April 23, 2025

Haverford, PA — After a contentious Spring Plenary, the President of Haverford College has officially vetoed a resolution requiring the adoption of SEPTA’s UPass Program. The resolution, introduced by YAC members Daniel Bhatti and Santiago Melendez, passed narrowly out of Plenary with a shocking 51% of the vote. The narrow margin of victory came after significant uncertainty as to whether the tution increase to help pay for UPass would be covered by financial aid.

The resolution called for a $15 per month increase in the cost of tuition for all students to help Haverford College with the price of the program. UPass would provide all access transit to all Haverford College students, anytime, anywhere during the semester. Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Colleges have already adopted the program fully and have covered the entire cost of the program.

The veto, by Haverford President Wendy Raymond, puts UPass out of the question for now. Among other reasons cited, President Raymond focused chiefly on the limited time the resolution gave for the college to budget and implement the program. While President Raymond states that “There are many compelling reasons to make public transit more accessible to Haverford Students,” she notes that there are many competing costs and priorities in the Haverford Operating Budget.

While this is not the result the YAC had hoped for, this campaign marks a turning point as the YAC continues to make its comeback in a post pandemic world. Thanks to the hard work of Daniel and Santiago, the YAC has learned much about organizing and campaigning from its work with Haverford’s student body this semester. These lessons will be applied to future endeavors as the YAC fights tirelessly to ensure every student in Southeastern Pennsylvania has access to affordable transit.

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