Note: This article has been continually updated since the morning of February 19th.
On the morning of February 19, the Haverford College Students’ Council Co-Presidents Maria Reyes Pacheco and Jorge Paz Reyes sent an email campus-wide, introducing a new plenary resolution which proposes that the college, its peer institutions, and the local Philadelphia and Pennsylvania governments support an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.” The resolution was created and proposed by the Students’ Council, and co-sponsored by the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the Jewish Student Union (JSU), and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
Their message began, “As Students’ Council, we see it as our responsibility to support the issues that are important to the student body … We believe that we cannot ignore so much pain and loss as humans and a generation. Furthermore, we believe that as a student body, we have the collective influence to stand for values of anti-militarism, care, and peace which our community shares.”
In order to take action as soon as possible, Students’ Council is calling for an Emergency Plenary, or “Further Plenary,” a measure outlined in Article IV; Section 4.02, J of the Students’ Association Constitution. In order for such a plenary to be held, at least 40% of the student body, or 537 students, need to sign a petition put forward by the Students’ Council Co-Presidents. If the petition should reach the required number of signatures, a quorum of 75% of the student body would be needed at the Emergency Plenary. As of 8 PM on the evening of February 19th, less than 12 hours after the petition was sent out, it has amassed 370 signatures, almost 70% of the required number.
Because an in-person plenary requires extensive organization and logistical work, this Emergency plenary would be held over 2-4 days in a hybrid mode, incorporating asynchronous voting and in-person “Plenary Town Halls,” the latter of which would include the traditional Q&A sections, along with Pro/Con debates and the opportunity for amendment proposals. “Our goal,” the Co-Presidents wrote, “is to make this as accessible as possible while still retaining the key elements required for Plenary Procedure.”
A potential timeline was attached to the email, outlining important dates and procedural elements of the process, shown here. Notably, the Emergency Plenary would be held from February 29 to March 3rd, giving the petition 9 days to accrue the signatures needed. After 3 days of voting, the resolution would be sent to President Wendy Raymond for approval.
This resolution comes after months of continuous Bi-Co student activism, ranging from walk-outs to teach-ins to sit-ins. Student organizations at Haverford have, at rallies and protests of this kind, always referenced Haverford’s Quaker roots, reminding attendees and the campus at large that at its core, the college stands for peace. In fact, President Raymond and the Deans of the college have consistently held Candlelit peace vigils at Founders Hall as the devastating effects of the conflict continues.
The resolution lists statistics from the war-zone, stating, “the violence in Gaza and Israel since October 7, 2023 has resulted in the deaths of more than 26,700 Palestinians, more than 1,200 Israelis, and the taking of at least 250 Israeli hostages and the apprehension of an additional 5000 Palestinian civilians.” Further, the resolution emphasizes the role of the United States in “financing armed violence” in the region, and, by extension, Haverford College’s role as a US institution in a democratic country to voice concerns regarding violent acts aided by the government.
Importantly, the Co-Presidents wrote to the student body that they have “heard feedback from Chabad, SJP, and HSP, [and] have drafted a resolution that [they] believe allows for a direct call to a permanent and immediate ceasefire in Gaza while taking into account the many perspectives on the matter at hand.” This is a crucial element of the resolution, as much of the tension on both Haverford and Bryn Mawr’s campuses since October 7 has centered around a disagreement between communities regarding the best course of action in the conflict, and the use of certain rhetoric around the issue, especially in terms of whether calls for action from the college have included or excluded mentions of the effects on both Israelis and Palestinians. This resolution seeks not to divide our community, but to unite it. The resolution’s preamble concludes, “the hope is that this common ground unifies us as a student body to continue advocating for the causes that matter and improving the world we live in for generations to come.”
