Regent’s Park College, Oxford
Ordinary Meeting of the Junior Common Room
TRINITY I MINUTES
DATE
Monday 2nd Week (May 2015)
TIME
8.00pm
VENUE
Junior Common Room
CHAIR
Alex Rennison
FACILITATOR Ellie Jenkins
25 Members in Attendance
Alex Rennison welcomes everyone to the meeting and says there is not a great deal on the agenda so
it should be a relatively short meeting. However an additional motion has come in today from Nilen.
Matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting:
Will Obeney says he did not refer to any OUSU policy but the University suspended status students
policy.
Evie says she didn’t say the needs of visiting students had not been solved, just international students.
(There were also corrections to the minutes of the Hilary II meeting emailed prior to the meeting from
Matthew Mills.)
Obers points out something he said in the last meeting’s minutes – that much of the bar stock is still in
the bar room when it shouldn’t be. Stretto says that there isn’t any currently and it has been moved.
No matters affecting the constitution.
Questions about executive reports, which had been sent to all JCR members prior to the meeting:
Alex Rennison – JCR President
Hi guys,
Both the end of last term and the beginning of this one have been pretty busy, so there’s a fair bit to
tell you about. First up, we’ve finally made some progress on the Blues Board and sink for the JCR:
the alternative company gave us an absolutely ridiculous quote, but Gary (Bob’s contact) finally got
back to us with a much better one. He’ll be delivering the board within the next couple of days, and
when he does we’re going to get a date in the diary for the sink to be installed. College have
confirmed that they will go halves on the cost with the JCR, so we’ve got a pretty good deal despite
the wait.
You will also see that the redecoration of the JCR stairwell turned out pretty well (thanks in no small
part to our JCR VP emeritus and Bob), although there’s a bit of touching up to do post-bop; I’m
investigating some paint-like wall varnish to help counter the scuffing, but that will have to wait until
the end of the term. Of more significance is the progress that we have made on the rainbow flag front:
at the end of last term three of us from the JCR met with Rob Ellis and an MCR rep to discuss
college’s policy on the flag, and by the end of the meeting Rob was happy to concede that college’s
arguments against flying the flag were flawed. Final confirmation from the Fellows is pending, but it
looks very much like the college will fly the flag next February for the final week of LGBTQ+
History month.
The library is another area of the Mission Statement that I’ve been working towards, and I had a
meeting at the end of last term with Emma and Sheila to discuss seating provision. Whilst they’re not
budging on the journal shelving, we did identify a few areas where desks could be added and space
used more efficiently. Overall, it looks like we’ll be able to squeeze an extra five seats out of the
space that we’ve got, but they still need pushing to actually implement this initiative, and the need for
a longer term plan has not disappeared – this is something I will continue working towards.
In terms of general miscellanea, we are still waiting for a decision from the Fellows on the capitation
issue, but last term the exec submitted a comprehensive document detailing the JCR’s arguments
against the proposal, so the Fellows are far from ignorant of our reasoning. Other than doing some
gentle lobbying in my meetings with Rob, there’s not a great deal else to be done here – we’ll have to
wait and see what they say. The college nurse issue is ongoing, and my counterpart at Mansfield is
busy organising meetings with nurses who split their time across colleges; I will go along to these to
see what we can glean about the specific logistics of sharing a nurse.
Lastly, we have a new Alternative Prospectus in the works (under the remit of the Access Officer),
I’m talking to David about getting the Uni Parks service back in to tend to the quad, and OUSU have
released the resources that we need to bring college policy in line with what the University says about
harassment and suspended status students – these I will use in this term’s college policy review. I can
chat to you about these things in more depth if you’re interested.
Also, thanks to those that did the National Student Survey (the university’s response rate managed to
get above the necessary 50% for our results to count), and please don’t forget to be considerate re:
noise throughout the term!
Alex
X
Natasha Stevens – JCR Vice-President
•
Carnations
o
Bought all the exam carnations for last term
o
Supplied carnations for Week 2 exams and ordered those for Week 4
o
Apologies for the emails requesting you email me your exams!
I have had some difficulty getting a correct timetable
Hopefully this is all sorted now- thanks for your help so far!
