SGA Judicial Branch holds its first hearing
The Judicial Branch of Central Michigan University’s Student Government Association holding its first hearing over an issue regarding this year's election. The hearing took place during SGA's regular meeting on Monday, March 25 at the Bovee University Center. (CM Life | Blace Carpenter)
The Judicial Branch of Central Michigan University’s Student Government Association held its first hearing Monday night, reviewing a case between Associate Justice Fatima Malik, Diversity Committee Chair Zainab Naaz and SGA’s Election Committee.
Naaz and Malik hoped to run for president and vice president in this year’s election. The two collected around 230 signatures of the 200 needed to be formally recognized as a candidate but were denied by the election’s committee.
According to SGA’s constitution and bylaws, an Associate Justice must resign a semester before they can hold another position. Elections Director Praise Oyimi said the election committee was just following the guidelines of the association’s election process.
“We go through all requirements and make sure we double-check with all the rules,” Oyimi said. “CMU rules, SGA rules and the (election) packet rules. That raised a red flag. Someone who’s running in the (presidential) ticket was an associate justice.”
Malik, who was elected into the judicial branch earlier this semester, argued that the constitution only states an Associate Justice can’t hold office, not run for it. SGA’s bylaws state that “Justice shall not hold an elected SGA office until they have ceased to be a Justice for at least one semester.”
She stated she would’ve dropped her role as a justice before the summer if elected vice president for the 2025-2026 academic year.
“It says you can’t hold office,” Malik said. “It does not say that you cannot run for office.”
In their first ruling as a branch of SGA, the justices unanimously ruled in favor of the elections committee.
The justices stated that due to Malik’s position in SGA, the Naaz/Malik ticket is illegitimate according to the association’s bylaws. They said her argument regarding the summer semester “is not applicable in this case.”
They suggested that the election committee review candidates before signatures are collected to ensure they are eligible to run.
“The court recommends that the election committee implement eligibility checks prior to candidates collecting signatures to avoid future discrepancies,” Associate Justice Madison Coleman said.
Senate passes Election Day legislation to House
In a unanimous vote, senators passed the Election Day resolution introduced by the SGA House of Representatives last week. The resolution will return to the House next for a vote.
“I’m excited and grateful to the Senate,” Speaker of the House Christian Dunn said.
The resolution suggests CMU implement a campus-wide policy that would allow students to be excused from class, and for assignments to be suspended, in order for them to travel to their registered district to vote.
If passed, the resolution will be reviewed and voted on by SGA President Carolina Hernandez Ruiz.
