Zahra Asadi, 1L, plans to use her previous experience representing her peers to serve the Student Judicial Council this year.

Asadi was elected to be Washington and Lee University School of Law’s first-year representative for the 2019-20 school year.

Asadi, of Raleigh, North Carolina, served as an ambassador for the Agriculture Institute at North Carolina State University. She said that her experience representing both the students and the school will allow her to jump right into her new position.

“I really like the idea of being the middle-man. When I was an ambassador, I liked having an impact on the incoming freshmen and representing the current student body and school as a whole,” she said. “I loved the idea of the SJC because the students decide the outcomes of what should happen because it is our campus.”

She said what prompted her to run for the SJC was a deep-seated ambition to eventually serve in the U.S. judicial system.

“I came into the SJC knowing that it would be intense sometimes because you want to put yourself in the students’ shoes, but you also have to uphold the whole trust of the community,” she said. “As an SJC rep, I want to understand the whole context of the situations while being in the middle.”

She said that she is looking forward to working with the other members on the SJC as a team and wants to represent her classmates and their views to the best of her ability.

“It was cool to be able [to] tell everyone what I think during the elections, and I am thankful my class voted me into this position,” Asadi said. “I want to make sure I am representing them right.”

Asadi also stressed the importance of the honor system generating your own independent and original ideas amidst such difficult coursework. She also said that it is important for students on both the undergraduate and law school campuses to understand the difference between the EC and the SJC.

Washington and Lee University’s SJC website describes it the following way: “The SJC investigates and acts upon complaints of alleged student misconduct, except for dishonorable acts that involve the general categories of lying, cheating, stealing, or other breaches of trust (which are under the jurisdiction of the Executive Committee); or acts that involve discrimination, harassment, retaliation, sexual misconduct (which are under the jurisdiction of the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Board); or hazing, retaliation associated with hazing, or other violations of University policy by a fraternity or sorority (which are under the jurisdiction of Intrafraternity Council/Panhellenic Council).”

Asadi is also a member of the American Constitution Society, which debates about upcoming Supreme Court cases and other controversial subjects.