Fall Plenary 2023 Minutes

Agenda

1. Performances
2. Introduction
3. Community Comment
4. Rules of Order/Agenda
5. Presentation of COML Resolution
6. Presentation of Students’ Council Clean UP
7. Presentation of Raise the Student Wages Resolution
8. Presentation of the Alcohol Policy
9. The End

Performances

Maria: Welcome everyone! We are still waiting to reach quorum but we have gotten to 80%! While we wait we have two wonderful groups that want to perform today and are here. While we wait please text, email, do whatever it is to remind your friends to come if they’re not here yet!

We have asked those who would like to give community comment to sign up in advance, however, if you have not done so and would still like to give community comment, please come forward to the main table now and talk with the Co-Vice Presidents. With that being said, we pass on the microphone to Emmeline, our Senior Class Rep, to introduce our performers for today.

Emmeline: While we wait for plenary we are gonna have some performances. Let’s hear it for BOUNCE!

*BOUNCE performs*

Emmeline: Can we hear it for BOUNCE one more time. Let’s welcome Haverritmo!

*Haverritmo performs*

Introduction

Maria: We have now reached quorum and can start. Please find your seats. As some housekeeping items, please make sure to pick up your trash and dispose of any snacks or boba. The Athletics Department was kind enough to allow us to bring boba into the room so please keep the space clean. There are trash bins located throughout the room. Also, a huge shout-out to our quorum counters. To help them out and to also avoid losing quorum we ask that if you need to use the restroom please use the right side door and that if you are leaving please use the left side. We will now begin with a customary moment of silence. 

Jorge: Hello everyone, welcome to the 2023 Fall Plenary! My name is Jorge Paz Reyes (he/him).

Maria: My name is Maria Reyes Pacheco (she/her). 

Jorge: We are honored to address the Student’s Association on behalf of Students’ Council. Plenary exemplifies one of Haverford’s core values: student governance and it encourages us to engage in imagining the future of the College as a collective. As such, we are happy to see the Haverford community come together as a body to engage in healthy dialogue and to discuss the issues that affect our community .Thank you to all the students present, both in person and online for your commitment and engagement. It is customary for us to begin with the State of the Fords to share what Students’ Council as elected representatives have been working on these past few months, as well as to share the current concerns and initiatives happening on campus.

Maria: In our first few weeks on Students’ Council, we noticed that there were opportunities for restructuring that would allow for transparency and engagement with the student body, which were two of our biggest goals when we campaigned last year. As such, we created two general StuCo meetings with the first being open to anyone in the community to attend and bring agenda items, including faculty, admin, and students. This is what we call our Executive Board meetings and so far they have allowed us to hear from student groups such as the Affinity Group Coalition, Facilities, Reproductive Health at Haverford, and other students who have come to our public comment time. We hope to continue inviting staff and administration this semester, with an upcoming visit from Nico Washington who is the VP of Finance here at Haverford. 

Jorge: By solidifying our Executive Board which consists of our VPs, Secretaries, and Co-Treasurers we were able to restart the Budgeting Committee which meets during the budgeting process along with any interested representatives and officers to make joint decisions on budgets that include more than 3% of the total StuCo budget. This committee will also ratify the guidelines for each budgeting period to ensure that there are multiple people providing input and for further accountability with the student body. We also introduced an appeals process which was overseen by the Budgeting Committee and in the end we distributed all of the money with some remaining for emergency requests that arise during the last half of the semester.

Maria: We thank you all for your patience in this period of transition and your constant feedback. Our biggest goal in this process has been to increase transparency and make funding as equitable as possible. We are also looking ahead and working with certain groups such as Mock Trial, DASH, and the Nest where we believe that funding through other sources on campus can be more equitable and allow for us to support all of the organizations that build up our community.

Jorge: Aside from these successes, we have also been so impressed and blown away by our council members! We truly feel very connected as a team and at the start of the year during our retreat, were able to hear the concrete and tangible goals that each one of them has. Our Representative for International Students, Julia, came in very determined to re-establish the International Students’ Lounge as a space where students could build community. Post-COVID the International Students’ Lounge had gone inactive but she was able to work alongside the Residential Education and Student Engagement Office to begin renovations in the basement of Apartment 22 for a closed lounge space that is set to open in the Spring. 

Maria: Our Officer of the Arts, Julie, has been working on bringing together the many wonderful arts groups we have on campus and with the collaboration of our Officer of Student Life, Kelly, has been able to organize the annual Art Festival on November 11th which invites student artists who want to share their work with the community. Our Secretaries, Thea and Emma, have also worked hard to identify the best way to use our facilities funds. After receiving community feedback, the Secretaries are now working with facilities to renovate the Skate House by the Duck Pond to be accessible for studying and community gathering! 

