Zach Davidson first heard about the University Judiciary Committee (“UJC”) as an enthusiastic first year at convocation, listening to then-UJC Chair Lisa Kopelnik speak about restorative justice and her vision for the committee. For Zach, something about this body immediately clicked. Three years and several roles later, he has now been elected to lead the organization.
Since Kopelnik’s time, the committee has experienced a myriad of changes, and Davidson promises to bring a new wave of transition to the UJC. His platform rests on three pillars: education, community, and institutional strength. Together, they provide the image of a chair who believes the UJC can exist as more than a disciplinary body but rather as an organization that students know, trust, and truly feel works in their best interest. Davidson is equally focused on the members of the committee as he is on the students who pass through it. For him, creating a stronger UJC is not merely an internal goal but a promise to the broader university community.
Davidson’s first proposed amendment involves education. Most students, Davidson contends, have practically no baseline knowledge of the Standards of Conduct that govern them, creating an unfair situation where the University operates under the assumption that students are well-versed in a procedure they have never been taught. His proposals include a UJC module that students would complete each summer, an orientation presentation for incoming students, and weekly office hours with the chair, where any member of the community can come with questions or concerns.
“If you’re going to be governed by a student conduct system,” Davidson says, “a baseline level of understanding is really important.” One of his key priorities is to enable wider knowledge of the UJC and its procedures, so that all UVA students feel comfortable relying on the committee as an institutional body that actively works to protect them.
Davidson also wants to make UJC members feel more invested in the organization by facilitating cross-pool social events and creating a stronger sense of culture within the committee, allowing support officers to communicate effectively with each other and ultimately to serve cases with greater cohesion. He also plans to revive monthly community comment sessions, giving any member a direct line of communication with the executive committee.
The final pillar involves the preservation of the UJC as an institution. Davidson aims to increase funding to the organization’s endowment, granting the committee financial independence and the freedom to pursue organizational goals without constraint. He also plans to implement semesterly audits that go deeper than existing reports to identify operational gaps before they compound, while developing standardized transition documents for each executive position to ensure that institutional knowledge does not walk out the door with graduating members every spring.
Davidson inherits a committee with a genuine commitment to fairness. Students are consistently able to recognize that commitment even when the outcomes are not in their favor. On top of that, he is building renewed visibility, culture, and sustainability for the organization. The UJC’s goal has always been to preserve justice, and under Zach Davidson’s leadership, his goal is to make sure that all of UVA knows it.
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