Previous Student Body Vice President Faran Abbasi was officially confirmed for the position of associate justice of the Supreme Court in last week’s Student Government Senate meeting.

Controversy permeated the senate meeting when Student Body President Barclay Harless requested to nominate Abbasi for chief justice just days after he had been confirmed into the associate justice position.

Some members of the senate said it was far too soon for Abbasi to take on the role of chief justice when he had not yet begun to fill the initial role that he was assigned. Many members also said a chief justice was not necessary during summer term. Consequently, the confirmation of Abbasi for chief justice was tabled until the next meeting.

Harless, however, feels confident in his decision to nominate Abbasi.

“Faran has served in the senate as vice president (of the Student Body), chair of University Relations committee and has built organizations from the ground up,” he said.

Having a chief justice is just as important during the summer session as any other session, Harless said. The chief justice continues to function in a leadership position throughout the year.

Adding that the roles of associate and chief justice are nearly identical, Harless doesn’t see a problem in therefore requesting confirmation for Abbasi in a manner that other senate members may find expedited.

Responding to the concern of senate members who felt that confirming a chief justice at this time would be unfair for other hopeful candidates who may be out of town for the summer, Harless said: “None of the students that I spoke with expressed interest towards the role.”

Senator Keenan Arodak disagreed with Harless’ confirmation and suggested the senate exhaust all of its resources before making sudden decisions.

“We don’t need a chief justice at this time,” he said. “Let’s just see what else we may have to work with and weigh our options out before we make any hasty decisions.”