URBANA— Student officials at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say administrators have changed their election rules without their input.
A handful of members of the Illinois Student Council spoke at the U of I Senate meeting on Monday about the issue. The U of I Senate includes both undergraduate student members and faculty.
Undergraduate Senator Ethan Lopez recounted that the administration changed some of the student government structure and procedure over the summer, without any say from students.
“In effect, we have been forced under new rules without the ability for input or dialog, a travesty and an affront to our position as stakeholders in our own affairs,” he said.
Another student, Kevin Wu, said the new rules would prohibit them from voting on similar referenda two years during student council elections.
Wu noted that in the spring, over 3,000 students — or 73% of the students who voted — voted for a referendum recommending that the university divest from companies involved in recognized human rights abuses.
“These restrictions seem reasonable at first glance, but are clearly engineered to target future divestment efforts,” Wu said.
Students have been protesting to urge U of I to divest from companies involved in Israel’s war in Gaza. There has also been a multiyear movement urging U of I to divest from fossil fuel companies.
U of I Chancellor Charles Isbell told the student officials Monday he believes administrators and students have the same, good faith goal and will be able to come to an agreement.