Balliol JCR Minutes: 2007
Committee Lunches
Committee Lunch - 0th Week Hilary Term, 11th January 2007
Initials:
AM – Andy Mason (President)
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JH – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas) CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
AM Does anyone have anything for the agenda?
IB Pantry.
JE Will did.
AM Before we talk about things on the agenda, we’ll have questions to officers.
KM Anyone who does welfare things, does anyone mind if I put your details on the website for people to contact you? [silence]. Good.
MB When are cooptions?
AM Cooptions will be a week on Monday. We will be coopting D&M, LGBT, Ethnic minorities, Pilch technician and Drama society secretary.There’ll be more info in the next few days. Any more q’s?
JE Are we co-opting anyone else for entz committee?
AM Sorry I checked and it turns out you only get 2.
IB You can change that in a GM.
AM And it would only have to go through once.
AM I have a q for nicki – the bar was rammed. There was no-where to have a quiet pint!
AM Moving onto the agenda - there’s a small section on the website for details of officer positions, if you want to write a description of what your position does and email them to IB. It’ll only take a few minutes.
AM The next thing for me is the cleanliness of the JCR. A lot of things last year ended in me having to clean up. I wasn’t particularly happy, especially when someone pissed in the bin. Eww!The environmental officer used to put up posters asking people to treat the room with respect. It would be good if we could do this again. Who wants to help Sam make posters?
HL I will.
TWS Do they make any difference?
AM Yeah, especially because people finally realise we have a cleaner. A small Chinese girl who comes in and works for 5 hours before going to Brookes to do a degree.
KM Put her name on the poster.
AM That’ll just freak her out! Whenever you’re all in the JCR can you help do your bit.Anymore q’s on that? Nope? Good.
AM Would you like to talk about Louis, Ian?
IB At the end of last term we decided to set up a ser vice committee to do what PISS did, especially to stop pantry making a loss. Louis is resigning from 30th of jan. We have to think about what to do with pantry dinner in light of this. Foodies were looking at doing specialist nights, they might need to change that.
MB Why’s Louis resigning?
IB Don’t know – personal reasons.
TG We were talking to Louis last night, he was really positive. He was going to help plan and stuff. Shocking revelations.
IB We might need to hire a new cook. But if we do it’s ridiculous if a few weeks down the line we close pantry dinners and make them redundant.
BB We should probably decide what’s going to happen sooner rather than later so everyone knows where they stand.
AM Can service com. meet at Saturday 2pm?
NH Can’t – football.
AM Before the GM – no? AM Saturday morning before 11? We’ll send out emails to confirm. We could have a motion at the GM to discuss where we want to go in principle with this. We can’t decide now as we don’t know enough. Does this seem like a wise move?
KM You’ll have to be carefull how things are worded in the motion so it doesn’t end up that just everyone wants their individual opinion added.
IB And pantry staff would probably want to be informed. We should tell staff what’s happening first rather than just saying “we’re closing pantry” out of the blue.
AM Anything else?
DM We discussed this in services com., but for those that weren’t there – we want to buy a smart till so we have some sense of stock control and what is being sold in pantry.
TG (Like the bar does).
DM But that’ll cost about £300 so it’ll have to go through a GM.
MB On the subject of stock control. Henri and I tried to do an audit last year. We found that whilst the bar can work out how many pints from a barrel it’s hard to work out how much of some things we use - like margarine. Also lots gets thrown away.
KM Wouldn’t a stock control help reduce wastage. Only make what you need?
AM We’ll discuss in services com.
NH We need to get something for Louis.
AM Good point.
AM Shall we move onto your cryptic one, John?
JE Yeah, but I don’t know if I can sell it. WS wants to have £20 to buy chains to make a cage for bops. I can’t really sell the idea, I’m gonna have to let him sell it.
AM What sort of cage?
JE One for dancing in.
KM My memory is WS wants to have one on a table.
AM Can I suggest we talk about this next week when WS is here to explain. There’s only one bop between now and then. Anthing else?
MB Bop clearup? AM Good point – we made a list of who cleaned up the last bop. People who didn’t clean up last bop can expect an email asking them to clean up this one. There’s really no excuse not to turn up, it only takes about 20 minutes if everyone’s there.
HL And Entz can you try and make it a bit easier for us to clear up?
KM Can Entz make sure everyone knows where bin bags and hoovers and stuff are?
NH If you knock on the bar and shout bin bags I’ll open.
IB Can everyone submit an officers report. Ank andy if you need help writing one.
AR Can they include things that you haven’t done yet?
AM Yeah, that might be helpful for everyone in the JCR. Anything else?
NH Whats happening with the termcard?
AM It was Jack’s recommendation that we don’t print one – we still could but it’ll cost £100.
NH Can we have one at least put up in the JCR?
AM Yes?
IM Also they changed and get updated so things get scribbled out and added. I don’t know how useful people actually find a printed copy.
AM We definately ought to have a large one in the JCR. We’ll use a noticeboard. Watch this space.
RC If you want to decorate your board is there stuff in the office.
AM There is some stuff available. If you buy things yourself bring receipts to the office and you can get your money back. Come and talk to me if you’re not sure if you have a board or where it is. Anything else? Wow. Super quick and super productive!
Committee Lunch – 1st Week Hilary Term, 15th January 2007
AM Ok guys. Welsome. There’s a copy of the questionnaire for everyone. Check for holes. Tell us if anything’s missing or worded badly
RW I propose changing the erdinger beer tap
AM I agree – it tastes horrible.
NH We’ll talk about it privately – It’s really controversial.
AM Any qs to officers? No? good. I’ve had apologies from JH, BB, HL, MB.
AM The 1st item on the agenda is to talk about hustings. Last term there was a motion passed asking committee to decide how to improve hustings.
IB PT brought the original motion suggesting moving the important positions to the beginning. There are no rules on husting in standing orders. Last time JH tried to disallow long questions but I think the best thing is for committee to come up with ideas.
AM If anyone has any ideas, if you could let me know now
AM Welcome SX! SX is the MCR rep. This is like the first time the MCR rep has come to a JCR meeting in forever.
KM There could be some means of stopping actiuvity questions like running around.
NE Activity questions could be passed in a motion before.
TWS Can we just split it between 2 days. Important ones on one day and then fun ones on another
AM What do we think about that?
KM Are the fun ones committee?
AM Sometimes, yeah.
HM It takes so long because we do non-committee first. Lets just do them on a separate day.
AM We could put JdeB at the end of non-committee to encourage people to come.
KM Or Entz as well.
RS We don’t need them on consecutive nights. No-one will come 2 days in a row.
IB But they should be in the same week so it’s not ages between hustings and elections.
NH For uncontested posts could we submit questions in advance so we don’t waste time asking stupid questions. AM But if there’s only one person going for something like treasurer they will be grilled.
IB I don’t think people waste time that much. Once people see that they really need to get through everything.
AM I think we need to avoid compression of time as we go through. What do people think about splitting it between days.
AS Brilliant.
JP A 2 day split would be best. You wouldn’t need to limit times. You’d still be able to ask questions effectively. It doesn’t even have to be in the evenings.
KM Instead of splitting it by committee you could just split the bigger committee posts onto a separate day.
AM Who’s in support of a split? [hand vote] Lets have a split then. Should we split the big posts, or split by committee.
AS People will always turn up to the big posts aand having everything else means that theres fun stuff on the other night
TG Maybe have some fun ones with the big posts so that people bother to come.
JB Since a lot of people go to JdeB and Entz why not have those on separate nights.
SB We should make sure theres a variety of posts on each day. But I don’t think we should categorise posts as either important or not important otherwise people will just walk out.
AR I think either system will work because people realise that the big posts really are important and people will always stay for them.
IB There’s far more posts seen as not fun and not important so some fun ones should be put in there so there’s some relief. More posts shouuld be added to the big posts.
WS Could we not just start hustings earlier.
AM It’s already started quite early, about 7. If we have it earlier people will miss it if they eat in hall.
NE Do we have any info as to how long various blocks of husts lasted?
AS It wasn’t just about when it finished, also how long it took.
JE If we’re going to split it, the fun of hustings was about the mood of the night. We don’t want to mix hustings which should be serious when everyone is not in the mood. There should be a night of fun hustings and then a completely separate night when there is a serious mood. They shouldn’t be mixed.
KM Why not mix the important and ‘not’ important posts and then publish lists so people can decide which one’s to come to. AM Who’s in favour of splitting between fun and not? Not many.
JE The big, serious posts should be on a separate night.
AM Who thinks that the serious ones should be kept on a night of there own, president, treasurer…etc. Quite a lot. So we should probably move in thatt direction.And in the first day do you think we should just mingle things up.
WS If you’re going to have a non-com. day why not have Entz and JdeB at the end of the night as a finale.
HM Why not randomly mix it up, it would be raelly trippy.
AM But then everyone would have to be ready all the time.
WS Why not do the draw before hand.
KM Then people will just come to the ones they want to and will ignore the others.
AM I agree with KM
SB I think too often there’s just a whole series of posts that no-one goes to. I think by mixing them up you’d just have more consistent numbers attending.
AM Who’s in favour of big and rest splitting? 12. Who’s in favour of random mix? 6. How about we move with the first way and then if it still doesn’t work lets bring a motion to have a look of the other way.
NH Whatever ends up in the small-post day, why not have them put in a random order.
AM But in principle let’s move with the first model (Splitting big posts from the rest). Big posts will probably include: President, Sec, Treas, LL, VP, Foody.
JP Maybe charities as well, it’s a serious position.
AS Foody can be fun, maybe put entz in as well to make it more fun.
KM People care about treas, LL, foody…
IB People will always turn up to the important positions
AM There’s not a lot of people who leave once we get to important positions. But lets put JdeB at the end of the non-important day and Entz somewhere in the middle.
AM Let’s move on to…money. The services questionnaire reqs a prize. I want to pass expenditure to buy a prize for the winner of the draw.
IB It’s the longest questionnaire done in a long time, I think it will need a prize to get people to complete it. AM We passed £50 for fresher questionnaires. Maybe £30.
KM How important is this in terms on the fresher q?
AM About 3/5(!) It’s hard to qualify.
WS Why not vouchers?
AM OK HMV vouchers.
TG Are we giving one big prize or small prizes?
JE Could we have pantry or bar credit as a prize?
AM We can’t do tabs in the bar. It’s a college thing. But we could in pantry, and it costs us less.
WS Maybe just give away sandwiches.
TWS Why not just give the cash. Then they can spend it on what they want.
AM That’s what we do for the fresher’s one.
IB I think there’s more of an incentive with cash.
KM How many prizes?
IB I think 3.
AM OK 3 10 prizes. Any objections? Noo. Then it’s passed.
AM If you’re on committee you’re mandated to attend GMs. This is not a trivial matter, it’s why people elect you. There were a few people who still didn’t attend. And some of you didn’t clean up after the bop. Poor show guys. But for those who did turn up, Maureen was very pleased, well done to the foodies in particular.
NE If anyone enjoys cleaning up, I’ve been asked to do a ball swap with Exeter. You go to half the ball for free then do some duties and help them clean up at the end. If anyone’s interested let me know.
AM I’ll note these people.
IB Those of you who are on sports teams, SB has a request for a plac eto store kits. It needs to be somewhere secure and people in Cowley they can’t drag them home each time.
WS I’ve commandeered a cupboard for Djing stuff. You’re welcome to use that. I need to get a lock put on the door.
AM I’ll talk to Carl W about that. JB Can’t we use the storage rooms?
AM No. We tried before, all sorts of hilarity ensued. Some people are just bad.
HM As an item of agenda – mike and I need 3 -£5 to buy stars for the JdeB film night. We’re going to be awarding stars for people who drink certain amounts.
AM We only need to pass extraordinary expenses. But are their any objections?
AM Back to the kit storage problem. Why can noone put them in their rooms in college?
DM We’re not trusted not to steal them
NH And different people use them each week. Different teams sometimes.
KM MMP used to put the kit in lockers. Why not use them.
AM That’s in the TV room, I’m not sure how far the locked-cupboard idea got with college.
IB Kits are colleges property, therefore keeping them secure is in colleges interested.
WS Entz are planning to build a cage. We think it’ll cost between 102 and 103 pounds. We thought we should pass this money before building it. We think this cage could be useful in the future including the bop we had last Sunday. Can we have your money, please?
IB We have to pass it now or else MB won’t be able to afford to eat. As a general thing though, we can’t really pass retrospective extraordinary expenditure. Lets pass in advance in future.
AM Any objections to passing 102-103 for the cage?
WS Which will be build instantaneously when the motion’s passed.
AM Is there still lots of money in the Entz account.
IB Don’t know, Denise didn’t give me figures because she’s ill.
JB Doesn’t this have to go through a GM?
AM No, it’s below the limit.
Any objection to passing the money
WS Can we minute the cage as being the super sick cage.
AM Any further objections? Then the money is passed.
JP RC and I are planning to create a charity sub-com. This may involve people on com. Doing ethics and welfare stuff. Does it have to go through a GM or can RC and I do it ourselves.
AM You can gather a group and call it the sub-com. If you want it official you need to bring a motion to add it to the standing orders. You won’t be able to pass money without changing the constitution though.
HM Do your job, you don’t need a group. This is like the Welsh assembly. Devolution!
KM More people can help do things like the auction.
KM Does welfare have a budget.
IB Yes, don’t know how much.
KM We’re going to spend 14 hours doing the housing ballot. We would like biscuits and pizza.
AM When I was a fresher i did the housing ballot. It took 8 hours. We didn’t have pizza. And I came 4th last in the ballot. It was the worst room ballot ever!
IB You do have a budget though, I’ll find out about it for you.
SB Can I add a question to the survey about recycling so I don’t have to do my own. It will be about people’s awareness of recycling in peoples rooms. Then if the system turns out to be a success I can use this with CW to try and expand the system.
IB Yeah, send me the question, does anyone else have improvements?
TG When I got to the Entz section of the questionnaire I found I didn’t have any ideas. If you want more responses you might want it to make it more easy to answer.
WS If you have no ideas then we don’t need any answers.
NE For second years living out. We may like the services the JCR offers but even so might not use them.
IB We do ask where people live so we could break the results down if we needed to.
AM Anything else?
IB Can you please send me descriptions of your jobs
KM Do we have to?
IB It would be better.
WS Is there a word limit?
AM It’ll only take a few miunutes.
AM AOB? Nope, thanks that’s been really productive.
Committee Lunch - 2nd Week Hilary Term, 22nd January 2007
Initials:
AM – Andy Mason (President)
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JH – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
AM There’s not a lot on the agenda, is there anything people wanted to talk over?
DM We think we’re going to get a panini machine, just so everyone knows. It’s being rented at something like £1.80 per week.
AM Anything else?
SB I wondered historically how the can bin in the JCR is emptied?
AM I’m not sure, but Maureen would know.
SB I mean, it’s really big and heavy, though I am really strong. I’ll ask Maureen though.
**INTERLUDE FOR HUSTINGS**
AM The first agenda item I want to talk about is noticeboards. If you have a noticeboard which you’ve not redecorated yet please do it as soon as you can. The next thing is the cage, what’s going on with that?
WS Yeah, I’ll talk to the gardeners and see if I can find somewhere to put it.
AM Whats happening with the NUS cards?
JE The cards we have are useless, according to the NUS guy, but theres forms for a proper card in a file on my board.
AM Can AS and JE circulate the cards we have as well as forms for the proper cards.
JE We didn’t want to put them in pidges cause they’d end up in the bin.
RS Then can you send out a misc list note to tell people that the forms are available.
AM Can you at least pidge around the NUS democracy ones? IB, you had something to say about the website.
IB Can I have up to £65 to renew the website hosting? If you say no I’ll cry.
AM Any objections or discussion?
WS Is ballioljcr.org the best domain name, or could we get something better like BJ.com
AM Any more points of debate? MB Do we know that £65 pays for the right server?
IB I’ll put it on the lost volume hosting for £25, then I’ll upgrade it later for £40 if I need to.
AM Any objections to passing the money? No? Then it is passed.
AM Again, take a few moments to write an officer description, and email them to IB.
AM On the 6th Feb it’s the first charity meal in hall. As normal, the JCR committee will be providing 10-11 volunteers to help serve. Can anyone who’d be happy to help raise their hands now.
AM Anything else?
KM On Thursday in the afternoon we need people to help with the room ballot. We don’t know when it’ll be yet but anyone who may be free to draw names out of a hat can you let me know.
AM Anymore?
MB We need to show welfare our new JdeB. Also, on the John de Labial ballot box there’s a padlock. Does anyone in the upper echelons of the committee know where I could find a key for this. [resounding no]
AM I suggest we pass £5 for MB to buy a new padlock. Any objections? No? then that’s passed.
AM One more thing. On Saturday there’s going to be another bop. So there’ll be another email asking for people to help clean. Please, if you’re on the list, make sure you turn up.
AM Tom?
TG In services comm we discussed a pantry cleaning rota. If we do that can me and DM be down for the next one?
AM Anything else anyone wants to raise.
NH Burns night Friday in the bar! Come!
Committee Lunch – 3rd Week Hilary Term, 29th January 2007
Initials:
AM – Andy Mason (President)
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JH – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
AM Some of you late arriving at GM, some late. Important to get them started asap, you will lose cohesion. Please try and arrive promptly
IB Louis is leaving as of the 31st, and its usual to get a leaving present partic as he’s been here for about 6 years so I want to pass money . Suggestion fronm denise, buy a watch. Any stylish people want to help me?
HL Usual £10 for year
IB Happy with up to £50?
RC Card?
HL Yep we’ll leave it in Ian’s pigeonhole.
IB I’ll email, and people can sign it.
AM Confusion re. Officers reports. Number 1 you need to submit every week, keep your eye on your inbox for when Jack tells you they are open and closed. Will only take a few minutes. Looks terrible if there aren’t any. Jack will make humorous officers reports up for those who don’t submit them on time. Lots of people are submitting them to him rather than doing it online. Logon to ballioljcr.org/admin. Follow the instructions, left hand side menu. “Submit officers report”. Any questions? None
RW What if there is nothing to report?
AM Try to make sure there aren’t any weeks in which you have nothing to report. Try to be proactive.
TWS If you have nothings, then you’re waiting for some things.
RS Can say I communicated with Shaun
TWS Never sends me the email address
AM Make your noticeboards look lovely and beautiful.
JE Mine got destroyed at bop
RC Me to
JE I’m not bothered, if we’re going to do them then
JRJE I’m really sorry
AM Students are crap AM Can the Entz people try to keep an eye on them. Frustrating if they get mashed
SB Get a big laminate sheet. Big tarpaulining thing. Then paper won’t rip. Or use staple gun, keeps things really flat
AM Will see what the other JCRs do about this. They have to solve problem too.
AM Another thing, online room choosey thing. Will be a big list of all the rooms in college, pros and cons and pictures. Choosing a room is quite time consuming. Half people aren’t in rooms at a given time. Would be really helpful. Quite a big job. Would anyone like to help out?JBHL will take charge of thisPlease let Helen know if you’d like to help out.Anything else?
TG Didn’t discuss at services committee. Had a massive sea change with Pantry dinner. As Louis leaves on Wednesday.
IB Offer a job. Get staff contracts sorted
SB Can bin is SB’s responsibility. Recyling bin needs to be done every other day. RO said that the committee had a rota to empty the bins. Is everyone ok if I send an email round to say you and a day? Needs to be done very regularly.
AM Any violent objection to being included? None
SB I’ll send an email. Will explain where to take it. Thank you
RC Remind about charity fashion show. Happening Wednesday 7th week. If you want to help then come along. Concerns that helps to support Lizzy, concerns it will pay for her to go on holiday. All money will be raised to go to the school. Can you try to pass the message around.
RC Question about wireless? Who do you tell about problem in your room?
AM Will look into it
IB Can email Matt Keyworth.
IB About charity fashion show?
RC Had meeting. All will be discussed on Wednesday. Money raised from that will go into the school She has a breakdown of what the money will be spent on.
IB I think it would be a good idea to distribute the breakdown.
MB Should we be in camera?
AM If we go in camera then its not minuted. Normally happens when JCR committee starts to slag off people
SX General question re. Energy conservation in the college. MCR had a meeting. Ways of making Holywell more energy efficient. Do you guys have an environmental rep, how is conservation done? SB Had meeting with carl, had a carbon cost audit. Breaks down how much energy we are using, what we are paying for it. What changes we can make to buildings to change cost. Have got meeting, minutes in officers report. I will send him the minutes. Do a lot of stuff. Didn’t mention to you about Holywell
SX Next to firedrill procedures. Laminated sheet, easy ways to save energy.
SB Proposal to go out in college staircases. Student energy efficiency campaign. Quite a lot is going on
TG Bar uses energy efficient lighting, not sure that we do. Where would we get that sort of equipment.
MB Freshers fair there was an ethnic minorities and overseas lunch. Could we have another one, get feedback, see what they want from us?
IB I’ll forward the email on the budget to you.
MB Do we organise it ourselves?
AM Yep
JH GM motion serenading Bergson. A clock was passed, podium incorporating newspaper racks. Purpose of podium has passed
AM Its part of a JCR resolves, the sovereign body has passed (!). Come to committee with your ideas, for an optimal. Maybe you will need to pass on the project to the person that comes after you (!).
AM Nothing else, thanks for coming
Committee Lunch – 5th Week Hilary Term, 12th February 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JHickish – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JH – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
Maya B – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities Officer)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD) SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
HL There’s a few things on the agenda, but before we start is there anything anyone wants to add?
HM We want you to write poems for John de Labial – tell your friends.
IB Send another email around.
HM Yeah, but get your thumbs out guys.
HL The first thing we need to do is co-opt an LGBT officer and Drama Society Secretary. We’ll start will LGBT, does anyone want to take the position?
KM I will.
HL Does anyone want to hold the position with her?
MB I was going to, but now I’m getting severe cold feet.
HL OK, just KM then. Now Drama Society Secretary.
Maya B I’ll do it.
HL Thankyou.
HL NE has some things he’d like to say about the Ball.
NE You’ve all got flyers for the Ball – put them in your pockets and give them to the next non- Balliol person you see. The website’s on the flyer.
MB Is there anything on the website?
NE There’s now some information up on it.People also don’t seem to be aware of the fact that the Ball is opt-out. So maybe spread that around too. Opt-out forms will be available in the next few weeks.I don’t know how much you all know about the Ball. Firstly there are no dodgems. The feedback we got form the last Summer Event is that people wanted a more black tie event. There’s going to be really good food – we’re still deciding on the menu so I may email that around to get other people’s input.There’s going to be a red carpet reception with champagne. After dark the college will be lit up with a projector and lights in trees and things. They’ll be two bars, good DJs and hypnotists – so we’ll make you enjoy the Ball!It was originally going to be five free drinks plus the champagne reception, but we’ve decided on an open bar all night.The college rules are that drinks stop being served at 1am, and music stops at 2.30am. Then there’ll be some sort of breakfast.
RC When does the Ball start?
NE 7pm
TWS What happens with guests? Can we bring them?
NE Guests should go on the website and sign up. We then confirm that they are actual guests and not just random people and send them a confirmation email. They can pick their ticket up on the night. Everyone who comes will need to show their Bod card. There’ll also be an option on the battel form to buy tickets for non-Oxford people.
MB Did you lose the fire jugglers?
NE No, we still have them.
HL Next thing is University Challenge. Can someone co-ordinate and advertise? I was thinking maybe Academic Affairs Officer?
JB That’s OK – does anyone else want to help?
HL If you get a group together.
DM There is a quiz team, maybe they should be involved.
HL Try and get in touch with them.
HL OK. Valentine’s day. It’s single’s night in the bar and Lord Lindsay gives away bottles of wine. NH can’t be there, and I don’t want to do it, so we need someone to act as Lord Lindsay for the night. IB?
Applause
KM Just say no, Ian!
IB Midway through last week I would have said no, but now I may be warming to it.
More applause.
KM Just ask for volunteers.
RC Jamie!
JHickish Jamie, you’re such a whore.
HL All of you have pidges in the JCR office. I’ve been putting things in them for individual officers to read or distribute. Can you check them and put things out on the misc list that need to be sent. And anyone who still hasn’t done their board needs to finish that.
HL Is there anything else that was postponed from last week which we need to talk about?
JE The bop was cancelled, but we’ll do it in 8th week.
IB Am I right in thinking we get 4 bops a term? The last one was cancelled, is there going to be an out of college bop?
JE No.
JH As I’m sure you know, the JCR’s being refurbished. The Clerk of Works recommends the same floow in the JCR and TV room and painting both. Are there any objections to this?
KM Are you getting rid of the yellow?
JH I was thinking of doing a survey to see what people want.
IB Is it right that College are paying for the JCR and we’re paying for the TV room?
JH Yeah.
TWS What’s happening with the chairs.
JH They’re getting either replaced or refirbished.
MB If we’re getting the same floor in pantry and the JCR, is the pantry floor being replaced?
JH The JCR will be given a new floor to match the pantry area, but the Pantry floor itself won’t be changed.
IB Is there going to be a GM motion.
JH No, but I was thinking of doing an online questionnaire if IB will show me how to make one.
HL Anything else? MB I just wanted to see what Foodies are doing for pancake day since it’s not long.
DM We were going to ask you about that.
JE We’re putting on a band night, if you know anyone musical who might like to play let them know.
TG I don’t know if JH knows but the door of staircase 22’s broken.
JH I’ll look into it.
SB What happened to the results of the services survay?
IB We have the results, I’ll create a services noticeboard and put them up.
SB I’m doing a poster campaign advertising energy efficiency. Who’s going to pay?
IB If you pay and then get reinbursed.
HL Is there anything else?
IB One thing we need to talk about is the staff pension scheme. We’re legally obliged to provide a pension scheme for our staff. When it was first introduced none of the staff signed up because they didn’t want to contribute part of their wages to it. This is only pantry staff, not Denise and Maureen.One member of staff has decided they do want to sign up. What a lot of companies do is match the contributions of their employees to the pension fund. We have no legal obligation to do this, but it’s something to think about. If we do contribute we’d need to consider how this will affect the running cost of pantry.
KM Do we know how much money we would be matching?
IB I’d have to talk to the member of staff.
BB Did she sign up thinking that we’d contribute.
IB There’s nothing to say we would, but I’ll have to talk to her.
HM What about Jean, isn’t she about to retire?
IB I’ve spoke to Jean and it doesn’t look like she’ll be retiring in the forseeable future.
SB Can we consider this in parallel with the Living Wage Campaign? IB We’ll definitely have to seriously look at that. I’d like to talk to you about it.
JP Would we decide whether or not to contribute in a GM or in committee?
IB It would need to be a GM.
HL Anything else?
JH WS has vowed to steal the IB memorial clock. Can we mandate him not to?
MB I don’t think a mandate will make any difference. After all, he’s mandated to be here.
JH Well if it goes missing it’s almost certainly WS.
MB What about the newspaper rack / podium?
JH I’ve got designs.
MB Orthographic diagrams?
JH Actually yes, I’ll bring them in.
RC When’s the next GM?
IB Next Sunday.
RC Also, about the recycling rota – I don’t know what to do.
SB It should have said on the email.
JHickish Can you resend that email?
SB Yep.
HL OK, thanks for coming everyone, I’ll see you all next week.
Meeting Closed.
Committee Lunch - 6th Week Hilary Term, 20th February 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD) SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
HL Are there any Q’s to offiers?
The fist agenda item: Maureens birthday on Friday. She like Bacardi, U2 and chocolate. We thought it would be nice if we had a donation from committee
IB Last year the committee donated money for various birthdays and things. There are quite a lot of things to pay for, so I think committee should just pass the money.
HL How much?
IB About £20
I’ll buy bacardi
NH You can get it from the bar, a big bottle’s about £24
IB Then lets have £30 so I can get a card.
HL Any objections?
SB She’s a U2 fan. Can we not get U2?
HL Everyone happy with Bacardi and up to £30?
KM Is the 1.5l bacardi upside down optic bacardi?
JEH Well as long as we give it to her upside down that’s fine.
HL OK, so what do people want to do?
BB If I was given 1.5l of Bacardi, I wouldn’t care which way up the label was!
HL OK, any objections to 1.5l and £30? Then that passes.
HL The next thing, I was thinking of adding something to standing orders to make sure all officers pass on a handover pack. Lets go round see what people think.
JH That would be really useful so I know who to go to with different queries.
NH And they should be given to people in advance.
HL So does everyone agree with a mandatory handover pack given to the new officer as soon as they’re elected. IB If you make one now, its then the reesponsibility of the next officer to keep iut up to date.
HL This changes standing orders, so does anyone want to write a motion?
NH Yeah, I’ll do it (with KM)
HL What we discovered last GM is that a simple majority of votes passes a motion, not counting abstentions, but it’s ridiculous if there are as many abstentions as votes. You have to attend the GM, but you have to attend all of it to help us keep quorum.
JB If you have prior commitments is it so bad to turn up late.
HL Just email before.
IB The thing last time was that pretty much everyone came, but people kept leaving and going out and that’s when we have problems with quorum. I know its hard and people want to go get drinks but please try.
KM What do SOs actually say?
MB Anyone not in the room when MTV called can’t vote.
JH Then why do they count towards quorum?
IB It does make a bit of a mockery of the system, the people in the room are there solely to make up numbers. If people have any ideas please let me know.
JP Is it really too radical to suggest removing quorum.
RS But otherwise it basically just becomes committee lunch.
IB Last committee we set up GM improvement subcommittee. It gets worse in summer when people have better things to do. People are punting or at the pub, so probably we’ll have less GMs in the summer.
HL I think the thing to do is to reinstate GM improvement subcom. Email me with any suggestions.
HL The other thing is officers reports. Even if you haven’t done anything talk about what you’re going to do. Its about looking committed to your post and doing what people elected you to do.
IB In a small position you might not do something every week, but just show that your still involved.
RC Are reports every week?
HL Yes.
RS I’m a peer supporter, We’d like to set up a peer support tea. I was thinking about starting with an exams tea. I was hoping we could pass a budget of £20
HL Any objections? Then that’s fine.
JH There’s a flaw in my position. You can ask me to build things but I don’t have any tools. If you could pass maybe £60 I could build some really cool stuff and maintain the JCR.
SB With all the health and safety stuff, its impressive that students are even allowed to maintain or build things.
JH I am allowed, I just go through the clerk of works.
IB Do college have tools?
JH They do, but it’s difficult to borrow them, I have to go through clerk of works.
IB What tools did you want?
JH Hammer….drilll….saw…
KM Where will you keep them?
JH In the lockers in the TV room?
IB Are they in use?
NH If not you can use the bar.
HL Do you have tools in the Lindsay bar?
NH Three screwdrivers and 2 spanners.
HL So does anyone have any problem passing up to £60 for JH to buy tools? Then that passes.
NH The MCR are holding a bop. They need staff and they pay £5 an hour. So far only one person has signed up and if possible I’d like a couple more for the hours 9-2. You don’t need to be bar trained you just open things. You could work in shifts if you wanted.
IB Have you sent it round the bar list?
NH I’ve sent it round the misc list.
MB Why do we need to supply bar staff for the MCR?
NH I don’t think we need to but it would be nice and usually we have.
HL Is there anything else to bring up?
TG We’re doing pancake day today – any help with the Vietnam style disaster would be greatly appreciated.
KM A Vietnam disaster less in a platoon way and more in a comedic way.
HL If you could help TG and DM would really appreciate it.
If volunteers could stay behind, foodies will tell you what to do.
SB Within hours of passing my vegetable garden motion I was contacted by the Cherwell. Who leaked this? (And why do the Cherwell want to write a story on it?)
KM There was a wearily long motion in the GM about the messiness of the JCR.
JEH Written by KM
KM But we said we’d sort it out so we should probably sort it out.
SB I was asked to put up posters, I think it’s in my remit to help as well as the JCR Deans.
RS When the JCR’s redone do you think that people will be less inclined to trash it?
HL Yeah, but we need a temporary solution.
KM Lots of the mess happens at lunch
NH People need to know that its their responsibility to take back lunch.
TG I’ll put out an email.
NH Put up a poster!
TG And before I forget can we have a mug/Erdinger glass raid.
KM Can we not do it this week because I want to be there.
NH We need to send out a warning email first.
MB Can I suggest Sunday morning when people are in their rooms after the bop. People have lectures and stuff to be at so it’s much better to do it at the weekend.
HL It really only happens once a term, so can we make this Sunday the one morning.
HL Can we have half doing clearup and half do raid?
MB But then we’ll do both jobs poorly and it’ll take ages. HL For now lets just send out an email.
TWS I think a morning not after the bop – maybe Saturday.
HL Lets send an email and we’ll set a date next Committee lunch.
Are we done talking about the JCR?
KM We need more bins?
SB I know some really good bin websites. Shall I write a bin report?
NH If we had bins that fit on the window sills so people don’t have to move to throw things away.
JEH Won’t they fall off the window sills?
SB Not if we have a tool kit to fix them on.
HL The final thing is bop clearup. We’ve got 2 bops left so I’ll just split the committee.
IB I have a question – has anyone been fined or had stuff impounded over the storage rooms motion brought last term?
RW Not yet, but I have a list of people I just don’t know how to add things to battels.
IB Give them to Denise and she’ll battel the £20 fine.
IB Another thing is the termcard. Can people start thinking about events for the termcard. You can put them on the website in advance, but how do people feel about a printed copy.
AR The online versions more useful since its always up to date.
HL Also there are loads of last terms still left over in the office.
IB When I went to freshers rooms they always had a copy of the termcard on the wall, and attendance for some of the JCR events hasn’t been great, so maybe a printed copy helps.
KM Its good for freshers, and it helps them get into a week 1..2… basis but after first term the online versions better?
MB Could we send them out in freshers packs before students come up.
NH I don’t think the problem with attendence is that there’s no printed termcard.
JP Could we print a reduced version each week and pidge them to people. SB Oh, the environment!
NH On the bop tidyup, can people check the quad as well, since I get bollocked for it and the bar gets blamed.
HL When staff members have to clear up vomit in the quads, they get paid a £15 vomit-fee, and the bar now has to pay this fine.
NH Unless we can identify the culprits and fine them. Please can you be vigilant!
SB Does it count if you vomit into a glass?
NH It’s anything that makes a mess. Within the bar Maureen emails me, and outside the bar Carl Woodall emails me, and he’s much less bar friendly.
HL Anything else to bring up?
TWS In some colleges the admissions officers arrange parenting,
MB VP organises it.
AS Can we have single sex parents?
HL Not if we can help it since its supposed to be a peer support thing.
JH NH, what’s happened to crazy Tuesday? It’s really empty
NH I know, but today I’ve finally got permission to publicise the bar outside of college which we’ve been trying to do for years. Crazy Tuesday used to be packed, until Balliol students complained that they couldn’t get to the bar for other students. Prices were raised and Crazy Tuesday diesd a death. But we’ll advertise it and hopefully make it awesome again.
HL Anything else? In that case, we’re done, thanks for coming.
Meeting Closed.
Committee Lunch – 7th Week Hilary Term, 26th February 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
Officer: Words of Wisdom:
HL Are there any questions to officers?
HM Why did JEH censor my report?
JH It was fairly vulgar.
HL Tomorrow I go to a Health and Safety meeting, is there anything anyone wants me to bring up? [Silence. Tumbleweed]
HL Me and Affiliations went to OUSU meeting. OUSU want to pass a motion about University fees. We’re going to hold meetings about fees and where the university is going.
AS The government is going to review, and maybe lift the cap on tuition fees. The vice- chancellor has said if this happens he will raise the fees.
SB Is OUSU going to co-ordinate central policy?
JE OUSU need to find out what all the colleges think so that motions can be brought to make more concrete policy.
SB Whats the time scale?
AS A motion will be brought in OUSU next term.
IB We had the same sort of thing about admissions policy. We brought a motion and everyone had their say and we drafted policy for the President to take to OUSU.
HL OUSU are providing a discussion pack so that debates can be held in colleges. There’s then a survey for everyone to give their input. Then we can go to OUSU and debate their motion.
JE Some people wanted a definite yes/no survey, but we would rather have a survey that encourages debate and invites people to make points that haven’t been thought of yet.
RS So you want a survey to find what people think and then write a GM motion that will pass?
AS Yes, otherwise the GM would be ridiculously long.
IB Will raising the cap affect anyone already here?
AS We don’t think so, but we need to find out.
HL Can someone volunteer to come to OUSU council to take our third vote? Get back to me about it.
HL Has anything more happened with keeping the JCR tidy.
NH Ive spoken to the other JCR Deans. 2 of them are finalists and the other lives in Cowley.
HL Committee needs to be a bit more forward asking people to clear up their rubbish.
SB JH and I surveyed the walls where new bins will go. I’ll aim to present a bin report at committee meeting next week.
HL I have to organise fresher’s week over easter since the budget has to be brought to GM in third week next term. If we elect someone new next term they won’t have enough time. So if anyone’s around over easter or has any ideas email me. We’re thinking about changing budgets and things, like moving LGBT costs from fresehers week budget to LGBT budget.
NH Can you send round last year’s timetable?
HL Yeah.
IB This is about budgets for officers. These budgets are really old and aren’t really used and are a bit random.What I’m bringing to the GM this Sunday – we have a £1-20 tampax levy which we don’t spend. So I’ll reduce this.I’m thinking about changing standing policy on budgets. The budgets are for you – to spend on the things you need for your positions. There’s a balance to be struck between not allowing officer’s to spend lots of JCR money and not wasting committee time with motions for small amounts of money. At the moment LGBT and Charities have £100, Ethnic minorities have £50. I don’t know what you use the money for, so if you could let me know and that’ll help me draft a motion.
RS People don’t use mount tampax because it’s often empty.
IB Last year we spent £1000 and the levy brounght in £2000, and that was when we massively overordered.
MB Do you know how much of officer’s money is actually being spent?
IB The answer is nearly none – though its not really publicised and no-one’s sure. If money isn’t needed then I might get rid of peoples budgets.
AR We fill up mount tampax every week, so it is full.
RS Maybe it should be advertised better.
KM Can we amalgamate all the money for sexual health provision?
NH I agree that we should advertise the tampax provision before we cancel the levy. IB The tampax account has around £4000, so we will cut the levy regardless because it’s ridiculous. But I would like to know what officers think about their budgets.
HM Just cut their budgets by 80% if their not using them. Give ethnic minorities like a tenner.
MB I think getting all money under welfare would be a good thing.
SB You mentioned you wanted to stop motions for small amounts of money, but budgets can only be used for regular things – like if I had a budget what would I use it for?
IB Things like Welfare doing teas – that’s linked to their position so they shouldn’t have to pass the money in committee.
KM About putting all welfare budgets together. If we did it we should have a document stating who is entitled to what. Or welfare sub com could meet to pass money.
Maya It should be flexible. If one year, women need more than eth mins we shouldn’t need to pass extra motion.
IB If I left charities at £100, had a welfare budget of £300 with a reduced tampax levy for all of welfare would anyone have any objections? I’d put that in SO and go through a GM.
KM You need to remember that you want to move Fresher’s Week money into officers budget. And maybe you should rename welfare budget so it’s clear that its for all welfare positions.
IB We don’t usually let money passed in subcommittees.
MB Having looked at the amount that eth mins get allocated in freshers week I don’t know what kind of elaborate tea could jusify spending £50 on the 4 eth mins we have in balliol. So I don’t think you need to worry about freshers week spending when you redo officers budgets.
IB Does anyone think that this is unneccessary?
KM LGBT does not need £100.
HM If you go to any of the lunches or teas in freshers week, you’ll see that it’s the same people there every time – me, John Lee and the officers. We should slash their budgets.
NH Can’t you just say with budgets that they can pass up to £50 otherwise it has to go through com lunch.
IB Yeah.
HL Anything else?
Maya I know someone is planning about merging eth mins and overseas.
KM I was thinking about it but it’ll go to a GM and then people will complain that its reducing representation and then call me a racist. Maya I think we should try.
NH I’m serving in plastic until I get more glasses back. I’ll keep you posted, but we may need to room raid.
HL We’ll talk to foodies, but if there’s a room raid it’ll be this weekend or next weekend.
KM Theres almost nothing on the website in the welfare section on womens/ethnic minoritiess. If you want to write something and give it to IB.
IB And if you look at the search terms that lead people to our website we get lots of hits for searches like “Can two lesbians catch cl off each other” which send people to the LGBT page. Our webpages are an important welfare resource!
HL Lovely. Thanks guys.
Committee Lunch - 2007-03-05
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
Who Words of Wisdom
HL Any questions to officers?
IB Do we have a list of people to be fined over the storage rooms?
RW Yeah, we do.
IB Can we give the list to Denise?
RW Sure.
TG We’re thinking about selling non food-based substances from pantry – paper, pens, stamps. Can we have a lockable cupboard of some description to store the stuff in?
JB How long are the storage rooms going to be open for – some overseas students have exams in 9th?
RW There’s no convention, I’ll talk to Jasmeen and send out an email.
AR Are there special circumstances where people can use the storage rooms? Say their parents move to a different country?
HL I think they should – get the hypothetical person to contact overseas officers.
NE I need 5 people plus Ball Committee to help at Exeter Ball. Providing you help at the bar and clean up the ball is free, and you can dress up and go to the first half. It’s on Saturday 1st April. At the end of 0th week.
JE That will be a bop night.
MB Are some of them coming to work at our ball?
NE 17 of them are coming. Ball committee work for the first half, then Exeter do the rest.
NH Can someone do bar cleanup after the bop since I’ll be at the Exeter bop.
HL Ask Duckworth. MB What’s their ball theme?
NE They have a website. It’s a low cost ball – you have to provide a cheque for £48 to guarantee you’ll work and then they’ll give it back. Their ball looks good though – they want 700 people.
HL If you go with your friends you can spend the first half of the night at the ball with your friends and then work afterwards.
NE As long as you don’t get so wasted you can’t do your duties.
HL Can I have a show of hands of volunteers (recorded by NE)
NE IB, are you included in Ball Committee?
HL IB will need to oversee bop clearup.
HL Not enough glasses and mugs have been received, so on Saturday morning at 8am after the bop we’ll do a room raid. This happens once a term – I’ll put you in pairs and allocate you a staircase it’ll only take 10 mins. (unless you live in Cowley)
TG Mass sleepover in my room for anyone who lives in Cowley!
JE Bearing in mind it’s after a bop and it’s 8th week can’t we do it later?
KM People can stay in their rooms till Wednesday.
HL Then let’s do it on 10am.
NH I’ll send an email around saying they’ll be a room raid. I’m not letting people put a note out saying they’ve got nothing ‘cause they lie. We’re going in!
JE Last time people said there was lots of stuff in Cowley.
IB I’ll happily raid some houses!
SB I need to do up the bin or buy a new one – the bin in the postroom is looking a bit bedraggled. Could I have a little bit of money – maybe £15 – for some yellow paint?
HL Any objections? That passes.
SX A member of the MCR asked me to find out about the yearbook you’re making. He was wondering if there could be an appendix of MCR members as a show of solidarity.
HL The yearbook’s made solely by 3rd years and has nothing to do with this committee – there’s a notice in the JCR with contact detail on.
NH I go to the Cash & Carry each week – if you need stuff for sleepovers etc if you let me know I can get them cheap.
TG The panini saga continues. They don’t do a lease period or a trial period. We just have to suck it and see. Maureen’s well up for it. I’ve spoken to IB – if we want to buy one it needs to go through a GM. A small machine is £160 (don’t know if that’s inc. VAT) a larger one is £190. It’s just a question of whether we buy one. The survey suggests it would go down well.
NE What we’re going to do with Ball tickets – if you know any people outside college who are coming try and get the tickets early – it helps budgeting. There’ll be a promotion where you get money off your own tickets if you get a ticket for a friend. Did the invitations get sent out to the MCR?
SX Yes
NE If you could push that – we’d like opt ins by Wednesday, but they will be able to get them later.
S I’ll send out an email.
HL Thanks for coming everyone
Committee Lunch - 2007-04-19
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
Who Words of Wisdom
NE When’s the punt available?
IB Sunday 1st week – I’ve just sent an email.
JH Is the broken TV my problem
HL Probably but talk to the clerk of works
JH For 3 days over Easter I decided not to revise. That (points to newspaper rack) is the product of my lack of knowledge.
[thundering applause]
JH It should be mounted by tomorrow by the clerk of works
JH It’s constructed form 18mm MDF. Its environmentally sourced. The newspaper is PVAd on.
TG How did you choose which newspaper you attatched.
JH Yawning Boris Johnson had to go on.
KM There’s a picture of Tony Blair with “Dirty Secrets” underneath. Coincidence?
JH Coincidence.
HL The till needs doing.
HL Elections are being announced. Nominations close next Friday and then voting is a week after
TG At services comm last term we decided to change tabs to a prepay system, where you pay a tenner in advance. That solves the delay in tabbed money getting back to us, which takes about 2 terms and makes knowing how much money we have difficult.IB has looked into it, and we’ve decided that this isn’t as big a problem as we thought and we think changing the system would lose business, so we’ve decided not to change it.
JH The TV room needs a new floor. We’ve been quoted £1800
HL £1952.something. JH That’s for the same flooring that’s in pantry, including labour and stuff.
HL Over summer college are refurbishing the Norway room, and we thought we’d do the TV room at the same time because it’s cheaper to buy the flooring in bulk. There’s also £300 to pay for painting. Carl Woodall says under no circumstances are we to paint it ourselves
IB Obviously we don’t have to do it but it is cheaper now.
HM What colour is the JCR being painted.
HL It was voted they’d be painted 2 colours – neutral/off white and blue.
HL I was thinking a feature wall.
HL Are we happy putting that in a motion and passing all the money we need.
IB There is the option that we get college to pay for the TV room and college get to use it for conferences. But then it would get locked over vacs.
HM We discussed this last year but decided that it’s nice for finalists to have the room over Easter.
JH We could carpet it which is cheaper but doesn’t last as long.
HL Can you draft a motion with IB for a GM on Sunday of 2nd.
HL In the holidays a conference guest may have found a copy of J de B and may have been unimpressed.
MB Doug thinks it’s a Tempest in a teacup but said that we should be less racist. And he’ll have words with future J de B’s to set out guidelines of what’s appropriate.
HL I think Doug was really reasonable and he was talking about ways of keeping the College tidy and I was hoping we could do that for him.
MB Its more cigarettes than litter, so can we have lots of ashtrays.
KM Have bin bags near the trees.
HM Its always committee that have to clear up so if you see stuff clean it or tell someone. Otherwise we have a day of Committee mourning.
MB The JCR Deans…
Maya Just send an email out.
IB Jack did that last year.
?? Send an email every day! KM But we need to do something otherwise college will just end up banning us form sitting on the lawn.
KM [something about ducks, which was a lie, apparently]
HL The bop… It’s been “relocated”
HM To our house!
MB Three rules - Dress up, bring alcohol, and don’t step on Erde’s vegetable patch.
HL A lot of finalists have spoken to the porters and said they weren’t happy with having the bop. Vince spoke to Doug and he’s taking it quite seriously. It’s difficult because it was Carl Woodall who made the decision as acting Dean, and it looks bad if Doug goes back on his decision.
RC Does that just affect the coming bop.
HL Traditionally there are 2 bops and the Ball. So we’ll just have the Ball and a bop in 8th week.
NE So when finalists were on committee last year they didn’t care?
KM Apparently people complain every year.
IB The differenc ethis year is that Carl Woodall made a decision and sent out an email.
NH Can we find out how many people complained? Vince told me people had complained to Doug, so if Doug says people complained to Vince… If its just a few people complaining to lots of people. The decision now makes a difference for what happens next year.
HL Doug suggests having some sort of Bop timetable, so that there are established times for bops.
BB Would now not be a good time for an outside bop?
KM When do finals start?
MB 4th week – English.
KM The finalists are pussies – its one bop in 0th week
MB And it’s English!
NH I do think wee need to determine how many people it is. If people think they haven’t worked for a year and they decide that 1 evening makes the difference maybe that shouldn’t stop everyone’s fun.
NE As the bop is cancelled – can I readvertise for Ball swap people?
KM I’ll do it. HM But our house bop…?
KM I don’t want to be there.
HM I need someone to help unscrew doors before they get broken.
KM I’m taking the screwdrivers with me.
NE If anyone who’s going to do it comes to the bar at 4pm for a talk from their ball president.
SB Is that a 52 piece socket set – did I count 52?
JH I don’t know.
IB On the termcard we have lots of GMs and Election stuff but not many officer events – can you put stuff on.
JE I have 2 rolls of purple paper if anyone wants it to decorate their board.
JH How will the lack of a bop affect the bar?
NH We’re not selling drinks at the bar which kept it afloat last year, and everyone goes into finalist mode. Hopefully the June Jamboree will help. You can take your drinks outside in plastic and the toilets are fixed!
IB Didn’t we get permission to serve in the day on Saturdays.
NH We can but it clashes with the buttery. And they’re really nice people.
Committee Lunch - 2007-04-23
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
Who Words of Wisdom
HL I wanted to discuss something that came up at OUSU but seeing as OUSU officers aren’t here that’s going to be hard. It’s omething about OUSU Women’s VP – something about splitting the post into 3. I think a motion is going to be brought to OUSU council so I don’t know if one of the women’s officers want to go.There’s also something about changing the finance officer for a proffessional to give a sense of continuity.
JH TVs broken – I’ve taken the plug off to stop people electrocuting themselves.
HL There’s a GM this Sunday so bring a motion then.I’m resigning on Friday because I have to hand in a manifesto for President so IB will chair the GM.
IB If anyone tried to submit an officer’s report andd it didn’t work that’s cos something went wrong and all the reports are coming up as form the women’s officers. Anyone who hasn’t submitted one can you email them to Jack.
SB Has litter been bad, do you want me to send out an email?
KM It’s been OK
HL I sent an email with some stuff from the Dean.
HL Are we still missing the spare key for the JCR office?
IB I don’t know, but it’s not that extraordinary expenditure so I don’t think we need tyo pass the money.
TG Can we cut some more pantry keys. It was approved ages ago that the Foodie’s should get a key each but it was never done. But we should have a spare in case Entz lose them again.
IB There is a spare set – I’ll tell you where it is.
JB I managed to lose the JCR bookshop keys and my keys on the quad. Is there a spare? In case anyone actually wants to buy anything
IB I think we should seriously consider trying to flog them on ebay. I have a feeling I might have accidentally have kept the spare set.
SB Lets have a book burning!
BB At the June Jamboree!
JeH Why is the toilet under the library locked in the evenings. It’s annoying.
JB It’s come up in library committee before – I’ll bring it up again.
NH Can you send an email asking people not to leave their books on tables in the library.
IB The library should probably send that out – seeing as we have no actual control over the library.
HL Bring it up in library committee.
JH SB – what’s going on about the vegetable patch.
SB It’s in my report – but the shortened version. College agree in principle but they don’t want one because of people not being here over vacs and stuff. But the MCR rep has had a lot of support – people coming DEMANDING a vegetable patch, so we’re putting together a case.I don’t think It’ll happen in college – College have suggested a council allotment but I think that ruins the idea of having it on site and everyone feeling like it’s their patch.
KM My gran says there’s a year long wait for an allotment in Oxford.
TG To remind JH, can we have a lockable box.
JH Yep, I’ll talk to you about it in a sec.
TG It’s Jean’s birthday on Wednesday – I’ll get her something. Also, Valerie – my charming morning lady has a bad back and isn’t at work. I’m going to get her a get well card, can we pass some money to get her flowers.
NH I think we have a £5 voucher for an Oxford flower place.
TG I’ll put the cards in my pidge for people to sign them.
