1st place — 2025 grad student essay contest: Julius Calvert
FFRF awarded Julius $3,500.
By Julius Calvert
Somewhere in the United States, a Black student is enrolled in an introductory neuroscience course. This student was previously a homeless youth and is now a first-generation college student following the death of both their parents. They balance studying while paying bills and dream of integrating cognitive neuroscience methodology into counterterrorism and public safety policy. Although they hope their institution will support them given their hardships, the fruits of their labor are then barred by financial challenges, and they are forced to withdraw from classes indefinitely.
This glimpse into my personal story offers a first-hand account of the consequences that the Trump administration’s destruction of science funding has on minority and low-income students.
My curiosity for science is under threat by the sweeping funding cuts implemented by this administration, further reinforcing decades of economic exclusion of Blacks from academia. In my specific situation, working full-time to fund basic living expenses forces me to cease continuing my education. As a Black STEM major, most of the research scholarships I applied for have been frozen due to the administration’s cries of “DEI.” The NIH’s Undergraduate Scholarship Program is one such scholarship designed to bridge the financial gap for historically underrepresented students in research. Many hopeful students who are underrepresented in STEM depend on these types of funding programs to afford tuition, and now we are watching as this administration destroys our last options for earning a basic college education that many of our white and higher-income peers take for granted.
In the dead of night, while we were sleeping, the vengeful stroke of a pen finalized an executive order that stopped our academic dreams. Executive Order 1415 demands that each federal agency, “terminate . . . all DEI, DEIA, and ‘environmental justice ’offices and positions; all ‘equity action plans,’ ‘equity’ actions, initiatives or programs, ‘equity-related’ grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.”
My dream of integrating research on facial recognition into counterterrorism policy is considered “DEI” under this order. Research, in nearly every scientific domain, along with public safety fields, is vilified and then defunded under this administration.
Even more disturbing than the defunding of research is the underlying message these actions send to students like me. “We don’t want you here, you are not as qualified as your white peers, and we are stopping you from stealing their jobs.” With this stroke of a pen, we found ourselves racing back to a period in science when people like me weren’t even legally allowed to be in white labs; a period that predates the late Louis T. Wright, the first Black man to graduate from Harvard Medical School in 1915. His perseverance and commitment to medicine despite institutional barriers later inspired his daughter, Dr. Jane Cooke Wright, to revolutionize the way cancer was treated in 1951.
For now, federal law prohibits blatant segregation. Still, I am scarcely hopeful that Black contributions to STEM will not fade entirely, as many of the racist ideals inherent in white Christian nationalism have found a permanent home in our government. The Heritage Foundation, in particular, has influenced the president’s office to fulfill Project 2025, an anti-democratic wish list aiming to make America “great again,” which includes halting the incremental progress our institutions were making to dismantle systemic exclusion of minorities from STEM and research.
Despite their constant efforts to intimidate us from participating in research, many students like me consider science a medium for attempting to solve challenging issues plaguing our society. As an agnostic atheist, I believe that science communication is the only way for me to meaningfully serve my community, given my lack of belief in the afterlife. For this reason, I am committed to making the most of my limited lifetime by advancing access to science education for underrepresented communities. I hold the words of the late U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm in my heart: “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this Earth.” Therefore, in the face of authoritarianism, I hold that the dissemination of science and education can empower communities to mobilize for their well-being.
This systematic dismantling of inclusion in science is a calculated attempt to erase the contributions of underrepresented communities in STEM. Our fight for equitable access to quality education will continue as long as we breathe. Science belongs to all of us, and no self-proclaimed “king” can erase our contributions, nor will they block our pursuit of knowledge.
Julius, 26, attends the University of North Texas and is seeking a degree in psychology/neuroscience.
“When I was 12, my mother passed away partly due to economic disparities in her treatment of lupus nephritis. After her death, I endured years of physical abuse from relatives before escaping at 15. Since then, I have navigated life independently. A pivotal internship at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism introduced me to research on radicalization and fueled my interest in integrating cognitive neuroscience research methods used in the study of face perception into the study of radicalization.”
