Representing the entire undergraduate population and its more than 180 student clubs, the Undergraduate Student Association is the largest governing organization at UB. Funded by the mandatory student activity fee of $69.75 per full-time student, SA manages a total budget of $2.4 million.
Despite SA's substantial budget and constituency, only 1,006 of the approximately 17,000 eligible student voters took part in the SA Senate elections late last month.
In an effort to inform students about the functions of their student government, The Spectrum is running a three-part series covering each branch of SA.
This is the second segment of that series.
The Student-Wide Judiciary, comprised of 21 justices, including a chief justice, constitutes the judicial branch of the student government. Fifteen justices are undergraduates, three are graduate students, and three are from Millard Fillmore College.
"This is a system designed by the students, for the students," said SWJ Chief Justice Trevor Torcello, a senior political science major.
Founded in 1973, the SWJ is responsible for implementing "a system of discipline that is based on 'fair play' and timely adjudication," according to its Web site.
The SWJ has jurisdiction over a wide variety of cases including violations of non-academic regulations, election disputes and conflicts between students and student governments. The body also has the power to review the constitutionality of acts of student government.
According to Torcello, all justices - except for the chief justice, who receives a stipend for his or her work - volunteer their time, and must work between three to twelve hours a week.
"Justices attend meetings, keep office hours, preside over cases, and work together to make up the rules of the system and decide how the sanctions should be carried out," Torcello said.
Although the SWJ is a student-run institution, Director of Judicial Affairs Madison L. Boyce serves as its administrative advisor. Boyce is responsible for supervising the sanctions handed down by the justices, according to the Web site.
The SWJ bylaws give examples of such sanctions, which include "warnings, community service, disciplinary probation, recommended suspension and other sanctions as deemed appropriate by the SWJ."
The self-proclaimed dual function of SWJ is to educate students and insure that justice is served at the university.
"All students make mistakes, myself included, and we're here to make sure that those mistakes do not have far-reaching consequences on their career and graduate education," Torcello said.
John Corbett, a junior majoring in psychology, said that by having a student-run judicial system, students who are accused of university rule violations receive a more fair trial.
"It's better for the SWJ to pass the punishment because they might be more lenient in their sentencing, while still making people pay for their actions," he said.
SWJ presides over cases ranging from fights between students to vandalism and stealing, according to Torcello.
"Most of the time, the offenses committed are drug- and alcohol-related, and 99 percent of the time, the student pleads guilty," he said.
Since the SWJ is covered under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the court's proceedings are entirely confidential.
"Whatever goes on with the cases cannot be discussed outside of the case," Torcello said.
In part due to the secrecy surrounding its proceedings, many students who have not had to appear before the court are unaware of its existence.
"Honestly, I have no idea what the SWJ does, as I haven't gotten into any trouble yet," said Marjorie O'Hara, a sophomore communications major.
Freshman Ming Chen said some students may not know how to become an SWJ justice.
"I always thought you had to be a law student to be a justice," Chen said. "I guess that's something lots of students don't know."
Every undergraduate student at UB, except for those already holding positions within SA, are eligible to become justices, said Torcello.
The path to becoming a justice begins by submitting an application to the SWJ and then undergoing an interview with the chief justice.
Upon passing the first interview, undergraduate applicants are interviewed by the SA president. All students seeking positions on the SWJ must ultimately be appointed by the student government representing them.
Torcello said that once justices are appointed, they can serve on the SWJ for as long as they are UB students.
"Competition is keen," he said. "A justice can serve as long as he wants. That's why we only have limited openings every year."
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
