California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

California Lutheran University's Student Newspaper Since 1961

The Echo

    Science Needs Safety From Trump

    Millions of people have been marching in solidarity resisting different executive decisions that President Donald J. Trump has put into place for the country.

    It all began with the Womenโ€™s March and the following marches that have proceeded and will continue to take place.

    The March for Science that just recently took place was needed because science is a necessity in order to live sustainably. Though the march has already taken place, the March for Science can learn from the Womenโ€™s March.

    โ€œVoicing opinion is what the country is founded upon and I think lots of people right now are pretty unhappy with the current administrationโ€™s stance on knowledge and science, and the best way to do that is voting and peacefully demonstrating and letting political figures know we as a society donโ€™t find this acceptable,โ€ said Kris Karsten, an assistant professor of biology at California Lutheran University.

    According to science reporter Brian Resnick in an article called โ€œThe March for Science on Earth Day explained,โ€ thousands of people protested on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and in other large cities across the world for science. Supporters collaboratively went against President Trumpโ€™s budget cuts for scientific research.

    There is a need for science in politics and Trumpโ€™s proposals to cut millions of dollars toward science can be very detrimental to the people, as well as the earth itself.

    According to a New York Times article, โ€œScientists, Feeling Under Siege, March Against Trump Policies,โ€ reporter Nicholas Fleur said that Trump has proposed to reduce the National Institutes of Health (NIH)by 18 percent to $25.9 billion. There are also threats to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cut 31 percent of their budget.

    โ€œThere is a phase of science known as the paradigm shift where new ideas come from, but those new emerging ideas which have big impact, only happen when you accumulate lots of the normal science so cutting out normal science will effect the bigger game-changing things we are finding out,โ€ Karsten said.

    The environment directly affects peopleโ€™s health and living situations. Itโ€™s the source of peopleโ€™s air, water and food. Without scientific research the environment cannot be protected, which will result in poor health situations for the people.

    โ€œWe are undoing decades of advancement through some pretty short-term changes. We are getting in an odd case where my whole career I never felt like scientists were political activists but all of a sudden are because science is being taken away,โ€ Karsten said.

    According to the Environmental Protection Agencyโ€™s website, its mission is to protect human health and the environment by reducing environmental risks with the available scientific information it has access too. The NIHโ€™s website identifies the institution as a medical research agency that makes discoveries through science in order to improve health and save lives.

    Budget cuts to such extraordinary institutions is going to cut the lifeline of many American people. By marching for science, people are bringing awareness to the issue. They are causing a rift, which inevitably makes people listen.

    As of now, the March for Science also has a website with post cards available for print as well as a blog and fun facts.

    Though the March for Science had names like Bill Nye, adding more celebrities to advocate for the purpose will gather more supporters.

    What all marches can learn from the Womenโ€™s March is to not stop at resistance and winning over the publicโ€™s concern. Create a movement. Now that the March for Science has been completed, there is a need to create movement and bring change because we, the American people, need science.

    Maryssa Rillo
    Staff Writer