STORRS, CT — Students and faculty at the University of Connecticut held a campus rally Thursday, protesting Trump administration funding cuts that halted ongoing health-related research projects.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Student Union for 45 minutes before moving inside to continue the event.
“Every single community member all across the country, we’re effective researchers who aren’t able to research cures for cancer anymore,” said Grace Easterly, president of UConn’s graduate and doctorate student union.
The group said the funding freezes jeopardize projects exploring cancer treatments and the psychological effects of cellphone use on children.
The loss of federal support affects grants issued through agencies like the National Institutes of Health.
“To be completely caught off-guard effectively ends our study unless somehow we get funding in the immediate future, which doesn’t seem great at this time,” said UConn assistant professor Adam McCready, who was studying screen time and middle school students before his grant was terminated in March.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal joined the rally and said, “We are going to say to Donald Trump, ‘we won’t take it anymore.’”
Some opposed the protest.
“We saw that the country overwhelmingly voted against it and I think if the state does not comply with the law, that’s on them,” said Geoffrey Medeiros, who is working to relaunch UConn Republicans.
Blagojevic, a cancer survivor and doctoral student, said, “If we’re having this conversation 20 years ago, I might not be here.”
