The Honor Committee held the penultimate meeting of its current term in which Zach Lederer, chair of the University Board of Elections and fourth-year College student, presented the results of student self-governance elections held by the UBE, highlighting a decline in voter turnout. The Committee also discussed its transition to the next term and the recruitment and selection of Support Officers beginning next semester.
In his presentation to the Committee, Lederer spoke on behalf of the UBE, the body that supervises all University-wide student elections including the elections for University Judiciary Committee, Honor Committee Student Council and Class Councils.
Lederer stated that the overall turnout in each of these elections for student self-governance fell significantly from 33.97 percent to a current estimate of 22.50 percent according to Big Pulse — the online voting software used by UBE — and the number of competitive races across the elections also decreased from 13 to 10. Elections for the Honor Committee saw even lower voter turnout and engagement compared to the overall total with a turnout rate of 21.98 percent of the student body.
“We had a double digit decrease in turnout,” Lederer said.
The only contested Honor races occurred in the College of Arts and Sciences where 10 students ran for five available seats. Elections to the Honor Committee in every other school within the University were either uncontested with several candidates running unopposed. A total of 14 Honor seats were filled, while the 16 remaining vacant spots on the Committee must be filled by appointments from school councils or through special elections.
Lederer noted that the shortage of competitive elections may have contributed to the stark decline in turnout. According to Lederer, a series of interruptions to the campaigning and elections process as a result of two shelter-in-place ordinances and two non-consecutive snow days may have also impacted campaign momentum.
“February was a weird month [at] UVA,” Lederer said. “We had snow days. We had two shelter in places, during the campaign window that could have kind of chopped some things up a little bit…[and] could have also bled into Election Day”
According to Lederer, voter fatigue following the 2024 presidential election may have also played a role in student turnout, and the high number of referenda on the ballot may have seemed overwhelming to students, ultimately discouraging them to vote altogether.
Lederer also stated that the referenda covering the UJC, Student Council and Class Councils — which primarily called for the expanding the number of seats — were not as divisive or far-reaching as previous measures. However, the referendum supporting the University Guide Service and condemning the University for eliminating student tours did receive more attention, Lederer said.
After hearing UBE turnout results from Lederer, the Committee also debated Honor’s recruitment and selection processes for next year including the ideal number of new Support Officers who assist the Committee in its duties. There are three different kinds of Support Officers including educators, advisors and investigators/counselors who serve dual roles in gathering information and representing parties during the case process. Each group reports to a specific Committee member of the executive committee.
Alexander Church, vice chair for hearings and third-year Engineering student, who leads the investigators and counselors stated that a smaller number of officers in this group would allow people to participate much more actively in cases.
“We have a lot of people,” Church said. “We’re at the point where I'm still trying to let people that trained last year get in on their first hearing.”
According to Church, a group of 20 to 25 as opposed to the roughly 30 officers within this group would give investigators and counselors more responsibility and opportunities to engage, ultimately incentivizing them to stay in their role throughout their time at the University.
This position was not shared by Will Hancock, vice chair for the undergraduate community and third-year College student, who leads the educator group. Hancock instead supported the idea of engaging more people in the Honor process by increasing the number of Support Officers in order to expand the scope and audience of the Committee.
“I really do believe that Honor being bigger and having more support officers who are in their own communities at U.Va is a positive thing for Honor more broadly,” Hancock said.
Several Committee members had differing views on the ideal size and structure of Honor’s support network, with some including Carson Breus, vice chair for sanctions and fourth-year Commerce student, and Laura Howard, Committee Chair and fourth-year College student, emphasizing efficiency. Hancock was the only committee member who prioritized broader engagement. No resolutions were made during this meeting on the number of Support Officers the Committee will select next year.
The Committee will not meet at its regularly scheduled time next week and will instead be at its annual Graves Mountain Lodge retreat to elect the executive committee members for its next term. The Committee will reconvene April 6 at 7 p.m.
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