Pro-Palestinian Activists Hold Student Fees Hostage To Demand University Divestment
Pro-Palestinian student government representatives at the University of Michigan (UofM) are refusing to fund campus organizations until the school divests from the war in Israel, despite the fact the student council’s…
Pro-Palestinian student government representatives at the University of Michigan (UofM) are refusing to fund campus organizations until the school divests from the war in Israel, despite the fact the student council’s budget comes from student fees and not the university’s endowment, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
Last spring, pro-Palestinian activists won control of UofM’s student council, and, in an effort to pressure the administration to meet their divestment demands, froze much of the roughly $1.3 million in funding the council is supposed to distribute to student groups, the NYT reported. Now, campus organizations like the Ultimate Frisbee and ballroom dance teams have been stripped of funding, even though the budget for the activities comes from student fees, which are not connected to the university’s endowment or its investments.
“It feels a little silly to me to refuse to hand out money that’s coming from students to help students,” Gabriel Scheck, president and captain of the men’s Ultimate Frisbee team, told the NYT in reference to the fact UofM’s student government is funded by an $11.19 per-student fee paid each semester.