The University of Michigan Central Student Government met in the Wolverine Room of the Michigan Union for the first in-person meeting of the semester Tuesday evening. Amid concerns that the student government would halt all operations after the SHUT IT DOWN party won the Central Student Government March elections, the assembly discussed the decision not to fund student organizations during the spring and summer semesters. The Assembly also passed several resolutions including the fall budget, a resolution to provide select students with discounted parking permits and a resolution requesting reduced police presence surrounding campus polling sites.
CSG President Alifa Chowdhury spoke to the Assembly at Tuesday’s meeting to explain the decision to withhold funding from student organizations.
“I think by not funding student orgs, we are asking the University to step up,” Chowdhury said. “By asking the regents to not just divest from Israel and weapons manufacturing companies, but to reinvest money from the $18 billion endowment to students and to make y’alls lives better.”
CSG Vice President Elias Atkinson said the decision not to fund student organizations is part of a larger pressure campaign urging the University to be more responsive to student demands, including those about divestment. .
“We’re pledging now to sort of step up the communication with everyone and really try to make this a collaborative effort, to use this as a form of protest, for divestment, but also for the things that you guys care about,” Atkinson said. “We can find a way to relate all of our demands and our struggles and bring them together against the Regents or to the Regents and the University. … We could effect a lot of positive change.”
The assembly discussed and voted on AR 14-016, a resolution that requested that any police presence be at least 300 feet from poll lines during CSG and general elections. The resolution passed unanimously.
The assembly also unanimously passed AR 14-018, which calls for stronger protections for U-M students seeking medical attention for drug and alcohol use. The Division of Public Safety and Security’s current drug and alcohol policies grant immunity, or medical amnesty, for students seeking medical attention in such scenarios. The resolution says some students have still been threatened with disciplinary action, and calls on the University not to pursue such actions in medical amnesty cases.
The assembly unanimously passed AR 14-021, a resolution proposing gathering data on the CSG Airbus to determine if the initiative is effective in providing affordable transportation for students. If the results of the data show that the CSG Airbus is not effective, the assembly will allocate those funds elsewhere.
AR 14-025 calls on the School of Nursing to fund required equipment and procedures for nursing students, such as scrubs, drug screenings and background checks. The resolution passed unanimously.
AR 14-019, which asks the University to provide discounted parking permits for students who qualify for need-based financial aid or are employed by the University, also passed unanimously.
Members also discussed AR 14-023, the Fall 2024 CSG Budget Act, which proposes allocating $603,453 to various enterprises within CSG, including but not limited to the Legislative Discretionary Fund, Airbus and the Student Organization Committee. LSA senior Mario Thaqi, CSG representative, shared information about the University’s relatively high endowment and relatively low funding of organizations compared to other Big Ten schools.
“I think it’s really important to hold the University accountable for their abysmal funding compared to the rest of the Big Ten,” Thaqi said. “Even though (the Student Organization Funding Committee) provides a lot of money for these club sports organizations, it would be great if that burden was freed up so we could continue to fund more student organizations on this campus.”
LSA senior Ryan Grover, president of the U-M rugby team, expressed concerns with the lack of funding for organizations through the Student Organization Funding Committee on behalf of the rugby team.
“That money is really going towards safety 一 things like buses, things like athletic trainers,” Grover said. “When the University isn’t providing much for us, that SOFC money is so huge, and it’s really what keeps us operating and keeps us both safe and equitable … and without that funding, there are a lot of people who won’t be able to find their group. They’re going to be a lot worse off mentally. They’re going to be a lot worse off physically.”
LSA sophomore Tiya Berry, CSG representative, said she believes the assembly should pass the budget because funding for student organizations is a fundamental part of the college experience for students at such a large university.
“I think day-to-day on a student basis, I think it’s too precious,” Berry said. “I do think we can collaborate and get to mutual goals without needing to sacrifice the comfort of our student body.”
After voting by secret ballot, the CSG Fall 2024 Budget Act passed with 25 in favor and 15 against.
Daily Staff Reporter Edra Timmerman can be reached at edrakmt@umich.edu.
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