Peterhouse JCR Meeting – Wednesday 10/05/06 – 5.00pm in the Bar

 

Minutes

Absent without apologies:

  • Krzysztof Honowski
  • Nat Slater

 

Actions Summary

Pete

Get Housekeeping to approve a Bedders’ Contract, publicise JCR minutes and events in toilets/kitchens around College, source wristbands for garden party, talk to Nat/Krzys about entertainment, ask porters to let us end the garden party later, give Emma the third noticeboard key

Paul & Sean

Put up a page on the JCR website providing information about CUSU stuff

Mark

Scrap the jukebox

Krzys & Nat

Get iPod for bar

Emma

Dave Kerr

 

 

 

Katy

Ben

 

Steal back Twister set from the MCR.

Put a magazine rack in the Upper Sex, get money from the coffee machine, put a clock and a ‘no smoking’ sign in the JCR, put new batteries in the remote controls, replenish the Quiet Room board games and renegotiate the newspaper contracts.

Investigate price of beer and other drinks from Garden Party

Talk to previous President and Treasurer regarding Garden Party budget

Full Minutes

 

Vote of No Confidence

It was noted that Dave Kerr had not attended any JCR committee meetings before this one, and that the long overdue clock and ‘no smoking’ sign for the JCR had not been put up yet, despite many reminders. There was strong agreement that a vote of no confidence should be carried out against Dave if he continues to fail to carry out his responsibilities.

 

Action Points

We went through the action points from the last meeting.

  • Pete has sorted out the JCR stash. It was decided that he need not bother about relabeling the pigeonholes as we know which ones are ours now.
  • Paul will send Sean stuff to put up on the JCR website after the CUSU council meeting on Wednesday. He will do this by the end of the week.
  • The jukebox is in the process of being scrapped.
  • Krzys and Nat were unable to discuss the iPod for the bar, as they were absent.
  • Pete has filed the noticeboard keys, and they are usable.
  • Sean has collated the survey results, and these were sent to all the committee members.
  • Jenny has sent emails about recycling boxes.
  • The Twister spinner is back in the JCR, but nothing else.
  • Lady has organised a marriage dinner.
  • Dave has the keys to the coffee machine but has not removed the money from it.

 

Fuel surcharge

The flat rate proposed by College was accepted in favour of the alternative of charging rates based on room rents, as it was felt that more people would be satisfied by the first option.

 

CUSU Council Agenda

It was discussed how Peterhouse should vote at the CUSU Council on Wednesday night. (See overleaf.)

 

CUSU Budget:

  • A motion was proposed to reduce the affiliation fees for PGCE students as they spend 50% of the year outside Cambridge. We object to this as the CUSU card is probably even more useful outside Cambridge than it is within it. Also, many students from other courses spend large amounts of time outside Cambridge, e.g. manufacturing engineering students.
  • The CUSU diary, distributed to all freshers at the beginning of the year, made a huge loss – and its usefulness is limited as there is very little space to write in it due to all the advertisements. Notwithstanding this, CUSU wants to have a similar print run next year. We object.
  • The CUSU Green Officer wants to produce 6,000 books on ‘How to Recycle Paper’. This is a waste of paper. We object.
  • In general, we object to the budget because the students aren’t getting enough value for money for the CUSU affiliation fees they pay.

 

Other motions:

  • CUSU wants to get a representative on the Bursar’s Committee. We agree.
  • The CUSU Anti-Racism officer wants to put on an anti-racism play at the Amateur Dramatic Theatre in Cambridge, and wants CUSU to support it. We decide to ask for clarification.
  • Paul Powlesland and Pete Davies have submitted a motion on the AUT strike stating that CUSU should not support it as it is not in the interests of students. Laila reported that this motion was slammed at the Women’s Officers meeting last night. It was also mentioned that Paul’s claim that NUS doesn’t support the strike isn’t true. Concerns about the long-term effects of maintaining the low salaries of academic staff were also brought up. We finally decide that CUSU should abstain from this issue as it is not within their territory.
  • We object to the motion on the wealth disparity between colleges, as we feel that it is pointless.
  • The Joint Committee on Academic Performance Report was discussed. We felt that campaigning for the provision of halal food by all colleges may be unrealistic and that this depends on the individual colleges’ resources.
  • It was noted that the motion on the anonymity of class lists should be reversed: CUSU should ask students’ opinion on the matter before pressuring the university to change its policies regarding the publication of examination results.
  • We decide to abstain on all other issues.

 

A full agenda can be found at: http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/union/council/0506/easter/1/ and more information can be found on the External Officer’s page at the Peterhouse JCR website.

 

JCR Garden Party

The Garden Party will be held on Monday, 19th June, in the Scholars’ Garden (not the Deer Park, as the marquee for the May Ball will be erected there). Various ideas were suggested, including cheap paddling pools, a bouncy castle, giant Jenga, giant Connect-4 and Twister. It was suggested that there be slightly less alcohol this year compared to last year, since we ended up with an excess of alcohol last year. Beer will be reduced and replaced with Pimms, to prevent wastage. More ice and water will also be available. The entertainment programme was discussed briefly.

 

Pete will ask the porters to let us close later than last year. To prevent gatecrashers, we may use wristbands – Pete will source these. Ben will consult the previous JCR President and Treasurer on how they allocated last year’s Garden Party budget, and. Katy will investigate the prices of beer, etc.

 

Amenities in the JCR

Dave Kerr will supply the JCR with a clock, a ‘no smoking’ sign, new batteries for the remote controls, and look into replenishing the board games in the Quiet Room. He has already obtained new tips for the pool cues. He will also renegotiate the newspaper contracts in order to save the JCR’s money.

 

Other Business

Pete will give Emma the third JCR noticeboard key.

 

Jenny passes around a brochure for a FairTrade vending machine. We wonder whether it is cost-effective. She will put together a projection of the expected costs for its operation. Jenny also suggested an open meeting motion requesting College to donate £50 to a study of how ethical its investments are.

 

The date of the next meeting will be arranged by email.