2015-10-02
A JCR meeting was held on the 2nd of October 2015 in the Bridgetower Room.
Those present were:
- James Troup – President, JT hereafter
- Dale Walmsley – Vice-President, DW hereafter
- Charlie O’Neill – Treasurer, CON hereafter
- Veer Goiporia – Secretary, VG hereafter
- Jacob Sen – Male Welfare, JS hereafter
- Mary Schafer – Access, MS hereafter
- Lea Benk – Green and Ethics, LB hereafter
- Bruce Collie – Webmaster, BC hereafter
- Alice Brownlow – Special Considerations, AB hereafter
- Audrey Sebatindira – Black & Ethnic Minorities, AS hereafter
- Sam P-s – LGBT+ Officer, SPS hereafter
- Sebastian Mellab – International Rep, SM hereafter
- Kate Jones – Ents, KJ hereafter
- Martin Coulter – Ents, MC hereafter
- Jennie Towler – Frep, JeT hereafter
- Dominic O’Neill – Frep, DON hereafter
Apologies from:
- Catriona Ashley Miller (Frep)
- Lily Rosengard (Women’s Officer)
- Charlotte Attwood (MCR Rep)
- Lucy Mackie (Female Welfare)
1. Fresher’s Week Preparations:
The plan for Fresher’s Week had already been created in Easter Term last year and was finalized over the summer by members of the JCR Committee. It was decided that due to the success of Fresher’s Weeks of years past, it would be senseless to make sweeping changes.
The message was that the next week would be incredibly busy so it would be more helpful if committee members stayed at Central Site so that they could help out if required during times of great business due to arriving freshers.
Some jobs that had yet to be allocated to committee members were allocated and everyone made sure they knew what their roles would be. More information would be posted as the week progressed on the Facebook group.
2. Funding for Religious and Political Societies:
LB posed the question that started an extremely interesting debate: why is it that some societies that are of a religious context but do not have any expectation for members to join that religion do not get funding, whereas someone doing something identical but without the religious connotation does?
The procedure has been that any society can apply for funding, but that it is usually at the discretion of the treasurer in this case CON to decide whether the JCR should be providing this funding. The issue comes when there is the perception that the JCR prefers one ideology over another. The JCR’s wish to remain neutral has served it extremely well thus far. It was unanimously agreed that the JCR should remain neutral when it came to specific religious or political opinions.
3. AOB:
There was no other business to be discussed.