On Thursday, November 13, 2025, Franklin & Marshall’s 18th Diplomatic Congress held its weekly meeting. The meeting began at 7:33 p.m.
After roll call, Student Labour Co-Chair Max Casale was confirmed onto the board, promising to uphold the duties of a Diplomatic Congress member.
Protest Tree Revisited
In the absence of guest speaker Leslie Davidson, the congress moved on to review the Committee on Equitable and Inclusive Practices’s forthcoming set of rules regarding F&M’s Protest Tree. For over a century, the “Protest Tree” has been a sacred tradition on campus, although the dedicated tree has changed. The policy draft aimed to maintain the integrity of the tree, without spreading hate speech. It explained:
“Franklin & Marshall encourages the free expression and exchange of ideas. For our campus community, the Protest Tree is a consistent resource for such expression and a fixture in its broader intellectual identity and development. We strive to assure agreement with our institutional commitment to the free expression of ideas, as described in the College’s Statement on Freedom of Expression.”
Each Congress member was given access to the document to leave comments with potential amendments to the policy. The margins of the document quickly filled up with comments from concerned members. Some took issue with the surveillance of the tree, with clauses reserving the tree for students and faculty, rather than outside Lancaster community members. First generation Diplomats Agency Head, Konstantinos Ntakoulas ‘26, suggested that guidelines be placed on what is being posted on the tree, rather than who is posting it. “Their concerns are probably our concerns,” he stated. Vice President of the Congress and Student Body, Kiernan Keller ‘26, took a different stance, explaining that historically, the tree was used for internal, school-related issues. He argued that Lancastrians often misuse the tree, either posting on it for advertising purposes or with intentions to fearmonger. Still, Keller offered to workshop ideas, saying he was “happy to talk more about that.”
Other concerns involved the rule that prohibited protesters from using tacks, only allowing them to attach papers to the tree with tape. This idea, unanimously, was regarded as ridiculous, with many noting that papers would fly off the bark. Meanwhile, the trunk is already punctured with tacks, one student even noting, “That’s smaller than a hole that a bird would make in a tree.”
The final concern was one with the mentioning of staff members by name. While the congress agreed that specific staff should remain unnamed, many students regarded that positional titles (the example given being “President”) would call out specific people regardless. The discussion section ended with a comment from College Entertainment Committee Representative Hildy Wicks ‘28, who said, “If we are going to monitor who on staff is named on the tree, we need to have a more effective way for the student body to communicate their concerns, specifically with staff members to the administration.” The congress responded with undivided murmurs of agreement.
Subjects for Senior Staff
Congress and Student Body President Caroline Riegel ‘26 opened the discussion of concerns that the congress wished for her to address at the Senior Staff Meeting on November 14, the following day.
Congress members called for a discussion concerning the campus lice outbreak, pointing out the lack of communication on the subject from administration.
Class of 2026 Senator Morgan Reese, also a House Advisor in Brooks College House, told the congress that she had residents who were being turned away from the Student Wellness Center. Staff at the Center, allegedly, told students that they had been thinking about the outbreak and felt itchy subsequently. However, she is sure that some of said residents did, in fact, have lice. It was later explained that the turning away of students was due to a staffing issue. Still, students looking to be checked would have to spend extra money at a clinic like Lice Lift. Reese suggested that the college hold a drop-in check at each college house, in a private location to avoid the stigma surrounding lice.
Another area of concern was the circulation of rumors surrounding a “Campus Stalker.” WGAL reported on the issue, which exacerbated speculation in the F&M community. Students and faculty in attendance pointed out that the reporters should not have been allowed in student spaces. The rumors began with a Reddit post, which the college has identified as a non-student.
Finally, DipCon addressed the most pressing issue: the power outage that shook campus earlier that week. Students residing in the Roschel College House lost complete power, and were asked to relocate until the power was restored. The Congress discussed comments left on various Facebook groups suggesting that Roschelians, who were once offered rooms at the Lancaster Marriott, were ultimately lied to. In truth, the college had reserved a certain number of Marriott rooms to act as a last resort. First, students were asked to find other accommodations, in other dorms, at College Row, or other off-campus locations. Locals were urged to go home for the weekend. If they could not find somewhere to relocate, students were told to meet at the Lombardo Welcome Center. Here, staff members worked to find a place for them to stay.
Following the outage, posters were placed around the Dining Hall, imploring students to study there during the “Next Power Outage.” The congress talked about the poor taste of these messages. “They were up Monday morning!” expressed Club Affairs Board Representative, Christian Accardi ’27. Members also chewed over the confusing times posted regarding the Catering Suite. Were the new hours of operation only true in the case of another power outage, or would the room be open daily?
Congress members noticed that the way the college handled the power outage felt overexaggerated, as if the event were something apocalyptic. The discussion became one about communication. Members asked why F&M’s social media covered the power outage so much. They questioned why was this something that the institution felt the need to advertise. Many believed the situation was overcommunicated. Meanwhile, as the congress pointed out, other issues on campus were being severely undercommunicated. One congress member explained that he would rather overcommunication, if it’s honest. Another suggested that all information regarding the school come from one email/account.
Campus Happenings
Finally, the congress opened up to club/organization representatives. International Student Advisory Board, Sexuality & Gender Alliance, and African Caribbean Association all reported that their recent events were a success! First Gen Dips shared that they will be hosting a Self-Care Kit event to kick off finals week. It will be held in the Ware Great Room on December 4th.
Deserving Dips
The meeting came to a close with “Deserving Dips,” where members of the Congress were recognized for upholding the pillars of the committee. This week’s recipients were recognized for all of the values of the Diplomatic Congress.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m.
Freshman Sarah Henches ‘29 is a Contributing Writer. Her email is shenches@fandm.edu