DECEMBER 5 • 2024 | 15
U-M President Visits Nova Exhibit
University of Michigan President Santa Ono and other
top-level U-M administrators toured the Nova Exhibit held at
The J in West Bloomfield on Saturday, Nov. 23.
After he observed the artifact-like tents, left-behind per-
sonal belongings, and photos of hundreds of festival revelers
who were murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, he shared his reflec-
tions with several others, including University of Michigan
students who accompanied him on the visit.
Ono said the exhibit was one of the most moving experi-
ences of his life and it is a story that needs to be repeated in
the media, at universities and by government leaders.
“The story of the Nova exhibit is something that every per-
son needs to see,” said Ono. “We are in the midst of a lot of
challenges and tension around the world and at every level
of our nation … It all began with the story that is held in this
exhibit. It hits home when you go through the exhibit and see
what happened and hear and learn about the horror as you
listen to the recordings of the words of the survivors.”
discrimination and harassment arising
from campus tensions related to the
Israel-Hamas war.
The letter stated: “The U-M is
required to uphold free speech under the
First Amendment, even if that speech
is reprehensible. We continually work
to educate our community around the
rights and privileges of free speech to
ensure that debate does not tip over into
targeted harassment or bullying.”
The letter, however, also included the
OCR’s interpretation of Title VI: “The
following type of harassment creates
a hostile environment: unwelcome
conduct that, based on the totality of
the circumstances, is subjectively and
objectively offensive and is so severe or
pervasive that it limits or denies a per-
son’s ability to participate in or benefit
from a recipient’s education program or
activity.”
CENTRAL STUDENT
GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
On a brighter note, Jewish student lead-
ers said the student body in general is
looking to move away from a culture of
disruptions that plagued the campus cli-
mate, as evidenced by last week’s Central
Student Government (CSG) elections.
Before the elections, the CSG
impeached its president and vice presi-
dent and charged them with incitement
of violence, cyber theft of CSG property,
and dereliction of duty for not passing a
budget in a timely fashion.
At the beginning of the semester, the
ruling Shut it Down Coalition froze all
funding to student organizations — a
sum of over $400,000 — in hopes of
pressuring the university to divest all
financial holdings and relationships with
Israel. It wished to instead divert this
money into Gaza educational institu-
tions, including Birzeit University, which
has known ties to Hamas.
The winning Empower Michigan ran
on the platform to reinstate funding.
The coalition is now the dominating
party on CSG’s 45-seat body. Tuition at
U-M includes $11 from each student
that is used for funding the myriad of
student organizations recognized by
the university. This funding also offsets
some expenses such as shuttle transpor-
tation to the airport and offsets some
school supplies and food costs to under-
privileged students.
Speaking on the first day of the elec-
tion, Kira Solomon, a sophomore from
New Jersey, said her win-
ning Empower Michigan
party also seeks to restore
a campus environment of
unity and peace despite a
spectrum of political view-
points.
“The goal of the Shut it
Down Coalition was to halt funding to
every student organization, saying that
no student here should enjoy student
activities or resources while the war is
going on in the Middle East,” Solomon,
who sits on the CSG as a representative
of the School of Literature, Science and
Arts, explained. “Our goal is to restore
and resume this student funding. The
war has been awful for everyone.
“But no matter what’s going on in the
world or your ethnic background, you
should be able to gain from your student
experience and get the funding your
student organizations need. We are an
apolitical coalition with a diversity of
values and opinions. We want to accept
all students and foster open dialogue.
Empower just wants this to be a peaceful
campus again and go back to the way it
used to be, because right now, our cam-
pus has never been so divided.”
Jessica Robins, Students Supporting
Israel’s vice president for
external affairs, said the
CSG victory will mean
that student government is
going to be a democratic
government that represents
the best interests of all
students.
“The Empower victory
sends a message that the student body
disapproved of the actions taken (by the
Shut it Down Coalition), including the
withholding of funding to clubs,” Robins
said.
“The university’s students do not wish
decision-making to be made on a geo-
political basis. They want what is best
for the students at Michigan. The voters
spoke loud and clear, withholding of
funding to clubs was their last straw.”
President Ono looks at an array of photos of the victims of the
Nova massacre with Federation CEO Steve Ingber.
U-M students
tour the Nova
exhibit at The J.
Kira
Solomon
Jessica
Robins