•
Punting
o
Paid for punting and confirmed opening/closing times
o
Put up information sheet and sign up sheet
o
Put together method for collecting the £5 charge and giving the confirmation slip
o
Very few people have gone punting so far but it seems to be going fine so far
o
Had a request to ask if the Boathouse would give us a discount on rowing boats and pedalos
Is this a popular idea?
•
Freshers’ Week
o
In final stages of opening the Freshers’ Week Account with Rose
Should be up and running soon
o
Secured sponsorship again from Norton Rose Fulbright
They have been invoiced and agreement has been signed
o
Agreement for Club night has been signed
o
Had some whole Committee meetings
Delegated all tasks to small groups and a group leader within that
•
Updating To Do list regularly, which we are well ahead on
Everyone is working well – thanks guys!
Will be arranging individual (/small group) meetings in Week 3
•
Food Committee
o
Second Food Committee of term went as per the first meeting
(high turnout survey, formulated it into an agenda circulated in advance, produced minutes
circulated afterwards)
Used as a follow up to the first meeting too
o
Conducted another survey at the start of the Vac
Put this into another presentation for Mark/David and sent it to them in order to incorporate it
into this term’s plan
E.g two cooked breakfasts a week!
o
This term, due to absences of staff, there will just be one Food Com meeting (arranged for
Thursday Week 4)
I will then conduct another survey and send results at the start of the Vac (like last term)
•
Tutorial Committee
o
Attended Tutorial Committee in Week 0 again
o
Feel free to voice any other academic-y concerns to me so I can present them at these
meetings!
•
Careers, Environment and Access Officers
o
Environment officer
Attended an Information Session provided by the Environmental Sustainability team
•
How to access support from the university and how to make changes within the college
Also had communications training course provided by NUS
Looking to continue last term’s good work (e.g trying to change energy provider)
o
Careers officer
We met with Will Watt and discussed working more closely with the Development Office
•
They mentioned their bank of alumni and their interest in arranging a talk/event once a term
or so with them
After the OU Careers Rep for our college never replied to Taylor’s emails, Will Watt emailed
her and we have now got a meeting scheduled with her in Week 3
•
We will be sure to pass on any information from this to the JCR
Taylor is currently compiling a survey for the JCR to ascertain where everyone’s interest
lie/how we can help best
Norton Rose Fulbright expressed interest in working with me/sponsoring law (and probably
more general) careers events so watch this space
I attended a lunch at the Careers Service which explained what they offer (mostly in terms of
Law careers but applicable more widely too)
o
Access officer
Helped organize access event in collaboration with the Angus library at the end of last term
•
See separate hand out for Freddy’s report on this
Currently planning event for teachers for towards the end of term
We had a meeting with a number of JCR members to discuss how we promote Regents and,
in particular, the Alternative Prospectus
Freddy, as Access Officer, is now responsible for creating the Alternative Prospectus
(although the Exec retains the final say)
Anyone looking to get involved (with design/photos/written contributions) please get in touch
with Freddy- help very welcome!
Ellie Jenkins – JCR Secretary
Hi everyone,
Brew is looking fine for this term with the biscuit cupboard well-stocked up again including some
new editions (like crunchie biscuits woo!)
Cake Friday will now probably be moved to a Thursday, as Friday afternoon brew isn’t one of the
most popular and isn’t overly helpful with the setting up of the social (but don’t worry you still shall
have cake!)
Lots of people have been keen in writing for park life which is great, so I should have lots of great
contributions to work with when organising it this term (a reminder that if you have agreed to write
for it the deadline is Saturday of third week!)
Other than that, all seems to be going well, hope you have a great term! X
Rose Vennin – JCR Treasurer
Hey all!
Hope Trinity has been treating you well so far. Not a great amount to report from me, although there
are a few things I have been doing, apart from the usual treasurer-related things.
First of all, the sink and blues board are being/have been sorted! Alex has told you about the general
side of it, but with regards to the financial aspect, the healthy surplus passed in Hilary means that we
will be able to pay for it in fewer instalments then initially planned (and therefore the financial burden
won’t fall on future JCR members), though I am still sorting out details with David Harper.
