The Student Court of FAU Student Government heard arguments in regards to a petition filed with the court by Matthew Robinson, a student on the Jupiter campus, against the Election’s Board.

“A Boca student should not represent the Jupiter campus,” Robinson said during the hearing. “A Boca commissioner cannot fulfill the duties of the Jupiter commissioner.”

In his petition to the court, Robinson alleged that the Election’s Board was not statutorily formed, and that, as a result of the Jupiter campus lacking a commissioner, the candidates were not able to be represented in the Election’s Board.

Chair of Elections Board, Robert Mooney stated, both in his response to the petition and during the hearing, that no other Jupiter candidate complained about the lack of commissioners present on the board, and that Robinson went over his head by petitioning the Student Court instead of filing a contestation during the Complaint and Contestation period after the unofficial election results are posted.

Nicholas Cathcart, associate justice for the Jupiter campus, spent ten minutes questioning Mooney about his performance as chair, as well as reminding him of what the Election’s Board is supposed to do.  

“Part of the duties of being a campus commissioner is to be on campus and hold office hours,” Cathcart said.

Due to the lack of representation for the Jupiter campus, Mooney, took responsibility for ensuring that the candidates in Jupiter were following the statutes and that the students there had events where they could meet their candidates and that polling stations were set up.

Mooney responded to many of the questions posed by Cathcart by asserting that if the Student Court was going to nitpick issues, then the Student Court should hold itself to the same standard.

“There should be four student court justices,” Mooney said as he counted with his finger the number of justices present. “There are only three today.”

Indeed, the feeling in the room at times was hostile as Mooney and the justices exchanged heated remarks at each other, at one point prompting Allison Rodgers, Student Government advisor, to remind everyone in the room to be respectful of each other and maintain a calm demeanor.

Benjamin Paley is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @benpaley92.