The University of Michigan Central Student Government convened Tuesday evening in the Michigan Union’s Wolverine Room to discuss the Executive Committee’s plans for the fall semester and CSG’s solidarity with U-M nurses.
CSG President Noah Zimmerman, an LSA senior, said he and CSG vice president Jacqueline Hillman, an LSA senior, are committed to improving student life and presented seven policymaking categories the committee aims to focus on: sexual misconduct prevention, campus community, streamlining services, lowering barriers for accessibility, anti-racism, sustainable campus and making sure the University is an affordable place.
“So our administration has really boiled down to trying to do direct-to-student programming as much as possible and trying to just improve students’ lives through small but effective policymaking and programs and events,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said the administration wants to roll out orders and make progress on larger projects such as wellbeing days, dedicating spaces for disabled students and streamlining existing services.
“(One directive a week) is difficult, so we’re doing our best,” Zimmerman said. “We expect a lot of our executive team, and we hope we can live up to it. We’re also hoping to complete a lot of the action items that we’ve had on our campaign platform. That’s what students elected us to do so we’re hoping that we’re able to make a difference.”
Following the presentation, LSA senior Kareem Rifai, communications director, urged members to use the communications request form to submit material to CSG social media outlets.
“I’ve been doing interviews on behalf of the CSG cabinet and also trying to get the social media running for fall, and I’m building my team now,” Rifai said. “Our capacities are getting widened, so feel free to use the communications request form. It’s there for us to use, and I’m excited for the rest of the semester.”
The assembly also discussed a resolution in support of the Michigan Nurses Association introduced by CSG Speaker Karthik Pasupula, an LSA sophomore. The nurses of University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (UMPNC) authorized a work stoppage in protest of the University’s allegedly disingenuous negotiations over a new contract.
The resolution authorizes CSG to sign the petition in support of the nurses, promises CSG will promote picket lines and other solidarity actions on its social media and says CSG will post guides on how to safely picket if a picket line does form. The resolution passed unanimously, confirming CSG’s support for the UMPNC nurses.
LSA sophomore Jacob Amspaugh also submitted a resolution for the assembly to consider. He called for the creation of an Internship and Mentorship Program to create more opportunities for students to get involved with CSG. The resolution states students can apply for an internship at CSG and be mentored by an assembly member. Interns have the opportunity to receive need-based compensation for at most five hours of CSG work. This resolution passed unanimously.
For nominations, Law School student Tyler Watt was nominated as Student General Counsel by the Executive Nominations Committee. The nomination was submitted to the assembly for further consideration.
Zimmerman strongly recommended Watt for the position, citing his experience in student government at the University.
“(Tyler) has a humongous background of student government on Michigan’s campus, and someone who would be better qualified for the position would be very difficult to find,” Zimmerman said.
LSA senior Tyler Fioritto acknowledged Watt’s experience with student government and believes he can take on the role. He asked Watt how he plans to fix loopholes in existing regulations.
“How active of a role do you think there should be in plugging loopholes and reform of a code like compiled code or standing rules?” Fioritto asked. “And do you think your philosophy will be applied to the assembly in a uniform fashion?”
Watt said although he is confident CSG can address any existing issues, he prefers to be active in addressing loopholes before they cause problems.
“I would say finding those loopholes on a search and destroy basis would be good, especially ahead of time before they create any issues,” Watt said. “Certainly, if there are issues created by these loopholes, we would address them post facto but it’s better to get things done early.”
Rackham student Austin Glass expressed his gratitude towards Watt but also wondered if he had plans for the upcoming election, which requires staff nominations from the Student General Counsel ahead of time.
Watt said he is prepared for staffing the election, and there will be people working on the election early next week.
“I’ve already had several candidates who I hope to submit to Executive Nominations as early as this week,” Watt said. “So that perhaps as early as next Tuesday, they’ll hit the ground running planning that election.”
LSA sophomore Eesha Acharya was then nominated as the Senior Advisor in Anti-Racism Policy.
Lastly, Pasupula nominated himself as a non-voting ex-officio member to the Judicial Appointment Commission, which nominates students to the Central Student Judiciary (CSJ).
Pasupula said he is excited to take on this role and believes it is important to nominate more members to the CSJ.
“I think this would be really interesting to do,” Pasupula said. “And I think it’s really crucial that we do this seeing that we only have three justices right now. But I’m excited to do this and I will give you all updates as we go.”
All three nominations passed unanimously.
Daily Staff Reporter Joey Lin can be reached at joeyylin@umich.edu.