Last month, 21 SUNY Potsdam students traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the March for Science with professors Walter Conley and Martin Walker. Rain didn’t dampen their spirits as they joined 150,000 supporters in front of the Washington Monument as part of the 47th anniversary of Earth Day. This was a phenomenal educational opportunity for SUNY Potsdam students to combine their love for science with civic engagement opportunities.
SUNY Potsdam students made the 10-hour trip to College Park, Md., where they camped out in the rain. They woke up at 6:30 a.m. the next day, taking the subway into the city to join thousands of activists supporting science and the environment. “It was pretty amazing, honestly, because despite the rain there were still thousands of people gathered in one place,” said Alberto Correa, a senior biology major at SUNY Potsdam.
Before the march started, students gathered to hear speeches in front of the Washington Monument, including one by science educator Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society. “Bill Nye’s speech was awesome. It was really uplifting to hear him say ‘Hey, we’re scientists and we can change the world,’” Correa said.
After the speeches wrapped up, the students marched down Constitution Avenue to the reflecting pond across from the United States Capitol. Colorful signs and energetic chants filled the streets. The highlight for Conley, a biologist, was the energy from the crowd. “That was emotional to be honest; I love the chants, I love the signs,” he said. Conley’s sign, “Atoms make up everything, politicians should not,” drew the attention of many supporters.
SUNY Potsdam students were some of the first to finish the march. They gathered for a final group photo in front of the Capitol, displaying their hand-made signs featuring slogans like “Scientists don’t use alternative facts,” and “The oceans are rising and so are we.”
Funding for the trip was provided through the Department of Biology, the Student Government Association and individual contributions from faculty and staff members. Three biology students, Rachel Fay, Lindy Chapman and Alberto Correa, all seniors, were very active in the planning process for the trip and were passionate about attending the March for Science for many reasons.
Fay wants to promote the use of science and scientific evidence in government policy, and emphasized the importance of using that data wisely in making those policy decisions. “Right now, our political climate isn’t taking into account the large amount of research that we have,” Fay said. Chapman, the president for SUNY Potsdam’s Pre-Health Club, is concerned about cuts to the National Institute of Health and what she sees as a general anti-vaccination atmosphere in Washington. “Some of the people who have recently been appointed to positions in the government don’t believe in vaccinating,” she said.
Correa is concerned about the lack of evidence-based policy decisions. “It’s something that we don’t have, unfortunately. We have anecdotal-based policy…A lot of the climate change work that NASA does was taken off of their website. Pretty much all of their peer-reviewed work has been hidden from public view, and that’s just insane,” he said.
Additionally, possible funding cuts to important programs like the National Science Foundation’s REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Sites program has students concerned about their future. It’s through programs like these, including SUNY Potsdam’s own REU program in mathematics, where students learn how to do research and operate as scientists.
Correa is also concerned about his future as a scientist. After graduating from SUNY Potsdam this month, he will be pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology at Cornell University. The program is completely funded by a government grant, something that makes him nervous in the current political climate.
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Students’ mounting concerns about the environment, health initiatives and their future led them to the join the March for Science movement. Conley believes this is a life-changing experience for many of his students, much like the activism work he did in his youth. “I grew up in the time of the Vietnam War and I haven’t been this politically active since I was in high school and college,” he said.
For more information about the March for Science, please visit: https://satellites.marchforscience.com