SA approves Sheeron to the court; still one seat left to fill

Senior Christopher Sheeron was confirmed by the Student Association Senate Tuesday night to fill one of the final two remaining vacancies on the Student Court.

Sheeron, whom SA Senate and executive officials agreed on as a compromise candidate, was accepted with little opposition. Law student Joseph Henchman was one of three dissenting senators.

“Last year the biggest problem of the Student Court was that the members had no understanding of basic legal concepts,” Henchman said.

The five-member court settles disputes between student organizations and rules on the constitutional legality of SA legislation. Henchman said he would have preferred a student with a legal background, such as a law school student, to fulfill the final two seats.

“I’m looking forward to serving the SA,” Sheeron said. “I’m hoping I can contribute to the court.”

With Sheeron’s confirmation, only one seat remains to be filled on the Student Court. The final seat will be filled by a graduate student, said junior Jeff Goodman, the SA executive’s vice president of judicial and legislative affairs.

Sheeron’s appointment to the court ends another chapter in this year’s battle between the executive and Senate over court nominees. In September SA President Audai Shakour nominated graduate student Ericka Fischer to sit on the court, but she was not approved by the SA Rules Committee – some claimed she was not qualified for the position because of her status as an “SA insider.” Sheeron, who only briefly served as a Senate staffer his freshman year, passed unanimously out of the Rules Committee.

-Jenette Axelrod