The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government met Tuesday to discuss minimum wage for student employees, new resolutions regarding community concerns and modifying polling station requirements during CSG elections.
They began by confirming Public Health senior Sarah Cieslak as the newest member of the Ethics Committee.
LSA junior Karthik Pasupula said the resolutions discussed at the previous assembly meeting had been passed, including a statement declaring solidarity with the Michigan Nurses Association petitions, the creation of the Assembly Member Internship Program and the Fall 2022 CSG Consolidated Budget Act.
The assembly then discussed the $15 minimum wage for student employees. Pasupula said the Massachusetts Institute of Technology living wage calculator for Ann Arbor is $18.52, which is higher than the $15 wage. Pasupula said he believes the University ought to raise its wage.
“Everything is (expensive) in Ann Arbor,” Pasupula said. “(CSG has heard) a lot of impactful stories from workers. Working for better working conditions past the wage, we will advocate for that.”
Public Health student Alisya Solankhi was confirmed as Senior Advisor to the President in Accessibility Policy.
Business junior Ruben Garcia then presented the Community Concerns Improvements resolution, which would allow CSG to have two minutes for campus community members to ask questions and five minutes for groups to ask questions during meetings. LSA junior Jarek Schmanski supported the resolution, saying it is important for CSG to engage with the community and address their concerns properly.
“Whenever we do have community members come speak before us, I think us as the assembly should make every effort to be receptive and be open to the comments even if we disagree with them,” Schmanski said.
The independent special prosecutor is a CSG election official who works with the Central Student Judiciary to investigate potential election violations. It is also the only election position that is unpaid. LSA sophomore Mario Thaqi proposed CSG offer compensation to the special prosecutor in order to attract qualified candidates.
Thaqi also presented a resolution to modify polling site requirements. Currently, there are two election information locations: one on central campus and one on north campus during CSG elections. Thaqi proposed removing the requirement for two locations due to staff shortages
“There’s just not an ability to staff those locations as (we did in) the Winter 2022 election cycle,” Thaqi said. “We just wanted to make the change in the election code to make this from a requirement to a possibility based on the availability of the staff.”
Staff Reporter Caroline Wang can be reached at wangca@goldaaumich-edu
Correction: A previous version of this article misquoted Karthik Pasupula. The article has since been updated to include the correct information.