Former Thumb-body, now Chicagoian of 10 years.

I'm at my wits end from receiving political texts because I have an 810 number and a Michigan voting history from 2008-2012. The texts from 2020 and 2022 were bad but I'm being flooded with texts. Marking spam, unsubscribe, "stop", or even telling I've already voted in IL as a registered IL voter doesn't seem to stop them. Any idea on how to get these to stop? They're all from different orgs which makes it even more difficult.

TL:DR: Nearly Half of CSG Members call for SHUT IT DOWN Pres/VP to resign, University investigation, criminal allegations and November Elections (20th-21st).

Brief recap of the already public discussion after 10/08 Student Government meeting:

• Before the 10/08 CSG meeting on North Campus, the SHUT IT DOWN (SID) Instagram account, repeatedly used by President Alifa Chowdury and the SID campaign, urged their supporters to "Pack CSG," which it has done on multiple occasions before. During the meeting, sources say that multiple individual members were named in the protest group chats, for those who allegedly voted against their Rebuilding Education in Gaza petition (vote was by secret ballot).
• After the meeting ended with a de facto end to the budget wars, with the Wolverines Budget Act succeeding, the meeting immediately broke out into chaos, with multiple members reporting threats, one non-member allegedly being spit on, and multiple members locking themselves in a room after being pursued by protestors. Some of the reported intimidation that can be only slightly heard on camera included "Fuck CSG, this is not democracy" after a democratic vote confirmed by the University's software confirmed the results of the vote. No other business was discussed after immediate evacuation (including two Disability Advocacy bills, Trans protection act, the creation of a Psychology Minor in LSA, and other minor bills.) **NOTE: Some of these bills are soliciting endorsements and are in Comment Mode if you would like to add your name**
• In the early hours of 10/09, CSG's Instagram account reposted the same post that was cross-posted by the SID, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Tahrir Coalition, and Students Allied for Freedom & Equality (SAFE). Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that members of CSG mass-reported the account after discovering that the login information was changed by President Alifa Chowdury, who tacitly confirmed in the comment section that she was responsible for the post. The account was then deactivated for most of the day before being reinstated with the post, with multiple CSG members from both CSG factions publicly criticizing each other and protest leaders. Both the CSG and SID accounts appear to have deleted multiple comments that were critical of the post and SID's actions, including the deletion of multiple active CSG members. As of 10/12, the post has been removed and the CSG account is active.

News:

• The active Reddit poll (PLEASE VOTE if you haven't already) conducted has a current approval rate for the SHUT IT DOWN administration of 15.66% approval rating (not including 108 "No Opinion" responses) from the community. By comparison, SID's executive branch was elected with ~47% of the vote after a competitive "Ranked Choice" vote (with their Assembly taking 22/45 seats). LIVE UPDATES.
• One additional SID Representative has resigned since the 10/08 meeting, reducing the SID membership to 10 + Executive Branch (and 5 non-SID members who voted on their side for their promoted petition).
• During the closed debate, a member of CSG allegedly on the SID side recorded and distributed information that was privileged, which is a violation of CSG rules if true. The vast majority of CSG, including SID members, voted to debate privately for around a half hour. Sources cannot confirm which individual distributed the information, only that information was distributed in violation of CSG rules.
• On 10/10, SID amended its Instagram post that called Student Org supporters "CSG Zionists." Multiple inaccurate and outright false claims were made in the caption, including referring to secret ballot as a "closed vote," falsely saying "Zionists refused to allow people to speak during public comment," and "cut off microphones mid-speech." (The secret ballot was not a "closed vote" and had been used numerous times throughout the year, with the vast majority of SID members repeatedly consenting to the voting method. As for community members not being allowed to speak, this is an outright falsehood, as CSG let over 30 speakers voice their perspectives and opinions on the bills for nearly 2 straight hours. And for cutting off microphones mid-speech, this is built-in to the procedure of CSG; each member has 3 minutes to speak and an opportunity to answer questions from members on a per-question basis. No unusual tactics were used to silence speakers and, on many occasions, CSG members make motions to extend time for speakers, typically for prepared presentations). The post ended by alluding to the "fight being far from over" with "statement and updates coming soon."
• Multiple sources familiar with the matter have indicated that the University will be stepping in on some level to intervene in the situation. It is unclear what type of role they will have in CSG going forward and following an independent investigation into the allegations that occurred in and around the 10/08 meeting.
• Multiple CSG members and non-members in attendance of the 10/08 meeting (all not affiliated with SID) have sought counseling and other mental health treatments for what they allegedly experienced. As of 10/12, not one public nor private statement from SID or its membership has acknowledged the veracity allegations in a direct capacity.
• 17 Current Members of CSG and 38 Total Representatives (Past/Present/Non-CSG from the last decade) have signed* a statement that calls for the immediate resignation of SID President Chowdury and Vice President Atkinson (including one member appointed by SID) The statement also alleged that multiple members were told "We know where you [specific representatives] live," "We'll be seeing you after class," and their "day of atonement was near," on top of other curses, names, and other forms of jeers. Lastly, the statement encourages participation in the November special elections, which are set to take place the week before Thanksgiving on vote.umich.edu.
• The special elections are officially going to have the most seats up for grabs in the history of Student Government, with 9 LSA, 4 Rackham seats, 1 Ross, and the single-seat Social Work and Dentistry up for election (on top of the UMPD bi-annual race and the few Constitutional amendments expected to reach the ballot. 16/45 Assembly Seats+1) It is highly possible that these numbers will grow if more members resign or face recall and, as of today, no one has applied to fill the Dentistry vacancy through the DSG (Dental Student Government). The filing period has opened for all of these seats, with a handful of candidates already filing.
• Per source, the Ross vacancy will be filled via BBA Council (like a smaller CSG specifically for Ross undergraduate students) appointee at the 10/22 CSG meeting. There are no meeting nor committees during Fall Break. This seat, like all filled vacancies, will still be subject to the November special election. It is unclear how the new appointee will vote, although the source familiar with the matter indicates the appointee has institutional backing from the "Saving CSG" crowd.
• The special election filing deadline is 10/30. Follow the instructions on the CSG website if you are interested in learning more.

I'm curious to know about how many yard signs you all have seen for both Kamala and Trump here in the state of MI?

Hello, I'm one of the people working to promote a Michigan-wide Democratic voter guide: mivoter.org .

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Share it far and wide! Your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Share it by email, social media (see below), in-person, however you can.

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I got my absentee ballot and was low key dreading having to look so many names up but this came in clutch today. They should do more mailers like this.