On Saturday, Champaign-Urbana joined the 600+ cities across the nation in the March for Science with their own march and rally. The local attendance number looks to be around 2200, according to estimates from the organizers, and included activists of all ages and backgrounds. Local youth in grades K-12 kicked off the march, which was a short walk around the block. Regardless of the length of the march, the rally was a great opportunity to hear from local scientific community members, and come together with others in our area who are concerned about the future of scientific research, the environment, and many other areas that could be threatened under the policies of the current administration. I’m not a scientist, I’m not knowledgeable about most aspects of science, but to me that makes their ability to fully participate in their fields that much more important, and that’s why I showed up.
There are more photos and videos of the speakers on the CU March for Science Facebook group page. Those interested in continuing the conversation can show up at the Champaign Public Library this Saturday at 10:30 am.