IB June Jamboree things are happening. Carl seems relatively happy – if anyone wants to help get in touch.
NH Lastminute.com sponsored Exeter ball and seemed keen to sponsor us. I’ll get a license as soon as you give me a date.
IB I got the date wrong in my email to Carl, but he’s getting back to me today.
HL OK, that’s all – can everyone check their pidges in the office.
Committee Lunch - 2nd Week Trinity Term 30rd April 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
JF – Jessica Ferrari (Ethnic Minorities)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens) BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
WHO Words of Wisdom
IB Anyone have anything for agenda?
IB First thing is – we have a card for Dani who’s 40 this week. If everyone could sign it.
BB I want to talk about the fact that we have a toroise. Does anyone know who the tortoise rep is?
MAYA James Rowles (sp?)
TG Will we race it?
AS Christchurch have one now so we could race that.
IB His brother!
AS That he tried to have sex with!
IB We have elections this Friday 9 – 9 and hustings at 7pm on Wednesday. Hopefully that’ll be quick so we can watch football. I need people to be on the ballot box. Usually 2 people in 2 hour slots.
9-11 RW&JB;
11-1 TWS&AS;
1-3 TG&DM;
3-5 AR&RC;
5-7 IB&JHickish;
7-9 WS&JE
BB I’d like to bring up the till – it’s what Helen would want. TG Anyone have good colouring skills – a-level geography or something like that. We don’t have a colour photocopier to print the keypad.
IB I’ll try and help this week.
IB We got approached by PPL who wanted to get us to pay like 1200 for all the music at bops that wasn’t licensed. We don’t have to pay as long as no-one at the bop gets any financial benefits – like free drinks.
JE Usually only bar staff get drinks.
IB OK, as long as you know officially DJs can’t get free drinks or we aren’t exempt anymore.
JE Does anyone fancy a com crew date? [hells yeah].
JE When do you want it and which colleges do you think are fun? 4th week? I’ll make some enquiries.
IB Anything else.
JP RC and I are planning an event on Monday with stalls and that sort of thing.
RC It’s going to be in the JCR, but we wanted foam and water and stuff so it might have to be outside.
JP We just need people to help out on stalls so if you’re free Monday 2-6 drop us an email and help us raise some money.
RC If we wanted stocks with people throwing sponges who would we have to ask first.
IB Probably Carl Woodall. I’ll ask if you want. Are you putting committee members in stocks?
JP Whoever volunteers.
JE A wet sponge is lethal.
TG Are you getting JH to build you stocks?!
RC It can’t be that hard!
IB Thankyou.
Committee Lunch – 3rd Week Trinity Term 7th May 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
JF – Jessica Ferrari (Ethnic Minorities)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens) BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
WHO Words of Wisdom
HL Recently the OxStu reported that Balliol were antisemetic. I’d just like to take this moment to go through our policy regarding the student press. I don’t particularly like the student press and I always find the best thing to do is not to comment. If anyone is called by the press can you make sure you speak to everyone involved before giving a comment and let me know.
HL I know this term a lot of you have exams, but I’d appreciate it if you kept doing your roles and kept coming to GMs and Com lunches.
MB This term is when we organise fresher’s week. We have a pack which includes descriptions of the JCr committee. Can everyone email me a 100-200 word thing about who you are and what you do. Some other officers have specific pages – ethnic minorities and Dr Who.
KM Can I put a sex page in?
MB Yeah.
BB Can we read last year’s?
MB Yeah, I’ll send it round the maillist. Also there’s a sign up sheet for parenting in the JCR. And you’ll need photo’s as well, so send those or I’ll get them off facebook.
TG Maureen is upset that ball com left like 6 tons of ice in the freezers. So if the bar want to use it or something…
HM I spoke to Maureen and all the stuff in the JCR she wants done cos it’s depressing. And the chairs need to go back in.
RS Last term we did a peer support tea for people with exams. Doug has arranged for us to use the fellows garden for another tea this term. I was wondering if we could pass some money – about £15 a session. We’re planning on doing 4, since people have exams at different times and have different schedules. Doug said he would supplement it. £15 was what I got for the tea last term.
HL OK, does anyone have objections to passing £60 for 4 peer support teas? That money passes.
IB Sunday 10th of June has been agreed for the June Jamboree. I’m having a meeting – lots of people offered to help so if you want to get involved drop me an email and I’ll add you to the list.
JE For the benefit of freshers what is the JJ?
IB Last year it happened on the maseters field - there was ice cream and a sports day and it was just a chance to chill out.
KM Have you got free ice cream again?
IB I’ve emailed ben & jerry’s but they haven’t got back to me yet.
KM Can we get t-shirts as well?
IB Hopefully – they like t-shirts for advertising.
SB Where’s the tortoise?
HL I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll find out what’s going on.
SB Can we give him award for that 12 point tortoise email he sent around? [tee hee]
TG Did we ever resolve the tank-top issue?
MB Yeah – it’s probably going to go ahead with wife beaters.
TWS Did all the girls get the email about the women’s open day? And did any of you volunteer to help – it’s 27-28th June (10th week). Not even the women’s officers?
HL Can we advertise it more widely?
KM Put me down for helping.
MB You’re all expected to be at Park End Wednesday for Mr and Miss Oxford. To support me and Chem Dave.
KM Who’s Miss oxford?
MB Chem Dave.
HL Anything else? Ok, you can all go.
Committee Lunch - 4th Week Trinity Term 14th May 2007
In Attendance:
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
WHO Words of Wisdom
HL The first thing I want to talk about is the GM last night. We nearly fell inquorate 3 times, and this was largly because there were lots of you who didn’t show up.
HL Although this is by no means the majority – as many people do a lot for their position for which we’re very grateful. The thing is you volunteered for your position, and people voted for you showing confidence in you. It’s only a small time commitment, coming to committee lunch and GMs, and you have to be there for when JCR members want to pose questions to the officers they elected. You owe it to the people who voted to you to be there to answer their questions. I appreciate it’s difficult this term when you have exams, but we all do. You still need to do things when you’re asked – officers reports, handover packs. With officer’s reports, you can never say there’s nothing to do – you can always ask the JCR or other officers maybe from other colleges for suggestions. And you can put that in your report, and then you show that you’ve been doing what people elected you to do. People generally are apathetic, it’s your job not to be and to encourage others not to be too. Lastly – it’s just rude not to send your apologies if you’re not going to be at a committee event.
HL I don’t really know what to do – you’re mandated to be at things like committee lunch but there’s really no way I can make you.
KM Who asked a question at the GM
HL Sophie Johnston asked Welfare why J de B hadn’t been properly vetted and why the LGBT wall hadn’t been done.
KM Sorry
MB On the subject of not doing things when their asked, barely anyone has sent me anything for the freshers pack. I’m still missing ones from Treasurer, Secretary, Lady Lindsay, Dr WHO, AccAff, Eth mins, women, environment, SWD, Foodies, Entz and Charities. You all have last year’s reports, so all you really need to do is look them over and decide if you want anything changed. It’s really not much work.
KM And welfare posts need to do a mini blurb for a welfare page.
MAYA So I send a mini blurb to you and a big one to MB
KM Yep. I’ll work on the same deadline as MB
HL If you could all do that this week. By the time it gets to Summer theres going to be hundreds of other things for freshers that need doing.
HL There’s also a special maillist that Jack made to get in contact with HL MB, Jack Hickish, and IB you can email at [email protected] [Jack’s lame]
TG I got a reply from a company called out of the box vending in response to a call I made years ago. I have a meeting with him at 3 o’clock. If anyone wants to come to the meeting they should come along, but I think it’ll basically be me saying give me your bumpf and piss off.
IB Connect vending have offered us a free machine for 8 weeks – but it might be worth talking to these guys first.
TG I didn’t think they were ever going to get back to me but I’ll get some details.
RW The GMs have been on the same day as concerts. It makes people choose between concerts and GMs and so less people turn up.
HL The way it worked this term is that it wasn’t advertised early enough so the first one was in 2nd week. The GM we’ve just had would have been an EGM had we not decided to hold an OGM. And the last few GMs have finished by 9 so you could go to both. I’ve spoken to Wolfgang about it – I’d love it if GMs did not clash becauise I want to go to concerts. Someone could bring a motion forcing Gms to be on alternate weeks, but that makes it very difficult because GMs have to be held sometimes as circumstances arise.
RW I think especially now in exams, people would much rather go to concerts than come to GMs and argue about things.
HM Attendance always goes down through the year with GMs, until new freshers come to boost numbers.
SB What happened to the idea of scrapping quorum. Was it brought up last night
IB It’s pretty pathetic that we need 35 people from 400. and committee’s like 29 people. So we only need a few.
HL I don’t want to scrap quorum, we should focus on getting people to participate.
RS Could we have another incentive to gms like some colleges provide – pizza or dinner. Like pantry half price.
HL We can’t really afford it.
JE People like GMs with novelty. Get Jickish to sing or wear a skirt again.
HM These ideas come up time and time again. Either we can’t afford it or whatever. You can look in the file in the office for ideas or you can just admit that this happens and just wait till the freshers come.
HL I know, but I’d really like to try and solve this long term. I spoke in my manifesto about continuity
HM But now your in so you don’t need to bother KM I don’t think it not being our problem is a reason not to do anything.
NH We might need to room raid soon – I’ll let you know.
TG We think it might be necessary to put something into policy about Foodies having to be trained. We got trained quite late and could have been fined loads if the authorities had found out.
HL Couldn’t we prebook training the week after elections.
TG Does it need to go to a gm?
IB It’s not really extraordinary expenditure, you could just ask Denise to set up training for soon after elections.
KM IB – please update the website soon.
JE Officer’s report on the internet – what’s going on.
IB I’ve spent hours looking at the code, I don’t know why it’s not working. Jickish says just to rewrite the code and start again, which is helpful!
HL Can it be sorted out soon.
JH My motion on the TV room didn’t include VAT – sorry!
IB We can reclaim VAT.
HL Don’t scare me, Jack!
HL OK if that’s all then thanks for coming
Committee Lunch - 2007-05-21
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
WHO Words of Wisdom
HL
JH If anyone’s been in the JCR recently – the memorial clock to IB has been defaced. The minute and hour hand have been removed and it’s been ductaped to the wall with a note saying ‘revenge is sweet’. I’m not pointing any fingers, but I hate you WS. I was wondering if we could replace the hands with WS’s hands
HL I think I f you want to do that I think you’d have to do it on your own.
JH I think IB’s going to charge him and we’ll get a new one.
NH We’re doing a Summer 8s bar. If anyone is willing to work on Saturday between 1.30 and 6.30. you don’t have to do the whole thing but it’s paid at normal wages if you want to. I’ll put it on the misc list if no-one wants to do it.
MB Last year we made term cards. I was wondering if people thought it would be good to do it again.
HL We decided at a com. Lunch a while ago that termcards are good for the start of the year.
MB If you guys could get planning then, so we don’t have a blank term card.
RS When do you need things by?
MB End of this term
NH We’re going to need a room raid.
KM That’s going to get massive complaints form finalists.
NH I’ll send out some more emails and we’ll talk about it again next week.
AS What happened with JdeB after your meeting with Doug.
HL Doug is not happy with the maillists being used as a forum for discussion of JdeB. Since Henri has resigned, Doug’s decided to just let the position of JdeB go empty and we’ll leave it alone till next term.
KM Isn’t that unconstitutional.
MB Doug is the returning officer. And also there’s a clause about putting elections off if they’re undesirable. HL 3 elections in a term is definitely undesirable.
IB If there’s a new JdeB next term it would be elected by committee, since it’s the last 8 weeks of the term of office.
Committee Lunch - 7th Week Trinity Term 4th June 2007
Non-Committee Attendees: Sophie Johnston (SJ)
WHO Words of Wisdom
HL Any Questions to officers?
JB Is the freshers week timetable confirmed?
MB We’ll talk about that today.
HL First thing to talk about is the LGBT bop.
SJ What’s happening with it?
WS The ball is rolling. We’ve got the foam – we’re ready to party.
SJ It’s always been a charity bop. The Terrence Higgins Trust are expecting a contribution. Are you planning to try and raise money for charity?
WS We’d like to make some money for the JCR because we haven’t had many bops. Having said that, if you want to bring a motion next term asking us to give the money we make to charity you’re welcome to do that. We’ll have buckets and things to raise money. If bar staff want to donate their wages they can.
IB In 2003 there was a donation of £200 to comic relief. But as far as I can tell form the cheques we’ve sent out the idea of a charity bop is not long standing. We haven’t had any bops this term and are spending a lot of money. We do pay THT £150 per term from optional levies.
WS Just because we’ve donated money in the past it doesn’t mean we have to give them money – but like I say you’re welcome to bring a motion.
NH What is THT?
SJ Supporting people living in the UK with HIV and AIDs – and providing preventative education.
HL There’s nothing in policy about the charity bop. It’s unfortunate that no-one noticed before the GM motion we’ve just had. I suggest the LGBT rep brings a motion to the next GM to decide what to do with the money fomr this bop and also making policy for future bops.
WS Importantly on the free drinks issue – since I’ve been here the number of free drinks has risen to an unacceptable level, so regardless there will be no free drinks. But bar staff are welcome to donate their wages. IB Financially it might be better to do a charity bop in MT – since this bop we’re spending a lot of money on the foam machine and we really need to make something back.
WS Personally I would be wary about running a bop in MT and giving the profits to charity – but if there’s a motion then obviously I’ll do it.
NH Couldn’t we donate any money we raise above the cost of the bop.
HL We haven’t had any bops for a while and Entz really need to make some money.
IB Entz is very important form a financial point of view. I don’t think we should mix the profit making side of bops with the charity side. You could run the bop as an awareness thing, but keep the profits, and then donate separatley to THT – we’ve got lots of money in the charity acocunt.
KM Have anyone thought of mandating the entz officers to have one charity bop a term?
HL That’s kind of what I suggested.
SJ I would be in favour of moving the bop to MT. In TT there’s lots going on and it’s difficult to get in students – last year we raised £600, but we could do better. It’s also about raising awareness – last year we were handing out leaflets and condoms. I think the charity element is very important.
JE Entz would like this bop to be the LGBT bop – its got foam – big gay foam.
WS This bop will be marketed as the LGBT bop. We’ll send it round other college maillists. But does anyone actually want to walk around with buckets – when people are drunk it’s a good way to make money. And if you want to hand out leaflets or condoms or videos or DVDs you’re welcome.
SJ I’ve dressed up as a nun to collect money and their just as stingy as sober people
KM If you want to hand out condoms its not really in the JCR emergency use remit.
SJ The Order of Perpetual Indulgance will gladly supply condoms.
HL OK. This bop we’ll have collections on the day. Next term we’ll bring a motion deciding what to do with in future and perhaps donating money.
IB June Jamboree is on Sunday. Last year Ed asked committee if they would volunteer to steward. We need a certain number of people in high vis jackets and direct people to gates. In theory you have to stand by the gates, but last time the domestic bursar just walked around and made sure everything was fine. And all the stewards were free to enjoy the day, you just have to be aware of what to do in the event of a fire or something. I was hoping you’d get free drinks and t- shirts. We need 6 people at any given time. It goes on from 1pm-6, last year we split shifts in half.
HL Anyone want to do it? JamieH, JB, JF, WS, JRJE, NH.
HL The next thing to talk about is freshers week. JH Did you put football trials on?
MB Yeah – football trials are 4pm Wednesday.
JB Is there an afternoon free for a Christian Union lunch?
MB We could probably find somewhere to put one – I’ll talk to you afterwards.
KM I think I can get a stress management talk.
WS Can we move the bop to Friday?
MB Probably not because some people will have collections.
MAYA Is there an ethnic minorities lunch – do I need to book the room?
MB There is – you need to book though.
MB Timetable: Sunday: parent meetings. I’d like pantry to give out potatoes to early arrivers. Some committee members need to help make freshers packs.
MB Monday: Everyone needs to be here at 9 in the OCR. Some of you need to hand out fresher packs and marshal parking. We’ll be doing tours later in the day of the college and useful places in Oxford.
MB Tuesday is meet the JCR committee at 10.45 which is always interesting after 1st night of the bar. Some people need to spend first night of the bar upstairs playing giant games with non-drinkers.
MB If you’ve got a lunch booked you need to tell Maureen when it is and book a room.
MB I was wondering if overseas officers could write a small leaflet to send out aimed at overseas students explaining things like registering at the doctors and other difficulties they might have moving to a new country.
KM Which day is roundabout day?
MB Wednesday.
HL The next thing to talk about is a committee reshuffle. Mike’s handing out a chart of new committee organisation – whilst he does that NH has something to say.
NH We need to room raid. But I want to do it without telling people so that they actually answer the door.
IB It’ll just piss off the finalists.
HL I think you should ask the Dean. It’s a sensitive time for a lot of people.
NH Maureen says pantry mugs need to be done soon. HL We’ll speak to the Dean – but the raid will be tomorrow at 8.30 am.
NH Everyone has had so much time to give stuff back. If you think it would be better if I sent out an email first then I will.
SB Couldn’t you send an email threatening a surprise room raid?
HL This evening send out an email saying we’ll be raiding some time soon – and telling them to start putting glasses outside.
JE A surprise room raid would just noodle my head – I think it’ll be much better if people know it’s coming.
NH OK, I’ll tell them there’s a raid tomorrow. If we need to raid again in MT well do it by surprise.
MB What I’ve given you is how we think Committee should be reorganised [Copies available from the JCR office if anyone wants them]. Committee is an unweildy number of people to keep doing their jobs right. The last 2 Presidents have recommended change and this is what we think. We’ve rearranged positions into smaller committees. We haven’t got rid of any positions and have created a few extra. The main positions would go to a main Executive Committee meeting to represent the views of their subcommittees. It seems like a nice way of streamlining things – so we’re asking what you think.
IB And if there was a specific issue for a specific officer they could attend the exec, but they wouldn’t be required to. They’d all still need to come to GMs.
TG Is Services Foody?
IB Yes, but it widens the remit – they head Services Committee.
SB So we’d all still come to Committee Lunch?
IB Com lunch in it’s present form wouldn’t exist. Com lunch would effectively consist of 7 positions – but should a specific issue be on the agenda then a specific officer would be able to attend.
MB It would be at the discretion of the leaders of the subcommittees how often they think they should meet in their small groups.
HL We’re trying to make it so that you still each have your voice but your focussing on your issues.
KM I really disagree that accademic affairs should be disassociated from welfare.
IB We talked about this – there’s no reason why a position can’t be in two subcommittees. KM You seem to be fundamentally changing the organisation of committees. By slimming down the number of positions on exec and putting it up to subcommittee leaders how often they meet it reduces the representation of the JCR.
WS I like it. Although as Christopher Hood says…[blah] … Why can’t we have exec meeting each week and full committee each fortnight, thus fulfilling the democratic requirements and having the facility to ask the full group of people to do things like be stewards.
DM If Foodies had to head an entire committee they’d be less inclined to focus on pantry.
MB We’ll obviously talk to you about how far we think we can expand, or perhaps redefine the role of Foodies.
NH Could you have someone in charge of services and a separate pantry position?
TG That would mean the Foody could focus on staffing whilst the services head got on with trying to work out how to make money.
JB I think CPU officer should go in internal.
NH Doesn’t this change non-committee posts? Some of the positions we have at the moment are really just titles.
MB Positions like Entz Subcommittee already have to meet and things.
SB [political rant]
HL Can I have a show of hands of people who think this is a good idea, along with the considerations people have offered – [nobody disagrees] The four of us will discuss it over the vac – email us if you have any ideas or suggeestion.
NH Can I suggest you involve the people with the main positions?
HL Of course – we wanted to bring it to the first GM of term.
AS This should be circulated to people long before the GM.
KM The first GM is the fresher’s GM.
MB We need the change to be effective before the two weeks notice of the elections in MT.
AS In that case would a discussion of this – maybe more informal than a GM – before the GM where you bring the motion, so that freshers get to grips with the current system.
MB In fresher’s week we’ll try to get the fresher’s interested – I’ll be bringing back Rory the Lion. We could always have an EGM for this motion later on.
HL OK, get in touch with us if you have any thoughts. Now just a quick thing on Services Committee.
HL We had a services meeting. It was very productive. The minutes are up on the board – we’re going ahead with some new things so have a read.
AS People don’t know enough about GMs and OUSU and stuff, and I don’t feel I’m doing my job propoperly. Next week I want to bring out an A4 poster on what’s going on and maybe put it up before GMs. I think it would be useful to give people a bit more info – especially when the freseers get here. I’m prepared to do the work.
WS That’s very nice of you.
JB What’s going on with J de B – does it still exist?
MB We’re not going to be abolishing the position – I was thinking it might go in internal officers – but we need to think about it.
HL OK, if there’s nothing else, thanks for coming.
Committee Lunch - 8th Week Trinity Term 11th June 2007
WHO Words of Wisdom
HL Any questions to officers?
JB MB, is the freshers timetable set?
MB Yes.
JB You book rooms before term ends?
MB Yes.
JB And with the EGM – why so little notice?
HL EGM this evening – Hannah Roe who is OUSU VP Women-elect and she wants £500 from our political campaigning fund which is paid for by optional levies to set up what is basically a feminist magazine. It would be good if you could come and see what you think of it all.
NH Is there a quorom?
MB Yes, but if we fell under 3 times that would be no great loss [HL hits him].
JE Just one motion?
HL Yep.
HKL Can I just say thankyou to Ian for organising the June Jamboree and to everyone who helped. And thanks to all those who came on the room raid. For all of you that didn’t – particularly those who lived in college – we’ve put you down to play games with the non-alcohol drinkers in the JCR.
RC Who’s cleaning up the bop?
HL We’ll talk about that.
HL Next co-options.
MB We had no co-options for comrade Shakespeare – if anyone wants to do it…
JE I’ll do it.
KM Tell us a poem. JE Hmmm…no wait… that one’s going to be racist.
HL Any objections…
HL JE is now Comrade Shakespeare.
HL Re. the Bop – Doug says we can’t have it on Thursday. There are scientists who have finals on Saturday and would like the bop on Saturday so they can come and there’s no noise when they’re trying to sleep.
MB No other colleges and no MCR will come because it’s the garden party.
MB Given that we cancelled a bop when finals were still weeks away, it seems only fair to appease the scientists on this one.
JE Saturday sounds alright.
JENE Does it have a theme?
JE We’re in final discussions to see if we can get a last minute bit of leeway form Mr Woodall. If there’s no luck on the foam front, we’ll come up with another theme.
KM It is nominally the LGBT bop. The nuns will be coming with condoms.
JB There are prelims on Monday – is it necessary to have the bop?
ALL Yes.
HL Ok so we’ll say provisionally Saturday – but I need to go and talk to Doug.
HL Bop clearup – can I have a show of hands of everyone who has exams on Monday? I’ll send a list out with all the people who don’t have exams on bop cleanup.
MB Library closing – holiday times start on Sunday and can we change them for 9th week?
KM Last term 9th week was 9-9. After 9th week was 9-5 somewtimes with lunch breaks.
TG Maya and I are happy to volunteer to work to keep the library open longer.
IB Last year we tried opening up till 1am from 4th week as a trial. It ended as it never went to Executive Committee for funding but I don’t know why. JB should email Penny Bulloch.
HL Is it mostly prelims in 9th week? – because you do have rooms in college you can work in, but I appreciate that’s not what you want.
IB Talk to Penny Bulloch.
HL It might be an idea if Maya and anyone else who is concerned also emails Penny.
NH There are maths finalists free who will have finished and often work in the library.
HL Anything else?
SB A point of information to Mr D+M – there are two flourescent tubes on their way out.
JH Question to environmental officer – where’s the bin report?
KM We need to do a lot of photocopying on Friday if anyone wants to help. There are 120 12 page books. We’ll be in the office if anyone wants to come help.
HL Cool, thanks for coming and for your work this term.
Committee Lunch - 2007-10-04
Officers Present:
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JRJE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
FRESHERS’ WEEK
HL First of all I want to talk a bit about fresher’s week – in particular Monday.
MB In essence Monday was a complete mess. Illustrated by the fact that some people haven’t turned up today without apologies. On several occasions on Monday I had to go in or send people to the JCR to get committee members out to help. Sure it was cold and it was raining but there’s no excuse not to be looking for something to do. Several non-committee members of the JCR were helping, including Tiff’s boyfriend Billy.
HL It’s not a good sign to the freshers when you’re not there. It was a poor show on Monday and I’d like to think that it’ll improve. I know some of you feel that it’s your last term and you’ll be passing on the job soon, but they’re not elected to run your position for the last couple of weeks of term for you, that time you should be spending showing them what the role involves. Now is the time to think about what you’ve done for your JCR. Me and Mike have worked really hard this week, I’ve been up at 6am every morning and I’m exhausted. This isn’t everyone, I know lots of you have worked really hard and you know who you are. But let’s pull together this year – let’s have things happening this term and lets get people interested in your roles. You all volunteered so there must be a reason you decided to do it – you can really make a difference.
AS Looking round most of the people here were the ones getting involved.
MB I know, but people know who these words are meant for.
HL I really appreciate everyhting that’s been done. I wouldn’t have been able to do the things I have done without your support. But now’s the time you want to get the freshers interested and encourage them to get involved.
THE CAGE
HL On a lighter hearted note…
JH At the end of last term the cage was destroyed because it couldn’t be kept in the JCR but I was wondering what you might think about building another
HL Which will no doubt cost £100, be a health and safety risk but no doubt be a bit of ‘fun’.
MB It cost £100 but it did last 4 bops, that’s only £25 each.
NH Can I ask how much it would cost to build a reusable cage that could be collapsed between use?
JEH We could make one each term and have a cage levy.
IB There’s not room in the TV room to store it, and it can’t stay around where it violates health and safety regulations. Maureen nearly had a fit last year when we had a health and safety inspection
KM Overseas storage rooms?
RW Just no. no. … no.
TWS How about suspending it fron the ceiling?
HL “Hello Clerk of works, can you help suspend a cage from the ceiling…” IB I think there are other things that will be coming up in the future that I’m not ready to discuss, and I don’t think we should be spending the money like this. I think it’s a waste.
HL And this GM there’s a motion for a mascot suit. Plus the JCR office computers are awful and I was hoping to pass some money to get new ones.
JH This is the reason I wanted to talk about it.
HL You are the people with the power to pass the money, let’s just vote on having it. Jack, how much will it cost?
JH I think £100.
IB Do you want to speak JRJE?
JRJE Despite the arguments you’ve heard – it’ll be amazing fun.
MB Bearing in mind the bop will probably make a killing with 2 other colleges invited
HL 2?!
MB Greyfriers and St. Hildas.
HL Why did no-one tell me, we already have a strict fire limit in the JCR which we already exceed.
MB College have kind of accepted that they turned a blind eye to the fire regs during bops.
HL You can’t ignore 3 colleges in 1 JCR!
IB What do you mean invited?
JE I know the entz guys at St. Hildas, and they asked if they could bring people – and I said anyone can come.
IB Are they actively promoting it?
KM St. Hildas don’t have a freshers bop. If St. Hildas have said they’ll bring freshers it probably means they’ll gather all the people in the JCR and bring them all.
NH We could potentially open the bar with the alcohol shuttered up. But if it’s like today people will probably go outside.
HL Do we have a maximum number of people who are allowed.
MB When I had a meeting with Carl he said the JCR had a limit of x people, but accepted that this was exceeded in bops.
JE I’ll email the Hilda’s girl and tell her not to bring down the 2nd/3rd years, and Greyfriers won’t send many people. KM Don’t Greyfriers literally have like 20 freshers? And we should remember the general trend of our relationship with college is we do something that goes slightly wrong and college come down really hard.
IB It’s really cool having other people form other colleges, I just hope there aren’t loads of posters up everywhere.
JE There aren’t. I don’t think they’ll be more people than there have been in the past.
IB I’m not sure it’ll be a problem but you need to bear in mind that you might need to stop people to coming in.
HL There’s only one porter on – it’s a lot of people for one person to be responsible for. I think if you keep a list of who’s come in and if it gets say over 150 then you stop more coming in.
JH What about a guest list?
MAYA What about giving St. Hildas tickets.
HL JE, can you find out how many Hildas and Greyfriers are planning to bring?
JE I emailed them yesterday. They should be getting back to me.
AS Are we going to restrict people form other colleges?
HL Yes.
BB But then they mostly have their own bops anytway. And do we need to get more people on cleaning?
MB Can we get back to the point of the cage?
JH If we’re short on space let’s not. In fact, I refuse to build it!
HL So we’ll see about the cage at a later date.
MEN’S OFFICER
HL Maya spoke to me briefly about the possibility of having a Mens Officer.
MAYA Basically, I know it might end up being a dud position, but I think it would be a good idea to have a representative of men on the welfare team. Guys are less likely to go to someone for help. On welfare day, there are 2 women s officers saying about things they’re doing for women and the men have no-one.
TG It sounds like a good idea, but in actual fact it’s a bit unnecessary. Women have always been a minority in Oxford - there’s the finals gap. The new freshers have about a 60:40 split. But we’ve got a massive community for support and I don’t think, as a man, we need anyone else. KM As well as putting on events, the Women’s Officers have a responsibility to keep looking into and campaigning on the finals gap. I think a better idea would be insisting one of the Drs WHO was a women. I think most men have someone they can talk to – not necessarily a man, a maternal or sisterly figure.
BB Entz already run trips to the dogs and big screen football and other seemingly men related activities. What else extra would a Mens Officer do?
JP I think it’s a matter of principal – there should be the opportunity for representation for men if someone wants to fulfil the role.
KM On the subject of male peer supporters – the course is already oversubscribed – we can encourage men to apply but there’s always more women applying because they are generally more touchy feely and willing to share emotional stuff.
IB I like the idea that if Dr. WHO run as a pair one man has to run. We could do that. But then we risk people not running at all.
KM I am reluctant to put down laws on who can run for what. Can I suggest another idea? What some organisation do is give priority to mixed pairs. Single-sex pairs can then only run if there are no Mixed candidates or they have been RONed
JEH If we want to change the candidates who are eligible to run for posts then that’ll have to go through a GM to see if people agree. Why don’t we just let all pairs run and if the JCR feel that having mixed Drs WHO is important then a mixed pair will win. Failing that, how about we don’t have a Men’s Officer but insist that all posts on Committee other than Women’s Officer are filled by men(!)
MB Jack’s right, this has to come to a GM anyway where we’ll hear all these same arguments again. What I suggest is that we let things lie and Maya can bring this to a GM if she still wants to.
JB You can’t force the Drs. WHO run as a mixed pair. In this election we had 2 female pairs which kind of negates the point. What about a non-committee Men’s Officer position?
JP I’m sure most arguments against having a Mens Officer are justified but there seems to be an uneasy political correctness dictating that we shouldn’t have a Men’s Officer, and I think if there’s an opportunity to have one we should.
KM Firstly, having a Committee Womens and Non-Committee Mens Officer positions raises serious equality issues. Another thing - most Drs. WHO do fuck all welfare, that’s only happened about once in the last 5 years. What is much more important in the Dr. WHO is housing - competence is much more important than gender.
HL Ok well I think that’s enough discussion on that. Maya, you’ve got a lot to go on there, so bring it to a GM in the future is you still want to.
WELFARE KM We have meetings talking about how we can look after students better. What came up was that freshers aren’t told about the horrific work load. We suggested that we should tell freshers that the workload is ridiculous but that there are ways to cope. I’ve provisionally organised a talk with a women who talks to Oxford Women in Politics about handling stress – she charges £70 and I don’t have a budget.
HL Any objections to that? Seeing none, that money is passed.
STAFF PRESENTS
MB I’d like £100 to buy Val a present after she left pantry with a bad back. I’d like something quite substantial – maybe £100.
HL Any opposition? That passed as well.
MB And Denise didn’t get a birthday present so something for her – the same as we spent on Maureen – about £15
IB Can we have a collection for that rather than giving Denise receipts to claim back for her own present!
HL Good idea.
RW Would Val not appreciate money more, seeing as now she’s out of work.
HL That’s a nice thought, but I was thinking M&S vouchers – you can spend them on clothes or food or whatever.
NH What will we get Denise?
MB A really nice stapler?!
HL We’ll think of something nice. If everyone has like £1 on them now that would be good.
AS Can I just say thank you to Mike, Helen and Ian and anyone who was heavily involved in Fresher’s Week. Thank you.
Committee Lunch - 1st Week Michaelmas Term 8th October 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
Who Words of Wisdom
HL Thanks for coming, and thanks for staying last night. I know it didn’t run very smoothly.
MB I want to wholeheartedly apologise to all of you that stayed through the debacle that was the lottery motion. But next time I’ll have a concise powerpoint presentation.
JH What happened with IB?
MB He passed an amendment which I didn’t agree with so I stood down and he became the proposer of the motion.
HL I’ve had complaints about the state of outside the JCR. I sent people outside to clean up and I have a feeling the mess was made after we’d cleaned up. But I’ve said that I’ll personally go out and check next time – but can you tell people not to make a mess.
KM We stopped cleaning outside when Vince said it looked alright.
TWS Can we have torches – it’s really hard to see. And most of it was fag ends.
KM Can we move the swan (smoking outpost)?
HL Carl is adament the smoking outpost can’t be by the door.
KM Do you think there would be ramifications if it was moved.
JH I think it’s a £5000 fine if someone comes and sees smoking outside the door.
HL It’s just one of those things – I’m going to keep having to ask people to move.
SB I’ve had a lot of people asking about plastic recycling. There’s a card by the door that says you can recycle plastic in the JCR which isn’t true. And the council don’t do trade plastic recycling. I’m looking at getting a private recycling company – you pay to hire a big recepticle and pay each time you need it emptied. Carl is more receptive if we split costs, and college offices could use it.
HL Speak to Carl before bringing it to GM.
KM How much does it cost?
SB 5 pence a day. The cost per year could be under £150, but I want to bring it to GM anyway.
HL You’ll have to if you want it to be a permanent arrangement.
BB Hall must make a lot of plastic waste, surely they’d benefit form one?
SB Yeah – if college don’t pay I won’t let them use it. But at the moment people are storing recycling in their rooms which is becoming a fire hazard – I’ll throw the fire hazard argument back at Carl.
SB Paper is collected from rooms one day per week (it’s supposed to be) but it’s a bit of a mess – some scouts take both bins and mix them and stuff. Usually I email Katie each time it happens.
HL Maybe talk to the Head Housekeeper?
SB I’m in college this year so it’s easier to talk to all these people.
NH If you see people taking the big trolley can you stop them – the last one got lost by a student and they were charged £400.
KM SB, do you still work for the council?
SB I never worked for them, but I have a mobile and business cards courtesy of them. For I am a recycling champion.
HL I’ve got nothing else on the agenda, so thanks for coming.
Committee Lunch - 2nd Week Michaelmas Term, 17th October 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JRJE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
JF – Jess Ferrari (Overseas)
JH – Jack Hobbs (D&M)
RW – Robin Winkler (overseas)
Chelsea – introduce myself, if anyone needs anyone to talk to as a more informal person than others in college, help to close down bops. Have high stress positions with voluntary stuff in the JCR, if you want someone to come talk to, talk to me. Email available on the college website. Any other student concerns to bring to our attention, would encourage to do so. [everyone introduces themselves].
KM – you need to refill mount tampax (to womens)
MB – have a go at anyone leaving mess in the JCR. Dhruv talks about fining people for leaving mess
TG – Don’t let Dhruv leave it HL – After rugby match, spent 20 minutes cleaning up JCR, still mess the morning after for pantry ladies
TWS – What happened to Sam’s bin report?
HL – not sure, have put up posters, people just put mess on top.
KM – when are the rugby team going to finish up the cleaning up?
IB – sent an email to rugby team, not going to the dean, explained that its not acceptable though.
TWS – fines are going to be very hard to implement.
KM – people are opposed to fines. So unpopular. New term and freshers, but don’t know what to do.
JRJE – on Saturday putting on the rugby on the big screen, immediately followed by the bop. Want to keep the chairs in the JCR, want to try and ensure there is less rubbish. Could people put a few things in the bin, move chairs then that would be very helpful. Will make an announcement
JH – JCR deans should be doing this. Nicki, Dom Jay etc.?
RS – a lot of the mess is pantry plates, putting posters right up by pantry? Something like that instead of fines
HL – might be a good idea to get staff to mention it to people. But lots of general rubbish anyway
KM – deans do nothing. Joke role, not on committee, will be a watse of time to have enforcement done by deans
TWS – when theres hustings next time, could we make it a bit more that deans are a proper role?
RS – if we’re rejigging roles, put it as the environment and ethics rep.
HL – email any suggestions to me. Could discuss it for ages
MB – Bop on Saturday, only 2 other bops. Tempted to split committee in half, if don’t turn up to that bop I’ll kill you!
JRJE – For rave bop we ordered some glosticks. 300 or so. Because of postal strike they came late. Easier to send them back, or try to sell them? £100 for 300.
HL – if you think you can sell them keep them, if not then send them back
JRJE – do we need to pass it?
IB – no, like alcohol sales for bops, over several times. Not extraordinary
RC – wanted to do a charity funfair. Carl said no due to exams, want to do it this term before it gets too cold. Provisional dates: Fri 2nd November, or next Saturday. Wanted your opinion on events. We have colleges permission to do it this term
HL – speak to Carl this term
RC – Will do. Any ideas?
KM – Saturday better than Friday.
TWS – would suggest not having the wet sponge thing – very cold.
JRJE – just a daytime thing.
RC – bouncy castle, rodeo. Will be supervised, checked out prices. Don has volunteered for waxing. Any other ideas?
MB – How much do they cost, and wheres money coming from?
RC - £100 for bouncy castle. Rodeo ball £250 for 4 hours, £5 for entries. Definitely make money back plus more charities.
KM - £5 for £10 is way too much money.
IB – money doesn’t roll over for budget. GM this Sunday, £100
RC – How feasible would it be ?
KM – Sounds like great idea.
RC – We’re talking about Saturday of 4th week.
TG – If you want pantry food, you need to sit down to talk to me about it before.
MB – How do we exclude people from coming to it?
RC – Its at Jowett.
IB – need to email Jim Head and need to let Masters PA know for permission
TWS – What is a better way to make money, charge for entry or charge for day?
JE – What if it’s a day like yesterday?
IB – If it rains, then there is no contingency.
JE – Also there is considerable expenditure. Unlike June Jamboree
IB – I can show you about health and safety plans that would need to be written.
TG – Can you do a deal with the bouncy castle, so if it rains we cancel
KM – Can we have more tuna at the lunch>
RW – Loads of stuff is left in the storage rooms. Ville and I annoyed because so much is left. Plan on chucking everything out. Throw stuff away – 25 to 30 DVDs. Do we just bin it?
MB – does sound harsh, but have given people ample permission
KM – might need to check people not in college for medical etc. reasons
IB – Is the stuff named?
RW – Yes
IB – have you sent emails specifically?
RW – No shouldn’t have to
KM – You should
AR – Some people have left and left things in the storage rooms. Can’t just throw it away.
MB – Could go through dev office, but might not be forthcoming
KM – Could use facebook to contact them.
TG – lots of hassle for overseas to go to the effort of contacting things
IB – I think it is part of the job though, like photos in JCR office
KM – What you signed up to do
MB – recommend one final maillist email. Bin it or sell it.
IB – think we could get into trouble for not sending personal emails
KM – people could complain about lack of emails
IB – please come to the GM this weekend, theres an important motion going through regarding a VAT declaration
TG – first GM of term was bizarre, can we please make an effort not to be annoying. I was embarrassed to be associated by the JCR that night
MB – Yes.
JH – Whats happening this weekend? JRJE – Set up DJ stuff without screen. Then move everything else
JH – Make it standing?
JRJE – No, not that hard to move things
KM – Will annoy people, lots of people not able to see.
TG – Money making idea, deep fat fryer? Got access to pantry. Can’t use deep fat fryer, ruin all entz stuff
IB – Nicki may be trying to set up a bar upstairs, not sure yet.
MB – All feel sorry for me, I’m stuck in the medical dinner at the time.
TG –Hahahaha, That sucks, tell them you are ill.
MB – Thanks everyone.
Committee Lunch – 3rd Week Michaelmas Term, 22nd October 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (Vice-President)
IB – Ian Bergson (Treasurer)
JEH – Jack Hickish (Secretary)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
JHill – Jamie Hill (Admissions)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
WS – Will Sharp (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
DM – Don Mackintosh (Foody)
NE – Nathan Ewin (Ball President)
VH – Ville Haussila (Overseas)
RW – Robin Winkler (Overseas)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
BB – Ben Bleasdale (SWD)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep) MB – Mike Blyth (J de B)
HM – Henri Moore (J de B)
Who Words of Wisdom
HL First thing I want to say is can you all come to the office with me and I’ll hand out whats in your pidges. Second, how many of you have started your handover packs [very few]. You have folders with dividers in the office. You can take them away, just bring them back. You also need to write and end of year officer’s report. Start thinking about that
KM Do I have to write a housing paper for exec?
HL You can do.
KM So I’ll wait till I’m asked.
TWS In your handover pack do you put what you should have done or above and beyond stuff?
HL Both.
IB One way of doing it is to divide it up into what you need to do on a weekly and termly basis. And if you’ve done anything special like starting an event, keeping the emails is really useful to keep a record of what’s happened.
KM A timetable of what you do in the year is so useful. It means you’re less likely to miss deadlines.
MB It’s getting near election time – could everyone produce one poster before next com lunch to advertise your position so someone will run for it. Then start convincing people that running for your job is what they want to do.
RC Bad news. No charity fun fair. Carl Woodall said yes but Jim Head is having an operation at the end of october, and since I wanted it beginning of November he said no.
MAYA I need to pass £20 for refreshments for peer support training.
KM Usually everyone just chips in £1 and that’s how it’s paid for.
HL Get in touch with someone who’s done iot before and see what they did?
MAYA I spoke to RS, she said they paid themselves – but she wasn’t on committee at the time and didn’t have access to JCR funds.
HL What are people’s thoughts?
IB After they’ve been trained they serve the JCR so I think we should pass it.
HL Any objections? [none] that passes.
NH We need to room raid again – we’ve lost about £150 of stuff.
HL What do you want to do about it?
NH I tried using disposable plastic to get people to bring glasses back but it didn’t seem to make any difference.
HL When do you want to do it?
NH It doesn’t necessarily have to be early.
KM If we do it early we can use scouts keys.
MAYA Is there no way we can ask scouts to look out for glasses?
NH It’s not really scouts’ job and I think if they started removing things from people’s rooms there’d be trouble.
TG It’s not ok to barge into someone’s rooms. You’re going to see things you don’t want to see and it’s about personal space.
MB If people are thinking about stopping serving various people – it came up in discussion about the JCR. We can if we want just lock the bar or lock the JCR. Then people would bring there stuff back.
HL That has been done in the past, but before that stage I think in the JCR we’d have a 24hr cleaning strike.
NH Closing the bar is much more detrimental to the bar than losing glasses. Freshers haven’t been raided yet – let’s try. And rather than trying to get keys. If we have an unpublicised raid people won’t know it’s us and then if you keep a list of what rooms didn’t answer I can go back later.
TWS About a cleaning strike – people made the mess in the first place I don’t think they’d really notice if the mess was left there.
HL I think it would make a difference if in the moringings people had to sit down with a days worth of crap on the table.
AS I think locking the JCR is a bit extreme and being a 2nd year living out it would be really annoying.
HL It’s really annoying having to spend 20 mins cleaning it.
AS It annoys me too, but I don’t think locking it for a day will make a difference, the next day I think it would be just the same.
HL We have to do something, the cleaner is payed to clean, not tidy up people’s crap.
AS Yeah I think the cleaning strike is a bad idea.
KM I don’t think anyone was suggesting closing the bar – just moving on to punitive sanctions. I do think we could try harder on the just asking people to clean up they’re stuff, even if it does make us seem like boring people. And we could move the plate tray to near the door so that people can put stuff on it when they leave.
TG The only reason it’s in the corner is because it’s a bit gross. You can put it wherever you want.
KM Can you constitutionally close the JCR?
IB That’s what I was going to say – I don’t think so.
JRJE I think not announcing the room raid is a bad thing. For one thing, It doesn’t give people the chance to put they’re glasses outside, and I think most people just have glasses because they’re lazy. And also, if someone knocks on your door at 9am without telling you you’ll spin out.
AS We have time to do another room raid if this one is unsuccessful, let’s announce this one and we can always do another.
HL I’ve still got people to speak if they still want to. I’ve got that we’ll decide a date for a room raid. Re The JCR we’ll try telling people to clear up, then we’ll consider a cleaning strike, then we’ll consider closing the JCR if it doesn’t get better.
TG It’s not cool to close the JCR. People will hate us pantry will lose money, and we don’t really have the right to do it.
IB We can’t do it.
HL Ok let’s scrap that idea.
MAYA Can we make sure people know that the plastic glasses are reusable?
NH I’ve sent out countless emails.
AS Can one of us sit in the JCR and watch people who leave plates and put them on a shame wall?
MB We need to go to exec – let’s just set a room raid date.
HL Friday 8.30.
IB Update re what we were talking about at the GM. We haven’t been invoiced – we can’t send them a cheque until they invoice us. NH and I wrote a letter and sent it to HMCR they’ll recheck the interest amounts and send us an invoice. I think it’ll be about £8,100. Also, with refirbishment and this we’ve spent a lot of money. £300 on till, £100 on cage, £500 new speakers, ball lost £900, £8100 on this, £2000 on tv room. There’s no way that’s going to come back as our the profits and loss of the JCR are roughly equal. Our savings are in the region of £20 – £25k and so we’ve spent a significant amount of that. I think we need to think about getting some money back from a recovery levy, which has been done before when the summer event lost £8k. But it’s quite controversial.
TWS If there was a big issue you could put it as an optional levy, and I think enough people will care to pay it. Also, could be bring a motion to limit the expenditure.
IB Large expenditures have to go through a GM. What happened when the summer even lost £8k was that we had a £3 or £4 compulsory levy for several terms and that made back most of the loss.
NH The other point with this is that if we were paying VAT all along we wouldn’t have had to spend this money.
IB The ball wouldn’t have spent so much money if they’d known that 17.5% had to be paid as tax.
KM How much would the levy be?
IB I don’t know, maybe £1 or £2
KM I think the max you could do would be 3 terms because of the Ball issue.
AS Most expenditures were necessary. The summer event is a relatively small loss.
TWS Just for the record I think we all know that 70% of college don’t pay attention to what’s going on and will just see the levy and shrug.
IB They won’t even see the levy, it just goes on battels. And it shouldn’t be done without people noticing – It should be a big thing, to avoid paying you have to opt out of the JCR.
KM IB should come back when he’s decided on a timescale and an amount.
AS If we do this we need to make an effort to tell people why and how much.
IB Also, we will have paid the VAT bill beofre this goes to GM. If anyone has any ideas let me know.
HL Ok, that’s all. Email me if you have any other thoughts, and please remember to remind people to keep the JCR tidy.
Committee Lunch - 4th Week Michaelmas Term 29th October 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (VP)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
JF – Jess Ferrari (Ethnic Minorities)
Who? Words of Wisdom
HL Extraordinary Council at OUSU tommorow for review of student advice survice. Mike, Charlotte Fischer and possibly Kat/Anita will be going. It’s about reviewing the servic and they’re trying to keep it separate from VP Women issues.
KM They are soliciting suggestions to try and reform the service. HL They cancelled the VP Women referndum for this term. This kind of replaces it. A motion will be created, ammended and voted on by indicative pole
RS Women’s Campaign say they’re trying to get rid of VP Women. I don’t know if this is true, that’s just what they say.
HL McClucky wants it just focus on the SAS. This is just the initial stages
AS I’ll pitch up when my tute finishes even if I don’t have a voting role.
HL That’s all I have to say, the OUSU website is shit.
NH Sorry about the lack of room-raid. Any problem doing it tommorow morning?
AS/TG/Maya Can’t do it – rowing
NH Got swamped with work, forgot to send email. We’re doing it Wednesday 8:30. Email going out today
TG Anything happening on Val’s leaving things? We need to send them soon.
HL I’ll sort it
MB Has everyone done posters?
HL All posters in by the GM, they’ll go up on the board. We’ll fob off the winner with celebrations.
RS We want to advertise Arts’ Week (next week). I want a photo of committee holding signs to advertise it.
EVERYONE Game on
RC Two emails from Doug. 1 – Doug wants RAG pants for him/family and friends. We need a minimum of 20 orders or we can’t order any! If you want some more the deadline has been extended to Friday. 2 – The other email was re: the slave auction (not putting himself up). Mike, you wanted to get naked?
MB Yer
RC Doug tells me to keep it decent. Please, someone nominate themselves! Who want s to do it?
NH Targeting people works better than putting a list up.
JP Has everyone received their RAG pants forms? That may be why people have not ordered any yet.
JE In theory there’s a BOP on Saturday. Mike, clearup?
MB I’ll send one out to committee SB Starting plastic recylcing in the JCR. I need £30.
MB Just take the reciept to Denise
KM Speaking of bins
SB Getting round to it. Did some new signs, they’re wicked. People should start recylcing. The new plastic recylcing there’s a table to explain what can and can’t be recyclyed.
MB Nothing else? No! Brilliant, can people go and help Rosie do her picture.
RS Thanks guys
Committee Lunch – 5th Week Michaelmas Term 5th November 2007
Initials:
HL – Helen Lochead (President)
MB – Mike Blyth (VP)
NH – Nicki Hanger (Lady Lindsay)
KM – Kat Matfield (Dr WHO)
RS – Rosie Smith (Dr WHO)
TWS – Tiffany Woods-Shepherd (Admissions)
JE – John Erde (Entz)
JB – Jonathan Bish (Academic Affairs)
JE – Jennifer Etherington (Affiliations)
AS – Adam Smith (Affiliations)
JH – Jack Hobbs (Mr D&M)
RC – Rebecca Coleman (Charities)
JP – Jordan Perry (Charities)
TG – Tom Gibson (Foody)
CH – Charlotte Heard (Womens)
AR – Anita Rao (Womens)
SB – Sam Baars (Mike Woodin Rep)
Maya – Maya Bahoshy (Ethnic Minorities)
JF – Jess Ferrari (Ethnic Minorities)
Who? Words of Wisdom…?
HL Anything for the agenda?
RC Lucy K approached me about the white ribbon campaign – men against violence towards women. I need £20 to buy some ribbons.
KM The charity has a strange ethos where men don’t sell ribbons. How do you plan to sell ribbons whilst maintaining this ethos? RC I’ll just send out an email.
HL Any obs? That passes.
HL Why is it just men against violence against women?
RC Women are allowed to support this charity but it’s not something they promote. It’s encouraged that men buy the ribbons.
MB It makes the message stronger.
KM There are already lots of charities run by women for this cause.
NH The room raid was particularly unsuccessful. I don’t know where they’ve gone. If you have any suggestions come and see me.
HL I was talking to my friend in Magdalen. Every time they take a drink out of the bar they have to decant the drink into a disposable cup.
MB I don’t think we could bank on any sort of trust thing seeing how everyone steals the glasses.
HL But it can’t make things any worse.
KM It’s hard to make sure people do it and there’s not a convenient place for decanting.
NH Disposable glasses are a waste, but we can’t keep losing glass glasses made of glassy glass.
HL I can send an email to pres list asking what they do in other college bars.
SB I should say something about the waste, but I was just going to propose an airline style search at the exit.
KM We lock people in unless they can prove they have no glasses.
HL Well if anyone thinks of anything drop NH an email.
SB The yellow recycling bin in the JCR fills up with student papers – it seems like we get quite a lot. Could we stem the waste at the source and not get so many?