I am also in the midst of handing out the Sports and Arts grants which were very heavily
oversubscribed, though I expect Trinity will be calmer on that front. I am drafting a new version of
the application form as we faced some issues with applications lacking in detail and clarity last term,
which made it more difficult to decide upon the allocation of grants.
As always, I’m available to answer any queries you may have!
Rose
Izzy Wilson – Welfare Officer
Hi all! Firstly apologies if I am currently not a the JCR meeting. Today is the technical rehearsal of
the show I am in which sadly cannot be missed and is set to go on till 23.00! As every, if you had
anything you wanted to ask me in the meeting re welfare this term please email me or find me in
college. I will also be running welfare surgery this Friday from 2-4 at the TSK if you'd like to speak in
private.
So far this term the welfare team has met to discuss events for finalist, prelims and everyone in
between. Finalist brew is at 4pm on a Wednesday, starting this week, and there will be myself and a
peer supporter around to chat. We will also be running other fun events which I'll advertise nearer the
time.
Matthew Mills we also be running a junior dean drop in session at Wheeler 2 from 2-4pm on
Wednesdays for anyone in college.
Welfare supplies have been order so if you need anything remember myself, Men's Welfare (Harry),
women's welfare (Esther) and Gender and sexuality (Ed H) can provide you with condoms, pregnancy
tests, lubricant, panic alarms and dental dams.
From the end of second week we will also have sanitary products, stocked in the girls bathrooms in
lower main and hopefully vinson. This is something OUSU are trialling so please let me know what
you think/if you have any suggestions!
There is also a new welfare board in the JCR so please familiarize yourself with numbers etc of the
welfare team-especially those of the junior dean's. I will also be putting up further contact sheets
around college which are currently on Facebook in Parklife's files section.
Finally I would like to say that if you have any suggestions of what you would like welfare to do this
term please drop me a line. I want to know how best we can help me so any help is appreciated!
Izzy x
Jonny Streatfeild – Bar Manager
Hi! It’s been a very busy start to term for me with a lot going on in relation to the bar and my trip to
Copenhagen on a personal level. On this point, I would like to start with a couple of apologies. Firstly,
sorry for the lateness of this report; I was laptop-less this week and therefore this is the first
opportunity I have had to write it. Secondly, I am aware that the tonic and boost were missing from
the order this week. My original plan was to make one of my committee responsible for all
managerial roles this week, however after that was turned down I made an overly-hasty order which
wrongly assumed there would be enough of these mixers left over from last week, so I’m sorry for
that. I would also like to thank my committee and the former Bar Manager for taking the time to carry
out important tasks and having to be more responsible in relation to shifts this week.
Secondly, preparing the drinks order for The Final Fling is going well and not in danger of making an
over-order as suggested by the notoriously dubious publication, Toilet Paper. Our planned order is
within the part of the budget allocated for drinks, and I believe that increasing the amount of rum and
maintaining a similar amount of vodka is justified. Most importantly, we do not want a repeat of any
spirit running out, while it is also important to mention that this year we have a better quality vodka
which will be more popular on the night and easier to resell any remaining bottles. I can understand
why the treasurer wants to run a tight ship with his finances (#austerityYates) , but I don’t see any
need to reduce the order I size I have agreed with the Final Fling Presidents when we are within
budget and set to recoup money through both cut-price mixers and reselling leftover alcohol after the
event.
Hopefully we will be able to discuss bar-related investments this meeting, for which I have already
done some groundwork. Of the smaller-scale improvements, responses ranged from 29% very
important/quite important for bar mats to 75% for a small range of cocktails. The latter will be
available within a week, as displayed by the framed bar menu, accompanying the cocktails as another
result of the survey. Responses to the larger-scale improvements were even more telling. Very few
respondents considered a new fridge or keg to be important, unlike the Wi-Fi and new flooring/doors
which were 78% and 82% very/quite important respectively. As for the former, I am still hassling the
college about alternatives to the ridiculously expensive access point they have offered. Unfortunately,
we are not in a postcode where we can get plug-in broadband so I will continue to investigate
alternatives. Meanwhile, Bob has given me a rough quote for the door and laminate flooring is wellachievable so these are both looking promising. We can discuss other options missing from the survey
like DVDs and a fan.
