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Before 2016, many scientists didn’t feel comfortable using their positions and platforms to speak up as advocates in arenas outside the research enterprise. Institutions and individuals were unlikely to take a stand on societal issues such as immigration, gun violence, voting rights, or racial justice, out of concern that their objectivity would be called into question. When scientists did speak up, they often paid a steep price for doing so, such as being overlooked for promotions or tenure.
However, under the Trump administration, the broader scientific community began to recognize that although science is not partisan, it is political. Decisions about what is studied, and what work is celebrated and recognized, are ultimately political decisions. When we recognize that science is political, we can call out when it’s being misused as a partisan football. We can identify where racism, sexism, and other systems of oppression manifest ...
