JCR Meeting Minutes for the Final JCR Meeting of the JCR Easter Term 2025
Monday 23rd June, 7:30pm, Dining Hall
1. The minutes of the last meeting
These are available on the JCR Website.
2. Matters Arising
None
3. JCR Announcements
Carlos continuing as Senior Tech Officer!
4. Questions of Officers
Questions should be submitted before the meeting.
5. Elections, Hustings and Interviews
- Bar Steward
Finn Knight
Proposed by Joe Amos
Seconded by Mary Gibson
- Chapel Representative
Ethan Rawlins
Proposed by Ian Adamson
Seconded by Sam Parker
Leah Knox
Proposed by Jonathan Allen
Seconded by Kate Broekman
6. Motions
- Motion to create a college bouldering society
- Motion to create call them out reps
7. AOB
None
JCR Meeting Minutes Easter 2 (23.06.25)
1. The minutes of the last meeting
These are available on the JCR Website.
2. Matters Arising
None
3. JCR Announcements
Carlos continuing as Senior Tech Officer after interview!
4. Questions of Officers
Questions should be submitted before the meeting.
5. Elections, Hustings and Interviews
- Bar Steward
Finn Knight
- Second year, geography
- Fourt year’s experience in catering and hospitality
- Next year will be most senior at the bar
- Integrate the bar more into college life
- Ideas:
- Happy hour: Thursdays + Tuesdays with discounted drinks
- Hopefully make societies come when it is usually quiet
- Collaborate with WAM
- How to keep yourself and others safe
- Posters and WAM themed drink covers to enforce Mary’s being a safe space
- Society space
- Opening the bar outside of hours when there are certain events going on
- Charity jukebox, where people can choose a song and their money goes to charity
- More decoration
- Happy hour: Thursdays + Tuesdays with discounted drinks
- Continue to run the bar efficiently
- Will assist with toastie bar without overseeing it fully
- Question: how would you be able to measure the popularity of beverages to have consistent stock taking?
- We don’t have many options which limits the choice
- Always issue with tapping the keg up which runs out quickly
- Will talk to Mustafa about ordering more, but is not as popular either way
- If you were a drink that Mary’s Bar serves, which would it be?
- The Witch because he would be a magical bar steward
- Chapel Representative
Ethan Rawlins
- 3rd year chemistry
- Frequent goer to the evensongs
- Ran pub quiz society
- Helping during turn around for balls
- Gratitude to college
- Will execute duties with conviction and humility
- Will use chapel for people of all faiths
- Liase with other colleges for inter-collegiate evensongs
- Bring back college marriage register
- Create chapel newsletter for all to subscribe to
- Spread peace
- Questions:
- How would you ensure that college marriages would remain for people not of Christian faith?
- Would give credence of the college family structure in college
- College marriage certificate
- How would you make sure to make it accessible for everyone and that people don’t decide not to become college parents because it seems too serious?
- It can take place wherever the couples wanted
- Rather than just saying you will do it and people forget about it
- More permanent thing
- Would you be participating in inter-faith services yourself? Or only Abrahamic faiths?
- Reaching out to everyone
- Important to bring other faiths into the role
- How would you ensure that college marriages would remain for people not of Christian faith?
Leah Knox
- Leah cannot be here tonight, Hannah reading
- Make chapel more open and welcoming space
- Strengthen relationship with cathedral and gain support for annual service
- College presence at regular cathedral services
- Make the chapel more accessible with regular quiet times throughout term
- Safe place for everyone
- Make it clear at the beginning of term where the chapel is, how and when to access it
- Working with college chaplain making it inclusive
- Use it more actively with candlelit sessions, music, meditations
- Gain input from other’s ideas on what students would actually like
- Please email Leah with any questions
6. Motions
- Motion to create a college bouldering society
- See appendix A
- Many students interested in climbing in college
- There is currently no society and creating one would make an inclusive community that can make structured climbs
- Safe way for students to walk to climbing centre
- Establishing friendships
- Inter-collegiate events
- Bi-weekly climbing sessions
- Organised trips to different climbing centers
- Fund would help subsidise rent of climbing shoes for new members in the first few weeks
- Question
- Would you be charging subs or relying on other funding?