I hope you can see I’ve been quite busy, but please continue to ask questions and suggest
improvements as the bar is not a dictatorship. Thanks!
Jonny
Rennies adds to his report that the Blues board for the JCR has been made it’s just not in the JCR yet
– it is going to be installed imminently at the same time as the sink. The financial arrangements have
already been sorted.
Natasha Stevens draws attention to a letter from Freddy Rendall, Access Rep, as he could not be at the
meeting tonight.
Evie says she has been told to ask if the boat house will give college discounts on pedalos.
Obers and Will Tomsett think that college should find out what the deal is first before anything is
agreed.
Tash says she wants to gage opinion as to whether people would be interested in using the pedalos.
About half the room put their hands up showing interest.
Tomsett asks if there’s a specific day that this deal would take place on.
Rennies says this has not been decided.
Yates asks why journals at the back of the library are not being moved to archives
Rennies says that that will be too much effort and money and that there is also not enough room in the
archives. College are also not willing to increase pressure for this to happen. However the library are
going to get another desk and rearrange the seating so more seats are available. But with the student
body increasing the library are still going to do more.
Tomsett asks when this is going to happen, considering Trinity term is an important time for library
space.
Evie says this it is not a good idea to rearrange the desks in Trinity term as people have already set up
spaces in the library.
Tomsett says he is worried that it won’t be done.
Ellie Jenkins asks if people are still keen to have cake Friday, or if a different day would be preferable
as Friday afternoon brew often has to be cut short. Cake Thursday is decided.
Stretto says he has emailed Matthew Mills so that he will come and make sure the bar is shut every
day at eleven, especially in this exam period.
Yates asks if sports and arts grants are being given out.
Rose says she has given out half but is still waiting for receipts.
Tomsett asks if the college Facebook is still being updated and if the minutes are being put down in
Angus.
It is agreed that the Exec will discuss the archives at the end of term.
Obers asks what has changed in regards to sports and arts grants.
Rose says that currently it is not clear what is needed in the application as people are not giving good
breakdowns of their spending etc. and so a model application may well be drawn up to use which will
make the whole process of judging applications easier.
Obers asks the bar manager about issues with stock as the bar often runs out of energy drink, tonic
and cups which means it is not run well especially on Friday, as well as when the bar is shut it often
being left in a bit of state. He asks whether stock checks are being done so it is clear what to buy.
Stretto says that this week has been difficult however usually the bar is cleaned well. He wants to
discuss how the money the bar is making should be spent.
Obers ask why more isn’t being bought for fling.
Streatto says this should be directed to the final fling chair.
Stretto says he shall email round the bar accounts, but the bar has made £3000 which he is happy to
spend.
Says he wants to know whether prices should go down or what people want to spend it on.
Presentation of Accounts by Rose Vennin
Rose says there was an unexpected large budget surplus in Hilary which is going to be used on the
sink and the Blues Board. A deal has been done with college so the JCR pays for half and college for
half, so the JCR is paying £866.
Last year’s Trinity budget surplus was £400. However less people have signed up for punting so
might go down.
Questions
It is asked what has happened regarding the capitation split.
Rennies says it has not been discussed yet in fellows meeting. However the MCR have given
information and documents regarding the matter.
Yates asks why there has been such a big underspend on welfare.
Rennies says this has been due to a lot of people not claiming their money back – still missing quite a
few uberbrew receipts.
Tash says the welfare budget is often only spent when needed – if there is no need for it then it won’t
get spent.
Rose points out that she is also trying to keep money aside as things in the JCR often get broken due
to celebrating finalists.
Kate says that two cuppers events have been entered which doesn’t usually happen as there are
normally not enough people to play in Trinity which also need to be covered.
Lucy asks of the DVD library budget is being used.
Rennies says in Michaelmus it was used – however the Hilary one has not been used yet.
Freddy (coming to the meeting late) asks whether the auditing for the bar is being done correctly.
Streatto says it is.
Tomsett says he does not think giving discounts to people who have paid off their tabs in eighth week
is a good idea as people still get away with not paying their tab.
Taylor, JCR auditor, says he hasn’t seen passed sixth week so can’t tell if the tabs from the end of last
term have been paid.
Lucy says the tab system is too lenient as some peoples’ get up to around £30.
