On April 7, 2024, the Student Government Association will hold the first Plenary with an in-person quorum requirement since the pandemic.
The change to Spring Plenary is to be announced to the general student body later this week. The Bi-Co News was notified of this decision on Wednesday by SGA President Bryn Osborne ’24 and incoming SGA President Cole Churchill ’25.
This decision comes as rumors about a resolution calling for Bryn Mawr College to vocally support an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire spread across campus. Haverford College recently held an Emergency Plenary to discuss a similar resolution, which was disqualified after it failed to reach quorum on a technicality.
“With the nature of these resolutions, it is important that we come together in the spirit of the Social Honor Code and have a face-to-face discussion about these proposals,” said Bryn Osborne. “In the past, when we’ve had virtual plenary, there’s been a lack of awareness around Plenary and the resolutions. We feel, given the nature of this upcoming resolution, it was important to come together as a community in a significant way”.
In order to reach quorum, 1/3 of the student body —approximately 400 students— must be present at Plenary, either physically or over Zoom. Masks will be mandatory and freely provided by SGA for anyone attending in person, and students will be encouraged to socially distance where possible. Voting will still be done online.
In addition to voting on Plenary resolutions, Spring Plenary is also when the Honor Code is ratified. If quorum is not met in April, the Honor Code will be suspended, meaning the privileges it provides to students will temporarily cease. Last Spring, Haverford failed to meet quorum at their Spring Plenary, resulting in the immediate suspension of the Honor Code and a Special Plenary held a few weeks later.
Osborne and Churchill explained that the desire to reaffirm the Honor Code was another factor that led to the decision to do Plenary in person: “Having people show up to vote on the Honor Code confirms to students and especially to admin that the Honor Code is still a core value of the Bryn Mawr College community”
While SGA doesn’t anticipate a return to fully in-person Plenary at any point in the future, they are hopeful that the hybrid model will encourage students to be more actively participatory in the Plenary process.
“The goal of plenary is not to pass something and have SGA implement it, but to come together and make sure the resolution is put into practice. Plenary is supposed to be a community space. Students should feel like they have a stake in what they’re fighting for. I think a lot of people feel that plenary is ineffective. It’s a catch-22. People don’t come to plenary because they feel that it’s not effective, but it’s not effective because people don’t come out” Osborne explained. “Especially when it comes to putting pressure on admin. It’s not as effective to have SGA be the only ones putting the pressure on them. We need that community engagement.” She added.
Plenary workshops will become available after Spring Break. Rep-Co Plenary will take place the month before the general Plenary in April. SGA asks that any questions be directed to sga@brynmawr.edu.
