The Associated Students of Madison Student Judiciary met Tuesday to discuss the legality of a referendum placed on the fall 2005 ballot, which appropriated funds giving limited-term employees a wage increase.
Much of the debate centered on the way in which the referendum was submitted. ASM leaders contended that the referendum was placed on the ballot without the proper filing period, it lacked the necessary 500 signatures and a reasonable method of bringing it to the attention of the student body was not achieved.
The larger issue of whether the typically low student turnout in ASM elections denigrated the validity of referenda was also brought up.
'If students aren't informed of a referendum on the ballot, or that an election is even taking place, proper student representation can not be achieved,' Student Services Finance Committee Vice Chair Eric Saar said.
The lack of student participation in the elections may be in part due to the lack of awareness of the elections themselves.
'I assume that, as chair of the organization, I should know about a referendum on the ballot before it is voted on. In this case, I didn't know until that morning,' ASM Chair Eric Varney said.
Student Labor Action Coalition member Joel Feingold, who presented the counter case, argued that the referendum should be upheld, rejecting the validity of a rule requiring 500 signatures. 'By requiring such a high number of signatures, it prohibits small numbers of people to petition their grievances, which violates the core of ASM's mission,' he said.
Some in attendance were unimpressed with the way in which ASM handled the issue.
'This referendum was enacted in the spirit of providing a living wage to workers. This haggling over minor details is irrelevant to the issue, which is whether we as a university want to knowingly exploit students and fellow workers,' SLAC member Matthew Johnson said.
Limited-term employees are University employees who work at the Unions, University Health Services and Recreational facilities that are hired on a temporary six-month basis and are paid for through segregated fees. Employees under the limited-term agreement can be students, but are often non-students with dependents.
The Student Judiciary will have two weeks before deciding whether to consider the referendum null and void based on the objections raised at the hearing.
