You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
After a tense assembly meeting Tuesday, the University of Michigan’s student government voted to restore funding for campus clubs and organizations, which had been paused for months in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza, The New York Times reported.
Campus conflict began last spring when students from a pro-Palestinian group called Shut It Down ran for office and won both the presidency and the vice presidency, as well as near-majority control of the student assembly.
As a show of support for the people of Gaza, the group then decided to withhold about $1.3 million in funding for campus activities until the university committed to divest from companies aiding Israel in the war. The move left many student groups—including the club Ultimate Frisbee team and ballroom dancing group—without the funds they needed to travel, rent facilities or conduct outreach.
The assembly’s most recent vote appeased Ann Arbor students who had been left high and dry, restoring their access to funds rather than diverting the money to a university initiative in Gaza.
But backlash from pro-Palestinian activists on campus was harsh. They accused their peers of complicity in genocide, prompting campus security officers to escort the student government representatives home and ensure no one was hurt.
“It’s scary for someone to be in your face,” said Tyler Watt, an assembly member who voted to restore the funding. “And at the end, they were kind of mobbing us. They were literally in our faces.”
