As students of Alaska, we demand that the decision to revoke the $10,000 in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association funding from Rick Steiner at the University of Alaska Anchorage, be overturned immediately. United, we raise our voices against university administrators using research funding as weapon of oppression, in response to pressure from NOAA and private oil companies. We hold that academic freedom protects Rick Steiner, and all university faculty, from such persecution and that it is injust to revoke his research grant We speak out Because our campus, our education, and our state matter. Because academic freedom is critical to democracy. Because communication, research, and innovation are essential to stabilizing our planet and conserving our resources.