KM We did it before – it was reduced to 100. We get twice as many of each student newspaper as all the others combined in a week.
TWS If you’re on the recycling rota should you empty the JCR bin?
SB I’m doing that myself now I’m in college.
TWS And the nonrecycling bin the the post room is always full of paper.
SB I’m going to put a sign up. AS I’m not putting the Balliol newsletter in every toilet cos I think it’s a waste, so I’ve just left 40 odd copies in the JCR. I’m waiting for some feedback.
RC Where did the idea come from?
AS I wanted to promote info about OUSU – other colleges do similar things.
KM Do they usually cover more than just OUSU?
AS A lot of them combine things like OUSU with gossip, but we have J de B already.
RC I’ve never bought anything with JCR money – how do I buy the ribbons?
HL Buy them, keep the receipt and Denise will give you the money back.
HL Everyone come to bonfire night pantry. And smores are [really need a diagram] but chocolate and marshmellow stuff with biscuits.
RC When’s the last committee lunch?
HL Monday 8th. We also hve the AGM when we need to review standing policy. And OUSU elections…
AS Elections are Thurs 6th week. The problem is a lot of people have declared allegances so they can’t work the ballot box. I’m supposedly returning officer. We also have OUSU husts here on Thurs. I was going to ask for Pres and Welfare…
KM Don’t do welfare – I’ve got loads of husts. I think we should get finance.
AS I think the 4 main are Pres, VP Finance, Welfare and Women. But if KM doesn’t want welfare I’ll do the other 3. I’ll start sending emails out for ballot box minders soon. I think voting’s 9am-9pm but I’ll check. If anyone wants to be on the box let me know.
KM Can you stop people taking down posters.
AS I’ll patrol the JCR.
MB If you haven’t done a poster yet for JCR elections do it and stick them up. That’s all.
Committee Lunch - 2007-11-19
TWS Can I pass £40-50 for some games for interviews?
KM There are games sitting in the office.
TWS They're all broken and missing bits.
SB Will you be able to get much for £40?
TWS We've got some stuff already, and Woolworth's are doing a 3 for 2.
MB If there are any volunteers for casino night, email Bex.
TWS When is it?
MB Monday.
MB There are still lots of empty folders in the office where handover packs should be - get them done.
SB Since I've got no-one to handover to, as a minor upside in a field of woe, can I write the pack over Christmas?
MB Yes, but everyone else needs to have it done before the vac.
MB This Sunday is the AGM. You all need to write annual officers reports. Please do them - you'll look like a complete knob if you don't.
TWS How long do they have to be?
MB Mine's pushine 5 pages. There's a folder of the old officer reports in the office, by all means have a browse.
MB And remember that next week you're still supposed to be doing your job. Try and bring your successor to Committee Lunch and convince then to be at the AGM.
MB Have we made any progress on the lock in?
NH Oh wank. I need to see if i need the Dean's permission, although he knows it happens anyway. It'll probably be Wednesday of 8th week. Committee's invited and select non-committee people - Duckworth, Entz Committee, Bar Secs - but keep it quiet because we can't have other people there. JH How much are drinks?
NH 50p for each of the first six drinks.
JRJE Can Henri come?
MB Anyone got any objections to that? Then Henri can come too.
JH Is anyone from next year's committee invited?
NH No.
JE Next Committee Lunch we'll have the bin report - whey!
MB If anyone is interested in John Lee's apology it's in the office.
MB Also if you want to meet with your successors and have a chat that'd be nice
Committee Lunch - 2007-11-26
HL I hope the people in this com all have handover packs as they’re mandated to do and you’ve managed o have a chat with your successor about what your role involves. In com lunch we basically sit here, have some sandwiches and do some talking. It’s far more informal than a GM – we make up an agenda as we go along. First thing I want to do today is to pass around Xmas cards for JCR staff for you to sign.
MB Further to the cards it would be nice if you plumped in with some others – especially for the staff you’ve worked with a lot over the year.
HL This is a bit awkward because the current overseas officer’s aren’t here. New officers, have you met Ville and Robin – have you decided what’s going on with storage rooms this vac?
SW They’re doing it this vac.
RC All of the things that have been confiscated form the storage rooms – before I give them away to charity should something be done about them?
HL Leave it for now, I’ll send emails out to people to see if anyone wants to reclaim their stuff.
RC Casino night – hmmm. Sold 30 tickets. So yeah – tell everyone to buy a ticket, it’s going to be amazing. Anyone you come into contact with between now and then tell them to go.
TG Just wanted to get in the pipeline getting new Foodies a food certificate
?? It’s already been organised
TG Cool.
MB At the last bop usually the new committee clean up – if you’re on this and next committee. You’re usually exempt. At some point Adam and Jen will send out an email with who’s cleaning. And to the Entz boys – Maureen doesn’t want anything sprayed on the windows, it takes ages to get off.
NH And don’t overload the lift – last time it cost loads to fix. Go easy on it.
AR Are Entz getting a snow machine?
HL How much – it hasn’t gone to GM?
JE Bout £20 IB Then that can go through now.
JE Me and Entz had a big sit down and chatted about leads and stuff – the speakers will be here.
AS All the new committee can you stay around for 5 minutes and I’ll have a chat with you then.
MB Just prior to Sam’s 9 month in the making bin report I think everyone should say happy birthday to Erde.
JH Is someone going to sing? I think someone should sing… Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear John Raymond Jeremy Erde, Happy Birthday to you.
SB On that note let’s hit the bin report. [see www.ballioljcr.org/site/thejcr/meetings/cl/BinReport.ppt it'll take a few moments to load any you'll have to copy + paste the link]
MB Do you happen to know Carl Woodall’s middle name?
SB Sebastian?
MB Vivian!
HL In light of your report what can we do about the state of our JCR?
SB Broadly speaking I think we need more bins – perhaps a nexus 50, all the features but condensed into a smaller package. Or wall mounted bins. Worry not, we will be co-opting an environment rep. to deal with bins in future.
NH On a boring note – does anyone have the same model laptop as the JCR – it’s really broken and we need a spare power lead to test it.
HL I’ll misc list something.
HL Where is JP – where’s the library committee report that we were promised?
JB The toilet’s are now open at all times. People have complained that the computers are too slow so they will be replaced in the near future. Also new security measures are going to be brought in to stop book theft. And something JP didn’t bring up that I asked him too – a water machine and opening hours.
HL I emailed preslist to see what everyone else’s hours are – and lots of them have got back to me saying they have 24hrs – I don’t know if that info helps you.
JB I was thinking that in 9th week LR23 could be booked so that at least people have a nice big room to work in. I’ve put that in my handover pack.
HL If you’re not happy with your handover pack – or you haven’t got one – let me know. Officers are mandated to get you one by Saturday 8th week. And thank you for the gifts – the flowers were fantastic thank you very much.
HL New committee stick around for a few minutes, and old committee thanks for all your work and general support and tolerance of me when I get stressed. It’s really appreciated.
General Meetings
General Meeting - 2007-01-14
AM Let’s kick off the first gm of the new year. [cheers]
Has anyone got anything to add to their officers report? No. Any questions to officers? No. Wow! Let’s move on to the passage of motions. Motion a – Entz committee – any objections? [yes]. b) Sponsorship of a child? Any objections [no]. c) Purchase of a smart till for pantry - any objections? [yes]. d) Pantry dinner - any objection? [yes]. Lets move on to motion a).
Motion: Entz Committee by John Erde and Will Sharp
This JCR notes:
1) Standing Order 4.3.3, which states that Entz Committee shall consist of the Entz Officers, Lord Lindsay and two other members.
2) That entz committee do a lot of stuff.
This JCR believes:
1) That they would be better able to do this work if they had more people.
This JCR resolves:
1) To change standing order 4.3.3 to read: "The Entz Committee shall consist of the Entz Officers, Lord Lindsay and up to five other members".
2) To co-opt for these extra members along with the other unfilled positions this term.
Minutes: WS Previously entz committee had two people on it. In the 2001 thriller, fight club, rumours flew around as to whether Tyler Durden was building an army. We want to do the same. With a large army we can do more, and we don’t even have to pay entz committee behind the bar – free labour. And we’d like someone to watch the cage.
AM Any SFQs? No. We’ll move to debate.
MB Where has the number 5 come from?
WS We could have taken it to any number we want to. The bar always has one member of entz com. there. We want two people on committee all the time to avoid drinks being given away – which happened a lot in the last bop. With me and JE overseeing, mathematically speaking 5 is a good number to man the bar and help out.
AM Any more debate?No. Move to vote. Motion passes without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Purchase of a smart till for pantry by Tom Gibson and Donald Mackintosh, Foody Brothers
This JCR notes:
1)That pantry is making a considerable loss and requires heavy subsidies from college and from other JCR services.
2)That it is, at present, very difficult to gain the broad understanding of pantry finances necessary to begin solving this problem.
3)That the present pantry till only records the amount of money taken and not what is sold.
4)That an awareness of how much of each item is sold is required in order to gain a better understanding of where pantry makes its money and of the demand for each item which pantry sells.
5)That the bar successfully uses a smart till in order to obtain this information.
6)That the average cost of a smart till is in the region of £400.
This JCR believes:
1)That the purchase of a smart till, which records how much of each item is sold as well as the amount of money taken, would enable pantry to become more cost effective, by helping to minimise wastage and allowing a better understanding of pantry's finances to be obtained.
This JCR resolves:
1)To pass a sum of upto £400 for the purpose of purchasing a smart till for use in pantry.
Minutes: AM We now move to the smart till purchase motion, proposed by TG and DM.
TG As you may or may not know, the till in the bar is a smart till – it records which drinks are sold. The pantry till records how much money we take, but not what we sell. So we cannot tell what sells well and what sells badly. If we had a smart till we could, and so we could improve pantry.
DM This costs around £350 - £400.
TG Also a smart till will help keep track of tabs.
WS My concern is that the till you choose might not be the optimal till. Please explain why your till kicks the asses of all other tills in that price range.
DM We’re going for a casio – its reasonably cheap but has all the features we need. TG It has enough fields to include all the stock we intend to sell. The till in the bar has lasted 6-7 years, so they last a long time.
JP Will buying a till eventually reduce subsidies to pantry?
DM It will help us improve pantry so it’s more successful. So eventually it will help reduce the subsidies pantry needs.
KM How many times has the bar till had to be serviced?
AM To my knowledge only once, and that was only because a screw came loose.
MB Are the tills easy to use?
DM Easier to use than the one we have because you can just hit the button for the thing you’re selling.
SK Some people in the bar just go for any button that gives the right price.
AM That’s because Lord Lindsays have told them to do that. It’s relatively easy in the bar to keep track of whats being sold without the till.
NH Also in the bar the till isn’t always up to date with current stock.
KM How easy is it to update the buttons?
DM Quite easy, though probably we won’t keep printing out new sheets. It’s a short term hassle but after that good.
JE Will you still be able to mix and match things like in pantry breakfast?
TG Yeah, we’ll have like a button for sausage, egg, etc
MB Surely you cant have a button for everything? There are hundreds of items that pantry stocks.
TG Not everything, but we’ll still have a button for most things.
AM No more SFQs so let’s move to debate. [no debate] Move to vote. Motion passes without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Sponsorship of a child by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) The JCR currently charges a compulsory levy of 21p to all members to sponsor a child in Africa.
2) Venki, the child the JCR is currently sponsoring, will now be able to be supported by his parents since they are now earning more. 3) The letter sent from the Ellen Sharma Memorial Trust to the JCR accounts clerk thanking the JCR for their support of Venki's education, and reporting back that he is doing very well at school.
4) The trust's request to continue the sponsorship for a different child, Veronika.
5) Veronika is being supported and educated in the trust's hostel.
This JCR believes:
1) That sponsoring a child is a good thing, and should continue.
This JCR resolves:
1) To continue with the sponsorship of a child and change the child sponsored to Veronika.
Minutes: Motion passed nem con.
Result: Passed
Motion: Pantry Dinner by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) Pantry Dinner is thought to lose significant amounts of money.
2) Hall has increased in popularity a great deal recently.
3) Each of the last 3 JCR treasurers has recommended Pantry Dinner be closed.
4) The resignation of the chef who has worked Pantry Dinner for at least the previous 5 years, effective 31st January.
This JCR believes:
1) This provides an ideal opportunity to review Pantry Dinner.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR Services Committee to undertake a wholesale review of Pantry Dinner, to collect information on how frequently the service is used, and to present its findings and a proposal for action at the GM on Sunday of 3rd week.
2) To encourage JCR members to contribute to this review by completing the forthcoming JCR services questionnaire.
3) That no action will be taken without a full democratic decision.
Minutes: AM Now move to final motion. IB This week we learnt that Louis in pantry is resigning as of the 31st january. We know that pantry makes a considerable loss, mostly at dinner. We would like as services com. to have a review to establish how pantry is running.
AM Friendly Amendment. (1)
Amendment passes without opposition. SFQs?
JB How much money does pantry dinner lose, and how much profit does the bar make?
IB It’s difficult to answer how much pantry loses.
HM It varies from day to day. By changing to potatoes we don’t throw away so much we now lose about 75% less. All money is lost at dinner still though.
IB Denise and Maureen do work for both the bar and pantry. They get paid from the account that pantry finances go into and it’s difficult to decide how much of their time they spend on pantry. It’s also difficult to work out how much of various stock pantry uses.
AM Between the last year the bar made between £2000-£4000. Depending on maintenance costs.
AL How many weeks till Louis leaves? Does this motion result in a report back with a proposal for action, or just a report?
IB Probably a proposal for action. We have structured the motion to fit in when GMs are being held. We spoke about this earlier today in service com. We need to talk to the members of staff before we plan any changes.
AM Received Amendment (2)
Any opposition? Seeing none Amendment passes. Any more SFQs?
JWH Can you give a rough estimate of how much we subsidise pantry?
IB Between £6000-£9000, £3000 comes from £6 services levy. The remainder comes from the money college gives us. Depending on what we decide for pantry, we may be able to reduce the levy.EB and JH calculate it cost £40 – £60 in overheads to open pantry for dinner.
HM How much are Maureen and Denise’s wages?
IB Around £12000 I think. They’re full time staff, so that is a considerable outlay.
NH If pantry dinner was stopped, could pantry still be opened on special days like GMs?
IB Yes, as long as whoever was running it had a food hygiene certificate.
DP If pantry was scrapped and we should see that as well as opening pantry for special occasions there is also the option of having a regular guest night or formal hall that balliol doesn’t currently have. IB That could be considered. That wouldn’t just be a JCR decision and we’d have to talk about our policy on formal hall that we have currently.
AM No more SFQs – move to debate.
IB If we do the survey that’s in the motion do that online but also give us any other suggestions you have.
JP Pantry will soon have a new smart till, do we need to have this investigation when the new till might significantly improve things. Why not postpone this motion till next time in case pantry is still failing?
MB Louis is leaving in a few weeks, and the till would take 2 weeks to arrive. It takes a while to change anything with pantry so we’d really have to figure things out now because of the time constraints caused by Louis’ imminent resignation.
HM We need to decide whether or not to replace Louis.
KM We can defer the decision, but that means we may end up hiring someone and then firing them again in 2 months.
IB The last 3 treasurers have recommended closing pantry. Louis leaving gives us an opportunity to act.
NH If pantry dinner closes remember it does not have to close for good.
JB I’m not sure how much knowing what is bought in pantry dinner will help. It is rarely used and it is making a loss. We know we have an opportunity now to look into closing pantry. We should take that opportunity.
SK We don’t know what proposals this investigation will bring. So lets let the investigation go ahead and then we’ll see.
AM Move to vote has been called. [no opposition to MTV]. Lets have speeces in proposition and opposition.
MB Prop: all the motion does is mandate a committee to do their job anyway. They’re going to have to do this anyway.
JP Opp: if they can collect info on what is sold when the smart till comes that will change the scope of the investigation. With regards to a possible 2 month employment, as long as this is made clear to whoever we employ I don’t think that’s an issue. I don’t think an investigation would be productive at this stage.
AM [Vote] Motion passes.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-01-28
AM Ok let’s get moving. First, any problems witht the minutes of the last GM? Seeing none we move on, any officers who want to add to their reports or questions to officers?
Lets move on to passing of motion nem con. Any objections to the punting motion? Yes. Pantry Dinner? We’ll talk about that. Any objections to formal hall? We’ll talk about that too.
Motion: Formal Hall by John Lee
The JCR notes:
1. That there is in our standing policy the statement “To reintroduce formal hall would be a bad thing”
2. That formal hall does not entail evening dress, or even gowns.
The JCR believes:
1. That it can be a very good thing- it gives the chance for people to enjoy a formal dinner in the presence of good company and atmosphere.
2. That it is bad only if, contingently on expensive prices, it excludes some members as a result of their lack of money.
3. That in principle and in itself, formal hall is not a bad thing.
The JCR resolves:
1. To strike out the statement “To reintroduce formal hall would be a bad thing” from the JCR’s standing policy.
2. To not put anything from this into the standing policy.
Minutes: AM We’ll move to the last motion – Formal hall, proposed by JL
JL The first thing to note is that this motion doesn’t mandate us to do anything. It’s purely a principle thing. I felt that this statement in the standing policy is not representative of current JCR opinion. It doesn’t say anything about why hall is not viable, and is just a point of principle. All that will happen if the motion passes is we get rid of a statement that formal hall is a bad thing. It is neither for nor against, buit it just means that the JCR isn’t anti-hall.
WS On a constitutional point, how does something become part of standing policy?
AM The standing policy is everything we pass in the JCR believes part of a motion, and also things explicitly stated in JCR resolves.
WS In that case, you’re replacing a statement with another statement – JL’s opinion – not nothing. JH It is at the chair’s discretion how much of believes goes into standing policy. AM can decide whether this is a motion just to remove a statement or whether believes will go into standing policy.
AM I recommend that someone on the floor brings an Amendment to create a resolves 2 – that the chair will not put anything new into standing order.
JS Is this the start of a move to bring other motions and to eventually reintroduce formal hall?
JL This motion is a necessary condition to bringing back formal hall, but not sufficient.
DM Do you want formal hall back?
AM That’s not factual.
WS Bearing in mind we’re a college without formal hall so we don’t understand the concept fully. Your motion says that you don’t need to dress formally, so then what makes the hall formal, and what’s the difference between that and a guest dinner?
JL Guest dinner costs around £25 and can be black tie and include wine. Normal hall costs £3 and it just your standard hall. Formal hall would fall somewhere between the two. It doesn’t necessarily entail wearing formal clothes, but this is not something the motion specifies.
WS I was wondering what the particular point in the standing policy is objecting to?
AM It’s left over from a thought that people had that dressing up and paying a lot to eat in hall was not something Balliol wanted to subscribe to. That’s not the case anymore thought. The 3 formal halls I’ve been to have been around £5 and the food has been middling to horrendous.
JLO The only difference between normal and formal hall is that someone brings you your food rather than queuing up and you have more time to talk and socialise. It has nothing to do with gowns.
AM Any SFQs? Then is there a speech in opp?
WS Bearing in mind we still haven’t decided what of this will go into standing policy, if you’re getting rid of a statement that formal hall is bad, bringing a new statement that formal hall should be introduced would be a bad thing.
AM I have an Amendment:
Amendment reads: To add JCR resolves 2: “To not put anything from this into the standing policy”
AM Amendment is friendly, any opp? Seeing none it goes into the motion and we’ll continue with points of debate.
?? I think we’re starting a slippery slope, where we end up spending like £25 for formal hall AC I don’t think this motion is about bringing anthing back, it just says that standing policy shouldn’t say that we don’t want it.
LM Let’s not forget why the statement is there. There are 2 ways to price formal hall. One is to make it expensive which exclude people who can’t afford it, the other is to up the kitchen rent charge, which we’re already against as a JCR
JM Pricewise, I know of no college that has only formal hall and no other option. That would obviously be a bad thing. Formal hall ranges from £7-£10 there’s no way that it would be anything like £25, no matter how bad AG is at economics.
AM I’ve heard a MTV. Any opp? Can I have a speech in prop?
AC Bearing in mind this motion doesn’t have any actual consequences, it’s time for us all to express our opinion in a vote.
AM And a speech in opp?
JL I want to bring up something that was missed in debate
AM All in favour of MTV? 30 Against MTV? 13. Abbstentions? Seeing none, the MTV carries unless anyone requests a recount.
WS I want a recount, someone walked in and raised their hand without knowing what for.
AM So we recount, all those in favour of MTV? 32 Against? 16 Abbstentions? 1
Then it doesn’t pass as it needs 2/3
JL I think we’ve lost our way in debate. This is not anything to do with the practical side of formal hall. We can cross that bridge in the future if anyone wants. The purpose of this motion is to get rid of an aged and dogmatic statement.
JS It may not be about the practicality of bringing back formal hall, but that doesn’t exclude a debate on the issue. As a JCR we don’t go into doing things which could be perceived to be expensive and excluding. This is not just a statement in the policy that is just left over, as LM said it is there for a purpose, and if we wish to get rid of it we should do so for a reason.
WS No-one knows what the statement is in standing policy for so that’s why its anachronistic. MTV.
AM Any opp? No. Then any opp to the motion? Can I have a speech in prop?
JL Just remember that this is not about getting formal hall back. It’s about removing a statement we don’t really believe anyway.
AM And a summary in opp? LM There was a reason the statement was in and we haven’t really had a proper debate, anyway I don’t care.
AM Ok, all those in favour of the motion? That’s clearly more than half, so the motion passes.
AM Thankyou everyone.
Result: Passed
Motion: Punting in Trinity Term by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) Punting is fun
2) Punting with strawberries, pimms and other picnic-y things is particularly fun
3) It is usual for the JCR to hire a punt in Trinty term
4) The quote of £975 for a punt from 0th to 9th week for Trinity
5) That the MCR has agreed to contribute one third of the price, leaving the JCR to pay £650
6) In previous years, the cost of punting was £6 for a 2 hour slot in the week, and £12 at weekends
7) For the last three Trinity terms, the punts have lost money over the term as a whole - £326, £394 and £458 respectively over the last 3 years
This JCR believes:
1) That we should hire a punt for the use of JCR and MCR members for Trinity Term 2007
2) That running the punts at a loss is a bad thing
3) That it would be better to allow JCR members to punt for free, by charging a levy to cover the cost, thus ensuring no loss is made
This JCR resolves:
1) To authorise the expenditure of £650 to hire a punt for Trinity term
2) To make the bookings of punts for JCR members free
3) To recoup this money by charging all JCR undergraduates a compulsory levy of £2, only in Trinity Term 2007
Minutes: AM First IB will propose the first motion.
IB We normally hire a punt for JCR members in TT and it goes through a GM. Previously people pay £6 to hire it in the week or £12 at weekend. It costs the JCR £600 to hire, we lose about 2/3 of this each year. I propose having it free and paying for it with a 2 compulsory levy. AM SFQs?
How do we keep track of bookings?
IB You sign up in the lodge, I may create online bookings.
RS We always used to lose money, so if we’re not going to under the new system that means we’re paying more doesn’t it?
IB Yes. Of course we don’t have to get a punt at all, it’s just something that we’ve always done.
CP Is there some way to restrict people from hogging the punt?
IB Yeah, that wouldn’t be difficult to do though it’s never been a problem in the past. Often it doesn’t get used, especially during weekends, so I think if its free it’ll get used more.
NH Is there anywhere else people can hire punts from?
IB Only if they go privately, which is much more expensive.
AM No more SFQs, so we move to debate, any objections to the motion?
RS I’m not really sure why everyone should pay when it’ll just subsidise those who use it a lot. I’m not sure that’s the best way of doing things.
IB That’s a good point, it just seems stupid that the JCR should lose so much money each year. The compulsory levy system won’t cost members much and it saves us form losing money.
MB On RS’s point, everyone pays for dental dams and lube, but not everyone uses them.
IB Just so everyone’s aware, there was a possibility of having an option levy instead, but then the income is unpredictable and there’s more administration.
AM Seeing no-more debate, a summary speech in prop?
IB I like punting, I hope if its funded in this way, more people will use it.
AM A speech in opp? No, but there is opp? Yes?
AM All those in favour vote now. The motion clearly passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Pantry Dinner by Ian Bergson & Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1. Pantry Dinner is now used typically by 15-30 students every night.
2. Pantry Dinner appears to lose around £400 - £600 termly. 3. The Appendix to this motion, "Financial Report on Pantry Dinner", containing data from the recent JCR services survey and financial information.
4. That Pantry's current chef, Louis Moyo, is resigning effective from 31st January 2007
5. The motion that passed the GM on 14th January, mandating the Services Committee to to undertake a wholesale review of Pantry Dinner and come forward with a proposal at this GM.
This JCR Believes:
1. The loss made on Pantry Dinner is one we should be prepared to continue making, given the service provided.
2. Pantry Dinner is not the problem, nor is closing it the solution.
This JCR Resolves:
1. That Pantry Dinner should continue operating.
2. That Pantry should remain the focus of the work of the Services
Committee this year.
3. To hire a replacement for Louis Moyo.
Minutes: AM Move on to the pantry dinner motion – HL and IB.
IB At the last GM pantry dinner was discussed and figures were bounced around. We did the services survey and HL will talk about that. I’ve done the best analysis of last term’s figures I can. It doesn’t seem to be losing as much as people thought. It’s difficult to work out exactly because no- one knows how much is on tabs and how much of various stock is used. The loss doesn’t seem to be that large, I suggest that it’s worthwhile for the service it provides.
HL We’re going to look at the range of products and the value. We saw in the survey that a lot of people eat in hall with cards because its cheaper, but we want to make pantry more popular.
RO I’m worried that you might be double counting your income on tabs. Have you just assumed that all tabs are owed to you? Because most tabs are paid off so you take it as cash takings and then you count it again as tab takings.
JS I’m just trying to understand. When you pay off a tab, does it go though the till?
RO It’s just that if you are double counting you’re looking at a loss of more like £900.
AC POI. When I worked in pantry we didn’t put tab money through the till.
JH POI. When we counted tabs, we only subtracted from the losses the money that was waiting to be battled, not just all the tabs that had been paid.
JH The previous treasurer was confident that £3000 – £6000 is lost in pantry. We assumed that that was mostly dinner. But if you’re right it’s a bit concerning that £2000 - £5000 is being lost elsewhere. Will you look into where that money is being lost? IB It is wrong to say that most money is lost in dinner, but dinner is the only meal you can analyse seperately. I will look into it though.
MB I don’t understand believes 2.
AM I wrote that, I meant that dinner is not what is causing loss of money, and closing it will not solve pantry’s financial problems.
JS Why did Louis resign?
IB Personal reasons. As far as I know it’s not something that we did wrong.
AM Anymore SFQs? Seeing none we move to debate. Any speeches in oposition?
RO Sorry, one more SFQ. How likely is it that we’ll find another worker as cheap and good as Louis?
TG We spoke to Alice and she was positive about taking Louis’s place.
AM Any more points to be made?
IB Just to confirm, the figure is cash takings, I’m certain we didn’t double count.
AM Any more debate?
IB I will bring a similar report for the other thing for JH.
AM Any opp to the motion? Seeing none the motion passes.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-02-18
Speaker Words of Wisdom
HL Any objections to previous minutes?Any officers to give verbal reports?
JP We’re thinking about open mic nights…
HL Ethnic minorities?
MB We had a lunch with a fair few people. We had a few ideas about speakers and possible film nights.
HL Questions to officers?
KM A question for affiliations. I read that you went to OUSU council. Is that true or did you lie in your officer’s report?
JE Adam went.
HL I’ll now run through motions. Any opposition or debate for motion a), yes, b) yes, c) yes, d) yes, e) yes, f) yes
Motion: Hilary Term Elections by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) JCR Standing Order 5.13 -- "Elections for the JCR Arts Festival Coordinator (by Single Transferable Vote) and Comrade Shakespeare (by Single Transferable Vote) shall be held on the 7th Saturday of Hilary Full Term. The successful candidates shall take office from the 8th Saturday of Hilary Full Term."
2) There are also elections in Trinity Term held after the Ball to elect a new Ball Committee.
This JCR believes:
1) That an election held solely for the positions of Comrade Shakespeare and Arts Festival Coordinator is unnecessary.
2) That both positions could be filled just as effectively in a joint election of Ball Committee, Arts Week Coordinator and Comrade Shakespeare, held in Trinity Term.
3) That more people will vote in a joint election than an election held solely for Arts Week Coordinator and Comrade Shakespeare.
4) More people voting in JCR elections is a good thing.
This JCR resolves:
1) To change JCR Standing Order 5.13 to read "Elections for the JCR Arts Festival Coordinator (by Single Transferable Vote) and Comrade Shakespeare (by Single Transferable Vote) shall be held in conjunction with elections for Ball positions (outlined in Standing Orders 5.12). The successful candidates shall take office on the next Saturday following the day of elections."
Minutes: HL Mike Blyth to propose the first motion.
MB I have nothing more to add to what the agenda says.
SB How long does it take to organise arts week.
DM A few weeks if you’re going to do it properly.
MB The motion moves the elections to before the long vac, so it gives 4 months or so.
DM That’s probably long enough(!)
HL We now move into debate.
SB If the current Arts organisers think that the motion gives enough time to organise arts week then that’s fine.
WS MTV
HL Any objections to MTV? Seeing none, are there any objections to the motion? No objections, so the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Balliol Ball 2007 by Nathan Ewin
This JCR notes:
1. Balliol JCR constitution 5.5 -- "No member of the JCR shall be denied access to any JCR facility ... except on one evening during the first four weeks of Trinity Term, the date of which is to be decided by the Ball Committee and which must be passed by a two-thirds majority at a GM. On this evening, entrance to the Norway Room, Television Room, Lindsay Bar and pool room shall be by ticket only."
2. Balliol JCR standing orders 4.6, which details the roles and responsibilities of the Ball Committee.
3. Last year there was a summer event held on Saturday 6th May 2006 with the theme of Hollywood and Bollywood.
4. The motion passed in the GM of 5th week TT06 renaming the 'Balliol Summer Event' the 'Balliol Ball'.
5. In a survey of 189 members of the JCR and MCR, 126 members requested that the Balliol Ball be “More black tie than theme”. This JCR believes:
1. That there should be a Balliol Ball.
2. That a date of the 5th May will cause the least disturbance to the day to day running of college and its members.
3. Bearing notes 4 and 5 in mind Alchemy is an execllent theme that will allow the Ball Committee to put on an Ball that will rock your world. Guests will be able to have a lot of fun, whilst dressing up for a black tie event.
4. That to make the JCR suitable for the Ball it will require two days for the Ball and Entz Committees to decorate it
This JCR resolves:
1. That the Balliol Ball will take place on 5th May 2007.
2. That the theme shall be Alchemy and it shall be called “The Alchemist's Ball”.
3. To amend the Constitution 5.5 to read “No member of the JCR shall be denied access to any JCR facility ... except on one day during the first four weeks of TT...”
Minutes: HL We now move to the Ball motion.
NE I didn’t have much say in choosing the date of the ball, it was mostly College’s decision. We need 2/3 majority to pass the date so that we can close the JCR in the evening. I would like to close the JCR all day, so that we can transform the JCR. I think it’ll take 2 days to decorate, but as a compromise I’d like to propose a constitutional change to close it for a day. It wouldn’t change pantry for breakfast or lunch.
HL Any SFQs
AS What’s alchemy?
MB Lead into gold
WS Has anyone successfully practised alchemy?
NE Maybe harry potter?
WS Anyone real? Because if no-one has then the theme represents failure.
HL This isn’t really SFQ.Lets move to debate.
HL I have a friendly amendment from NE.
Amendment Adds This JCR believes iv) “That to make the JCR suitable for the Ball it will require two days for the Ball and Entz Committees to decorate it”Adds This JCR resolves iii) “To amend the Constitution 5.5 to read “No member of the JCR shall be denied access to any JCR facility ... except on one day during the first four weeks of TT...” ”
NE I’ll explain. I would like the JCR out of access for a day so that we can properly decorate it.
KM What about the TV room
NE We’re not using it, but all the chairs will go in there
MB How will you stop people from pantry going into the Norway room?
NE I haven’t thought that far yet.
HL Any debate? Any Opp? No, then the Amendment passes. Any objection to the motion as a whole? Seeing none, the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Vegetable Garden by Sam Baars
This JCR notes:
1) That Balliol does not currently grow any of its own food.
2) That because of this Balliol sources all of its food externally.
3) That this food often travels large distances to college.
4) That transporting food to college that could be grown in college involves unnecessary cost and contributes to climate change as a result of carbon emissions from transportation.
5) That Balliol has little or no free garden space, but that it is possible to grow vegetables on a plot as small as a metre square.
6) That if Balliol had a vegetable garden, anything produced could be used in Hall or Pantry.
7) That if Balliol had a vegetable garden it would need to be managed entirely by students.
This JCR believes:
1) That knowing how to grow your own food is an important life skill that many Balliol students do not have.
2) That growing your own food is an important contribution to environmental sustainability.
3) That this contribution is valid even if what you produce is unable to meet your consumption requirements. 4) That growing your own food is entertaining.
5) That an allotment is as attractive as a flowerbed.
This JCR resolves:
6) To actively support measures necessary for the establishment and management a vegetable garden in college.
Minutes: HL Now we move to the vegetable garden motion, proposed by Sam Baars.
SB As it says, I want your support for a vegetable garden
NE Where will it go?
SB I don’t know, probably in a flower bed. But I'm primarily asking for your support and help with manual labour if we get that far.
JTH What comes next?
SB I go to gardening committee and I’d like the JCRs support when I ask for a veg garden.
JTH How much will it cost,
SB I’m planning this to be zero cost. We don’t use fertilisers and things, as that’s college policy.
?? What can we grow?
SB I’m no expert but we have gardeners and others with some expertise. I’m sure we can grow something pantry can use and also growing food is a really useful skill. Hopefully we’ll learn something even if it doesn’t give us much return. Its about stating our commitment.
KM What are the chances of gardening committee agreeing?
SB In my meeting with the Domestic Bursar I mentioned it and he physically recoiled. But the chair of gardening committee is Penelope Bullock, who’s really lovely. The main problem is we don’t have much space, not like Worcester who have lots of barren wasteland. I think if we don’t ask for too much we’ll succeed, otherwise I wouldn’t be bringing the motion.
JH Will we actually be allowed to use the food we grow in pantry or hall?
SB There are bound to be restrictions on the growing of food for consumption but hopefully I can give it to pantry otherwise I’ll make a stew.
SM Have you considered the possibility of using Jowett and the masters field?
SB They might be more keen on that which is a possibility, but it makes it harder to work on the garden.
IB Who do you see as responsible for this long term? SB This has been done in other colleges, and the environment and ethics officer oversees it, with a rota of other people helping out.
MB Having been on food hygiene course, there’s a remarkable amount of hoops you have to jump through. Have you looking into the rules of using our own produce?
SB Not yet but I will do if the idea succeeds.
RC Is the obstacle selling the food? Could we give it away?
MB The rules aim to keep any kitchen from supplying food that’s not safe, even though I’m sure we’d all have no problem eating it. I don't think giving it away will be any better.
RC Will college dictate what we grow?
SB I’d like autonomy if we get the space, but the gardeners have some knowledge but I’d like their help to really be advisory.
HL An Amendment has been submitted.
Amendment Strike JCR believes v) “That an allotment is as attractive as a flowerbed”
WS It's blatantly not true. If it were, people would grow lettuces because the seeds are cheaper. Its just false.
SB Firstly a vegetable is a plant just like a flowering plant. The gardeners may well say that planting a giant turnip will ruin the look of college. But I think we need to broaden our horizons – I think people will come in and be impressed that we have an allotment.
IB MTV
HL In favour of MTV on amendment – that clearly passes
HL So, a speech in prop of amendment.
WS This is probably one of the most important part of the motion. What SB says when to gardeners committee. I think the best way forward is if he concedes that it looks worse but that it has other benefits.
HL And in opp
SB Broaden you mind.
HL All in favour? Against? Then the amendment fails.
HL Any more debate? Any objections to the motion? No then passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Negative externalities and the JCR by Dhruv Malhotra
The JCR notes
1) The JCR is very messy for a lot of the time
2) The JCR is not a nice place to be when it's messy
3) The JCR belongs to everyone equally
This JCR believes
1) Leaving a mess in the JCR is unfair to the other members of the JCR and to the staff, who have to clear it up
2) The JCR would be a better place if it were not messy
3) Keeping the JCR tidy would be easier if there was one person in charge of overseeing people cleaning up after themselves.
This JCR resolves
1) To create a temporary, non-committee position of King Bin, who will be responsible for a) telling people to clear up after themselves. b) looking into other ways of keeping the JCR tidy, including a system of fines for people who repeatedly leave a mess. c) communicating in simple, easy to understand English.
2) To nominate Dhruv Malhotra as King Bin for the duration of his time at Balliol, and to let the position of King Bin lapse upon his leaving college.
3) To add the position of King Bin to section 6.2.16 of the Standing Orders.
Minutes: HL Then next motion, which KM will propose in DM absence.
HL SFQs
MB If Dhruv doesn’t like the mess why doesn’t he clean it up himself, now, then prop the motion himself.
WS He actually did
KM I saw him move 3 mugs.
HL Seeing no more SFQs, we move to debate.
I have a friendly amendment proposed by KM.
Amendment Strike JCR notes i), believes i), ii), iii), iv), resolves i), ii), iii).Replace with:Notes 1) “The JCR is very messy for a lot of the time”Notes 2) “The JCR is not a nice place to be when it's messy”Notes 3) “The JCR belongs to everyone equally”Believes 1) “Leaving a mess in the JCR is unfair to the other members of the JCR and to the staff, who have to clear it up”Believes 2) The JCR would be a better place if it were not messy”Believes 3) Keeping the JCR tidy would be easier if there was one person in charge of overseeing people cleaning up after themselves.Resolves 1) To create a temporary, non-committee position of King Bin, who will be responsible for a) telling people to clear up after themselves. b) looking into other ways of keeping the JCR tidy, including a system of fines for people who repeatedly leave a mess. c) communicating in simple, easy to understand English.Resolves 2) To nominate Dhruv Malhotra as King Bin for the duration of his time at Balliol, and to let the position of King Bin lapse upon his leaving college.Resolves 3) To add the position of King Bin to section 6.2.16 of the Standing Orders
KM Prop: The amendment translates Dhruv’s motion into English. The message is the same. We’ve talked about the issue of mess in the JCR and Committee Lunch – we need to do something.
JH Opp: The amendment is mightily amusing, for sure, and we do need to do something about the mess in the JCR but the way forward isn’t to randomly add things to Standing Orders. Also I’m fairly sure you can’t just nominate Dhruv for things – that would probably violate his aesthetic equilibrium.
SJ The motion is unfair to Dhruv.
KM I don’t think it is.
WS POI: He likes the attention.
SJ Not one, but everyone should take responsibility for the state of the JCR.
HL I’ve heard a MTV. Any objections to MTV? All in favour/against. Amendment clearly passes.
WS Move To Vote.
MTV Prop: We all just voted for the amendment And the amendment is now the motion, so debating any more makes bugger all sense.
KM MTV Opp: I think some people may have deliberately deferred debate. They may have things to say now the amendment has passed.
HL All in favour of MTV? MTV needs 2/3 to pass and so fails. We continue in debate.
AS Adding things to Standing Orders isn’t very helpful. We need to find a serious solution.
DM People are employed to clean, what happens to them?
NH Isn’t making sure the JCR is tidy one aspect of the job of JCR Deans? SM POI: The role of Dean is to discipline anyone who abuses the rules or facilities of the JCR, so I think yes, it is part of the Dean’s job.
[INQUORATE]
HL MTV heard. There are no objections to MTV so let’s hear a speeches in prop and opp of the motion as a whole.
KM Prop: This is just one option that is proposed to solve the mess problem in the JCR, plus it pisses off Dhruv, which is an added bonus.
NH Opp: Dean’s should already have a role in stopping litter in the JCR and we should enforce this before we try anything else.
HL Votes for/against – Motion needs simple majority to pass and fails.
Result: Failed
Motion: Resolution of clock crisis by William Sharp
This JCR notes:
1) There is now a clock in the Norway Room, mounted on the wall by the computers.
2) El Berg's work on the website was good
3) A motion was passed by this JCR to by a clock, in honour of El Berg in recognition of this JCR notes [2].
4) Before that this JCR voted against having a clock
This JCR further notes:
1) This JCR notes [4] came about, not because the JCR has an objection to clocks per se, but because it rejected the imposition imposed on the liberty of balliol men that the time should be permanantly announced to them, should they not wish to know.
2) Because of this JCR notes [2] and [3] a clock is required.
3) The fashion of this JCR notes [1] is due to consideration of this jcr notes [4] and this JCR further notes [1].
4) That a clock, when unable to fulfil its primary function, does not cease to be a clock in so much as we still call it a clock.
This JCR believes:
1) This JCR notes [1] is not a sufficient to satisfy this JCR notes [3] in light of the degree of this JCR notes [2]
2) In view of this JCR further notes [4], if a clock does not fulfil its primary function it remains a clock such that it is a clock that does not fulfil its primary function.
3) If the clock was in a more prominent position than as mentioned in this JCR notes [1] it would go some way to resolving the problem outlined in this JCR believes [1]
This JCR resolves:
1) To move the clock to the main section of the Norway room, on the wall to the right as you face the stage, above the notice board.
2) To remove the hands from the clock.
Minutes: HL We now move into the last motion – “Resolution of Clock Crisis”.
WS I notice the lack of sense of humour in the room. But here it is – the way I see it, there are two strands to the motion put forward.The first is whether or not a clock which performs its primary duty, (telling the time), is beneficial to the JCR. Last year we voted and found that the answer is no – if I, as a Balliol Man, don't want to know the time I shouldn't have to – this is why the clock is hidden away in the computer area. But the clock is a tribute to Ian Bergson, and shouldn't be hidden.
Secondly, if we concede that we should have a clock but we don't want the time announced, is a clock that doesn't tell the time a clock?My resolution to this crisis is to move the clock so that it is an adequate tribute to IB, but remove the clock's hands.
HL Any SFQs?
IB Has this been discussed with Le Berg? Because I'm very happy with the clock where it is.
WS Firstly, it's El Berg. And I believe the clock will be better there even if you don't.
SB You want a clock without time, but if you're not looking at the clock is it really there at all?
WS There are many people in Balliol, and many of them choose to spend large amounts of their time in the JCR. Thus, it is likely, that at any given moment there will be someone looking at the clock and confirming its existence. In any case, were no-one to be looking at the clock, as long as they are reminded of IB at such a time as they do see the clock, then it is fulfilling its purpose.
HL We now move into debate.
IB I believe there is no clock crisis, and I think i can decide what is a sufficient tribute to me.
HL MTV called. SM will give a speech in proposition. SM MTV Prop: I have no sense of humour. There are a lot of people leaving this GM and much as this motion's quite funny there are people who are only staying to keep up numbers. I think it's time to vote on the motion so that we can all leave.
SB MTV Opp: There are important ontological questions still to be answered.
HL All in favour/against. MTV passes. We will vote on the motion as a whole after a summary speech in proposition and opposition.
WS Prop: My argument can be broken down into seven points.[groans from crowd]OK, I'll make two points. One, it would be funny to have a clock with no hands. Two, the situation as is is unsatisfactory both in that it fails to celebrate IB sufficiently and also forces the time on all Balliol Men in the JCR, something which we voted not to do not long ago.
SM Opp: [refers to Caro as a man] A lot of people did want the clock where it is. It would be harsh to take it down and essentially break it.
INQUORATE
HL We now have quorum, so let's vote on the Clock motion.
All in favour of the motion – 11, All against – 10, Abstentions – 14. To pass a simple majority of votes cast is required. The motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: BFL by Sam Brown
This JCR notes: i) Saturday's Balliol Football League extravaganza is set to be a fantastic success. ii) The cost of hiring Parks for the event was £50.
This JCR believes: i) That sport is a good thing. ii) That the JCR should encourage sport. iii) That JCR members, wherever possible, should be able to participate in sports for free.
This JCR resolves: i) To reimburse Sam Brown with the £50 he had to pay to the man with the wheelbarrow at Parks.
Minutes: WS Can I move e) and f) up the agenda, followed by d) and c)
HL Any objections? No, then the next motion is e)
SB It’s pretty self-explanatory. Everyone enjoyed Saturday, but we had a bit of an argument with parks which ended up costing £40
HL SFQs?
NE Can you discuss your argument
SB The argument was about the definition of rugby. American football isn’t covered so we were charged. I’ll. I ask Carl Woodall if we can change than in the future but I doubt it.
IB Don’t parks not class touch rugby as rugby?
SB Yes, we we’re charged the touch rugby fee, the American football fee is apparently much more.
SM What happens if we don’t pay.
SB The agreement was with Tug (the wheelbarrow man) over the phone. I was told to turn up with a cheque but no-one asked me for it. I’m expecting an invoice.
HL I have an amendment to change £40 to £50. Any objections? No. Any objections to motion? No. then motion passes
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-03-04
HL Any objections to minutes – none. Any verbal reports? None. Any questions to officers? None. We’ll go through motions to pass nem con.
NH Can I propose moving toast and smoking motion to top of agenda after Treasurer’s report?
HL Any objections?
KM Can we table motions c, d & e?
HL Objections to tabling c & d & e?
ST Can we find out whether they pass first?
HL OK – first Treasurer’s report? Are there any objections – none – treasurers report passes.
HL Next then any objections to toast – yes, smoking – yes, Balliol Ball – passes nem con. c – yes, d – yes, e – yes, f – passes nem con, g – yes, j – yes, k – yes, l – yes, we’ll save the charity motions till after the treasurers report.
HL Now we have a procedural motion to table c & d & e until next term. Any objections? None.
HL Any objections to tabling l? yes. Anyone opposed to moving clock motion to the end? No.
Motion: Free Cordial by Dominic Jay
This JCR notes:
1) That cordial is no longer available free of charge from the Lindsay Bar.
[Amendment under debate:
2) JCR subsidises lots of stuff
3) The Bar must make a profit to retain its license]
This JCR believes:
1) That the Lindsay Bar should provide a non-alcoholic beverage, other than water, free of charge.
This JCR resolves:
1) To serve cordial free of charge in the Lindsay Bar.
[Amendment under debate:
2) That the JCR should subsidise cordial separate to the bar]
Minutes: HL We’re now on the free cordial motion.
DJ Prop: I think cordial should be free.
HL SFQs?
NH Do you have any idea how much cordial costs the bar?
DJ Ib told me it costs about £100 a term.
PT How does that compare with when it was free last year?
NH Well, it’s not that simple, Once upon a time…
MB That doesn’t sound factual.
NH Cordial used to be free. Prices of alcohol have gone up – real ale by £3 a barrel for example – at the same time the number of customers to the bar is depreciating by about 4% per year.
DJ POI: I have it on authority that cordial used to be free to finalists in TT.
RC How much does £100 on cordial dent the bar’s profits.
IB The bar by its license cannot make a lost. The bar’s performance has been variable. Usually in TT it makes a loss compensated by other terms. Usually MT makes a lot and HT is variable. So it could make a big difference as it could void our license.
DJ Can the problem be avoided by the JCR funding cordial?
IB You could move money from the JCR to the bar account as a running cost or you could charge a cordial levy. Yes is the basic answer.
?? Does the 5p currently cover the cost of buying cordial?
NH The bar still pays about half of the price of your cordial.
HL Any opposition to motion? Yes. We move into debate.
KM 5p is really not a lot of money. Now people pay for cordial the quality of it has also gone up.
IB Perhaps if the JCR decides that cordial should be free then it should be funded by the JCR and not the bar.
LM This motion is like saying that pantry should provide a non-greasy foodstuff for free.
JTH If you’re going to give away cordial then you could give away free juice and where does it end?
MB If we put up the price of cordial and buy better cordial don’t we just lose the same amount. IB But less people have cordial.
SK If you vote for this you undermine the decision made by the person you voted for. It sets a dangerous precedent. And things cost money, tough shit. People who drink cordial should pay for it.
NH Obviously my primary interest is the bar. I knew that putting up the price would deter people – but if the price hadn’t gone up, the price of something else had to go up. And people who drink cordial should be the ones to pay for it.
IB As far as I know the Dean will not allow prices of alcohol to go down after they’ve gone up. He doesn’t have the same concerns with cordial.
MB This motion needs amending if it is going to do anything and it hasn’t yet been.
MB People don’t drink the bar dry of cordial for fun. Why should the cordial drinkers be punished because there are less people drinking beer?
KM Charging 5p for cordial is practically free and much cheaper than any soft drink.
DJ If someone you vote for makes a poor decision you should be able to overturn it democratically.
NH It would have to be a poor decision first.
IB I think we can overturn some decisions if they are unreasonable, but NH has made a reasoned argument to here decision - we shouldn’t overturn it.
HL I have an Amendment.
AMENDMENT Add to JCR notes:“(ii) JCR subsidises lots of stuff(iii) the Bar must make a profit to retain its license”Add to JCR resolves:“(ii) the JCR should subsidise cordial separate to bar”
HL Any opposition to amendment? Yes. SFQs?
WS How would this work and are there other examples of the JCR subsidising things?
IB We use general money from the JCR to spend on newspapers and such. If we subsidised the bar with £100 a term, this would soon add up. The JCR doesn’t have a lot of spare money lying around.
KM I really really object to paying a subsidy for something that people have to buy.
SK In my interpretation of the law, subsidising the bar is illegal. The JCR cannot subsidise the bar. It has to remain a completely separate financial entity.
WS That’s a broad claim to make and it certainly kills the motion. Perhaps we might consider voting down this motion and re-proposing it after someone has found out the legalities.
MB I propose tabling the motion till the next GM. If we were to put this amendment through then research is clearly needed. DJ If we think that if the motion would pass unamended we shouldn’t table it.
HL We have a procedural motion to table this motion until the next GM. In favour of tabling motion: 24, against 4. Then the motion is tabled till the GM next term.
Result: See minutes
Motion: Tampax Levy by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) All JCR members are currently charged a compulsory levy of £1.20 to cover the cost of providing tampax
2) That the JCR's expenditure on tampax over a prolonged period has been less than the income from the levy
3) That as a consequence, there is a considerable surplus in the tampax fund
4) That the expenditure over the last three years has been in the region of £400 to £600 per year, if you ignore a large over-order last year
5) A levy of £0.40 will generate an income of around £650 a year
This JCR believes:
1) That JCR members should only pay a levy for a service that approximately corresponds to the cost of providing that service
2) That the Tampax levy should be reduced to reduce the surplus, while not changing the amount of tampax that is bought
This JCR resolves:
1) To reduce the compulsory tampax levy from £1.20 to £0.40 from Trinity Term 2007
Minutes: This motion passed nem con.
Result: Passed
Motion: Charitable Donation to Nightline by Kat Matfield & Rosie Smith
This JCR notes:
1)That Nightline is a charitable organisation that offers anonymous, confidential, non-judgemental listening, support and information to Oxford students every night of term. 2)That Nightline is neither run nor funded by the University, but run by student volunteers and funded by donations.
4)That a recent survey of Oxford students found that the numbers who will suffer severe psychological distress is at a level roughly twice that of the wider population.
This JCR believes:
1)That, because Oxford students are more than usually likely to experience problems with mental wellbeing, provision for their mental welfare is uniquely important.
2)That the service Nightline offers is valuable and worth preserving.
3)That there is quite a lot of money in the charities account.
This JCR resolves:
1)To donate £250 to Nightline.
Minutes: HL We’re now onto charities. IB, if you talk about how much money we have for charities.
