Medical Center Supports March for Science NYC

About 20 faculty members, staff, and students from Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and Columbia University’s Morningside campus braved the rain on Saturday for the third annual March for Science New York City in Lower Manhattan. 

Participants gathered at Foley Square, where keynote speakers highlighted the importance of science and research, urging support for climate and ocean science, biomedical research, and vaccines.

They also touched on the need for diversity in science; the #MeToo movement in science, technology, engineering, and math careers; and the Green New Deal, a sweeping congressional proposal to respond to climate change. Then, about 2,000 participants marched through the streets, finishing at a science expo at Pace University Student Center. Other speakers, including the medical center’s Indira Turney, a postdoctoral research scientist at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, spoke to the marchers there.

The medical center has co-sponsored the event since its inception, said Ross Frommer, vice president for CUIMC’s Office of Government & Community Affairs and associate dean. Frommer’s office organized the university’s participation.

“I think it was a great opportunity for people who are involved in science and people who care about science to make their voices heard,” Frommer said. “There was a good crowd, despite the rain, and a lot of enthusiasm for science. It was an important message to get out there. I want to thank everybody who participated.”

The March for Science was created to champion robustly funded and publicly communicated science around the world. Organizers and supporters unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policymakers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest. March for Science New York City was the flagship march; about 150 other marches were scheduled to happen worldwide on Saturday.