Hundreds protest at Penn after Trump administration freezes $175 million in funding
Outrage is growing over the White House's decision to freeze $175 million in funding for the University of Pennsylvania over its transgender athlete policy.
Hundreds of people, including Penn students, faculty and staff, gathered at 34th and Walnut streets on Thursday afternoon to protest the cuts and demand action from the university.
"We are here today to stand up against executive orders and federal funding cuts that threaten the survival of higher education for the public good and every member of our community," Penn history professor Amy Offner said.
Offner is president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-Penn), which helped organize the rally.
Protesters said they want Penn to find other sources of funding so important research can continue.
"We have four demands," Jessa Lingel, Penn associate professor of communication, said. "We're really pushing the university to guarantee funding, so in the wake of different funding freezes at the NIH, NSF and more, we want the university to ensure the work we do will be continued."
The other demands included a re-commitment from Penn to protect immigrants, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
"I do think that there is a fear that the university will cave to the Trump administration and what they're saying, especially with taking down pages about diversity, equity and inclusion," Penn sophomore Gabrielle Cayo said.
Postdoctoral fellow Chris Large is worried the funding cuts could put his colleagues' life-saving research in jeopardy.
"I think they [the cuts] provide a lot of fear about what the future holds for being able to do research in this country," Large said. "We still have so many unknowns about what specifically it will mean."
After the rally, organizers delivered a petition to the Penn administration with 1,000 signatures from people urging the university to continue doing research, despite the funding cuts.
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to Penn for a response to the rally. Penn spokesperson Ron Ozio said the university does not comment on students' and staff's ability to exercise their First Amendment rights.
A Penn spokesperson also said the university is aware of news reports about the cuts but has not received any formal notice or details about them.
"The University of Pennsylvania has always followed NCAA and conference policies regarding student participation on athletic teams and is in full compliance with the recent changes to the NCAA rules that were made in response to the executive order from the Trump administration regarding transgender athletes," a statement from the university posted Thursday said in part.
