Stephanie Zerwas
@stephzerwas.bsky.social
Psychologist. Therapist. Lapsed academic. Former eating disorder researcher. Current staunch character. Chapel Hill, NC
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
How bad will it be? Catastrophic.
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.
But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.
Speak up now before it is too late.
(inflation adjusted $-s below)
May 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
New business idea: CPAP machines that double as Dune cosplay. It’s the only way to make these nasal tubes cool. @mcuban.bsky.social I think I’m ready for Shark Tank. 😂
May 12, 2025 at 12:04 AM
New business idea: CPAP machines that double as Dune cosplay. It’s the only way to make these nasal tubes cool. @mcuban.bsky.social I think I’m ready for Shark Tank. 😂
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
“DOJ – from 1866 until this week – prosecuted officers accused of violating the civil rights of citizens, DOJ now will defend those officers.” Ellen Blain on the history and deterioration of civil rights in the DOJ.
The Department of Justice has abandoned civil rights
Two events this week do no less than turn upside down the enforcement of laws that protect the civil rights of all Americans.
contrarian.substack.com
May 1, 2025 at 5:04 PM
“DOJ – from 1866 until this week – prosecuted officers accused of violating the civil rights of citizens, DOJ now will defend those officers.” Ellen Blain on the history and deterioration of civil rights in the DOJ.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
To my own institution, Yale, and all the other universities across the US. They will come for you no matter what you do—you can stand up for what’s right or grovel in the dirt. Your fate will be the same. It’s your legacy, which is at stake in the choice.
Observe that the one that complied and the one that didn't comply are treated exactly the same way.
Per source, NIH has been instructed to hold off from issuing ALL awards to Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, and Northwestern (including med schools)
Agency staff have also been instructed to not speak about this funding freeze to grantees and applicants
Agency staff have also been instructed to not speak about this funding freeze to grantees and applicants
April 18, 2025 at 7:51 PM
To my own institution, Yale, and all the other universities across the US. They will come for you no matter what you do—you can stand up for what’s right or grovel in the dirt. Your fate will be the same. It’s your legacy, which is at stake in the choice.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
human lives have dignity as they are, they do not need to be whipped into shape by smooth-skinned patrician hands before deserving not just our love and respect but our joyous affirmation. if you see how somebody's getting by and feel horror the problem is with your gaze not the person. Matthew 7:5
April 19, 2025 at 3:03 AM
human lives have dignity as they are, they do not need to be whipped into shape by smooth-skinned patrician hands before deserving not just our love and respect but our joyous affirmation. if you see how somebody's getting by and feel horror the problem is with your gaze not the person. Matthew 7:5
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
If you live in NC, call every Republican politician you know. Call every farmer you know and ask them to do the same
When money walks , voters talk. Make sure they know this effects everyone in their town and state
www.wunc.org/news/2025-03...
When money walks , voters talk. Make sure they know this effects everyone in their town and state
www.wunc.org/news/2025-03...
USDA cancels $11 million in federal funding for North Carolina food banks
The USDA has notified the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that it would terminate the agreement for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, which is one of the progr...
www.wunc.org
March 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
If you live in NC, call every Republican politician you know. Call every farmer you know and ask them to do the same
When money walks , voters talk. Make sure they know this effects everyone in their town and state
www.wunc.org/news/2025-03...
When money walks , voters talk. Make sure they know this effects everyone in their town and state
www.wunc.org/news/2025-03...
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
By @katherinejwu.com
"The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,”
The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:
"The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,”
The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:
Inside the Collapse at NIH
Administration officials pressured NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency’s own lawyers to restart grant funding now.
www.theatlantic.com
February 27, 2025 at 5:29 PM
By @katherinejwu.com
"The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,”
The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:
"The NIH... supported 99 percent of the drugs approved in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. The agency has had a hand in “nearly all of our major medical breakthroughs over the past several decades,”
The NIH is in a struggle for its (and our) lives. This is existential to America:
Together we are mighty!
