Anti-Zionist student government president convicted of misconduct, removed from office at U of Michigan

CSJ noted that its ruling marked the first-ever expulsion of a CSG president.

By Dion J. Pierre, The Algemeiner

The Central Student Government (CSG) of the University of Michigan has removed from office president Alifa Chowdhury — the controversial leader of the Anti-Zionist “Shut It Down” (SID) party who led a failed and unpopular effort to freeze funding for student clubs until school officials enacted a boycott of Israel — following her conviction on an impeachment charge.

Chowdhury faced three charges in total: incitement to violence, defamation, and dereliction of duty, the last of which she was found guilty of on Dec. 23, according to a statement issued by the Central Student Judiciary (CSJ). Her vice president, Elias Atkinson, was convicted of the same offense.

“Today’s decision means that President Chowdhury and Vice President Atkinsonare are removed from office with immediate effect, and that they are barred from holding CSG office in the future,” CSJ said, noting that its ruling marked the first-ever expulsion of a CSG president.

“It is not lost on us that today marks the culmination of the first impeachment proceeding in the Central Student Government’s history. Neither are we blind to the major political clashes — both within the Assembly and between the legislative and executive branches … But our decision today, and this court’s role, is beyond politics.”

It continued, “Impeachment is a constitutional process, an important element of CSG’s system of checks and balances. Although the Assembly’ role in triggering the impeachment process is essentially political, it is this court’s unflagging duty to resolve any impeachment process neutrally and impartially once the starter pistol has gone off. This court must be a steady ship in a sea tossed by raucous political winds.”

As The Algemeiner has previously reported, Chowdhury’s anti-Zionist zealotry led her to allegedly commit several disqualifying acts which blighted her office and shocked her CSG representatives.

In the articles of impeachment filed by Rep. Margaret Peterman, the now-former president was described as having “gravely endangered” students — for example, by participating in a protest of CSG which led to threats and an assault by spitting — as well as the “integrity of the democratic system.”

She also failed to perform key functions of the presidency, including submitting reports, preparing committee members for their roles, and convening meetings with CSG’s executive council — a pattern of neglect which led to her conviction for dereliction of duty.

The takeover of CSG by Chowdhury’s party, SID, in March led to a historically dysfunctional administration, prompting the involvement of school officials at key moments when its brinksmanship threatened to derail core functions of the university.

In August, the administration resolved to fund student clubs over Chowdhury and SID’s objections, effectively stripping the new government of the power of the purse.

Explaining the intervention to The Algemeiner at the time, university spokesperson Colleen Mastony said it was prompted by Chowdhury’s “senior” colleagues in the CSG Assembly.

Founded in the months after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, SID allegedly committed multiple election code infractions to amass its unprecedented power.

According to The Michigan Daily, students banded together to contest its election victory, citing multiple instances in which its members campaigned in proscribed areas and violated other rules regulating the use of posters and email communications.

SID ultimately overcame the challenge following a controversial hearing which the student government, breaking precedent, conducted in secret.

After assuming power, Chowdury defunded the school’s 1,700 student clubs by vetoing the summer term budget, which had been “unanimously” supported by the CSG Assembly, and vowed to block any spending bill that would fund them in the fall term.

The measure was, in SID’s view, strategic. It argued during the campaign that crippling university operations would inexorably lead to a boycott of Israel, a notion the university dispelled when it appropriated the funds anyway.

“CSG merely serves as an extension of an institution that has perpetuated systems of oppression by maintaining the current status quo of neocolonial capitalism,” the party said in a manifesto issued in March.

“Every dollar coming out of this university is blood money. Student government cannot operate as usual as we witness the systematic murder of Palestinians. Student life cannot continue as normal when our tuition and labor are being used to fund a genocide.”

Those ideals manifested in the misconduct which have now disqualified Chowdhury and her vice president from ever holding a CSG position again.

“Today’s ruling is compelled by the All-Campus Constitution and the evidence,” the Central Student Judiciary said in explaining the convictions.

“Our conclusions are a result of dozens of pages of briefing, the various evidentiary exhibits, and all the testimony and argument we heard over the course of a twenty two and a half hour hearing. Whatever political consequences might flow from our decision, we can only do our jobs.”

Alifa Chowdhuryanti-IsraelCentral Student GovernmentUniversity of Michigan