The Government of the Student Body voted unanimously Wednesday night to confirm 13 new executive cabinet members who will serve under President T.J. Schneider and Vice President Joe Darr during their term.

Three students representing diversity populations on campus were named to the executive cabinet – Myron Batsa as director of student diversity, Katherine Burns as deputy director of American ethnic minority student affairs and Aaron Rubin as deputy director of disabilities student affairs.

“Their representation is critical to student government’s function,” said Rick Cordaro, GSB chief of staff.

The diversity positions on the cabinet were created as a result of the recent elimination of specialty population seats on the GSB senate. The discontinued seats previously consisted of four senators who represented nontraditional students, students with disabilities, international students and American ethnic minority students.

The senate seats were eliminated as a result of a reinterpretation of the results of a constitutional question in the 2001 General Election by the GSB Supreme Court. Myron Batsa, director of student diversity, will oversee the deputies serving on diversity cabinet posts.

Batsa said he plans to unify all student communities at Iowa State. “I want them to feel they’re a part of the Iowa State community as well,” Batsa said.

“There will be a lot of resistance from the specialty areas because they lost their senate seats,” Batsa said. “A lot of them feel they’re not represented.”

A deputy seat representing international students remains vacant. Schneider is also considering creating a seat that would represent the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Although the diversity cabinet members will exercise representation in the executive branch of government, they will not have the privilege to vote on the senate.