A resolution to reapportion Associated Student Government seats based on school affiliation rather than residential area passed with a unanimous vote during Wednesday’s Senate meeting.

Currently, Senate includes three representational bodies: the Residential Caucus, the Student Group Caucus and the Greek Caucus. The legislation replaces the Residential Caucus with seats based on school affiliation. Parliamentarian Henry Molnar said this change will both increase motivation to attend Senate meetings and better represent students living off campus.

Under the reform, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences will have nine seats, McCormick School of Engineering and the School of Communication will have three seats each, the Medill School of Journalism and the School of Education and Social Policy will have two seats each, and the Bienen School of Music will have one seat.

Speaker of the Senate Adam Downing — who worked on drafting the resolution with Molnar and three other ASG members at the beginning of Winter Quarter — called it a “transformative piece of legislation.”

“What this could mean and the potential that it has to do more good for the student body cannot be overemphasized,” Downing said.

Senate treasurer Nyle Arora, a Weinberg freshman, proposed two amendments to the resolution. The first, a request to change the window in which students can vote for their senators from 12 to 36 hours, was approved. The second, to change the way a student is nominated for a Senate position, was rejected.

Rachana Kolli, a Weinberg senior who was standing in for District 6 senator and Weinberg freshman Bassel Shanab, was the only one to abstain from voting. She said dividing the constituents by school was “antithetical” to the direction in which NU is moving, adding that ASG “rushed into” the decision for reapportionment.

Shanab told The Daily on Thursday that by reapportioning the seats, ASG is making it easier for the University to do away with residential colleges and divide campus up into “neighborhoods” as outlined in a January report released by the Undergraduate Residential Experience Committee.

“There’s no longer going to be a tie to these housing districts,” Shanab said. “This way … ASG can go and destroy these building ties.”

Molnar, however, said he has a stronger connection to his school than to the building in which he lives.

“My Instagram bio says ‘I go to Northwestern,’” he said. “I do not say ‘I live in Plex,’ I say ‘I am in Weinberg.’”

Due to this increase in salience of identity, Downing and Molnar hope more senators will be present at meetings in the fall.

In addition, a resolution requesting that the University develop a student-centered, long-term strategy for community engagement was passed by voice vote.

Senate also moved through the list of A-status organizations and debated funding. The process included an initial “add round,” where a student group member could request to add money for a line item; a “cut round,” where anyone at the meeting could move to cut funding; and an additional “add round.”

Alternative Student Breaks, NU World Cup, Spectrum Theatre Company, African Students Association, Northwestern University Dance Marathon and For Members Only received their requested funding.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: cam_e_cook