Jorge: Our vice presidents, Kabir and Grant, have reinstated the appointments committee and officially appointed 11 different students to the 4 committees in areas ranging from Campus Safety to the Alumni Association. Lastly, our class year reps, led by Emmeline have been working on planning a series of events in honor of the Haverford Strike of 2020’s third-year anniversary. They hope to collaborate with the Library as well as groups across campus to make this possible. These are of course only highlights of our wonderful team and we encourage you all to attend our meetings or read our minutes to hear more about the work they are doing!

Maria: This weekend, we also attended the Board of Managers Week and brought up concerns brought to us this past semester including COVID protections, the student wage, the need for a permanent location for Pan-Asian House, as well as the increasing need for communal spaces across campus as more and more spaces are used for dorms and offices.

Jorge: We also shared what has been on the minds and hearts of students these past few weeks as violence and injustice continue in the Gaza region. We shared the letter written by the Muslim Student Association and about the walkout that happened on October 25th and the demands that came as a result of it. Similar conversations also took place at the Board of Managers Dinner with students this past Thursday. One of the issues in past years has been the closed invites of this dinner, so this year we opened the invitation to all of campus. We had a great turn out from students across campus in attendance who were able to connect with Board Members about the changes they want the Board to support.

Maria: Jorge and I hope to share a full report of what we took away from the Board of Managers Week to the community later this week. We found that little decisions were made in the Students Affairs Committee but there were important connections and points that we believe we can continue to put pressure on and engage with to get the results we want to see. Being mindful of time, we will end by saying that the Students’ Council is learning, we are learning, but our biggest priority continues to be serving you all and providing all of you with the resources and support you need. So we encourage you to please reach out if you ever have questions or concerns and we would love to support you. Thank you.

Community Comment Time

Jorge: We will now have our community comment time. This is a time for any announcements or concerns you would like to bring up to the student body. Thank you to all the people that signed up to share today. We now invite those students to please come up. 

Kira Wu-Hacohen: Hi everyone, I am a junior and I am here to speak for BiCo mutual aid. For those of you that dont know, we are a student operated mutual aid group working on redistributing wealth across Haverford and Bryn Mawr campuses. This allows us to support community members requesting aid. Every week we receive requests for people needing funds for rent, food, groceries etc. To be able to fulfill these requests we rely on students who are able to contribute to the fund. If everyone could join me in pulling out your phones right now and contributing to BiCo mutual aid, the link is up on the board. Our average contribution is $20. If everyone in this room contributed $5 that would be more than enough to reach our goal. If  you need support reach out our insta is @bicomutualaid and you can fill out a request form in our bio. 

Jadyn Elliot: Hi I am Jadyn I am working on a project to bring together the colleges in the TriCo. The idea is to match people and have them make connections across the TriCo. Ideally, the event could bridge some of the barriers between the three schools, so that people will leave with new friendships and fun shared experiences. I have an interest survey up on the board, please fill it out. Thank you!

Emma Schwartz: We are members from Students for Justice in Palestine. We want to elaborate on what Jorge said. The Israeli government is committing genocide against the people of Gaza. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen an extreme escalation of the ongoing apartheid Israel has imposed on Palestinians for the past 75 years. America is responsible for funding this genocide and educational institutions like Haverford have a responsibility to oppose this. BiCo Students for Justice in Palestine has some demands.

1. Providing academic leniency and material support for Palestinian students with family impacted by the war and who are experiencing collective trauma.
2. Being transparent about all financial investments and disclosing investments in Israel.
3. Divesting from Israeli academic institutions as a part of the demand for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions.
4. Cutting ties with Birthright/Taglit “Liberal Arts Birthright Trip.” 
5. Urging Bryn Mawr to cut ties with Study Abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Rothberg International School University of Haifa.
6. Using the college’s position as respected PA institutions to pressure Senator Fetterman and Representative Scanlon to support a ceasefire in Gaza, in keeping with the institution’s Quaker values. 
7. Paying for a Palestinian speaker series or art installation on the campuses to educate the community about Gaza.

Kinnan Abdalhamid: Hello I am Kinnan, I am a junior. I am a Palestinian and I was raised in the West Bank in Palestine . This message is important for anyone experiencing anti semitism, if you are speak to a professor, speak to a dean, speak to SJP. There has been some conversation circling about anti zionism versus antisemitism. Anti Zionism is the opposition of an oppressive government that has occupied Palestine for the past 75 years. They have taken our rights, they have pitted us against each other and made us hate each other. Being an antizionist does not mean that you are anti semitic. It’s very important to not tie anti zionism to antisemitism. When they are tied together, studies have shown that antisemitism has increased worldwide. This is because people start to think that the linking of Jewish people to a Jewish state means that all Jewish people support Israel. That is not the message we are trying to send as SJP. Anyone experiencing antisemitism should speak to someone in power. 

Next I want to talk about the phrase “from the river of the sea, Palestine will be free”. This is not an anti semitic phrase. Palestinians and Jewish people have lived together peacefully. I have many Jewish friends as well who are Palestinian. Palestinians include Jewish people, and Muslims and Christians. My friend’s dad who peacefully advocated for Palestinian rights was imprisoned for a year and many zionist organizations are trying to tie antisemitism to anti zionism. Opposing an oppressive government is not anti semitic. If I opposed an oppressive government in China that has oppressed many Chinese people, that is not the same as saying I hate Chinese people. 