- Subs wouldn’t be required as students have to purchase membership at the climbing centre independently
- £50 funding would go towards subsidising the hire of climbing shoes for new members the first couple of times
- Additional funding could help subsidise memberships at the climbing centre
- Would you be charging subs or relying on other funding?
- Motion to create call them out reps
- See appendix B
- Huge growth in Call Them Out (CTO) campaign
- With current JCR President and campaign members leaving, there should be sports and socs leaders to continue the campaign
- Appointing CTO Reps by Emma Grey, JCR Pres and Sports and Socs Officer
- Keeps CTO active throughout the years
- Question: would there be time during Freshers’ Week to introduce the CTO reps?
- Consent Matters training is already enforced by the uni in Freshers’ Week
- CTO campaign would then start in October
7. AOB
None
Appendix A
Motion to Create a St Mary’s Bouldering Society
Proposed by: Hetty Lort-Philips
Seconded by: Aidan McDonald
This JCR notes that:
While there are many students interested in climbing and bouldering at college who often climb together, there exists no official community for those interested in bouldering to be a part of. This motion would allow a group of Mary’s climbers to formally create an organised community of climbers encouraging the involvement of beginners, stimulating Mary’s team spirit, and offering informal coaching sessions in a relaxed and friendly environment.
This JCR believes that:
This motion will create an accessible gateway to a new sport for many students, new and old, at Mary’s college as well as establishing a community of Marys’ climbers that can carry on for years to come. As well as this, as the walk to the climbing centre is over 40 minutes long, our society can provide a safe way for students to walk over, especially during the winter when the walk back is at night. This motion will encourage establishing friendships with other Mares, under the shared love for bouldering and climbing. Other colleges have also recently set up their own bouldering societies, giving an opportunity to have inter-college events, as well as them proving that the concept of a bouldering society is not only possible but proves successful and popular.
This JCR resolves:
To hold bi-weekly climbing sessions at Durham climbing centre across the year to ensure maximum accessibility for busy student schedules as well as organised trips to other climbing centres across the UK such as to Newcastle and to Manchester. The start-up fund would be contributed to subsidise the cost of rental shoes for the first few weeks of new members and if further financial support was obtained, the society would invest in ex-hire rental climbing shoes to encourage beginners to take up the sport without the worry of extra financial expenses. Thus far, we have established the roles of social secretaries, publicity and welfare officers, head coach, treasurer and co-presidents of the society with many more positions bound to establish themselves in the future.
Appendix B
Motion to create Call Them Out Reps
Proposer: Hannah Tunnicliffe
Seconder: Randi Holwerda
This JCR notes that we have seen huge growth in the Call Them Out campaign over the past year. Sports clubs and societies have been engaged in workshops and discussions to promote the positive consent culture which the campaign aims to build in Mary’s and beyond. This campaign has been run by the current JCR President in conjunction with a small committee of finalists, all supported by Emma Gray. This JCR believes that with the current JCR President leaving in August, and the committee members all graduating, the campaign will need steering for next year. It is important to keep it going as we have seen some positive changes in our community, and this is something that should become integrated into Mary’s JCR for years to come. We need to set a precedent for having nominated individuals to lead the campaign in conjunction with sports and society leaders. This JCR resolves to create roles for 2-3 “Call Them Out reps” each year who would lead the campaign. This would not be a JCR exec role in itself, but would fall under the scope of the Sports and Societies officer. These reps should be people of each gender respectively and be people who are comfortable promoting positive consent culture. They would be appointed by Emma Gray, the JCR President, and the Sports and Societies Officer. They would need to receive nightline training, and other appropriate training from the SU and the university’s Oracle platform. They would actively promote the campaign by creating social media content, running workshops, and engaging clubs and societies in the campaign’s message.