San Francisco Stands Up for Science

Contributed by Beverly Bean

The signs were nerdy. The labcoats gleamed in the bright afternoon sun. Hundreds, maybe a thousand people gathered in Civic Center Plaza in SF to defend a pillar of our modern world that too many of us take for granted: science.

[Editor’s note: Our estimate of attendance is approximately 2,000 based on RSVPs.]

Shadow President Musk and his DOGE have been gutting federal scientific funding for scientific research: neither basic research nor applied research (e.g., against cancer and Alzheimer's) is safe. The Republican administration has limited scientific freedom with censorship so Orwellian that it is difficult to have conversations about topics like women's health without committing civil disobedience.

The rally was a condemnation of the Republican administration's actions, but it was also a celebration of scientific achievements that are easy to take for granted. Making airplanes safe. Curing disease. Helping Musk and Trump have kids and reverse baldness. And that the most unlikely applications come out of basic research—I learned (and verified when I got home) that blockbuster weight loss drug Ozempic came from research into Gila monster venom!

Here’s the citation.

San Francisco nerds did not stand for the Republican administration's attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in science. I lost count after the fourth woman of signs that read "Girls just want to have fun...ding for basic research". Pride flags were mashed up with clever slogans—and drawings of lab equipment. Transgender and transgenic mice were celebrated. I learned how cuts to algorithmic bias research could let Big Tech get away with racist robots.

Several of the speakers shared their stories as struggling students: that highly technical classes and laboratory work were the easy part compared to paying rent. I learned that many scientific careers require volunteering at labs—a hurdle that can take less-privileged budding scientists years to clear, if they do at all. I learned how federal grants are a lifeline for these future scientists—grants now being cut in the name of "efficiency".

These speakers were clear: supporting the education of curious, brainy young people is not a waste; it is an investment. Not just in justice, but in expanding human knowledge. And with it, the economy and our international standing—do we want our country to only give the world steel and bombs? Or to cure their sick and feed their hungry?

I was at the March for Science on April 22, 2017. This one felt both grimmer and more whimsical—a rational response catalyzed by a decade of pipiking. History is testing a hypothesis: facts are not enough; we must mock fascists. The higher sign density made me think that scientific activism had been distilled since Trump 1.0. I have the feeling that many people went to the March for Science then went back home to wait for the next election. This time, I waited in a long line to sign up for the next action—evidence that the apolitical scientist is evolving into the activist scientist.