CSG met on October 29th, 2024, for the first time without an endless, erroneous budget fight. Neither President Chowdury nor Vice President Atkinson attended the meeting, which has been a consistent feature of CSG’s weekly meetings, according to multiple sources. With over half the Assembly and CSG’s Student General Counsel demanding the resignation of Chowdury and Atkinson, there appeared to be an aura of defeat in the SHUT IT DOWN (SID) caucus. The Student Organization Committee also released a scathing report on how they’ve “been largely running student organization funding as it always is” due to the University filling in the gaps during SID’s obstruction. There were no protests or threats at this meeting, despite it being the first in-person meeting since the October 8th, 2024, meeting that ended in an abrupt evacuation.
CSG had nine different bills on the docket, the most in months. The first three bills were introduced for the first time, which typically indicates that they will be referred back to the committee for a final weekend of readings before passage next week. These bills were a constitutional amendment (CA 14-003 Veto Process Amendment) and two other resolutions (MATH 115 Data Collection Act and Authorized Signer Flexibility Act). All three were discussed at length over the weekend, without significant controversy, and sent back for second reads.
Two other constitutional amendments passed; the first would establish a “Petition Review” power for the Central Student Judiciary (CSJ) in light of the most recent budget petitions that ended in the Wolverine’s Budget Act passing and last year’s condemnations of violence in the Middle East that the University canceled. This new power would allow the judiciary and Student General Counsel to “bar” an initiative that they believe violates the authority or processes of student government. This follows CSJ’s recent opinion that they currently do not possess this authority.
The second is the Disability Ex-Officio Act, which would create a Disability Advocate position that would permanently exist within the Assembly. Student General Counsel Tyler Watt confirmed with the University that the language of “disability advocate” would not violate any non-discrimination policy, addressing concerns that the bill’s language made being disabled a requirement to hold the position. The bill passed unanimously after a half-hour of discussion.
Both amendments will head to the November 20-21 elections for an all-campus vote.
Three other bills passed, while the Trans Umbrella Student Protection Act was referred to committee for third reads. The “Transparency in Policing Act” and the “Protect Our Students Act” both address the police response to campus protests. The first demands that campus law enforcement release their body cam footage of the encampment clearing on May 21st, 2024. The University of Michigan denied a FOIA request on the raid, calling it an “invasion of personal privacy.” All law enforcement officers were on duty and are thus mandated to keep recorded footage until all investigations are complete.
The second act focuses on DPSS’s use of chemical weapons during the October 7th, 2024 protests on the Diag. Over 70 students were alleged to have been injured by police actions at the Tahrir protests. The resolution follows the University’s controversial free speech policies, which have resulted in the most active police presence on campus since the 1970s Vietnam War protests. Both acts passed without controversy, and, because they only state an official CSG position, neither has the operative authority to prompt a University response.
The last bill, AR 14-039, increases pay for election officials to counter inflation. However, this bill faces criticism for still offering a per-hour wage lower than the average livable wage in Ann Arbor.
The Review will be following up on unanswered questions for many of these bills, in addition to interviewing your representatives with tough but fair questions. Stay tuned for our coverage as the November elections are set to shake up over ⅓ of CSG positions.
Disclaimer: Tyler Fioritto has participated in and authored some of the linked legislation. He also served in CSG previously and has run in multiple campaigns alongside some of the individuals listed as legislation authors.
