Thousands gathered in downtown St. Louis last weekend to voice their opposition to the Trump Administration’s positions on science related issues.
Demonstrations, titled March for Science, occurred in around 600 cities around the world on Saturday – Earth Day. In the St. Louis, marchers started at the intersection of 18th and Market Street and walked to the Gateway Arch. Some carried signs with messages such as “science saves lives,” “Einstein was a refugee,” “love Trumps hate,” “don’t wreck our planet like your business” and “global warming is real, wake up!”
Those who work in the sciences were represented among the marchers. Anne Griffith, a resident of St. Louis and an archeology professor at St. Charles Community College, held a sign that said “back off I’m a scientist.”
“I think it’s a love of science,” Griffith said when asked about her participation. “There’s also a despair about it being ignored. I want a general raising of awareness on this.”
Griffith said she was concerned about the Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the administration’s “flat out refusal to acknowledge scientifically proven evidence.”
“I don’t like those who say if the facts don’t fit their agenda, they’re not facts,” she said.
Griffith said the cause of science and peace are connected because the discipline of science allows countries to bridge cultural gaps and cooperate on scientific advancement.
Noor Scoaib, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants and an engineer at the Missouri University for Science and Technology in Rolla, also attended the demonstration.
“I’m really concerned about funding for the Environmental Protection Agency,” Scoaib said. “And I’m also concerned about alternative facts.”
She agreed the science and peace are interconnected.
“Science brings people together around facts,” she said. “Facts don’t change, regardless of your country of origin.”
As the hundreds of demonstrators walked down Market Street toward the Gateway Arch, they chanted in unison. Saying things like “stand up, fight back,” “this is democracy,” “this is science,” “(E.P.A. Administrator) Scott Pruitt has to go” and “no science, no peace.”
“Science is important, science is our future,” said Renee Riley of Ladue. “Facts are being attacked on every level and I’m happy to be here today.”
Stacey Holland marched down Market with her 10-year-old daughter Sophia who wore a shirt saying “future scientist.”
“I’m here today because I’m really concerned about the funding of science,” Stacey Holland said.
When the marchers arrived at the Gateway Arch, speakers delivered words of inspiration on the importance of science. Brian Carthans, an organizer for March for Science in St. Louis, spoke.
“Science is more important to country than ever before,” Carthans said in his speech. “The future will be built by the work of every citizen but especially the researcher, the engineer, the tinkerer and the mathematician. Science is the fuel for innovation, the tool for discovery and the catalyst of change.”
Carthans talked about the diversity of the crowd that included all genders, ages and races.
“I didn’t make something like this happen,” he said in an interview. “It happened on its own. This is a wonderful crowd, wonderful people.”
Former National Weather Service Meteorologist Wes Browning also delivered a speech. During his career, Browning covered the St. Louis.
“I embrace that skepticism,” Browning said of climate change deniers. “This is called critical thought.”
But like many scientists, Browning expresses concern about the impacts of climate change.
“It’s one of the foremost challenges we face in the world today,” Browning said in an interview after his speech. “It’s not just locally, it’s worldwide.”
