Last weekend, the annual Association of Big Ten Students conference was held at the Michigan Union. Hosted by the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government, student government representatives and executives from Big Ten schools met over three days to discuss shared challenges and policy priorities. Topics discussed included cross-campus unity and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Attendees could also engage directly with state elected representatives and government officials, revise the ABTS charter and build collaborative relationships between campuses.
ABTS conferences, which are hosted on a rotating basis by various Big Ten student governments at their home universities, have been hosted in Ann Arbor in the past, including once in 1997 and again in 2002. ABTS has a history of advocacy work, including calling on the U.S. Congress to support students in COVID-19 stimulus packages and demanding universities divest from fossil fuel industries in 2020.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA and Education senior Eric Veal Jr., CSG president and conference organizer, said the goal of the conference was to encourage discussion between student government members across the Big Ten schools…