2017 Committee Lunch

Date: Wednesday 2nd week, Michaelmas 2017 (2017-10-18)

Attendance

Present: Hubert Au (President), Frederick Potts (Vice-President (Administrative)), Hannah Williams (Secretary), Zachary Leather (Treasurer), John Watson (Lindsay), Leah Mitchell (Foody), Alastair Nicklin (Sports Rep), Luke Chester (Academic Affairs and Careers Officer), Calum Holt (Access and Admissions Officer), Isobel Howden (Access and Admissions Officer), Rishem Khattar (Charities and RAG Officer), Juliet Flamank (Student Disabilities Officer), Marianne Cain (Student Disabilities Officer), Steven Rose (Entz Officer), Stephen Hawes (John de Balliol), John Maier (John de Balliol), Felix Heilmann (Environment & Ethics Officer), Amrita Khandpur (International Students Officer), Julia Davis (Housing Officer), Cole Horton (LGBTQ Officer), Pallavi Ojha (LGBTQ Officer), Laura McMillen (Women's Officer), Monique Keane (Women's Officer)

Absent with apologies: Ele Saltmarsh (Dr. WHO), Alexander Fuller (Dr. WHO), Alexander Toal (Foody), Finn Conway (Academic Affairs and Careers Officer), Leon Kidd (Charities and RAG Officer), Richard Ware (Design & Maintenance Officer), Ellen Cropley (Entz Officer), Joshua Jones (Environment & Ethics Officer), Simran Uppal (Ethnic Minorities Officer), Alexander Gruen (International Students Officer), Antonia Siu (Website & Computing Officer)

Absent without explanation: Kathryn Husband (Sports Rep), Suwanja Srikantha (Ethnic Minorities Officer)

Agenda

1. Matters Arising 

Co-options 

Airbeds (Ste) 

Maintenance Grant (Ste)

Bar Decorations (Zach) 

2. AOB 

Minutes

Minutes CL 

MT 2nd week. 

It is agreed that co-options will be done when more people have arrived after lectures. 

1. Airbeds (Ste) 

Ste asked if we know where the foam air beds are and if not, can Julia (Housing Officer) buy some more from general expenditure fund. It will need to go through a GM but this is just a preliminary discussion about finding out where the air beds are and ways of preventing them getting lost again. 

There was discussion about implementing a deposit system, however it was accepted that the JCR is against fines. There was also discussion about implementing a bodcard system that the plodge uses for keys, however there is not enough space to keep the beds in the plodge. 

It is agreed that there will be a post on the old and new Facebook Pages and wait for a week, and if no responses we will buy some more and re-discuss how to resolve them always getting lost. 

 

2. Maintenance Grants (Ste) 

Ste said that all the Committee should be pushing for students to apply for maintenance grants. We should be open about the fact that we’ve applied and send out the message that you may as well do it, and let college decide what to do with their money. 

There was some discussion about putting in place a similar chocolate-giving system that was done last year for voting, however this might be unfair because only some years can apply for the grant.

Izzy said that various people on the committee should do posts like Ste’s before the deadline and this is agreed.   

 

It is then agreed that co-options will take place, with committee business to be resumed after. 

3. Co-options

Vice-President 

 

Ste explained that he wants to soften the ground following the recent controversies and has had the experience on committee as Secretary and Entz to do this. He has a fairly well-proven track record and wants to prepare for the new committee coming in. 

 

Amrita said she wants to do the same thing, taking some of the slack off Committee’s shoulders. She’s been heavily involved with freshers’ week and will be able to help the incoming VP. She feels competent to take on the workload as she’s been doing the job of Dr Who for two terms during stressful times. 

 

Julia asked if the candidates would be able to hold two positions at the same time and Hubert replied it is constitutionally permitted under very specific circumstances. 

Amrita said she would maintain working as Dr Who and Ste said he would continue as Entz, a timetable for what he has to do already being written up. The most of the remaining Entz work takes place at the actual bop during which time the VP will not be needed. 