IB We get funding from the optional charities levy. We get in the region of £675 a term from the levy. That’s only based on last 3 terms (since the levy was changed). In the charities account we have £3500, so there is enough money to cover all £2300 requested in this GM. We can afford it, but it reduces the amount we have left to cover charities motions next term.
JTH Do the charities officers have any events they want to use the money for?
IB Any events money comes from the JCR account, not the charities account.
HL The first charities motion is for Nightline, proposed by KM and RS.
KM Nightline needs money to keep the lights on and the phones working. They’re not funded by the university and the only way they get money is when colleges give them money, so we should.
JB Is nightline currently running into financial difficulties?
KM I don’t think they’ve got to the point where they have no money, but they emailed me asking for money.
NE Did they request a certain amount of money or tell you about their accounts?
KM They said they usually receive 200-300 from colleges. They didn’t give any details about their accounts, no.
HL Any objections to the motion? Yes – so we move to debate.
JB Nightline’s work is very laudable, but we need to cut something, and Oxford’s peer support is quite good.
SK I agree with JB, that we need to consider the causes we support carefully, but I think this is a very good cause.
MTV
KM Opp: I think we should have a bit more than two people talking before we decide.
WS Prop: I think this is blatantly the best charity motion in there and I don’t think there’s any way this motion won’t pass.
HL Voting on MTV. In favour – 26, opposed – 4. Se we will MTV on motion as a whole.
KM Prop: WS mentioned this is the best charities motion. Let’s vote for it.
JB Opp: I agree Nightline is a great resource, I think there are plenty of other services provided by college, university and peer supporters, I don’t think it’s an essential cause.
HL Vote on motion – motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Handover packs for JCR committee officers by Nicki Hanger and Kat Matfield
This JCR notes:
1)That it is customary for officers to write a handover pack detailing the responsibilities and duties of the role but some officers receive only a verbal handover or no handover at all.
This JCR believes:
1)That for some roles it is essential to have a handover pack and for all it is very helpful.
2) That written information is easier to refer to in the long run and to retain the information over several years.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate all committee officers to produce a written handover pack for their successors to be handed in to the secretary no later than two weeks after their successor is elected.
2) To encourage non-committee officers to submit a written handover pack to the secretary no later than two weeks after their successor is elected.
3) To add a section 5.14 to the standing orders detailing the above. Minutes: This motion has been tabled until the next GM.
Result: See minutes
Motion: June Jamboree by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) Last year, the JCR held a Garden Party at the end of Trinity term ("The June Jamboree")
2) The June Jamboree was a great success last year, with a BBQ, Bar and Sports Day
3) Last year, the Jamboree was held on Sunday 8th Week, on the far side of the Master's field at Jowett Walk (as far away from both the Jowett Walk and Dellal Buildings as possible)
4) Last year, the June Jamboree was organised by an informal June Jamboree Commitee, consisting of JCR Officers along with other people who wanted to help organise the evemt
5) Services Committee has discussed the possibility of holding the event this year
6) JCR officers are very positive about the idea of holding the Jamboree this year
This JCR believes:
1) Holding a June Jamboree for the whole college community is a good thing
2) The June Jamboree should be held at the end of Trinity Term, with such date and time to be confirmed at a GM next term
3) That the Jamboree needs to be thought about at this early stage, in order to get the appropriate bar licences sorted out in time
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the Treasurur to approach College to make preliminary enquiries about the holding of the event this year
2) To mandate the Treasurer to keep the JCR informed about developments through future GMs
3) To encourage anyone from the JCR who would like to help organise the Jamboree to email the JCR Secretary
Minutes: HL We’re now on the June Jamboree motion.
IB Last year there was a June jamboree organised by JC and EB. It was a big day at the end of TT held on the Master’s Field where we had free ice-cream and a barbeque. Last year I think it lost £500 because it was free but l’d quite like to organise it again as it’s fun. I brought this motion to advertise the event and invite people to volunteer to help. HL SFQs?
JTH Does the JCR spend money on it or is it sponsored?
IB The JCR spends a reasonable amount of money, but we seek free stuff as well.
JTH How much?
IB It doesn’t have its own budget but I think £500 –£1000.
HL Any objections to motion? Seeing none, motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Merging Ethnic Minorities and Overseas Officers by Jasmeen Kanwal & Kat Matfield
This JCR notes:
1)That there are currently two separate JCR committee posts for ethnic minority students and overseas students.
2) That there are currently 2 people occupying both of these posts, resulting in a total of 4 people representing ethnic minority and overseas students.
3)That in many cases, ethnic minority students are also overseas students and vice-versa.
4)That there is a great deal of cross-over in the responsibilities of these posts.
5)That there is not enough work involved in these posts for 4 people.
This JCR believes:
1)That it's important for ethnic minority and overseas students to be respresented by a JCR officership, both on JCR committee and in the JCR and university as a whole, but that they would be adequately represented by a single officership.
2)That having 4 people representing these two overlapping groups is unnecessary.
This JCR resolves:
1)To merge the positions and responsibilities of ethnic minority rep and overseas rep, to come into action after the end of the terms of the current officers.
2)To make the appropriate alterations to the Constitution.
Minutes: This motion has been tabled until the next GM
Result: See minutes
Motion: A Motion to make a Charitable Donation to Tsungirirai by Aliyah Hussein
This JCR notes:
1) Tsungirirai is a charity based in Norton, Zimbabwe which supports those living with AIDS and / or orphaned from AIDS. Its many functions include running an orphange, providing counselling and creating AIDS awareness. In 1998 a Tsungirirai committee was established in London whose aim is to raise funds for Tsungiriari and help it progress. The charity directly supports those left destitute due to the AIDS crisis.
This JCR believes:
1) That the JCR could make a charitable donation to this charity.
This JCR resolves:
1)To make a charitable donation of £400 to Tsungirirai.
Minutes: HL The next charity motion is for Tsungirai, proposed by AH.
AH It’s a charity set up in 1998 to give help to the issue of AIDs in Zimbabwe which has the 4th worse AIDs rate in the world. The organisation provides counselling and teaching for those living with or orphaned by AIDs. I think it’s a really worthwhile cause – I have a contact in the charity and the money will go straight to the group.
JTH Do the charity take in other children whose parents haven’t been affected by AIDs?
AH They do sometimes, but mostly AIDs.
AS Considering the unstable situation in Zimbabwe, how stable is the charity?
AH The charity is in an area that has had several attacks, but that’s why I think it’s such a good cause to support.
DA The government in Zimbabwe will do nothing, organisations are the only way people get any help.
JH Why £400?
AH They have a target, but I don’t know how much it is but £400 is a significant amount of money.
IB I think the target is about £12,000.
?? There’s need in Zimbabwe for particular support as the country gets very little funding compared with other countries.
WS Why did you get involved with this charity?
AH My mother is on the committee. HL MTD – I have an amendment.
AMENDMENT Adds to resolves (ii) “The donation will be made through “coalition for courage”, a US registered charity formerly named “Friends of Tsungirirai” which collects money out towards the grass roots projects in Zimbabwe”
IB Amendment Prop: I couldn’t find a thing about Tsungirirai being registered in the UK, but I found information saying that money should be donated through this registered group.
AH Tsungirirai supports various areas of Zimbabwe, but I would rather give the money directly to the group that supports the specific area Norton.
IB In that case I withdraw the amendment.
HL Any opposition to the motion as a whole? Seeing none, the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: SoapbOx community festival 2007 by Anna Wolmuth
This JCR notes:
1) Currently, the resident and student communities of Oxford live very separately with stigma, discrimination and prejudice between them. There is a lack of events that attempt to bridge this divide, and more specifically, a lack of initiatives on the part of students to integrate further into Oxford’s society.
2) 2007 is Oxford City’s 1000th year when it will be more relevant than ever to discuss what it means to live in Oxford now and what this has meant for the last 1000 years.
3) The Noughties is a group of students from the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. The Noughties put on a one-day free festival in April 2006. The festival attracted more than 8,000 people throughout the day, and was a celebration of what we can achieve when we seek to create rather than destroy.
4) The message of the 2006 event was supported by numerous Oxford colleges, which also made financial contributions.
5) On the 5th of May The Noughties will put on another one-day free festival called SoapbOx Festival 2007 with the aim of once again bringing together the different communities of Oxford in discussion and creativity. The festival will consist of one of the largest outdoor stages in Great Britain as the main stage, a dance tent, and an acoustic tent, and will prioritize performers and speakers from the two Universities in Oxford and the local community.
6) The event is estimated to cost £21,780 to put on as a public event.
This JCR believes:
1) The current state of affairs is such that the communities of Oxford and the relations between them would benefit from being brought together through creativity and discussion.
2) This festival provides such a way to bring together Oxford University students, Oxford Brookes students and the local community.
3) Many student bands, DJs, musicians, poets, comedians and speakers will have the opportunity to perform at the event.
4) JCR funds should be used to contribute towards the cost of this venture.
This JCR resolves:
1) To support The Noughties in producing SoapbOx 2007 and in their message of integration and creativity.
2) That the JCR should provide this event with £150 from the charities account with which to help fund this event.
3) Funds shall be administered by Edward Ainsworth, the treasurer for The Noughties, and may only be used for the purpose of the festival.
4) All accounts will be transparent and open to inspection.
5) Any money not spent on the event will be returned to the charities account.
Minutes: HL The next charity motion to be heard is for SoapbOx
AW I propose the JCR financially supporting the SoapbOx community festival happening in South Parks. Last year 8000 people came to celebrate students coming together to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It would be great if we could support the festival this year.
MB Where does the figure £150 come from?
AW I was asked to contribute around £400 – but I knew that that wouldn’t go down well. They’ve already got a £10,000 grant and money from other colleges, but I though £150 was a sizable amount.
KM Is it a registered charity?
AW No.
SK Shouldn’t resolves 1,2,3 go in believes?
AW Maybe. Does it really matter?
NE Is this a daytime or evening event?
AW Daytime.
HL Move to debate and I have an amendment. Any obs? None. The amendment is passed. Any opp to motion as a whole?
AMENDMENT Amend resolves (ii) and (v), changing “general account” to “charities account”.
HL Any oppositions to the amendment? None. The amendment is passed. Any opposition to motion as a whole?
KM We have a limited amount of charities money and I don’t find it a very convincing event. It seems an awful lot of money and I’m not sure where its going.
IB I wanted to make a general point. College, as I found out when I submitted accounts to Exec., are strongly against our donating charity money to non-registered charities. The other thing is that AW emailed me, and the thing about the general account was to get around that, but I don’t agree with spending general money. I’ve seen budgets and accounts for the organisation and they all look very convincing.
HL I have an amendment.
AMENDMENT Changes motion to allocate money from the Entz account.
AW This is just in case people have a problem with it not being a registered charity.
NH The event is the same day as the Ball, I don’t think we can subsidise another even with our Entz money.
AW I wanted to show how important community events are.
IB If this organisation wanted to it could register as a charity. But charity money should come from the charities account, where money is specifically there to donate.
HL No more debate so we vote on amendment – amendment fails. We move back into debate on the motion.
AW 8000 people came last year – there’s a lot of people benefiting from this event.
SK Don’t ever let how college feel about what we do with our money influence how we vote.
IB I agree that we should do what we want with our money. If we think this cause is worthwhile, and personally I think it is, we should donate to it. MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV – none. Then we’ll have some summary speeches and then vote on the motion.
AW Prop: Its important that the JCR contributes to community events that bring people together. It was really successful last year and it would be great to make it great this year. I also urge people to get involved.
KM Opp: At some point tonight we need to decide which of the charities don’t get our money to avoid spending all the money in the charity account.
HL Voting on the motion as a whole: for: 7, against: 10. Motion fails.
Result: Failed
Motion: Balliol Ball (second hearing) by Nathan Ewin
This JCR notes:
1. Balliol JCR constitution 5.5 -- "No member of the JCR shall be denied access to any JCR facility ... except on one evening during the first four weeks of Trinity Term, the date of which is to be decided by the Ball Committee and which must be passed by a two-thirds majority at a GM. On this evening, entrance to the Norway Room, Television Room, Lindsay Bar and pool room shall be by ticket only."
2. Balliol JCR standing orders 4.6, which details the roles and responsibilities of the Ball Committee..
4. The motion passed in the GM of 5th week TT06 renaming the 'Balliol Summer Event' the 'Balliol Ball'.
5. In a survey of 189 members of the JCR and MCR, 126 members requested that the Balliol Ball be “More black tie than theme”.
This JCR believes:
1. That there should be a Balliol Ball.
3. Bearing notes 4 and 5 in mind Alchemy is an excellent theme that will allow the Ball Committee to put on an Ball that will rock your world. Guests will be able to have a lot of fun, whilst dressing up for a black tie event.
4. That to make the JCR suitable for the Ball it will require two days for the Ball and Entz Committees to decorate it.
This JCR resolves:
3. To amend the Constitution 5.5 to read “No member of the JCR shall be denied access to any JCR facility ... except on one day during the first four weeks of TT...” Minutes: This motion passed nem con
Result: Passed
Motion: ODA Uganda Project by Nathan Ewin
This JCR notes:
1. In Uganda, 49% of diseases are sanitation-related and 11.5% of children below the age of 5 die of diseases related to diarrhoea.
2. Oxford Development Abroad (ODA) is a local student run charity that has been working with NGOs on sustainable development projects in Uganda since 2004, so is well placed to respond to the needs of the Ugandan people.
3. The aim of the ODA Uganda Project is to mobilize and work with the local community to build a water tank to collect much-needed water at the local school, and protect a natural spring to make it safe for drinking and an inhospitable breeding ground for malaria. Both projects use indigenous technology and techniques as well as natural materials that are cheap and easily accessible. Engineers from Little Big Africa, a Ugandan NGO, will provide technical support and expertise.
4. The support of the Charities officers for this motion.
5. ODA has been a registered charity in the UK since 2002, number 1093945.
This JCR believes:
1. That everyone has a right to clean drinking water.
2. That by donating to this project it will directly improve the lives of inhabitants of the Mbale district of Uganda.
This JCR resolves:
1. To donate £200 to The ODA Uganda Project.
Minutes: HL Now a motion supporting ODA, proposed by NE
NE I’m working with ODA this year on a project in Uganda, whose main aim is to improve their water facilities. A lot of the villages have to walk several miles to find unclean water. The aim of ODA is to provide villagers with water which is clean. ODA has been in the region for 4 years.
WS Are you going to Uganda?
NE Yes. The group as a whole has to raise £7200 to pay for the engineering and materials of the projects. That’s where this money goes. We’re going out there to encourage villagers to get involved and to help with additional manual labour which is needed. WS How big is the group?
NE It’s Oxford based, with two groups of 6 going out and two groups of 6 going out from Bristol. I’m doing some fundraising, like lashfrica, next term for my personal expenses as well as applying for college support.
WS Can you go if you don’t raise this money?
NE I’m not sure, but if there’s not enough money the project can’t go ahead.
HL Any opposition to the motion? Seeing none the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Donation to Bunia Women's Collective by Hephzi Pemberton
This JCR notes:
1)That the BWC exists to help Congolese women start small projects to finance themselves and their families.
2)The BWC has already started three successful projects with 18 women seamstresses. Providing them with machines, cloth and a room to begin a tailoring business.
3)The current project that the BWC needs money for is to open a female run restaurant in the town of Boga in north DRC. It will be one of the very few businesses of its kind and is an excellent idea needing capital.
4)The BWC already has the property to open the restaurant in but still needs, electrical equipment, supplies and furniture for the launch of the restaurant. They have several women in the collective who are ready to work when the premises are ready.
5)That women in the DRC have limited access to capital, as there are no micro finance funds in DRC.
This JCR believes:
1)That donating money to charity is a good thing.
2)That donating money to specifically defined local projects that aim to be self-financing is even better.
This JCR resolves:
1)To donate £300 for the financing of this project.
Minutes: HL The next charity motion is for the Bunia Women’s Collective, proposed by HP
HP I’m proposing a motion for BWC – Bunia is in the North of the DRC. The region has been deeply affected by civil war. The group have had two successful projects – taking women off the streets as prostitutes and teaching them tailoring. A lot of the infrastructure in Bunia has been destroyed, and the group would like to set up a restaurant. It’s very difficult to find capital, the charity is a very small group of women set up to help other women. They’re well organised and very trustworthy – I went to DRC in my gap year and know the people in the organisation.
AS How does the money get there?
HP Western union – the money goes straight to the woman I lived with’s bank account.
KM Why £500?
HP I was asked for $1000
JTH Are there other people the group asked?
HP They don’t have any other contacts here, churches that the women go to might, but I feel responsible after working with them.
SK Is the group affiliated to anyone?
HP It has no religious affiliations.
NE How do you know how the money is being spent?
HP I’m in contact with them, and I plan on going out there.
NH If it’s an impoverished area, how much money do people have to spend in restaurants?
HP It won’t be glamorous food – probably salted fish – but people still have money to do things, there’s certainly a niche, and it gives work to local tradesmen.
IB It sounds really good but are there any other large groups operating out there?
HP Oxfam and Worldvision have been there throughout the war. There are groups but not many and Bunia is not an area that receives much support. They don’t have English so it’s difficult to go to America or England and ask for support.
HL We’re now in debate and I’ve received an amendment.
AMENDMENT To amend resolves (i) to read “to donate £300 for the financing of this project”
HL Any opposition to this amendment? Let’s have a speech in proposition.
KM Prop: It occurred to me that the motion might fall because it asked for too much money and it’s a fantastic cause.
HP I’m leaving soon so this is probably the only time that the group will ever get any other support. MB You’ve submitted an amendment without finding out how people feel in the first place in debate.
IB I agree with the amendment – there’s lots of very good charities, but £500 is almost all the money we get each term. I think £300 could still make a big difference.
NH HP could come back next term and propose giving more.
MTV
HL Any obs to MTV? None. Any opp to amendment? Yes.
HP Amendment Opp: I think the motion could have gone through with £500, and this is the amount the group need to get the project up and running.
WS Amendment Prop: If you would vote against the motion unless it was for less money vote for the amendment. If you disagree with donating any money, vote against the motion. That’s the only way this amendment serves any useful purpose.
HL Voting on the amendment – for: 16, against 15. The amendment passes, and we are now considering a donation of £300 rather than £500.
MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? Seeing none we’ll vote on the motion as a whole.
HP Prop: £300 is $600 which is a large sum of money and the women will really appreciate it, and hopefully I’ll see the effect when I go out in June.
HL Seeing no opposition the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Charitable Donation to Oxford Habitat for Humanity by Becky Hunt and Jodie Rabin
This JCR notes:
1)Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide charity organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty and eliminate sub-standard housing. Working in partnership with low-income families to build decent homes they can afford to buy, Habitat helps to break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. Substandard housing can endanger the health and safety of its occupants, erode their hope and self- worth, and impair their children's ability to succeed in school.
2) A donation to this charity would be put towards the build site (materials, labour etc) in the Tocantins region of Brazil, where Oxford University Habitat for Humaity is going this summer to help build houses.
This JCR believes:
1) No-one should have to live in sub-standard housing
2) Eliminating sub-standard housing and helping low-income families is a good thing
This JCR resolves:
1) To give a charitable donation of £300 to Oxford Habitat for Humanity.
Minutes: HL Now JR and BH to prop their motion for OHFH
JR OHFH aim to prevent the cycle of poor housing. We’re going to Brazil, and if you choose to donate this money it will go directly to the labour costs and material costs for housing there. It makes a big difference to people’s lives. A house costs £2000 to build, so £300 is a significant donation.
KM Does any of the money go to your flights etc.?
JR No.
WS There are a few things that concern people – have the charity asked you guys to raise money from colleges and things?
BEC No, we run the Oxford branch of the charity, its our choice as to how we raise money
WS If you don’t get this money can you go on the trip?
JR No. Everyone has to donate £300 for flights and things but this money will be raised separately and everyone aims to give money.
JP I know the money’s going directly to the charity – is it principally building materials?
JR Yes.
RC If you don’t raise enough money to go on the trip what happens to this £300.
JR It still gets donated.
WS You’re presidents of this charity, did you set it up?
JR No, we took over this year.
WS Do lots of Oxford people go on this trip.
JR It’s quite a small group, we go to various places. Everyone is volunteering which keeps the costs of house building to a minimum. There are qualified workers teaching us. Obviously there are costs, but the living conditions out there are horrendous, and we wanted to try and help deal with this poverty.
IB The £300 that we’re donating – does that go towards your £300 you have to raise. Also I’d just like to say that I researched and the international organisation is huge.
JR No.
HL MTD
PT What your charity seems to do is send you out to build houses. Surely the best way forward is to teach them the skills they need.
JR There are material costs to make the houses which need to be covered. Volunteers are trained out there.
SK I think we should definitely support this – we’ve made sure that we’re not funding anyone’s holiday. This is something we should definitely get involved with.
JTH By passing the money we are supporting the charity as a whole. I can understand that you going to Brazil gives you a close experience with the charity but I think the money would be better spent on materials and not your time out there.
MB You could take the money you’re going to spend on your flights and give that to the charity.
BH By getting involved you learn about the poverty and the problem and you are driven to do something about it and spread information about the charity so that others are inspired to do something too.
NE Sending money doesn’t always help. By going out there you know where the money goes.
AS I don’t really understand the objections. If we don’t donate this £300, then there will be £300 less to spend on materials. There are far less worthwhile causes.
KM The very fact that we’re giving money to a charity that takes people out there requires a certain amount of trust. Surely we could equally trust a charity that does the same thing but doesn’t use foreign volunteers.
MB Everyone is saying that we could use the money to send people there to donate to the cause, but the work requires volunteers and a workforce.
MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? None. Any opposition to motion – yes. JR Prop: This money goes directly to the charity towards the building site and to building homes for people who really need them. You need volunteers – people in these countries can’t necessarily do the work that needs to be done. Plus sending other people there raises awareness.
JTH Opp: I’m weighing the motion up against other charities there, and I think there are better causes.
HL Vote – motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Hustings by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That hustings for elections in Michaelmas last a long time
2) This year Hustings the candidates for president husted at after 2am in front of less that 30 people
3) Phil Thorne's GM motion on 26th November, mandating the committee to look into possible solutions, and come back with a proposal in Hilary term
4) That discussions have now happened in committee, and a possible solution was discussed (contained in resolves), which involves splitting hustings into two days
5) The only section of standing orders that currently deals with hustings, namely 5.7.4 "The JCR Committee will normally arrange hustings for candidates in the Norway Room. No other election meetings may be held on JCR premises"
This JCR believes:
1) To only have 30 people attend the Hustings of a position as important as President is ridiculous
2) That we should have more substantial standing orders regulating the way hustings are run
3) That the proposed standing order changes in 'resolves' offer a possible solution to the problem of overlong hustings
This JCR resolves:
1) To add the following section to standing orders, under 5.8
"5.8 Hustings
5.8.1 The JCR Committee shall arrange hustings for candidates in the Norway Room. No other election meetings may be held on JCR premises.
5.8.2 Hustings shall be chaired by the President, or in her/his absence by a member of Committee specified by her/him
5.8.3 Hustings for elections in Michaelmas Term shall, so far as practicable, take place over two days (which need not be consecutive) as follows: i) First day: All non-committee and committee positions not named in (ii) below ii) Second day: The Entz Officer, Ms/Mr Foody, Lord/Lady Lindsay, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Vice-President and the President
5.8.4 The order of hustings on the first day shall be non-committee positions first, followed by committee positions
5.8.5 The order of hustings on the second day shall be in the order of posts set out in 5.8.3 (ii) above
5.8.6 The chair shall have the power at his/her discretion to change the order and allocation of posts between the two days, for example in the case of the unavailability of candidates"
2) To strike 5.7.4 from the Standing Orders
3) To renumber the rest of the clauses within section 5 accordingly, ie. "The ballot" becomes 5.9, "The count" 5.10 etc.
Minutes: This motion has been tabled until the next GM.
Result: See minutes
Motion: Smoking in college bedrooms by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The proposed bans on smoking in college bedrooms (as of MT07)
2) The principle reasons the college are considering this ban are: i) The fire risk associated with smoking in bedrooms ii) The Health and Safety risk to staff
2) The Health Act 2006 (smoking banned in all enclosed public spaces that are not excepted - effective July 2007)
3) That smoking is banned in the Norway Room
This JCR believes:
1) That this issue needs to be discussed by the JCR, in order that policy is formulated to take to Executive Committee.
2) That individuals have the right to smoke in their rooms. 3) It is up to the smoker if it is bad for them or not
4) That college is wrong in proposing to enforce a blanket ban on smoking.
5) That individuals smoking in their rooms is not a health and safety risk to staff.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the Vice President attending to represent the policy formulated by the JCR at the Executive Committee meeting when this is discussed.
2) to mandate the VP to say we i) Think it is totally unacceptable to remove people from college for smoking. ii) Should express the JCR’s belief that people should be allowed to smoke in their rooms
Minutes: HL OK the first motion is h. I’ve proposed the motion so IB will take the chair. I went to Health and Safety committee last week and Carl Woodall is proposing banning smoking in college bedrooms. I want to take a JCR opinion to Exec committee, so I have brought this motion to be amended now into JCR policy.
IB SFQs?
PS What are the college’s reasons for banning smoking?
HL Health and safety risk to staff and fire risk.
MB Why haven’t the hazards been identified before?
HL Its only just been brought up by Health and Safety committee now.
NE Who sits on Health and Safety committee
HL Head Gardener, Nurse, Domestic Bursar, Vice President.
ST Are college proposing a smoking room inside?
HL No.
AS Has there been a smoking related fire in an Oxford college?
NE There has been one incident in the last 20 years
KM Mansfield JCR burnt down.
NE Can you find out if there were government rules changed – why it’s just come up now?
HL I can, but it’s coming up in Executive Committee so either way we need policy on it now.
IB I don’t think it’s related to the legislation coming in July.
KM So we need to amend the motion? IB Yes. We move into Debate, and I have received an amendment.
AMENDMENT Add to JCR believes:“that individuals should have the right to smoke in their rooms”
IB SFQs on amendment? None. Objections? Yes.
HL I need your opinion to take to Exec. The amendment I brought I just want you to vote on so I know what you think.
LM Why don’t we pass the amendment and then debate on the motion rather than debating before there is a proper motion
AS I don’t think anyone smokes in their room, only out of the windows.
SK If we pass the amendment but then vote the motion down then we have no policy, so we should take each amendment as it comes.
AR It doesn’t really seem fair that your freedom in your room is taken away.
Move to Vote (on amendment)
DJ MTV Prop: I think it would take the motion forward as a whole.
PS MTV Opp: if the amendment goes through without proper debate then the motion might fall as SK said.
IB [vote] MTV fails.
HL What I said about the health risk to staff – they’re college’s words not mine.
PS I’d like to convince people that we don’t think that smoking in rooms is a bad thing. There’s an implication in the motion that says we agree with college. I don’t think it’s a health risk to staff and I don’t think it’s a fire risk – we’ve always smoked in our rooms without incident. It’s not like the issue we had a while ago of a public space in the JCR.
TOM It will just mean people smoke out of their windows instead.
HL College plan to enforce the rules – being caught 3 times will get you kicked out.
RC I can smell smoke in my room from other people smoking.
LM Most houses that you rent are non-smoking. ?? We should definitely vote against this – if someone gets drunk and smokes in their room 3 times and gets kicked out that’s wrong. We pay extortionate amounts for our rooms, we should be able to do what they want in them.
HC Will conferences be allowed to smoke in rooms?
HL I don’t know but I would assume it’s a blanket ban.
KM I don’t think that if we pass the motion either way it doesn’t imply that we agree with college’s reasons. If you get kicked out of college mid-term it will be almost be impossible to find accommodation. That’s unacceptable no-matter what the offence.
DJ Surely you’d be moved into Dellal.
MB If smoking in rooms is banned then people will congregate in groups and smoke elsewhere which will be more unpleasant.
MB Are college proposing that someone marches around looking for smokers?
HL The college suggest that scouts will report people whose rooms smell of smoke.
PS It may be that various housing agencies are banning smoking but its still wrong.
LM Would college fine you per time you get caught smoking?
HL College basically decided they wanted a ban on smoking, but I don’t think they know yet.
JP I just want to repeat – when people smoke, the smoke travels. There’s a health aspect related to passive smoking, but also its unpleasant to have clothes and furniture smelling of smoke.
Move to Vote (on amendment)
IB Any opposition to MTV? None. We’ll have summary speeches on the amendment.
HC Opp: if there’s a slight chance that this discourages people from smoking that’s good, and if rooms don’t smell that’s good to. It is enforceable, other colleges manage.
PS Prop: Its not fair to remove freedom to smoke in rooms and I don’t think it’s enforceable.
IB MTV passes - we’re voting on the amendment – amendment fails.
IB We have a new amendment from PS.
AMENDMENT Add to JCR believes:“(ii) that individuals have the right to smoke in their rooms.(iii) that college is wrong in proposing to enforce a blanket ban on smoking(iv) that smoking is not a significant fire risk(v) that individuals smoking in their rooms is not a health and safety risk to staff”
IB SFQs on amendment?
IB Opposition to amendment? Yes, so we go into debate.
MB Accommodation is technically rented so I think college can dictate what we do.
AS MTV
IB Opp to MTV on amendment? Yes.
AS MTV Prop: we’ve found one problem with the amendment, I think we should vote the amendment down and come up with a new one.
IB Opp to MTV?
PS MTV Opp: I would like some debate on the amendment.
IB Voting on MTV – in favour: 19, against: 6, abs: 6
IB We’ll vote on the amendment.
PS Amendment Prop: we should oppose what college believes and then state for ourselves the other sides of the argument – it’s a good motion to take to Exec.
KM Amendment Opp: there’s one problem with the amendment, at the very least we should rewrite it.
IB In favour – 14, against – 12, abs, 4. Amendment passes. We go back to debating amended motion.
HL I think it’s quite clear that people are against the ban. We’ve already debated smoking in the Norway room. If people don’t agree with the motion they should propose new amendments, but otherwise we should vote on the motion as there’s a lot to get through.
NH About the rented accommodation point. In the first year there’s no choice. Would it not be possible to have some rooms or blocks of rooms as dedicated smoking rooms?
?? I didn’t like the smoking in the JCR, but people smoking in their rooms is about personal choice, and college is being invasive. It’s silly to say that smoke floats under doors.
IB New amendment from JW
AMENDMENT Add to believes:“(i) up to the smoker if it is bad for them or not(ii) students have the right to smoke in their rooms”Add to resolves read:“(i) mandate the VP to say we- think it is totally unacceptable to remove people from college for smoking.- Should express the JCR’s belief that people should be allowed to smoke in their rooms.
KM The second point sounded like something we already have.
IB It adds that we explicitly object to the removal of students for smoking.
RO We’re just tenants in these rooms, but they’re not ours. We have rights, but not to everything
The important thing is debate, not amendments. We just need HL to have a JCR opinion to take to exec
HC We should object to the rule if we think its unjust, but not the penalty.
HL This discussion is very helpful. I would quite like a final opinion to take, - a vote. Either you agree or disagree with college. That might be making it seem very clear cut but I’ve heard lots of opinions and I can take standing policy to Exec. whilst also bringing up individual arguments – MTV
IB Any objections to MTV? None. We’ll vote on the amendment. In favour: 19, against: 9, abs: 2. That amendment goes into the policy as well.
IB New amendment from AS.
AMENDMENT Remove JCR believes (iv) “that smoking is not a significant fire risk”
AS Prop: I have the wireless going here. According to the BBC: 28% of fire deaths are caused by smoking, and 25% of fire injuries since 2000. It would be factually inaccurate.
PS It’s a lovely stat, but a more important that there’s never been a fire in Balliol.
SM POI: I’m not sure that’s true.
PS You still need to take into account how many incidents of fire there are. The overall point is that people have smoked in their rooms for decades. It’s the significant risk which is important. And 28% is quite a small number.
AS POI: it’s the single biggest cause of fires.
?? I think we should pass the amendment so college don’t just say that something we’ve claimed isn’t true.
Move to Vote (on amendment) IB Opposition to MTV? None.
AS Prop: if we take something to exec, if they quote stats that show we’re wrong it weakens our argument.
PS Opp: its very important that we keep this in. The key is the significant risk. When college claim that there’s a risk if we don’t say that we don’t think there’s a significant risk then we have no recourse.
IB Vote – amendment passes.
MTV (on motion)
IB Opposition to MTV? Yes
HL Prop: the amendments made have been very reasonable. Most people agree with the amendments and hopefully they’re also in favour of the motion as a whole. I’ve got a lot to take to Exec.
PS We’ve had a lot of amendments, I think we should have a few minutes to debate the motion as a whole.
IB I’ll read the motion. [and so he does] We vote on MTV. In favour: 27 opposed: 3. We will vote on motion as a whole. First we’ll have summary speeches.
HL Prop: I proposed this motion to have debate and see what people thought. I think we’ve got a motion which reflects the majority’s views.
HC Opp: smoking in your rooms is not a human right. You’re only in the room for 24 weeks a year and it causes fires.
IB We’re now voting on the motion as a whole. In favour: 23, opp: 7, abs 5. The motion passes. [huzzah!]
Result: Passed
Motion: HT 07 Treasurer's Report by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) Appendix 1 of this agenda (Interim financial report, Hilary 2007)
This JCR resolves:
1) To approve the interim financial report Minutes: This motion passed nem con.
Result: Passed
Motion: Toast motion! by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The proposed bans on the use of toasters in college bedrooms (as of MT07)
2) The principle reasons the college are considering this ban are: i) The fire risk associated with the use of toasters in bedrooms ii) The number of toaster related incidents that have resulted in the fire alarms being set off unnecessarily
3) The proposed compensatory measures from college (to put a toaster in every kitchenette)
4) That not every staircase has a kitchenette
This JCR believes:
1) Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
2) Toast is an integral part of breakfast
3) Toast is a quick and cheap snack at any time of the day, ideal for students who are often in a hurry
4) That denying students the right to have toasters in their bedrooms removes their access to toast, especially considering the limited number of kitchenettes in college
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the Vice President attending to represent the policy formulated by the JCR at the Executive Committee meeting when this is discussed.
Minutes: IB We now move onto the toast motion.
HL Along the same lines college want to ban toasters. If you don’t have a toaster you can’t have toast for breakfast and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. They say they set fire alarms off, but I think that only happened a few times last year.
IB Any SFQs?
PT Have college given any stats about how often fire alarms are set off, or how often fires have been caused?
HL No.
JTH Are we talking about smoke alarms or fire alarms? I set off my smoke alarm 4 times. NH I think the smoke alarms set off the main fire alarm after 5 minutes.
LM How many kitchenettes are there in college?
HL Not many – 5 or 6?
HC I don’t think any of the kitchenettes have plug sockets, so you cant use a toaster in there.
IB We move into debate. Any objections to the motion as a whole? None. Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: New photocopier by Jack Hobbs
This JCR notes:
1) The photocopier we have is old and is difficult to repair/obtain new parts for.
2) The JCR can get a new one for £450 then plus VAT (this includes connecting the card machine we already have to the machine, which should cost an additional £125)
3) The copier wouldn't have a feeder or do A3 but people can still use the one in the JCR office for this.
4) The money will be able to come from the Joint Refurbishment Fund (to which college contributes half and the JCR contributes half through a compulsary levy)
This JCR believes:
1) It is important for students to have easy access to a photocopier
This JCR resolves:
1) To get a new one using the Joint Refurbishment fund
2) To make it energy efficient
Minutes: HL New photocopier by JH
JH The new photocopier is old and expensive to repair as parts are difficult to come by. This motion proposes buying a new one for £450, half of which is covered by the JRF.
HL SFQs?
JTH Why do we use cards – often you don’t have a card when you want to use it, can’t we have a coin system?
JH It’s more expensive to deal with coins rather than a paper card system.
JW You say you want to spend £450. But we still get a photocopier that can’t do lots of fancy things. Why can’t we just use the JCR office copier? JH The office isn’t always open.
SK Does anyone know how many photocopier deaths there were last year?
SB Is £450 a quote or a rough guess?
HL The little man came the other morning and spoke to Denise and this is what he said.
SB Can we make sure it’s energy star rated?
KM Well no disrespect to the little man who spoke to Denise, but has anyone researched to see if there’s a cheaper way?
IB We have a yearly maintenance contract with the company. The £450 covers a certain number of service calls. When we got the first photocopier they were the cheapest company. We could probably find a cheaper machine but it wouldn’t cover maintenance.
JTH With this motion, if we want a different photocopier which costs more, do we need a new motion?
IB If it goes beyond £450, if it costs less than £150 more it could go through Committee Lunch, otherwise it’ll come back to a GM.
MB Could we spend more and get some more gizmos.
JH I think that that’s considerably more expensive.
JTH With the JRF, does it just sit there, what else does it get spent on?
IB Various things to do with JCR refurbishment. It has over £10,000 in it, so the photocopier doesn’t make a huge dent in it.
PT Aren’t we already using the money on the JCR?
IB I think college are freeing up other money, and we will have to pay for the TV room ourselves, not necessarily from the JRF. But I’ll find out and there’ll be more motions about the JCR refurbishment in the future.
NE Doesn’t the one we have do A3?
JH It scans in A3 but will only output A4.
HL Objections to motion – yes, so we move to debate.
JW This a lot of money for something that we already have and can easily be used if people plan when they want to do their copying. Just because we have this money doesn’t mean we should spend it. Lets buy donuts for GMs or something.
IB In the office there’s a list of photocopies people make, but not all copying gets noted and we already lose money on copying as it is.
HL I’ve received an amendment.
AMENDMENT Add to resolves:“(ii) to make it energy efficient”
HL Any objections to the amendment – none – amendment goes into motion. We go back into debate on the motion as a whole.
JP The photocopier in the office is very complicated and I waste a lot of paper trying to get it doing what I want.
NH Can we look into putting a card reader on the copier in the office?
JH Yes.
SK I’m sure we’re all very trustworthy, but there’s lots of account details in the office and I don’t think everyone should have access. Plus having a simpler machine for general use is a good idea.
MTV
HL Any objections to MTV? Seeing none, we’ll vote on the motion after speeches in prop and opp.
JH Prop: no-one is arguing against the right of students to a photocopier. A previous JCR obviously decided that a copier was a good idea which is why we have one and no-ones objected since. It doesn’t cost that much.
JW Opp: if we really want a photocopier I think we should look at spending more and getting a better machine.
HL All in favour? Motion clearly has majority and passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Clock Resolution Part III by Jack Hobbs
This JCR notes:
1)William Sharp's motion last GM became a farce when it was "passed" 2)There was practically no discussion on the issues that the motion included and thus it should be talked about more.
3)That this was Will's motion:
"This JCR notes:
1) There is now a clock in the Norway Room, mounted on the wall by the computers.
2) El Berg's work on the website was good
3) A motion was passed by this JCR to by a clock, in honour of El Berg in recognition of this JCR notes [2].
4) Before that this JCR voted against having a clock
This JCR further notes:
1) This JCR notes [4] came about, not because the JCR has an objection to clocks per se, but because it rejected the imposition imposed on the liberty of balliol men that the time should be permanantly announced to them, should they not wish to know.
2) Because of this JCR notes [2] and [3] a clock is required.
3) The fashion of this JCR notes [1] is due to consideration of this jcr notes [4] and this JCR further notes [1].
4) That a clock, when unable to fulfil its primary function, does not cease to be a clock in so much as we still call it a clock.
This JCR believes:
1) This JCR notes [1] is not a sufficient to satisfy this JCR notes [3] in light of the degree of this JCR notes [2]
2) In view of this JCR further notes [4], if a clock does not fulfil its primary function it remains a clock such that it is a clock that does not fulfil its primary function.
3) If the clock was in a more prominent position than as mentioned in this JCR notes [1] it would go some way to resolving the problem outlined in this JCR believes [1]
This JCR resolves:
1) To move the clock to the main section of the Norway room, on the wall to the right as you face the stage, above the notice board.
2) To remove the hands from the clock."
This JCR believes:
1)Bergson's clock is a serious thing and it was mocked by the "passing" of the attached motion
This JCR resolves:
1)To reverse all consequences of Will's motion.
Minutes: HL We now move to the last(!) motion of the night. The Clock. Again.
JH Vote for this motion.
JE The point of this motion is that we didn’t have enough debate last time. If this goes through without proper debate then how is that any better?
MTV
IB MTV Prop: we’ve had enough motions about clocks, lets just vote and go home.
JH MTV Opp: is it just WS and I that find the idea of a clock with no hands funny?
EVERYONE Yes.
HL All against MTV: 2
JH Remember it needs 2/3(!)
HL All for MTV: fucking loads. We’ll vote on the motion, is there any opposition to the motion passing? Yes. Then we’ll have some summary speeches.
MB Prop: I like clocks.
AS Opp: I agree with JE
HL All in favour of motion: everyone apart from JE, JH, AS. Motion passes. [damn]
Result: Passed
Motion: Charitable donation to Travelaid Nepal by Lucy Crehan
This JCR notes
1) Travelaid is an Oxford student run charity set up to support people, especially children, in developing countries. 2) Students doing the Nepal project will work with the Nepali educational charity HVP and teach english in three private schools in the Kathmandu area. These schools are run by the charity and provide a good education for all children that want it irrespective of religion or gender. It provides bursaries for those who cannot afford education, including orphans of the civil war, and relies on charitable donations to do this.
3) None of the money raised by or donated by Travelaid is spent on the personal expenses of the Oxford students on the project, all of it goes to the running of the school. Last time Travelaid sent students to work on this project, the donation from Travelaid was half of one of the school's yearly income.
This JCR believes
1) Providing a good, free education to Nepali children who cannot afford it provides them with opportunities for employment and a better future.
2) This is a worthwhile cause to donate some of the JCR's charity money to.
This JCR resolves
1) To donate £300 to Travelaid Nepal.
Minutes: HL And now a motion supporting Travelaid, proposed by LC.
LC Travelaid is a charity set up by Oxford students. Travelaid Nepal sends groups out to help in schools for those who otherwise wouldn’t get a good education. The group also runs a boarding house for boys, and are planning to try to set up one for girls (Hindu rules don’t permit sharing).I’m funding my own expenses by working. Out there we will teach English or whatever other skills we have. In Nepal being able to speak English is vital, but full time English teachers are expensive. Going out there ourselves is extremely valuable to them.
JTH Would you say that your skills are better than the teachers they have?
AW They have amazing teachers but they don’t have English as their first language.
JH Why £300?
LC I thought that was a reasonable amount, I would love more, but we obviously have a limited amount to give. Previously the amount that Travelaid raised was half the outside funding of the school.
JP Do the charity ask you to have any qualifications?
LC No.
IB How much does this charity as a whole give to the school?
LC When they donated half the funding of the school I think that was around £4500.
NH What happens to the teachers when you’re there, do they not work? AW The school used to have a constant stream of volunteers, then conflict meant this stopped, but the school relies on volunteers.
HL Move to debate. Any opposition to the motion? Seeing none the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Charitable donation to CENIT by Tom Viita, John Mellor, Laura Dowley, Eleanor Bains
This JCR notes
1. There are many thousands of children living and working on the streets in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.
2. These children are very vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse, suffer from malnutrition and disease, are at great risk of HIV/AIDS. They also receive no education or primary healthcare because they have to work on the streets to earn enough to eat, or worse have to live on rubbish dumps finding food there alongside animals.
4. This JCR notes that a charity project called CENIT (Centro de la Nina Trabjadora/Centre for the Working Girl) works in Quito to provide outreach for these "street children", to build trust with them and restore their confidence in themselves and in adults. It is a non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to helping working children and their families overcome grinding poverty and improve their quality of lives through education and job training, nutrition programs, health and social services, psychological help and a chance to play and have fun.
5. This JCR notes that several people from our college have worked in CENIT on summer projects, especially working with Oxford Devevlopment Abroad.
6. CENIT is one of the NGOs financially supported by "Students Supporting Street Kids" (SSSK) which has a branch in Oxford University which has members from this JCR, and members have personal connections with CENIT.
7. That more information can be found at www.sssk.org.uk and www.cenitecuador.org
This JCR believes
1. This is not an acceptable situation for these children to live and die in, and this JCR believes they need our help.
2. That CENIT's work is amazingly valuable for the children it helps.
3. The JCR are encourages students to go out and help at CENIT and gain an understanding for themselves of the situation of these children.
4. That this JCR should continue to support CENIT even when students are not visiting, by providing funds to help CENIT and its professional staff to continue its work. This JCR resolves
1. Therefore this JCR will donate the sum of £200 from the JCR Charities Fund to support CENIT.
2. The donation is to be made through the UK registered charity, Sonrisa, which is the point of contact for all UK CENIT donations.
Minutes: HL We now move to the last charitable motion, proposing a donation to CENIT.
JM CENIT is a charity supports the children of Quito, the capital of Equador. Children have to work from a young age, and there’s a huge risk of violence and abuse. They need help, as do their families. CENIT provides training and pastoral care for young girls. Several JCR members have been there before – it’s a great cause.
JTH What does the charity do?
JM They run outreach centres, providing education, job training, nutrition programs and health and social services.
JTH How much money do they get – do many people know about CENIT?
JM They have various links to other groups. The £300 donation proposed by this motion would make a big difference.
HL We’re now in debate and I have an amendment.
AMENDMENT Move JCR notes (iii) to JCR believes.
HL Any opposition to this amendment? Seeing none the amendment passes. Is there any opposition to the motion as a whole?
JB I’d just like to point out that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection is roughly the same as in the UK.
JTH Where does that data come from?
JB UN
KM How old is the info?
JB I don’t know.
NH If 3 proposers of the motion didn’t turn up, why should we bother to donate?
JM We put 4 proposers down but didn’t know who would be able to propose.
HL I have another amendment
AMENDMENT Add to JCR resolves “(ii) The donation is to be made through the UK registered charity, Sonrisa, which is the point of contact for all UK CENIT donations.”
HL Any objections to this amendment going in to the motion? – none. Is there more debate to be had on the motion?
KM Even if all 4 people proposing the motion turned up we wouldn’t let them all talk at the same time anyway, we judge the motion based on the superfluous presence of proposers.
KM Does anyone go out to Equador.
JM CENIT do sent people to Equador but that’s completely separate.
HL Any opposition to the motion? Seeing none, the motion passes.
HL We now move to the last(!) motion of the night. The Clock. Again.
JH Vote for this motion.
JE The point of this motion is that we didn’t have enough debate last time. If this goes through without proper debate then how is that any better?
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-04-29
IB Officer’s reports?
JH I left them at home, I’ll put them up tomorrow. Sorry.
JK There’s no paper in the computer room – there’s a sign saying the computer rep does it.
IB That’s not MK, it’s a paid position. Email Ian Plumber.
IB Motions to pass nem con: b).
IB The first motion to be heard is a).
JH Can I move the refurbishment amendment up the agenda above free cordial? I need it done tonight to take to Carl Woodall.
IB Any objections? None.
IB Procedural motion to move new TV above cordial. No objections.
Motion: Amendments do my head in. by Andrew Lancaster
This JCR notes:
1)Motions with lots of amendments are damn near impossible to follow.
2)Motions with lots of amendments are confusing as you go along.
This JCR believes:
1)Motions are good
2)Amendments are good
3)Understanding what the hell is going on is even better
This JCR resolves:
1)To mandate someone on committee to project and update motions on the screen as the GM progresses
2)To correct all spelling mistakes in this motion
Minutes: IB Amendments do my head in.
AL Last GM was really hard to follow. Lots of committee members have laptops here and could easily project amendments.
JB Who would do it? The Secretary can’t because he’s trying to minute.
MB It’s happened in the past with the Secretary doing it.
IB I have done it in the past for JH.
Why did it stop?
IB It became a pain. It needed to be organised and someone had to do it. We just stopped doing it.
SK So incompetence and laziness.
IB Any objection to motion? MTD
AS I think it’s a pointless motion.
SK It has worked. Somebody wants to understand what’s going on in a GM. That’s not stupid.
SB This is a real opportunity to take GMs to the 21st century. Live quorum counters, swingometers….
JB There is the possibility that this could make everything even more complicated. Someone could make a typing mistake. I think we should probably not do it. I think GMs aren’t too hard to follow unless someone brings an amendment to an amendment to an amendment. And that just doesn’t happen.
MB And we wouldn’t have to waste paper printing the agenda.
IB The resolutions not good enough to show the whole agenda.
MTV
IB Any objections to motion? Yes. [vote] motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Living Wage Campaign by Liam Taylor
This JCR notes:
1) That the Oxford University Living Wage Campaign aims to build an alliance of workers and students to campaign for a ‘living wage’ for all employees of Oxford University. 2) That in Trinity term last year Balliol JCR voted to support the principle of a ‘living wage’ for workers in Oxford University.
3)That the bursar has recently banned two Balliol students from approaching the Head Housekeeper ‘or any other member of staff’ without his explicit permission.
This JCR believes:
1) That, as a matter of principle, we should take an interest in the lives of those who work for the university that provides our education;
2) That should they have concerns about their work, be should be prepared to stand by them in advocating change;
3) That communication between students and workers is essential to a successful Living Wage campaign;
4) That communication between students and workers is desirable as an end in itself;
5) That students and workers have a fundamental right to freely communicate their opinions.
This JCR resolves:
1) To support the right of students and workers in Balliol to communicate freely and without interference from the college authorities.
Minutes: IB Living Wage Campaign.
LT There was a motion about this in TT last year. The LWC is a group of students trying to campaign to build an alliance of workers and students and academics and unions, trying to get a fair wage for low paid workers – scouts etc. The motion passed last year said that the JCR supports the movement in principal.Without workers involvement there’s no point in the campaign. We can’t just claim to know what they want. At the end of MT we asked scouts briefly and informally about their views on their wages and their view of the campaign. Cathy, the head housekeeper was very enthusiastic. She said we could come to scouts meetings and hand out questionnaires and leaflets.In HT, however, having given questionnaires to Cathy to distribute the Bursar confiscated them. He was amicable at first, asking for time to think about it. He didn’t get back to us for 3 weeks, so we went back to Cathy. Carl found out and sent an email forbidding us from talking to workers or in fact any staff without talking to him.
DM Funnily enough that means we can’t talk to him!
LT The issue was brought up in staff committee meeting. We were referred to the master, but he hasn’t responded very well. I asked for a meeting. He said “yes, but I’m off to New York”. It’s not very high up on his priority list and we’re not getting anywhere.This motion doesn’t say we support higher wages or anything like that, it just says that we should take an interest in and be able to communicate freely with college staff.
KM Are there any ramifications for staff if you don’t cooperate? LT That’s obviously a danger – that the bursar takes it out on the staff. I think it would be difficult for him to sack someone, but yes, it might increase tension. If there were any indication of danger to staff we’d stop.
JB Have there been similar problems in other colleges?
LT Yes there are – in every college we’ve tried. In Magdalen they were told not to talk to workers. They asked if there was a way to stop them talking to workers and the bursar looked sheepish and said no.
NH If this motion passes will it affect the situation in any way. If you say to Carl the JCR support freedom of communication won’t he just say so what?
LT Its largely symbolic but also gives some ground if the JCR president needs to talk to someone about it.
SK Has the dean got involved?
LT No.
HL You said you looked into other JCRs. How have they gone about it. Have they all taken motions to GMs?
LT Most haven’t gone through the JCR. In Univ and Magdalen they went straight to staff.
IB MTD.
KM Whilst this motion is about freedom of speech and given that you’re trying not to antagonise the bursar don’t you think most of believes is unnecessary and antagonising.
SK Having believes as it is puts us in the awkward situation that if you’re bad and the bursar gets angry it gets us all in trouble.
