7xm At Michigan, Pro-Palestinian Activists Lose, and Money for Student Clubs Is Restored
In a tense, simmering meeting, University of Michigan’s student government restored funding on Tuesday night for campus activities and clubs, which had been paused for months in protest of the war in Gaza.
Campus life was put on edge last spring after pro-Palestinian activists won student government elections to the presidency and vice presidency, and secured a near majority of seats in the assembly. Less than 20 percent of students had turned out to vote.
Fulfilling their campaign promise, the activists moved immediately to withhold around $1.3 million in annual funding for campus activities until the university committed to divest from companies aiding Israel’s war in Gaza.
Many student groups, including Ultimate Frisbee, ballroom dancing and the Black Undergraduate Kinesiology Association, were in limbo, unsure whether they could travel to games, rent rehearsal space or provide outreach to students.
But in a meeting packed with activists on Tuesday, the student assembly voted to support a petition that restored the budget. And it rejected an opposing petition that would have sent most of the student government’s money to another university’s initiative in Gaza.
The fallout was immediate. Pro-Palestinian activists accused the assembly members of complicity in genocide.
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