On Sept. 10, the Associated Student Government (ASG) voted in two new supreme court justices, juniors Kayla Bauer and Addie Bautista.
Both students were added to the legislative branch of ASG. Through this position, they will oversee executive decisions and uphold the constitution and university laws.
Bauer is enthusiastic about her role as a supreme court justice and outlined her motivation and goals for the semester.
“I want to bring more to the role,” Bauer said. “It’s been a long time since the bylaws were read in their entirety, so I want to revise them and edit any non-progressive laws or contradictory laws.”
Bauer is a third year political science major on the pre-law track. She aims to become an attorney during her post-graduate education.
Since ASG intends to mimic the US government with three branches and a democratic voting system, Bauer believes her position will provide collegiate level legal experience before an eventual career as a professional attorney.
“Being a supreme court justice in ASG is very similar to the supreme court in the US’ judicial branch,” Bauer said. “Our job is to understand and interpret our constitution, and solve any disputes that may arise.”
Bauer and Bautista went through an election process conducted by the student body senate. Prior to their election on the 10th, both had to interview for the role with elected officials in ASG.
On election day, branch leaders heard a final speech from each candidate. All candidates stepped out of the room for each branch leader to vote anonymously. Bauer and Bautista received a 100% approval rating by the branch leaders and were sworn in that evening.
Apart from being present for grievances pertaining to ASG’s constitution and clarification of laws, supreme court justices must be present to swear in new members of ASG. They must also be present during the creation of new bills or new budgets, and always be available to be called on, whether in or out of office, to clarify legal stipulations or bylaws.
“We are the driving force of justice during times of grievances […] I ultimately want to bring more to the role and get more involved [as a supreme court justice]” Bauer said.
