The Date Is Set; Organizers Invite People To 'March For Science'

What started as an online discussion on the possible impacts of the Trump administration on scientific research has now taken the form of a national "March for Science" campaign. The date for the march has been set on April 22, 2017 and the organizers are inviting everyone who is practicing scientific research or is an admirer of science to join in. It is also speculated that the march will be organized on a large scale, with multiple cities holding the event simultaneously.

The idea of "March for Science" was sparked only three days after Donald Trump was sworn in as the President of the United States of America. It was further intensified after the news of "Senate hearings on controversial cabinet picks," "mandates curtailing public communication from scientific agencies" and an overall "shunning of scientific leaders" surfaced, Science reported.

It was also reported that soon after the Trump administration came into power, it started restricting social media usage of national research and development agencies, which included National Park Service (NPS), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Agency (EPA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to Synapse.

Furthermore, President Donald Trump's decisions to revive the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was halted by then-President Barack Obama, expedite review for the Dakota Access Pipeline and to stop EPA from publishing scientific research before they are reviewed by designated political appointees, acted as fuel for the "March for Science" campaign.

The organizers of the campaign include both researchers and science communicators and they were pleasantly surprised by the increasing popularity of the campaign in a small amount of time. They then worked together to set a date and even formulated a mission statement that reads "champions publicly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity."

In the meantime, more number of people have voluntarily extended their support for the cause and expressed their willingness and appreciation as Facebook posts and comments. They have also made an open invitation for "anyone who believes in empirical science" to join the march.

Tim Clair, retired chemist, wrote, "We scientists certainly understand that only 10 [percent] of what we do is worthy of public discussion. Plod on."