February 27, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Together we are mighty!
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
NIH cuts are getting the press, but VA research is getting slashed too. What do we lose when VA research goes away? Here's some greatest hits: The nicotine patch, invention of the cardiac pacemaker, first successful liver transplant, development of the CAT/CT scan
prospect.org/health/2025-...
prospect.org/health/2025-...
VA Research Funding Slashed
Though not as prominent as the NIH, VA researchers play a major role in advancing basic health science. Hundreds of projects have been cut.
prospect.org
February 25, 2025 at 10:12 PM
NIH cuts are getting the press, but VA research is getting slashed too. What do we lose when VA research goes away? Here's some greatest hits: The nicotine patch, invention of the cardiac pacemaker, first successful liver transplant, development of the CAT/CT scan
prospect.org/health/2025-...
prospect.org/health/2025-...
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. (1/2)
February 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Something is shifting. They are still breaking things and stealing things. And they will keep trying to break and to steal. But the propaganda magic around the oligarchical coup is fading. (1/2)
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Ok, I'm doing a version of this thread for 🧪 who are new to political conditions where info security is a safety issue:
1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance
2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion
3. Don't live post resistance meetings
1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance
2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion
3. Don't live post resistance meetings
This is my “daughter of a Black Panther breakfast program volunteer” coming out but anyone who tells you that you have to be public about all your resistance activity should immediately be under suspicion for being an op, or being under the influence of an op
February 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Ok, I'm doing a version of this thread for 🧪 who are new to political conditions where info security is a safety issue:
1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance
2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion
3. Don't live post resistance meetings
1. Don't make public lists of people who are engaging in acts of resistance
2. Be weary of calls to advertise acts of subversion
3. Don't live post resistance meetings
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
February 21, 2025 at 2:00 AM
I can’t see this without thinking about what Tressie McMillan Cottom has been talking about in her Instagram Lives. This is just attention/spectacle economy. The noise to distract us from the real darn and dangerous signal happening simultaneously.
February 21, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I can’t see this without thinking about what Tressie McMillan Cottom has been talking about in her Instagram Lives. This is just attention/spectacle economy. The noise to distract us from the real darn and dangerous signal happening simultaneously.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Troubling:
Congresspeople say they are NOT hearing from academics, or university administrators.
PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Oppose these budget cuts to research, health, student loans!
www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/...
Tell others to do the same!
Congresspeople say they are NOT hearing from academics, or university administrators.
PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Oppose these budget cuts to research, health, student loans!
www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/...
Tell others to do the same!
Tell Congress Today: Reject Budget Resolution that Will Harm the Nation’s Health
Please take 2 minutes today to ask your officials to oppose the proposed $3 trillion in federal budget cuts. If Congress moves forward with its current proposed budget resolution, these cuts will...
www.votervoice.net
February 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Troubling:
Congresspeople say they are NOT hearing from academics, or university administrators.
PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Oppose these budget cuts to research, health, student loans!
www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/...
Tell others to do the same!
Congresspeople say they are NOT hearing from academics, or university administrators.
PLEASE SPEAK UP!
Oppose these budget cuts to research, health, student loans!
www.votervoice.net/APAAdvocacy/...
Tell others to do the same!
Town of Chapel Hill! Thank you for looking out for our community. @triangleblogblog.bsky.social
The City of Boston is leading 40+ mayors, cities, and counties in an amicus brief against the Trump Administration's drastic and illegal cuts to federal research funding—cuts that will lead to immediate job losses nationwide.
February 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Town of Chapel Hill! Thank you for looking out for our community. @triangleblogblog.bsky.social
I love you, scientists but you are in a messaging war & you are losing. This administration understands how to tell a story better than you do.
You spent your career proving why your work matters.
Now, prove why losing it hurts *everyone*.