MB I agree with KM and SK that having believes saying you can all say whatever you want is eventually going to come back and bite us.
AS In response to KM, I think believes is good, and should go into standing policy.
LT I admit that part of passing the motion is so that if anyone challenges us we have JCR support, but you’ll have to trust us to be good. Obviously if we went around trying to start a revolution obviously we wouldn’t have your support.This motion is just to support freedom of speech; hopefully we can produce some legal evidence of this right.The motion might potentially antagonise the bursar, but then he’s not going to read it and it’s not like we’re not going to go plaster it on his door.
IB I have an amendment.
AMENDMENT Strike JCR believes i), ii), iii), iv).
KM It will antagonise Carl, and I think believes i) – iv) are unnecessary and getting rid of them doesn’t damage the spirit of the motion.
LT I see your point. I don’t think anything in those believes is controversial and I think everyone in the JCR would agree with them. I don’t think we should withdraw them just to avoid antagonising the bursar. There are lines in the sand that you shouldn’t just retreat form.
SB We’ve pissed off Carl Woodall over so many things this term. It’s about showing support. We shouldn’t withdraw those lines just to avoid antagonising Carl.
KM There’s a point where you’ll just antagonise the bursar to the point that Carl will just oppose you for the sake of it and make it his life's work to stop you.
HL I think you need about the repercussions on the JCR when the President or VP, whoever they end up being, need to get things done and need the bursars cooperation.
LT I’m not going to deny that this won’t antagonise Carl. As a bursar it’s his job to keep wages low. Keep costs low. I can’t emphasise how much we’ve tried to work with him over the past 3, 4, 5 months cooperatively. It might have repercussions but we can’t keep appeasing the bursar like this.
SK The bursar isn’t going to hit us. And Jack Deegan will be able to handle it. My point is that you should be sensible, not that we shouldn’t support your right. If we take these believes out, it kind of just makes the motion say that we can talk to each other.
MTV
IB Objections to MTV? None. Amendment falls.
MB Are you thinking of putting this in standing policy.
IB I think this is similar to what we have.
LT The current policy supports a living wage but doesn’t say anything about freedom of speech. I think it should definitely be added.
MB If it went into policy – would it go in as a freedom of speech thing or a freedom of speech with respect to the living wage campaign? They’re very different.
IB I would say with respect to the living wage campaign. But someone could easily bring a motion to clarify.
DT This seems like a petulant response to being opposed by the bursar. KM It’s not a petulant response. It’s a proper response to the bursar basically forbidding communication.
?? At the moment are you still trying to talk to staff?
LT After the bursar’s email we stopped talking to staff. At that point we were trying to get somewhere through staff committees. We realised that wasn’t working so we are now talking to staff again. I don’t think we can go forward with the campaign until we have a proper idea of what workers actually want.
MTV
IB Any opposition to MTV? Any opposition to the motion? Seeing none, motion passes.
LT Can I just say that we want to work closely with the JCR and we want the JCR to know what we’re doing. If we ever actually start directly campaigning for wage rises or anything like that we’ll bring another motion. We don’t want to go around doing things on our own in the JCR’s name.
Result: Passed
Motion: Merging Ethnic Minorities and Overseas Officers by Jasmeen Kanwal & Kat Matfield
This JCR notes:
1)That there are currently two separate JCR committee posts for ethnic minority students and overseas students.
2) That there are currently 2 people occupying both of these posts, resulting in a total of 4 people representing ethnic minority and overseas students.
3)That in many cases, ethnic minority students are also overseas students and vice-versa.
4)That there is a great deal of cross-over in the responsibilities of these posts.
5)That there is not enough work involved in these posts for 4 people.
This JCR believes:
1)That it's important for ethnic minority and overseas students to be respresented by a JCR officership, both on JCR committee and in the JCR and university as a whole, but that they would be adequately represented by a single officership.
2)That having 4 people representing these two overlapping groups is unnecessary.
This JCR resolves:
1)To merge the positions and responsibilities of ethnic minority rep and overseas rep, to come into action after the end of the terms of the current officers.
2)To make the appropriate alterations to the Constitution. Minutes: IB The first motion then – a)
JK It’s basically all in the motion. I was overseas officer last year – the work we do is almost exactly the same as the work eth mins do just with the storage rooms. It makes sense to merge the post. It wouldn’t reduce representation, you could always amend to require one officer to be eth mins and one to be overseas.
JB How much of the JCR is overseas and how much eth mins?
JK I’m not sure – about 20% are overseas and most of them are eth mins.
JH As both of the positions have 2 seats, would this be merged in to one role with 2 seats?
IB Yes
IB Any objections? [yes]
RW I think there’s quite a distinction between the work eth mins and overseas do. It is unnecessary to have two people for both posts, but there is a need to represent eth mins. I’m overseas and I wouldn’t know how to go about representing eth mins.
KM You don’t actually know what eth mins do? Well it doesn’t matter – we’re merging the post after you, so whoever runs will have to make sure they know eth mins. I do partly agree with you that we might lose representation of eth mins if we merge. But at the moment they might be over represented on committee, so it’s a matter of opinion.
IB I’ve received an amendment.
AMENDMENT Replace JCR resolves i) with “To make ethnic minorities and overseas officers posts held by one person only each”
IB Any objections? SFQs? No, we’ll move to debate,
JK I think it’s far better to merge with 2 people. It’s much nicer to run in a pair. It would be good to have one person who knows eth mins and one knows overseas so they can still do lunches and things together.
LT It’s a good amendment. Lots of the overseas are white Caucasian and not really ethnic minorities. And lots of the ethnic minorities don’t have any overseas ties. You can be black and British or white and Asian. It confuses the issue putting the posts together. If the title of the post suggests that the two are the same that undermines this idea.
KM We’re in Oxford, we’re quite clever, we can tell the difference. And there are other roles that group separate needs – LGBT for example. Transgender needs are very different.
MTV IB Any objections to MTV? Then we’ll vote on amendment. For: 13, Against: 14
Amendment fails. We go back to debate on the motion.
MTV
IB Any objections to MTV on motion? I see objection.
NH MTV Prop: I think people have already thought about this, and people should vote.
IB Vote on MTV. Clearly passes. We’ll have summaries of motion.
JK Prop: There have been good points that it might get confused. But the pros are far greater than the cons. It’s ridiculous for 4 people to do not much stuff. It would be much more sensible to have two. And in Balliol we can still be aware of the differences and make sure both are represented effectively.
LT Opp: Eth mins and overseas are completely different positions. Its not like LGBT – eth mins have always tried to get across that you can be black and British and you know, like I said. And we can say that we’re in Oxford and feel smugly intelligent but its important to keep the two posts completely separate.
IB Vote on motion – Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Handover packs for JCR committee officers by Nicki Hanger and Kat Matfield
This JCR notes:
1)That it is customary for officers to write a handover pack detailing the responsibilities and duties of the role but some officers receive only a verbal handover or no handover at all.
This JCR believes:
1)That for some roles it is essential to have a handover pack and for all it is very helpful.
2) That written information is easier to refer to in the long run and to retain the information over several years.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate all committee officers to produce a written handover pack for their successors to be handed in to the secretary no later than two weeks after their successor is elected.
2) To encourage non-committee officers to submit a written handover pack to the secretary no later than two weeks after their successor is elected. 3) To add a section 5.14 to the standing orders detailing the above.
Minutes: This motion passed <i>nem con</i>
Result: Passed
Motion: Hustings by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That hustings for elections in Michaelmas last a long time
2) This year Hustings the candidates for president husted at after 2am in front of less that 30 people
3) Phil Thorne's GM motion on 26th November, mandating the committee to look into possible solutions, and come back with a proposal in Hilary term
4) That discussions have now happened in committee, and a possible solution was discussed (contained in resolves), which involves splitting hustings into two days
5) The only section of standing orders that currently deals with hustings, namely 5.7.4 "The JCR Committee will normally arrange hustings for candidates in the Norway Room. No other election meetings may be held on JCR premises"
This JCR believes:
1) To only have 30 people attend the Hustings of a position as important as President is ridiculous
2) That we should have more substantial standing orders regulating the way hustings are run
3) That the proposed standing order changes in 'resolves' offer a possible solution to the problem of overlong hustings
This JCR resolves:
1) To add the following section to standing orders, under 5.8
"5.8 Hustings
5.8.1 The JCR Committee shall arrange hustings for candidates in the Norway Room. No other election meetings may be held on JCR premises.
5.8.2 Hustings shall be chaired by the President, or in her/his absence by a member of Committee specified by her/him
5.8.3 Hustings for elections in Michaelmas Term shall, so far as practicable, take place over two days (which need not be consecutive) as follows: i) First day: All non-committee and committee positions not named in (ii) below ii) Second day: The Entz Officer, Ms/Mr Foody, Lord/Lady Lindsay, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Vice-President and the President
5.8.4 The order of hustings on the first day shall be committee and non-committee interspersed, the exact order being determined by the chair of the husts.
5.8.5 The order of hustings on the second day shall be in the order of posts set out in 5.8.3 (ii) above
5.8.6 The chair shall have the power at his/her discretion to change the order and allocation of posts between the two days, for example in the case of the unavailability of candidates"
2) To strike 5.7.4 from the Standing Orders
3) To renumber the rest of the clauses within section 5 accordingly, ie. "The ballot" becomes 5.9, "The count" 5.10 etc.
Minutes: NH We’re doing the hustings motion.
IB This is a motion that was brought by PT weeks ago and we said we’d discuss it in committee. Hustings ran on till after 3 and there weren’t many people here. There were various suggestions put forward to streamline hustings. At the moment president goes last and no one wants to stick around that late.As it stands, the motion puts a mix of fun and important positions on the 2nd day and all the others on the first. The motion just sets out some guidelines.
NH Any SFQs? MTD.
?? Why can’t you put president at the beginning and all the other shit posts afterwards?
IB If that’s what you wanted to do you could.
NH An amendment’s been submitted
AMENDMENT Change resolves i) 5.8.4. to read “The order of hustings on the first day shall be committee and non-committee interspersed, the exact order being determined by the chair of the husts.”
IB KM wants the order randomised.
KM If we have all the non-com posts firsts there’ll be a couple of hours where no one turns out.
MB I was under the impression that the way hustings would be done was alphabetically, which is pretty random anyway.
NH Any opposition to amendment? None, amendment passes. Back to debate on motion.
MB Is there any chance of putting a time limit, so that if hustings are dragging on they’re put off till the next day? KM By moving all the important posts to the second day hustings won’t drag on too much.
HL We’re already asking for hustings to be split over two days. If we then table them till the next day people won’t come. And president has discretion over speech lengths.
MB JH did on the J de B husts last year.
KM JH did, but I’m not sure he was allowed to.
HL Then maybe we should put that in.
KM Can we not – it’ll make debate take ages and it could be brought as a new motion.
MTV
NH Any opposition to MTV? Then we’ll vote on the motion. Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Free Cordial by Dominic Jay
This JCR notes:
1) That cordial is no longer available free of charge from the Lindsay Bar.
[Amendment under debate:
2) JCR subsidises lots of stuff
3) The Bar must make a profit to retain its license]
This JCR believes:
1) That the Lindsay Bar should provide a non-alcoholic beverage, other than water, free of charge.
This JCR resolves:
1) To serve cordial free of charge in the Lindsay Bar.
[Amendment under debate:
2) That the JCR should subsidise cordial separate to the bar]
Minutes: IB Free cordial. DJ is at a pub quiz and isn’t here. We can’t do the motion unless someone else is willing? Not seeing anyone that motion falls.
Result: Failed
Motion: TV Room Refurbishment by Jack Hobbs
This JCR notes:
1)The TV Room is a mess
2)The JCR facilities are periodically refurbished
3)We have a quote of £1952 for reflooring and £300 for repainting
This JCR believes:
1)Making the JCR look nice is a good thing
This JCR resolves:
1)To pass a sum of up to £2400 to refurbish the TV Room
Minutes: JH I want money to do up the TV room. That’s it.
IB SFQs?
HL POI: Over the summer college is paying to have the Norway Room refurbished – they use it for conferences. It’s going to be cheaper to do the TV room now at the same time than later.
JB Why the extra £100
JH If the cost runs over by a bit I didn’t want to have to bring it back to a GM.
IB MTD. Any opposition? None.
Result: Passed
Motion: New TV by Jack Hobbs
This JCR notes:
1)The TV is broken
2)A lot of the JCR watches Neighbours
3)Mr. D&M has nearly been assaulted every days since the TV died
4)In D&M's opinion the CRT is broken and the replacement would cost about as much as the TV is worth
This JCR believes:
1)JCR members should be able to watch Neighbours in the JCR This JCR resolves:
1)To pass up to £400 for a new TV
Minutes:
IB Now the new TV motion.
JH Basically our TV is broken. It’s dangerous. I took the plug off so no one could get electrocuted. In my opinion I think it’ll cost more to fix than replace so we should get a new one with a warranty.
MB Where did £400 come from? What are we getting?
JH Something basically the same but with a digital tuner. The price came from Argos.
IB MTD. I’ve got an amendment on the table.
AMENDMENT Change JCR resolves i) to read “To pass £599 for a rude 42” Matsui plasma screen (available with free delivery from dixons.com) which is far superior to any TV you can buy for <£400”
IB Any objections to amendment?
JH Plasmas have to be mounted to a wall. With huge brackets. And I’d rather go with 32” CRT that’s really hard to steal.
HL I think £600 is a lot of money for a TV that not everyone uses, even if a lot do, especially when we’re already spending £2400 on the TV room. I think £400 is much more reasonable.
KM When the JCR wants to watch something it goes on the big screen. All anyone watches in the TV room is neighbours. Do you really think that you’d get more enjoyment from 42” of neighbours?
SK Look at how we treat things in the JCR. A rude plasma would be very very rude after a few weeks.
IB Vote? Amendment fails.
IB Any objections to motion? Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Vending machine in the TV room by Tom Gibson & Don Mackintosh
This JCR notes:
1) The TV room already has a can machine, but there is nowhere to get food or snacks when Pantry is closed
2) That the foodies and the treasurer have been looking into putting a snack vending machine in the TV room
3) That there are many different companies and options, including buying or rental, and filling it ourselves or having a service contract
4) That the potential income from such a machine varies depending on which of these options is chosen
5) The difficulty in gauging how successful such a vending machine would be and whether it would be economically viable
6) That one of the firms we have contacted (Connect Vending) have offered to put a reconditioned snack vending machine in the TV room as part of a no obligation 8 week trial next Michaelmas Term
7) During the trialm Connect Vending will operate and fill the machine, and collect all revenue, but the JCR will not pay a rental or service charge so cannot lose financially
This JCR believes:
1) That putting a snack machine in the TV room would be a good thing
2) That before committing to a formal contract, the offer of a trial for 8 weeks next Michaelmas will allow us to see how much it is used, and whether it is worthwhile
3) That the snacks available in the machine must be able to be chosen by the JCR, so as to conform to our existing standing policy eg. on Nestle
This JCR resolves:
1) To authorise a trial of a snack machine in the JCR from Michaelmas 2007
2) To mandate the Treasurer and Foodies to monitor whether the machine is successful, and come back to a future GM to decide whether it is to be made permanent
Minutes: IB Vending machine in the TV room.
TG We’ve been looking into getting a snack vending machine. The can machine’s very popular and it’s the most profitable thing pantry have. People will like it, it’ll let us take advantage of the “people want snacks and we’re not open” market. Lots of companies want to rip us off but this company have offered us a 1 term MT07 machine for free. We don’t make any money, but we don’t have to spend any either. It lets us decide if buying one would be financially viable, and we’re not obliged to keep it or anything. KM Will we be able to keep track of how much is sold/made
IB The company keep a print out which they’ll show us.
?? How much does it cost to buy one?
IB About £3000, but if you buy the stock for it yourself you can make a lot.
JB What will be stocked in the vending machine?
TG No nestle. The kind of stuff you get in the bar. Nice chocolates and crisps.
NH Will you be competing with the bar?
DM Not when the bar’s not open.
NH When you’re not stocking it can you liase and make sure we’re not competing.
IB Even when we’re not stocking it ourselves we still get to decide what’s in it.
HL MT often isn’t very reflective of spending habits with the bar. How good an indicator is it with the can machine and will MT make a good trial period.
IB I don’t know, but we wouldn’t recommend it unless we thought it would definitely be successful.
NH POI: In TT people eat and drink fizzy drinks the same amount as they do the rest of the time. It's only time dependent and alcoholic things that seem to vary.
?? If you’re not making any money from the trial, pantry will lose money – I’ll go to the machine rather than queue.
TG Chocolates will be different. Hmmm…. Maybe we shouldn’t sell crisps.
JK Is this the same company that do hot drink vending machines?
TG Yes, but any machine we get will have to go in the TV room. Coffee machines need plumbing and stuff and I don’t think college will let us. As much faith as I have in JH’s skills I don’t think he should replumb the college.
JB How profitable is the can machine.
IB Its takings are 2000-3000 a term. I don’t know profit off the top of my head.
TG The machine paid for itself in a year. The company that gave it to us have since gone under though.
IB MTD. Any objections to motion? Motion passes.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-05-13
HLAny objections to the minutes of last GM? Or to officer’s which are on the wall? Any questions to officers?
MB I lent the marquee guys the JCR kettle and they’ve lost it, can NE get it back?
NE I’ll try and found out what happened to it.
HL In appendix 2 we have the ball presidents officer’s report
NE Yeah, everything’s in there – also if you have any photos that would be good for Floriat Domus then let me know. I’m going to try and get a big handover pack for the next committee and have some meetings with them. We’re going to be doing a comments thing so that you can say what you did and didn’t like.
GG I’d like to say it was very good – thank you for all your hard work.
HL Now we go through the motions. Any objections to motion a? Seeing none that motion passes. Any objection to motion b? Seeing none, that motion passes. We’ll talk about motion c and the other OUSU motions.
Motion: June Jamboree Sponsorship by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) The June Jamboree, a garden party for the JCR, MCR, SCR and select Alumni will take place on 10th June this year
2) College have given permission for 10th June, but other organising details such as the event safety plan, temporary event licence etc. are still to be finalised by the June Jamboree organising committee
3) Last year, the event took place on Masters Field, and had free icecream, a bbq, strawberries and a sports day
4) That last year the event lost in the region of £400
5) That this loss is absorbable as part of JCR running costs, given the free nature of the event and bringing together of the JCR / MCR with college and staff
6) But that to expand the event in any way eg. hiring any inflatables, or other giant outdoor games will probably require expenditure 7) Although time for this year is short, it would be useful to know the JCR's views about getting external sponsorship for the event
This JCR believes:
1) That the JCR should be able to seek external sponsorship for the June Jamboree
This JCR resolves:
1) To make this a policy, specifically in relation to this and future June Jamborees, even if this year the time constraints may mean that sponsorship is unrealistic
Minutes: This motion passed nem con
Result: Passed
Motion: Merging Ethnic Minorities and Overseas Officers 2nd Hearing by Jasmeen Kanwal & Kat Matfield
This JCR notes:
1)That there are currently two separate JCR committee posts for ethnic minority students and overseas students.
2) That there are currently 2 people occupying both of these posts, resulting in a total of 4 people representing ethnic minority and overseas students.
3)That in many cases, ethnic minority students are also overseas students and vice-versa.
4)That there is a great deal of cross-over in the responsibilities of these posts.
5)That there is not enough work involved in these posts for 4 people.
This JCR believes:
1)That it's important for ethnic minority and overseas students to be respresented by a JCR officership, both on JCR committee and in the JCR and university as a whole, but that they would be adequately represented by a single officership.
2)That having 4 people representing these two overlapping groups is unnecessary.
This JCR resolves:
1)To merge the positions and responsibilities of ethnic minority rep and overseas rep, to come into action after the end of the terms of the current officers.
2)To make the appropriate alterations to the Constitution.
Minutes: This motion passed nem con
Result: Passed Motion: OUSU Referendum on a change to its Charitable Status by Adam Smith
This JCR Notes
1. That there will be an OUSU referendum on the following question on Thursday sixth week, Trinity Term 2007.
"Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) should cease to be an exempt charity and become a registered charity."
2. That the Charities Act 2006 abolished the category of “Exempt Charity”.
3. That Oxford University Student Union (OUSU) is currently an Exempt Charity.
This JCR further notes
1. That a detailed report compiled by OUSU recommended re-registering as a Registered Charity independent of the University.
2. That the majority of Student Unions around the UK are favouring this option.
This JCR Believes
1. That re-registering as a Registered Charity is the best option for OUSU.
This JCR Resolves
1. To place “Believes” 1 into JCR standing policy.
2. To mandate the JCR President and Affiliations Officers to communicate this standing policy to the OUSU President and Executive Committee.
Minutes: HL We start with motion c.
AS This is quite simple. OUSU is registered as an exempt charity. That category has now been abolished so they have to reregister. There was a report published outlining possibilities. OUSU council propose registering as a charity, which is what most SUs are. This motion just proposes supporting that.
SK Are there any problems that someone might not allow us to register?
AS No?
IB Why are they doing a referendum? If the category they’re in has been abolished they have to change regardless.
AS There are other options rather than going for a registered charity. They just want to make sure everyone agrees this is the best.
HL Any opposition to this motion? Seeing none, the motion passes.
Result: Passed Motion: OUSU Referendum on the future of Vice-President (Finance) by Adam Smith
This JCR Notes
1. That there will be an OUSU referendum on the following question on Thursday of sixth week, Trinity Term 2007.
"OUSU should abolish the full-time sabbatical position of Vice-President (Finance) and replace it with an appointed professional Finance Manager, effective from July 2008."
2. OUSU is currently in debt to the University to the sum of approximately £250,000
This JCR Believes
1. That the replacement of Vice-President (Finance) with a professional Finance Manager would be of benefit to OUSU.
2. That a more financially secure OUSU would benefit this JCR.
This JCR resolves
1. To place “believes” 1 and 2 into JCR standing policy.
2. To mandate the JCR President and Affiliations Officers to communicate this standing policy to the OUSU President and Executive Committee.
Minutes: AS OUSU has decided to have a referendum to get rid of VP (finance) and have a paid business manager instead, who isn’t changed every year. OUSU are 250,000 in debt to the university, so the idea is to have a paid professional who’s going to stick around and solve these problems.
IB If there’s a referendum then we can just vote in favour. Why do we need policy?
AS Just so that when we’re in meetings and OUSU council Jen and I know what we’re representing.
NE What’s the comparative cost of having a professional manager?
AS The wage of a sabbatical officer is £18,000, the cost of a professional is expected to be around £21,000
JE POI: that’s the maximum estimate.
MB Are OUSU planning to start bringing in professional staff across the board?
AS There are no plans, it’s just it was felt finances needed sorting out.
IB Are there other staff employed by OUSU?
AS I think the only other permanent paid staff are some secretarial staff.
IB Who’ll be voting in OUSU council?
AS I’m assuming the new paid position will not have voting rights since they’re not elected.
HL Any more SFQs? Any opposition? We move into debate.
SK OUSU want to replace an elected position with someone who is employed, and this takes away accountability. A couple of years ago the business manager – Dan Finley – we made him a villain of the JCR – did many bad things, and OUSU couldn’t get rid of him until his contract ran out. There was no facility to no-con him or anything like that. For that reason we should reject this proposal.
IB I agree with SK. In the JCR we have Denise working permanently but then there’s an elected position to oversee things. It costs more to have both elected and professional staff, but I don’t think you should get rid of an elected post.
AS VP finance has a lot to do. He has help from the business manager. He’s not qualified, and therefore doesn’t necessarily have the right abilities to deal with all the financial aspects of OUSU. OUSU isn’t like the JCR; they have a lot of different branches and are in a lot of debt. I don’t think anyone who isn’t qualified is going to be able to sort it out.
IB POI: our turnover is greater than OUSU
SK Removing a role form the sphere of a student is a bad thing. When OUSU had a bad business manager, he tried to sue a student. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him. He carried out his job as he saw fit. Please don’t vote for it.
DW We don’t have enough information so far. Like what does CUSU do? Surely there’ll be more information before the referendum.
AS Other SUs around the country tend to have a finance advisor who looks after finance and also a representative who sits on committee and oversees the finances. But that’s expensive and OUSU are in a lot of debt and can’t afford it. I think there would be enough accountability through the president. It wouldn’t be a situation where the finance manager could do whatever he wanted.
AMENDMENT “Strike believes (i) and replace with “To oppose the replacement of VP (Finance with a Professional Finance Manager” “
HL This doesn’t affect anything else in the motion. All the other points still stand. I think this is a suitable amendment. SFQs? Opposition?
DS I think accountability is an issue. If a person’s unaccountable then their contract is wrong. You just need a more flexible contract that allows removal of the employee. Also there are long- term issues. £250,000 is a long-term issue, and we need someone who’s here for more of a year to sort it out. I don’t think accountabilities an issue.
IB However you phrase a contract there isn’t the same ability to remove someone if you don’t have confidence in them. I know that at the moment having a paid position underneath an elected position isn’t affordable but you need both. What we have in Balliol allows me to keep an eye on everything. The President is extremely busy and is the public face of OUSU. He can’t oversee everything.
AS Can I just clarify? I believe the financial advisor can be questioned by council but doesn’t have voting rights.
JH Are all sabbatical posts paid?
AS Yes
JH Then couldn’t we have a paid position being overseen by a student who isn’t paid?
AS The non-paid positions are part time, and I don’t think in OUSU you can do the job effectively part-time. Its possible but I don’t think it’s a good idea.
DS I think it’s worth sacrificing a little bit of accountability to get someone who has the skills to deal with OUSU’s problem.
If we vote against the referendum then things stay as they are. And surely £250,000 of debt shows that things aren’t working how they are at the moment.
BB At £21,000 surely they’re not going to get any better than a graduate. And I can’t see much prospects so they’re not going to get some bigwig financial god. They’re just going to end up with someone no better just paying them more.
AS It would allow someone to be there for more than a year. When there’s a problem as big as there is its very difficult for anyone to get to grips with it quickly enough to solve anything in their year’s term.
HL Just to remind everyone, we’re still in debate on the amendment. Any more debate to be had? Any objections to the amendment?
PROP: IB I agree with AS about the year-to-year nature. If it was just me looking at the finances and you didn’t have anyone permanent to refer to I think that would be bad. But you really need someone who can come in each year with new ideas. They’re bound to have an interest in finances since they ran and they’ll have a clear idea of what they want to get done. But you can’t have someone who just does their job and knows they’re not accountable.
OPP I agree with DS’s points. We should leave the motion as it is.
HL In favour: 10, Opposed: 10 – The amendment fails, and we move back into debate on the motion as a whole. MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? Seeing none is there any opposition to motion as a whole? Yes. Then we vote on the motion as a whole.
For: 12, Against: 14, The motion fails.
Result: Failed
Motion: OUSU Referendum on Vice-President Women and Student Advisor by Adam Smith
This JCR Notes
1. That there will be an OUSU referendum on the following question on Thursday of sixth week, Trinity Term 2007.
"OUSU should abolish the full-time sabbatical position of Vice-President (Women) and replace it with an appointed professional Student Advisor and additional part-time women’s executive officer, effective from July 2008."
2. That the date of the referendum was moved from Michaelmas Term 2007 after twelve (only ten required) other JCR’s passed motions to that effect through their respective General Meetings over the last two weeks.
3. The alteration of the date of this referendum has reduced the potential time for consultation of groups and individuals affected.
4. That OUSU is currently in serious debt to the university and cannot afford to employ a Student Advisor without making savings elsewhere.
This JCR Believes
1. That women deserve equal representation on university and student bodies.
2. That the sabbatical post of V-P (Women) is important to ensure Female students receive this equal representation.
3. A part-time women’s executive officer will not be as effective as a full-time sabbatical officer.
4. That the appointment of a professional Student Advisor would benefit students but should not come about at the expense of the Vice-President (Women).
5. That, although a referendum is desirable, it should only take place after proper consultation and this cannot be completed before Thursday of sixth week, Trinity Term 2007.
This JCR Resolves
1. To place “believes” 1-6 into JCR Standing Policy. 2. To mandate the JCR President and Affiliations Officers to communicate this standing policy to the OUSU President and Executive Committee.
Minutes: HL We move to motion e.
AS The idea of this motion is to get some policy but my motion is slightly biased. OUSU is having another referendum to replace VP women with a full-time professional paid student advisor. And a student part time position. After debate it was decided to hold the ref at the end of MT with OUSU elections. Though a loophole, 12 JCRs were able to overturn this decision. This motion just puts into policy the believes detailed in the motion.
SK Are you a member of the Labour party?
AS No.
NH Would the student advisor proposed only advise women?
AS No – they would advise on all issues – pregnancy, drugs etc. the university have their own advisor service, and so do OUSU – its run by the welfare team which includes women.
DM It says there were 10 JCRs…
AS 12 – 10 were needed. And that includes all bodies, so JCRs and MCRs – it’s a clear minority.
JB What are the arguments for the change?
AS A student advisor would be of great benefit to students, but can’t be afforded without getting rid of another post. And VP (women) was chosen. It’s not a direct swap of positions.
JE This 10 JCR rule. Do you know the history of how it came into the constitution?
AS I don’t know
HL In order to call a referendum you need a motion form 10 JCRs or 500 signatures or something. It’s not that they overturned the decision, there is still a referendum scheduled for MT.
AS Pres, Acc Aff, Charities, Finance, Women, Graduates I think are all the sabbatical posts. The only minority posts are women and grads. The idea is that dons are biased towards men and so women need to be represented in OUSU.
DM Won’t it confuse things having two different motions?
HL The two motions, whilst on the same subject, go to different lengths.
AS I wasn’t comfortable mandating the President to support a campaign, but I think putting some beliefs into policy would be a good idea. But I didn’t want to support a campaign when there are still different views in the JCR. Would the student advisor take over the job of VP women?
AS VP women runs quite a lot of advisory things. But one of her major roles is attending and organising marches and women’s campaigns and things like that. That won’t be covered by the advisor position and is really too much work for the part time position to deal with.
DT Why do OUSU allow a minority to bring about a referendum?
HC A referendum isn’t undemocratic, so it think it was decided that fewer people are needed to call one – since it’s essentially asking for everyone’s views.
MEETING INQUORATE
HL We’re still in SFQs on the motion. Seeing no more questions we move into debate on the motion.
MB I don’t understand how believes 1 and 2 work. If women want equal representation why do they get something men don’t?
AS The university is male dominated. Tutors and other dons are mostly men. Therefore it was decided that women needed extra representation. Also they have separate issues, which VP women can deal with.
DT Isn’t there already the provision for serving women’s issues in OUSU?
AS At the moment the VP graduates and VP women are the only women. OUSU is mostly a male dominated environment. VP women organises things like the rape alarm campaign. Almost all SUs have a women’s officer. It’s recognised that there are many areas where women have issues and concerns that men don’t have to deal with.
JB I expect OUSU is probably mostly a non-disabled, non-LGBT body. Couldn’t women’s officer be an executive position like all the other minority position? That would put them all on the same level.
HC First of all, women are not supposed to be a minority. Hmmm. Possibly badly phrased. Women are not naturally a minority. Especially in Oxford, women are 30% less likely to get a first, the way the admissions system is… there are many things VP women does that aren’t just handing out rape alarms. She organises women’s open days and campaigns. There are no women tutors even to mark finals – that’s part of the reason for the massive finals gap.
AMENDMENT “Remove believes (vi)”
HC A minority of 10 JCRs can’t “overturn” a referendum. The point doesn’t reflect the rule in OUSU. And it’s not a bad thing that 10 JCRs can call a referendum.
HL SFQs on amendment. AS It was felt that the vote was influenced by a majority of labour club members and those who didn’t represent the views of JCRs.
MEETING INQUORATE
HL We’re on SFQs on the amendment.
AS The JCRs felt Labour club had influenced the vote and they wanted to bring it back to MT.
HL Any debate on the amendment? Any opposition?
PROP: HC This would mean that we thought it was a bad thing that 10 JCRs could bring a referendum. And I think it’s a good thing. 10 JCRs CAN’T overturn an OUSU vote.
OPP: JB I read it that 10 JCRs shouldn’t have the effect of overturning a vote not that they shouldn’t be able to bring a referendum.
HL [VOTE] That amendment passes.
IB If VP women doesn’t like it, who’s come up with the idea?
AS Alan and Ed.
IB Is it money saving.
AS It was proposed graduate and women’s charities that seconded it.
TH Either you need a full time position for women or you don’t. It’s not a case of trying to level the minorities.
WS The reason there’s a massive debate is because there’s a member of the labour club who doesn’t like one of the JCR presidents. It’s a massive in-fight.
LK I was in a meeting with labour club – though I’m not a member – and they were very clear that they didn’t want to make the issue personal. There’s an idea that labour club swung it with 7 votes. Labour club I think actually had a net effect of 3 votes.
SK You should probably know the truth about it. WS is right that it’s an in fight, but now it’s come up it’s more important than that.
JH What is the labour club?
AS JB will explain
JB It’s the University collection of Labour supporters – and we do things like get labour speakers.
HC On the issue of timing. The idea of “proper consultation” I’m not sure about. But in TT not nearly as many people will vote as in MT, during OUSU elections. There’ll be much better representation if a vote is in TT. WS This is just an issue of timing. MTV.
HL Any objections to MTV? Seeing none we’ll have summary speeches and vote.
PROP: AS I think this has been rushed through. I don’t think removing VP women is a good idea. From a timing point of view, this only came up last week, as OUSU reps we got an email saying if we wanted to campaign we had to sign up by tomorrow. On a general note, I think it’s an issue that JCR should have policy on, so that I can go and represent the JCRs views to Alan Strickland.
OPP: WS I think in this motion there are several believes points which are a bit daft. I don’t think it’s particularly well written.
HL [vote] That motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: OUSU Referendum on VP(Women) by Lucy Kellett
This JCR notes:
1. OUSU Council passed policy on Friday of 1st Week to hold a referendum in Michaelmas term on whether to abolish the position of VP(Women), following a consultation period this Trinity term.
2. Twelve of the JCRs voted to overturn this motion and instead hold a referendum on Thursday of 6th Week . The referendum question is:
OUSU should abolish the full-time Sabbatical position of Vice-President(Women) and replace it with an appointed professional Student Advisor and additional part-time women’s executive officer, effective from July 2008.
3. JCR and MCR Women’s Officers and the Women’s Campaign were not informed of or consulted about the motion before it was brought.
4. By bringing forward the referendum, the time for a consultation committee to examine the possibilities for financing a Student Advisor has been reduced.
5. If the role of VP (Women) is abolished, no female position is guaranteed on the OUSU Sabbatical team.
6. The VP(Women) campaigns and acts on welfare and academic issues within and beyond the university (see Appendix)
This JCR believes:
1. Women require guaranteed representation on the OUSU Sabbatical team, due to university-wide academic and welfare issues that concern women.
2. The position of VP(Women) is necessary and valuable. 3. A Student Advisor and another women’s executive officer are insufficient replacements for the VP(Women): i) A Student Advisor is unelected and unaccountable to students ii) A women’s executive officer does not have the time, resources, experience and status of the VP(Women)
4. The referendum is undemocratic: i) See Notes 3
5. The referendum is premature: i) It will take place before a consultative committee has had adequate time to research alternatives to abolishing the VP(Women) ii) The electorate is uninformed about the issues addressed in the referendum iii)The referendum question offers a false choice between a VP(Women) and a Student Advisor and executive officer, implying that there are no other possibilities for solving OUSU’s financial problems
This JCR resolves:
1. To mandate the JCR President to join the campaign to support the position of VP(Women) in the upcoming referendum
2. To mandate the President to supply a statement to the ‘No’ (anti-referendum) campaign in favour of the VP(Women) position, in her capacity as JCR President
Minutes: HL We now move to the final motion – motion f.
AR This is similar to the previous motion, but the focus of what we’re trying to do is different. We want to mandate Helen to actively say things and take a stance in favour of keeping VP women.
HL At the moment we’re just in quorum. If anyone leaves we’ll have to close the meeting.
HL SFQs on the motion? Seeing none we move to debate
AMENDMENT “Remove believes (iv) (i)”
MB It’s the exact phrase we just cut form the last motion.
HL Any objections to the amendment? Seeing none that passes. Were back to SFQs on the motion.
JB Did you consult HL and was she happy with doing what this motion says?
HL Yes.
MB Obvious there was some kind of consultative committee – who was on it? VP women and some others
MB Surely that’s just biased.
LK VP women isn’t necessarily saying that her role should stay as it is. She recognises that there are other ways her role could be fulfilled.
WS I think it’s worrying that someone doesn’t think her position is important. I don’t think Balliol needs to shout about the rights of women in OUSU. There are lots of terms in this motion that are the same as the last motion and might be a bid dodgy based on previous discussion.
AR It was important for us that we had some idea of what the JCR thought, so that HL could speak on behalf of the JCR. We thought this would give our arguments more weight.
LK You can only join the campaign as an individual and not on behalf of a JCR. But HL won’t take up this issue without the backing of a JCR motion.
WS Most importantly. The reason that a referendum is good as opposed to JCRs voicing their positions separately is that a referendum can represent the split views of the JCR, whilst if we get behind one JCR position then that doesn’t represent us as effectively.
MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? As there is we’ll have speeches in prop and opp.
MTV PROP: Move to vote.
MTV OPP: There are lots of points in JCR notes and believes that we would like to discuss. Part of the reason for bringing the motion was to raise awareness. Lots of students just went along with whatever their president wanted and debate was rushed. There are important things I want to bring up, like what VP women does and why her role is so important.
HL Move to vote passes. Speeches in prop and opp of motion.
PROP LK: I feel that we’re very much in favour of the policy we made in ASs motion, but there are very important things we can do to support VP women. Saying no to removing VP women now doesn’t say that we are opposed to ever removing the post, but its important that people are informed, and the referendum has been deliberately timed so that people aren’t informed, and don’t realise all the things VP women does. OPP: WS: The motion is badly worded. A referendum is extremely important, much better than putting our support behind one person.
HL [Vote] Motion fails.
Result: Failed
General Meeting - 2007-06-03
HL Objections to previous GM minutes – none.
Questions to officers – none.
Motions to pass <i>nem con</i> - a) Treasurer’s minutes c) NUS levy f) Panini machine h) Housing adjustments j) Drinks at bops.
Motion: Foam Bop by John Erde and Will Sharp
This JCR notes:
1. That a Bop is provisionally penciled in for thursday of 8th week
2. That the 8th week bop is going to be the LGTB bop, raising awareness about
LGBT issues and that
3. That Entz Officer Sharpy had a ring round some companies whilst Erde ate a sandwich a few weeks back. The best qoute we got for a foam party for between
300 and 500 people was £460
This JCR believes:
1. That a foam party is an adequate medium through which awareness of LGBT issues can be raised
2. Foam is gay. Big gay foam party
3. A foam party would be good craic
4. We should at least break even in terms of money, especially if we get in lots of people from other colleges and charge them 3 bob on the door
5. That we'll defo get lots of people from other colleges coming. We got like 100 at the circus bop and that werent great was it
This JCR resolves:
1. To pass up to £500 for foam machine renta
Minutes: E) FOAM BOP
WS We were given 2 options by the guy when we wanted a foam party. I said we were having 300 people. He said we’d need a canon for 500. I said is that a lot of foam? I said I wanted one that attaches to the ceiling and he said we could get one for £1000 but half the people would drown – so I’ve left that out.It works like this – there’s a big barrel of like Johnson’s baby lotion, and a machine mashes it up and fires it out of a big tube. Bops raise variable amounts of money. A big bop can take up to £1000. Bearing in mind that, and IB’s financial report – it’s not an outrageous expenditure. I’d be surprised if we don’t make money.
RO Have you spoken to college? – I have a feeling Ian Fifield will notice this big machine.
WS Not yet – but I thought we’d pass the money in case they said yes. And because it’s basically shampoo – it doesn’t make a mess it actually cleans stuff. The man told me that more often than not when you do it on a carpeted surface it ends up cleaner than when you started.
KM I’m 5ft 2 – will I drown?
WS No.
JP How much to buy one?
WS About £7000.
TG When is the bop?
WS Thursday. All the finalists are finished by then. If you’re 2nd or 3rd years Thurs or Fri doesn’t make any difference. But if you’re a fresher that day earlier makes a difference. You can always come down and play in the foam or buy one of our 60p soft drinks.
NH Are the notice boards going to stay safe?
WS We’ll aim it in the centre of the room, so they should be fine.
JH I might take the boards down before then for the refurbishment anyway.
NE Won’t it mess up the power sockets?
WS You put tape over them and it’s fine. There’s not that much liquid – its all kind of gloopy.
DT Since it’s a big gay bop they’ll probably be lots of Wadhamites here – will it get stolen?
WS It’s massive – you can’t carry it!
IB We haven’t had a bop yet this year, and this is a big expenditure above the £25-50 for decorating most bops. Usually Entz profits subsidise the JCR so it’s something to think about. But if you’re charging what you say you will it’ll probably be OK.
AMENDMENT Change “crack” to “craic” in JCR Believes 3 – Passed without opposition.
WS Most bops are held on Saturday. Not many are on Fridays. There’s nothing to do except go to Filth which is rubbish.
SJ In previous years we’ve suffered with the bop coinciding with other events. We moved the bop from Friday to stop that being a problem.
WS I was going to put it through committee and get a few facebook fliers. IB Because the bop was cancelled at the beginning of the term the timing is different form last year – last year LGBT bop was at the beginning of term.
SJ Won’t people go to their own finalist bops?
WS That’s why it’s on a Thursday.
MTV Motion Passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: PA Equipment by John Erde and Will Sharp
This JCR notes:
1. Appendix 2
2. We need a PA for band nights and open mic nights
3. Right now we borrow a PA from Trinity, and that is: (i) difficult; (ii)time consuming; (iii) becoming untenable; and (iv) embarrassing.
4. Said nights are popular and make us money
This JCR believes:
1. Considering 'This JCR Notes: 1-4' owning a PA would be a good idea.
2. We could put more of these nights on
3. At some point in the future we will make our money back
4. The more you pay the better the gear
This JCR Resolves:
1. To give Sharpy and Erde enough money to buy A.
Appendix 2
Gear A
Mackie CFX16mkII £399
Shure SM 58 £69
Shure SM 58 £69
Shure SM 58 £69 XLR Cable £10
XLR Cable £10
XLR Cable £10
Total £636
Gear B
Behringer Xenyx 2442FX £250
Shure SM 58 £69
Shure SM 58 £69
Shure SM 58 £69
XLR Cable £10
XLR Cable £10
XLR Cable £10
Total £487
Diff between A and B £149
We may be able to claim back VAT - which reduces totals and difference further
Minutes: D) PA EQUIPMENT
WS We don’t have a PA system. Without borrowing a PA system – at the moment we borrow Trinity’s and they’ve just got a new one, which they’re not too keen on us borrowing – we can’t have band nights and things.
NE Aren’t A and B basically the same. What’s the difference?
WS What we have is an amp and speakers. We need a preamp for the mics. We also need 3 mics and 3 mic cables. The difference is the sound box. The sound quality between the two isn’t that different but for the extra money we get something that’s infinitely more durable.
NE Is there a warranty? WS There’s a one-year included – there’s a 5-year that we could buy. I could find out and bring it to Committee Lunch.
KM How much does the extended warranty cost?
WS I don’t know.
HL Any Opposition to motion? Seeing none, motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Valuing the picture fund by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That we have a JCR picture fund, which consists of 30 or so pictures, which are available to JCR members to brighten up their rooms
2) That the value of the picture fund in the schedule of fixed assets in the accounts has been £13,978 at least as far back as Trinity Term 1999
3) That the picture fund has not been valued for as long as the JCR Accounts Clerk has been working at the JCR (1994)
4) That Simon Chorley Art & Antique valuers, based just outside Gloucester, will give a free, non- written, approximate valuation, if we take the pictures to them
5) That other valuers in the Oxfordshire area will charge £100 an hour to do a written valuation
This JCR believes:
1) That getting the picture fund valued is a good thing
2) That we should use the free valuation service
3) If the approximate valuation differs significantly from the schedule currently in the accounts (£13,978), we should pay to get a proper, written valuation done for insurance purposes
4) That any expenditure for a full, written valuation would only be authorised after coming back to a GM
This JCR resolves:
1) To authorise the JCR Treasurer to get the picture fund valued over the Long Vacation
2) To reimburse petrol for driving to / from the valuers (just outside Gloucester)
Minutes: G) PICTURE FUND
IB This is a motion based on the fact that our 30 picture picture fund that has always gone through the accounts under the value of about £14000 – and that valuation is at least older than 1995, which is when Denise started working here. A finalist emailed me to say that he knew this firm that will do a free valuation – which was much cheaper than some firms charge. But I need to make sure that I can drive the pictures to the valuers and I’m insured. If I’m not the local valuers will charge £150 per hour.
RO I looked after the fund last year. I think IB will have a problem getting it all in the car. I know IB is dedicated but I think it’ll take several trips.
PT Could you amend the motion to suggest renting a van?
MB If you do, do you know anyone who can drive a van [hint hint]?
NH Why do we have a picture fund?
IB I don’t think anyone knows.
RO Its something very traditional and very Oxford – it’s from the 20s when lots of posh gentlemen were here and they liked pictures.
MB Since RO says the pictures are from the 20s, which in Oxford terms is about a day – and bearing in mind our financial situation couldn’t we sell them?
RO Its not just a question of taking it somewhere and getting £14000 – it would cost a lot to sell them.
AC Is there a benefit to getting the pictures valued?
IB If the pictures are worth less – then we’re paying too much for insurance we don’t need. If they’re worth more, it’s good to know and we’ll have to up the insurance.
KM What would make the price of pictures change over 10 years?
IB The valuation is probably a lot older than 10 years, I can only tell you how old it is at least.
WS Pembroke bought a painting by a young artist – its now worth £250,000
RO Balliol JCR had a painting by David Hockney – no-one liked it, it got sold – it’s now worth £500000 – it’s good to know what you have.
KM How much is the insurance premium at the moment?
IB I can’t tell you at the moment – all the assets of the JCR are insured together – I can’t tell you specifically how much the paintings cost.
KM Will we have to insure the new PA system?
WS Yes – all the Entz stuff has to be insured.
AMENDMENT
KM Given that you said the valuers have no idea how long the valuation will take how did you come up with 3.5 hours
IB Travelling form Banbury is about 45 minutes – I guessed an hour and a half… I really have no idea. I just estimated.
AC Can we look into the possibility of paying someone to drive to the valuers who’ll do it for free?
IB If they’re not insured for travel if the van gets written off we’ll only get £14000, which defeats the object of getting them valued.
MB Didn’t you tell me we could have the paintings valued by sending off photos of them?
IB We could but it’s not really a proper valuation.
RO There’s an old Balliol Fellow who works at the museum across the road. I’m sure he’s got a mate who’ll do it…
PROCEDURAL MOTION Table Motion.
IB The reason I brought this motion is so that I havd the GMs approval if I paid for petrol to drive to the valuers. But if RO says there’s someone local who could do it for free then I’ll look into that instead.
HL Motion is tabled.
Result: See minutes
Motion: TT 07 Treasurer's Report by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes: i) Appendix 1 of this agenda (Interim financial report, Trinity 2007)
This JCR resolves: i) To approve the interim financial report
Minutes: IB We have £3080 ion the charity fund – we get £600 – £700 each term in the levy, so we have more than enough to pass all these charity motions if people want.
This motion passed <i>nem con</i>
Result: Passed
Motion: Drinks at bops by John Erde
This JCR notes:
1. That certain people have been enabled in the past to free drinks at bops.
2. This has included Entz Officers, Entz Committee, Previous Entz Officers and
Entz Committee, bar staff, DJs, door staff, various other helpers/blaggers.
3. That the alcohol sold at bops is purchased with money from the JCR accounts.
This JCR Believes:
1. That enabling certain individuals to claim free drinks at a bop is a corrupt use of JCR resources
This JCR Resolves:
1. To add to JCR Standing Policy: 'No JCR member shall acquire free drinks at a bop'
2. To mandate Entz Officers to enforce this standing policy
Minutes: J) DRINKS AT BOPS
JE There have been a few problems with free drinks at bops. By making standing policy it stops future Entz officers taking the piss. And people ask for free drinks because they see other people getting them. By having a blanket ban it’ll help put an end to the problem.
SJ Are you applying this to the LGBT bop because bar staff don’t get paid and one of the only incentives to work is free drinks. It’s a charity bop to raise money for Terrence Higgins trust.
JE I didn’t know that – but it will affect the LGBT bop.
SK Surely we could pass another motion before the LGBT bop saying that it didn’t apply to that?
KM There isn’t a GM before the LGBT bop.
SK Then surely the foam machine – which we got based on the fact it’ll make a profit – won’t make any money if it’s for a charity bop.
JE This is the first I’ve heard of any of this charity stuff?
NE Does anybody know exactly what money goes to the charity? SJ The money to buy the alcohol comes from the Entz account, but when we count bar takings and door takings Entz take back the cost of the alcohol and the rest of the money goes to the Terrence Higgins Trust.
IB Is this something that’s happened for a long time? We do pay THT every term around £240 from levies.
SJ It was like that for at least the last 3 LGBT bops. I haven’t heard anything from before that time.
WS What we’re talking about now is unrelated to the motion – which is about people on the bar giving free drinks to their mates. When it comes to THT – we weren’t told by the previous Entz officers about any charity bop. We don’t need to have a charity bop, but having heard what I’ve heard and having agreed to hire a foam machine we’ll push really hard with buckets and on the mic to raise money for THT.
AMENDMENT Add resolves 3 “To make the LGBT bop exempt from this policy”
PT This amendment just takes out of the equation the issue people have with no free drinks at the LGBT.
IB I signed a declaration to the licensing authorities on the basis that no DJs get free drinks and are true volunteers.
PT Then I withdraw the amendment
WS It’s irrelevant because people at the LGBT bop this year will get paid.
RO Why can’t we have a bop where the bar staff don’t get paid and don’t get free drinks but really do volunteer to work for free and the money they would be paid goes to charity.
WS That’s a great idea, but nothing to do with the motion.
MTV
MB Any opposition to MTV? Any opposition to motion? Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Standing Policy on Gender Discrimination by Anita Rao
This JCR notes:
1) Balliol has no standing policy regarding gender-based discrimination
This JCR believes:
1) Worldwide, women (and men) are gender stereotyped and this is unfair and outdated
2) As a result of this, women have tended to be denied opportunities in all avenues of life, particularly in education and the workplace
3) No-one should be discriminated against, harassed or marginalized on the basis of their gender
4) There is no place for this kind of gender-based discrimination, harassment or marginalization
5) Because women are in the significant minority at Balliol, a Women's Officer providing welfare, representing women's interests within Balliol and at OUSU and coordinating events is a valuable thing.
6) Because women in Oxford are achieving fewer First Class degrees for no good reason, the investigation into this 'Finals Gap' is a valuable and important process.
This JCR resolves:
1) To add "This JCR believes" 1-6 to Standing Policy
Minutes: GENDER DISCRIMINATION
AR We have no standing policy on women. We have policy on LGBT and ethnic minorities and I don’t think it’s right that there’s nothing about women. All there is is about abortion.
KM What we have in SP about discrimination – we have a policy against discrimination against LGBT, Racism.
AS Why are there brackets around “and men”?
AR I was acknowledging that men are stereotyped but that’s not the point of this motion.
JP On what basis are you pushing forward point 6?
AR All the info I got from women’s campaign – people have been pointing out that the reason there are fewer first class degrees is because there are fewer women – but I’m sure this has been taken into account and it’s an argument of proportion.
