Referendum FAQ
What is the referendum trying to do?
There are a couple of things that the referendum is trying to accomplish:
- Initiate a “student strike,” encouraging students to boycott classes as a means to pressure UBC to divest from companies the initiators claim are complicit in human rights abuses.
- Pressure UBC’s Board of Governors to divest from 30 companies that the organizers of the referendum claim are “complicit” in violence. The list of companies identified are, in some cases, random and nonsensical, even if one were to subscribe to the one-sided radical narrative of the referendum’s creators.
Will the strike actually pressure UBC’s Board of Governors to divest?S
Short answer: no. The university, as a public institution, is not likely to be influenced by the choice of a proportion of students skipping classes. Students’ own academic successes – not the Board of Governors – are likely to be the only things affected.
Wait, how will this affect students again?
There are a couple of different ways that students will be impacted by this referendum – check out these pages to learn more:
I’m just one student, how can I make a difference?
When you’re just one student, it can be daunting to fight this all on your own – thankfully, you’re not alone! Getting involved and making a difference is a lot easier than you might think:
- Vote! The easiest way to make a positive difference is to vote NO in the AMS referendum.
- Voting is a low-barrier activity. It doesn’t take much of your time, and yet is the most important thing you can do to prevent a negative outcome. Make sure you know when voting begins, and where to vote.
- Because voter turnout is low in elections like these, small groups of strongly committed radical extremists can have outsized influence on the outcomes. But that means YOUR vote counts that much more! Since most students don’t vote – your power is enhanced. Don’t let a fringe group of radicals harm your educational experience.
- Tell your friends about it! Share your concerns with friends. Chances are, they have similar concerns as you do, and you’ll all feel empowered when you share your views. Together, you can make a positive outcome. Don’t live with the regret of not voting.
- Remind others to vote! Outside of just talking to people about it, make sure that you’re reminding them to vote between Monday, March 10, 2025 and March 17, 2025. You can all make plans to sit down together and vote in between your classes, or while you study together. Do it together. Vote with your friends.
- This matters. Take a minute and make a positive difference.