By Chris Hartwell @SILIENCESEEN
On an overcast Saturday afternoon, scientists and citizens came together to stand in united support for the future of American scientific communities.
On April 22, the March for Science rally was held on the Livermore High School football field. Among the speakers were Livermore Mayor John Marchand and California Rep. Eric Swalwell.
This event was not a small gathering of physicists and people against Trump. Event coordinator and speaker Megan Cohen estimated that there were close to 1800 people present. The showing illustrates that certain individuals have become concerned about our current political administration taking a stance against research into climate science and other important scientific explorations.
Attendee and Las Positas student Allison Middlekauff felt the event was a fun and informative event. It was important to her for personal reasons. “It was great. I kind of came late, but I was there to support science and my friends,” Middlekauff said.
There were signs reading “science not silence” and “Science Trumps Alternative Facts” along with several quotes by Bill Nye, Albert Einstein, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dr. Seuss scrawled on poster boards. There was even someone dressed as a dinosaur holding a sign stating “I like clever girls.”
After a speech by Swalwell, the demonstrators took to the streets for a one mile march through Livermore. With signs in hand, the protestors walked in unity to display their support for the sciences for the city to see.
With strong division in our society where politics is involved, the rhetoric of our current administration has united this community who respect scientific progress.
