Friday, the University Judiciary Committee concluded its third annual Judiciary Week — a week of events dedicated to providing opportunities for the University community to learn more about the work of UJC on Grounds. Additionally, the UJC has processed a total of six cases for the semester.
The UJC is a student-run judiciary body that investigates and adjudicates cases involving the 12 Standards of Conduct.
According to an email to the University community sent March 8 by Allison McVey, UJC chair and fourth-year College student, J-week offers opportunities to interact with community members and educate the University community on the UJC’s role in adjudicating standard violations.
“[The purpose of J-week is] to foster engagement with our student-led judicial system, raise awareness about the UJC's role on Grounds and express our gratitude for the members of the community we serve,” McVey wrote.
In reflection on the third annual UJC J-week, Saira Uttamchandani, co-head of the J-week subcommittee and second-year Commerce and College student, hoped that students gained trust in the UJC’s restorative, student-centered processes.
“My main goal is that the UJC is seen as an approachable, restorative body rather than some punitive group of cloaked people that the student body doesn’t know,” Uttamchandani said. “The main goal is to reassure and show the student body that what we’re really here for is them and [to] make a community of trust and respect.”
The UJC hosted at least one event per day throughout the week, and events were open to all University students. Some of the planned initiatives included tabling on the South Lawn, tabs at local restaurants including Grit Coffee and Bodo’s Bagels, a workshop dedicated to understanding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and a town hall with UJC Executive Committee members.
According to Taryn Tuttle, UJC senior educator and Batten Graduate student and fourth-year College student, planning for J-week began over the summer and is led by the J-week subcommittee of the UJC. The two subcommittee heads are Uttamchandani and Taylor Petrofski, UJC counselor and second-year College student.
J-week is funded by the UJC budget, which is allocated by the University’s Student Affairs office, according to a previous interview with Tuttle.
According to Tuttle, the budget for J-week this year was $3,500. Tuttle said that the J-week subcommittee heads began planning more concrete events in the fall, and by spring, a finalized schedule was submitted to the Executive Committee for approval. Of those events, Tuttle said, $1,000 of the budget was put towards the Grit Coffee tab Wednesday, and another $1,000 was put towards the Bodo’s Bagels tab Friday. The remaining $1,500 was dedicated to the other events throughout the week, including the iced coffee bar, Mellow Mushroom at the town hall and gift card prizes for the week-long scavenger hunt.
According to Tuttle, any UJC member is able to propose potential events for J-week, though the J-week subcommittee is expected to spearhead the planning process. Tuttle also said that the turnout of this year’s J-week was on par with that of past years.
Several events from last year’s UJC week were repeated this year — the iced coffee bar with the Hoos Against Hazing Council on South Lawn, a tab at Bodo’s Bagels and tabling on the South Lawn. New events included the FERPA workshop and tab at Grit Coffee.
The iced coffee bar held Monday on the South Lawn kicked off the week of events. According to Akshara Rajagopal, UJC educator and first-year College student, supplies were almost halfway finished by the first hour of the event. Rajagopal said that between 40 and 50 people had stopped by for coffee to talk to UJC members.
“There’s so many different bodies here at U.Va., like [the Honor Committee], Student Council, UJC, and it’s hard to differentiate between all of them,” Rajagopal said. “I try to make [learning about UJC] very comfortable, because it’s students representing students.”
One student who stopped by the iced coffee bar, first-year Engineering student Sayonee Patel, said that the J-week events interested her because she wants to learn more about how the committee functions, especially because her sister was part of the UJC when she was an undergraduate at the University. Patel also said she appreciated the opportunity to get to know the members of the organization.
“You see all of the [UJC] emails and information, but seeing a personable effect on how the UJC is helping [students] … is really interesting,” Patel said.
On the fourth day of J-week, the UJC hosted a town hall in their trial room. Tuttle estimated that about 20 students attended the town hall Thursday night.
Aside from planning its annual J-week, the UJC has also heard six cases this semester, according to McVey. McVey said that of those six cases, two were violations of Standard 6 — violations of University policies — and three were violations of Standard 10 — “any violation of federal, state or local law” — which is on trend with standards that were most commonly violated in the Fall 2025 semester.
Additionally, McVey said there are 12 pending cases to be processed before the next UJC term begins April 1, though the number changes frequently depending on complaints received by the UJC and whether the committee accepts them to become cases. According to McVey, some cases could be rolled over to the next term or semester.
“I think [the case processing we do] speaks to the importance of something like Judiciary Week, so that students understand the policies and the regulations that they must comply with while they’re here at the University,” McVey said. “[The students’ understanding] is definitely very prevalent in the work that we do.”
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