On March 23, Fords gathered in the Douglas B. Gardner Integrated Athletic Center for spring Plenary. An essential Haverford experience, Plenary represents a moment for students to take time out of their day to vote on resolutions that improve the College and their experiences on campus. The biannual event allows all students to have an opportunity to have a say about what occurs on campus (plus get free shirts and bubble tea).
As students waited to reach quorum—two-thirds of the student population needed to host Plenary—the student body was entertained by the student dance group Bounce and serenaded by songs from Wicked. Quorum was officially reached at 2:37 p.m., and after a brief moment of silence, proceedings were underway.
The meeting began with the State of the Fords, presented by Students’ Council co-presidents Maria Reyes Pacheco ’24 and Jorge Paz Reyes ’24. An open mic for community comment followed, and speakers representing Bi-Co Mutual Aid, Students for Reproductive Health, the GRASE Center, and those conducting the Haverford attitude/opinion surveys spoke about their work and requested support from the community.
After the ratification of the rules of order and the presentation of the community guidelines Plenary’s agenda, the first resolution, A Clear and Concise Constitution, was presented by the Students’ Council Constitution Committee. The resolution seeks to simplify and alter its constitution to remove redundancies and conflicting language and increase overall clarity. After the resolution’s presentation, the policy passed with a majority vote.
The next resolution, the SEPTA UPass Resolution, was presented by Daniel Bhatti ’25 and Santiago Melendez ’27, who proposed that the college enter into a contractual agreement with SEPTA beginning next fall. The agreement will provide students with subsidized transportation through SEPTA, the region’s public transit system, for an initial period of four months at a rate of $15 per student per month or $60 per student per semester.
An intense debate followed the introduction of the resolution. Students like Arlo Tanenbaum ’25, who has “been waiting for this resolution for four years,” argued that the resolution would increase accessibility to Philadelphia and its academic and recreational offerings. Others, like Georgia Revels ’27 expressed their hesitation as it seemed students who receive financial aid would be unable to opt out of the program. Other questions were raised about whether the overall cost would be greater than paying on a per-ride basis. “You really can’t be asking any student to pay $60 regardless of whether they use the program or not,” noted one student over Zoom.
Further clarification revealed that the fee would be covered by financial aid. Eight students objected to the informal vote, prompting a switch to an online ballot. The resolution passed by a slim margin.
Eight representatives from The Nest, Haverford’s food pantry, introduced the third resolution, Reallocate and Raise the Nest Food Pantry’s Funds. They called for the formation of a task force to ensure The Nest can sufficiently operate year-round while ensuring an increase in wages for the Chesick Scholars and Liftfar students who work there. The resolution garnered broad support from the Haverford community, prompting Bailey Bowman ’25 to note, “My only con is that this didn’t happen sooner.” The resolution passed with a simple majority.
The fourth resolution, Implementation of Post-9/11 GI Benefits as Commitment to Equitable Collegiate Access, was proposed by Anna Keneally ’26. The resolution addresses the way some schools, like Haverford, treat GI benefits as an outside scholarship. Keneally spoke about her own experience growing up in a military family, noting “the greatest way to combat militarization is through education.” The resolution prompted an extended debate about Haverford’s values and access to education as a means to avoid growing the nation’s military.
Taylor Allert ’28 said she receives funding from the Veteran’s Administration and noted that “the issue with a lot of people with veteran parents is that they are unable to work anymore, and retirement funds are not enough to cover college.” After a healthy dialogue, the resolution passed with a majority vote.
The fifth and last resolution–Accountability Procedure for Honor Council Members–was presented by members of the Honor Council. The resolution, which calls for an alteration to the honor code to hold members of the Honor Council accountable for Code violations, passed with a majority vote. Several students noted their appreciation for the Council’s commitment to accountability and transparency.
After the voting to open ratification of the Honor Code, which passed with a two-thirds majority vote, Plenary concluded after four hours of deliberation.