2 — Monday, March 16, 2020
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The 
University 
of 

Michigan Central Student 

Government’s 
executive 

branch has transitioned 

its 
funds 
to 
support 

emergency 
resources 

within 
the 
University. 

While the weekly CSG 

Assembly meetings will 

now take place virtually, 

all future CSG executive 

programs and events have 

been canceled, according 

to 
a 
statement 
from 

President 
Ben 
Gerstein 

posted on social media 

Friday.

The 
announcement 

comes 
two 
days 
after 

University 
President 

Mark Schlissel announced 

classes will be held online 

beginning 
Monday 
due 

to the threat of COVID-

19. On Friday, Schlissel 

encouraged all students 

who are able to leave 

campus and return home. 

In 
his 
post, 
Gerstein 

recognized 
the 
mixed 

emotions 
students 
may 

feel about the University’s 

decision.

“Sometimes 
things 

come to an unexpected 

end,” Gerstein wrote. “As 

evidenced by this week, 

our lives can suddenly 

change and we are forced 

to adapt to unfamiliar 

situations. I know these 

last few days have brought 

significant 
uncertainty, 

anxiety, 
sadness, 
and 

fear 
to 
the 
University 

community. 
In 
times 

like these, we should not 

forget the strength our 

community 
possesses 

even if we are physically 

isolated from each other.”

In Gerstein’s Facebook 

post, he said the Executive 

Team 
has 
reallocated 

its 
budget 
to 
provide 

$10,000 to the Maize and 

Blue Cupboard, a food 

pantry based out of Betsy 

Barbour Residence Hall 

for students, and $10,000 

to the Dean of Students’ 

Student Emergency Fund, 

which is available for 

students facing unusual 

situations or hardships 

with a one-time monetary 

assistance of up to $500.

After 
noting 
the 

budget changes, Gerstein 

thanked 
the 
student 

body for allowing him 

to 
serve 
as 
president. 

He 
noted 
CSG’s 
work 

to 
ensure 
financial 

access and privacy for 

students seeking testing 

for sexually transmitted 

diseases 
or 
infections 

and 
its 
passage 
of 
a 

resolution calling for Big 

Ten schools to freeze 

fossil fuel investments, as 

well as the organization’s 

support 
for 
increasing 

mental health resources 

on campus and renewing 

a scholarship to mitigate 

monetary 
barriers 
to 

leadership.

“It has been an honor 

to be a partner in so many 

important 
movements 

driven by students on 

our 
campus,” 
Gerstein 

said. “There are endless 

other 
accomplishments 

and moments of progress 

I could name—and none 

of 
these 
would 
have 

been 
possible 
without 

the 
many 
students, 

organizations, 
and 

friends who contributed 

to these efforts.”

The 
CSG 
debate, 

originally scheduled for 

Wednesday evening, has 

been 
canceled. 
Spring 

elections for the executive 

branch 
and 
Assembly 

are still expected to take 

place online March 25-26.

Gerstein thanked the 

University 
community 

for the opportunity to 

help make changes to 

improve student life on 

campus. He said his work 

will continue until a new 

administration is elected.

“The list of individuals 

to thank is too extensive, 

but to everyone in CSG, 

and all students on campus 

who spend their hours, 

days, and weeks fighting 

for others: thank you for 

showing me what it looks 

like to strive for better, 

both as a leader and as a 

human being,” Gerstein 

wrote. “This unexpected 

closing to my term as CSG 

President is bittersweet. 

Thus far, this has been 

the 
greatest 
personal 

honor of my life, and I am 

forever grateful to those 

who trusted me with this 

responsibility. 
Although 

many of us might not be 

physically 
on 
campus, 

this work does not stop. I 

will continue supporting 

students 
through 
this 

challenging time until the 

next administration takes 

office.”

He 
also 
reminded 

students 
of 
the 

importance 
of 
keeping 

love and justice as central 

components 
of 
the 

University community. 

“To 
close, 
I’m 

constantly 
inspired 

by 
the 
late 
Reinhold 

Niebuhr’s quote: ‘Love is 

the motive, justice is the 

instrument,’” 
Gerstein 

wrote. “We are—and can 

always be —a community 

of love at Michigan, and 

one that diligently works 

towards justice.”

Daily News Editor Alex 

Harring can be reached at 

harring@umich.edu

Central Student Government 
meetings to be held virtually
CSG reallocates executive budget to emergency support services

ALEX HARRING

Daily News Editor

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DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

Ann Arbor residents stock up on groceries from Meijer in preparation for the following weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

RUCHITA IYER/Daily

CSG President Ben Gerstein says the executive budget has been reallocated to emergency support services.

