By Malisa Smith and Lowell West

Haverford Plenary is Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Fieldhouse. Here are the resolutions:

Creation of an HCA Cafe

Presenter: Will Harrison ’10

Summary: This resolution is a referendum for students to determine whether or not they would actively use a new café much like the one in Lunt Basement. The new café would be built in Apartment 31.

Harrison says that this resolution is basically asking the student body, “Is this something you’d like?”

Concern: Harrison acknowledges that the café may be a drain on the Students’ Council budget, but he says there is enough money for it. The referendum is meant to determine if the additional cost is worth it.

Bi-College Exchange Leadership Reforms

Presenter: James Merriam ’11

Summary: This resolution reaffirms that Bryn Mawr students can apply to be Peer Awareness Facilitators and Upper Class Advisors on the Haverford Customs Team. Merriam paired it with a resolution at Bryn Mawr’s plenary to allow Haverford students to apply for similar positions on the Bryn Mawr Customs Team, though this resolution failed.

Concern: This practice is not forbidden by the constitution, but in recent years it has fallen out of use. Merriam wants to reaffirm what is already allowed, mainly to send the message to the deans that the student body supports it. He only included PAFs and UCAs as positions Bryn Mawr students can apply to because their specific duties are less Haverford-centric.

“James Merriam has presented some controversial resolutions in the past, and I don’t think this should be counted among them,” said SC Co-President Harrison Haas ’10. “All it’s doing is clarifying the status quo.”

Merriam wrote in an e-mail, "Despite the failure of the Bryn Mawr resolution, this represents a concrete advancement of the bi-co relationship, and can only benefit future students at Haverford College."

Clearness Committee Process Modification

Presenters: Noah Lavine ’11 and Zachary Dutton ’10

Summary: This resolution would modify the section of the Haverford Constitution which deals with the Clearness Committee, an organization currently designed “to evaluate the Honor Code and its implementation and the Students’ Association and its governance,” according to the constitution. The resolution would add a component to the process that examines the Haverford community’s set of shared values as well as the Honor Code itself to see if it reflects the values of the Haverford community. In addition, the process would be changed to occur every two years, instead of every four years.

“The Honor Code itself should not be the standard by which we measure our actions because it is a reflection of our shared values, which change over time,” said the Haverpedia article. “The Honor Code expresses some of the values by which we wish to live, but the core of our community consists in the values themselves… Further, the community changes every year with the graduation of an old senior class and the matriculation of a new freshman class. Therefore, we would like clearness committees to occur every two years, rather than every four, to keep up with our changing set of shared values.”
 
Expanding the Mandate of the Council of 12

Presenters: Franklyn Cantor ’12 and Dylan Lazovik ’12

Summary: This resolution would add four Council of 12 members to the Appointments Committee as appointments assistants. Quorum for decision-making, currently at five members, would not be changed.

"The Council of 12 has twelve elected students that could help make committee work more expedient and well-thought-out,” said the Haverpedia article. “Its current mandate, though, does not allow Council members to do that."

Concern: By increasing the number of members on the committee, quorum can be reached more easily. As it currently stands, five out of the seven members on each committee have to be present to reach quorum. Under Cantor’s proposal, Appointments would be expanded, but the required number of members for quorum would remain the same.

Revisions to the Alcohol Policy

Presenters: Ryan Fackler ’11 and Jennifer Zelnick ’12

Summary: This resolution would change the wording of the alcohol policy to provide a more imperative feel.

“Many phrases are currently suggestive, for example, ‘should accept responsibility.’ This would be changed to, ‘are responsible,’” Fackler said. “For the most part content is the same. We are expanding on what we have… It doesn’t mean that if one of your friends goes to the hospital you’ve violated the Honor Code… We’re not putting in clauses for punishment.”

Alleviate Academic Burdens during the High Holidays

Presenters: Nathan Karnovsky ’12 and Dylan Lazovik ’12

Summary: The resolution would submit a plea to the administration not to have tests or essays due on or immediately after the High Holidays, or to have field trips or TA sessions during the holidays. The resolution is open to amendments from other faiths.

Concern: This resolution addresses a perceived academic disadvantage for Jewish students after the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur where they are forced to catch up on work that would have been due on or immediately after those days.

 “In my experience, it’s a pretty big academic hassle to go around asking teachers [about extensions],” Karnovsky said. “It’s hard to keep reminding them and keep track, and there is a back-load of work. I don’t want to be the only person in class who hasn’t written my essay.”

“Assigning work on the day or the day after a high holiday not only creates an academic disadvantage, it also makes it harder to celebrate the holiday itself and engage in the spiritual experience,” he wrote in an e-mail. “Numerous times in my academic life, I’ve had to do homework while fasting on Yom Kippur.”

Moving Haverford’s Polling Place

Presenter: Dan Kent ’11

Summary: The ratification of this resolution would mean Students’ Council would form a group to attempt to change the local precinct’s polling location from Cooperstown Elementary School to Haverford.

Concern: The majority of precinct voters are from Haverford College, yet voting still occurs at the elementary school. While this may be a welcome change for Haverfordians, some Republican members of the Election Board oppose the idea.

Constitutional Clarity

Presenters: Dan Kent ’11 and Will Harrison ’10

Summary: This resolution modifies several elements of the constitution. It dissolves the requirement that whenever a revision of the constitution occurs, all students have to be given a handheld copy of the new constitution within one month. It also moves Honor Council Secretaries’ elections from January to December. In addition, it applies the multicultural jury requirement from last spring’s plenary to all types of Honor Council Trials. Some other changes include typo corrections and requiring Students’ Council Vice Presidents to release a report on appointed positions every year rather than whenever they want.

Concern: The paper constitution distribution is seen as a waste of resources. Moving Honor Council Secretary elections allows juries to go forward without having to wait an extra six weeks. Last year’s multicultural jury resolution simply overlooked non-standard trials such as student facilitation panels and joint trials with the deans, and only included social and academic trials. This resolution ties the loose ends. In the past, Vice Presidents have not released any reports whatsoever on appointed positions.

To Provide Guidelines on General Dining Center Etiquette, with a Nod to the Exemplars of Aisle Passing, and Also Taco Day Olive-Taking Procedure

Presenters: Andrew Lipstein ’10, Christian Rice ’10, Jake Ralston ’10 and Joshua Mikutis ’10

Summary: The main goal of this resolution is to end the practice of students on the right side of the DC leaning forward (but not actually moving in their chairs) when another student is traveling between tables. In order to make the Dining Center run more smoothly, students would pledge under the resolution to either actually move in their chairs or do nothing at all to demonstrate their apathy. In addition, students would be encouraged to take full scoops of olives instead of taking olives one at a time.

“I think they’re just trying to get people to be more courteous and think about the way they behave in the DC,” said SC Co-President Harrison Haas ’10. “To be honest, I did assume they were joking at first… I think there could perhaps be better ways of accomplishing what they’re trying to accomplish, rather than taking away from the set time designated for other resolutions that could benefit from wide discussion.”

Andrew Lipstein ’10 wrote in an email, "The resolution is being presented at plenary because the sponsors want to see something changed in our community. It is no more or less valid than any resolution, as it is sponsored by students for students, as any resolution is. The resolution asks for change and offers a suggestion to the campus, and we leave that decision in the hands of the college.”

–With contributions from Robin Riskin

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