Lerman to Hold IBC Rep. and Sophomore Rep. Positions, Student Court Rules

The Wilf Student Court unanimously ruled in favor of Baruch Lerman (YC ‘23) in General Assembly v. Baruch Lerman on Sunday, Nov. 1 that he could hold both positions of Isaac Breuer College (IBC) representative and sophomore representative.

Daniel Melool (YC ‘22), an associate justice on the student court, delivered the ruling on behalf of the court and the other justices, Natan Pittinsky (YC ‘21), David Fleschner (YC ‘21) and Levi Zwickler (YC ‘22), and Chief Justice Bryan Lavi (YC ‘21). In their decision, the court held that, “that there was nothing in the constitution that prohibited the respondent, Lerman, from holding two positions simultaneously. Lerman is the rightful holder of both positions.”

After Lerman won in the sophomore election on Oct. 11, Yeshiva Student Union (YSU) President Zachary Greenberg (SSSB ‘21), Sy Syms School of Business President Adam Baron (SSSB ‘21) and Yeshiva College Student Association President Ari Lowy (YC ‘21) asked the court to force him to resign from one of his positions. Their argument was that the constitution states in Article X Section 2 (3) that “any candidate may only run for office per election period,” which would prevent Lerman from holding two positions at the same time. The three general assembly members’ final point was that, by allowing Lerman to hold two positions, there would inevitably be future candidates who would run and unduly hold both positions simultaneously.

While the court agreed that the constitution mentions that a student cannot run for two positions at the same time, it held that it says nothing about a student holding both positions. The court decided that the results of the election were in fact constitutional, thus letting Lerman continue on as both IBC and sophomore representative.

YSU President Zachary Greenberg said, “While I don’t agree with the court’s ruling, I respect their decision. Baruch is an upstanding student and if there's anyone who could handle two positions simultaneously, it would be him. I hope to pass an amendment to prevent a situation like this from occurring though in the future.”

The challenge in student court began after Lerman's win due to disqualifications of the initial winner and the runner up. The first winner, Jacob Goldsmith (YC ‘23), was disqualified due to a lack of up-to-date credits that would have made him a sophomore. The runner up, Shay Fishman (YC ‘23), was then declared the winner, but since he would only be a sophomore for Fall 2020 and become a junior in the spring, he was also disqualified. 

“I love Yeshiva University, and I love the Constitution,” Lerman told The Commentator. “I’m so honored the Sophomores and the IBC students have chosen me to represent them in Student Government. I look forward to doing great things with them this year.”

Photo Caption: Baruch Lerman will hold both positions of IBC rep. and sophomore rep., the Wilf Student Court ruled.
Photo Credit: Ezra Troy Photography