Young people across the globe are on strike Friday to demand action against climate change. Some students in South Bend left class to participate.
A crowd of about 150 young people and adults gathered in South Bend to show support for the Green New Deal and urge politicians to make policy changes.
Julia McKenna is a student at the University of Notre Dame. She led an activist group that pushed the City to pass a climate ordinance last Spring, but she wants more from them.
“Even though South Bend has been really involved in sustainability, we want them to continue that commitment,” she said.
Students started a petition calling on South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and other city officials to create firm climate change policies on a local level.
Ash Veazie, a freshman at IU South Bend, wants to see young climate activists taken seriously.
“Our planet is dying soon and this is our future," he said. "We’re going to be raising our children on a planet that is dying. We’re going to have to live with the consequences of older people's actions.”
The global climate strike comes three days before the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City.
