JCR Meeting Minutes for the Second JCR Meeting of Epiphany Term 2025
Monday 17th February, 7:30pm, Dining Hall
*For accessibility requirements for the agenda, please contact the JCR Chair ([email protected]) to arrange documents and whatever may be necessary.
Lots of Snacks
Sign in via QR code
Raffle with prizes
1. The minutes of the last meeting
These are available on the JCR Website.
2. Matters Arising
- None
3. JCR Announcements
- What to expect at Epiphany Term Meeting 3
4. Questions of Officers
Questions should be submitted before the meeting.
5. Elections, Hustings and Interviews
- Senior Freshers’ Representative
Elinor Hurry, Emma Clarke, Finn Knightly
Proposed by: Grace Pawson
Seconded by: Naim Wernes
- JCR Chair
Hugh Ludford
Proposed by: Fran Trotter
Seconded by: Sasha Mullin
Eleanor Betts
Proposed by: Kate Broekman
Seconded by: Conner Egerton
- JCR Vice President
Andrew Handley
Proposed by: Zareen Hyatt
Seconded by: AJ White
Henry Wheatly
Proposed by: Sophie Chapman
Seconded by: Will Roberts
6. Motions
- None
7. AOB
- None
Minutes Second JCR Meeting of Epiphany Term 2025
Monday 17th February, 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
- What to expect at Epiphany Term Meeting 3
- Big meeting with many roles coming up
4. Questions of Officers
Questions should be submitted before the meeting.
5. Elections, Hustings and Interviews
- Senior Freshers’ Representative
Elinor Hurry, Emma Clarke, Finn Knightly
- Excited to be running for the position
- Time frapping this year was a highlight to welcome freshers
- Represent something for everybody
- Chaired winter ball à help to run evenings, Elinor
- Finn à bar staff
- Emma à experience on different execs, good at communicating
- Ideas
- Low commitment welfare walks throughout the day
- Great way for Freps to be in nature
- Bar as social space à use it to promote the space as a social one early on
- Promote different societies and sports during freshers’
- International freshers being as successful à intercollegiate
- Including for everyone
- Questions
- How to include people no matter if they drink or not in the bar
- Drinking won’t be mentioned specifically, it’s just an option
- Favourite memory from frapping
- Murder mystery
- Staying in Fabs sober
- Banging pots and pans on Prebends
- How would you make sure the work split is even?
- Work well as a team
- Different strengths
- Breaking the work up depending on strengths
- All currently have exec roles so have experience of working in a team and communicating with people around you
- How would you put together a team
- Ask about range of experience in interview
- Find people from different backgrounds
- Promoting everything equally
- JCR Chair
Hugh Ludford
- First year, combined honours student
- Will be diligent, accountable and inclusive chair
- Vision, ideas and drive and up for the job
- What should the JCR be?
- Everyone in our college community has ideas that can benefit us all
- JCR should be welcoming, transparent, democratic environment
- All ideas should be heard
- Everyone should feel able to contribute to the community
- How can we get closer to this idealised JCR
- Create a stall at Mary’s Freshers’ Fair to explain how JCR works and how to get involved
- Meet one-on-one with anyone preparing to speak at meetings for the first time
- Democracy committee revitalized to ensure accountability and transparency
- Would make participation in the JCR easier
- Bring in fresh perspectives and strengthening our democracy
- Up to the job
- Warm and approachable person with connections in college and a strong sense of duty
- Student council meetings in secondary
- Leadership experience from working with the scouts
- Real passion for student democracy and all things Mary’s
- Eye for detail as news reporter for the Palatinate
- Aware of college and university structures
Eleanor Betts
- Third year on a year abroad doing French and German
- Already been quite involved à check out bogsheet
- Has previously been chair
- Why running again?
