My fellow students, we are each a part of Iowa State University of Science and Technology. It is in our name that we are dedicated to the teaching and advancement of science and technology. Our motto is “Science With Practice.”

This new administration has made it clear in the first week that it is an enemy of both science and technology, and thereby it is an enemy of our university. This university has a clear responsibility to uphold scientific integrity and defend against scientific ignorance. 

For those of you who do not know me, I am an environmental science major. Because of this, I hold a particular set of views on climate change. My views are based upon evidence and logic. Those views were never meant to be political, but it appears that certain politicians want their agenda to define what the truth is.

Scientific integrity is under attack. It is in jeopardy. Never before have we seen such dangerous actions on climate that are both against the scientific consensus and the public opinion. If we do not fight this in every way we can, fact will cease to be solid. When we are no longer able to distinguish fact from fiction, we become a society of drones, mindlessly following orders. 

I urge each and every student to contact their representatives. Call them, send them emails, mail them pictures of your cat or photos you took on your vacations to national parks. Send them a potato in the mail. However you do it, urge your representatives that an attack on science is an attack on both truth and the safety of the American people. Tell them that if they do not resist and refute the dangerous agenda that is shaping in the White House and Washington, D.C., then their time in Congress is severely limited.

If we do not resist the disintegration of science and truth, then it is only a matter of time before every student here begins to recite our new motto:

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.