ANN ARBOR, MI - University of Michigan students walked out of class Friday to make their voices heard about the need for local, state and federal climate action.
Around 150 students gathered Friday, Oct. 22, on the UM Diag, before marching on central campus to make their voices heard about the need for immediate action, including divesting from fossil fuels and setting target dates for carbon neutrality.
Students displayed signs and chanted “no more coal, no more oil, keep that carbon in the soil” as they made their way through campus.
UM students had a wide range of demands ranging from local to federal, including that President Joe Biden declare a climate emergency, while also demanding federal lawmakers reduce U.S. carbon emissions at least 50% by 2030 through the Build Back Better Act and that DTE Energy removes caps on home solar connection.
While individual choices matter regarding the environment, it is more important to focus on systemic change in order to confront a crisis that impacts the entire planet, UM student and demonstration organizer Elena Swirczek said.
“We cannot vote with our dollars in a society where 1% of the population that benefits the most from the climate crisis has the most dollars with which to vote,” Swirczek said. “Our personal choices do matter and I value my own, but they will never alone create the systemwide changes we need and that’s not where all of our focus should be.”
Whether it’s university or local leaders, UM student Jacob Sendra said it important for students and community members to push for implementation of plans toward publicly-owned, renewably-sourced energy, in addition to registering to vote and learning about the people making decisions impacting the planet.
“We must push our City Council for more affordable, centrally-located housing, as well as more extensive local and regional public transit,” Sendra said. “With a lack of affordable housing in Ann Arbor, tens of thousands of people commute into the city each day - most by car. Increasing urban density and affordable housing in AA would help decrease emissions drastically.”
Students also demanded UM:
- Pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030
- Establish an alliance between regents and students with monthly meetings to discuss progress
- Create an online dashboard to make progress transparent and visible
- Retrofit existing buildings and installs solar panels
Organizers said the strike was done in solidarity with the Fridays for the Future movement started by Greta Thunberg.
Friday’s protest was one of the first major on-campus demonstrations related to climate action in Ann Arbor since UM students participated in a sit-in at UM’s Fleming Administration Building in March 2019.
UM police issued trespass warnings to a few of the approximately 50 people still at the administration building after 8 p.m. Ultimately, 10 people were arrested, including six who were affiliated with UM as students or staff.
After protesting on the Diag earlier that day, protesters wanted to set a date for a public Q&A with President Mark Schlissel to talk about what the university is doing to address climate change, with their sights set on holding the university accountable for achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
Trespassing charges eventually were dismissed. Ann Arbor school board Trustee Jeffrey Gaynor and six others charged with misdemeanor trespassing pleaded responsible to a civil infraction for loitering and were ordered to pay a $325 fine.
In May 2021, UM announced it would take immediate steps to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality across all greenhouse gas emissions scopes by 2040 through a number of initiatives.
UM students criticized Schlissel and the university for not taking climate change seriously enough, noting they plan to continue striking until their demands are met.
“We need meaningful action from the university and we need it now,” UM sophomore Lexi Crilley said. “The climate cannot wait. As students - as members of the generation most severely impacted by the climate crisis - we’re sick and tired of the stagnation. We’re tired of the university’s goals to make more goals - the empty promises of the institution.”
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