MB Based on the “No campaign” posters could we deduce that the reason women get “less” firsts is because they have no grammar? NH In hand written papers women get worse marks whilst when essays are typed the marks are much more similar.
AR Like NH says – there may or may not be a problem, but the fact that someone is investigating this is important.
KM In believes 4 – did you deliberately limit this standing policy to the JCR?
AR No I was just using the terminology used in LGBT policy.
AMENDMENT In believes 4, strike “within the JCR”
HL Seeing no opposition, that amendment passes.
MTV
HL Speeches in proposition and opposition of MTV.
PT Prop: There was no-one to speak – therefore we should vote.
KM Opp: I want to speak.
HL MTV needs 2/3 to pass. 22 in favour of MTV, 6 against. Voting will follow summary speeches.
AR Prop: It’s important to have standing policy on this issue.
KM Opp: We’ve not debated the actual policy. Just accepting it because some people want to is not a good idea.
HL For 21Against 7Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Rory the Lion by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) That Balliol as a whole is a very tight-knit community based around good college spirit.
2) That, as close a community as we are, certain college events are under-attended e.g. sporting events
3) That at last OUSU Council (5th Week) a motion was passed (by a massive majority) to spend money on buying a mascot costume for their new promotion al character, OUSY (TM) 4) That the cost of a mascot suit is only £350
5) That a mascot would be a far safer and more viable option than the JCR owning a large wild animal.
This JCR further notes:
1) That other colleges in Oxford have mascots
2) We are more than likely cooler than these other colleges
3) That even if we aren't, we are at least cooler than OUSU is
This JCR believes:
1) That college spirit is a good thing
2) That having a college mascot would only further the college spirit.
3) That £350 is a paltry sum of money for the amount of bonding a big, cuddly JCR lion would bring.
4) That if we were to have a college mascot it should be a lion.
5) Coolness of an organisation is directly proportional to the number of big cuddly mascots they possess
This JCR resolves:
1) To spend up to £350 on the purchasing of a mascot suit.
2) To call the mascot Rory
3) To add to the following to standing orders, thereby creating a new non-committee position:
6.1 Rory the Lion
6.2.16 Rory the Lion is the college mascot and as such turns up to college events to support Balliol teams, or otherwise.
Minutes: MOTION B Rory the Lion
MB I helped vote through the OUSU mascot. This is a less gay Balliol mascot.
HL SFQs?
SK What is the sexuality of Rory?
MB He’s androgynous.
KM Sexuality isn’t gender.
JH Which other colleges have mascots?
MB OUSU and Magdalen – there’s potential for a race(!) WS So do Pembroke and Univ.
PT Why £350?
MB It’s up to £350, but it’s good quality. It’s got a crown, a jacket, and a mane.
NH Can arts week people make one?
MB I don’t trust arts week people.
KM What kind of jacket?
MB Waistcoat-esque – it’s very regal looking.
SK £350 is a lot of money – did you look into how much an actual lion cost. If it’s like £450 maybe we should get that instead.
MB This is more viable.
SS Who’s job would it be to dress up?
MB If you look at resolves 3 we’ll be making a non-committee post.
KM Do you have any evidence that a mascot is safer and more viable than a real lion?
MB I don’t have any real evidence.
KM What happens if no-one runs?
MB We’ll co-opt.
TG What happens if no-one’s 6ft 2?
MB Anyone can wear it it’ll just be less comfortable – if you’re 6ft 2 you could put that in your manifesto.
JH Will it have the Balliol crest on the waistcoat?
MB We could get one embroidered.
HL Move to debate. any opposition?
IB If everything passes we’re spending a lot of money. It’s very fun but I’m not sure it’s worth the money.
KM This is a jack-stupid motion based on Mike being bored at OUSU. Whilst it’s sad that no-one turns up to support Balliol teams, I don’t think a mascot will help.
MB At OUSU I learnt a lot about the pros and cons of getting a mascot. OUSU are willing to spend half their budget on their mascot. In response to IB – the money for the TV room is an investment for the future. Just as we needed a TV – we need a lion. WS Isn’t the money IB is talking about coming form different pots of money. This term we’ve spent a lot on things like the TV room. Spending £350 on something which is fun isn’t that unusual.
RO When’s the last time we spent that much on something fun?
WS The TV or the projector which was over £1000
PT Can we follow and be better than OUSU?
MB The OUSU motion went like this… Imagine you’ve come from far away and your scared of big bad university – OUSY comes bounding up to you and says “hey kids!” and it makes everything better.
KM If we visit state schools – a man in a lion costume will be beaten up, a real lion won’t. And OUSU council deciding it’s a good thing is hardy conclusive evidence that it is.
MTV – NO OBJECTIONS
HL Speeches in Prop and Opp.
MB Prop: In essence, I think it’s unfair to say that it’s not a good thing to do. A lot of the problems we have in college are because of pantry or poor college spirit – and these can only be improved by a lion costume.
KM Opp: Balliol has a good communal atmosphere – shut up. We got a TV for £400 which is a lot of fun, a lion costume for £350 is less fun.
HL Motion makes Standing Orders changes and requires 2/3 majority to pass. This motion fails.
Result: Failed
Motion: Housing Category Adjustments by Kat Matfield and Rosie Smith
This JCR notes:
1)That the system of housing ballot catagories was changed last year, consequently the current 1st years are operating on a different housing ballot system to the current 2nd years.
2)That for housing ballot purposes 3rd year linguists returning from a year abroad are classed as 2nd years - ie in their 3rd year in college, current 2nd year linguists will be competing for rooms with current 1st years.
3)Five of the current 2nd year linguists will be in catagory 1 when choosing their 3rd year rooms, because they chose to live out in their 2nd year and are still operating under the old system.
4)There are no catagory 1s in the current first year, because under the new system, catagory 1 is only for those who do not get their first choice of housing. All current 1st years are in catagory 2. 5)Because of the overlap of the systems, these five returning linguists would get the first choice of rooms in college for their third year.
Further notes
1)76 of the current 1st years chose to live out; under the old catagory system, they would have been in catagory 1.
2)Therefore, if the current 1st year and the five 2nd year linguists in question were all operating under the old system, there would be 81 people in catagory 1.
3)That if the five 2nd year linguists in question were choosing their 3rd year room with a group also operating on the old catagory system, they would have got a ballot position in the top 81.
4)There will be roughly 90 rooms available on college main site for the current 1st years (plus the five 2nd year linguists in question) when they reach 3rd year.
This JCR believes:
1)That the situation in notes 6) is unfair to the current first years and gives an unfair advantage to the five current 2nd year linguists.
2)That the overlap of old and new catagory systems should not be the cause of an unfair advantage to anyone.
This JCR resolves:
1)To change the housing ballot system for Hilary 2008 only as follows: i)to randomly select 76 names from the current catagory 2 current 1st years, who will at this point be choosing their third year rooms. ii)to add to this group the five current 2nd year linguists who are living out in their 2nd year, who will also be choosing their third year rooms at this time. iii)to then put in order these 81 people, through random selection, to determine their room ballot position. iv)next, to put in one group the remaining 41 current 1st years and the current 2nd year linguist who is not living out in their 2nd year v)to put into order through random selection this group of 42, to determine their room ballot position.
Minutes: This motion passed <i>nem con</i>
Result: Passed
Motion: JCR Guest Nights by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) That we are being offered by college the opportunity to hold 2 JCR Guest Night Dinners in Michaelmas 2007
2) That these will more than likely be held on a Tuesday night
3) That a number of people from Balliol are invited to a Formal Hall at other colleges.
4) Upon meeting with the Domestic Bursar and the Catering Manager, College have offered to subsidise these events
5) That for a Guest Night we have two different menus (and hence to different prices per person):
Option A: 3 courses, 3 glasses of wine (1 white, 2 red), coffee, mints, linen napkins, candels = approx £18/head
Option B: 3 courses (any alcohol taken to dinner must be bought from the Buttery) = approx £10/head
6) That when the MCR have Guest Nights in Hall they tend to use something more resembling 'Option B'
This JCR believes:
1) That the holding of JCR Guest Night Dinners in Michaelmas is a good thing for the JCR
2) That the holding of JCR Guest Night Dinners in Michaelmas is a good thing for the college
3) That in order for the events to be a success they must be done properly re: food/drink/ambience etc
4) That 'Option B' is the best of the two options on offer
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR President to tell the Domestic Bursar and Catering Manager that if Guest Night Dinners are to be held in Michaelmas then the JCR would prefer 'Option B'
2) To mandate the JCR President to bring up with College the JCR’s wish to bring drinks not bought form the buttery to guest nights.
Minutes: I) GUEST NIGHTS
MB It’s all there in the motion. Last week Helen and I went to see Howard Chirgwin and he offered us some JCR guest nights. I brought this to the GM because College would like to know what format we’d like. This motion proposes option A, but if you disagree feel free to amend to B, but it would be useful if we had a decision.
NE Why can’t we bring our own wine? MB College say we have to buy from the buttery, but I don’t think anyone will confiscate your Marques to Lyon.
CP What’s the difference between formal hall and guest night?
MB Guest nights happen a few times a term – you don’t need to wear a gown.
KM Will hall be open normally on these nights?
MB Yes – it’ll be open before – guest nights would be afterwards.
NH At the moment hall staff are being quite wary of drinks brought into hall from outside.
MB In that case in response to NE’s why are College being arsey – it’s because they’re College.
NH At the moment the buttery and the bar don’t overlap timewise. If the meals are starting at 8 I don’t think I want the buttery to be open…[Not SFQ]
CP How many people will be able to come?
MB Probably about 100.
IB Have you tried talking to them about not getting drinks form the buttery?
MB We didn’t bring it up but if you would like us to bring it up then we can.
JE Is it just the wine and the coffee and the mints that differentiate A from B or are the courses different?
MB They seemed to hint about different courses but I’m not sure they meant it. We’d have to ask them to confirm that it’s just the ambience that changes.
NE At the moment are we allowed to bring drinks to hall form outside?
MB I think so.
MB How much is wine in the buttery?
NE Cheapest bottle is £6.50 – so similar to the bar.
CS Do guest nights mean there are guest speakers or anything like that?
MB No – it just means that you sign up to say you want to go and you can bring a friend.
AMENDMENT Change references to “Option A” in JCR believes 4 and resolves 1 to “Option B”.
HL Any SFQs? Move into debate on the amendment.
NE I changed it because if the 3 courses are the same – napkins and candles – not really worth anything. Coffee and mints – maybe 2 pounds. So you’re paying about 6 for 3 glasses of wine. You could buy a bottle form the buttery and get doubly wasted. SJ As a non-drinker I’m always subsidising other people’s drinking. It would be good if for once people paid themselves for what they were drinking.
AC I think A isn’t that much more than B except for people who aren’t drinking. And I object in principal to being forced to buy form the buttery.
RO With A you’re paying for wine that not only came from the buttery but is at a higher, inflated price!
NH If you hire out the Massey room you already have to get drinks from college. I object to the buttery and the bar overlapping any more. I don’t want the buttery to open till 8.
WS Mints, coffee and napkins are quite nice. It’s not just wine – you’re losing a lot with Option B. You’re basically just getting a plate of food and a knife and fork – it’s just a hall meal. Could we look into paying £2 for the nice things to make the meal special.
KM Could we table this motion until someone can talk to exec and find out where college stand on drinks from outside?
MB I wanted to do this now. College book hall long in advance, the longer we put this off the longer it’ll take to implement. College were already pretty miffed that I asked to take it to a GM before confirming.
MB If the buttery wasn’t going to open later and people had to buy their drinks in advance – would that be a problem?
NH I still think it shouldn’t have to come form the buttery – but if they’re not changing their opening hours – they open till 7 at the mo – then I won’t complain on behalf of the bar.
CP Couldn’t college do a non-drinking ticket so that there isn’t the problem of subsidising drinkers.
RC If I brought Sainsbury’s wine into hall and we’d passed B what would hall do. Would they confiscate it or what?
MB They said they wanted it bought form the buttery. They didn’t mention what they would do if we didn’t.
MTV
NH MTV prop: Lets vote!
AS MTV opp: The motion is based on which option we choose, so the debate should go on.
HL MTV fails
AS I went to a St Hughs guest night. You bought coupons and you exchanged them for wine. So if you weren’t drinking you didn’t have to – they didn’t have a problem.
KM I’m inviting POIs for other formal halls and their prices. SS £7.50 St Johns – paper napkins.
RT £2.18 – Merton – no wine.
NE I just think it’s bollocks that College tell us what we’re allowed to bring to hall. We should just put our foot down. Tell college what the JCR want to do – there’s no use pussy-footing around Carl Woodall.
MB I agree that we shouldn’t tiptoe around college when we think we’re right. If you want us to say something to college then we will. In response to KM – it’s not fair to compare us to other colleges, which have different setups. What we’ve been offered I think is really the best college will offer.
RT Is the guest night aimed at us or our tutors and things?
MB Us.
RT Then why are they making demands on us – we’ll just end up boycotting it.
MB Well if you didn’t want to go then you could just not buy a ticket, or we can just say to college that we don’t want any guest night. But then we’re just back to where we are now.
SS Does subsidising mean that they’re actually subsidising it, or they’re just not charging us as much as they might?
NE For the Ball hall offered to do catering for £18 when outside caterers could bring equipment and charged £13.50.
SK When I was Summer Event President exactly the same thing happened. I asked hall early in advance and they gave us ridiculous figures. They eventually halved them but we got Foodies to do it for free. When college say subsidise it just means they’re not ripping us off as much as they might. And we can trust Mike to bring up peoples arguments with college. I don’t think the details of this motion are too important.
MTV
HL We’re voting on the amendment. Speeches in proposition and opposition.
NE Prop: I don’t think we should pay extortionate prices for buttery wine.
AS Opp: I like the sound of A better – that’s pretty much my opposition.
HL In favour – 16, opposed – 14. The amendment passes.
AMENDMENT Mandate the JCR President to bring up with College the JCR’s wish to bring drinks not bought form the buttery to guest nights.
MB I’d say that’s a friendly amendment bearing in mind the opposition to B was having to buy drinks from the buttery.
HL Any opposition? Seeing none that goes in.
MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? Seeing none, any opposition to the motion as a whole? Seeing none the motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: NUS compulsory levy by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) The decision of the JCR, at the last referendum to subscribe to the NUS through OUSU
2) That when the referendum was passed, no money was passed for the JCR to pay OUSU for subscribing to the NUS
3) That OUSU has only recently invoiced us for central affiliation, since they had to work out a formula acceptable to common rooms for calculating our subscription
4) This formula is based on a base rate per capita, plus a percentage of our assessable income, all multiplied by the number of members subscribed
5) The JCR has just received an invoice for £627.27 for our subscription over 2006-07
6) That the JCR needs to be able to pay for both last year and this years subscriptions, so the levy will have to be doubled for the first year
7) That a levy of £0.40 will cover the subscription costs, and allow a small margin for the base rate to rise every year (as OUSU anticipates it will)
This JCR resolves:
1) To charge a compulsory levy of £0.80 effective from Michaelmas term 2007, to pay for our NUS subscription 2006-07 and 2007-08
2) To reduce the NUS levy to £0.40 from Michaelmas term 2008, when last years invoice has been paid off
Minutes: This motion passed
Result: Passed
Motion: Charities by Maya Bahoshy
This JCR notes
1) that the women’s Council is a UK based charity that raises funds for the training of women from 25 Asiatic and Asia Pacific countries, to work with disabled children and their families.
2) That a scholarship place on the 2007 three month course in Mumbai will cost £800 plus travel.
This JCR believes:
1) that this is a cause worth donating money to
This JCR resolves
1) to make a charitable donation of £300 to this cause.
Minutes: WOMEN’S COUNCIL
MAYA This is a UK based charity and we raise money to help fund them – it’s not feminist or controversial – women’s groups in 25 countries to help fund centres to train women to work.
NH Why is it just training women?
MAYA It’s not, but it was started by a group who wanted to train women.
KM Women are less likely to be able to work outside of home.
MTV MTV Passes
HL Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Charity Motion by olivier padraig de france
This JCR notes:
1) That members of the MCR who are members of the JCR may submit motions.
2) That the charity is called N’Teke. It has been established in Burkina Faso for 8 years. It started off helping out at the Home Kisito orphanage, before fulfilling its original aim which was to create a summer school in Ouagadougou. Most of the children there cannot go on holidays and are left to themselves. The school now helps 150 children stay off the streets in summer, and improve their chance of getting an education. 3) That volunteers pay for the flight there and back, but the organisation over there needs funds for food, books, notepads, pens, etc… There were not enough of these last year. Their budget is 22500€. 12000€ is dedicated to transport: this sum is paid for by the volunteers. The remaining 10500€ is raised through charitable donations.
4) That N'Teke is not a big organisation - it is a small charity that works locally, so the amount of money it gets makes a huge difference.
5) That the funding covers the expenditure of the school and not the personal expenses of volunteers. If the lump sum exceeds 10500€ in total however, I think it then goes to the transport budget.
6) That I will be teaching there in August and may therefore report back to the JCR on how the money has been spent, if it so wishes.
This JCR believes:
1) That the fact that children in a poor country get a chance to stay off the streets, improve their chance of getting an education and subsequently a job, is a good thing.
2) That the JCR could make a donation to this charity.
This JCR resolves:
1) To make a 300£ charitable donation to N'Teke.
Minutes: N’TEKE
OP This charity started off helping out an orphanage and now runs a summer school keeping children off the streets. It’s not a very big organisation – and a small donation makes a massive difference.
JB How much will £300 buy in actual material benefit.
OP It’ll probably get a substantial amount bearing in mind the budget is around 10,000 Euros. Once you convert to Euros £300 goes quite a long way.
KM Can you give an estimate of the euro amounts in pounds?
OP 10000 Euros is about 7000 pounds.
HL Debate to be had.
KM More money is being paid to transport volunteers than is actually going to provide materials.
MB I thought it says in the motion – 12000 euros is going towards transport but this is paid for by volunteers. KM I just wanted to point out that some of the fund raising capacity is going towards volunteers.
AS This debate comes up every time we do charity motions – this money has nothing to do with transporting the volunteers.
RO KM is misguided – all charities need to pay to get volunteers out there – but this is totally separate form this money and doesn’t affect the fund raising capacity. This is a good charity and we can make a big difference – not just a drop in the ocean like when we donate to organisations like Oxfam.
KM I do understand the money is separate but there are other charities which use permanently placed professionals and don’t operate in this way.
MTV
HL Any opposition to MTV? Seeing none, speeches in proposition and opposition.
OP Prop: I think its really important – £300 for them is a lot, and the JCR can clearly afford it.
KM Opp: I don’t feel comfortable with JCR money for which I have a say in going to these kind of organisations.
HL Motion Passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Heroes and Villains by Steve Kitching & Richard Ollerhead
This JCR notes:
1) Scunthorpe United were crowned League One Champions this season, finishing top by 6 points.
2) Next season will be the first time Scunthorpe have been in either of the top two divisions of the Football League.
3) Billy Sharp scored 32 goals this season, playing an integral role in Scunthorpe's promotion.
4) Balliol Bar is painted in Scunthorpe colours.
This JCR Believes:
1) Scunthorpe United's players and management deserve recognition for their outstanding achievements.
2) That "the Iron" are mighty.
This JCR Resolves:
1) To make Nigel Adkins, his assisant managers and all 29 of the
Scunthorpe Squad heroes of the JCR.
2) To mandate the JCR President to write to Nigel Adkins and his team informing them of this honour and outlining the perks that this nobable accolade entails, and requesting a signed Scunthorpe United
Shirt.
3) To frame this shirt and place it in the Pool Room.
4) To rename the Pool Room the Billy Sharp Room.
5) To install a brass plaque stating this on the entrance to the Billy
Sharp Room from the Lindsay Bar.
Minutes: SCUNTHORPE
RO This Motion was incorrectly summarised as “a tribute to all things Scunthorpe” by Jack. I want to make it clear, Scunthorpe is a really really minging place – the only thing we like is Scunthorpe United. They won League 1 – they came top by 6 points. They were always really really crap and now they’re doing quite well and that should be recognised. As a brief overview of people who have been heroes and villains – Stephen Twig – former JCR President. Voted a hero when he beat Michael Portillo in an election and then villain when he voted in favour of top up fees. The entire cast of Top Gun are heroes. Heroes are allowed to eat in pantry, drink in the bar and use our facilities – most importantly they can use our washing machines.
SK Scunthorpe have an amazing chant – “We don’t need Mourinho we’ve got our physio”
RO We’d like to get a signed shirt and put it up in the bar.
SK And Billy Sharp is the top scorer in English domestic leagues – that’s something we can all think about.
MB Are you Scunthorpe fans?
RO Yes.
SK No. JB How much will the plaque cost?
SK Money isn’t an object.
RO It should be about a tenner – me and Steve might delve into our own pockets for that.
CP What happens if they all want to wash their kits at once?
SK They’ll use the sign up sheet.
MB Is it true the Scunthorpe mascot is a lion?
SK I don’t think so, it’s something really weird.
DM Where is Scunthorpe?
RO North-East midlands. A former steel town – it’s big and industrial – you wouldn’t want to go there.
WS Is Scunthorpe working class enough to fit into the lefty ethic of Balliol?
RO Definitely.
AMENDMENT Change resolves to rename the Pool Room “The Scunthorpe Room”.
SK This is a decidedly unfriendly amendment.
HL As there are no SFQs on the amendment we move into debate.
SK Why would you do such a thing?
TG No matter how many goals you’ve scored it’s wrong to single out one player – and also the name resembles a JCR member.
RO Any resemblance to Entz officers past or present is purely coincidental.
PT I’ve just been researching… The mascots are a husband wife team – the Scunny Bunny, and the Scunny Honey Bunny. They also have their own Wikipedia webpage – I’ve left it on screen if anyone wants to have a look.
MB As they say – there’s no “I” in “team”, but there’s a “u” in “cunt”. And we wouldn’t want the room to be called the Scunthorpe Room – no-one wants that.
SK This amendment misunderstands the MASSIVE contribution Billy Sharp has made.
MTV
TG MTV Prop: He is a great player – providing it’s made clear on the plaque who he is I have no problem. RO MTV Opp: Vote down this amendment.
HL That amendment fails.
MTV
HL Any opposition to the motion as a whole?
RO Prop: This motion means a lot to both of us. It’s what it says – making some more heroes of the JCR. It’s close to both our hearts.
JE Opp: I just cannot actually believe we might do this.
HL Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Charitable donation to the Oxford Hub by John Mellor and Daniel Paget
This JCR believes:
1) Although Oxford has a large, diverse, dynamic and highly active student body, the level of participation in voluntary and charitable initiatives is limited. Relative to other world-class universities which have centralised public service programmes, initiatives inspiring students to make a positive difference are lacking at Oxford.
2) The University's charities struggle to reach their full potential due to a lack of resources and sustainability.
This JCR notes:
1) The Oxford Hub is being setup to deal with these two issues, with the following strategy:
a) To INSPIRE: Encourage students to get involved with
charities and social enterprises, either while at
university or afterwards.
b) To INFORM: Educate students about global development
issues and help them to combine academic rigour with
effective grassroots intervention.
c) To CONNECT: Facilitate interaction between student
charities, between students and with the wider community to encourage the flow of information and experience
sharing.
d) To SUPPORT: Provide resources that help students and
member organisations achieve their goals cost effectively.
2) The executive of the Oxford Hub includes the current presidents of Oxford Development Abroad, Oxford Amnesty, UNICEF Oxford, Oxford Students Supporting Street Kids and Hands Up For Darfur, as well as representatives from the U8 International Development Student Partnership and the International Development Course.
3) In addition to these, the Oxford Hub already has support from Oxford RAG, Oxford Aegis Society, AIESEC Oxford, Christian Aid, Engineers Without Borders, Oxford Aid to the Balkans, Oxford Cultural Exchange Project, Oxford Student Stop Aids, and People and Planet.
4) The Oxford Hub is also supported and advised by Councillor Jim Campbell, the ex-Lord Mayor of Oxford.
5) Several members of this JCR are involved in setting up the Oxford Hub, and more are involved in charities that would benefit from it.
6) A similar project has been successfully setup in Cambridge over the last 3 years
7) Although the Oxford Hub is still starting out and has not yet had time to register as a charity, it expects to be incorporated as a charitable company from September 2007.
8) Any money donated to this project will fund the startup costs for the Oxford Hub. If there is any excess the Oxford Hub may make it available as grants to specific charities.
This JCR further believes:
1) That the work of the Oxford Hub will be most valuable to both students and the charities they are involved in.
2) That this is a worthwhile cause to donate some of the JCR's charity money to.
This JCR resolves:
1) To donate £300 to the Oxford Hub.
Minutes: OXFORD HUB
JM Oxford needs more outreach to students and organisation between charities. An organisation is being set up and needs some startup money basically.
KM Notes 6 – has the Cambridge organisation been set up by you? JM It wasn’t us, but it works well.
IB Why incorporate as a charitable company? Why is it not being registered as a charity?
JM We’re setting up whichever way is quickest – we’ll do the right thing.
JH What is the £300 going towards
JM Startup costs – website things like that.
DP There’ll be a centralised charity maillist and it’ll just help communication with students.
WS Can you go through step by step what this charity does.
JM It does everything it can to help Oxford charities – to inspire students to get involved, to help students become aware of the issues, to help pool resources. For example speaker events, website resources, discussion forums.
DP Oxford has a wide range of organisations but there’s so many of them all doing different things that they don’t co-ordinate and work together well.
KM I still am unclear – when you say the Cambridge organisation is a success do charities or students like it?
DP Student run charities.
PT What are you doing that other people aren’t?
JM The Presidents of all the charities listed in the motion want to get involved and have a forum to talk and work together.
IB In relation to notes 3 – do you have support form other JCRs and are they donating money. Does the support of organisations listed mean they are putting money towards startup costs.
JM I know St Johns are putting together a motion – funding isn’t coming from other charities.
RC So support from Oxford RAG, etc isn’t financial, they’re just willing to support the cause.
JM Yes.
KM You’ve said charities have been calling for this. Is it actually that now someone is setting it up they support it.
JM The latter.
JH Do you know the projected cost of the project? If they’re not a charity can we give money to them from the charity account?
IB As a general rule College don’t like it when they look through our accounts.
DP It’s difficult to say how much the project will cost when it’s just setting out. NH You said the maillist is one of the best things the group is doing, couldn’t anyone just do that?
DP It’s not the best thing, but it’s one example.
MEETING INQUORATE
IB It says that the mailing list and website will happen whether or not there is funding for an office and staff.
JM The long-term goal is to get members of staff for continuity purposes. That’s just blue sky dreaming – what we want to do. But the website and maillist – that’s what we want this funding to do in the short-term.
IB The report you’ve given me says the website and maillist will go ahead anyway – so I don’t understand why you need staff.
JM That’s not what we want now, that’s just for the future.
IB But if the website will happen without funding what’s this money for?
JM Hosting, domains – there are still some costs.
PT POI: If you’re a charity you can only: assist education, relieve poverty, do something religious…
IB There are lots of things charities can do now.
PT What IB is talking about hasn’t actually passed yet.
IB It has now.
PT That’s the whole point of a charitable company – it can do charity things AND not for profit things. It doesn’t have to be specifically charity work.
MTV
HL Speeches in Prop and Opp of MTV.
WS Prop: It’s fairly clear that most people will vote against this. Making it go on longer will just make the meeting go inquorate.
DP Opp: Lots of people want to vote against this but they haven’t yet heard much about it. HL MTV passes. Summary Speeches.
DP Prop: Oxford has a good charity scene but it’s badly organised and it’s inaccessible to people – this would help.
IB Opp: What you’re saying may be true but as far as I can tell from the report – the speaker events and maillist will happen anyway and I don’t think you have much of an idea what you’re going to spend money on. And since it’s not registered as well – I just don’t think it’s something we should donate money to.
HL Motion Fails.
Result: Failed
Motion: Donation to ODA by Nathan Ewin
This JCR notes:
1) ODA is a registered student run charity that works in partnership with
NGOs in the developing world on community initiated projects.
2) ODA has been working in Uganda for the last four years on water and sanitation projects in the Mbale region or Uganda with Little Big Africa, a local NGO.
3) This year a group of 12 students will be going to Uganda to help build a water tank for a school and protect a water source in two separate villages.
4) To make the project possible the group needs to raise £7200 to cover costs such as materials and hiring engineers. All personal costs such as flights will be funded by the individuals.
This JCR believes:
1) That everyone has a right to clean safe drinking water. 2) That this project goes some way to achieving this in the Mbale region of Uganda where only half the population have access to clean drinking water.
This JCR resolves:
1) To make a donation of £150 to ODA.
Minutes: ODA
NE Oxford Development Abroad is a student run charity that works in developing world countries – Morocco, Nepal, Uganda and Guatemala. We’re going out to villages to protect water sources for the people there. All our costs are covered by ourselves – this money goes towards materials.
JH Just as a point of information - we have donated to this organisation before. Not that that’s a reason not to again.
NE I was involved in a sponsored firewalk – it got cancelled and so I need another way to raise money. I plan to raise £300, so £150 is half that and I’ll put on some other kind of event.
KM How much did we donate last year?
JH £200
MTV
HL Proposition and Opposition speeches.
NE This is a small organisation that I’ve worked with before – the money will go a long way and do a lot of good.
KM I’m opposing this on the same grounds as the last motion
HL Motion passes.
Result: Passed
Motion: Panini Machine by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) That Paninis are a good thing 2) That if Pantry were to serve paninis it would make a good thing (Pantry) better.
3) That Pantry takings would welcome a boost
This JCR further notes:
1) Paninis will also be profitable for Pantry as we will be able to sell them to the JCR for cheaper than other people such as Cafe Creme, Najars etc.
This JCR believes:
1) That the purchasing of a Panini machine to be implemented in Michaelmas is a good thing.
This JCR resolves:
1) To pass up to £300 for the purchasing a panini machine
Minutes: This motion passed <i>nem con</i>
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-10-07
Speaker Words of Wisdom
HL This is the 1st GM of this term and this year. Apologies to the regular GM goers, but I’m going to quickly run through how this works. Essentially our JCR is a democracy, and through the GM you can decide how things happen.[Runs through order of business and the intricate workings of General Meetings]
HL Questions to officers?
CK HL, you sent out an email about the bop and you spoke about plans for a food court in the quad. What’s the deal with this?
HL The term before last we had a college assembly where the Master talked about where he thinks Balliol is going. One thing he mentioned was the potential development of a food court in a small triangle of land that currently isn’t being used. Here you would be served food and the hall would be solely for sitting and eating. Architects say it’s possible but we need planning permission from Trinity.
CK Are we going to see the plans? At the college assembly it didn’t feel like our opinions were taken too seriously.
HL At the moment they’re waiting for planning permission, but if they get it I was going to bring it back to the JCR.
SJ There is a period when planning is applied for when we can object, we can’t necessarily object afterwards.
KM If they want planning permission there’ll need to give specific details.
HL I have a meeting on weds I’ll ask him about it then – and I may hold a JCR meeting about it.
CK I’m not particularly happy about college building things, particularly on the quad.
HL This isn’t on the quad. There are other plans for developments but there’s nothing in the pipeline with any of those. This development is behind hall, but I’ll ask on Wednesday.
JACK Would it be possible to apply to the council and get the plans?
HL I’m sure we can – I’ll look into getting them.
KM If they’ve applied for planning permission there should be signs up telling us.
HL At the moment I think the situation is that we’re asking Trinity if they’d object to us applying for planning permission. But I’ll speak to the master and the council and we’ll have a meeting.
HL Motions to pass <i>nem con</i> – none
Motion: Staff Xmas Bonus by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That every year the JCR traditionally gives it's non-student staff a Xmas Bonus
2) That this is funded by an optional levy on all JCR members of £3, and last year this produced a kitty of approx. £1500 which was split between the staff reflecting the hours worked
This JCR believes:
1) That the JCR staff Xmas bonus is a good thing
2) That our JCR staff work consistently hard for the JCR and many of them have worked for us for a long time
This JCR resolves:
1) To continue the tradition this year, in the same fashion as previous years
2) To add to the optional levies form every MT, an optional levy of £3 to be called 'Staff Xmas Bonus' and to give a short explanation of this on the form
Minutes: STAFF XMAS BONUS
IB It’s quite self-explanatory. This has happened for as long as Denise has been here. It’s never been formalised in a year-to-year fashion so the Treasurer brings this motion each year. It adds an optional levy of £3 which you don’t have to pay. A bonus is then given to staff pro-rata. College give a bigger bonus than we could afford but we tried to give some kind of parity to JCR and College staff.
CARL How long has the levy been £3, though I know you can change it on the levy form.
IB It was £3 for the last 3 years. You can amend the motion, but on the levies form you can amend the amount up or down anyway.
PT Which staff does this go to?
IB Pantry staff/Denise/Maureen/JCR + Bar cleaner. MATT How many staff are we talking about?
IB 4 in pantry, Denise, Maureen, Siobhan [sp?].
JP Would it be possible to amend lower or higher on the form?
IB Yes.
JACK What is the disparity between the JCR and College bonuses?
IB I don’t know – the College bonuses are confidential – I only know what I’ve been told by Maureen who used to work for college.
SB Why a bonus and not just paying them more throughout term.
IB Last year on a bar turnover on about £130,000 we made about £200 which is almost nothing. Basically we can’t afford it. We do it this way because we haven’t got £1500 to fund a bonus from another place.
SS Why do we vote on this every year?
IB I don’t know why it’s not a long-term thing – I think an amendment would be a good idea.
MD Is £1500 a particularly high or low figure?
IB Its always around £1500, its always been a £3 optional levy and usually the same proportion of people pay it.
JACK If we made this yearly would we need 2/3 majority to change the amount?
IB No, its not part of Standing Orders.
AMENDMENT In resolves 2, replace “MT 07” with “every MT”.
DAVID Is it easy to change the amount when it needs to go up?
HL Yes – it doesn’t need 2/3 majority.
IB When I get an account on what we have received from levies, usually we just give what we receive (except with things like OUSU where I check that they are about the right amounts). But if I felt it needed to go up the Treasurer would bring a motion.
KM The Treasurer might not be that conscientious. If it has to come to GM each year then we all know what’s going on and we can make sure it goes up in line with inflation.
PT Denise monitors this as well and would keep an eye on it.
IB I think it’s nice that each year we say thank you to our staff. But on the other hand, if the Treasurer forgot to bring the motion on time then there would be no way to collect the money. MD What if hypothetically the staff got more troublesome in one particular year and we didn’t want to give them a bonus?
IB That is true. If that were the case it might be more difficult, but I can’t envision that ever happening.
NH If you feel the staff aren’t working as hard as you think they should be, or you think they’re working fantastically you can change the amount on the levies form. You can’t create a levy but you can adjust it.
SJ JCR staff work really hard clearing up your shit and you’d have to be a stingy git to oppose giving them a bonus.
SS I was going to say the same thing as SJ but toned down. Pantry staff work consistently year upon year but if you did have strong opinions you could change the amount on the form.
JP I think it should be explicitly stated that you can alter the amount.
POI: JH It has been explicitly stated several times.
MTV
MTV OPP ??
MTV PROP WS Despite finding changing 07 to every year quite fascinating, I don’t think I or anyone else gives a shit.
MTV PASSED
AMENDMENT PROP CP It’s just a failsafe in case we get a crap treasurer and it doesn’t have to be done each year.
AMENDMENT OPP TG I agree with IB – if you bring it up each year it makes it more personal.
AMENDMENT PASSED 36 votes for, 22 against.
MTV ON MOTION MTV passed without opposition
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Ballot Reform by Kat Matfield
JCR notes
1) The invention of computers and their easy availability to privat users.
2) That random number generators can be used on computers to give a list of people a randomly assigned number.
2) That the Housing Ballot is run using raffle tickets.
3) That assigning raffle ticket numbers to everyone who wants college accomodation (about 200 people last year) takes quite a long time.
4) That drawing tickets out and noting down their numbers takes a long time.
5) That tearing and folding 200 raffle tickets takes so long that it could possibly be considered a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 5, which prohibits cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
6) That the housing process is time-consuming even excluding the ballot and that Drs WHO run it as volunteers.
JCR believes
1) That random number generators are just as resistant to corruption and manipulation than raffle tickets.
2) That using a random number generator to draw the housing ballot would save Drs WHO time and anguish.
3) That Drs WHO do not deserve excess anguish.
JCR resolves
1) To permit Drs WHO to use a random number generator to draw the housing ballot, if they wish.
Minutes: BALLOT REFORM
KM Folding 200 raffle tickets takes 1.5 hrs. A random number generator invented by IB would be much quicker.
JACK How is the ballot performed?
KM It’s done in front of Doug, Katie and 2 independent observers.
SB Notes 5 – did you get info form the European Court of Justice?
KM Wikipedia.
SB Fine.
MOTION PASSES No further debate to be had – Motion passes without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Rory the Lion by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) That Balliol as a whole is a very tight-knit community based around good college spirit.
2) That, as close a community as we are, certain college events are under-attended e.g. sporting events
3) That last term at OUSU Council (5th Week) a motion was passed (by an overwhelming majority) to spend money on buying a mascot costume for their new promotional character, OUSY (TM)
4) That it would only cost us £350 to buy a top-of-the-range mascot costume
5) That there is a large lion on the Balliol crest
This JCR further notes:
1) £350 is a large amount of money
2) That a mascot would be a far safer and more viable option than the JCR owning a real lion.
3) That other colleges in Oxford have mascots
4) We are definately cooler than these other colleges
5) That even if we aren't, we are at least cooler than OUSU
This JCR believes:
1) That college spirit is a good thing
2) That having a college mascot would only further the college spirit.
3) That if we were to have a college mascot it should be a lion.
4) Coolness of an organisation is directly proportional to the number of big cuddly mascots they possess
5) That despite all the great points that have been laid out above, £350 is probably too large an amount of money to spend on a mascot costume.
6) Mascots are better when hiding behind a veil of mystery. The identity of the mascot should be unknown.
This JCR resolves:
1) To spend up to £100 on the purchasing of fabrics for a mascot suit.
2) To mandate Mr D&M to make a lion costume from the materials
2) To call the mascot Rory
3) Rory the Lion should be chosen by the “Alliance of 3” at the start of HT, composed of J de B, Foodies and Entz. The Alliance of 3 is mandated to secrecy along with Rory.
4) Rory the Lion is mandated to ask the Oxford Sirens for training
Minutes: RORY THE LION MB This is another shot at what I tried last term. The main issue last time was that it cost £350 – so I’ve dramatically reduced the price to £100 in the hope that you’ll love the lion.
SJ Why the women’s officers for the sewing? Did they volunteer?
MB I looked at the committee list and picked names at random. They didn’t volunteer.
PT Will we be able to vote on different designs?
MB I’m sure we can have some kind of straw poll – I was thinking stand up furry type possible with a billowing cape?
JAMIE What will be the quality for £100?
MB I’ve made bop costumes for £20 – five times funding = five times the goodness.
SS Why the name?
MB Lions roar… Rory.
SJ Can anyone actually sew?
MB Kat!
TOM What other colleges have mascots?
MB OUZU have that cookie monster thing. Magdalen have a tortoise?
KM True or false – is the OUSU mascot actually just a codpiece?
MB True.
KM When you say Magdalen has a mascot tortoise do you actually mean pet?
MB No. They have a costume too.
KM How often do these mascots appear?
MB [Vague shrug] once in a blue moon maybe. That’s why I created a post so that they’d be responsible for events involving Rory.
SJ How much will it cost us each individually through our levies?
MB Levies are for specific things, this would just come out of the main JCR account.
TOM What will happen if we have a tall Rory one year and a short one the next?
MB It depends on the seamstressing – you could tack it up or just demand that the candidate is exactly 6ft tall.
JACK Does anyone want to run – [Many hands volunteer]
MD Were assuming correlation between coolness…[not factual]
MB Procedural motion: take the motion in parts, voting separately on creating the non- committee position of Rory the Lion.I want to do this because that part needs 2/3 vote to pass and change Standing Orders.
HL Any opposition?
KM I don’t think anyone cares about the position and I think MB is trying to scam us.
HL Vote on Proc. Motion – Passes.
AMENDMENT Add Believes 6 – “Mascots are better when hiding behind a veil of mystery. The identity of the mascot should be unknown. Change Resolves 3 to read – “Rory the Lion should be chosen by the “Alliance of 3” at the start of HT, composed of J de B, Foodies and Entz. The Alliance of 3 is mandated to secrecy along with Rory.”Add Resolves 4 – “Rory the Lion is mandated to ask the Oxford Sirens for training”
DP How can you mandate a non-committee person?
MB The alliance of 3 is made up of committee members. And you mandate them the same way you mandate anyone else.
DP How do you enforce it?
WS You can’t but that’s a problem with the constitution and not this amendment.
SS Do the 3 not go out in public together so we can’t work it out?
WS Rory isn’t one of them, they just choose who he’ll be.
SIMON Would the post be given to someone who had registered an interest in wearing the costume?
WS There’s no point choosing someone who wont wear it.
CK Why have those 3 positions been chosen?
WS It’s not bias – I won’t be entz next term, unless I run for re-election (1 more year!) – but I think they’re the most fun.
HL Are you saying I’m not fun?
WS Yes.
MTV
HL Seeing no opposition to MTV, we’ll have summary speeches and vote.
AMENDMENT PROP: WS This makes this idea a shite sight more fun.
AMENDMENT OPP: SJ It may make it more fun but it makes an already silly motion ridiculous. How do you maintain secrecy? Rory would probably get pished and have to have his head taken off and be put in the recovery position.
HL Amendment passes.
AMENDMENT Remove Resolves 2 – (Mandating Womens Officers to sew Rory together)
MB If the Women’s Officers aren’t going to make it then what do we do with this pile of fabric we’re going to have?
AR We can’t sew, so it’ll stay a pile of fabric whether we’re supposed to do it or not.
KM HM has a lion costume. HM can’t sew, so it’s obviously possible to make a lion costume without sewing.
SJ You can’t ask someone to put this much work into something they have no skill in just because they’re women.
MB I’m merely objecting because this amendment gets rid of anyone’s responsibility to make the costume – feel free to nominate someone else.
AR Who else would want to do it?
JOHN Surely if its part of women’s officer’s role then we’d only elect someone who can sew.
MTV
MTV PROP IB We’re going to have summary speeches, lets do this quickly.
MTV OPP SJ Fair enough, go with IB.
PROP AR We can’t sew and it won’t be very good and it’ll be a waste of JCR money. It seems unfair to give it to someone who cant do it when someone else might be interested and could probably do it a lot lot better
OPP MB It doesn’t say anything about sewing, you can make it with safety pins. AMENDMENT PASSES 26 votes to 18
AMENDMENT Add Resolves 2 – “to mandate Mr D&M to make a lion costume from materials.”
SJ Can Mr D&M sew?
JH No, but I can make stuff.
RC Do you want to do it.
JH Yeah, why not?
MTV MTV passed without opposition
AMENDMENT PASSES Amendment passed without opposition
MTV ON MOTION MTV passed without opposition
WS Bearing in mind there is no need to vote in parts now because there’s no non-committee posts that need creating.
MB Ok I withdraw that procedural motion.
MOTION PROP MB JH wants to make it – please vote for it!
MOTION OPP IB We’ve amended the motion a little bit, but we haven’t talked about whether it’s a good way to spend our money. That’s why I voted against it last time.
SJ Can we move to vote without being in debate?
HL Having checked SOs, there isn’t anything about having to have debate prior to MTV. So we’ll vote on the motion.
MOTION PASSED
Result: Passed
Motion: Lottery Tickets by Mike Blyth
This JCR notes:
1) That the JCR could do with some extra cash
2) That winning the lottery is a sure-fire way of getting said cash
3) That the odds of winning the lottery with any one ticket is 13,983,816 to 1
4) That even a non-jackpot win would greatly help the JCR
This JCR further notes:
1) That since the National Lottery was first established it has given over £20 billion to good causes
This JCR believes:
1) That like most kinds of gambling there can be a sensible, mathematical solution to, over time, at least break even.
2) That if the jackpot exceeds £13,983,816 it is mathematically correct to buy a ticket (as the payout is greater than the odds it takes to win it)
3) That therefore if the jackpot is between £7 million - £14 million, the correct number of tickets to buy would be 2 (rounding any fractions up).
4) That even if we don't win we're indirectly donating money to worthwhile causes.
This JCR resolves:
1) to mandate the Treasurer to buy one ticket a week.
2) To threaten the Treasurer with extreme violence if he/she ever contemplates running away with the winning ticket.
Minutes: LOTTERY
MB It’s been a long confusing evening. The JCR runs in on a very tight budget. The simplest way to get over that I think is to win the lottery. The only way to do that is to buy tickets, so that’s what I suggest.
TG How do we decide what numbers?
MB Lucky dip.
PT Will we buy this ticket legally in the JCRs name?
IB The Treasurer will be acting in the name of the JCR, legally he can’t run off with the ticket.
KM Can you explain that more IB?
IB It’s like when the JCR decided it wanted a vending machine – I signed the contract with the vending machine on behalf of the JCR. And when I sign cheques I do that on behalf of the JCR.
WS Syndicates are binding. And I think that believes 1-3 are mathematically unsound.
MB If the jackpot is greater than the odds of winning (£14million) then it makes sense to buy a ticket. If the jackpot is half of that amount, buying 2 tickets doubles your chance of winning.
AS Could HL, to speed things up, use her discretion not to put those believes in standing orders? *[think he meant policy, but everyone ignored him anyway]*
MB Its like dice. Roll twice and the chances of getting a 6 are doubled.
JW By that logic if the jackpot goes to £1 then you’d buy 14 million tickets?!
MB If you bought 14 million tickets the jackpot would be at least £14,000,000. [uproar]
KM MB have you sought professional help for your gambling problems? Or any help at all?
MB No. It’s not a problem.
ALICE You know you said it was £14,000,000 jackpot and so … [not factual]
MICHAEL POI: The National Lottery only has a jackpot of 50% of ticket sales. The rest goes on admin and charitable causes.
MB I understand that some of the money goes to causes – the odds of winning are always the same and the estimated jackpot is published the day before.
RC Will you play twice a week?
MB As often as possible – I’m well up for buying scratch cards as well. RC Will there be a limit to how much we could spend?
MB No.
JW What about the boring people who don’t like gambling, how do they opt out?
MB Vote against the motion.
SS You said the odds of winning don’t change, but more people playing means the jackpot is liable to get split
JACK That’s only a problem when you choose numbers based on dates and other things. It’s not a big deal if numbers are chosen at random.
ELLA What are the good causes?
MB There are loads – £20billion so far – you need to apply for a grant.
?? What would we spend the money on?
IB It would be up to GM – committee can only pass up to £150 without JCR approval.
AMENDMENT Strike Resolves 1. Change Resolves 2 to read “to mandate the Treasurer to buy 1 ticket a week”.
KM To clarify – JCR resolves 3 – “to threaten the JCR treasurer with physical violence [fullstop]” that’s what we heard. [Helen clarifies]
AS So one ticket a week is for Saturday? The jackpot’s usually bigger.
IB I’ll obviously go for the bigger jackpot.
MB The reason I think changing to 1 a week is a ridiculous idea is because the odds of winning are 14 million to 1. If you buy one ticket on a lesser jackpot you’re mathematically disadvantaging yourself – that’s how casinos make money.
MTV
MTV PROP: JB This has gone on for a while and we’ve heard both sides – it’s not particularly complicated. MTV OPP: IB I don’t know how we’ve heard both sides – no-one’s spoke in favour of the amendment.
HL Opposition to MTV? Seeing none we vote on amendment.
AMENDMENT PROP: IB This limits the amount of money we spend – 52 a year, and it means I don’t have to do any maths
AMENDMENT OPP: MB If you guys are willing to pay under the odds for tickets then vote for it but you’re just disadvantaging yourself in a game of chance.
AMENDMENT PASSED 30 for, 10 opposed.
IB I passed an amendment and MB no longer believes in the motion so I become the proposer.
AMENDMENT Resolves to create a number choosing committee to select numbers based on the holy scriptures of major world religion.
JON Can we choose the number 6 three times?
?? No.
PT Why are we doing this?
?? No one’s making you stay.
JB Disregarding the fact that it’s something of a silly motion, who do you suggest to put on this committee?
?? Theologians, philosophers… anyone who’s interested.
PRIYESH Which religions would you include?
?? There would be no bias. Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, that’s a non-exhaustive list.
MICHAEL Would Scientologists and Jedi’s be included?
?? Yes.
SS Are you not as tired as the rest of us?
MTV MTV passes.
AMEND VOTE Amendment fails.
MTV MOTION
MTV OPP We need to clear up this maths once and for all.
MTV PROP ??
MTV PASSES
MOTION PROP: IB I’m here because I amended it because I didn’t understand the maths [lots of new infomation about a past motion].
MOTION OPP: MB Due to the fact that we’re now looking at giving ourselves very bad odds for a win, I don’t think this is a good idea any longer.
MOTION FAILS Failure. It’s a horrible thing.
***But in the interest of clearing up some fairly ludicrous claims, herein lies the Secretary’s guide to why even MB couldn’t make make us win the lottery...
Players can only break even in a game of chance if the probability of winning is greater than the fractional profit to be made by winning.Ie. If a player has a 1/14,000,000 chance of winning the lottery he should play only if the return on his bet is better than 14million-1.Over many, many games at £1 each, the player will (on average) spend £14,000,000 in order to win once – but as long as that win nets him more than the £14,000,000 he spent then overall he makes money.
If the Lottery payout falls to £7,000,000 MB’s suggestion is to buy two tickets and thus double his chance of winning…Now Mike’s winning every 7,000,000 weeks (on average) because each time he plays with two tickets. But over the 7,000,000 weeks he’s spent £14,000,000 buying two tickets each time – so he still loses!
But in the end he’ll never win anyway – If the Jackpot is £14,000,000 and 50% of ticket sales go towards the jackpot then that means 28 million tickets have been sold. So on average each set of numbers has been chosen by two people - the effective jackpot is now £7,000,000. Much worse than the average £14million it cost to win in the first place.***
Result: Failed
Motion: Housing Reform by Kat Matfield
JCR notes
1) That currently room viewing for everyone in the housing ballot occurs over the 2 weeks preceeding room choosing, with time set aside for it on 2 afternoons in each week.
2) That choosing a room is made harder for someone low in the ballot because they have little idea which rooms will be taken by those at the top of the ballot. Consequently they will either have to spend a lot of time looking at rooms, or see only a fraction of the rooms available to the ballot.
3) That many people have other commitments that clash with some periods of room viewing, so have less time to view rooms.
4) The creation of the Room Bank.
5) That many people will still want to view at least some rooms, despite having the Room Bank.
JCR believes
1) That if periods of room viewing and choosing were alternated, those lower in the ballot would be able to target their viewing and have a greater chance of finding a room they like and are likely to get.
2) That having more periods of room viewing will mean more people will have enough time for room viewing.
3) That spreading room viewing over 3 weeks would only be marginally more irritating to college main site residents but vastly more helpful to residents, and would also mean that there are two weekends for people to use for unscheduled room viewing. 4) That since people lower in the ballot will probably view later in the period of alternated room viewing and choosing, current main site residents who came lower in the ballot could make their rooms available for viewing only in the last two weeks. And vice versa for those who came high in the ballot.
5) That the Room Bank would also allow people to target their room viewing more effectively.
6) That the below timetable would be a better way of organising room viewing and choosing:
3rd Week
Two periods of room viewing during the week
4th Week
Room choosing for the top third of the ballot
Two periods of room viewing.
