The Associated Students of Madison announced the resignation of five student leaders Wednesday.
Associated Students of Madison Chair Allie Gardner announced Representatives Mario Ademaj, Jeanette Martin, Lenora Hanson, Xander Gieryn and Cody Ostenson have resigned.
ASM Rep. Tom Templeton said to his knowledge, the representatives resigned because of prior commitments and not because of problems with ASM.
Templeton said new representatives will take over for those who resigned. He said resignations, the upcoming expiration of first-year representatives' terms and the possible removal of Vice Chair Beth Huang and Nominations Board Chair Niko Magallon could lead to changes in the composition of council.
""This is a big turn over and it's kind of in the middle of the semester,"" Templeton said. ""It could really shift the dynamic of council.""
Huang and Magallon were removed from council last week after the Student Judiciary ruled that the Huang and Magallon submitted required service hour records late. Huang and Magallon were given service hours after campaigning in a student residence hall during last year's elections, violating ASM policy.
Templeton said while it is not uncommon for representatives to resign from ASM, five at one time is rare.
Also in the meeting, ASM Secretary Thomas Sannito said he plans to step down from his position as secretary after fall elections.
""I don't find any reward in going through all the tedious minutia of this job,"" Sannito said. ""If I'm not going to be putting all the energy that's required into making the role function as it should, I don't want to take that from somebody else.""
Council also passed legislation to end required recording of Student Judiciary closed sessions at the meeting.
SJ Chief Justice Kathryn Fifield said this change allows justices to express their opinions in cases without worrying about adverse responses.
""A recorded environment stands to be incredibly damaging to the justices' ability to do their job,"" Fifield said.
