March for Science

By Wanghai
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The March for Science was a series of rallies and marches held in more than 600 cities across the world on Earth day, April 22, 2017. The march is a non-partisan movement to celebrate science. The goals of the marches and rallies were to emphasize that science upholds the common goods and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interest. San Diego's March for Science was an adamantly non-partisan event organized by a group of scientists, engineers and educators. (Information from Wikipedia and San Diego March for Science. )

A large portion of the San Diego's Chinese community is composed of scientists, educators and engineers. So naturally a lot of us wanted to participate in the science march.  A group of friends got together to facilitate the logistics.

For the march, we decided to make banners and signs.  We had the help of many friends, including Martian Science Print and a little girl called Mengmeng.  As soon as we organized a Wechat group for the march, many friends offered donations to help. The hand-held signs proved to be very popular at the march. Many marchers asked for them and donated more money.  The donation amounted to over a thousand dollars, much more than the cost of printing.  After the march was over, it was discussed and decided that the remaining fund, $540, was to be donated to San Diego Science Olympia's outreach program to help the under-privileged students, a worthy cause. 

The organizers of March for Science had arranged for speeches representing different groups of the scientific community. However, the large Chinese scientist community was not chosen initially. We contacted the Sino-American Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SABPA). We are grateful that SABPA sent a representative, Dr. Peter Huang, to speak on behalf of bio pharmaceutical professionals and Chinese scientists. We are proud of Peter for his moving speech supporting cancer research.
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In the wake of the march, it became abundantly clear that an organization is needed to keep supporting science education and other community outreach projects. Thus, ACA was established to help and empower the Chinese community to fulfill the American dream.
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Fifteen thousand people gathered at San Diego Civic Center and participated in the march
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A couple dozens out of over one hundred Chinese march participants
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Dr. Peter Huang was an invited speaker at the rally.  He was the representative of SABPA and spoke on behalf of Chinese scientists.  He shared his experience as a cancer researcher and spoke of the importance of supporting scientific research.
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A prominent science advocate, Dr. Shimin Fang, was signing the banner
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Little scientist Mengmeng's design for the kids participating in science march. Thanks to Diana, this was printed as flags and used at the March.
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Junior scientist Olivia Shi displaying her own design
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People loved our signs
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People loved our signs
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Our banner was a highlight of the march
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The Banner Girls were marching in the front
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Enthusiastic science supporters
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So many old friends met at the march.  It was truly a community event.
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Families, friends, adults, kids....Let's march!
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Loud and clear
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A nerdy scientific message
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Many of us are
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No one would disagree with her
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​Photo credits: Jeff He, Xi Zeng, Diana Chen, Wenge Shi, Xiu Yu.

About the author:  Wanghai (pen name) is a long-time San Diego resident.  She is a scientist.

Disclaimer:
Unless clearly specified, the views expressed in this article only represents the opinion of the author and does not reflect the official opinion of ACA.
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