The Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary announced Wednesday there will be a shift in representation in Student Council seats.
Representation will be lowered in the University of Wisconsin School of Education by one seat, and representation in the Graduate School will be raised by one seat.
As per the SJ order, the new student representation in the School of Education will be one seat, and the representation in the Graduate School will be six.
Student Election Commission Chair Noah Pearce said there had been some trouble filling the five graduate student seats on the Student Council in the past election.
There have not been reapportions in Student Council representation since an SJ order in 2006, and a standardized system was used, according to Student Election Commission Chair Noah Pearce.
At the Wednesday night Student Council meeting, Chief Justice Trenell Darby justified the reapportioning of seats by saying it is an action SJ takes every four years.
Darby said he and his court looked at student enrollment at the School of Education and Graduate School from as far back as 1984 and noticed enrollment trends that showed a decrease in students in the School of Education and an increase in those of the Graduate School. These statistics in part influenced the decision of the court.
Darby said it made sense to make the School of Education’s representation one seat because the enrollment is similar to that of the School of Business, which only has one seat on the council.
Pearce said the new chair allocations could take place in time for the spring 2010 ASM elections.
Student Council Chair Tyler Junger said at the Wednesday Student Council meeting that in his opinion, it is not up to the SJ justices to make laws.
Junger said he views the reapportion as a task that should be undertaken by a legislative body, namely, Student Council.
Darby said the elections are imminent, and he had not heard of talk from any members of ASM about reapportions of seats, which are to do be done every four years.
ASM’s March 8 e-mail to the UW student body about election positions is still relevant and does not need to be corrected.
