By Felicity Bosk
Over 1000 people marched for science on Earth Day this year in Duluth, MN, and countless more joined the march all across the United States. The marches were taking place largely in response to our current federal administrations planned defunding of scientific programs.
“Everyone who is here is here for one thing,” said Alex Steiner who helped organize Duluth’s march. “And that is the support of science. It is so great to see so many people come out to say ‘science matters to me.'”
The largest March for Science took place in Washington D.C. but marches took place in cities across the country. Organizers chose to hold the march on Earth Day, a day spent celebrating our planet.
“This whole march is about communication of science and coming together as a scientific community to move us forward,” said Steiner.
Dr. Andrea Schokker, the head of civil engineering at UMD also spoke before the march.
“It is great to see so many kids here because the education piece of science is huge,” she said. “We have to support science for clean water, for our health, for our safety, for the medicine we take every day. Every single day there are discoveries made in science to help our health, to help our infrastructure, to save the planet, and to save our lives. Every single day we do not have funding to find those facts and make those discoveries is a day lost. We cannot have a day without that.”
The marchers began at Leif Erikson Park and made there way to the Lake Superior Martime Center in Canal Park. Many brought signs to support there cause. “Got polio? Me neither. Thanks science,” “climate is changing, why aren’t we?” and “want jobs? fund science” were just a few of the signs people held at the march. A few UWS professors came out too to support scientific endeavors.
