More than 150 people combined gathered simultaneously outside of the Oklahoma State Capitol and the National Weather Center in Norman. The rallies were part of the nationwide Stand Up For Science walkouts and rallies that took place March 7.
Thousands of people showed up across the U.S. in response to deep budget cuts to federal science research and layoffs.
Norman: “...all of the sudden their futures were suddenly in major jeopardy...”
In Norman, community members, scientists and students assembled on the University of Oklahoma campus. The event took place about a week after some NOAA employees in Oklahoma were cut in a purge of federal workers.
With signs in hand, about 50 people gathered in front of the National Weather Center. Among those protesting was Natalie Machado, an environmental sustainability student at OU who also works at the Oklahoma Mesonet. She said the protest is to highlight the jobs lost at the National Weather Service and the National Weather Center, but that it’s important to keep in mind the cuts made across the board.
Machado said the cuts not only affect people’s lives and livelihoods, but also have an environmental, social and economic impact. When the NOAA cuts were announced, she said there was a strange mood in the center.
“It was like the air had almost gotten thicker with how much pain and loss from those that had been fired,” Machado said. “And for the students that all of the sudden, their futures were suddenly in major jeopardy and they weren’t sure if they were going to be able to make the impact on the world that they were able to.”
Community members like Martha Skeeters were also at the rally. Her posterboard sign read “Tornados? Surprise!” in black and red writing.
She joined the protest because from weather forecasting to health sciences, Skeeters said science saves lives.
“I have spent so many nights hiding from tornadoes and being so grateful that the weather people give me some idea of when one is coming,” Skeeters said.
She said many people don’t understand the years of research behind science making things like weather warnings possible. For medical research, Skeeters said if resources are cut off at universities, innovation will be scarce.
She said the weather is changing and last spring, a tornado dipped down on her neighborhood. This caused her to buy a tornado shelter. Skeeters said because of the warnings the Center provides, people are able to be more self reliant.
“We really need changes that will make us more efficient, but, you know, we don't need a bulldozer just crashing through everything,” Skeeters said. “This is chaos. This is ridiculous. This is nuts.”
Oklahoma City: “We’re here because we love science.”
In Oklahoma City, more than 100 people convened near the Capitol with signs reading “science saves lives,” “ignorance is not understanding” and more. Organizer Sheeva Azma said she hopes researchers feel compelled to advocate for themselves.
“We're here because we love science, but we're also here to meet the moment,” she said. “Economists’ work shows that innovation helps the U.S. economy persevere in tough times such as these. So today, as scientists and supporters of science, we are here to stand up for science and for the American way of life.”
Two participants, Rob Ramer and Deborah McLaren, drove from Tulsa to show support for medical research. Their seven-year-old granddaughter was recently diagnosed with a rare and incurable mitochondrial disease.
“Her only real hope is science because we’ve just found out about the disease, we can find out at least how to take care of it, or possibly a cure. But that's why we're here today – specifically because of her,” Ramer said.
Loretta McKibben, a former employee of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, spoke to the crowd about the value of NWS and its large presence in Oklahoma. Research in Norman has an “ international impact on radar technology, which has directly led to safety of people during severe weather, especially during tornadic storms and high wind events and things of that nature,” she said.
“Your tax dollars, I believe, are very well spent,” she said.
Statements from the speakers were met with cheers from the crowd, some donning white coats.
Benjamin Miller is the program chair for the Aging & Metabolism Research Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). He’s been in research for decades and is currently studying aging and how to slow the process of it. He spoke to attendees about the importance of scientific research.
Miller told StateImpact the independent research institute has been impacted by uncertainty about future National Institutes of Health grant funding and potential cuts to administrative and facility costs called “indirect costs” – which are currently on hold nationwide. He said many OMRF grants are waiting to be reviewed.
“Before all of this happened, we had some proposals in place to take a drug into humans for the first time to slow aging, and now that’s all been shut down,” Miller said.
He said some researchers are concerned about keeping their labs open. Miller, who runs a lab of 20 people, said he pays the salaries of those scientists with federal grants.
“[They’re] scientists, doing the work on a day-to-day basis, and, we're all sort of staring down ‘Do we have to start letting some of these people go?’” Miller said.
Oklahoma seniors will soon outnumber children, which is why research on aging is so important, Miller said.
“Research is all about momentum, so right now we’re killing momentum,” Miller said. “And that’s devastating in so many ways. … The costs on our health care system of all these older individuals, unless we figure out how to keep them healthy, it's going to be a real heavy burden to the economic livelihood in the United States.”
Democratic state lawmakers Michelle McCane, Jacob Rosecrants, Andy Fugate and Jared Deck made speeches asking scientists and allies to call upon their elected officials to support science funding expansion.
“ Come back, come back, come back,” Fugate (D-Del City) said. “Keep coming back until you feel comfortable.”
Stand Up for Science organizers list policy goals including reinstating fired employees, ending censorship in science and boosting diversity. Rulings by federal judges deemed the NOAA layoffs unlawful, though the fired Norman employees were still out of work as of March 7.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