Nada Aly: We have a table in the back. If you have any questions, come over and we can have a chat!

Maria: As a reminder for folks presenting we have a two minute timing so we can stay on time

Marcos Yoc Bautista: Hello, I am Marcos, class of 2024. 10,000 lives. Nearly 10,000 Palestinian lives have been brutally ended by the Israeli government since October 7th, 40% of them children. By now we’ve all seen the horrific scenes coming from Gaza. Hospitals, bakeries, schools, refugee camps, northern Gaza all left in ruin. I unequivocally denounce this massacre. But let me be clear: When I denounce the Israeli government, I speak only about the people in positions of power—those who are directly responsible for war crimes being unleashed on innocent civilians. Since the 7th there’s been a surge of antisemitic attacks and rhetoric all throughout the country. I will always denounce antisemitism and fascism where I see it.

But what I see in Gaza is the cruel collective punishment placed onto the Palestinians who for decades have been upended from their homes and forcibly displaced. I will always stand up for what is right, for what is just, for in the plight of the Palestinian people I see the struggle of the global south. In the Palestinian people I see my latine brothers, sisters, and siblings who get treated like an infestation of rats for migrating to the US. In the Palestinian people I see my black brothers, sisters, and siblings who get treated like criminals from the onset, killed by police forces often trained by the Israeli Defense Forces. In the Palestinian people I see my Asian brothers, sisters, and siblings who were treated like diseased vermin during the pandemic, yet positioned as the model minority others should aspire to be. We see a coordinated effort by the corporate establishment to paint the entire pro-Palestine movement as broadly antisemitic. I won’t hold back my punches when I say this is no different to those who chant ‘THE GREAT REPLACEMENT” upon any semblance of anti-racism. It’s this weaponization of identity politics that boils my blood. Your friends of color may often be all smiles and laughter, but many of us see in Gaza what we’ve come to know all too well: People of color treated as an afterthought, casualties serving the cost of war, the cost of business. It’s time we wake up and realize that our generation now wields genuine political power. In last year’s midterms, Gen Z along with millennials canceled out the boomer vote. We saved the Democratic party. We must make our collective voice heard and show our representatives that we are not to be taken for granted. I urge all of you to see the humanity. Prolonged fighting will only lead to more hatred, more anger, more war. Will we be the generation that stood by and let those senior citizens in congress dictate our future? Or will we start now and take our future lives into our own hands? Call for a ceasefire now that gets all the Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners home and ends the loss of Palestinian life. A ceasefire. Not a “humanitarian pause”, not a break, a ceasefire. Thank you for hearing my thoughts. Free Palestine.

Ellie Baron: I am Ellie.

Lucas Sherman: And I am Lucas and we are with Haverford College Democrats. 

Ellie: Election day is this Tuesday from 7-8pm. There will be a waffle truck from noon to 2pm next to the poll so come vote and get your waffles. You can check our instagram and emails for more information. Our insta is @haverfordcollegedemocrats. One of the candidates running for local office thinks that Haverford students should not be voting in Pennsylvania, so let’s prove him wrong and exercise our right to vote.

Lorelai Alverson and Dani Plotnick: We are coheads of the Haverford College Art Collective. We are gonna have some fun activities and crafts at our table so if you want a break please pop on over.

Celia Levy: I am from the Committee for Environmental Responsibility. We will be collecting your paper ballots at the end for a paper making workshop so please put them in the boxes at the exits when you leave.

Jorge: Thank you everyone, Student Council is here to support everyone. That concludes community comment time. We will now continue with the overview of the agenda and rules of order.

Rules of Order/Agenda

Maria: The agenda for today includes three resolutions. The first is on the COML Election Procedure. The second is titled Students’ Council Clean-Up. The third is Raise the Student Minimum Wage. Last, is the Ratification of the Alcohol Policy. 

Jorge: The rules of order go as follows and can also be found in the Plenary Packet which you can find in the email we sent this morning. These proposed rules of order are from section 4.02h(iv) in the Students’ Constitution. 

(i) Quorum

In order for quorum to be reached, at least 66% of the students living at Haverford must be present at Plenary. When computing quorum, students studying away will not be counted when determining the total number of the Students’ Association. If quorum is lost at any point during Plenary, the meeting will be suspended until quorum is again reached. After 30 minutes without quorum, the Chairs may evaluate the situation going forward.

(ii) Voting Options

When voting, students may choose one of three options: “Yes,” indicating approval of the matter at hand; “No,” indicating disapproval and “no Vote,” indicating a conscious decision to not vote.

(iii) Majority Rules

The outcome of all votes is determined by the proportion of students present at Plenary voting in the affirmative. Ratification of or amendments to the Alcohol Policy, the Plenary Rules of Order, and the Students’ Constitution will require a two-thirds (2⁄3) supermajority. Ratification of all other resolutions and amendments will require a simple one-half (1⁄2) majority.

