OF THE STUDENTS・BY THE STUDENTS・FOR THE STUDENTS
WHAT WE ARE UP TO
TUITION: The founding action to which we owe our movement is the Regents' Meeting of June 29th, where in a meeting under violation of Michigan legislature they agreed to increase tuition costs by 1.9% for the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses and 3.9% for the Flint campus. Students from across the university were called to action to demand change to increased costs for students during an ongoing pandemic and student debt crisis. We continue to advocate that not only should tuition costs be frozen for 2021-2022, but reduced outright by 50% and for student loans to be completely absolved. Our most recent action with these demands dates back to early July, where we coordinated a phone zap with Fight Back UMich. We will continue planning on this issue, especially now as we coordinate with Columbia YDSA and its ongoing tuition strike.
WOLVERINE SOLIDARITY: In collaboration with UMich’s YDSA, we are taking on a solidarity initiative across all progressive organizations on campus in order to better promote organization actions, programs, and policies. We are currently working with LEO, GEO, the Roosevelt Institute, and more on solidarity building. If your student org wants to get involved with this network, we encourage you to reach out to us through our contact tab above, we would love to have you join!
GEO STRIKE: SDR has been in long-standing support of GEO and its organizing, dating back to our first meeting and outreach. Over the summer, we coordinated actions and events on behalf of the undergraduate student body with GEO, and ultimately this culminated in our work during their monumental labor strike. We kept students, community members, and many others informed of the conditions on campus, the demands GEO was fighting for, and where to find the picket lines! Our achievement of the semester would be best seen in our rally and march, titled “The University is Failing,” where we invited students, esteemed lecturers, local officials, GEO and Res Staff members on strike to all comment on the shortcomings of the University of Michigan’s fall planning. Though the strike is over, we owe a significant debt to GEO in advancing a safer campus for all, and will continue to work with them on a number of other initiatives in the future.
HOUSING: On September 21st, the Ann Arbor city council voted in favor of a resolution for the university to open student housing to be used as shelters for the winter term. This action was done in collaboration with the Washtenaw County Health Department. In November, the city urged the university to come to the table on this issue. Since then, there has been no word of development or tangible steps toward a sustainable housing system within the area. With CSG following suit, calling for the implementation of this policy, SDR has taken on a partnership with numerous community stakeholders, including JustUs Press, GEO’s housing caucus, and others to pressure action. We launched our site, People are Freezing A2, to coordinate a phone zap on this issue, urging our community to speak up. Still, we have received no formal response from the administration. We encourage any and all interested in this matter to not only use our site, but to coordinate future actions with us and to volunteer at the Delonis Center under Washtenaw County Shelter Association (SAWC).
RECALL WEISER: Concerning the capitol riots of January 6th, Regent Ron Weiser, incoming chair of the Michigan Republican Party, stated “I don't know. I didn't read any of that stuff, and I didn't watch television. I watched Michigan destroy Minnesota in basketball, and that kind of contest is something that I strongly support.” In addition, he would not comment on incoming co-chair Maddock’s direct involvement in providing buses to rioters. We acknowledge that in Weiser’s evasion of this issue and supposed “condemnation” of the white-supremacist terrorists that charged the United States’ capitol building, that he is complicit to the descent of our nation to fascism. More information can be found in this petition which has achieved mass support from the community. In agreement with a number of other university groups, we are calling for the resignation or immediate recall of Regent Weiser, and will continue to support this effort to hold our administration accountable for its statements to preserve democracy.