Stretto says that this is very few people, and the bar’s money is not in tabs now as people have paid.
Stretto says some tabs may be allowed to get too high, but they are paid in eighth week and the bar
has still made an £800 profit.
Tomsett says he is sceptical about this £800 profit.
Yates says it is not a good idea to let peoples’ tabs get too high just to make money.
Lucy says people with high tabs should just not be served.
Stretto says by not serving people the bar makes less money.
Morgan agrees and says there is nothing wrong with this.
Stretto says he thinks it’s positive that the tab system should be freer.
Jack Wakefield says he did not pay back his tab last term and was then told he didn’t have one.
Tomsett says he also didn’t pay though it says he did.
Stretto says he remembers Tomsett paying his tab.
Streatto says he still doesn’t think this is an issue as 95% of people do pay their tab back. It is
inevitable that the committee will make mistakes.
Tomsett says the eighth week discount still isn’t a good idea.
Streatto says he believes it is a good way to reward people and offers to send round the accounts.
Freddy says this really shouldn’t be looked at as a disaster as a healthy profit is still being made.
Tomsett says he is still unsure that an £800 profit has been made and doesn’t want the bar to spend
money it doesn’t have.
Stretto says he will email the accounts out which will prove what he’s saying.
Freddy asks whether stock was factored in.
Stretto says £100 worth was.
Reports from Final FlingChairs
Imo says that compared to last year they are making sure entertainment will be going on all night.
There will be live music, a silent disco, a bouncy castle, performers, and an additional surprise is
being worked on.
Freddy asks whether there be music all night
Imo says there will be of different genres as well as entertainment in the collier room and quad.
Everything will go on until midnight
Yates believes the £4 increase in ticket price to be worth it as there will be much more going on and
Fling will make a profit.
Imo says they have shopped round for everything again to get the best deals, and so there will be a
different photo booth this year as they have found a better deal.
Morgan points out they are also not being donated prosecco so this will be covered in the ticket
increase.
Obers says a £2000 profit was still made so why did tickets go up.
Imo says prices for everything else have gone up, so the ticket increase also covers this as savoury
food is now even more expensive.
Freddy asks what happens to the Fling profit.
Yates says it is used to cover any losses as a few years ago a £3000 loss was made. Money also has to
be in the account otherwise it can be fined.
Obers points out that drinks were overspent on last year with there being 17.5 units per person and so
why is this going up to 20 units. Means that more money is just being spent on cheap drinks in 8th
week.
Imo says that it was actually 21 units last year so it’s being kept the same. The idea is to make sure
everyone’s choice of drink is available for the whole night and nothing runs out. They are also doing
more cocktails this year which shall cost more.
Tomsett worried the profit margin from last year is being decreased.
Stretto says they’re exactly the same.
Taylor comes to his pidge.
Tomsett says he does not see why so much is being spent on alcohol when last year so much was
given away for free.
Morgan says their priority is not to run out of alcohol.
Obers says if they didn’t run out last year why would they this year – there’s no increase in the
number of people.
Morgan says it could be a gamble if we leave it the same.
Yates says that the ticket prices will be decreased next year and Obers is just annoyed because of the
slight increase.
Imo says that last year they did actually run out of rum and the special cocktail which meant people
couldn’t have their first choice of drink. Not everyone can drink something else as it may make them
feel ill.
Morgan says that if Obers has any more questions he can talk to them in person.
Ordinary Motions
Will Tomsett
Seconded by Beth Hibbert
This JCR notes:
a)That the old Blues board quickly filled with names of students with half-Blues;
b)That the award of a half-Blue to a College student is now rather commonplace.
This JCR believes:
a)That the Blues Board ought to commemorate only the achievements of a Full Blue by a Regent’s
student.
This JCR resolves:
a) To add to Standing Orders as ‘Section 14: Blues Board’ points b-c (With the current Section 14
being made Section 15).
b) The Blues Board in the JCR shall record the names of college students who achieve a Full Blue as
awarded by the relevant Blues Committee.
c) The President shall be responsible for organising the adding of names to the Blues Board, and may
request to see the Blues Certificate to confirm the award of a Full Blue.