Maria:

(iv) Voting Procedures

Votes at Plenary shall be conducted electronically for remote attendees and overseen by the Elections Coordinators. Each ballot will be required to reach a 66% quorum of the students living at Haverford, and Students’ Council shall ensure that only those physically present and counting for quorum at Plenary may cast ballots for that vote. When electronic voting is impossible or impractical due to time limitations, the Students’ Council Co-Presidents may permit a vote to be conducted using an informal method (e.g. raising of packets). If the outcome of the vote is abundantly clear in the eyes of the Elections Coordinators, they may proceed as if that outcome were decided by a formal vote. After any such determination, the Co-Presidents will call for any dissent as to the adjudication of the vote. If eight (8) or more members of the Students’ Association come forward, or if the Elections Coordinators determine that the result of the informal vote is unclear, then a paper or electronic ballot must be conducted.

 (v) Amendments to the Plenary Rules of Order

These may be presented and voted on prior to the presentation of the first resolution. Any portion of the agenda may be changed.

(vi) Pro-Con Debate

During any given pro-con debate, a person will not speak for longer than 90 seconds at any given interval, nor shall they be recognized by the chair more than two times. Upon each extension of a pro-con debate, a person may be recognized by the chair one (1) additional time. Pro-con debate shall initially be restricted to ten minutes and thirty seconds of speaking time, or seven (7) speakers. It may be extended by a simple majority of the Students’ Association.

(vii) Amendments

Plenary may add “Friendly Amendments” or “Unfriendly Amendments” to a resolution by a vote of the majority. All friendly and unfriendly amendments must pertain to the current resolution as seen in the eyes of the chair. Once an amendment has been approved, it may not be reversed nor the resolution be withdrawn. Friendly amendments are passed with the consent of the resolution writers, whereas unfriendly amendments are passed without, but require petition of seventy-five (75) plenary attendees.

(xiii) Recusal

To speak to the content of a resolution, a chair must step down until the proposal is resolved. The Co-Vice President(s) shall then preside for the remainder of that resolution if both chairs of Plenary step down.

(ix) Time Limit

The time limit for Plenary shall be three and a half hours. If this time limit expires, the assembled Plenary shall vote to extend the time limit for half an hour no more than two times. If the assembled Plenary fails to extend the time limit by a majority vote, the pending resolution (if any) will be voted on immediately, without further discussion.

Now we are opening the floor for debate. Does anyone have any amendments they would like to present to the rules of order?

Maria: Great. With no amendments presented, we will now move on to ratify the Plenary Agenda and Rule of OrderJorge/Maria: . In line with the rules of order, Students’ Council has talked to Megan Fitch, Chief Information Officer from IITS, and given the frustration of last year’s Fall and Spring Plenary electronic voting we will be proceeding with informal voting. Megan Fitch assured us that IITS has done its best to provide extra routers but has determined it is not possible to support the size of this much of the student body using the server all at once. As such, in order for us to finish on time we will proceed with informal voting. Those on Zoom will still have the opportunity to vote virtually and that should not be a problem. After informal voting, the elections coordinators will declare the outcome of the vote if it is abundantly clear. At this point, you will have the opportunity to object if you disagree with their interpretation. If 8 students object, we will proceed to formal voting using a Google form. 

Voting for Rules of Order/Agenda

Jorge: With that being said we will now vote on the rules of order. This needs a supermajority of 2/3 to pass. We will have the people on Zoom and in our satellite rooms vote first, and then we will conduct voting for those who are here in the GIAC. So, for those on Zoom, please respond to the poll that just went live. For those in the satellite rooms, please now follow the instructions of the StuCo member in your room to vote.

Ethan: Thank you for your patience everybody. The votes of those on Zoom and in our satellite rooms have been recorded. For those in the GIAC, please be ready to vote. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote for the rules of order. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote against the rules of order. Raise your paper if you would like to abstain from voting. After counting all the votes from the satellite rooms and the GIAC, in the eyes of the Election coordinators, the rules of order pass with more than 2/3rds of those present. If there are any objections, please come forward now. Seeing none, the resolution passes. 

Presentation of COML Resolution

Maria: With that being said, the first resolution to be presented is the COML Election Procedure, Presented by the COMLs.

Sam Diaz: Good afternoon, I hope you are doing well. We are currently the COMLs (community outreach multicultural liaison). I’m Sam Diaz (he/him), junior.

Sydney Rucker: I’m Sydney Rucker, she/her pronouns, sophomore .

Eliana Brown: I’m Eliana Brown, sophomore, she/her pronouns.

