Aggies of all varieties flocked to campus Saturday to show their support for science in their everyday lives as part of a nationwide march had which movements in dozens of cities across the country.
Hosted by the Aggies in Science Technology and Engineering Policy, or A-STEP, “March for Science” was a campus event that aimed to defend how science impacts health, safety, economy and government. The event kicked off with a march around Simpson Drill Field before transitioning into science demonstrations and a “Meet a Scientist,” session.
Ryan Payne, geophysics graduate student and march organizer, said there is always room to learn more about science, so he urges people to start a conversation with scientists.
“Science is really important for a lot of problems we’re facing today,” Payne said. “But it seems to be getting cut more and more out of the conversation, so I think the whole point of the March for Science is that people, who are scientist and care about science, are saying we need to consider this more carefully.”
Among the attendees of the march were a few A&M alumni, like Sara Carney from the Class of 2013, Gina Wadas from the Class of 2015, Jessica Scarfuto from the Class of 2014, and Norman Guniasso, Class of 1975. Carney said she believes now is a particularly important time to support science.
“I think we are living in an age of alternative facts and where the truth gets muddied,” Carney said. “So it’s really important for people to stand up for science and say the facts are important.”
Ariana Shakory, a second-year veterinary student, said she feels facts and opinions are getting interchanged with one another, so marches like this are important because they can contribute to a true conversation based on fact.
“I don’t think that science is partisan in any way and I think we should be looking at fact and evidence and going with that,” Shakory said.
Geology freshman Liam Norris said science means a lot of things to different people.
“Science is more than people know it is — you know there are obvious benefits like medicine, things like that, things that obviously help people,” Norris said. “And then there’s just the cool fact of learning about the Earth and what we’re doing here.”
Matthew Lee, one of the volunteers at the science demonstration table, said he thinks science can be fun for everyone. Cathie McQuistion, one of the marchers and an Evans Library employee, said she was a strong supporter of the march.
“I think it’s important that right now we all stand up and support the things we believe in and I believe that science and scientific discovery is one of the most important things we can support right now,” McQuistion said.
Abdullah Bajwa, mechanical engineering graduate student and an organizer for the march, feels like the march was successful in its mission.
“At times we feel like there is a distance between the scientific community and the general public,” Bajwa said. “We want to bridge that gap and we want to tell people that scientist and engineers we are just regular people like them and they can reach out to us, we can have a conversation.”