Anna Hartig
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster’s staff, faculty and students will rally at the March for Science on Saturday April 22. The event starts at 2 p.m. at the Wooster downtown gazebo. Speakers from Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The College of Wooster and local schools will all be gathering at this time to support science.
Following the rally at 3 p.m., a variety of break-out sessions will be held regarding Economics of Environmental Issues, Science and Food Security, Evidence-Driven Social Policy, Science and Habitat in the Great Lakes Region and Climate Change. The locations for each topic can be found on posters around campus.
Chemistry Club President, Jake Polster ’17, has hung many of these posters in residence halls to get more STEM-oriented students to join the march. All students and faculty are invited to take part in the discussions and all the topics are supposed to relate to the fight for science.
“All of the action sessions look interesting, but I think the ‘Pseudoscience & Fake News’ and ‘Climate Change’ should be interesting sessions, given the recent political situation!” said Polster.
Heather Fitz Gibbon, professor of Anthropology and Sociology, is a planning committee member for the Wooster March for Science, and has encouraged all students to get involved along with many other staff members as well. “Those of us who are teachers and learners should care about supporting a community that believes in the importance of science and the value of making decisions based on the reasoned evaluation of evidence,” said Fitz Gibbon.
Many students have already expressed interest in joining certain break-out sessions and are coordinating directly with the session leaders to help participate in discussion. Professor of Chemistry Karl Feierabend will be one of the leaders of the “Pseudoscience & Fake News” action session with Professor of English Nancy Grace. Feierabend has encouraged students from his Environmental Chemistry course to help with the session.
While the March for Science is not affiliated with The College of Wooster, many of our students and staff have volunteered to help. The event features a range of topics in the hope that the entire Wooster community comes out to support the global movement to defend the role science plays in our lives. Rallies in over 500 cities will be gathering. The event held here at Wooster highlights the importance of science in the modern day. Fitz Gibbon also said, “Sessions will be aimed at generating ideas for action to counter attacks on science and science funding.”
If you’re interested in the march, stop by both the rally at 2 p.m. in the public square of downtown Wooster as well as the break-out sessions held afterwards. There will be a lot of familiar faces from The College of Wooster attending as well as some from the local community which should make for profound discussions. If you have any questions regarding the event or where the specific activities take place, contact Fitz Gibbon at hfitzgibbon@wooster.edu. Information can also be found on posters around campus.