Tomsett says that the last Blues board filled up in forty years which isn’t actually a very long time –
the motion codifies how JCR members get their name on the board.
It is asked how much a Blues’ board is.
Rennies says it is £330.
Kate Cole says she doesn’t think it’s fair that in Sports like sailing where girls can’t get a full blue that
they should not be allowed on the board.
Tomsett says he agrees and so in his motion it says in a JCR meeting someone can explain why they
should be on the board.
Lucy says this is unfair as it will mean people won’t be able to be on the board for things which
people previously could.
Tomsett says that in the past half-blues were much less frequent so it seemed more of an achievement
– now college get them much more frequently.
Freddy asks why we can’t find somewhere else to put the blues’ board as a half-blue is still a great
achievement.
Tomsett says the problem comes with defining what an achievement is.
Freddy says that it’s not fair that whether someone should go on the board is to be decided in a JCR
meeting.
Tomsett asks whether Freddy thinks everyone should go on the board.
Freddy says if they have achieved the highest degree in their sport then they should.
Stretto agrees with Freddy and says that if someone has made a real effort to bring a sport into college
then this should be recognised.
Esther asks if people pay for themselves to go on the board would that solve the issue of money.
Tomsett says the issue is more to do with space around the JCR.
Esther says that peoples’ sports should be put up once they’ve graduated so sports don’t go up twice.
Obers points out that we have needed a new board since 2010 and only now are we getting one –
should it be filled up that quickly?
Freddy says that all achievements should be encouraged and a sport shouldn’t have to be considered
‘valid’ to go on there.
Vote:
7 in favour
8 against
10 abstentions
Freddy says he will do an amendment motion for sixth week.
Motion falls.
Rose Vennin
Seconded by Will Tomsett
This JCR notes:
a) That the Saturday newspapers are usually left unread in the JCR
b) That the referendum on Saturday newspapers in Hilary had a 14% turnout, demonstrating a certain
apathy on the part of the JCR
b) That the JCR has informally expressed in previous meetings some agreement to stop the Saturday
newspapers (Michaelmas II - 2014)
c) That providing a service that is not used by the JCR does not correspond to the best allocation of its
resources
d) That the JCR would save £42 if Saturday newspapers were no longer provided (7 x £6)
This JCR believes:
a) That the money saved could be used more wisely
b) That the provision of Saturday newspapers should be ended
This JCR resolves:
a) To put an end to the provision of the Saturday newspapers.
Rose says that as no one seems to read the Saturday papers this would be a really good way to save
money, especially as the Trinity budget is so tight - £42 will be saved per term.
Michael Beale asks if there has just been a decline in Trinity or throughout the year.
Rose says there has been a general decline as no one tends to come to the JCR on a Saturday.
Lucy asks whether this issue should be raised to more members of the JCR as lots of people aren’t
present at the meeting.
Rose says that the motion was on the agenda and people haven’t come so they cannot be that
concerned and only 40% voted on the previous question about the papers.
Evie says the Saturday papers are a fairly new addition anyway as they were never bought when she
first joined.
Vote:
24 in favour
1 against
3 abstentions
Motion passes
Divestment campaign motion
This CR notes that:
1.
In September 2013 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that in
order to stay below a one-third probability of a devastating global temperature rise of 2°C, cumulative
carbon emissions cannot exceed a “budget” of about 800 gigatons. Over-shooting this by just 5%
increases the chance of exceeding 2°C to 50%. Over 500 gigatons has already been emitted.
[IPCC]
2.
Current fossil fuel reserves amount to nearly four times the remaining carbon budget.
Therefore around 80% of reserves must stay in the ground.
[CarbonTracker.org]
3.
Despite this, the top 200 coal, oil and gas companies spent almost $700billion in the last 12
months finding and developing even more reserves.
[CarbonTracker.org]
4.
It's estimated that UK Universities invest around £2k per student in fossil fuel companies.
Oxford hasn't released a detailed breakdown but has no specific policy on FF investment so it is likely
to be around the UK average. [350.org]
5.
There is a growing international campaign for fossil fuel divestment, which has spread to the
UK, notably through the Fossil Free UK campaign. There are currently student-led divestment
campaigns in 20 UK universities as well as many other institutions.Notably in July 2014, Oxford City
Council voted to stop any direct investments in fossil fuels, and in October 2014, Glasgow University
voted to divest its endowment by stopping any new investments in fossil fuels and phasing out
existing investments, making it the first UK university to do so.