Sam: Jillian Aguilar is the fourth COML, she is a junior. We handle student life conflicts on campus. If you have a roommate or friend issue, you can email us and we will mediate a conflict. Our goal is to use restorative justice to make Haverford a less punitive place. Today we will be presenting our resolution which is changing the COML elections to all take place in the spring. Currently, COML pairs are elected every semester for 1 term. This has made things like training and the objectives of the office hard to define and maintain. Please refer to the plenary packet to see the actual text of the resolution but this pretty much sums it up. 

Q/A

Maria: We will now begin a time for question and answer. As a reminder please raise your hand to ask a question. The presenter will then respond. We will be alternating from the Zoom to the GIAC to ensure all spaces are able to engage. We will begin here in the GIAC. Please raise your hand and our mic passers will come to you. 

*No questions*

Pro-Con

Maria: Now begins the pro/con debate. Speakers will be given one and a half minutes to present their reasons for supporting or opposing the resolution. We will alternate between those speaking for and those speaking against the resolution. Similar to the Q&A section, please raise your hand to request to speak. We will start with someone speaking in favor of the resolution.

*No pros or cons*

Call for Amendments

Maria: We will now call for friendly and unfriendly amendments. These should have been shared with us and resolution writers by last Thursday. As a reminder, friendly amendments have been accepted by the resolution writers, whereas unfriendly amendments have not been accepted by the resolution writers and require 75 signatures. All amendments require a written change and require a majority vote to be adopted. If presented they will also need their own Q&A session as well as a pro-and con debate. If you have a friendly or unfriendly amendment you would like to present now, please come forward. 

Jorge: Seeing no amendments, we will now ask for a moment of silence before we vote on the resolution itself.

Voting for COML Resolution

Maria: Thank you. We will now vote on the final resolution. This resolution needs a supermajority to pass (⅔). We will have the people on Zoom and in our satellite rooms vote first, and then we will conduct voting for those who are here in the GIAC. So, for those on Zoom, please respond to the poll that just went live. For those in the satellite rooms, please now follow the instructions of the StuCo member in your room to vote.

Michael: The votes of those on Zoom and in our satellite rooms have been recorded. For those in the GIAC, please be ready to vote. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote for the resolution. (wait for voting) Raise your white paper if you would like to vote against the resolution (wait for voting) Raise your paper if you would like to abstain from voting. (wait for voting)

Michael: After counting all the votes from the satellite rooms and the GIAC, in the eyes of the Election coordinators, the resolution passes with more than 50% of those present. If there are any objections, please come forward now. Seeing none, the resolution passes. 

Presentation of Students’ Council Clean UP

Maria: We will now be moving to the second resolution which is titled the Students’ Council Clean-Up. The Vice Presidents will be chairing while Jorge and I present as outlined in the Rules of Order.

Jorge: Hi everyone, we are Jorge and Maria, the Students’ Council Co-Presidents, and we are here on behalf of StuCo to present the constitution cleanup resolution. When we stepped into the presidency this semester we realized vital parts of the constitution were missing, and the goal of this amendment is to add these parts in, to help StuCo more smoothly in future years. 

Maria: This amendment proposes four main changes to the constitution. First, it will make updates to the Officer of Multiculturalism’s description. The constitution currently says that the Officer of Multiculturalism works with the Office of Multicultural Affairs. However, the Office of multicultural Affairs no longer exists and was transformed into the Race and Ethnicity Office (REEO) in 2021. Our amendment would reflect this update to reflect the current change.

Jorge: The second part of the amendment is adding in the representatives to the board of managers to the constitution. While this position currently exists it is not in the constitution. By adding them in we are clarifying their roles and ensuring that the representation we have does not get lost in future years.

Maria: The third part is to add back in the facilities fund into the constitution. The facilities fund is $35,000 that is accessible to the students’ council to use for a project. Past examples include the North dorm’s blue bus stop and the fire pit outside of the DC. The facilities fund was deleted from the constitution in 2021, and we want to put it back in to make this fund a constitutional right and ensure that future student councils and student bodies know that it exists and the money is used.

Jorge: The final part is changing election procedures in the Spring. Currently, there are two waves of elections, both of which take place in April. Having two waves is an informal procedure that was established by elections coordinators in recent past years. We want to move the first wave of elections to February for Students Council Exec Board which includes the presidents, vice presidents, treasurers and secretaries.  Moving this first wave to an earlier date will allow for more training, as April elections currently do not allow for adequate training time. We believe that as Exec Board takes on more responsibilities within StuCo, it is crucial that they have more time to be properly trained and to pass on institutional memory from one council to the next.

Maria: The changes we are making, while not large, will aid in StuCo running more smoothly in future years, as well as ensuring that significant parts of our council are not lost. Thank you!

Q/A

Kabir: We will now begin a time for question and answer. As a reminder please raise your hand to ask a question. The presenter will then respond. We will be alternating from the Zoom to the GIAC to ensure all spaces are able to engage. We will begin here in the GIAC. Please raise your hand and our mic passers will come to you. 

Tommy: What has the facilities fund been used for in the past few years?

Jorge: Thank you for that question. The facilities fund has been used in different ways. For example the blue bus north dorms stop. We are not sure what it was used for two years ago. We know for a fact the fund was not used last year. We noticed that if it is not in the constitution the money does not get used.

Kabir: Any more questions? No more questions.

Pro-Con

Grant: Now begins the pro/con debate. Speakers will be given one and a half minutes to present their reasons for supporting or opposing the resolution. We will alternate between those speaking for and those speaking against the resolution. Similar to the Q&A section, please raise your hand to request to speak. We will start with someone speaking in favor of the resolution.

Pro

Ben Fliegelman: I am a sophomore, he/him pronouns. In my time on StuCo we discussed various benefits and advantages of the constitution. We discerned we need these reforms because it codifies actions already done by StuCo that are not currently in the constitution. By passing this, StuCo will serve the community better. I strongly urge that you vote for this resolution.

Con

Ali: I am a freshman. I noticed in the plenary that the freshman rep is crossed out. For people transitioning from high school to college, we need a freshman rep. Thank you!

*No more pros/cons*

Grant: That concludes the pro/con debate. The presenters will now be given 3 minutes to respond.

Maria: Just a clarification. We only struck the freshman rep out as we rewrote the elections procedures. The freshman rep will be elected in April. The first year class rep and all class reps will still exist. We are just moving the time of the election. 

Jorge: The description of the first year rep has not been touched. We are not getting rid of any reps we love them.

Another con from Zoom

Zoom (anonymous): Isn’t the point of holding elections later that if someone is running for re-election, we (the voters) will have more time to evaluate their performance and decide if we want them in office again..

Maria: To clarify, elections are only a few weeks earlier so we can pass down important information that we did not receive when we were elected. A lot of info has been lost and not passed down because there has not been sufficient time for training. Also a lot of positions have a lot more administrative training they need and that is not something they can do on their own or during finals.

Jorge: They will be elected in February but they won’t take office until the start of the next academic year. 

Maria: By that point any elected people looking to run again would already be in office for a semester.

Call for Amendments

Grant: We will now call for friendly and unfriendly amendments. These should have been shared with us and resolution writers by last Thursday. As a reminder, friendly amendments have been accepted by the resolution writers, whereas unfriendly amendments have not been accepted by the resolution writers and require 75 signatures. All amendments require a written change and require a majority vote to be adopted. If presented they will also need their own Q&A session as well as a pro-and con debate. If you have a friendly or unfriendly amendment you would like to present now, please come forward. 

Grant: Seeing no amendments, we will now ask for a moment of silence before we vote on the resolution itself.

Voting for Stu-Co Clean Up Resolution

Kabir: Thank you. We will now vote on the resolution. This resolution needs a supermajority to pass. We will have the people on Zoom and in our satellite rooms vote first, and then we will conduct voting for those who are here in the GIAC. So, for those on Zoom, please respond to the poll that just went live. For those in the satellite rooms, please now follow the instructions of the StuCo member in your room to vote.

Michael: The votes of those on Zoom and in our satellite rooms have been recorded. For those in the GIAC, please be ready to vote. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote for the resolution. (wait for voting) Raise your white paper if you would like to vote against the resolution (wait for voting) Raise your paper if you would like to abstain from voting. (wait for voting)

Michael: After counting all the votes from the satellite rooms and the GIAC, in the eyes of the Election coordinators, the resolution passes with more than 66% of those present. If there are any objections, please come forward now. Seeing none, the resolution passes. 

Presentation of Raise the Student Wages Resolution

Maria: We will now be moving to the final resolution, titled Raise the Student Minimum Wage. It is being presented by Oliver Wilson.

Oliver: Hello everyone! My name is Oliver Wilson, I’m a Sophomore and a student worker, and I’m presenting the resolution for raising the student wage. To start, if you’re a student worker, raise your hand or your plenary packet, just so everyone can get an idea of how many people are

affected by the minimum wage. Okay, you can put them down, thank you. If you don’t already know, the current minimum wage for student workers at Haverford is only ten-fifty per hour, which is well below the wages at Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, and even in the surrounding community. This wage has not been raised with inflation, meaning that it has effectively decreased by 15% just since 2020. Student workers are also disproportionately low-income and/or students of color, meaning that low wages especially impact those groups. I’ve seen for myself and for the people around me how much of an investment of time and energy working in college requires which is why this issue is so important to me.

This resolution contains a handful of proposals. First, we would create a task force. It would include five students and three staff members. If this resolution passes, the task force will pursue raising the minimum wage to fourteen dollars per hour by the beginning of the next academic year, fifteen the following year, and sixteen the year after that. Beyond this, this resolution assigns the task force a variety of non-pay related issues dealing with student work. Finally, it asks that the college recognize the need to raise wages with inflation, for both students and hourly-paid staff, as these groups are most affected by increases in the cost of living. If you pass this resolution, you are telling the administration that student workers deserve more. Thank you.

Q/A

Maria: We will now begin a time for question and answer. As a reminder please raise your hand to ask a question. The presenter will then respond. We will be alternating from the Zoom to the GIAC to ensure all spaces are able to engage. We will begin here in the GIAC. Please raise your hand and our mic passers will come to you. 

Luke Sheppard: Hello, my name is Luke Sheppard I am class of 2024. Thank you Oliver for introducing this amendment. I was wondering if the task force will explore the potential of raising staff and faculty wages as well. The college has acknowledged these wages are not competitive in the area. Staff wages have also not increased since inflation. Just as much as we should encourage the college to increase student wages, we should increase staff wages.

Oliver: Thank you, currently I have had some discussion with admin to evaluate staff wages and we are trying to raise them to more comparable rates. But depending on how that turns out, this will be a part of the discussion of the task force. Admin has expressed a desire for raised wages.

Ali: Hello again, I have a question about the financial aid packet. So for low income students we have to pay off work study. If the wage increases, will we have to pay more?  If so, increasing the minimum wage wouldn’t mean much for students with work study.

Oliver: My understanding of work study is that it is federally determined, and will not change if our minimum wage changes. Therefore, if the wages are higher you will work towards reaching that faster. 

Pro-Con

Jorge: Now begins the pro/con debate. Speakers will be given one and a half minutes to present their reasons for supporting or opposing the resolution. We will alternate between those speaking for and those speaking against the resolution. Similar to the Q&A section, please raise your hand to request to speak. We will start with someone speaking in favor of the resolution.

Pro

Andrea Brokate Castillo: My name is Andrea and I use they/them pronouns and I’m a sophomore. I’m a Chesick student and a FLI student leader. For those who don’t know, that means I am a low income or first gen student, and I will say that one of my biggest struggles last year was being able to afford travel back to Florida and all the essentials I needed. I was working multiple jobs on campus and barely able to afford my monthly expenses. This made it difficult for me to have enough energy to properly focus on my academics and take care of myself. I think increasing the minimum wage would help low income or first gen students be able to excel academically and emotionally.

*No Con*

Pro

Yeyhun Song: Hello I am Yeyhun. I use he/him pronouns. I do not know who has experience with the resolution process, but being in communication with staff, admin and students is really important. I was able to speak with Oliver before he submitted his draft. I was very impressed by how thorough he was with his resolution. He was in communication with minority students, international students, etc..That’s why I am confident that this amendment will be passed not only by students but by the administration. I want to personally thank Oliver for being in communication with us. Let’s get this voted!

*No Con*

Pro

Dan Shudrenko: I am a sophomore from Ukraine, I also want to add that this not only impacts low income students, but all students. Haverford benefits from the labor of students, including at the DC, Customs, the Library, TA’s. Any jobs on campus are all because of student workers. Trust me when you have 20 hours of work a week and your own classes you will be overwhelmed. Raising minimum wage helps the student body.

*No con*

Pro

Grant: I am a freshman. This is an obvious resolution that should have been done years ago that has been done at many of our peer colleges. It says a lot that this has gotten to the point that we have to fight for it at plenary. This is something that should have been done by the administration years ago. The longer the college continues to ignore it the more of an issue it will become.

*No con*

Pro

Leo Westrey: I use they/them pronouns, I am a junior and I am in a unique position. I am work-study but I have enough financial privilege to move that around from time to time. Maybe not meet all of my work study to meet all of my academics. I believe that all Haverford grades are determined in part by how much time we have to spend on academics. And so the result of this is when you apply work study for people to attend, that means low income students, mostly BIPOC, are at a disadvantage because they have less time to spend on academics. I think this is terrible. There are a few things we can do. One small thing we can do is give time back to student workers by giving them higher wages. I am highly in support of this resolution!

Jorge: That concludes the pro/con debate. The presenters will now be given 3 minutes to respond.

Maria: We have some questions from zoom.

Lydia: Is Dean McKnight being on the task force a part of the resolution or a suggestion?

Oliver: That is from a discussion I had with Dean McKnight, because of the nature of the resolution it is a suggestion, but it has been discussed and he would like to be on the task force. 

Zoom question (anonymous): Clarification: Haverford receives a set pot of funds from the federal government for work study. Question: Does increasing the student wage mean that less students will receive work study?

Oliver: I do not believe that that will be an outcome. It is a set federally determined amount that shouldn’t change beyond what your individual amount should be.

Call for Amendments

Maria: We will now call for friendly and unfriendly amendments. These should have been shared with us and resolution writers by last Thursday. As a reminder, friendly amendments have been accepted by the resolution writers, whereas unfriendly amendments have not been accepted by the resolution writers and require 75 signatures. All amendments require a written change and require a majority vote to be adopted. If presented they will also need their own Q&A session as well as a pro-and con debate. If you have a friendly or unfriendly amendment you would like to present now, please come forward. 

Jorge: Seeing no amendments, we will now ask for a moment of silence before we vote on the resolution itself.

Voting for Wages Resolution

Maria: Thank you. We will now vote on the final resolution. This resolution needs a simple majority to pass. We will have the people on Zoom and in our satellite rooms vote first, and then we will conduct voting for those who are here in the GIAC. So, for those on Zoom, please respond to the poll that just went live. For those in the satellite rooms, please now follow the instructions of the StuCo member in your room to vote.

Michael: The votes of those on Zoom and in our satellite rooms have been recorded. For those in the GIAC, please be ready to vote. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote for the resolution. (wait for voting) Raise your white paper if you would like to vote against the resolution (wait for voting) Raise your paper if you would like to abstain from voting. (wait for voting)

Michael: After counting all the votes from the satellite rooms and the GIAC, in the eyes of the Election coordinators, the resolution passes with more than 50% of those present. If there are any objections, please come forward now. Seeing none, the resolution passes. 

Oliver: So just two short things, the committee application will be sent out soon. If you would like to join the committee please apply. It will be available for a short period of time from now until midnight on Tuesday.

Presentation of the Alcohol Policy

Maria:  With that being said, we will now be moving to the annual ratification Alcohol Policy which will be presented by the JSAAPP representatives. As a reminder this process is overseen by the representatives and no changes have been made since last semester.

Tristan: Hello I am Tristan, class of 2025. 

Kayla: I am Kayla, class of 2025, and we are the JSAAPP co-heads.

Tristan: The Haverford College Policy of Drug-Free Schools, adopted in compliance with federal requirements, forbids the unlawful possession, use of, or distribution of illicit drugs or alcohol. Mindful of legal obligations, Haverford College has developed the (Joint Student Administration Alcohol Policy) JSAAP staff: As a staff our policy aims To educate and inform about the effects of alcohol for all Haverford students. The policy stresses moderation in alcohol consumption, safe drinking practices, and individual accountability for those who choose to drink along with creating a respectful social atmosphere that is free of coercion and peer pressure. By putting these goals into practice it will lead to forming a community in which alcohol abuse and its effects are minimal. 

Kayla: We emphasize promoting affirmative consent and holding every individual accountable for their actions. Importance is placed on crafting a social culture that is actively vigilant for any signs of sexual misconduct and that empowers members of the community to prevent the perpetuation of (sexual assault). We are working to provide confidential and effective guidance for those with specific needs related to alcohol use. 

Q/A

Jorge: We will now begin a time for question and answer. As a reminder please raise your hand to ask a question. The presenter will then respond. We will be alternating from the Zoom to the GIAC to ensure all spaces are able to engage. We will begin here in the GIAC. Please raise your hand and our mic passers will come to you. 

*no questions*

Pro-Con

Jorge: Now begins the pro/con debate. Speakers will be given one and a half minutes to present their reasons for supporting or opposing the resolution. We will alternate between those speaking for and those speaking against the resolution. Similar to the Q&A section, please raise your hand to request to speak. We will start with someone speaking in favor of the resolution. If there are no further pro-cons offered we can proceed to voting.

*No pros*

Con:

Chris: Hi I am Chris, class of 2027. I am a student from Bel Air, California and I feel very strongly about this. Alcohol and too much of an alcoholic environment leads to no good. For example, I used to live in West Philadelphia and I was minding my own business and some guys who were up to no good started causing some trouble. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared and they sent me to live with my uncle and aunt in Bel Air. 

If you didn’t get the reference here it is. 

Tristan: I don’t know if that warrants a response. 

Jorge: That concludes the pro/con debate. The presenters will now be given 3 minutes to respond.

Jorge: For the ratification of the alcohol policy there are no unfriendly or friendly amendments in the rules of order so we will now ask for a moment of silence before we vote on the resolution itself.

Ratification of the Alcohol policy

Jorge: Thank you. We will now vote on ratifying the annual alcohol policy. This resolution needs a super majority of ⅔ to pass. We will have the people on Zoom and in our satellite rooms vote first, and then we will conduct voting for those who are here in the GIAC. So, for those on Zoom, please respond to the poll that just went live. For those in the satellite rooms, please now follow the instructions of the StuCo member in your room to vote.

Ethan: The votes of those on Zoom and in our satellite rooms have been recorded. For those in the GIAC, please be ready to vote. Raise your white paper if you would like to vote for the resolution. (wait for voting) Raise your white paper if you would like to vote against the resolution (wait for voting) Raise your paper if you would like to abstain from voting. (wait for voting)

Ethan: After counting all the votes from the satellite rooms and the GIAC, in the eyes of the Election coordinators, the resolution passes with more than 50% of those present. If there are any objections, please come forward now. Seeing none, the resolution passes. 

The End

Maria: That concludes Plenary, we did it y’all. Thank you for your patience and engagement. There will be a Waffle Pockets Food truck in the South Lot. If you need a gluten-free or vegan alternative please come to the front! We will now be waiting for President Raymond to approve the passed resolutions which she will do within 30 days. Resolution writers will reach out to the community with next steps for implementation. Thank you again everyone and have a wonderful Sunday!