In the first month and a half of his presidency, President Trump attacked the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, an action that will undoubtedly make waves throughout the scientific community. According to NBC News, “At the NSF, employees were enlisted to comb through tens of thousands of research grants in search of keywords that violated Trump’s executive orders.” Such keywords include “activism,” “bias,” “stereotype,” “race,” and “climate crisis.” Not only that, but employees also removed those keywords from grant proposals. While devastating to the current scientific community, Trump’s actions also discourage future STEM students, especially students looking to major in STEM fields in college. Rick Huganir, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University, received an email regarding a new NIH policy that would slash funding to indirect costs used to keep research facilities operating down to only 15%. Universities now must consider whether they can fund student and faculty research in the coming years. Plus, the incoming wave of STEM-focused college students will lose out on opportunities such as undergraduate research due to Trump’s funding cuts.

Rowland Hall offers several Advanced Research (AR) classes designed to introduce upperclassmen to graduate-level research and scientific writing. Only this past summer, three students from Dr. Padmashree Rida’s AR Biology class were published in Cancers, a peer-reviewed research journal, for their work on identifying treatment targets for triple-negative breast cancer. However, the future is dimming for current and prospective AR students. I spoke to Dr. Rida about publishing a literature review about Halimeda, a species of calcifying macroalgae native to the Caribbean, that I had written for AR Chemistry. However, I was disheartened to learn that any mention of climate change would need to be scrubbed from my paper. I was frustrated; Halimeda is a relatively poorly understood algae regarding its resilience to climate change and ocean acidification, and it is a critical part of coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean Sea. Now, I won’t be able to publish my authentic work because of the executive order that bars keywords surrounding the climate crisis.

Though the NIH budget cuts are infuriating, they often overshadow the budget cuts to scientific research. Trump’s proposed budget cuts include a 31% reduction of funding to the EPA, including a $129 million cut to programs supporting clean water and air. Trump also proposed a $776 million cut from the NSF and a $3.7 billion cut from NIH research funding. This funding not only helps fund grants and research projects, but also is used to train clinicians and scientists in developing countries. 

I am attending Oregon State University for marine biology next year, and one of the most important factors during my college search was undergraduate research opportunities. I am very motivated to be able to work in a lab setting and conduct meaningful research that will have a positive impact on the world, hopefully in regards to climate change and ocean acidification. However, the current political climate is more than worrying. For the next four years that I am in college, Donald Trump will still be president, meaning that any work I hope to do on climate change may be impeded. Many universities in the US have a Research Experience for Undergraduates program (REU) funded by the NSF. However, with funding cuts to the NSF, many universities have had to cancel their REU programs, deterring prospective students. I myself strongly considered leaving the United States for school because my opportunities for research are currently being smashed to pieces. However, I believe that I can do the most meaningful work in the United States as a form of protest.

Though I ultimately decided to continue my education in the United States, many other STEM students will not. In marine biology, my major of choice, most students look for universities that offer undergraduate research, and funding cuts will affect their opportunities to get real-world experience in the field. Thus, both STEM students and the colleges across the United States will suffer at the hands of Trump’s tyranny. It is time for the young minds of our nation to realize that they cannot achieve their dreams if a tyrannical president is actively working against them. Our education system is under fire, and with it, we will lose the smartest students of our generation thanks to corruption and greed. But that doesn’t mean we stop doing research; in fact, we must further throw ourselves into researching important issues and creating projects that aim to solve real-world problems. In fact, it is our duty to keep researching as STEM students, especially now, to show that we will not lie down in the face of adversity and that we will keep fighting for science.