https://www.nationalreview.com/news/university-of-michigans-student-government-removes-two-anti-israel-activists-from-leadership/
The student government at the University of Michigan has removed its top two leaders, who vowed to block funding for campus groups unless the university agreed to divest from companies accused of profiting from the Israel–Hamas war.
The student assembly’s president and vice president, Alifa Chowdhury and Elias Atkinson, were officially ousted late on Monday after they were impeached last month, the New York Times reported. Each received a guilty count of dereliction of duty for either missing council meetings or failing to organize them.
Chowdhury and Atkinson were elected last spring after running under the Shut It Down party. Given its name, the candidates’ intentions were apparent.
The two student leaders withheld $1.3 million in annual funding designated for 400 campus groups until their demand for total divestment could be met. The university was unwilling to agree to this demand and instead opted to lend money to the groups itself.
On October 8, the student government voted to reinstate the funding during a fraught meeting attended by anti-Israel protesters. Chowdhury and Atkinson reportedly encouraged protesters to shout at the assembly speaker, spit on an intern, and follow assembly members to their cars and insult them, according to the Michigan Review. They were accused of doing nothing to stop the unrest.