Questions from the Bi-Co News regarding the tone of feedback from Chabad House, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Haverford Students for Peace (HSP) prompted a written response from the Co-Presidents, who wished their answer to be printed in full. They wrote: “Before going forward with a ceasefire plan we wanted to confirm that this was something the community wanted. So from the beginning of this semester and till now we have been in communication with representatives from the Muslim Student Association, Jewish Student Union, Haverford Students for Peace/Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and Chabad House. At the end only MSA, JSU and JVP ended up signing as co-sponsors.
In terms of the individual conversations with the stakeholders, each representative advocated for the needs and desires of their community members. One of our main goals of this process is to find unity in the Quaker values of peace and anti-militarism and we knew that in order to achieve that we needed to present a clear and straightforward resolution. For some of the stakeholders the current text of the resolution did not reflect all of their values to the fullest thus they decided not to co-sponsor it. That was the case specifically for Haverford Students for Peace and we absolutely understood that, but were still encouraged by their general support. In terms of Chabad, the initial conversation of a ceasefire resolution was received well and their initial feedback reflected their concerns relating to the specific language of the resolution. However, after their first feedback we did not receive any further responses. We understand this matter is a hard one to discuss overall, so we are truly grateful for all the trust that each of the community representatives placed in us. We have also informed Chabad and other students that they have the chance to propose amendments during the Emergency Plenary process.”
It would seem, however, that the conversation between resolution writers and Chabad House did not come to a satisfactory conclusion for the latter. A response from the Chabad House Student Board was sent to the Haverford Community later on the evening of February 19th through their “Chai Bot,” a texting function which allows the organization to reach students who have signed up to the service, stating that they encourage students to “abstain from this process,” and further asserting that it is a process which will “not unify the Haverford community.” The board wrote that though the resolution writers did hear feedback from multiple community groups including themselves, they disagree with the characterization that the draft resolution “tak[es] into account the many perspectives on the matter at hand.” Instead, the board asserted, the resolution does not reflect “Chabad’s perspective on Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza … the proposed resolution does not address Chabad’s concerns or account for them.” The communication continues by suggesting that the resolution “equates the tragic and unintended deaths of civilians during Israel’s campaign to free Gaza from the Hamas terrorist regime with Hamas’ atrocious October 7 attack intentionally targeting civilians.” The board concluded by stating that “Chabad is committed to offer positive Jewish programming with love, learning, and volunteering opportunities. We will remain focused in our mission and don’t plan to further engage with this matter.”
When asked for comment on Chabad’s response to the resolution, the Co-Presidents wrote, “We find Chabad’s message to their community unfortunate. We understand that this is a really difficult topic to talk about and that is why we tried to hear it beforehand. If they had let us know that they were going to boycott the emergency plenary process, the resolution and this process might have looked different. However, we did not receive any feedback of this kind. We are still grateful to two representatives of the Chabad Board that met with us. Now we are just disheartened that they are shutting down the dialogue before it hasn’t even started. In terms of the text of the resolution, community members will have the ability to suggest amendments which will then be voted on by the entire student body. That is why it is so important that students engage with this process which is grounded in the Haverfordian values of discussion and community.”
So what happens if the petition fails to gain 537 signatures? Will the resolution be reintroduced at Spring Plenary on March 24th? The Co-Presidents write, “Yesterday during our General Students’ Council Meeting the Vice-Presidents brought a similar question regarding our next steps if the resolution doesn’t pass. We see this process as a fundamental part of Haverford’s shared governance system and regardless of the resolution’s outcome we know that it will encourage students to engage with the hard reality of violence that is happening right in front of us. If the Emergency Plenary does not go through, Students’ Council will not resubmit the resolution through regular Plenary on March 24. It will be up to individual students and campus organizations to resubmit the resolution through regular plenary if they wish, however given how the situation is unfolding in the region we fear it may be too late by then which is why we are pushing for this resolution to go through an Emergency Plenary.”
The Co-Presidents also wished to emphasize their openness to continued conversations, citing their office hours from 6-7PM on Tuesdays at the Dining Center’s Smith Room as an opportunity for voicing questions or concerns.
