Download 2007-04-29-jcr-agenda

ST JOHN'S COLLEGE
JUNIOR COMMON ROOM
The People's Republic of St Giles
Draft agenda for the first JCR meeting of Trinity Term 2007
Sunday 29th April, 8:30pm, Larkin Room
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Matters arising from the minutes
Officers' reports
Reps' reports
Ratifications
Items for discussion
Passing of Charities Motions Nem Con
(a) The Projects Abroad in Bolivia Motion (Charities)
Proposed: Céline Lévy
Seconded: Claire Stockdale
(b) The Friends of Children of Romania Motion (Charities)
Proposed: Edmund Dickinson
Seconded: Rhys Jones
viii. Agenda Items
(a) The Project Abroad in Bolivia Motion (Charities)
Proposed: Céline Lévy
Seconded: Claire Stockdale
This JCR notes that:
a. Céline is going to Bolivia with Projects Abroad, the leading volunteer placement
organization in the UK, where she will be placed in an orphanage.
b. Her activities will include: helping with homework and arts, music, basic
literacy lessons in Spanish, and taking part in building or fixing parts of the
orphanage.
c. The children are not necessarily orphans; some have been taken into care,
were living on the streets, or have been involved in drugs and prostitution Bolivia is the world's third largest producer of coca.
d. 64% the Bolivian population is below the poverty line.
e. Bolivia is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked
for the purposes of labour and sexual exploitation to Argentina, Brazil, and
Chile, as well as to Spain. Children are trafficked internally for sexual
exploitation, forced mining, and agricultural labour, and illegal migrants from
Asia transiting Bolivia are vulnerable as trafficking victims.
This JCR believes that:
f.
This is an unrivalled opportunity to provide children with care and attention.
g. Céline will gain a valuable insight into the fields of sustainable development
and humanitarian aid, in which she may specialise.
This JCR therefore resolves to:
h. Donate £200 towards Céline's work with Projects Abroad in Bolivia.
(b) The Friends of Children of Romania Motion (Charities)
Proposed: Edmund Dickinson
Seconded: Rhys Jones
This JCR notes that:
a. Last year, the JCR supported Friends of Children in Romania, a charity which
operates an orphanage in the Carpathian Mountains, caring for 20 Romanian
children from the ages of 6 to 17.
b. This charity was founded by Mary Gibson, an expatriate, and Nicholas Warrilow
and Kathryn Laing, current and former students of the University of Oxford, are
currently involved in its operation.
c. The charity requires funds for the care, schooling and medical treatment of the
orphans.
This JCR believes that:
d. Having supported this charity in the past, this is an opportunity to continue
JCR's involvement with the good work done by Oxford students in Romania.
This JCR therefore resolves to:
e. Donate £250 to the Friends of Children in Romania.
(c) The 2008 SJC Ball Motion – Proposed Price
Proposed: Waqas Akhtar
Seconded: Anthony George
This JCR notes that:
a. A complicated set of factors, including college size and capacity, tend to price
Oxford ball tickets in one of two classes: a small ball with tickets ranging from
£50-70 and a large ball with tickets ranging from £110-130.
b. A small ball would entail the use of the 3 main quads and part of the main lawn.
The lack of indoor capacity would mean the size would be limited to around 500
people. A large ball would use all of college except Tommy White and would be
able to hold up to 1300 attendees.
c. The committee decided to opt for a larger ball for a number of reasons. The
base costs for a ball (marquees, security, stages, lighting, sound equipment)
are similar for different size balls, but a larger ball will give us excess capital to
spend on higher quality food, drink, music and entertainment.
d. The last ball provided adequate provision of most of these areas, but although
priced at £95 a ticket, the real cost was £125 with the inclusion of the college
subsidy. Similarly, many of the large balls in Oxford charge £120-140.
Considering the minimum cost for a good quality event for this size of college,
£120 is the minimum price for a large ball.
e. Providing the best quality ball would in practice cost £150 but many elements
can be budgeted without losing a sense of elegance to £120 per head.
f.
The price could be lowered with sponsorship, which has not yet been factored
in, but we hope that it may lower the price to less than £100. There is no
guarantee of this, however.
This JCR believes that:
g. St John's should host an elegant ball to rival the great balls of Oxford, and
should set a standard that will guarantee a ball every 3 years. There should be
enough high quality food, drink, music and entertainment to last the entire
evening.
h. The alternative is to not pass this motion, obliging a re-evaluation of our
direction. The committee would then re-research the possibility of a smaller
ball, which we believe would cost in the region of £70. The atmosphere would
be similar to that of a combination of Guest Dinner, Boatie Cocktails &
Fragstonbury.
This JCR therefore resolves to:
i.
Approve a ticket price of £120, subject to possible reduction via sponsorship.
(d) The 2008 SJC Ball Motion – Proposed Theme
Proposed: Waqas Akhtar
Seconded: Anthony George
This JCR notes that:
a. The Ball Committee has discussed possible themes for the 2008 Ball at length.
This JCR believes that:
b. The 2008 Ball should have a theme.
c. Our proposed theme is a World Ball (to be explained at the meeting).
This JCR therefore resolves to:
d. Approve the theme as a World Ball.
(e) The JCR Barbeque Motion (Financial)
Proposed: George Mackinnon
Seconded: Charlotte Constable
This JCR notes that:
a. Several entz events are planned for this term, requiring the use of a barbeque.
b. The JCR does not have its own barbeque.
c. The use of disposable barbeques is frowned upon by the college.
This JCR believes that:
d. A well-maintained barbeque is a good investment for the future.
e. Everyone likes a good barbeque!
This JCR therefore resolves to:
f.
ix.
Mandate the Entz Officers to buy an appropriate barbeque, and the associated
equipment, up to a maximum cost of £100.
Any other business