WCAX Covers Barry and 200+ in March Protesting Science Budget Cuts
Jeremy Barry, Ph.D., M.S., associate professor of neurological sciences, spoke with WCAX-TV as more than 200 people marched from the University of Vermont to downtown to call attention to Trump administration cuts to federal research funding. It comes as the University of Vermont and other schools across the country have announced hiring freezes linked to those cuts.
“People were just itching to do this. We’ve been kind of stewing under the pressure of budget cuts for almost a month now. It’s been tough, it’s been really tough,” Barry said.
The professors say batteries for cars, scans at the hospital, and chips for cellphones were all made possible by scientific research, and that cutting that off not only hampers innovation but also could bring entire industries to a screeching halt. And the protestors say their concerns are not just about the science community—the environment, health care, and national security are all potentially on the chopping block if the funding cuts go through.
The peaceful march was part of a nationwide protest on March 7, Stand Up for Science. Launched in mid-February 2025, Stand Up for Science is already a national movement with international support, with the primary goal of defending science as a public good and central pillar of social progress.