Student Representative Michael Brown called into Monday’s UB Council meeting and spoke for 15 minutes, denouncing the university’s decision to remove Sub-Board I as the fiscal agent for student fees.
Brown ended his final report as student representative by strongly urging the council to further discuss UB’s decision to switch the fiscal agent from SBI to the Faculty Student Association. Brown said the council should recommended the university “abandon this course of action.”
The council did not discuss SBI further, thanked Brown for his two years of service and went ahead with the president and provost’s reports before going into executive session.
Council members also didn’t acknowledge members of the Living Stipend Movement, who crowded around the council members during the meeting. The protesters held signs with the president and provost’s salaries and others criticizing UB Council Chair Jeremy Jacobs’s purported connections to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump.
During the meeting, UB Council members voted to remove UB alum John Kapoor’s name from South Campus’ John and Editha Kapoor Hall.
The council’s decision comes after Kapoor’s guilty conviction in Boston court for a racketeering conspiracy that contributed to America’s opioid crisis. This is the first time UB officials have revoked the name of a building meant to recognize a person, according to Spectrum research.
SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson still must approve the recommendation, after which the SUNY Board of Trustees will make the final decision on revocation.
Tanveen Vohra and Jacklyn Walters can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Jacklyn Walters is a senior communication major and The Spectrum's managing editor. She enjoys bringing up politics at the dinner table and seeing dogs on campus.
Tanveen Vohra is a former senior news editor and covered international relations and graduate student protests.