#sciencecommunication #ScienceUnderSiege #ScienceBlueSky
You spent your career proving why your work matters.
Now, prove why losing it hurts *everyone*.
#sciencecommunication #ScienceUnderSiege #ScienceBlueSky
February 20, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I love you, scientists but you are in a messaging war & you are losing. This administration understands how to tell a story better than you do.
You spent your career proving why your work matters.
Now, prove why losing it hurts *everyone*.
#sciencecommunication #ScienceUnderSiege #ScienceBlueSky
You spent your career proving why your work matters.
Now, prove why losing it hurts *everyone*.
#sciencecommunication #ScienceUnderSiege #ScienceBlueSky
Scientists, I love you.
I love your passion. I am one of you. But we have to talk about *how* we communicate what’s happening. People won’t fight for “science” in the abstract. They’ll fight when they understand what they are losing.
A quick guide: Not this, but this. 🧵
I love your passion. I am one of you. But we have to talk about *how* we communicate what’s happening. People won’t fight for “science” in the abstract. They’ll fight when they understand what they are losing.
A quick guide: Not this, but this. 🧵
February 20, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Scientists, I love you.
I love your passion. I am one of you. But we have to talk about *how* we communicate what’s happening. People won’t fight for “science” in the abstract. They’ll fight when they understand what they are losing.
A quick guide: Not this, but this. 🧵
I love your passion. I am one of you. But we have to talk about *how* we communicate what’s happening. People won’t fight for “science” in the abstract. They’ll fight when they understand what they are losing.
A quick guide: Not this, but this. 🧵
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance.
Democracy requires your courage.
Democracy requires your courage.
February 20, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance.
Democracy requires your courage.
Democracy requires your courage.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
between NIH and “stop all DEI [which is anything] or get no funding,” I think they just don’t want universities to exist.
February 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
between NIH and “stop all DEI [which is anything] or get no funding,” I think they just don’t want universities to exist.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
for pity’s sake, I am BEGGING university leaders to stop framing this issue in terms of what this will cost the university. people dont care!
EXPLAIN WHAT THIS WILL COST THE PUBLIC: closed hospitals and clinics, skipped treatments, loss of access to experimental drugs, unemployment, recession
EXPLAIN WHAT THIS WILL COST THE PUBLIC: closed hospitals and clinics, skipped treatments, loss of access to experimental drugs, unemployment, recession
February 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM
for pity’s sake, I am BEGGING university leaders to stop framing this issue in terms of what this will cost the university. people dont care!
EXPLAIN WHAT THIS WILL COST THE PUBLIC: closed hospitals and clinics, skipped treatments, loss of access to experimental drugs, unemployment, recession
EXPLAIN WHAT THIS WILL COST THE PUBLIC: closed hospitals and clinics, skipped treatments, loss of access to experimental drugs, unemployment, recession
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Firings are happening right now at the National Science Foundation. Essential staff are being cut.
This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.
This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.
February 18, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Firings are happening right now at the National Science Foundation. Essential staff are being cut.
This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.
This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.
One of the most enjoyable ways I regulate my nervous system during stressful times is listening to romance. The combo of @lindaholmes.bsky.social and Julia Whelan in Evvie Drake? Pure delight and magic.
February 18, 2025 at 1:36 PM
One of the most enjoyable ways I regulate my nervous system during stressful times is listening to romance. The combo of @lindaholmes.bsky.social and Julia Whelan in Evvie Drake? Pure delight and magic.
Reposted by Stephanie Zerwas
Stand Up for Science rallies will be held in DC and state capitals on March 7th. Share with friends. Sign-up here to get email updates with details: www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE 2025 - DC and NATIONWIDE
Stand up for science with us on March 7th, 2025, because science is for everyone! More info at www.standupforscience2025.org
www.eventbrite.com
February 12, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Stand Up for Science rallies will be held in DC and state capitals on March 7th. Share with friends. Sign-up here to get email updates with details: www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...