DeKALB – SGA Senate confirmed Elliot Weiskopf, first-year pre-law student, as an SGA Supreme Court justice with a vote count of 14 in favor, zero against and three abstentions.

The SGA Supreme Court now has two out of five justices. The first confirmed was Brenna McConnell, sophomore finance major with a marketing minor, according to a March 2 Northern Star article. For the Supreme Court to start hearing cases, there need to be three justices.

Weiskopf said he wanted to join SGA Supreme Court because of the experience it will bring him and also to build connections.

“I believe the Supreme Court is the best fit for me than all the other branches [of SGA] because, as of right now, I really want real-world experience,” Weiskopf said. “I think that doing mock trials as well as judging on bills and decisions for elections gives me a really good feel for what I want to do in the future.”

Weiskopf is part of NIU’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, is a U.S. Army soldier and has an internship with the Central Intelligence Agency for analytics.

“I think confirming [Weiskopf], over four years, he’d be able to greatly impact the Supreme Court and leave the judicial branch in really, really good hands – better off than what we have right now,” SGA senator Jacob Burg said.

Student organizations recognized

SGA recognized the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Mini Baja team and Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society as official student organizations.

SAE Mini Baja is a student-run and student-based organization dedicated to the design, build and competitive racing of single-seat, off-road racing vehicles, said Kaylen Platt, president of SAE Mini Baja.

“As a team, we’re really interested in pursuing SGA recognition because we believe that we align with NIU’s core values, and we definitely would appreciate any sort of funding,” Platt said. “But, even more than that, we would really like more opportunities for our future members. We’re really all about gaining more experiences, skills and opportunities for current members, so I really believe that SGA could help us with that goal.

Alpha Psi Omega is a theater’s honor fraternity that focuses on preparing and creating connections for their members in their professional careers, said Mandi Ranallo, sophomore BFA with an emphasis in acting.

“Our honors fraternity is open to all,” Ranallo said. “Although we are a theater honors fraternity, we focus on having a space where all theater lovers are welcome to join if they’re not part of the School of Theater and Dance and just want a little more theater in their collegiate education.”