Starting on March 21, University of Minnesota students will be able to vote in the upcoming campus election on two referendums led by the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

According to the University campus election team, the two referendums that will appear on the ballot this year are: Fight for $15 through MSA and Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) through SDS.

“Referendums must collect 1,000 signatures to be on the ballot,” the University campus election team wrote in an email to the Minnesota Daily.

Fight for $15

MSA proposed the referendum question, “As the cost of living continues to rise and force students into debt, should the University of Minnesota increase the campus minimum wage from $10.33 to at least $15/hour to improve quality-of-life and ensure students are better able to afford essential basic needs?”

On March 2, MSA met with other University student groups to discuss their Fight for $15 campaign. According to MSA, their petition had over 3,100 signatures from University students, staff and community members.

Carter Yost is a second-year student, a ranking MSA voting member and he is re-running for his role in student senate. He is one of the MSA members leading the Fight for $15 campaign, and discussed how important it is to have the minimum wage be raised for student workers on campus.

“This is more than just a want. This isn’t just some people who would like to be paid more,” Yost said. “You want basic needs in the way you want oxygen, so this becomes a matter of necessity, a matter of survival.”

Yost added that as the cost of expenses around campus increase it is crucial that student wages do as well.

CPAC

SDS proposed the referendum question, “Should the University of Minnesota create a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC) of elected representatives composed of students, university employees and campus-adjacent community members which is vested with the authority to oversee and set policy for the UMN Department of Public Safety?”

Annie Russell-Pribnow is a second-year student and active SDS member who talked about why the University should consider CPAC on campus and the benefits it would provide.

“It would provide community control over the police and allow the people who are actually being policed to decide how they want to be policed,” Russell-Pribnow said.

In a recent Instagram post by SDS, they announced that they reached over 1,000 signatures on their petition to add the referendum to the campus ballot.

“We want to encourage as many students as possible to vote and have their voices be heard,” Russell-Pribnow said.