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The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government met in the Wolverine Room of the Michigan Union Tuesday evening to vote on whether to overturn CSG president Alifa Chowdhury’s veto on the Fall 2024 CSG Budget Act, AR 14-023.
In August, the Assembly passed the budget act, but Chowdhury vetoed the act in early September. Following the veto and amid concern brought up by student organizations that funds would not be available, CSG assembly members attempted to vote on the fall budget for the second time.
Chowdhury is a member of the SHUT IT DOWN Party, which won 23 seats in the March 2024 CSG elections. The party campaigned on stopping all CSG activity and associated funding until the University divests from companies profiting off the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Since taking office in April, Chowdhury has vetoed the body’s spring, summer and fall budgets.
After the most recent budget was vetoed, the University allocated interim funds to student organizations. The University provided the funding, as well as consultation services, through the Dean of Students Office.
In an executive statement, Chowdhury expressed frustration that the funding veto was bypassed by the University, which continued to provide student organizations with funding against the SHUT IT DOWN party’s platform.
“By bypassing CSG and centralizing control over funding, the administration is attempting to neutralize our campaign’s impact and maintain a facade of normalcy,” Chowdhury wrote. “This move demonstrates the lengths to which the University will go to protect its financial and political interests at the expense of democratic student governance and ethical responsibility.”
The meeting began with Community Concerns, during which about 25 U-M students, community members and alumni shared their thoughts on the vote.
LSA and Art & Design senior Eaman Ali, who supports the veto, addressed the assembly to emphasize her disappointment in the attempted blocking of the veto. Ali said the decision to veto the budget is reflective of campus sentiment about divestment.
“I voted for and fully endorsed the SHUT IT DOWN party and their platform, which was explicit and understood by the student body in their vote,” Ali said. “I am very disappointed by the acts that many of you here have taken to sabotage the SHUT IT DOWN party, which is what the students have voted for on this campus.… You are not representing your constituents like you claim. It is clear where the students stand.”
Other students at the meeting countered by saying they felt it was unfair that many student organizations on campus would not have access to necessary funding. LSA junior Ryan Finlay said it was inconsiderate to ignore the issues facing students in their day-to-day lives on campus.
“There is a prevailing sentiment here that a minuscule fraction of the University’s endowment is of total importance,” Finlay said. “How arrogant of you to think that your struggle for divestment is more important than anyone else’s? More important, in fact, than the struggle of low-income students to afford food sources from a food bank, partially funded by CSG. How about making sure students can eat first?”
Engineering junior Marisa May, logistics director of Michigan Baja Racing, a student organization that competes in off-road racecar competition series, said she supports overturning the veto because the withheld funding has negatively impacted the club’s ability to function.
“Each year our budget is comprised of funds from CSG, which are usually allocated in waves throughout both semesters and over the summer,” May said. “Without these funds, our team has fit eight people in hotels for competition travel and reduced part complexity to bring manufacturing back in-house. We also rely on CSG funding to keep events free for members, which allows lower-income students like myself to join our team.”
May emphasized the importance of supporting student organizations on campus due to the communities they create, and expressed concern about the viability of these organizations without funding.
“I count Baja lucky that we haven’t had to stop our season,” May said. “I’m not sure other student organizations can say the same. Our student organizations do great things on campus, giving students a sense of belonging they may not otherwise have and encouraging professional and academic growth. I hope student organization funding will begin again soon.”
The assembly then entered closed session to debate and vote on whether to override Chowdhury’s veto; in the end, they did not secure enough votes to do so. Mario Thaqi, speaker of the 14th CSG Assembly, wrote in an email to The Michigan Daily that the veto override failed with a vote of 23-18, meaning the CSG budget will continue to be withheld from student organizations. The override required two-thirds of the vote, or 28 votes.
Due to timing, the meeting was adjourned after voting, and the rest of the agenda was pushed to a future meeting.
Daily Staff Reporter Maddyn Shapiro can be reached at maddyns@umich.edu.
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