5th Week
Room choosing for the middle third of the ballot
Two periods of room viewing.
Room choosing for the bottom third of the ballot
JCR resolves
1) To permit Dr(s) WHO to adopt the timetable in Believes 6 or to use another timetable that includes three weeks room viewing, if they wish.
2)To consider Helen Lochead and Mike Blyth brilliant people for putting together the Room Bank.
3)To mandate the secretary to serenade Helen and Mike with a rendition of a song of his choice (as long as it is "You're Beautiful") as a token of the JCR's gratitude.
Minutes: HOUSING REFORM
KM Anyone who wants a room on Broad Street site has to enter a ballot. Not everyone gets a room and there’s varying quality. Once someone is in the ballot they have to see as many rooms as possible to choose one. It’s very hard. Only viewing on 2 days for 2 weeks for a few hours. It’s not a lot of time to see 90 rooms. I want you to agree that Dr WHO should have the option of increasing the length of time for room viewing.I also wanted to point out that we now have a room bank with info on furniture, locality to kitchen/bathroom, warmness etc. HL and MB have spent a lot of time on the bank and they are truly wonderful.
CP Will the room bank go on the internet?
HL Yep.
JACK You highlight the problem that people don’t know if they are looking at a room that will be taken. Could you indicate where rooms usually rank so people have some idea if they’re realistic choices?
KM We already do that.
DM How long will choosing become? Years?
KM 3 weeks. But we’ll also split room choosing so that you look at rooms that are likely to be available.
SJ Is it right that on the 3rd week no-one will choose?
KM That’s right. In the 3rd week we’ve given everyone the chance to view rooms and in the beginning of the 4th week the top 3rd will be given the opportunity to choose.
JK What about when rooms higher in the ballot become available?
KM The upgrade list is unaffected – the rooms usually become free when people are out of Oxford and are chosen usually without viewing.
AMENDMENT Strike Resolves 3.
KM There may have been something I forgot to mention. Jickish ahs a melodious voice and we have a history of serenading people. Is this proposed for anything other than cold self-interest?
JH No.
MTV ON AMENDMENT
IB Procedural motion – suspend SO “no new info in summary speeches” PROCEEDURAL MOTION PROP IB Just to say it’s plainly ridiculous that someone could call a MTV as soon as you move into debate and then can’t have summary speeches without new info when there aren’t any info to begin
PROCEEDURAL MOTION OPPWSIt would not be a summary speech if there was new info. 2nd, IB is trying to be annoying, 3rd no one cares, the MTV needs 2/3 to pass and was clearly intended to speed up GMs.
PROC. MOTION FAILS
HL We vote on the amendment, without summary speeches, because there’s no information that isn’t new.
AMENDMENT FAILS Amendment fails.
MOTION PASSES No further debate to be had – Motion passes without opposition.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-10-21
HL Any objections to previous minutes? None seen. Officer’s reports are on the board for those interested. Any questions to officers?
WS Noting the absence of Sam Baars, I have therefore a couple of questions to him in absentia. 1. Regarding the shocking states of his officer’s reports. Often his officer’s reports are longer than everyone else’s put together. His submission this week is appalling.
JH POI: He actually didn’t submit anything this week – I wrote what’s there.
WS I would like to ask for an apology in absentia. 2. Considering motion d) JRJE has been so good as to propose a motion regarding us buying free range eggs. I think it’s appalling that the ethics and environment officer has allowed this issue to be picked up by someone who’s role is to organise entertainment. The fact that JRJE has been worrying about this issue and has taken the time to write this motion means that he has not been able to spend as much time on Entz, to the overall detriment of the JCR. I ask SB if he has a response to these questions – otherwise I plan to bring a no confidence motion to the next GM.
HL I’ll bring that up with him next time I see him.
HL Anyone not form Balliol at the meeting? No.
HL Motions to pass nem con – none
Motion: Free Range Eggs by John Erde
This JCR notes:
1) That Tesco sells a box of six medium free range eggs for £1.09
2) That Tesco sells a box of six medium "budget" eggs for 62p
This JCR believes:
1) That battery farming is an ethically unsound practice that should not be supported by JCR services
2) That pantry should buy exclusively free range eggs, regardless of the difference in price between free range and "budget" eggs.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the Foodies to see that only free range eggs are purchased by pantry
Minutes: FREE RANGE EGGS
IB JRJE wanted to submit this motion. I asked Maureen how much it would cost to change to free range eggs. She asked the milkman and it’s the same price, so from now on we’ll use free range eggs.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Voluntary declaration by Ian Bergson and Nicki Hanger
This JCR notes:
1) That the JCR has inadvertently been paying too little VAT on takings from bops and on the income from ticket sales for the Summer Event in 2005 and 2006
2) The work investigating this issue by Lady Lindsay, the Treasurer and the President
3) The explanation of exact figures at the General Meeting, by the Treasurer and Lady Lindsay 4) That the Inland Revenue provides a means to make a three year voluntary declaration in respect of the underdeclared VAT
5) That the JCR has more than sufficient savings to make such a declaration
This JCR further notes:
1) The JCR is under a legal obligation to pay the underdeclared VAT
This JCR believes:
1) That the JCR finances should be run transparently and openly, in accordance with the Constitution, such that the JCR membership should be kept informed at all times of major financial issues through the medium of a GM
This JCR resolves:
1) To acknowledge this anomaly and the expenditure required to correct it
2) To require the Treasurer and Lady Lindsay to make a voluntary declaration as soon as practicable
Minutes: VOLUNTARY DECLARATION
IB As you will see from the motion – Me and NH, since the beginning of this term, have been looking into an accounts issue stemming form the ball this year. We’ve approached our accountants and college for advice as to what our options are. This motion has been brought to keep the JCR aware of the situation. This does not relate to the 2007 Summer Ball. The JCR turnover is in excess of £60k and is therefore VAT registered. Goods in the bar and pantry are sold with VAT included.What we have been doing at previous summer events is claiming back VAT from our contractors but not paying VAT on ticket sales. When we looked into this we discovered Entz haven’t been paying VAT on drink sales at bops. We need to declare this money that we owe. We submit a voluntary declaration of VAT from the last 3 years. This removes liability for fines if we don’t pay and come under investigation.
IB A total of £8197 is the amount we are legally obliged to declare. I don’t have anything else to say, but I want to be as transparent as possible.
PT Who’s responsibility has this been. Given that accountants have to sign off the true fair view of the JCR how has this not been spotted? IB Ball responsibility is with the Ball Treasurer. Claiming back of VAT only came in 2005. We send off JCR accounts and Bar accounts to the accountant – summer event is not separately submitted – they will be in future. You can place blame on JCR Treasurers and Ball Treasurers though they are students, or you could blame the accountants but the information they are given is mixed.
PT Who signs off on the accounts before they are submitted to the accountant?
IB The Treasurer – me and Denise submit them to the accountant and exec.
KM Is there any chance that by making this voluntary declaration that the taxman will cotton on something is not right and ask for other money?
IB We can only declare 3 years – there is no way of declaring years 4,5,6. If an audit happened, the tax man could go back 6 years. Our accountant couldn’t give advice on how likely this would be to happen.
LS Why wasn’t this realised sooner – will changes be made?
IB I agree it should have been spotted sooner – I’ve spoken to past Treasurers Ed Batty and Mihir who are both now aware but weren’t at the time. One idea I’ve had is to put the JCR Treasurer on Ball Committee, who has a lot more experience with JCR finances than the ball treasurer. Also, the ball from next year will be submitted to the accountant separately. There are a number of other costs which the JCR is going to incur this term – refurbishment costs etc. Once I know how much we’ve spent I may bring a motion to try and recoup some of the money we’ve spent.
PT If this motion doesn’t pass, are JCR members liable for fraud?
IB I don’t know. Those involved would definitely be liable. I don’t know what the legal implications for the members of the JCR are. I’m obviously hoping this motion passes.
HL Opposition to motion? Seeing none, can I say the motion passes nem con. Thank you.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Arts week grant by Ian Bergson and Rosanna Smith
This JCR notes:
1) That Arts Week is happening 5th week this term
2) The budget produced by the Arts Week co-ordinators, Rosie and Charlotte (see appendix)
3) The current balance of the Arts Week Fund
4) The standing order 4.7.7 in relation to Arts Week: "A grant may however be offered on presentation of a budgeted request to the JCR Treasurer, subject to confirmation at the next OGM."
5) That a grant of up to £250 has been offered by the Treasurer, following submission of the budget
6) That this grant is higher than the maximum amount of money
This JCR believes:
1) That the grant should be made
This JCR resolves:
1) To confirm the grant, per standing order 4.7.7
Minutes: ARTS WEEK GRANT
CF We’re organising arts week in 5th week. This is the budget we’d like the JCR to pass. The JCR Arts Fund has £1200 in, we’d like your permission to spend £250.
IB It’s not from levies, its from main JCR money. RS and CF have already come to me with a budget, and I approved it, but it still has to go to a GM for JCR approval.
PT How much did it cost last year?
CF It was similar.
RS About £300 was spent, but some money was made back – an overall loss of about £200 was made.
PT What are your ideas for arts week?
RS The budget gives you some idea of what we’re spending money on. CF Band night, art attack on the front quad. Tea towels like you had in primary school. Life drawing.
MB Is it nude life drawing?
CF Yes – we were going to have RS’s life drawing teacher, but KM’s grandmother could do it.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Make Val a hero of the JCR by Tom Gibson and Don Mackintosh
This JCR notes:
1) Val, who has worked in pantry for many years, has sadly had to leave from this term
This JCR believes:
1) That we should recognise the contribution our staff make to the JCR
This JCR resolves:
1) To make Val a hero of the JCR
Minutes: MAKE VAL A HERO OF THE JCR
TG Val is the woman who used to work in pantry. She left around Easter last year with a bad back. She let us know over the summer that she’s not going to come back. She’s been here since 1969, so let’s give her some respect.
KM Not the really really really old one that does dinners? TG No that’s Jean.
DW As a history student can you tell us something interesting that happened in 1969?
TG I specialise a bit earlier than that.
SS What does being a hero entail – does she wear a cape?
HL She can use JCR facilities (including the washing machine!). Committee has already passed some money to buy her a present, but this would show a bit of respect and gratitude.
MB She effectively becomes a member of the JCR only without GM speaking rights.
MB Who else are heroes?
JH The cast of Top Gun, Scunthorpe United and Louis Mayo. It’s difficult to say who else is a Hero of the JCR since the list was lost a few years ago.
SB I don’t think the list was lost, I think it never existed.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: College Bathrooms by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The survey conducted by the JCR President and the recommendations within this survey (see appendix 1).
2) That College does not undertake such a survey.
3) That the only way College can know about the standard of bathrooms is by students informing them.
4) The current standard of bathrooms around College.
This JCR believes:
1) That currently several bathrooms around College are not in an acceptable state.
2) That certain staircases would benefit from the replacement of baths with showers, particularly those that do not have any showers (namely 2 and 4).
3) That certain staircases would benefit from the replacement of old showers with new.
4) That several bathrooms would benefit from being cleaned a little more thoroughly, (in light of the number of students using them each day), with extra cleaning being done during the vacation.
5) That the recommendations in appendix 1 are reflective of changes that are required.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR President to present these views in the form of a Capital Bid to Executive Committee in 7th Week (MT07) and for the JCR President to recommend that work begins as soon as possible.
2) To mandate the JCR President to update the survey at the beginning of each Michaelmas term and to report their findings, possibly resulting in further Capital Bids in the future.
3) To recommend that bathrooms are cleaned more thoroughly.
Minutes: COLLEGE BATHROOMS
HL I’ve noticed from living in college in 1st and 3rd year that some of the bathrooms are in a horrible state. I went round all the bathrooms in college and made up the table that you can see in the appendix. I’ve made comments on what I found. There’s also a recommendations column – total 12 bath to shower conversions. If they’re converted into a shower it’ll be a lot more useful. 4 shower replacements. I’ve also recommended painting and tiling where needed and I’ve highlighted particular priorities. I’m bringing this to you to confirm that what I think is what you think. I’ll take this to capital bids meeting in 7th week to exec. The JCR and MCR presidents can bring bids to get certain amounts of money to do certain things. I got positive response from the Domestic Bursar and several fellows and buildings committee. And Carl said he’d present the bid with me and that would give it a lot more weight.
NH Would this impact on room rent?
HL No. Capital bids are a separate amount of money – some essential maintenance that fellows can’t object to but certain bids aren’t ring fenced and can be objected to. JB Any idea of total cost?
HL I’m not especially good at pricing bathrooms – I think £10 –15k should cover most of the work. I’ll discuss it with Carl. I can ask for as much money as it needs and the trustees just need to agree.
JH Are you converting all the baths in college to showers?
HL No. For example in some staircases I’ve recommended that only some of the existing baths are replaced.
WS At some point in the past someone said something about the newer staircases – turning 3 rooms into 2 rooms each with ensuites. What’s happening with that? And lots of the 3rd year rooms are large but with nothing going on in them – has anything been suggested about putting ensuites in them?
HL I got thinking about this because there’s a bid to put in ensuites (pods) in staircase 22. My point is that this is silly as the rooms are quite small. I will be pushing the opinion –screw the ensuites let’s have some proper shared bathrooms. College want ensuites for conference, so there’s a conflict of interest, so what is happening is 2 bids are being put in. Mine and a seperate ensuite bid. I will be recommending that ensuite locations in bigger rooms be looked into.
AR Are sinks included?
HL Yes, in staircase 20 there is no sink on the ground floor where hall staff go to the toilet and apparently don’t wash their hands.
KM They use the baths.
HL Yeah I hear that.
KM Are there plans to remove rooms to accommodate ensuites?
HL No. They just want to fit in pods. Teddy Hall have them – I’ll try and see one and tell you what they’re like.
KM I know you said that room rent won’t be affected, but given current room rent reappraisal will prices actually go up?
HL No. Room Rent Realignment will be a reallocation of college rooms into price bands a-f. The total combined room rent from all rooms will remain the same as it is at the moment. Rents will then be increased only by the Van Noorden index.
KM But will the grading of each room be affected?
HL I’ve priced the rooms in the state I’ve seen them now. I’ve proposed that the JCR President does a survey at the end of every MT and reports their findings. The problem we have at the moment is that they haven’t been realigned in the last 10 years whilst facilities have been changed – adding bathrooms and kitchens. The JCR President should keep an eye on this year after year – I was going to mandate them to do so when I bring a motion about room rent realignment next term. PT What about kitchenettes?
HL I think that would need a new capital bit – for a few new microwaves and a few new hobs. Essentially you just want everything in them replacing because they’re disgusting. Bathrooms vary massively in quality. If you have problems or recommendations for your kitchenettes then email me with feedback and I can look into improving those also.
WS On the grounds floor of 3 there’s one toilet for about ??[lots of] people plus the computer room. Unless you’re happy about pissing in your sink – I’m not too fussed – then that’s not really acceptable.
HL That’s the kind of feedback I need. I’ll make sure that’s considered.
IB I’m assuming if the bid for ensuites passed you wouldn’t replace the baths in 22, so would the money be spent elsewhere?
HL I’m just pushing the communal bathrooms above ensuites because I get the idea that’s what the JCR wants.
SS With the existing baths – in some rooms you need to go up several floors to find a shower, would college be willing to buy shower attachments.
HL I’m not suggesting replacing baths with newer baths. I want real showers and not just attachments, but with remaining baths I can obviously suggest that college provide, if only as a temporary arrangement, shower attachments. That wouldn’t need a capital bid. You should only need to go a maximum of one floor to find a shower.
SS POI: pods are quite cool. They’re about a 1.5m x1.5m and everything fits in nicely.
JB Will this affect the consolidated college fee that non-publicly funded undergraduate members have to pay?
HL The money comes form a trust fund set up by old members. This money is distributed by capital bids. What is spent from it shouldn’t affect student costs at all. I can look into it and get a definite answer if you want.
JB Don’t worry I don’t think it will be affected.
MB Kitchenettes – any chance of installing new ones?
HL Yes – in staircase 21 there are no kitchenettes but there is a random computer room for SCR members that’s always empty. Money for new kitchenettes will take time to look into and draw into a realistic proposal to pass. But I think it would be extremely beneficial to get new ones, and ill recommend to new President that this is looked into.
SB There are showers (not to use their colloquial name) underground in 21 and 10 and they’re horrible but quite good.
HL I know there are something like 6 showers under 10 and only one has a lock, That can come in under the ‘also’ part of the motion that recommends painting tiling etc where necessary. It also recommends better cleaning over vacs – long-term suggestions. You can email me to make specific recommendations.
SB Are those showers for someone specific –scouts or something?
HL You can get to them from 3, 10, and 11 – I think they’re just for everyone. They’re not reserved for any specific use. But they do need some looking at to make them useful.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Gender Based Discrimination by Kathryn Matfield & Nicki Hanger
This JCR believes:
1)The current standing policy regarding gender based discrimination could do with some tidying up.
2) Worldwide, gender stereotyping of men and women still exists and is unfair and unacceptable.
3)As a result of this women have tended to be denied opportunities in all avenues of life, particularly in education and the workplace
4)No one should be discriminated against, harassed or marginalized on the basis of their gender.
5)Because women are in the significant minority at Balliol, a Women's officer providing welfare, representing women's interests within Balliol, to the university and OUSU and coordinating events is a valuable thing.
6) The potential discrimination against women behind the finals gap is concerning and investigation into it is a valuable and important process.
This JCR resolves:
1)To add believes 1 - 5 to JCR standing policy in place of the existing policy
Appendix:
Existing policy
1) Worldwide, women (and men) are gender stereotyped and this is unfair and outdated.
2)As a result of this women have tended to be denied opportunities in all avenues of life, particularly in education and the workplace.
3)Noone should be discriminated against, harassed or marginalized on the basis of their gender.
4)There is no place for this kind of gender based discrimination, harassment or marginalization.
5)Because women are in the significant minority at Balliol, a Women's officer providing welfare, representing women's interests within Balliol and at OUSU and coordinating events is a valuable thing.
6) Because women in Oxford are acheiving fewer First Class degrees for no good reason, the investigation into this 'Finals Gap' is a valuable and important process.
Minutes: GENDER BASED DISCRIMINATION
KM Last time we had a motion on women’s policy, it wasn’t discussed much and had an amendment which made it a bit nonsensical so we thought we’d tidy it up.
RH Aside form amalgamating parts 3 and 4 are there any other differences?
KM We’ve slightly changed the wording.
NH To say that the finals gap happens for no good reason implies that it’s not worth investigating.
KM No good reason sounds dismissive. We believe there’s a good reason that demands research.
MB Did you ask the women’s officers about changing the policy?
KM No, standing policy is for all the JCR – we’re women, we thought we had the right to change it.
SS In light of the new standing policy, how do you propose that the finals gap will resultantly be analysed?
KM We don’t think standing policy will impact how the finals gap is investigated. We’re not that powerful. SB Is there still a finals gap?
KM Yes.
AR Why are you replacing the policy, couldn’t you have just amended what was already there?
KM It makes for a simpler motion.
WS Also because you presumably think that the proposed change is better written?
KM I thought it was important that we were not dismissive of the finals gap issue.
KM When the motion was initially brought there was no real debate apart from amending the words “in the JCR”. Bringing this motion gives another chance for debate.
AMENDMENT Move JCR notes 1 – “The current standing policy regarding gender based discrimination could do with some tidying up.” – to JCR believes.
WS Whilst the distinction between knowledge and opinion is at times controversial, this notes is clearly an opinion.
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
HL Is there opposition to the motion as a whole?
AR I don’t think it achieves anything. I think the message is what’s important and I think that comes across clearly in the policy we already have.
AS Why weren’t women’s officers consulted?
KM We thought the changes were so minor it wasn’t necessary. Now that I know it bothers them I’m sorry we didn’t ask.
WS Lets face it, even if it’s a minor change the vote at the end will be is it better or is it worse. The only issue if the change is minor is that KM has wasted our time so let’s move to vote.
MTV MTV passed.
MOTION PROP: KM It’s minor stylistic changes which makes it slightly more coherent and ensures that it doesn’t sound as if we are unconcerned by the finals gap. MOTION OPP: AR This new policy doesn’t suggest anything which our original policy didn’t suggest. I don’t think there’s much point in changing it.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-11-04
HL Any questions to officers?
MB If you haven’t submitted a poster yet do it soon – there’s a competition.
HL Motions to pass nem con. c) Optional levies by internet.
Motion: Recovery levy by Ian Bergson and Nicola Hanger
This JCR notes:
1) The expenditure this year has been considerably larger than previous years
2) The figures for extraordinary expenditure for the this year, 2006 and 2005 (see Appendix 1)
3) The JCR savings account figures, for MT07, MT06 and MT05 (see Appendix 1)
4) In previous years, when the Summer Event has made a significant loss, a proportion of this has been recovered from members by a compulsory levy
5) The importance of having JCR savings, for unforeseen large expenditures and for cashflow throughout the year
This JCR believes:
1) That it is prudent to try to recover at least part of the money that has been spent
This JCR resolves:
1) To approve a compulsory "recovery" levy of £2 per term to recover a proportion of the money that has been spent this year
Minutes: RECOVERY LEVY
NH We’ve spent a lot more than usual – roughly £13,000 this term – a lot of that was on VAT. We don’t know whether you guys want to recover it, whether you’re happy for it to just happen – if you want a compulsory levy or an optional levy. So we brought this to discuss. Amendments are encouraged.
IB In appendix 1 it shows extraordinary expenditure for this financial year – since January to this day. The stars are when we have passed money but we don’t know how much it will be yet. The VAT we’re waiting to hear back from HMCR. I’ve gone through quickly last year’s extraordinary expenditure and the year before – we’ve spent about £11k more this year than previous years. As long as the JCR makes a profit we can afford a certain amount of extraordinary expenditure. At the beginning of this year our savings were substantial, but we won’t know what the profit/loss is for this year yet but since we’ve spent £11k I’d expect the savings to fall. Having savings is good for protecting the bar or if we have more VAT issues. Also we need at least £4k ish for cash flow – we spend money which we often don’t get back on battels for some time.
DW You have the Ball 2007 loss and the VAT declaration – is that not counting the same thing twice?
IB We made our VAT declaration in July. The voluntary declaration is with respect to 2005/06 summer events – the ball total is not part of the VAT declaration. I’m not personally convinced we need to recover all the money, but I think we should recover a portion. When my successor takes over they’ll know what the JCR has made/lost, if you want to bring an amendment to ask for a review each term or something that may be a good idea.
KM How much will you recover?
NH Roughly £800 per term
PT Have you looked back further than 2 years?
IB No I haven’t had time. But I do know that when the summer event lost a lot of money – I think in 2002 – there was a recovery levy – about £4 or £5, though at that point the JCR had much lower savings.
HL Any opposition or amendments?
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Optional levies by internet by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That every term, members of the JCR get a printed sheet in their pigeon holes with the optional levies on
2) Such forms have to be returned to the lodge by a certain date with the amounts changed, or removed, or all optional levies are charged
3) That this process every term generates a lot of paper, and takes a lot of time
4) That the JCR website has a pre-existing login area, which could be upgraded to allow people to fill in optional levies forms online
5) That the JCR Accounts Clerk, Denise, supports changing to an online system
This JCR believes:
1) That optional levies forms should be capable of being filed online
This JCR resolves:
1) To approve, in principle, putting optional levies forms online on the JCR website, with each user having a username and password to make changes to their levies
Minutes: This motion passed nem con.
Result: Passed
Motion: JCR Condom Supplies by Kat Matfield
JCR Notes
#1: The JCR currently supplies Safex condoms for free, for emergencies. This brand of condom is the brand distributed by the NHS; while not the most pleasurable they are safe when used correctly.
#2: OUSU intends to begin supplying Durex as well as Safex condoms to common rooms.
#3: Bought in bulk, at cost price from OUSU, Durex will be 150% the price of Safex.
#4: A Durex condom costs roughly £0.75 when bought in a shop and roughly £0.11 when bought from OUSU.
#5: Emergency condoms are funded by an optional levy of 20p per student. The condom levy would have to be increased if we wished to supply Durex for free.
#6: Our condom machine cannot dispense Durex because the boxes are the wrong size.
#7: Replacing the condom machine would cost roughly £250.
JCR Believes
#1: That supplying emergency condoms outside of a machine is unsafe and encourages stockpiling.
#2: That not providing top-of-the-range condoms means that emergency condoms are only used for emergencies and people do not stockpile them or use them for regular sex.
#3: That it is the individual's responsibility to ensure their sexual health when having regular sex; it is not the JCR's responsibility, nor should the JCR bear this cost.
#4: That nice condoms are very expensive, especially on a student budget, and selling nice condoms on the cheap would be a good service for the JCR to provide.
JCR Resolves:
#1: To mandate Dr(s) WHO to purchase a small amount of Durex condoms from OUSU to try out a system of selling condoms to JCR members.
#2: For the system trialled to run as follows: A student emails a Dr WHO with an order; that Dr WHO replies confirming the order and confirming the cost; the student leaves a cheque for that amount to Balliol JCR in their pidge; that Dr
WHO removes the cheque from the student's pidge and delivers their condoms in discrete packaging.
#3: For the condoms to be priced £0.40 for 3, because it's a nice round number and will cover the cost of the "discrete packaging" so the service does not run at a loss to the JCR.
Minutes: JCR CONDOM SUPPLIES
KM I objected to my own motion so we could talk about this. Basically there is no feasible way we can replace Safex with Durex mainly because of Durex being twats. They don’t make the right size condom boxes for the machines. I went to a meeting about condoms recently. It’s come to my attention that many people find the Safex condoms a little tight and a little short. If anyone is having equivalent problems email me, drop an anonymous note in my pidge… But yeah, I just wanted to know what people thought about selling cheap condoms?
JB Would the JCR make a profit?
KM OUSU sell them to me at cost and I’ve put up the price by 7p to pay for an envelope. I could get an envelope for 5p but a 2p profit I don’t think anyone will mind. I won’t spend it on anything fun that’s not for you.
MICHAEL Is it feasible to get a new machine?
KM The only machines that stock Durex are Durex machines and then it would be like the vending machine – they’d charge full retail price. If you want a Durex machine we could get one though.
DW Presumably you could now stockpile these condoms. How many would OUSU let you have? KM It doesn’t cost the JCR anything so I don’t give a shit if you stockpile – OUSU will buy as many as JCRs want.
MS Which condoms would we get. I’m assuming Wadham wanted extra safe?
KM Wadham and Somerville wanted extra large – but I think they were just showing off. I would get standard Durex and an extra safe one.
HL Any opposition?
KM I’m assuming if no-one opposes then someone will buy these?
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Change to Pantry opening times by Michael Schumacker
Change to Pantry opening times
This JCR notes:
. Pantry is only open from 13:00 to 13:45 at lunch times
. Balliol Chemists are free on Monday only between 12:00 and 13:00
. Balliol Chemists get very hungry
. People die from hunger.
. Hall doesn't open until 12:30 and the queue often means that, if you were to have labs at 13:00, you would have to have small portions and eat exceedingly quickly, and run to labs.
This JCR believes: . Hall food isn't always that great
. 15 minutes is not long enough to eat the food that Hall serves
. Balliol Chemists should not have to starve
. Pantry should not discriminate against science students
. Everybody will benefit from longer opening times at lunch
This JCR resolves:
. To alter the opening times of Pantry to: o Breakfast 8:30 - 11:00 o Lunch12:15 - 13:30 o No changes for dinner or supper
. To sell more manly paninis, like Meat Feast
Minutes: CHANGE TO PANTRY OPENING TIMES
MS [WS cracks out the smoke again. JH’s lungs begin to hurt]
MS I don’t think pantry opening times are long enough at dinner, and at lunch Hall doesn’t open soon enough and we starve.
KM How many Balliol Chemists are there who are only free between 12 and 1?
MS 8.
KM So 2% of College?
PT Have you spoken to the Foodies?
MS No.
PT Do you realise there are many institutions outside college – café crème, Sainsbury’s etc. which are open all the time? MS They’re much more expensive.
DM This will ruin my Neighbours watching. Will it only be Monday?
MS Also Tuesdays – I have labs then too.
HL Chemists only have labs up to 4th week.
MTV Move to Vote called.
HL I need a speech in proposition and opposition of the motion first.
OPP: WS [SMOKE]
PROP: MS I get hungry at 12.30. I need to eat.
MTV Move to Vote passed without opposition.
MOTION VOTE Motion failed.
Result: Failed
Motion: No Platform Policy by Michael Slater
This JCR notes:
1) That OUSU recently renewed its 'No Platform Policy' with a narrow majority in Trinity Term 2007.
2) That this is a controversial issue which has attracted criticism and support from the Student Press, Common Rooms and individual members of OUSU.
This JCR Believes:
1) That controversial issues in which there is a strong difference of opinion, and on which members of the student body feel strongly (i.e. The no platform policy), should be decided by the student body in a University Wide referendum
This JCR Resolves:
1) To Mandates the JCR President and Affiliations Officers to request that OUSU hold a referendum on the existing 'No Platform Policy' to be held as soon as possible.
Minutes: NO PLATFORM POLICY
MICHAEL SLATER As I’m sure you guys know OUSU have a no platform policy – this basically means that people with far right views can’t talk on OUSU property or on oxide.
KM Student radio has it’s own constitution – this doesn’t apply.
MS If ten colleges demand a referendum on the issue OUSU have to hold one. 2 colleges have already done so and 2 others are planning a motion to that effect. So many of us have opinions on whether even bigots and racists have a right to free speech that I think it should be decided by us directly. If the majority should support the resulting policy then that policy will have great legitimacy. So I think regardless of the position you hold on the issue of No-Platform we should have a referendum.
JB When was no platform policy drafted and how – OUSU council or referendum?
KM So far as I know it hasn’t gone to referendum in the last 5 years. It’s been reviewed at OUSU council where 2 members of each JCR and 3 of each MCR can go – but most don’t.
KM All your motion wants is a referendum, it has no view on the actual policy?
MS Yes.
?? What constitutes No platform policy – who is excluded by it.
MS They say racists or fascists which is most often people on the right but I suppose it doesn’t have to be.
KM Do you know the exact policy? Or are you guessing? AS OUSU, at the discretion of the President, can exclude speaking rights to any party they think is “extreme”.
JB Does the JCR have policy?
CURRENT POLICY “Balliol JCR does not support a policy of No-Platform. (i.e. the refusing of a voice to members of extremist groups and/or known individuals or groups advocating violence)”
NH If the OUSU President refuses or admits someone is that the final say?
AS As far as I know the President can be mandated to do anything. The policy has been interpreted as any extremist groups. So if a left wing group was refused there is potential that the President could be overturned.
KM It can be overturned by OUSU council?
AS Yes.
KM How often do they meet?
AS Every 2 weeks, though extraordinary meetings can be held.
IB How does inviting people to speak at OUSU work? Surely OUSU can choose who they invite?
AS The issue is largely Freshers’ Fair and other OUSU events though I can’t think of any. But its things like the BNP can’t have a stall at Freshers Fair.
WS Bearing in mind our standing policy, when you go to OUSU council if a vote came up on this which way would you vote?
HL Against OUSU no-platform policy.
WS So we’ve been voting against OUSU policy?
HL Yes.
PT If we voted against a referendum would we have to change standing policy?
HL No – this motion just calls for a referendum, it’s not about gathering policy on no-platform – we already have that as a JCR. It just calls for a university wide referendum.
AMENDMENT In JCR resolves 1 – Replace “no later than 6th week of Michaelmas Term” with “as soon as possible”.
KM It would be impossible to hold a referendum on that date. MS That’s why I’ve brought the amendment.
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Sustainable Fish by Sam Baars
This JCR notes:
1) Many species of commercially exploited fish are unsustainably caught and are in danger of being driven to extinction by over fishing.
2) Some of these fish may be being served in college hall.
3) Fishery records from 1950 to 2000 show the collapse of 366 out of the world's 1519 fisheries.
4) The journal Science has suggested that, if current trends continue, there will be a total marine collapse (defined as loss of 90% of stocks of each species) by 2050.
5) Scientists recommend that 20-30% of Britain's seas should be protected. The figure is currently 0.002%.
This JCR further notes:
1) Balliol College is currently drafting an Environment Policy and Environmental Purchasing Policy.
2) These policies will include criteria governing the sustainability of food sourced for serving in hall.
3) The Environmental Purchasing Policy is an ideal place to state a commitment to purchasing only sustainably caught fish.
4) The purchasing of sustainably caught fish need not incur a financial premium.
This JCR believes:
1) The sea is a valuable natural resource that can provide some of our dietary requirements if it is harvested in an appropriate way, using modern and sustainable techniques.
2) It is vital that fish stocks have a sustainable future, and that kitchens in Oxford are not driving demand for unsustainably caught fish.
This JCR resolves:
1) To seek confirmation from the Conference & Catering Manager that fish served in hall comply with the Marine Conservation Society’s guidelines.
2) If necessary in light of 1), to stop serving any fish in hall which come from unsustainable, overfished and/or badly managed fisheries.
3) To actively support this process by helping to find alternative providers.
Minutes: SUSTAINABLE FISH
SB This motion tackles the fish being served in hall head on. I’m currently helping to draft environmental policy with the Domestic Bursar including the sourcing of hall food. As part of resolves I want to go to the Catering Manager and ask for information on where fish is sourced from in light of notes and further notes.
KM In what ways do you expect that sustainably caught fish will cost the same?
SB I’ve got a pocket guide. Fish to eat and fish to avoid. I had a chat with the fishmongers in the covered market. He said he had loads of sustainably sourced fish that he sells at no different price. So presumably the wholesale is the same.
KM Is that not because his prices are overly inflated already?
SB It could be.
PT Are we going to be seeing this environmental policy you’re drafting in a GM?
SB I’ll post it up and bring it to a GM when it’s drafted. I’m going to try and have some kind of forum so that any ideas people have on what we should and shouldn’t be doing can be included.
IB We serve fish in pantry sometimes and I have no idea if they are sustainably sourced.
NH Given that they come from the cash and carry I doubt they are sustainably sourced.
IB I think we should get ourselves sorted before we go to college.
MB It says there’s an article published in the journal Science with lots of figures. What was the purpose of the article?
SB They’re just stating a trend – they’re not making any suggestions.
JB I’ve heard the figure in the motion number quoted elsewhere.
JB Are you talking about specific areas or species of fish when you’re talking about fisheries?
SB That will need clarification. As far as I was concerned fisheries implied an area of water.
JB It would be nice to see some protection so if you could look into that. But I support the motion.
KM Tell me some fish I should be avoiding from your booklet.
SB European hake, shark, wolfish. That’s just 3. RC The meat in Hall – will you be looking into all types of Hall food?
SB Yeah – this is tip of the iceberg, I really should have acted on this before. Fish hasn’t been singled out for a particular reason, other than the evidence on depletion of stocks is possibly the strongest so it should be the easiest battle to win.
NH Could all the Oxford colleges get together and buy a farm? Just putting that out there.
SB I’ll take that as a mandate to raise that with Carl Woodall.
KM Does hall serve Halal meat?
HL Not as standard – but I believe if you have a special dietary requirement you can make a request.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Sudan Divestment by Sam Baars
This JCR notes:
1) Sudan Divestment Oxford is currently running a campaign in Oxford to raise awareness, support and induce action for targeted divestment from Sudan.
2) Targeted divestment in Sudan is justified for the following reasons:
a) That there is a humanitarian crisis occurring in the Darfur region in the Sudan, a humanitarian crisis that has killed over 400,000 civilians, and displaced over 2.5 million people since February 2003.
b) That unlike any other humanitarian crisis in history, the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan has been described as genocide or tantamount to genocide by the EU, US, and UN while atrocities are still ongoing.
c) That foreign investment has been of great importance in enabling the heavily indebted Sudanese government to finance its military policy of genocide.
d) That much of this investment is in sectors that provide revenues directly to the Sudanese government and elite but do not benefit the wider population.
d) That Oxford colleges may hold investments in companies that financially support the Sudanese government by operating in such sectors.
e) That, if this is the case, fees and rents paid by students may be helping to fund the genocide in Darfur, whilst providing little or no benefit to the civilian population.
f) By withdrawing such investments, Oxford will be setting an example that such financial pressure can induce the Sudanese government to change its actions in Darfur.
This JCR further notes:
1) That the guidelines for divestment have been implemented by a large number of universities across Britain and North America, all adopting restrictions on their investments, to build an international student movement for change.
2) Frontbenchers from both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have backed calls for British companies to pull out of Sudan in an increasing tide of unrest over the genocide in Darfur.
This JCR believes:
1) In light of the atrocities being committed in Darfur, members of Balliol JCR should be assured that Balliol College does not invest in companies or fund management schemes that provide financial or military assistance to the Sudanese government, with little or no benefit to the civilian population.
This JCR resolves:
1) To request that information relating to the college’s investments be made available to the JCR.
2) To request that, if necessary in light of 1), the Executive Committee of Balliol College actively engages its investment fund managers in formulating suitable alternative investment options for the college which exclude all companies meeting the following criteria for targeted divestment:
a) Contribute to Sudanese government revenue or government sponsored projects.
b) Are involved in the Sudan in ways that impart little or no benefit to the Sudanese people.
c) Lack a corporate governance policy that meaningfully addresses the Darfur crisis.
Minutes: SUDAN DIVESTMENT
SB Sudan is the only crisis to be officially classified as genocide by the UN. The main question I can see is why has this issue come up. I would ask you to look at notes 2b – this is the main thrust of the motion. It has been classified as genocide by the EU US and UN which is unprecedented. It seems reasonable to me that the JCR has a right to know, given the amount of college funds which come from us, what this money goes on. We would then be able to take action, if any investments were identified as supporting the genocide.
KM Talking about resolves 2c. How many companies genuinely lack a corporate governance policy that meaningfully addresses the Darfur crisis? Do most companies have such a policy? SB Yeah, they do.
IB Does resolves 2a have to be read in light of 2b. Companies that are involved in Sudan?
SB Companies that have registered investments in Sudan.
IB Is this in the hope that me HL and MB will take a motion to exec.?
SB What I see happening is that this is taken to the Finance Bursar requesting that he release information on investments and then it goes to exec.
HL The motion says we go to exec. if college refuse to be transparent.
SB There could be an issue about resolves 2b – maybe we should state it only covers companies with registered investments.
DW What’s the previous history on trying to get information from college on investments?
IB What college have done with their investments is mainly the endowment. They’ve gone in with 6 or 7 other colleges to set up a trust. It’s not entirely up to them where the money goes. Certainly the money Balliol invests we may find it easier to find information on rather than this joint pot of money.
MB We did suggest to college that if they want JCR cooperation they should start being more transparent – the Master didn’t recoil in horror at this.
AMENDMENT Change Resolves 2b – “Impart little or no benefit to the Sudanese people” to read “Are involved in the Sudan in ways that impart little or no benefit to the Sudanese people.”
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
MB In an effort to stall proceedings so that JB can write an amendment – I think this motion is a great idea – we love the Sudanese and I’m looking forward to seeing some info on college finances.
AMENDMENT Change Resolves 2a – “Contribute to Sudanese…” to read “Significantly contribute to Sudanese…”
JB Basically I was thinking we should try and avoid including companies that are just in the Sudan and being taxed. If a company is legitimately in Sudan they are indirectly supporting the government with taxes. I just thought we should safeguard against that. SB Significant you could say needs defining. You could say that a company is operating there completely unrelated to the genocide they are supporting the government by tax but I think the motion covers that.
KM I think that’s how discretionarily we are applying resolves 1-3. I think this weakens the motion and is unnecessary.
WS Also if your problem is with indirectly aiding the government then maybe the word direct should be in there and not significant.
MS In Sudan it’s not just the government acting directly – so would those words help?
MTV Move to Vote on amendment passed.
AMENDMENT FAILED Amendment failed.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Bike4Free by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The information contained in the presentation from Andrew Chesny (a Balliol old member) and presented (in brief) in the appendix to this motion.
This JCR believes:
1) That the scheme would be of benefit to students.
2) That the scheme would be taken up by students.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR President to contact Andrew Chesny and say that, subject to College approval, Balliol would be a suitable College to pilot the scheme at.
Minutes: BIKE4FREE
HL I had a lovely meeting with Andrew Chesny – a Balliol old member who used to work in the City – I think for JP Morgan. He wants to provide students with a free bike and a helmet in exchange for placing advertising on the bikes. Also you get links to the company you’re advertising for. This is something he’s wanting to do rather than something that’s happening already, but so far he’s got Starbucks Coffee and investment banks. There won’t be any environmentally suspect or tobacco or alcohol companies. If you don’t think you’d use it don’t vote for the motion so I can go back to Andrew to let him know if we think this is a good idea.
?? How much say would you get on the advertising?
HL You pick the company.
?? What about bikes for women – women’s bikes have lower crossbars ? Will these bikes be hard for women to ride?
HL They’ll have thought of that – I don’t think they’ll be hard to ride.
MS Will we be liable to replace the bike if stolen?
HL No. If it’s damaged they’ll give vouchers towards repair or replacement.
WS I know we’re walking talking billboards but this is awful. I mean read the thing it’s just wank.
HL I just brought it to get opinion so I’ll tell him Dom Weinberg thinks the idea’s wank.
?? But if we choose the company then we’re not just walking talking billboards. We can choose the message we’re giving – it could be a positive thing.
PHIL ‘JP MORGAN’ THORNE I don’t think we should be labelled as being part of a specific company.
MTV Move to Vote passed without opposition
MOTION PASSED 17 for, 11 against, 5 abstentions. Motion Passed.
Result: Passed
Motion: Room Rent Realignment by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The room survey conducted by the JCR President over Summer Vacation 2007.
2) That College have allowed the JCR President to realign the rooms rents to make rents more reflective of the standard of the rooms.
3) That College have specified that the total rent for all rooms must remain the same.
4) That the JCR President asked for comments from the JCR on the assignation of room rent bands to all the rooms in College.
5) That the JCR President took these comments into consideration when assigning the room rent bands to rooms.
6) The appendix to this motion which identifies the room, the band, the current cost, the proposed cost and the difference between these two costs.
7) The help that the JCR President received from the JCR Vice-President in conducting the room survey and assigning the bands.
8) The help that the JCR President received from the JCR Treasurer and JCR Secretary in assigning the costs to the bands.
This JCR believes:
1) That the rooms are correctly assigned.
2) That the costs are correctly assigned to the bands.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR President to take the appendix to College Executive Committee for final approval of this room rent realignment. 2) To mandate the JCR President to have a consultation and review period of the room rents every Michaelmas Term, and to bring any amendments to a GM before the end of MT and take this to College.
Minutes: ROOM RENT REALIGNMENT
HL The appendix shows you which rooms have been put into which categories, which was done by me looking at rooms and email consultations with the JCR. The cost bands were worked out by IB, JH and me, to try and make sure freshers weren’t paying too much for low standard rooms. You will see that some rooms have changed by significant amounts, but I would urge you to see past that – the whole point was that room rents were inconsistent. I’ve brought this for your approval so I can take this proposal to college for it to be implemented in MT08. That means your rent won’t change whilst your still in the room you live in at the moment.
DW Bearing in mind the discussion last GM about bathrooms. If £20k goes into addressing bathrooms wouldn’t you want to change some of the bands?
HL Yes – I put in the bathroom motion that the President should review the bathroom positions and then they would need to look at the rent realignment again. Also College will pass a list to the JCR so that rents can be realigned after any general work College do.
WS I don’t really care ‘cause I won’t be here, but how are these bands changed in the future?
HL It wouldn’t be the bands that changed – it would be the allocation of rooms to bands. Eg. Staircase 4 has no showers, if they got some the rooms in staircase 4 would need upgrading to a higher band. The president would do this.
WS Presumably the price would never be changed mid-year – but if you email the President to suggest that next year the price should go up or down, it’s only the person sending that email and the president who have any say. That’s a lot of power.
HL I could say that changes should be brought to a GM – I could bring an amendment.
WS Can I just point out that seeing as this will mostly affect the freshers, looking around I don’t really see any of them here. Also, it’s a very odd situation whereby we get to choose the our own rent.
KM Rooms in one band will all be the same price?
MB Yes.
?? Every time you revalue a room will the bands have to be realigned so that the total rent stays the same?
HL Yes. College can’t be bothered to do it but that’s what the President would have to do. ?? But then potentially one person changing the price of their room would impact everyone?
HL There isn’t any other way other than realigning them all – they would only change a small amount and the only other option is to let the total rent increase – and I don’t think we should pay college any more. I’ll bring an amendment saying that the President should bring this to a GM each MT.
IB Do we have a commitment from college saying that if they build showers they’re not just going to change all category Cs to Bs and then argue that they should put up rent without keeping the overall income the same. Do we have a commitment form Carl?
HL No I don’t. I had an argument with the Master about putting rent up if college puts ensuites into staircase 22. I didn’t think that far ahead and I think that can only be dealt with when it happens. I’ll speak to the Domestic Bursar next week but I think that will have to be dealt with by the next President. And at the moment I don’t even know whether we’ll get any capital bid money.
KM Don’t we have an agreement with college that rent will only go up by the Van Noorden Index. Doesn’t that give us a point to argue over?
KM And will these prices go up by the Van Noorden Index for next year – £30 on the most expensive rooms ish.
IB Yes but the VN index is supposed to reflect inflation so that the value stays the same.
SB The original college system, albeit flawed, was based on subjective criteria – do you have similar criteria listed for future presidents?
HL Yes – I have a big file of data to allow fair evaluations in the future. I have a list of things the values are based on – you can’t just say I don’t like my room and demand that it changes.
KM I’d like to take a long winded moment to congratulate Helen on…[At this point the GM becomes aware that WS has a smoke machine in the room.]
AMENDMENT Add resolves 2 – “This JCR resolves to mandate the JCR President to have a consultation and review period of the room rents every Michaelmas Term, and to bring any amendments to a GM before the end of MT and take this to College.”
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-11-18
IB We have around £2500 in the charities account and we get around £600 per term. We have enough to pass all the motions we have on the table.
HL Motions to pass nem con – a, c, e, f, g
DW There’s a gig tonight at the cellar – Paddy’s band is on at 10 – it’s to raise money for this charity so come.
RC Chapel is supporting the Gatehouse. I just wanted to clarify – Shelter is not the same. They help people who are homeless but not just the people you see on the street – people fleeing violent relationships and others who can’t go back to their homes.
IB We have enough money to cover all of these motions, as long as people are aware we will have less to spend next term.
Motion: Panzi Hospital by Lucy Kellett
This JCR notes:
1) Internal conflict in the Congo since 1996 has killed 4 million people, displaced one million Congolese, impoverished its citizens so that 80% of people make less than a dollar a day, and left one third of the population starving.
2) Rape of women and girls is used by soldiers as a weapon of war: hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped and mutilated since 1996. All the fighting forces in the Congo use rape to terrorise and suppress local communities: the Congolese army, the Interahamwe (Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda in 1994), various armed militia, and UN peacekeepers.
3) Sexual violence against women and children causes life-threatening physical and mental injuries: women are commonly gang-raped, and mutilated by guns and sticks which tear their internal tissue (the injury is called a fistula), leaving them incontinent. An explosion of AIDs in the Congo within the next few years is predicted, as victims are unable to reach hospital early enough to receive anti-HIV medication. Victims are frequently raped in front of their families and neighbours, psychologically devastating both male and female, adult and child members of the family and community.
4) Panzi Hospital, in Eastern Congo is the only medical facility primarily devoted to treating female victims of sexual violence and its related effects. Panzi has a special maternity ward with an operating theatre, five trained fistula surgeons performing 1000 such operations a year, and programmes to help rebuild victims' self-confidence and trust in men.
5) Women who are successfully treated face the threat of reprisal/repeat attacks once they are returned to their villages. Panzi is working to establish a safe haven, called the 'City of Joy', for healed women to move to instead of returning home; here they will be trained to become future political leaders.
6) The President of the Congo, Joseph Kabila Kabange, has not actively addressed the plight of women and girls in the region. A state agency stopped the water supply to the hospital after billing it $70,000 for water.
This JCR Believes:
1) The systematic rape and mutilation of women and children is deplorable.
2) Insufficient attention has been paid to this plight by the President of the Congo. Furthermore, the government has actively hindered the development of the hospital.
3) Panzi Hospital is necessary for the physical and pychological treatment of women, and for providing them with the possibility of escaping sexual violence through the 'City of Joy' scheme.
This JCR Resolves:
1) To donate £300 to Panzi Hospital through the V-Day campaign.
2) To mandate the JCR President to sign an Amnesty letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila Kabange, urging him to take action to end sexual violence against women and children.
Minutes: B – PANZI HOSPITAL
LK The conflict in the Congo has been going since 1996 – it is underreported but has been described as WW3 and the worse place in the world to be a woman. 80% of the worlds [something – cobalt/copper/diamond/tantalum] comes from the Congo. It is therefore in the interests of many to keep the country unstable so they can plunder this. Rape is used to this end. Men are made to watch and then are killed – the women are then excised. The crimes are placed on the virginal females so this completely destabilises the communities. Rape is usually carried out using instruments and other weapons that cause a fistula - injuries that require several operations to fix. In one day there are around 12 of these operations at the Panzi hospital. The government has been obstructive towards this hospital.
DM What is the City of Joy scheme?
LK I read about this in an article which didn’t provide further details. The location of the Panzi hospital is relatively safe from the outside world. It’s in the eastern end of the Congo which is the worst affected, but it’s a beautiful environment. They want to build there so that women can stay there and not have to wander where they may be raped, or have to go back to their communities where they have been ostracized.
MB How much anti HIV meds does this hospital have access to?
LK It depends on ouside aid and is very erratic. I don’t know the exact number of supplies. If you go on the website – www.savetheworld.ca they have details – what they really need are utensils. I think they do have a stockpile and the problem is they get to people too late for the drugs to be effective.
AMENDMENT Remove JCR resolves 1.
LK We have policy on international issues already – this is an important issue at present but it has been overlooked for years. 4 million have died in the Congo whilst 8 thousand in Rwanda which has a lot of publicity. It’s a good opportunity to raise the profile – both practical action and on principle.
DM I think the motion in general is great – but reference to a specific hospital and a specific scheme which we don’t really know about I don’t think is something we should make policy.
JE “here they will be trained to become future political leaders” – that’s weird. Can you explain?
LK I don’t understand – do you have a moral objection?
JE It sounds like they’re being sent on a course. LK This is a way of giving these women that have been ostracized an education – they’ve had all their power taking away from them.
JE Then why doesn’t is say “to improve their emotional wellbeing” or something and not “become future political leaders”. I agree on the fact they need education but that I don’t think rings true with becoming a political leader.
IB What’s the V-Day campaign?
LK It’s an international campaign focused on this hospital.
AMENDMENT PASSES
IB Can you explain more about the V-Day campaign – is all the money in this motion going to the hospital or the campaign? We have a separate budget for political campaigning so I need to know. And also people may be less keen to donate to the campaign.
LK I put that in the motion to help you practically to know where to send the money. It doesn’t have a political slant – it’s an umbrella campaign to raise awareness. The money would all go to the hospital. There are other ways to give money to the hospital but the other websites I’ve found don’t have an address for the hospital to allow it to remain anonymous. The V-Day campaign won’t take any of the money we donate for themselves.
MOTION PASSES Motion passes without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Shelter by Rebecca Coleman
This JCR notes
1) That Shelter is a long-established registered charity that works to provide shelter and housing for the homeless and end homelessness in Britain 2) That there are thousands of people in Britain, with children and the elderly being the most vulnerable, who are living in substandard housing conditions.
