In the 2020 All-Campus Elections, an overwhelming amount of UMN students voted "yes" to declare a climate emergency and to divest from fossil fuels - 93% for declaring a climate emergency and 85% to divest.

Unfortunately, referenda are not binding decisions, meaning that the University of Minnesota is not technically obligated to act on what students have democratically voted for. However, they do represent the opinion of the student body. Students are clearly demanding the university to take serious action on climate change, and university leadership must listen. The University of Minnesota needs to declare a climate emergency and divest from fossil fuels now.