Dozens in Yakima rally to support science for national protest

Around 50 people lined First Street in Yakima Friday, waving their hands and holding signs in support of science. The protest was part of the national Stand Up for Science rallies held at noon across the country.

Rally organizer Dianna Woods, right, watches as Susie Lattomus, left, makes an upcycled sign out of a pizza box. (Credit: Courtney Flatt / NWPB)

Organizer Dianna Woods said she was sitting at home, watching science funding disappear, and decided she wanted to do something.

At first, she could only find planning happening in Seattle.

“And I thought, ‘We could just do a little (rally) here in Yakima?’ Why not? There’s no reason why Yakima can’t have a little one, even if it’s just me,” Woods said.

But, she didn’t have to worry she’d be standing on the street by herself for long. Word spread. People heard her talking in grocery stores. Others made posts on social media. More saw it on the local ABC news scroll.

People came prepared with signs. “Restore funding for science.” “Support agriculture.” “Don’t fire scientists.” “Layoff excess, not essential.” “America is great because of science.” “Viruses do not recognize borders.” “No science, no beer.”

Eric Fleming came to the protest because he said “science is life.” He said vaccines are essential and hoped the protest would raise awareness for people in Yakima. (Credit: Courtney Flatt / NWPB)

Eric Fleming, a microbiologist Ph.D., said he wanted to attend because “science is life.”

“The bastardization of science is happening now,” he said. “(With the rally), we won’t change anyone’s minds, but we might get a few people talking. That’s all we really were trying to do right now.”

Many people waved and honked their car horns as they drove by on the busy, four-lane street. The crowd cheered with each honk.

Leslie Rodriguez, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, designed a 1980s-themed sign and T-shirt specifically for the rally. The sign read “Science not silence,” the “SOS” referencing “Message in a Bottle” by The Police. Her blue T-shirt sported the lyrics “Don’t you forget about me,” signed Science.

Leslie Rodriguez, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, speaks to the crowd on a megaphone at Yakima’s Stand Up for Science rally. (Credit: Courtney Flatt / NWPB)

She spoke to the crowd with a borrowed megaphone.

“This is not about politics. This is about people. This is about whether we choose to move forward or let ignorance pull us backward,” Rodriguez said.

Part of that includes vaccines, said Sara Cate, a family physician in Yakima.

“Science is the underpinning of everything we do as physicians,” Cate said. “And we know that vaccines work and keep people healthy.”

To bring the science messages home, Andy Granitto wanted passersby to think about how science affects agriculture.

“Here in the Yakima Valley, (science is) everything, from what kind of apple they’re coming up with to efficient ways to grow. Scientists come up with all the productive changes,” Granitto said. “So in the Yakima Valley to somehow stand up against science would make no sense.”

The protestors stood along the street for about an hour.

“It’s a great opportunity to voice our concerns,” Cate said. “A lot of us are sitting at home, extremely worried about the country right now. … The only thing we can do is stand up and voice our concerns.”