Election Creates Uncertainty for Scientists, Undocumented Students

News about the new presidential administration and its various actions has been inescapable since the Jan. 20 inauguration, which itself generated protests all over the nation. UC Merced was no exception, as students and community members marched in a walkout that was covered locally by the Merced Sun-Star and KSEE 24. The immediate uncertainty felt by undocumented students was highlighted in the Merced Sun-Star, and in a feature by Mitú on Yuriana Aguilar, who last year became the first undocumented student to earn a Ph.D. at UC Merced. And Professor Roger Bales, director of the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, was quoted in the Sacramento Bee about what it could mean for scientists if data transmitted by federal satellites were no longer available, which so far remains a hypothetical conversation. 

Not all of the news has been ominous. Merced's new mayor, Mike Murphy, highlighted UC Merced and its massive growth plans in his state of the city address, while the Sun-Star reported on big things being planned by UC Merced's Venture Lab.

UC Merced researchers have been in the news, as well. Professor Ala Qattawi was named an emerging scholar by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education; Climate scientist Emmanuel Vincent's Climate Feedback project was featured by Forbes; and graduate student Sabah Ul-Hasan wrote about science communications for the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

For more information on these stories, contact University Communications.