91制片厂

Tamara Marcus knows that if there isn鈥檛 a way to address a problem, you find one.

A Ph.D. candidate at 91制片厂, Marcus helped cofound the Advocates for Social Justice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The nonprofit was formed earlier this year in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of police and shaped its goals around those of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Marcus grew up in Cedar Rapids. Her grandparents had a farm in the eastern part of the state that is still in the family. Iowa is home. It is where she began vocally advocating for the rights of Black people.

鈥淚 had not been involved officially with the BLM movement before this year, though I have been verbally supportive of it. I think, like a lot of people, there were just too many incidents back to back and a then real opportunity to engage in the movement presented itself, so I jumped on it,鈥澨� Marcus says. 鈥淚 have not consistently lived in the United States for the last four years which has somewhat limited my ability to be involved with BLM in a meaningful way. Obviously, COVID changed things for me personally and I saw an opportunity to do the work I believe so desperately needs to be done, and so I took it.鈥�

In June, the Advocates for Social Justice joined a local protest, marching with more than 2,000 people calling for change in light of Floyd鈥檚 death and those of other Black men and women whose deaths have been linked to excessive force by police.

"I saw an opportunity to do the work I believe so desperately needs to be done, and so I took it.鈥�

Marcus and other members of the grassroots organization presented the Cedar Rapids City Council with a list of demands for police reform that included banning the use of chokeholds and knee-to-neck restraint, imposing the strict use of body cameras, making a significant investment in diversity, equity and inclusion, and establishing a citizen鈥檚 review board, among others.

鈥淲e set a deadline for Juneteenth for the City Council to agree to our demands. They convened a special meeting on June 19 where they unanimously agreed to meet them,鈥� Marcus says. 鈥淪ince our first protest we have had several more, all centered on continuing to demand reform within our local police department, and for our voices, Black voices, to be central in听the reform process.鈥�

Marcus says she didn鈥檛 always feel those voices were being heard when she first came to 91制片厂, noting she had a number of experiences, especially during her first year, which 鈥渄id not make me feel welcome, seen or heard.鈥� This was during fall of 2016. But since then, she has witnessed more senior faculty 鈥� white faculty 鈥� showing greater interest in the issues of the diversity, equity and inclusion.

鈥淭o me that does indicate progress,鈥� Marcus says. 鈥淏ut we must push that further, we owe that to the students of 91制片厂 and to the broader New Hampshire community. This is movement, not a moment and we can't stop now.鈥�

Marcus is pursuing a Ph.D. in sciences. Her focus is on 听microbial controls on methane emission from permafrost thaw in the Swedish Arctic. A former Fulbright-Nehru fellow with a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of Minnesota, her commitment to science communication was born when the U.S. withdrew from the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2017.

In 2019, along with fellow 91制片厂 grad student Drew Robison, she was selected as an ambassador for the听听program. That same year she received a $15,000 Switzer Fellowship, which听offers one-year fellowships to 20 graduate students in New England and California whose studies and career goals are directed toward environmental improvement and who demonstrate leadership in their fields.

Recently Marcus was invited to join the diversity, equity and inclusion听board in 91制片厂鈥檚 Earth science department. 鈥淚 hope to work alongside faculty and my peers to incite change within our department,鈥� she says.

听