Judiciary Committee selected by SGA
The Student Government Association (SGA) voted on Tuesday to instate a Judiciary Committee to oversee executive and class council elections.
The Committee, comprised of senior Jessica Buicko, sophomore Matt Garland, sophomore Patrick Mascia, senior Austin Nelson and senior Matt Pines, will be responsible for ensuring that the SGA abides by its constitution.
The Committee will take on the responsibilities of last year's Appeals Board, which includes overseeing elections and handling infractions, and it will also have the power to settle matters of inter-SGA disputes.
The SGA felt the need to instate an impartial committee after conflicts of interests skewed executive election results last fall, according to senior member of SGA Kate Jacob.
"The election debacle last year really solidified why we need an objective, unbiased group of non-SGA members to make sure that the elections run fairly," Jacob said.
While reviewing applications for the Judiciary Committee, members of the SGA said they wanted to make sure they selected students without strong ties to any member of the Association, as well as students who seemed to show a particularly strong enthusiasm for constitutionality.
Buicko and Nelson have each had experience on the SGA. Nelson served as Executive Treasurer last year, and Buicko was Vice President for her Class Council two years ago.
However, these individuals are no longer so invested in SGA affairs that their judgments will be skewed in any way, according to SGA President Prasanna Chandrasekhar.
"Since these students are chosen especially for being unbiased and impartial, we know they're going to make the best decisions," he said.
Jacob said she agreed that it was important to create a balanced mix of those with experience and those previously unaffiliated with the SGA.
"We wanted to choose a couple people who are familiar with how we run things, but it's also exciting to have new people who we can count on to be totally unbiased if it comes down to it," she said.
The Committee, comprised of senior Jessica Buicko, sophomore Matt Garland, sophomore Patrick Mascia, senior Austin Nelson and senior Matt Pines, will be responsible for ensuring that the SGA abides by its constitution.
The Committee will take on the responsibilities of last year's Appeals Board, which includes overseeing elections and handling infractions, and it will also have the power to settle matters of inter-SGA disputes.
The SGA felt the need to instate an impartial committee after conflicts of interests skewed executive election results last fall, according to senior member of SGA Kate Jacob.
"The election debacle last year really solidified why we need an objective, unbiased group of non-SGA members to make sure that the elections run fairly," Jacob said.
While reviewing applications for the Judiciary Committee, members of the SGA said they wanted to make sure they selected students without strong ties to any member of the Association, as well as students who seemed to show a particularly strong enthusiasm for constitutionality.
Buicko and Nelson have each had experience on the SGA. Nelson served as Executive Treasurer last year, and Buicko was Vice President for her Class Council two years ago.
However, these individuals are no longer so invested in SGA affairs that their judgments will be skewed in any way, according to SGA President Prasanna Chandrasekhar.
"Since these students are chosen especially for being unbiased and impartial, we know they're going to make the best decisions," he said.
Jacob said she agreed that it was important to create a balanced mix of those with experience and those previously unaffiliated with the SGA.
"We wanted to choose a couple people who are familiar with how we run things, but it's also exciting to have new people who we can count on to be totally unbiased if it comes down to it," she said.
Be the first to comment on this story