Photo Essay: 2026 Stand Up for Science New York City

NEW YORK CITY – On Saturday, March 7, Stand Up for Science (SUFS) held 26 rallies across the United States, including an event at Manhattan’s City Hall Park. The organization describes its mission as “defend and advance America’s scientific ecosystem.” At the New York rally, participants carried signs addressing vaccines, research funding, and broader science policy debates. As part of our civic science photojournalism, this photo essay documents the event and includes excerpts from speakers.

Rally attendee holds a sign that reads “Science cures, cuts kill.” CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

Speaker Josh Dubnau, PhD, (below) brought his dog along for the ride. He spoke about the importance of standing up for what’s right in times of crisis. “When people look back on this moment in history, no one will remember how many books or articles we published. No one will remember how many grant dollars we brought in to our institutions, ” he said. “Our legacies are being written based on what we do now in 2026. CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

Dubnau spoke about tenure, grant funding, and the uncertainties scientists face when speaking up might affect their work and their livelihood. “I know that fear runs through our minds…but what I see is that many of the most vulnerable among us are standing up while many of the most secure stay silent,” he said. “We can choose to remain silent, which is a historical fantasy, that science and silence are apolitical,” Dubnau said. “Or we stand and join the collective, ‘No!’” CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

Griffin Gowdy, PhD candidate at Columbia University, spoke at the rally for the second year in a row. His parents, both artists, came to the rally to support him. “When we tell people what he’s doing, that he’s studying this and that at Columbia, they’re so amazed. They can’t believe it,” his mother said proudly. CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

The last speaker, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis (not shown above), resigned from his position as the head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in August of 2025. He said that working in public health under the current administration “felt like being on a hijacked plane.” “As we stand here, we stand for science,” he said. “We need to do something more important, which is to stand for scientists.” Daskalakis acknowledged the fear many scientists feel at the current moment, noting that this reality was far from normal, before closing out with an important reminder: “After every dark age, there is a renaissance.” CSML Images//Kenna Beban//March 7, 2026.

Kenna Beban

Kenna Beban is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her bachelor’s in  Journalism and Environmental Studies from NYU before getting started in visual storytelling. She currently works as a field interviewer in public health research while doing freelance photojournalism.