3 Quick Things

Action Items for Real Change

These couldn’t wait until Sunday, so here’s a quickie for you!

Image taken of a Broadway run of Indecent. (NPR)

✉ Action Item #1: Write to the Duval County School Board (30sec)

Recently, a run of the play Indecent at a high school in Florida was canceled by conservatives. The play is about queer Jewish love, and how conservatives tried to cancel a play about it. (Yes, this story is dripping with irony.)

The original call to action, made by TikTok user (at)pricclyivy, can be found here. Then, friend of my show Marla Alpert, a queer Jewish theater performer, put together an excellent video about the subject. Feel free to share both of these videos far and wide.

More importantly, she arranged a link on her blog to send an automated email to each of the Duval County School Board members. All you have to do is click this link and hit Send, although altering the message slightly will help you get past their spam filters.

This takes 30 seconds, so go do it now!!

📝 Action Item #2: Sign an Open Letter to the NSF (30sec)

(From Abby Ray of oSTEM)

LGBTQ+ people in STEM face alarming disparities in the scientific workforce. We are less likely than non-LGBTQ+ people to major in STEM, persist in STEM, earn STEM degrees, and be in STEM occupations.

Unfortunately, large governing bodies such as the NSF (National Science Foundation), NIH (National Institutes of Health), Congress, and the White House are helpless to act because NSF refuses to properly collect the necessary data in its national STEM workforce surveys. This data has the potential to drive national policies, determine LGBTQ+ scientists' eligibility for both NSF and NIH diversity funding, and allow researchers and policymakers to fully understand and address LGBTQ+ disparities in STEM. 

Dr. Jon Freeman of Columbia University has spearheaded advocacy efforts in this realm and has asked for our support in signing an open letter to the NSF Director requesting inclusion of this important data in order to ensure equity for LGBTQ+ scientists. So we are in turn asking our members to consider joining over 1,000  signees to date.

Please read and sign onto the letter to show your support by this Friday, January 13th. Your support will have direct effects by ensuring and advancing the equity of our community. Thank you. 

🥰 Action Item #3: Watch my latest video essay! (7min)

I worked extra hard on this video essay, and I’d love for you to see it! It’s all about Tide Pods and plastic pollution.

I worked with PVA during my PhD, and I hate to see big companies miseducate people on what it means for something to be “biodegradable”. In my opinion, the designation of “compostable” is much more clear.

Watch it below:

@thatannamarieWhat kind of laundry detergent do YOU use?? #plastic #scicomm #science #engineering #polymers #pollution #education

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Thanks all for now! See you again on Sunday!

In solidarity,

-Anna