Student Chief Justice Lock Whiteside announced at Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting that he will not resign from his position, despite receiving an e-mail earlier in the week from five members of the Judicial Board asking him to do so and threatening to seek his impeachment.

In the e-mail, five students — Jessica Nance, a senior in communication; Morgan Early, a senior in mathematics and communication; Chris Gilmore, a senior in political science; Danielle Seale, a graduate student in public administration and Jeffrey Vizcaino, a senior in communication — stated that Whiteside has neglected several duties of his position and has lessened the Judicial Board’s effectiveness on campus and with Student Government.

But Whiteside said he will keep his position.

“As you all know, yesterday, there was an election,” Whiteside, a graduate student in social studies education, said. “I was elected with 100 percent of the vote, and therefore, I will not resign.”

Whiteside said that the letter caused him pain and that he questioned whether the position was worth the stress, and he consulted his mother for advice.

“[She said,] ‘Where would you be if people before you who were tired simply gave up?'” he said.

Whiteside cited the death of his father as the source of a “fire” and “passion” that motivated him through high school and college, and that his father’s passion was present when he fought for students’ rights, he said.

Morgan Early, one of the authors of the e-mail sent to Whiteside, said the judicial board will hold a meeting with Whiteside Thursday, and she will recommend they pursue impeachment.

“We are true to our word and the things we said in the letter,” Early said. “We will prefer to have other board members behind it.”

To move to impeach Whiteside, Early said the board’s first move would be finding a senator to support them, but Whiteside said he will not back down.

“I’m not afraid of impeachment,” he said.

Paul Cousins, director of the Office of Student Conduct, had threatened Whiteside’s impeachment before, Whiteside said.

“Impeachment is an ugly process, but it’s a process I’m willing to go through to protect the students of this University,” he said.

Early said they have not met with any student senators to gain support, but she hopes they will be on her side.

“We do have several contacts within the Senate and we hope one, if not more, will be behind us in our end,” she said.

David Foxx, former student body treasurer and senior in political science, heard Whiteside’s statement and said Whiteside’s success in elections show that he should stay in office.

“[Whiteside] has been the most proactive chief justice in my time at N.C. State,” Foxx said.

According to Foxx, Whiteside is not afraid to fight for unpopular views and stand up to the administration.

The timing of the e-mail, which was sent the day before student body elections were held, was politically motivated, Whiteside said, and many people do not understand all that his job entails.

“A lot of the things I do happen behind closed doors, so I wanted to bring some light to that,” he said.

And while he has had conflicts with Cousins before, Whiteside said he is not the student chief justice for Cousins’ benefit but for the students.

“That’s who I represent, and the members of the Judicial Board,” he said.