Hello fellow Ecologgers,
Even as an undergraduate, I also strongly agree with the suggestions made by Dr. Palmer. I am in the process of crafting a similar letter, with the support of as many students, faculty, and staff as I can garnish, urging our administration and president to "forcibly, publicly, and prominently" voice their support of "science and academic freedom" (to borrow words from Dr. Palmer). I am also attempting to have our institution sponsor the Scientists' March on Washington D.C., and to provide buses for our campus community to participate in full force. The time for boldness is now. We cannot afford to be subtle any longer. Change comes from the grassroots-on-up, not from the top-on-down, and even undergraduates can make change. I am writing this to also encourage my fellow undergraduate Ecologgers to strive towards change, and put pressure on your institutions to be vocally supporting this cause. Best, Stephen Garney -- SUNY: College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Class of 2017 Undergraduate, Conservation Biology President, Society for Ecological Restoration at SUNY-ESF Conservation & F.O.R.C.E.S. Program Steward, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, & Historical Preservation, Central Region P: 518.708.3516 || E: [email protected] ________________________________ From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news <[email protected]> on behalf of Joey Smokey <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 2:16:07 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Also write your university administrators concerning upholding science Hi Ecologgers, I strongly agree with what Dr. Palmer is suggesting. It would be a powerful message to send. I encourage fellow graduate students to support our faculty in expressing our concern as scientists. Best, --Joey Joseph Smokey WSU Vancouver Graduate Student Conservation Biology Laboratory (VSCI 217) 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue Vancouver, WA 98686-9600 360-/-921-/-6070 northwestbirding[at]gmail[dot]com On Thu, Jan 26, 2017 at 4:26 PM, Palmer, Mike <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I completely agree we need to write our elected officials in support of science, federal databases, federal policies, etc. However, I also think we need administrators - in particular, college and university presidents, to step up to the plate. They really should, in my opinion, take a prominent leadership role as so much is at stake for ALL of academia. Here is a letter I wrote (relevant for land grant universities) but making it a bit more anonymous: President**** ****University Dear President ****, As a scientist, I am greatly concerned by recent activities by the Trump Administration that effectively stifle science. Gag orders are preventing members of key scientific agencies (e.g. NPS, EPA, USDA) from communicating scientific facts to the public. Land Grant Universities such as ***University require free and open communication with federal scientists, and many of us at *** have such scientists as close collaborators Scientists around the world have noted with consternation the likelihood of the disappearance of key federal data sets. We absolutely need access to such data as critical infrastructure for our research, not to mention education and outreach. Two executive orders have chilling effects on science. Regulation #2, the regulation freeze, will allow products to be used and actions to be undertaken that would have a detrimental effect on health, safety, and the environment – without scientific input. Regulation #5, the federal hiring freeze, will end up decreasing the staff of scientific agencies and thus cripple their ability to inform the public of critical scientific issues, and to maintain federal scientific infrastructure. The most noticeable targets in the anti-science push have been climate scientists, and those studying issues of social inequality. This creates a frightening ‘witch hunt’ mentality that stifles free expression of scientific truths. The newly leaked policy that EPA scientists must subject their work to review by political appointees is symptomatic and troubling. The president and his counselors have expressed contempt for the use of verifiable information, instead touting “alternative facts” and “long held beliefs” as if they had equal weight. Similarly, there are signs that first amendment guarantees are being threatened. Both must be viewed by academia as a threat to all we stand for. I have just reviewed ***University’s mission statement, vision statement, core values, and strategic goals (***URL for mission statement**). I find that the current actions and sentiment in the federal executive branch, and to some extent the legislative branch, do not produce a comfortable environment for us to fulfill our mission. President ***, you have been a leader in promoting ***University’s scholarship and integrity. I ask you to make a public statement in support of science and academic freedom. I appreciate that as a public official you cannot make political statements. However, the defense of science (like that of institutional diversity, for which I appreciate your initiatives) transcends politics. I also ask you to stress the importance of free flow of unbiased information from federal agencies, to allow us to accomplish our mission. Furthermore, I ask you to make this statement forcefully, publicly, and prominently. Sincerely, ***
