Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Pro-Palestinian Activists Removed From Michigan’s Student Government
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 1 month ago on
December 26, 2024

FILE — A protest in support of Palestinians at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Feb. 8, 2024. The president and vice president of the University of Michigan’s student assembly were impeached after they demanded divestment from companies that they said profited from Israel’s war in Gaza, and stopped funding campus activities. (Nic Antaya/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Alifa Chowdhury’s successful campaign to lead the University of Michigan’s student government promised just one thing: to block financing for campus groups until the university agreed to divest from companies that Chowdhury said profited from the Israel-Hamas war.

Nine turbulent months later, Chowdhury is out, impeached and removed from office by the student assembly just before midnight Monday.

Impeachment and Removal

Chowdhury’s ouster follows a lopsided impeachment vote in mid-November, which also led to the removal of Elias Atkinson, the body’s vice president and a fellow activist.

In a student judicial hearing that spanned seven days and lasted more than 20 hours, they were found guilty on a single charge of dereliction of duty — the consequence of effectively fulfilling the shutdown their campaign promised.

Campus Polarization and Controversy

Like the protest encampments at universities across the country, the takeover of Michigan’s student government by pro-Palestinian activists last spring polarized the campus. The activists’ tactics drew objections from students who said their obstructionism went too far and did little to help the Palestinian cause.

The activists saw their movement as a way to shake university officials and students out of what they saw as complacency, and face the plight of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip.

Limited Impact and Opposition

But like many student protests, the takeover made little headway — and maybe even stirred up opposition. The university, which had long said that it would not divest, adopted a policy of institutional neutrality in October, meaning that it would avoid taking stances on political or social issues that were not directly connected to the school.

Margaret Peterman, a sophomore member of the student assembly who started the impeachment motion, said the president and vice president’s conduct in office and their unwillingness to aid the student body were “inexcusable.”

Campaign Promises and Aftermath

The impeached president and vice president, both of whom declined to comment, ran for their positions last spring as part of the Shut It Down Party, with the promise that they would withhold the roughly $1.3 million of annual funding until the university’s regents agreed to total divestment from companies that they said profited from Israel’s war in Gaza. They won their elections handily with a low voter turnout.

With the assembly’s leadership ousted, the speaker of the student assembly, Mario Thaqi, will finish out the presidential term.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Halina Bennet/Nic Antaya
c.2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

DON'T MISS

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

DON'T MISS

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

DON'T MISS

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

DON'T MISS

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

DON'T MISS

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

UP NEXT

$3 Million Gift Will Mean Laptops, Solar Panels, Larger Chapel for This Fresno University

UP NEXT

Find Your Next Career Opportunity Today at FUSD Expo

UP NEXT

Fresno Joins Nationwide Protest Wave Focusing on Gaza, Trump Deportations

UP NEXT

CA School Test Scores Trail Those of States Newsom Considers Culturally Backward

UP NEXT

A Tale of Two Local Districts: Implementing the CA Classroom Cell Phone Ban

UP NEXT

Hallmark Academy Wins Fresno County Academic Decathlon Championship

UP NEXT

Colleges Around the US Cautiously Navigate Trump’s DEI Crackdown

UP NEXT

Black History Month Explained: Its Origins, Celebrations and Myths

UP NEXT

Red, Blue and Purple States Pass Laws to Protect Kids on Social Media

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

2 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

3 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

3 hours ago

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

3 hours ago

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

3 hours ago

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

4 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing 2,200 USAID Workers on Paid Leave

4 hours ago

Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali’s Name

5 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws Friday setting aside $50 million to help the state protect its policies from c...

2 hours ago

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
2 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

2 hours ago

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

Hanford police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting outside an In-N-Out, believed to be linked to an illegal drug transaction. (Hanford PD)
2 hours ago

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

2 hours ago

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

Ice is visible in the Bering Sea Jan. 22, 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast. (AP File)
3 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

Fresno police are searching for Tommy Savala, 75, who was last seen Thursday morning near Simpson Avenue and North Fresno Street. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

McLane and Duncan Polytechnical high school students walked out Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, to protest deportations, marching down Cedar Avenue. (GV Wire/Eric Martinez)
3 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend