Spring 2025: A Pre-Plenary Rundown

This Sunday, March 23, Haverford students will convene in the Douglas B. Gardner ’83 Integrated Athletic Center (GIAC) for Spring Plenary, a biannual gathering that serves as a platform for campus-wide discussion, debate, and decision-making. Students will deliberate over five student-proposed resolutions. The resolutions aim to streamline the Students’ Constitution, push for SEPTA UPass access, propose boosting funding for the Nest food pantry, advocate for accepting Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and introduce accountability procedures for Honor Council members. 

Early Friday morning, Students’ Council Co-Presidents Victoria Haber ’26 and Yehyun Song ’25 sent out the customary pre-Plenary email, which included the Spring 2025 Plenary Packet. This document introduced the five resolutions and reiterated the importance of approaching campus dialogue with care, intention, and respect. 

The Plenary packet also included an updated version of the community guidelines, developed with input from Nikki Young, Vice President for Institutional Equity and Access. These changes aim to “ensure that the values of respect are met even when people disagree with one another” in response to growing concerns over whether students feel safe and respected when speaking at Plenary.

This spring’s Plenary follows a quieter Fall 2024 session, which, while substantive, remained relatively focused in scope with just two resolutions—both centered on resource accessibility—and the routine ratification of the Honor Code and Alcohol Policy. Unlike the previous Plenary, which drew limited controversy, this semester reflects a shift toward broader structural reforms, including a comprehensive constitutional revision and proposals addressing student government accountability. The increased number of resolutions and absence of the Alcohol Policy from the agenda mark a return to governance-oriented proposals that often characterize spring Plenary sessions.

In an effort to make Plenary more accessible and comfortable for all students, two satellite rooms will be available again this semester: the GIAC Conference Room and Sharpless Auditorium. These spaces are intended to be quieter, mask-friendly environments for those who prefer a smaller, more focused setting while still participating in the event. 

This Plenary session will also feature an open mic “community comment” period, where students who have registered to speak can voice their concerns before the student body. This practice was first introduced in the Fall of 2023. 

Once quorum (attendance from 66% of the student body) has been reached and the rules of order are approved, the student body will move into presentations of the five proposed resolutions, each to be followed by debate and a vote: 

RESOLUTION #1: A Clear and Concise Constitution

Presented by: The Students’ Council Constitution Committee – Grant DeVries ’26, Emma Almo ’25, Thea Schwallie ’25, Oliver Wilson ’26, Yasmin Silva Nilsson ’26, Claire Reisberg ’27, Adam Trencher ’25, and Caroline Yao ’27

This resolution proposes a comprehensive overhaul of the Students’ Association Constitution to streamline its language, eliminate contradictions, and keep the document up-to-date with current practices. The Constitution Committee behind the resolution notes that decades of piecemeal amendments have resulted in an 86-page document with redundancy, conflicting sections, and outdated procedures—most notably, four separate and inconsistent sections outlining elections.

This resolution responds to several recent governance concerns, including confusing election timelines and instances where the Students’ Council’s actions were either not represented or inadvertently conflicted with the Constitution. According to the authors, these moments have exposed the need for a legally functional and broadly comprehensible document for the student body.

If Resolution #1 is passed, the revised Constitution will replace the existing one in its entirety, reducing its length to 34 pages and focusing on clarity and enforceability. Notably, the resolution also separates the Honor Code and Honor Council procedures into a standalone document (The Honor Code) while maintaining their constitutional authority through shared amendment procedures. The authors emphasize that this restructuring is intended to improve transparency and accessibility, ensuring that the Constitution remains a useful tool rather than a bureaucratic obstacle.

RESOLUTION #2: SEPTA UPass Resolution

Presented by: Daniel Bhatti ’25 and Santiago Melendez ’27

This resolution proposes that Haverford College join SEPTA’s University Pass (UPass) Program beginning in Fall 2025. UPass provides students unlimited access to SEPTA services, including regional rail, buses, subways, and trolleys, at a heavily subsidized cost. Swarthmore College and Bryn Mawr College, Haverford’s Tri-Co counterparts, adopted UPass for their students in Fall 2023 and Fall 2024, respectively.

Bhatti and Melendez emphasize that Haverford’s advertised proximity to Philadelphia (just 8 miles away) is a key feature of its identity and that improved access to the city supports student equity, sustainability, and career development. Philadelphia offers abundant academic and professional opportunities through internships, the Tri-Co Philly Program, and partnerships with institutions like the University of Pennsylvania. Removing transportation costs, especially for low-income students, makes these experiences more accessible.

The resolution also highlights the environmental benefits of increased public transportation usage in Philadelphia. By incentivizing students to use SEPTA rather than personal or rideshare vehicles, the College can reduce its collective carbon footprint in alignment with institutional sustainability goals. 

If passed, the resolution would implement a $60/semester transportation fee for all students during the program’s first academic year. The College would contract with the SEPTA Key® Card for an initial four-month period and reassess student usage and interest each semester. Students must purchase a one-time $4.95 SEPTA Key® card to access the benefit.

Support for the resolution has extended beyond campus. The SEPTA Youth Advisory Council has publicly encouraged Haverford students via X (formerly Twitter) to attend Plenary and support the resolution.

RESOLUTION #3: Reallocate and Raise the Nest Food Pantry’s Funds

Presented by: The Nest — Heewon Yang ’25, Keyla Ramirez ’25, Christian Castillo ’25, Valeria Heredia-Pineiro ’25, Rosa Garcia ’26, Magnolia Valdez-Lane ’27, Kriti Shahu ’27, and Barthelemy Ryumugabe ’28

This resolution calls for increased support from Haverford and long-term financial sustainability for the Nest, Haverford’s student-run food pantry that serves Liftfar-eligible students. Currently operating on a $30,000 per semester budget from Students’ Council funds, the Nest provides essential access to groceries, personal care items, and culturally relevant food. However, Students’ Council funds are only available for student use when classes are in session. Furthermore, the current structure limits the pantry’s ability to respond to rising student wages and increasing demand. After student worker wages and operational costs are deducted, only about $5 per student per week is available for food purchases.

To address these shortcomings, the resolution proposes forming a task force composed of Nest staff, Liftfar-eligible students, and relevant administrators to design a sustainable funding plan over the next six years. The task force would explore sources of institutional funding not tied to student life activities, allowing the Nest to operate year-round without reducing the Students’ Council’s existing budget. 

RESOLUTION #4: Implementation of Post-9/11 GI Benefits as Commitment to Equitable Collegiate Access

Presented by: Anna Keneally ’26

Keneally’s resolution urges Haverford to revise its current financial aid policy regarding Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, aligning it with peer institutions like Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and UPenn. Under the College’s current system, students receiving GI benefits see their Haverford Grant reduced dollar-for-dollar once those benefits exceed $500—a practice that treats this form of federal support as an “outside scholarship” and significantly limits its utility.

The resolution argues that this policy undermines the purpose of the GI Bill, which was designed to expand educational access for veterans and their families by reducing reliance on loans and out-of-pocket expenses. By reducing institutional aid proportionally to GI support, Haverford creates a financial disincentive for veterans and dependents to attend, a reality reflected in the low number of students using GI benefits at the College compared to peer schools.

The proposed change would allow eligible students to access the full value of their GI Bill benefits—up to $28,937.09—without diminishing their need-based aid packages. The resolution also points out that such a policy shift would demonstrate a more substantial institutional commitment to equity and access, particularly for low-income students and military-affiliated families, the intended beneficiaries of these federal programs.

RESOLUTION #5: Accountability Procedure for Honor Council Members

Presented by: Caroline Yao ’27, Sofie Quirk ’28, Mei-Li Mikos ’28, Eustace Ubah ’27, Katelyn Kim ’26, Fiona Pando ’25, and the Spring 2025 Honor Council

The final resolution proposes adding a formal accountability mechanism within the Honor Code to address violations committed by Honor Council members themselves. Currently, no straightforward process exists for holding council members accountable for breaching the Code, a gap that the authors argue undermines community trust and the legitimacy of the council’s work.

Because Honor Council members frequently serve closely together in high-stakes and confidential contexts, the resolution notes that existing circle and panel procedures likely present conflicts of interest if used to investigate or adjudicate member misconduct. Without an independent oversight system, any wrongdoing by Honor Council members risks going unaddressed or being handled internally, raising serious concerns about transparency and fairness.

This resolution affirms that Honor Council members, as students and elected representatives of the community, shall be held to the same standards they are tasked with upholding. It also emphasizes that any decision regarding the removal of a member should rest with the student body that elected them, preserving the democratic foundation of student self-governance.

If adopted, the resolution would amend the Honor Code to include a clear-cut procedure for investigating and acting upon violations committed by Honor Council members, strengthening the accountability framework of one of Haverford’s most central student institutions.