- Theres a lot of work involved in this role à love the work involved
- Brilliant opportunity to be a friendly face
- New ideas about keeping JCR meetings engaging, different and accessible
- Running for a role is hard
- Wants to have pre-election drop ins for questions and advice
- Public speaking drop ins to practice husts when running for a role
- Not as many roles up for election in first term
- Hearing from committees at those meetings
- Transparency and updates
- Learning how to get involved
- Society generator roulette
- New societies to be created fx Yorkshire Pudding Society
- Raffle prizes continuation
- Themed meeting ideas and events after the meetings fx quizzes, costume competitions or showing up in pyjamas
- Socials with the exec team so you can get to know them and how to contact them
- Approachable
- Learning about how JCR works in less formal setting
- Live stream meetings, making voting link clear
- Running for a role is hard
- Feel free to contact on Instagram or email (on bogsheet)
Questions
- Reach out to Eleanor on Instagram or email as she is on year abroad
- Questions are answered by Hugh here
- What experience do you have? (Hugh Ludford)
- Co-chair in school before uni
- Little bit like the JCR with people pitching ideas
- Scouting leader as highest level à leadership experience
- JCR Vice President
Andrew Handley
- 2nd year PPE, proud member of Mary’s
- Deeply involved with JCR since first week at Mary’s
- Passionate about making college life better for all of us
- Marys prides itself on being friendly, welcoming and inclusive
- Wants to ensure these values remain at heart of our community
- Student led democracy
- Our voices matter
- Work to uplift and empower those values
- Gained valuable experience through previous involvement
- JCR Chair
- Treasurer of LGBTQIA+ soc
- Various committees
- Understanding of how the JCR operates
- Leadership experience to make meaningful change
- Wants to achieve:
- Michaelmas Charity Dinner à key responsibility of the Vice President
- Celebrate Mary’s values by supporting women and marginalized communities
- Collaborate with Mary’s Feminist Society
- Raising money for Harbour à North East charity providing domestic aid and refuge
- Improve room bookings and food and house transparency
- Clear signage and accessible student forms for feedback
- Work with publicity officer to create a social media directory
- Easily access JCR accounts
- Clear signage and communication across college life
- Strengthen inter-year engagement
- Build upon college parents’ scheme by organising informal cross-year events
- Break down barriers to create stronger, more united Mary’s community
- Michaelmas Charity Dinner à key responsibility of the Vice President
- Care about our college and every student in it
- Experience, dedication and passion to make a real difference
Henry Wheatly
- Third year engineer
- Hust and bogsheet might seem slightly similar to last year when running for Sports and Societies Officer
- Because passion and commitment to college life hasn’t changed
- Sports and Socs role has added to this
- Boosted Team.Marys and Experience.Marys Insta accounts
- Providing introductions too all sports and socs
- Round ups at JCR meetings
- Increase wider college interest and celebrate success
- Loved being on Finance Committee and the laundry fund to give all clubs and socs opportunities
- Being so involved gives good grounding to team up with the President next year to enhance college community
- Well suited for the role
- Organised
- Balance playing four college sports, basement jazz, committees, a degree with 15 contact hours and involvement every week
- Become very dependable
- Enthusiastic about college and keen to make sure everyone under the Mary’s umbrella feels the same
- Will do his best to represent voices and concerns especially in the termly food and house forum
- Organised
- Frep for two years in a row shows involvement and commitment
- Getting to meet new members and getting them engaged with college life has been extremely rewarding
- What he wants to do
- Ensuring diversity and inclusivity
- Making events financially and socially accessible
- Making new Exec members feel supported and included
- Enthusiastic, organised and committed person
- Experience withing JCR already, strive to make events more inclusive and make exec members feels welcomed, valued and supported
Questions
- What should the relationship between President and Vice President look like?
- Andrew:
- Role of President is a big job
- Important that the President delegates some of the responsibilities
- Fx food and house arrangements fall under the Vice President
- Henry:
- Formally there are a few things that alreadyfall upon the Vice Prseident rather than President
- Informally it is someone to rely upon and chat to if you need, a different person’s perspectives to gain
- Andrew:
- With it consisting of many regular admin tasks, how would you stay on top of it all?
- Henry:
- Already balancing quite a few things
- Developing a routine with weekly or daily tasks
- Andrew:
- Being chair provides very good practice with a lot of admin to the role every day
- This gives good experience to continue balancing
- Henry:
- How do you think the VP role will diverge from your previous core experience?
- Andrew:
- Provide fresh experience and a fresh way to give back to college
- Role of chair is very JCR heavy
- Role of VP is about college life and giving back to students
- Will be very proud to give back to both of those sides of the college
- Henry:
- Fundamentally different core Exec position
- Sports and Socs Officer has opened eyes to wider participation,
- Becoming VP is much more about college life
- Good grounding in knowing about the extra-curricular activities that go on around colelge
- Andrew:
6. Motions
- None
7. AOB
- None