A childhood dream became reality for many students when Bill Nye gave a lecture at the Auburn Arena. Nye, a scientist, engineer and educator best known for his television show "Bill Nye the Science Guy," entered the Arena Thursday, Nov. 1 to a standing ovation and chants of "Bill! Bill! Bill!"
The event was organized by the University Program Council.
"You can come up with somebody just in your head, like, 'Oh, I like this TV show so I want to bring him here,' or frequently there's websites, booking agency websites, and it will have people in certain price ranges, and you can just scroll through them," said Ricky Scheuerle, UPC director of speakers and comedians. "Like for us, we were just scrolling through and we were like, 'Bill Nye--hey, everyone loves Bill Nye, that would be awesome.' It has a ton of nostalgia to it; everyone loves science."
Nye's lecture covered a variety of topics, ranging from sundials and the marvel of modern timekeeping to the space program to global climate change.
"I just want everybody to realize the significance and importance of the science in your everyday life," Nye said.
Throughout his discussions, Nye reiterated his belief that college students can impact the world through science. During his discussion of global climate change, Nye encouraged his listeners to use the situation as a chance to do something for the world.
"This is why everything each and every one of us does affects everybody in the whole world," Nye said. "Because we all share the air. And we've all got to embrace this idea so that you can change the world."
Nye advocated the idea of taking responsibility for human influence on planetary processes.
"That is our problem," Nye said. "That is our opportunity."
Nye also encouraged students to use their political sway and the power of the vote to influence scientific decisions made by the government.
"You guys, as voters and taxpayers, are gonna have to assess (ideas)," he said. "You're gonna have to figure out if any of them are worthy and worth doing. And here's what I've come to believe in the last few months or years ... we humans are going to have to do something extraordinary."
Nye's lecture was originally scheduled to be held in the Student Center ballroom, which had limited seating to offer. However, because of the overwhelming student response, the event was relocated to the Arena.
"The tickets sold out in two minutes, and I feel like our student body didn't put enough trust into UPC," Scheuerle said. "There was a lot of distrust that we wouldn't be able to accommodate their needs. But our motto has always been 'by the students, for the students,' and so when we saw such a student response and we saw the tickets sell out in two minutes, there was immediate action on our part to make sure that we can accommodate this large need for Bill Nye and make sure as many students as possible could see him."
Scheuerle estimated more than 2,000 students showed up for the event.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