Hubert supported that this term, all that remains for the VP to do is deputise the President and sit in during meetings, liaising with Rachel. 

 

Dr. WHO 

 

Juliet says that she has been on welfare sub committee for two terms and knows the rest of the committee well. She knows what the team needs to keep running, having been doing some Dr Who things recently. For the next four weeks she intends to carry on with what’s already been put into motion and has a good understanding of what needs to be done. 

 

There are no questions. 

 

Affiliations 

 

Mick said that he has decided to try out for the role as an introductory stage to engaging with the Balliol Committee and community. He is really grateful to the college and wants to be more involved, having reached out to the previous officer to find out what the job entails. He acknowledged that recent JCR participation with the MCR hasn’t been so active and he wants to find out why and whether this would be desirable to be changed. He hasn’t had exact experience with OUSU but has had responsibility in his previous extra-curricular activities. 

 

There are no questions. 

 

JdeB 

 

It was decided that the JdeB co-options would take place next week as despite the deadline given, two further candidates turned up to be co-opted. Next week will both give time to circulate the candidates’ names around the JCR so that anyone can raise any questions they might have, and enough time for the elected JdeBs to produce a publication before the bop. 

 

All candidates left the room. 

 

Concerning the VP candidates there was discussion that keeping the heads of welfare separate without mingling with other roles might be desirable, especially given the recent lack of stability for first years. 

 

Voting takes place by paper ballot. 

 

Ste is duly co-opted as VP, Juliet as Dr Who and Mick as Affiliations Officer. 

 

Resuming motions; 

 

4. Bar decorations (Zach)

Zach explained the bar is having a night for breast cancer awareness on Friday and would like some decorations and pink candyfloss from the new machine found in the JCR office. Nicola (who couldn’t be there) and Amrita both want money for decorations and candyfloss sugar. They are asking for £36.  

It is agreed that it will be found out which charity the money is going to and it will be ensured the charity is reputable. 

 

No further questions. No objections. 

Motion passes. 

AOB

1. TV room (Zach) 

Zach said he will be ringing Sky immediately after the meeting to sort out the subscription whilst the TV is broken. 

 

2. TV room levy (Zach) 

Zach said he would like to bring to a GM an optional levy for the TV room, the funds will be at the discretion of the Treasurer, to make the TV room a nicer place to be. He said it will be nice to have more than FIFA in there and will hopefully make more people think about using it. Somewhere around £1 would be the levy. 

It is discussed how we can stop things getting broken and make sure people take care over console and chairs and Zach said that this will hopefully help people feel a connection to the room by funding it themselves. Zach also said that there will be a list of things which the levy may be spent on, for example two games per term and if there is anything people want which is over that limit it will have to go through a GM. 

Marianne suggests that we should try to stop the TV room having such a hostile environment and it is agreed that a reminder should be sent out to the JCR that the room is for everyone. Beth suggests that we could host welfare events in there to enhance the mentality that it is another part of the JCR. 

 

3. Committee (Izzy) 

Izzy said she wants to start a discussion about how we can encourage people to apply for positions in the upcoming elections because of changed perceptions around welfare sub-committee and committee in general. This will be brought to the next committee lunch, it’s just something we should think about now. 

Marianne said that firstly, we need to make the difference between welfare and peer supporters clear and Luke added that we need to realign welfare sub with members of the JCR. 

Zach added that we should especially encourage women to run for ‘top’ roles within the committee and ensure that next time they’re not all men. He said that if there are no women candidates approaching you, try to seek out women who you think are suitable. 

 

4. GM motion (Beth) 

Beth said that she will be bringing a motion about Yarl’s Wood on Sunday, however doesn’t know whether the motion for reimbursement should go with the charitable donation. 

Zach said that charitable donations that aren’t of a time-sensitive nature are unconstitutional because money at the end of the year should get donated to the elected charities.