This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
DENVER | Less than two weeks ago, the Trump administration canceled two of the University of Illinois at Chicago assistant professor’s grants that involved researching how to help Black students in science, technology, engineering, and math.
“It lets me know that I am not alone in this space when it comes to advancing and fighting for justice,” he said.
About 125 researchers and educators from across the nation — along with a small group of students — joined Morton to signal their opposition to President Donald Trump’s decisions about K-12 and higher education. Trump has sought to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, cancel research grants, and dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
The group was in Denver to attend the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting, which brought together 10,000 researchers from across the country.
Organizers say they saw an opportunity with so many researchers gathered in one spot to hold the rally, which was not part of the AERA conference, in a public space to protest Trump’s efforts to exert control over universities and research.
Elizabeth Todd-Breland, a former Chicago Board of Education member and historian, said with so many researchers in Denver, the hope was to build solidarity at a time when research is under attack.
“It’s going to take all of us working together to push back against those threats,” Todd-Breland said.
Mildred Boveda, who is a Pennsylvania State University associate professor, said researchers typically work behind the scenes to share information and ideas. But now that the federal government wants to limit higher education research and ideas, she said she feels college educators can no longer stay quiet.
“We’re under attack right now by a few who are actually engaging in indoctrination that we’re being falsely accused of,” she said. “We’re trying to set the record straight. We are trying to defend not just educational institutions, but education truth.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
I’ve said it before, but will repeat it ’til I’m blue in the face! My daughter is the head of a Science Department at a Jeffco school for Jr. and Sr. high students. The funding of schools has been cut back so drastically in the past 30 years, that she barely has time to lead the department and teach her classes, much less “indoctrinate” students. The kids are too busy learning the parts of a cell and their individual functions to waste time on political hotbutton issues! Don’t take my word for it; ask any public school teacher you know. What’s more, I was involved with grants in higher education for over 30 years. I understand how much researchers do for our everyday lives. Without these advancements I wouldn’t be alive today! President Trump is creating a false issue and picking a fight with people whose teaching and research make our country great. Don’t let him and the silent GOP ruin our education and research systems – too much is at stake!
Well Kane, you missed your opportunity when Biden was in office. You could have pursed the Federal Government for a grant to study why, “people get blue in the face”. I’ll bet you would have had a chance for a million or two especially with your grant writing background. Alas, no chance now.
“Don’t take my word for it; ask any public school teacher you know.”
LOL, please. I had teachers engage in outright leftist political indoctrination going back to the late 80s through the early 90s, the inevitable result of the New Left marinating through academia in the late 60s-70s. They weren’t shy about it at all, either. Your side simply doesn’t like it when the dialectic of the left-liberal consensus is called out.