Without the often-contentious United States Senate inquisition of Supreme Court appointees, the University of Massachusetts Student Government Association (SGA) Senate confirmed four new students to the student judiciary board last night.
Jeevan Matthew, Avery Fuerst, Beyang Kima-Tabong and Daria Capone were appointed to the SGA’s judicial branch after addressing the Senate, advocating for themselves and answering the few questions they received.
The board acts as an overseer of SGA actions and keeps the other two branches in check.
The SGA’s website explains that the judiciary has power to “review actions and legislation passed by officers of the SGA, order any agent of the SGA to perform a task, or issue an injunction (an order to any agent of the SGA to cease a practice that is found to be in violation of the SGA Constitution and By-Laws.),” according to the SGA website.
The board, with a chief justice and associate chief justice, mirrors the format of the United States Supreme Court and is comprised of seven student justices.
After an additional vacancy early Monday Oct. 17 prior to the Senate’s meeting, the judicial board needed five more members to be fully staffed.
Although Roh had put five candidates forward, only three attended the meeting. Secretary for Treasury Ben Johnson advocated for an absent Daria Capone’s appointment and a decision on nominee Christina McCabe was tabled until next week in order to allow her to present her case.
President Roh, who has class during the Senate meeting and was absent for the majority of the event, came up to the podium after the first appointment (Jeevan Matthew) and explained his nominations.
“I had 12 people come in for interviews and I have whittled down from those 12 to these five,” said Roh. “I think they are all very qualified and they have varying degrees of disconnect from the SGA which I think is helpful when choosing justices that will be non-bias.”
Roh warned that the Senate had other choices but these students were their best option.
“If you decide not to appoint these people I have other folks that we could go to, but they are far less qualified,” he said.
One of the qualified students who was appointed, Avery Fuerst, said that she has always wanted to be a judge.
“I remember in high school I wrote an application about how I wanted to be the chief justice of the Supreme Court,” she said as she discussed plans to go to law school.
Fuerst, who was repeatedly interrupted with congratulations from senators on her new appointment, said that she was glad to part of the SGA.
“I’ve always been interested in the SGA, I went to some meetings last year and I thought ‘Wow. It would be great to part of this,’” she said.
Fuerst said that she is happy to have been appointed and glad that the process is over.
“It was so liberating,” she said. “I was worried about it all day, thinking ‘What if I don’t get confirmed?’ I thought I was going to get quizzed on the rules. I’ve been studying the handbook all day.”
The political science major says that she wants to be a “just and fair judge.” Fuerst and the other two present appointees, Matthew and Kima-Tabong, were sworn in by Speaker Jarred Rose at the end of the meeting.
Sam Hayes can be reached at [email protected].
