2015 Committee Lunch

Date: Wednesday 1st week, Trinity 2015 (2015-04-29)

Attendance

Present: Aisha Simon (Vice-President (Administrative)), Richard May (Secretary), John Clark-Maxwell (Treasurer), Richard Ware (Lindsay), Amy Ford (Dr. WHO), Gaetano Iannetta (Foody), George Badger (Charities and RAG Officer), Emily Webb (Charities and RAG Officer), Jack Wheatley (Design & Maintenance Officer), Matthew Lynch (Entz Officer), Calum Jacobs (Environment & Ethics Officer), Daisy Pearson (Environment & Ethics Officer), Cameron Kigonya (Ethnic Minorities Officer), Alex McKenzie (Website & Computing Officer), Charlotte Suttle (Women's Officer)

Absent with apologies: Duncan Shepherd (President), Thomas Posa (Dr. WHO), Michael Wrathall (Foody), Jess Poole (Academic Affairs and Careers Officer), Alice Farrell (Access and Admissions Officer), Emily Barradell (Affiliations Officer), Florence Hardy (Design & Maintenance Officer), Daisy Porter (Student Disabilities Officer), Molly Rogers (Student Disabilities Officer), Colm Britchfield (John de Balliol), Anne Williamson (Ethnic Minorities Officer), Kathryn Pritchard (Women's Officer)

Absent without explanation: Ryan Diamond (Academic Affairs and Careers Officer), Xavier Greenwood (Access and Admissions Officer), James Kavanagh (Affiliations Officer), Benjamin Atueyi (Entz Officer), Oliver Johnson-Munday (John de Balliol), Indigo Wilde (LGBTQ Officer), Samuel Gibb (LGBTQ Officer)

Agenda

Co-Options

1. Disabled Students' Officer

Main Agenda

1. Central Welfare Fund (Duncan)
2. The Junior Deans Are Our Friends (Duncan)
3. The Press (Duncan)
4. Noticeboards (Duncan)
5. Affiliations co-options (Duncan)
6. Liberation group feedback (Duncan)
7. Handbook Changes (Duncan)
8. The Ball - Night off (Duncan)
9. The Ball - Staircase Checks (Duncan)

Minutes

Main Agenda

Aisha summarised Duncan's agenda items.

Co-options

Josh said that physical accessibility was one of his priorities, and that he would assist and support Molly in pushing for this. He'd like to install an internal ramp between the TV room and the JCR, and add a lift at Jowett to enable students with access issues to live in the lowest-floor rooms. He also said that he wanted to improve how College handled suspended students.

Yingyan said that she wanted to run because her grandfather was physically disabled, and it had given her a better understanding of access issues. She said that she was mainly focused on mental health issues, and felt that running meditation classes or similar would help people with stress issues. 

Laura says that she cares about the role of DSO because she's been living with a disability for nine years, and she has taken medical leave for two years. She has used a lot of the facilities that Oxford provides for disabled students, so she can offer targeted advice and recommendations for improving them. She believes that films involving disabled characters will help raise awareness and diminish stigma.

Richard Ware asked what year people were in, and whether they would be around in Michaelmas. Laura and Yingyan are third year and first year respectively and will be around, but Josh is a third-year finalist and will not.

We thanked the candidates for their time, and moved to private debate.

Following a vote in camera, Laura Wills was elected Disabled Students' Officer.

AOB

Amy asked how staffing for welfare ttea would work this term, given the increased number of events held. Amy will make a rota and email it round. Aisha mentioned that Lincoln had an adopt-a-finalist scheme where students from lower years looked after stressed finalists, and that she was wondering about doing something similar at Balliol.

Matt said they’d cleared out the entz cupboard and found lots of weird stuff that they were making available for events.

Richard Ware asked about the drug testing kits that might be made available in Balliol. Aisha said we’d have to ask Duncan about that.

Charlotte said that women’s cocktails was tonight!