Students and faculty marched from Terrell Mall to the French Administration Building Friday to deliver a letter demanding WSU continue protecting research amid funding cuts at the state and federal level.

The letter, addressed to Provost T. Chris Riley-Tillman and vice president of research Kim Christen, said scientific research is under attack from the federal and state government and the WSU administration.

“We’ve written a letter which we are going to deliver to the administration to let them know that we want and hope that WSU continues to protect scientific research and maintains diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility within the scientific fields,” said Cameron Coyle, one of the organizers and PhD students in the college of veterinary medicine.

Shea Ortega, a PhD student, said they hope the new WSU president will defend research programs and funding.

“Now that we have new leadership, I really want President Elizabeth Cantwell to hear us,” Ortega said. “She is committed to our collective success. She says she admires us for our research capability and our fierce dedication.”

Students have more power to make change through protest, Ortega said.

“We’re fighting as students. I don’t know what your knowledge of history is when it comes to student protests, but our voices go a long way,” she said.

Destiny Brokaw, a biological sciences PhD student, said although the funding freezes have not impacted her research directly, it is still important to advocate before it does.

“Science is under attack currently by our federal administration and so it’s important for all of us to come out here and defend our livelihoods and what we love and are passionate for,” she said. “I do know people that have been affected and so it’s important to get out there and start advocating before it starts getting more intensive in other areas.”

This protest was part of a collection of protests happening across the nation, Coyle said.

“We pulled this together over this last week and made sure that Pullman’s on the map,” she said. “If you go to the Stand Up for Science website, there is a little pinpoint location on Pullman to show that we are marching with scientists nationwide.”

WSU receives over $231 million in federal grants that fully support 1130 employees and partially supports 882 employees. Riley-Tillman said WSU could expect cuts around $20-25 million each year.

WSU cannot simply stop funding research if a grant is cut, Riley-Tillman said during a special session Board of Regents meeting.

“If a graduate student is funded, we’re not going to simply stop funding the graduate student. We have to find funding for that graduate student. It’s easy to say faculty will stop doing that work. But if faculty are partially paid off of the grant, those monies are going to have to be paid,” he said during the special session. “The reality is that we’re going to lose millions upon millions of dollars in these units.”

WSU faces an additional $22.6 million cut across two years as apart of Governor Bob Ferguson’s budget reduction proposal. Ferguson does not support the state paying for WSU’s student union contract.