Elena Krueper, co-president of Advocates for Science at IU, speaks at a Confront the Climate Crisis event on March 17 at the Indiana Statehouse. (Devan Ridgway, WTIU)
As young activists gathered with Confront the Climate Crisis, one Indiana University student said her advocacy evolved beyond grassroots action.
Elena Krueper, co-president of Advocates for Science, said she’s defending science itself. A long way from her lab and refuge in Bloomington, she laid out her mission to the crowd in the Indiana Statehouse on March 17.
“We will not allow science to be censored, devalued or ignored,” Krueper said.
Kreuper said threats to science aren’t theoretical or distant; they’re here. President Donald Trump’s Administration announced massive reductions to federal agencies. American universities could lose billions in grant money from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development. These agencies and others face job cuts.
“I refuse to accept a world where the pursuit of knowledge is dictated by political agendas rather than facts,” Krueper said.
On campus, Krueper and other IU scientists organize in support of science and evidence-based policies. Krueper said her views are her own.
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Michael Hamburger, an IU Earth and Atmospheric Science professor, said campus is full of uncertainty, fear and concern.
“It's placed a deep cloud over everything we do — and particularly concerning for our students who are seeking careers, opportunities and a future related to their interest in science,” Hamburger said.
Hamburger works with Concerned Scientists, an IU grassroots advocacy group.
The group formed during Trump’s first administration, though it was quieter during President Joe Biden’s term, Hamburger said.
“What's of deep concern is that until now, there's been strong bipartisan support for science,” Hamburger said. “Now it appears that there's a dismantling of the science infrastructure in the country, and it will be very hard to build it back.”
Amid all of these changes and executive orders, Krueper said, scientists and students are trying to adjust to the loss of valuable information resources. A tool she used last semester for a project — the government's Environmental Justice Screening Tool — is no longer available.
“I think that the censorship of data is one of the biggest problems that's going on,” Krueper said.
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Some scientists may work around touchy topics and certain terms in grant proposals.
Federal agencies are flagging and deleting certain words or phrases deemed “woke,” the New York Times reported.
“I'm going to be using — or I would have been using words like ‘climate crisis’ or ‘sustainability,’ and those are flagged right now by the administration,” Krueper said.
Colleges are working through the U.S. Department of Education’s changing views on DEI programs, programs and scholarships. Fifty-two schools are under investigation, some for awarding race-based scholarships.
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Meanwhile, the Chronicle for Higher Education reported the National Institutes of Health tossed grant applications for minority researchers and for studies on the LGBTQ+ community.
For Krueper, potential cuts to DEI programs mean some students from minority communities can’t continue their education in the sciences.
“Without those scholarships, they don't have the money that they need to support themselves, for housing and to support their education,” Krueper said. “They're missing out on key research that they want to be doing, because they're losing that funding that supports their basic needs.”
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- Rep. Shelli Yoder (D-Bloomington) speaks with an audience member at the Confront the Climate Crisis event March 17 at the statehouse. (Devan Ridgway/WTIU News)
Concerned Scientists and Advocates for Science steering committee members wrote IU to ask for public support the the University’s community.
In their letter to President Pamela Whitten and Provost Rahul Shrivastav, they said recent federal and state changes “represent a growing challenge to Indiana University’s hard-earned stature as one of the nation’s leading research institutions—and its ability to recruit and retain the most talented faculty, researchers, and students.”
We would like to hear from our administration on where they stand, and our students would like to hear from them,” Hamburger said. “They're in the most vulnerable position that they've been in in decades.”
The university didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Karen Jepsen-Innes, WonderLab's executive advisor and representative on the Concerned Scientists steering committee, said it was natural that WonderLab would stand with their peers.
“Through all of the last 30 years that WonderLab has been in existence, we've worked closely with Indiana University science faculty numerous rich, varied partnerships that have benefited 1.6 million Hoosiers over that time,” Jepsen-Innes said.
The museum partners with IU for Scientist Saturdays, summer camps, teacher trainings and more. The museum also has two active collaborations with IU faculty from National Science Foundation grants. Since 2005, the museum has had 31 grant proposals funded, she said.
“The impacts to all faculty — whether they can keep their grants, whether they can get tenure, keep their positions, retain their graduate students, their postdocs — all of that has an impact on WonderLab and the partnerships we do,” Jepsen-Innes said.
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- A notecard at the Confront the Climate Crisis event March 17 at the statehouse reads, "The government should support climate action b/c it affects us all." (Devan Ridgway/WTIU News)
The problem stretches beyond campus and Bloomington.
For example, Hamburger studies earthquakes and related natural hazards. He said Republican lawmakers have been some of the strongest supporters of preventing and mitigating these disasters. But as federal organizations such as USAID and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lose workers, the U.S. won’t be prepared to help, Hamburger said.
“It's incredibly short sighted,” Hamburger said. “It undermines everything from the economy, to health care, to security, and kind of every other issue that will affect Americans in the decades to come.”
Krueper wanted to work for the EPA, but now, she said she may have to reassess her career. Still, she said she’s grateful for her community and mentors at IU.
“I'm so thankful to be a part of a community that values science and that is willing to fight back and use their voices to advocate for our community,” Krueper said.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
