The Student Association Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of SA-required campus-wide elections for the Campus Activities Board on Friday evening.

Eric Johnson, chief justice and a junior political science major, read the court’s decision. It was supported by Jaime Salgado, associate justice and a senior accounting and finance major; and Jaime Garcia, associate justice and a senior economics major.

“A student organization willing to accept student fee money is accepting the rules set forth by the Student Association as the governing organization of those monies,” Johnson said. “Though the power of the Student Association to determine election policies for organizations receiving a substantial amount of student fees is not explicitly provided for, there is an inherent and implied power of the SA to do so.”

The court did not rule on the merits of CAB elections but instead considered whether the requirement was within the powers of the SA according to its constitution.

Robert Morgan, associate justice and a second-year law student, disagreed with the majority opinion of the court. Morgan said he thought that forcing CAB elections infringes on the independence of student organizations.

“I would overrule the actions of the SA in amending their bylaws and would declare CAB a sovereign organization to the extent that they were not made aware by the SA, in a reasonable fashion, of the control the SA reserves over such funded student organizations,” Morgan said in the court’s decision.

Morgan also described the options remaining to CAB.

“Now, with the decision of the majority of the court, CAB is left with the choice of amending its internal constitution to beef up the requirements of CAB officers in order to counter the amendment to the SA bylaws, to stop receiving SA funding and to become self-sufficient through university funding or private fundraising, or to abide by the SA’s campus-wide elections requirement,” Morgan said.

Before the trial took place, NIU alumnus and Elgin resident Jeffrey Meyer, who represented CAB, requested that Johnson remove himself from the case. Meyer said Johnson had a conflict of interest because he is the roommate of SA Senate Speaker Andrew Nelms, a participant in the case.

Bertrand Simpson, SA adviser and associate director of University Programming & Activities, said it is not unusual for someone in Johnson’s situation to remove himself.

“When a justice has a connection with the subject matter or a connection to persons involved in litigation, it is not atypical for such a person in such a situation to recuse themselves, to take themselves out of the decision-making process,” Simpson said.

Simpson said there is no rule stating a person in that situation must take himself out of the situation.

During the trial, Meyer argued the election requirement was outside of the powers granted to the senate by the SA constitution.

“Government doesn’t have all the power, except what the people keep,” Meyer said. “Government has only the powers that the people grant them.”

John Acardo, SA chief of staff, represented the SA and argued that the constitution gives the senate the power to regulate the business of student organizations.

“It allows them the power to recognize, dis-recognize [and] it also gives them the power to recognize them with certain qualifications,” Acardo said.

CAB President Jennifer Suerth declined to comment on the ruling.