6.
Oxford University has the second largest endowment of any UK university (3.6 billion).
7.
Oxford University’s Socially Responsible Investment Review Committee is meant to enforce
the Policy on SRI, stating that the university aims to:
negatively or positively screen investments on ethical grounds, where this does not reduce the
financial return on investment, but with the proviso that, if the activities of a company are, on ethical
grounds, inconsistent with the educational and/or research objectives of the University, then the
University may choose not to invest even though this may reduce returns.[University Policy on SRI
1.b]
8.
OUSU’s student-led Environment & Ethics Campaign has now been campaigning in favour
of divestment for over a year.
9.
The University’s Socially Responsible Investment Review Committee held a consultation to
inform their stance on divestment.
10.
OUSU’s E&E Campaign has submitted a report to SRIRC entitled ‘Averting a Climate Crisis’
requesting that the University:
A.
Systematically evaluate carbon risk across the entire investment portfolio;
B.
Actively manage the carbon risk exposure of its portfolio with the aim of steadily shifting
investments away from high-risk, carbon-intensive assets and toward low-carbon opportunities;
C.
Remove from its portfolio all direct investments in coal and tar sands oil assets as soon as
possible;
D.
Develop a strategy to effectively engage with policy-makers, financial regulators and
corporate management, notably by becoming a member of the Institutional Investors’ Group on
Climate Change (IIGCC).
11. SRIRC produced their own recommendations in response to the consultation on divestment.
These have been discussed by General Purposes Committee (GPC), the most senior committee in the
university, and on March 16th the recommendations of GPC on fossil fuel divestment went to
University Council.
12. University Council deferred their decision at the first meeting on divestment
13. University Council will now meet on 18th May to make a decision on divestment, campaigning
can and should continue during the lead up to this important meeting
This CR believes that:
1.
Investment made by the University into unethical fossil fuel companies is socially
irresponsible and inconsistent with the educational objectives of the University.
2.
Divestment is an effective means of protest against unethical corporate behaviour.
3.
Actions taken by Oxford University can attract substantial national media coverage.
Divestment here would encourage other UK universities to divest.
This CR resolves to:
1.
Support the OUSU Environment & Ethics Campaign, by mandating the JCR President to
email cara.turton-chambers@hertford.ox.ac.uk with the subject line “Regent’s Park College JCR
supports the OUSU E&E Divestment Campaign".
Nilen says this is a motion supported by OUSU and 28 other colleges and that we should add our
support to it too.
Obers asks if this can be left for sixth week, as it is quite a big issue and so more time to be left for
people to think about it.
Tomsett says he is not convinced divesting is very easy for the university as it’s a very complicated
progress.
Stretto asks if this is a university campaign or individual colleges.
Nilen says it is a university-wide campaign.
Tomsett says people may have strong feelings about this issue who aren’t here and so more time
should be given to think about it.
Lucy proposes some kind of ballot, as it would get more opinion.
Izzy points out that Regent’s Park Reps already voted for this in OUSU council so surely this is
unnecessary.
Vote:
24 in favour
3 against
Jack, VP Officer Report
Jack says start of term went really well as he met all the visiting students before they started and
made sure they had a proper introduction.
Jordan says he thinks the position is really beneficial and it was really good to have a student’s
perspective.
Jack says he encourages the students to come to social events around college and signed people up to
the doctors.
Evie asks if VP could work with the Social Sec so the visiting students could go on Park Life straight
away.
Saskia says that Jack has already helped with this as some visiting students aren’t in the photobook so
it’s easy to miss them out.
Tomsett asks which college staff are responsible for visiting students.
Jack says it is himself, Lynn Robson, and Elizabeth the assistant librarian.
Izzy reminds everyone that finalist brew is at 4pm on Wednesday in the Craig Knight Room and to
tell her any dietary requirements.
Stretto says he has sent out a survey about the bar for people to fill in.
Rennies says at 1:30 on Friday there will be a rents and battels negation meeting and to go to Izzy’s
play.
Meeting called to an end.