival of our society, and we have a government that is presently trying to tear the society apart, piece by piece,” Tiffney said. “There is a necessity for everybody to stand up in all possible ways, communicate with their elected officials, and reject the direction in which this country is being torn.”
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to remove the name of a grad student who wished to remain anonymous.
