Following a closely contested 18-14 vote, a proposal to eliminate the judicial branch of Student Government Association now requires the student body’s approval.

The Constitution and By-Law Committee first presented the initiative to the full Senate in April 2025, but the vote by the student body was delayed.

Students were supposed to vote on the issue in the spring election, but the recommendation was submitted too late to be included on the election ballot, Student Body President Connor Waller said. 

“As a member of the Executive Branch, I could not be involved in this decision-making process,” Waller said. “A motion was made to table the portion of the recommendation that would remove the Judicial Branch. Essentially, this motion would have allowed all of the other recommendations to move forward while keeping the Judicial Branch intact.” 

Waller said the SGA Constitution will now be up for approval or rejection by the student body during Homecoming. 

“It is my goal that this process is handled in a transparent manner,” Waller said. 

Landon Mefford, the SGA Education and Outreach Coordinator, said he voted to eliminate the judicial branch, otherwise known as the Supreme Court. 

“So, the primary reason for getting rid of it was due to inactivity within the branch,” Mefford said. “We have historically used the judicial branch as a way for older senators – seniors that don’t have the time to do student government – to still be involved. It’s less of a time requirement.” 

Mefford said the people on the branch never held meetings. 

“We reached out to all the Supreme Court justices,” he said. “They never responded.”

Why do some people within SGA want to keep the branch despite its inactivity? 

“Some people were wanting to keep it because they felt that if we had kept it and made amendments to it and not completely get rid of it, we could find a better way of doing it,” Mefford said. 

SGA is designed to function like the federal government with checks and balances. But without one of its integral branches, how can it truly operate as intended? 

Mefford said, “There’s plenty of ways to check the stuff that we’re doing and making sure it’s constitutional without having seven people that aren’t active reviewing it for us.”

Michael Borsuk, senator for the Lewis College of Business, voted against the removal of the branch.

“I just felt that eliminating it entirely was just not the way to go about it,” Borsuk said. I felt it was a branch that we have, and it’s a way for people to be involved in SGA, but it also constitutionally and functionally acts as a check on the Senate.”

Borsuk said he thinks the initiative should be reworked. 

“Whether we create a Supreme Court or some type of body that deliberates to make a decision that’s final about a judicial review, that’s up to whatever the student body wants to do,” he said.

Borsuk also suggested alternative ideas to a Judicial Branch. 

“It seems like there were other ways we could have done it,” he said. “Maybe created a smaller Supreme Court, maybe added stringent guidelines or maybe created a third body that’s something smaller.”

Holly Belmont can be contacted at [email protected].