3) That homelessness is more than just sleeping rough and that there are several thousands of families living in abysmal housing that benefit tremendously from Shelter
This JCR believes
1) That Shelter does an excellent job in giving advice, housing solutions and providing the relevant contacts with emergency housing facilities to those in need of it.
2) That homelessness is an important issue that should not be neglected
3) That we can go some way to solving the problem of homelessness by donating to organisations such as Shelter
This JCR resolves
1) To donate £200 to Shelter
Minutes: RC Chapel is supporting the Gatehouse. I just wanted to clarify – Shelter is not the same. They help people who are homeless but not just the people you see on the street – people fleeing violent relationships and others who can’t go back to their homes.
This motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Gift of a Goat by Tom Garvey
This JCR notes: 1. Oxfam run a scheme whereby you can buy a goat for an African family.
2. Goats provide milk and fertiliser and can be used as a mobile source of income to nomadic communities.
3. According to several tables in the Lindsay Bar, Balliol already blows goats.
This JCR believes:
1. Buying a goat is a fun and inexpensive gesture to help combat famine.
2. One goat isn’t enough goat.
This JCR resolves:
1. To donate £75 to Oxfam in order to buy three goats for Africa.
2. To donate an additional £5 that will entitle us to a picture of the goat, to be placed in the JCR or Lindsay Bar.
Minutes: D – GIFT OF A GOAT
TG This is a well-known concept – I think it’s a nice thing we could do. There are various places that do this but I think Oxfam is the best established and most clear about what it’s doing. You don’t find out exactly where the goats end up but some of the countries listed are Malawi, Uganda – some of the poorest – the goats go where they’re needed at the time.
MB If we’re getting 3 goats and we are going to spend an extra £5 for a photo will we get 3 pictures?
TG I think it’s a fairly generic picture – I don’t think it’s the exact goat.
SB Are there safeguards to prevent the goats joining a militia – depending on where it’s going?
DM The lack of opposable thumbs. Surely that’s safeguard enough.
TG The website has a “what becomes of the goat” section. They are bred and can be sold. I don’t know if they are used in negative ways – that’s down to the people who receive them.
DM Why get 3? Why not get a goat, a sheep and chickens?
TG You can get alpaca too.
DM Let’s get one of those they’re wicked! TG They are all different costs. I was going down the single goat line and then I found out we have quite a large amount of money in the pot. When I first heard of the scheme I heard of goats so that’s what I went with.
TG In this country you can also do adopting animals – we could adopt a Balliol lion.
MOTION PASSES Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: WATU by Robin Winkler
This JCR notes:
1) WATU is a registered Tanzanian NGO that supports secondary schools in the Moshi region, Tanzania. It was founded in 2005 and runs a programmes aimed at improving the education provided by schools.
3) WATU is a non-profit organisation that is run by volunteers.
4) The organization's secretary urgently needs to take IT courses in order to fulfil his tasks more effectively and efficiently.
5) He cannot afford to take IT courses.
This JCR believes:
1) Grassroots organizations should be supported in their attempts to help others.
2) Improving the efficiency of such organizations is a good thing.
3) Funding staff IT courses leads to improved efficiency.
Hence the JCR resolves: 1) To make a donation of 150 pounds to WATU.
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Zindagi-India by Paarul Shah
This JCR notes:
Zindagi-India is a student charity supporting basic education for the poor in disadvantaged areas of India.
1) In 2003 it commenced to establish a school in a poor village just outside the hill-station Mussoorie in North India, a region that has been neglected by organizations, which work to alleviate poverty, such as NGOs, and consequently lacks schools for the poor.
2) The construction of the school building is now complete, and it is fully functioning with 75 students. The construction of the school was funded by money that was raised during the academic year 2002-2003. A large proportion of this came from college donations.
3) Zindagi-India is intending to make the school self sufficient within 5 years, so it does not rely on the generosity of NGOs. It is in the last year of funding the school.
3) Zindagi-India intends to provide the village with first aid supplies as well as teach basic first aid.
4) Zindagi-India’s school will provide basic education to 100 children aged 8-15 years, who would otherwise remain illiterate. The curriculum will consist of teaching Hindi, English, basic numeracy and hygiene.
5) Zindagi-India plans to further aid the development of the community by making use of the school building after school hours to provide free vocational training courses in tailoring and embroidery for women. Two guaranteed outlets for the embroidery produce of the project have been found already. This project was suggested by the villagers themselves, and the project design and budget was developed in close consultation with them so as to best meet their needs
6) Zindagi-India is a unique initiative that was founded by Oxford students and recruits students from most of the colleges in Oxford and hopes to send Oxford students to India in the summer vacations in order to teach.
This JCR believes:
7) Basic education not only enables individuals to read and calculate, but also fosters self- reliance, enhances opportunities, lowers fertility and infant mortality, improves family health care and most of all reduces poverty
8) The school is supervised by a VEC, a Village Education Committee, consisting of 14 parents, who will oversee the smooth functioning of the school. As they are involved themselves parents will be more prepared to allow their children to join daily classes avoiding the problem of student absenteeism
9) The provision of free vocational courses for women will help to address the most pressing need after education, i.e., poverty, and to target the most vulnerable to it, i.e., women
10) Zindagi-India is advised and supported by a panel of Oxford academics who are experts in human development
11) Zindagi-India needs to fundraise £3000 for the running costs of the school, to pay for a library it wishes to establish in the school, for the purchase of sewing machines and other materials necessary for the vocational courses, for the teachers’ continuous salaries, to pay for a supervisor regularly checking the situation in the village and the necessary teaching materials, stationary, examination papers etc.
This JCR resolves:
To donate £200 to Zindagi-India in support of it’s initiative to provide basic education to the poor in disadvantaged areas of India.
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Asylum Welcome by Dom Weinberg
This JCR notes:
1) That Asylum Welcome is a charitable organisation based in Oxford that works with refugees and asylum seekers.
2) That Asylum Welcome offers advice by holding drop-in sessions, co-ordinates visits to detainees in Campsfield House detention centre, and works with young refugees, among other things.
3) That Asylum Welcome is mainly run by volunteers, but there are a couple of permanent staff members.
4) That Asylum Welcome is not primarily a campaign group and spends most of its time working directly with refugees and asylum seekers.
This JCR believes: 1) That asylum seekers and refugees are among the most marginalised in society; hence Asylum Welcome’s support is valuable.
2) That Oxford has a large number of refugees and seekers who need this support.
3) That a donation would help pay for the services which Asylum Welcome provides.
This JCR resolves:
1) To donate £300 to Asylum Welcome.
Minutes: DW There’s a gig tonight at the cellar – Paddy’s band is on at 10 – it’s to raise money for this charity so come.
This motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Guatemalan Scholarship Association by Sam Baars
This JCR Notes
1) The Guatemalan Scholarship Association has several scholarship programmes for talented children who come from low-income families in Guatemala.
2) These scholarships allow children the opportunity to attend high-level schools in Guatemala.
2) The Association provides school fees, stationery and uniforms to children whose families cannot afford these.
3) The scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit and need.
5) For £200 a young person is able to attend the Benito Juárez School for a whole year. 6) If the JCR makes a donation, it will receive a receipt from the organisation and also a photo of the child we are sponsoring.
This JCR Believes
1) That higher education is a great privilege that creates innumerable opportunities.
2) That higher education is often out of reach for those who have not had access to good quality early years education.
3) That for these reasons, creating educational opportunities for children, both at home and abroad, is a worthwhile objective.
This JCR Resolves
1) To donate £200 to the Guatemalan Scholarship Association (Asociacion Becaria Guatemalteca).
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: Kenya Education Project by Jonathan Totman
This JCR notes:
1. The Kenya education project is a student-run charity which works with schools in a small rural community of Kenya, seeking to enhance their capacity for self-led growth by equipping them with resources.
2. In theory, the Kenyan Government should provide state schools with sufficient teachers. In practice however, schools are forced to employ teachers themselves, which means there is a lack of funding for basic resources such as scientific equipment and textbooks. 3. Resource investment kick-starts a positive chain of improvement. In the long-term, enrolment of students increases, leading to more government teachers, more monetary income and better education.
4. Each year 10 trained Oxford students spend 10 weeks in Kenya to each manage a programme of resource investment in a school. They work in pairs to invest up to £2000 in the school.
5. The wider aims of the project include working on health education, HIV/AIDS awareness and developing opportunities in sports, music and drama.
6. In the past, the scheme has proved hugely successful in effecting long-term expansion and improvement of Kenyan schools. In 2006, over £20,000 was invested in ten rural schools.
This JCR believes:
1. That education is important in all countries
2. That a partnership linking Oxford University and Kenyan schools is a good thing.
3. That providing a small amount of money to the Kenyan Education Partnership will give a financial input that could increase the resources needed to ensure development of a Kenyan secondary school.
This JCR resolves:
1. To donate £200 to the Kenyan Education Project
Minutes: H KENYA EDUCATION
JT As it says KE is a student run Oxford charity – each year they send 10 Oxford students to schools that need resource and investment. Each student fundraises a load of money beforehand and the money goes to the schools for textbooks and science equipment etc. The students then go to the schools with the aim of developing a long-term positive cycle of growth and reinvestment and build up a long lasting relationship. That’s the basic scheme.
MEETING INQUORATE
HL The £200 – is this money going directly to the KEP or is it going into a pot for the students going out there?
JT Each person has to raise £2000 for the project which is supposed to cover flights and costs – I was worried about that so I asked what the breakdown of money was. About £750 – £1000 goes on costs so I’ve decided myself to raise half my £2000 from non-charitable sources – a grant, working, etc.
JD I don’t understand – where does this money go?
JT The £2000 raised is divided up by the project organisers.
JD So if a maximum half of it goes to the schools what happens to the rest?
JT Flights etc.
SB Is it just Oxford and Cambridge – why?
JT I don’t know who set it up – it’s a student run thing set up by someone from Oxford or Cambridge.
RC I just don’t feel comfortable – When LG went out with this charity she had exact breakdowns of what was going to charity – Personally I want some more figures before I submit to this .
MB It would be a bit unfair to give money to LG and not JT.
JE The JCR can’t support everyone’s flights.
RC If some people don’t raise £2000 it means they cant go? Or if you raise over your money will fund someone else?
JT The idea is everyone raises £2000 – they help you raise money if you aren’t reaching that target.
RC The money we’re giving you that is going into this pot – are we funding someone else’s flight?
JT You work in pairs – raising £4000 for one school – of that about £2000 goes straight to the school.
JE I don’t think we can give this much for flights. You’re supposed to raise it yourself.
RC You have to raise £2000 each – if you raise £2000 and your partner doesn’t what happens?
JT The idea is that everyone does.
RC You’re taking the stance where this money isn’t funding your flights. Say you don’t manage to raise the £2000 because you break your leg or you don’t get a job or something what happens? JT I don’t know of any cases where that has happens. They may let you go anyway and contribute what you have raised or not. I don’t know.
MB From what I’ve encountered usually they don’t let you go – they realise that it’s unfair for a charity to spend too much of their money on flights.
RC Then what happens to the money?
MB You don’t have to give the money unless you want to donate it I don’t think.
RC But then you could just pocket it.
IB The money is going to be a cheque to the charity. It won’t go to an individual.
?? In response to JE – We’re not funding JT’s flight. We’re doing this to help the charity – I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.
LK A disproportionate amount of this debate has been on the money. Surely part of the point of going out is that your there to do something.
JT The idea of going out – you work closely with the teachers to decide how best to spend this money. And whilst you’re there you bring something to the school as a team. The project workers are encouraged to do things like organising sports days/HIV aids information/ welfare etc…
JE Wouldn’t it be better to altruistically just give £2000 to a school rather than going? Surely that would be better.
JT The idea of going out there is that you go out there to make sure the money goes to the right places.
MOTION PROP: JT KEP would be a good thing for the JCR to spend it’s money on – As an educational body investing in education in a place where opportunities are not what we have in this country is particularly relevant and a good thing for the JCR to do. This charity has been running for a number of years and makes a big difference.
MOTION OPP: JE The cause is great. I just think you should make more effort than getting £200 off the JCR to go yourself.
MOTION PASSED
Result: Passed
General Meeting - 2007-11-25
HL Erde, you’re looking good today .
JE Thanks.
**Annual Officer Reports**
HL Officer’s reports! They’re all up on the boards – Admissions, where is your officer’s report?
TWS Jamie’s doing it.
HL Overseas?
VH Miscommunication. Robin’s been in contact with a bunch of applicants.
RW We’ve managed the storage rooms, we had one or 2 joint ethnic minorities and overseas lunches which were brilliant successes.
VH We’re also going to manage the storage rooms for the coming holiday.
TWS Admissions: We’ve done interviews, we’ve worked with Jess & Alex to improve the interview process for this year. We’ve done tours, mock interviews, shadowing schemes.
**STANDING POLICY REVIEW**
HL We have a big file of JCR policy that comes from JCR believes parts of motions – either if you request that a part is put in or I use my discretion. This is useful for things like OUSU council where we need to vote on behalf of the JCR. Any objections to any of the policies up for renewal?
COLLEGE REFIRBISHMENT
KM Whilst the points are specific, they also seem familiar. They’re talking about general points with specific examples – like 3. college are doing what conference wants and then they give an example
WS Can we vote it down and have Drs WHO write a new policy.
HL The points still stand but they don’t seem applicable. Any objections to voting it down and having policy rewritten?
POLICY STRUCK
WEST PAPUA
IB Is Indonesia still occupying West Papua?
KM There’s still a Facebook group Free West Papua.
POLICY RENEWED
PROCEEDURAL MOTION
WS We have to pass a motion on speakers tonight more or less so we can have a bop – hiring is a nightmare. If we could move that motion to the start that would be really useful.
PROCEEDURAL MOTION PASSED Speakers motion is moved to the top of the agenda.
**Motions to pass nem con**
HL Motions to pass nem con: b) budget. C) vending machine f) taxi scheme.
Motion: OUSU Subscription by Ian Bergson and Adam Smith
This JCR notes:
1) That the JCR's OUSU subscription is funded from our members by compulsory levy
2) Currently, all JCR and MCR members who are members of OUSU, are charged a £2.70 compulsory levy per term to cover the cost of subscribing to OUSU
3) This levy has not changed since at least Michaelmas 2005, while the cost of subscription to OUSU has gone up in line with the Retail Price Index
4) This yeer, the RPI increase is 2.1%, taking OUSU subscriptions to £8.31 per person per year, or £2.77 per person per term
5) That were the levy not to be altered, the money obtained by the levy will be less than the cost to the JCR of subscribing to OUSU
6) That the present 7p shortfall results in a short fall of £43.82 per term (626 members) or £131.46 per year
This JCR believes:
1) That while this shortfall is not a great problem in the short term, the cost of the levy should reflect the cost of to the JCR of subscribing to OUSU
This JCR resolves:
1) To tie the cost of the OUSU compulsory levy to the cost of our yearly OUSU subscription
2) That as a consequence, the compulsory levy will be £2.77 this year, and re-reviewed by the Treasurer every Michaelmas Term
Minutes: OUSU SUBSCRIPTION
IB Effectively we are one of the few ox JCRs that funds OUSU from individual compulsory Levies. Previously the amount of money from the levy has been about right. OUSU put up their subscription charge each year and the amount we take from levies is now less than the amount we have to pay which is obviously not ideal. The idea is for the levy to reflect the cost of OUSU. I’m proposing to tie the levy to the cost of OUSU subscription.
KM Can you explain to people what the £2.77 is buying them from OUSU? AS £2.77 means you’re a member of OUSU and can benefit from the things they offer. Welfare – student advice service – a drop in centre every day. They organise Fresher’s Fair and provide information on careers. Everything you see an OUSU brand on – that’s what you’re paying for
KM You can use welfare services without subscribing.
AS That’s true, but without subscriptions they wouldn’t be able to run the services.
JTH Are some colleges unaffiliated?
AS Magdalen, Trinity – quite a few MCRs.
IB The other thing to note is that most JCRs fund their OUSU subscription from their block payment from college. We spend our block payment on other services- namely Pantry – so we can’t do that.
JTH When did we last discuss disaffiliation?
AS Not for a few years – JE and I thought about writing a motion but it didn’t seem to be something that many students objected to.
?? Is it a monthly RPI or a yearly RPI? Will the levy keep going up?
IB In future the levy would be upped by however much OUSU raised their costs by. At the moment the rise is 7p per term.
MOTION PASSES Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Vending machine by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That on 29 April 2007, the GM approved a trial of the snack vending machine currently in the TV room
2) That we need to decide whether to continue the trial by 26 November 3) That there are essentially 3 principal options, as set out in the Appendix and in point 4 below.
4) All of these options involve filling the machine ourselves and keeping the takings from the machine, otherwise it wouldn't be financially viable: a) Continue with the 5 year contract, at a rate of £18 per week (including outside term time) b) Buy the machine (at a cost of £2,050) and pay a service charge of £7 per week for repairs etc. on a 5 year contract c) Terminate the contract from the trial and either buy a machine elsewhere, or don't have a machine in the TV room at all
5) The appendix at the end of the motion with takings figures, and the explanations of the JCR Treasurer
6) The flexibility that Connect Vending have agreed between options (a) and (b), as explained by the JCR Treasurer
This JCR believes:
1) Having a vending machine in the TV room full of sweety chocolatey good-ness is a good thing
2) That given the considerable extraordinary expenditure this term, it may not be wise to spend out £2,050 immediately
This JCR resolves:
1) To approve signing a contract with Connect Vending to enter into a 5 year term at £18 per week for the vending machine
2) That any such contract must have a clause to allow the JCR to purchase the vending machine and change to Option (B) with a service charge of £7 per week, during the 5 year term
3) To authorise in principle the expenditure of £2,050 to buy the Vending Machine
4) To mandate the Treasurer to keep the financial situation under review, and decide to purchase the vending machine if prudent during the term of the contract
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Make Steve McClaren a Villain by Sam Brown
This JCR notes:
1)England lost 3-2 to Croatia on Wednesday.
2)England has failed to qualify for Euro 2008.
3)Steve McClaren has received approx. £2m compensation for being fired from the England job.
This JCR believes:
1)That all finalists should have a England team in either a World Cup or European Championships to look foward to during finals.
2) That Steve McClaren is wholly responsible for England not qualifying for the European Championships.
3)Steve McClaren should have resigned and not received his compensation.
This JCR resolves:
1)To make Steve McClaren a villain of Balliol JCR.
2)To mandate the JCR President to write to Steve McClaren and persuade him to give his compensation to charity.
Minutes: STEVE MCCLAREN
SB Hi guys. You probably don’t like me because you really want to leave. I don’t like Steve McClaren much – and I don’t think he should be paid £2 million to ruin my finals [SB will no longer have England Euro 2008 matches to watch during TT]. If you want to debate whether he’s to blame then just watch the game with me.
PT Sum up Steve McClaren in three words.
SB Massive, ginger… actually I wont.
RC What does it mean to be a villain of the JCR?
SB If Steve McClaren turned up he wouldn’t be able to use the washing machines. NH Or be served in the bar.
AMENDMENT Correct the spelling of Croatia
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
MOTION PASSED Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Extension of Taxi Scheme by Kat Matfield
This JCR Notes
1) That the Oxford Union has invited Nick Griffin to a Free Speech Forum on Monday night.
2) That when Nick Griffin comes to town, he usually brings some thugs who have assaulted people in past visits to other towns; that the victims of these assaults have not just been people from ethnic minorities, but also those who oppose the BNP and anyone unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
3) That currently the JCR runs a taxi refund scheme, in which any woman travelling home on her own after dark is entitled to a refund of 2/3s of a taxi fare, if she brings a dated receipt to the JCR office which also confirms that she was alone.
This JCR Further Notes
1) That this motion is not making any comment on the rightness/wrongness of the invitation from the Oxford Union, or about Nick Griffin, or about the British National Party.
JCR Believes
1) That, given Further Notes 1), there should be no discussion at this time of any of the issues mentioned in Further Notes 1), which are not pertinent to the subject of this motion.
2) That the JCR should do everything possible to ensure the safety of its students.
3) That extending the taxi refund scheme to cover all Balliol students just for Monday night would be one way of contributing to their safety.
JCR Resolves
1) To extend the remit of the taxi refund scheme to all Balliol students for Monday night only, providing a refund of 2/3s of a taxi fare for anyone travelling back to their home (whether it be college room, Jowett flat or house)from any location within Oxford, when they present a receipt from a taxi driver dated for Monday to Denise in the JCR office.
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: Sponsorship for Balliol Ball 2008 by Tom Garvey & Paul Thiekoetter
This JCR notes
1) Balliol Ball 2008 will take place on Saturday 3rd May 2008 (2nd week TT).
2) The Ball Committee is in the process of organising this event.
This JCR believes
1) That the best ball will offer maximum entertainment at minimum cost to guests.
2) That seeking sponsorship from outside sources will enable the Ball Committee to provide a spectacular night and keep ticket prices down.
3) That sponsorship should be sought only from appropriate companies. 4) That any subsequent advertising should be limited to flyers, wristbands etc.
5) That companies that can offer free or discount food and drink are a good thing.
This JCR further notes
1) Attempts at seeking sponsorship last year were unsuccessful due to lack of precedent.
2) All prospective sponsors will also have to be approved by the Dean.
3) The Development Office will assist us in finding Balliol alumni within prospective sponsors to further our cause.
This JCR resolves
1) To permit the Ball Committee to seek sponsorship for Balliol Ball 2008 and any future balls.
Minutes: BALL SPONSORSHIP
TG Most of the budget for the Ball comes from ticket sales and the Entz grant – we’d like to get more money.
PT Then we can make a better ball for a cheaper price. We can get firms to give us money, which we’ll put towards a nice evening.
KM Can you talk about further notes 1 – where’s your info from?
TG From the handover stuff and talking with college about last year.
JTH People didn’t want to sponsor a Ball they hadn’t heard about.
TG Now we have a ball we have figures we can use to encourage sponsors.
JTH Nathan had to bring a similar motion last year – we got JCR and college sponsorship. JH got permission in 2005. Do you know if this motion is necessary?
GH Is there a definition of appropriate companies – we don’t have an environment & ethics rep?
SB We will have one next term.
KM There’s a significant amount of standing policy.
RC Do you know how much you want?
PT We could go to one sponsor for £2000 ish or we may go to many companies for small amounts. TG When we talked to the Domestic Bursar he said to treat it as the icing on the cake, not the cake.
MB It says the development office will help. Do you know to what extent they are willing to get involved?
TG Based on what we told them we wanted to do they said for these amounts of money we would have to do it ourselves. But if we come to them with specific names they will be able to help. But they’re not taking on any responsibility.
RC Is there a big difference between how much different colleges spend on balls?
TG It varies from college to college – some only have a ball every 2 or 3 years. The 5 colleges that do commemoration balls – they have masses of funding. They’re big things. Other colleges like St. Johns get a lot of money form college, who have a lot of money to give. Obviously this is only the 2nd time we’ve had a ball so we are almost entirely dependent on ticket sales.
KM What companies are you looking to go to?
PT Investment banks, consulting firms …
NH The Entz grant isn’t necessarily guaranteed. Entz may not have that much money following the VAT debacle. This might be the only non-ticket income the ball has.
TG Entz grant if it comes through is a very small contribution to the ball finances. As is sponsorship.
JTH In May 2006 this was taken to college – “any potential sponsors must be approved by the Dean”. But it hasn’t been taken to a GM we don’t think.
AMENDMENT In further notes 2, replace “approved by the Dean” with “approved by the Dean and the JCR (by means of a GM motion)”
JTH I’m just bringing it because last year we sought sponsorship and we didn’t have explicit JCR approval. I think JCR approval isn’t complete unless they have total information on who will be sponsoring the ball.
PT I think it’s just not efficient to bring individual sponsors through GM. I think practically you just have to trust the Ball Committee.
AS Especially if Call Committee are trying for big deals and may be competing with other colleges for sponsorship – I don’t think it’s practically feasible to bring motions to GM with each sponsor. IB A final list of sponsors won’t be available to bring to GM until January by which time it’s really too late.
TG We have to send out loads of sponsorship requests at once and just see what we get.
RC How big is committee?
TG 20 ish.
MTV ON AMENDMENT MTV passed without opposition
AMENDMENT FAILED
AMENDMENT Change JCR resolves 1 “To permit … for Balliol Ball 2008” to read “To permit … for Balliol Ball 2008 and any future balls”
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
AMENDMENT Add to resolves 1 “having ascertained that the companies have environmental and ethical policies”.
KM It’s a way to ensure that Ball Committee pauses and thinks whether companies have environmental or ethical soundness before they ask them for sponsorship.
MB A large number of bad companies have very good-looking policy. Thumbing through Nestle policies and deciding to get a load of free chocolate would be a bad idea.
BF A company would have to be run by bell ends not have some good policy.
RC What would happen if we had a company willing to sponsor us that was decided to not meet environmental and ethical requirements?
PT There would have to be some discussion with the JCR.
SB I think it’s a pointless amendment. What we’ve discussed about looking at every individual sponsor - the number of sponsors is huge, and a hell of a lot of work would have to go into researching companies. Amnesty writes huge reports on company practices. Some companies don’t have clearly stated environmental and ethical policies. This is a minimum safety net. It’s very weak.
IB I just think we have to trust our ball committee. I’m sure they’re not going to go to arms companies or do anything too stupid.
MTV MTV passes without opposition.
AMENDMENT PROP: KM In response to SB – it’s not everything we could want but the Ball Committee don’t have time to research everyone. This is a good minimum standard. We might trust this Ball Committee but this would apply to all future Ball Committees.
AMENDMENT OPP: M? I just think it’s going to add so much work to Ball Committee. I think if there were less good relations between the JCR and Ball Committee that this could be used as a stick to beat them with.
AMENDMENT FAILS 10 for; 13 against; amendment fails.
JTH I don’t understand the point of this motion.
PT We want to get the opinion of the JCR – whether it’s willing to get sponsorship and if it puts its trust in us to find sponsors.
AS I’m happy with them just bringing a motion to check that the JCR thinks it’s OK.
MTV Move to Vote called.
MTV PROP: JH I think basically everyone agrees that the Ball Committee should be able to seek sponsorship. There’s no way this motion is going to fail.
SB If it’s weird and weak to avoid looking up environmental and ethical policies lets also scrap the going to the Dean for approval.
MTV MTV passes
MOTION PROP: TG We talked a lot in the past about sponsoring Fresher’s Week and people have always sort of put in brackets “and the Ball” – I thought we should bring it up.
MOTION OPP: JTH When JH brought this to exec he will have assessed the JCR opinion. I don’t think the motion is worthwhile.
MOTION PASSED
Result: Passed
Motion: Annual Report and Budget by Ian Bergson
This JCR notes:
1) That the Treasurer is mandated to produce a report with recommendations for the forthcoming financial year.
2) This report has to include a budget so as to comply with the Education Act 1994, on the basis of the audited accounts that are available for a complete year.
3) The budget and report has to be presented to the AGM, and then presented to Executive Committee
4) The published report and budget (see Appendix)
This JCR resolves:
1) To approve the presentation of the budget and annual report
Minutes: This motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed
Motion: En-suites in SC22 by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes:
1) The proposed plans to put en-suite 'pods' in SC22 rooms.
2) The Capital Bid that has been made to fund these plans.
3) The emails that the JCR President received registering objections to these plans.
4) The proposed conference revenue that en-suiting several rooms on SC22 will generate.
5) That SC22 was chosen as it is the most economically viable area to en-suite (for reasons related to plumbing and the fact that the work will be contained within an area).
6) That Balliol College is only about 25% Government funded, with the rest of the funding coming from donations, conferences and rents.
This JCR believes:
1) That College should not be considering putting en-suites into rooms until communal student areas (bathrooms and kitchenettes) are of an acceptable standard.
2) That putting en-suites into rooms prior to improving communal student facilities would send a very negative message to students as the en-suite facilities would be of little to no benefit to students, but instead, of significant benefit to the conference trade.
3) That, if once communal bathrooms and kitchenettes have been dealt with, College wishes to put en-suites in certain rooms that the individual size constraints in each room need to be assessed.
This JCR further believes:
1) That College ought to consult, in detail, with the JCR (through the JCR President and other channels) the progression of their plans regarding ensuites.
2) That failure on College's part to consult with the JCR (through the JCR President and other channels) on matters such as this could be detrimental to student opinion of College.
This JCR resolves:
1) To mandate the JCR President to convey 'believes' 1-4 and 'further believes' 1-2, to College.
2) To mandate the JCR President to ensure that, as far as is possible, College involves the JCR on decisions such as this.
Minutes: D) EN-SUITES IN SC22 HL This is something I have brought in light of the many emails I’ve received from you all. At the moment I don’t know which capital bids have been passed. We find out in around January what money has been allocated – we won’t know for a while whether money has been allocated to us for bathrooms or college for en-suites. The motion just states that we don’t agree with college improving services that don’t benefit students. I’ve also put in a part that states that if bathrooms in SC22 are improved and college allocates money for en-suites that these en-suites don’t get put in SC22.
PC Is the issue the size of the bathrooms?
HL The motion opposes putting in en-suites ahead of improving communal bathrooms. I got lots of emails saying that en-suites in SC22 wouldn’t be good use of space.
PC Is the toilet under the shower?
HL I’m fairly sure that’s not the case.
PC Because that would be wicked. Time saver.
JTH In further believes 1 – what do college think their timescale would be for discussion?
HL It comes up in exec, which is every week. A paper would have to be passed through that. But we don’t get much notice so I would like more consultation. As for a timescale, money can’t be spent until Easter.
NH POI: in some pods there is no separate shower compartment - the whole room is a shower – but they’re not all the same.
?? SC22 – are they all medium price bracket and would the prices go up?
HL They’re mostly band E. Rent negotiations happen ever 3 years. JH got college to agree that the rents will only go up by the Van Noorden index until next negotiations in 2009. Through this motion the JCR consults with college and makes preparations for the 2009 negotiations.
JK If you put pods in all the rooms what would happen to the communal showers and toilets?
HL I don’t know – I don’t think they’re planning to en-suite all the rooms. In some rooms fitting in a pod would be impossible so I think they’ll keep the communal facilities.
JD How much does the conference business make on that staircase?
HL Conference brings in £200,000 - £250,000. College gets it’s other funding from us, old members and 25% from government funding. Apparently college use SC22 for conferences but I don’t know how because it’s disgusting, but they’re using 22, 20 and 15 I think.
KM There are 150 conference guests – I think they use 20 and 22 as a last resort
PC This is all about bathrooms, not kitchens?
HL I’ve put in something saying that college should not add en-suites until the state of the kitchenettes are improved.
AMENDMENT Strike JCR believes 4.
IB I agree with the idea of consultation and communal areas, but I disagree with the idea that we definitely say now that these en-suites should not be put in staircases 20 and 22. College have a limited number of rooms in 2 and 12 where they can provide en-suites to conference trade. They don’t want to add en-suites to old rooms because it ruins the Oxford traditionalness (which is one of the main selling points for the conference trade). By increasing conference trade pressure on room rents is reduced. And the other thing is that it came up in exec that putting pods in 22 is far cheaper than putting them in any other staircases. I didn’t think we should be making any blanket statements.
HL The reason I put that clause in was because that’s the impression I got from the emails I’ve received. But it’s important to discuss this amendment.
JTH Maybe the central point we’re trying to make is that size constraints of rooms should be considered individually. I’ll bring a separate amendment.
KM College have the idea that this will make rooms more attractive to conference guests. Do we survey guests?
IB Yes. There’s also a main website trying to sell rooms to conference guests – but we don’t currently have the facilities to compete with some other colleges.
KM We should be aware that this might not be so cause and effect related as college are trying to sell it. Putting in en-suites might not instantly make us attractive to the conference trade.
JD Taking into account that the smallest rooms might not have en-suites put in, from people I’ve talked to who have to live in these rooms, it seems that people value the space in the room rather than having en-suites. That’s why I think it should stay in this motion.
SB I agree that I’ve got that same impression. But the issue is size related not related to SC22 specifically. We can replace the statement with something that does more work.
AMENDMENT PASSES 32 for; 3 against; 1 abstention
AMENDMENT Change, in further believes 1 & 2, strike “(through the JCR President)”.
KM College seems to be not consulting the JCR a lot and relying on HL to gather our opinion. I think college should at least be putting half their effort into finding out what students want rather than completely relying on the JCR President. I think leaving the “through the JCR President” clause in basically allows them to keep doing this.
HL I think by removing the clause that college will feel that it becomes acceptable only to hold college assembly once a year. Working through the JCR President is the only way this works.
SB I think it’s outside the JCR structure of how things work. GMs seem to be the way of gauging opinion then each motion mandates an officer to go back to college.
RC Do you have a better consultation system?
KM HL mentioned college assemblies. They only happen once a year – the Master stands up and talks about his and college’s plans for the year and we can ask questions. If people think that this it is fine for college to ignore all ways of gauging student opinion other than through the JCR President then you should vote down this amendment.
HL I think in the next year we will be working hard for greater college transparency perhaps with a termly college meeting. But for the moment I think this is the only way we can feasibly communicate.
KM College could have surveyed residents of SC22 as well as HL. I’m not saying that college shouldn’t go through the JCR President but striking the statement suggests that college might like to consider other methods of consultation.
AMENDMENT FAILS 9 for; 23 against; 4 abs.
AMENDMENT In believes 3, replace “the investment they are willing to make can only be a good thing” with “the individual size constraints of each room need to be assessed.”
JTH From things we’ve raised about size constraints, saying that the investment is a good thing is wrong. It may be a bad thing with the size reduction of rooms. I think the issue of size should be in the motion somewhere.
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
GH Do we know when the bathrooms in SC22 where last refurbished. They may not have been done since my dad matriculated here in 1979.
AMENDMENT Add notes 7 to read – “That the bathrooms in SC22 were last refurbished in 19XX and are, like the kitchenettes, not in a wonderful state”
M? Do we know this for a fact? Nobody here actually knows for sure so we shouldn’t note something that might not be true.
KM We can only weaken the motion by putting in points that college can tell us aren’t true.
AMENDMENT FAILS 1 for; lots against.
AMENDMENT In further believes 1 & 2 – change “(through the JCR President)” to read “(through the JCR President and other channels)”.
?? They should be looking for other ways to consult with us.
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
GH I do think that whilst my amendment was poorly written – we haven’t actually dealt with the issue that we haven’t asked college to fix the condition of the communal areas.
HL POI: I did write a motion a couple of weeks ago about the state of communal bathrooms.
HL I think that in light of all the amendments, the motion we have is what the JCR believes. I call a MTV.
MTV MTV passed without opposition.
MOTION PASSED Passed without opposition
Result: Passed
Motion: University Admissions Policy by Helen Lochead
This JCR notes
1) Elected officers represent the views of students on issues such as access and admissions to the University.
2) That these elected officers should be guided by policy so that they can be confident they are represent the views of the majority of students on important issues.
3) Recent media attention on Oxford undergraduate admissions, most notably the Sutton Trust Report in September 2007 and Institute of Public Policy Research Press release in October 2007, and its current importance to the University's agenda.
4) This motion is being proposed to be amended as necessary, so that the views on admissions policy reflect the views of a majority of students.
This JCR believes
1) Academic Potential: Admission to study undergraduate courses at the University of Oxford should be on the basis of the academic potential of the student. The University should make every effort to ensure that the students applying and being admitted to study at Oxford are the top students, in terms oof academic potential, in the world.
2) No Positive Discrimination: There should be no form of positive discrimination or use of contextual data not related to a students educational potential used in the admissions process at Oxford. Such data includes, but is not limited to, an applicant's race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, geographical location, gender, sexuality or religion.
3) Use Educational Context data to judge academic potential: When judging academic potential, educationally based contextual data must be used to inform decisions about admitting students at the margin. This contextual data includes the number of students getting 5 GCSEs A*-C, the number of student getting 3 As at A2 Level, and average class size at the individual applicants school. This contextual data does not include the number of students in receipt of Educational Maintenance Allowance or free school meals, as these reflect the socioeconomic status of an applicant's background, and do not reflect on the applicant's own academic potential.
4) Characteristics of data used: When contextual data is used, it must be reliable and verifiable. The weight placed on any contextual data used in decision making should be proportionate to its proven usefulness of academic potential, measured against examination results in Prelims and Finals. For example, information on an applicant's parents' background and educational level is not reliable or verifiable because the student discloses this information. Its use may also create a false perception about positive discrimination in the University's admissions process. 5) International Student Recruitment: Oxford benefits from attracting the best students in the world. This is because it helps our worldwide reputation, attracts the best academics and allows cultural opportunities for British students at the University. The admission of international students should not be based on their ability to pay but their educational potential and aptitude. The University should be as concerned about the needs blind admissions of international students as it is with needs blind admission of students from the United Kingdom. The University should make greater efforts to encourage recruitment of the best students from abroad and provide more bursaries and support for international students.
This JCR further believes
6) Admissions Tests: Admissions tests should only be required when there is a demonstrable need, for example many more applicants per place than could reasonably be interviewed, as is the situation for many subjects in many colleges at the moment. Admissions tests should be designed to test aptitude, and clear guidance about what to expect including past papers should be available online. Students should not be able to be coached or prepared for the tests. The tests implementation should be designed with the ease of operation by the schools and students at the forefront of the University's mind, for example with a standard date, standard time, standard length and use of regional test centres as an optional extra location outside of schools like Driving Test Centres. This is to avoid the tests being perceived as or becoming an additional hurdle to applying to Oxford.
7) Written submissions are a useful part of the admissions process; basing admissions solely on interviews is not a good idea because candidates may be nervous and not display the best of their abilities. The University and Colleges should provide greater support to new students in adjusting to learning at Oxford and developing skills necessary to succeed, including guidance on essay writing, reading, self-learning, getting the most from tutorials and lectures and dealing with the overall workload. Such additional support should include greater guidance in preparatory reading and work before new students arrive in Freshers' Week, the provision of model answers when students first start at Oxford, a greater mindedness from tutors in helping students develop their own skills and greater information and support from colleges, faculties, departments and divisions for general learning skills students will require to succeed at Oxford.
8) Do not use AS and A2 Module Marks: Oxford should not collect or use individual AS and A2 module marks during the admissions process. The differences between A Level modules syllabuses, exam boards, marking systems and mark scaling mean that the individual marks are not useful or accurate data for comparing students educational potential. These marks are also irrelevant for all students not studying A2 syllabuses, whilst the use of such data will create unhealthy pressure on individual students. Other methods that allow for more direct comparisons, such as admissions tests and structured interviews should be preferred.
9) Structured interviews vital part of admissions process: Structured interviews are a vital part of the admissions process, allowing tutors to assess directly just the educational potential and aptitude of a student to respond to the unique teaching methods of Oxford University. For admission to Oxford, 'educational potential and aptitude' includes desirable attributes, such as the suitability of a student to the Oxford system, their motivation and the ability of the student to think for themselves when responding to new material. Interviews are therefore vital because they allow tutors to make distinctions between students on these attributes, and that these attributes cannot be accurately measured from a purely paper based admissions processes. Interviews are also beneficial because they give applicants a genuine insight into studying at Oxford, helping to break down remaining preconceptions about their future study at the University.
10) Considering that the government does not fund second degrees, graduate students offer a financial incentive to the university. Graduate students should be selected based on their academic ability and not their benefit financially to the university. Graduate admissions should not rise at the expense of undergraduate admissions simply for financial gain.
11) Candidates choosing to apply for a specific college is a good thing. Each college has a specific character. The university should maintain a collegiate admissions system and not change to a central system.
This JCR further believes
1) Collection information: Oxford should only collect information as and when it is absolutely necessary, and avoid requiring extra forms, tests or submissions that may be perceived as creating further hurdles to entry. Oxford University should aim to administer all its forms via UCAS directly, rather than needing any additional forms.
2) Scrap Application Fee: Oxford should immediately scrap the additional fee for applying and find the lost income for the University Admissions Office from elsewhere in its budget. This fee creates an impression that Oxford is more expensive than other Universities, whilst the implied principle that you should pay extra to apply to Oxford is wrong.
3) Provide honest information on subjects, but do not introduce a black list:
Oxford should provide clearer and honest information about school subjects that are required for application, and make it clear the necessary mix of at least three subjects to be suitable for making an application to Oxford. When there are no required subjects, it is still important to provide useful information such as the need for an applicant to have studied at least three subjects from a longer list of possible subjects. The University should not produce any list of subjects that if studied will harm an applicants chances, and all subjects should be considered on their merits, not their stereotypes. The University Admissions Office should provide information and training to tutors about subject syllabuses and requirements to break down any prejudices. The University should concentrate efforts on communicating the best subjects to aid a student's application to careers advisors, Connexions advisors and teachers within schools so that students in Year 11 can be advised effectively.
4) Travel Costs: Provision for reducing the travel costs to interviews should be investigated to help students from the poorest backgrounds. 5) Greater information about process: Oxford University should provide greater information about the admissions process and clearer guidelines of what is expected of the best students, so that applicants better know what to expect. Resources should be invested in providing preparation and guidance for students in schools who historically have not enjoyed success in having their students admitted to Oxford.
This JCR further believes
1) Access strategy: Oxford University must continue to reach out to every school in the country to recruit the best students, dispel myths about the University and encourage greater applications. However, it should target its resources at underrepresented groups and talented students in weaker schools to help raise aspirations and provide additional support to these students and teachers of such students when they are applying to Oxford.
2) Efforts of Colleges: All Colleges should contribute to widening participation initiatives. Their concern should be to raise the aspiration of students towards higher education and to applicants to Oxford University, not recruit students for their own colleges.
This JCR resolves to
1) Mandate the JCR President to notify the VP Access and Academic Affairs of any amendments that Balliol JCR have made to this motion prior to its hearing at OUSU council next term.
2. Mandate the VP Access and Academic Affairs to communicate these policies to the relevant authorities.
Minutes: UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS POLICY
HL OUSU council said they would discuss this in council last Friday. There wasn’t time to taken it to GM but then OUSU postponed and is here now. If we look at the 2nd further believes section, it concerns me that if they’re scrapping all of the methods of gauging candidates potential I’m worried about what they are going to base admissions on.
JTH Is there an existing admissions policy?
HL They have an admissions procedure.
MF On FB3 – does Balliol have it’s own outreach initiatives?
TWS Wicked admissions officers that go to schools, run the women only session and do talks for access. MF How many schools have you visited?
TWS Its not just admissions officers, its something the whole college does – although our admissions secretary has just left so it’s tailed off recently.
HL OUSU access VP is primarily concerned with admissions and will be liaising with the relevant bodies on University Admissions policy. JCRs aren’t equipped to deal with the university on such policies
SB Do the University and colleges have policy?
HL I don’t know that the University actually has one – it just has bits and pieces – because colleges are autonomous they have flexibility on the criteria they use to determine admissions.
AMENDMENT Strike further believes 2 – “Scrap Application Fee”.
MS At the moment extra fee for applying of Oxford is £10. I don’t think this is a serious obstacle to anyone who has a serious chance of getting in. Oxford and Cambridge are 2 of the most prestigious universities – if applying were free I think a lot of people, many of whom don’t use all their UCAS choices – may apply here as a joke. It would then be an extra workload on admissions.
KM It is only £10. You’re saying as a blanket statement that everyone can afford £10. It is a mental block that makes Oxford seem elitist and different from other universities. And surely admissions would just see their predicted grades and ignore their applications, so it wouldn’t be much extra work.
AW You said £10 is no obstacle for anyone who has a reasonable chance of getting in. Are you linking affluence with academic potential?
MS No. I misspoke.
MTV MTV passed without opposition
AMENDMENT FAILS 4 for; 17 against
AMENDMENT Add believes 10 – “Considering that the government does not fund second degrees, graduate students offer a financial incentive to the university. Graduate students should be selected based on their academic ability and not their benefit financially to the university. Graduate admissions should not rise at the expense of undergraduate admissions simply for financial gain.”
AS The motion didn’t have any policy on graduate admissions. I hope this is what everyone thinks. Let’s pass it.
JK Before putting these opinions in, have we thought about where the university is going to get the money. They’re really dependent on this money.
AS While the university might need some money. I don’t think they should reach the extent where they start selecting applicants purely on financial considerations. I wanted to pass this believes so that we have policy that can be compared and contrasted with what the university believe.
MTV MTV passed without opposition.
AMENDMENT PASSED Amendment passed without opposition.
AMENDMENT Add believes 11 – “Candidates choosing to apply for a specific college is a good thing. Each college has a specific character. The university should maintain a collegiate admissions system and not change to a central system.”
IB Various subjects – maths etc. are moving to centralised system, which uses a centralised ranking as well as college interviews.
TWS I don’t think it’s necessary. We’ve got policy. It’s something that James [OUSU VP admissions] will have thought of.
AS I think the policy could have been drafted much better than it was. I don’t think the document is entirely complete.
WS How bout you say: Consider Option C. [Option C refers to current JCR admissions policy]
KM It is all well and good that we have policy but this motion is something we will submit to OUSU. If we can submit a complete document that shows all of our views we should do it.
MTV MTV passed without opposition.
AMENDMENT PASSED 26 for; 2 against
AMENDMENT Change in further believes 6 “Admissions Tests … reasonably be interviewed…” to read “Admissions Tests … reasonably be interviewed as is the situation for many subjects in many colleges at the moment. …”In further believes 7 replace“End the use of written submissions: Written submissions do not accurately reflect academic potential, but the educational preparation of a student, are open to abuse, do not offer systematic comparison between students and therefore should not be used as part of the admissions process.”with“Written submissions are a useful part of the admissions process; basing admissions solely on interviews is not a good idea because candidates may be nervous and not display the best of their abilities.”
TWS With the written submissions – they are a bad idea. All they show is how good your school is at helping you prepare and private schools have an advantage. Having spoken to David Wallace, they don’t really read them and mostly base their opinions on interviews anyway.
GH One of my 2 interviews was entirely based on my written submission. To remove them would remove a key part of the interview process.
KM My tutor told me that he pretty much decided who got in for the year based on written submissions.
JE As someone who went to a state school, I was given no help with a written submission and never once got taught how to write an essay.
DM The tutors should have at their disposal as much information as possible. I think we can credit tutors with enough experience to decide how useful written submissions are.
KM I recognise that one part of the amendment is controversial and one part is not getting talked about. I’ll withdraw the amendment and resubmit it as separate amendments.
IB Why don’t we just vote on it and if it gets voted down based on the second part you can bring the first part again.
MB Seeing objections to withdrawal, we’ll continue, KM you can let someone else propose if you don’t want to.
IB Even if you don’t use the written submissions as a big part of determining the success of applicants surely it’s useful just as something to talk about in interviews.
GH For the three years you’re here you will be writing two essays a week – it’s useful for tutors to see an essay before they decide on candidates.
JK It’s another piece of information for tutors to use.
JP Isn’t the whole point of written submissions that they’re just supposed to be a normal part of the work you’ve done on your school course? Therefore it shouldn’t reflect any specific coaching.
MS With regards to TWS’s point about David Wallace not using written submissions - David Wallace is a philosophy tutor and many students haven’t done any philosophy when they apply so written submissions wouldn’t be useful anyway.
JD For philosophy I was asked to submit any two non-philosophy essays.
MTV MTV passed without opposition.
AMENDMENT PROP: KM So far as the admissions test amendment goes; it just acknowledges the fact that there are situations where tests are useful. For written submissions, the amendment in no ways says that they should be the sole basis of admission, but it just states that they can be a useful part.
AMENDMENT OPP: TWS On admission tests, the motion just says that we should limit their need because they are an extra hurdle – which they are. With regards to written submissions, the motion just says that we should stop tutors from judging based on them because there is a lot of external coaching.
AMENDMENT PASSES 27 for; 1 against
AMENDMENT Replace further believes 8:“Do not use AS and A2 Module Marks: Oxford should not collect or use individual AS and A2 module marks during the admissions process. The differences between A Level modules syllabuses, exam boards, marking systems and mark scaling mean that the individual marks are not useful or accurate data for comparing students educational potential. These marks are also irrelevant for all students not studying A2 syllabuses, whilst the use of such data will create unhealthy pressure on individual students. Other methods that allow for more direct comparisons, such as admissions tests and structured interviews should be preferred.”with“AS and A2 Module Marks: Oxford may collect and use individual AS and A2 module marks during the admissions process”
DM Tutors should have at their disposal any information available.
RC At the moment Oxford aren’t asking for breakdowns?
JH POI: They asked me when I applied in 2004.
RC When they make an offer do you think they will start making offers based on the standard of a grade – ie. A good A rather than an A.
IB They have to give offers thorough UCAS – they have to be UCAS point or grade based.
HL We’re in danger of losing quorum. This is worth discussing and it’s wonderful that people care so much to bring all these amendments. I suggest we table this and bring it to a GM before the first OUSU council meeting next term. If we table then the motion will come back exactly as it is now – with amendments passed and DM’s amendment currently on the table.
TABLE MOTION Procedural motion to table passed without opposition.
This motions will be heard at the 1st week HT08 GM.
Result: See minutes
Motion: New Speakers [Submitted Late] by Will Sharp
This JCR notes
1) What Sharpy says at the GM on 25th November 2007, in reference to this motion.
This JCR believes
1) What Sharpy says in context of JCR notes 1 is accurate.
This JCR resolves
1) To give Sharpy and Erde up to £600 to buy a new sound-system.
Minutes: H) NEW SPEAKERS
WS I didn’t put details into the motion because finding speakers turns out to be phenomenally difficult. When you’re buying things that fit into the system we have there are all kind of requirements. Speakers are quite expensive. The ones we had were £350 – they broke we think because the power through them was more they could handle. When we cranked up the volume the drive systems broke. We possibly could have fixed them but it would be almost as expensive as buying new ones and they’re out of warranty and are not powerful enough for our system. When we took the system apart and wired it up with bits we had that still worked we put 1000W through a bit of the speaker that was meant to handle 50W and it was great until it caught fire. I’ve been looking on the net – I’ve found 2 systems for £500 and £560. I want to buy one for £500 – the system will be 2000W – at full volume the system we have won’t break the speakers and we get a warranty. And we’re buying them from a better company – I rung up the company we had used and they were Dutch and didn’t speak English. I was going to ring up tomorrow and find out whether the £560 would be a better system so I’ve asked to pass £600.
JTH But the new system will have a warranty?
WS There will be a warranty. Our current speakers might have a warranty – but our amp is massive – the speakers we have are too small. And the cones won’t be covered anyway.
KM Cover cones?
WS They’ll be just out of warranty and they’ll argue that cones aren’t covered because they always break. Nobody covers cones.
HL How will you make sure we don’t need to replace these speakers in a few years like the last ones?
WS That’s a good point – after giving money to the Ball and buying drinks we made less than expected – this is a massive expenditure and if we buy this Entz won’t have made any money this year. I’ll tell Swanny and Temko to read LOADS about speakers – but also this new speaker system is huge and can’t be broken by the power we use. We’re also using a system that uses subs to take out the bass power and save the rest of the system.
SB You’re saying you’re buying speakers that your amp can’t possibly break, but there is also a potential problem with an underpowered amp.
WS Tomorrow I’ll give the guy all the amp specs and ask what we need.
IB Is this something Steve Matthews suggested?
WS He said the speakers we had were underpowered and to get bigger ones – but I’ll talk to people tomorrow before I buy anything.
IB With this expense Entz will break even over the year. But when our VAT invoice comes in some of that money will undoubtedly come from the Entz account. I just want to draw the GM’s attention to that. Though obviously this is a necessary expenditure for bops.
WS It seems like a lot of money but it’s not a lot spread over the JCR – we could raise it with £1.25 levy per head.
MOTION PASSES Motion passed without opposition.
Result: Passed