The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Academic Assembly voted last night to approve Evan Yudell (senior-marketing and international business) as a USG Supreme Court associate justice nominee.

Yudell will go to the USG Senate tomorrow night for a final vote.

Currently there are seven justices on the court. If Yudell's nomination passes in the Senate tomorrow night, he will be the eighth.

D. Joshua Troxell, Academic Assembly president, said that there was a long process prior to last night's meeting that enabled Yudell to stand before the assembly.

Jennifer Tingo, Academic Assembly vice-president, explained the process.

"Someone has to work through the ranks even to reach this level. To stand up at assembly you have to be clerk first, and then be approved by both the assembly and senate," Tingo said.

Yudell told the assembly how he has used leadership, time management and public relations skills to speak to prospective clubs and organizations that wish to be recognized by USG.

"I've seen people from prospective organizations have a little shaking in their voices," Yudell said. "As a leader I know it is my job to make them feel comfortable. If there is a shared level of comfort, they will have more confidence in taking on a new role."

He added that it is also his responsibility to motivate emerging groups to come before USG and establish what they are trying to accomplish and how USG can work with them to get better results.

Tingo said she was very impressed with Yudell. She added that he would make a very competent associate justice.

"He was really on the ball tonight," Tingo said. "He seemed like he would really work with student organizations, and that's what we're looking for. If he wasn't a senior, I'd say he should be chief justice."

Laura Beck, chairwoman of the assembly's course evaluation committee, said she once worked with Yudell in a Spanish class and that he was very motivated and promoted group effort.

"I really think he was very eloquent and had a lot of good ideas for the court," Beck added.

The assembly also spoke about the first-year seminar (FYS) surveys used this past semester. The target date for data collection is Feb. 3. The data will then be sent to University Testing Services, Troxell said.

The assembly also voted to distribute the FYS surveys during spring semester to those colleges who did not participate last semester or did not hand in their forms.

"Seven out of 12 colleges participated last semester, and this semester we hope to get a response from the other five," Troxell said.

Additionally, Tingo said that Take Your Professor to Lunch program will tentatively begin on Feb. 17.