Brasenose JCR passed an emergency motion on Sunday to pay £4,000 towards the losses incurred by the “Dreams of a Golden Age” Ball, which took place on the 14th May 2011.
This contribution is less than a third of the total of £13,597 lost by the college as a result of the ball. Last term the JCR agreed to pay the college the sum of £3,500 in compensation, but the Brasenose Governing Body, which holds full control over the JCR budget, rejected this proposal, prompting the JCR to propose a more generous contribution this term.
Last summer, College Bursar Philip Parker insisted, “the JCR could not expect the College just to write a cheque for the loss” and said, “We will certainly be putting in place measures to learn from the experience and avoid losses at future balls as the College has no desire to provide any financial support to future balls”. He declined to comment this week.
The motion, proposed by JCR President Dan Wainwright and Treasurer Stephen Kyberd, noted that the JCR “breaks even or has a slight surplus year on year”. The payment will leave the JCR with just £3,300. The motion also states that “The JCR would aim to reach a stable capital base of £5,000 over a number of years,” without specifying how long this would take.
Wainwright commented, “The JCR finances are still in good shape, despite this loss”, and that “the meet- ing on Sunday went really well”. However one Brasenose undergraduate described the atmosphere as “one of general resignment.”
A second undergraduate said, “We had hashed out this issue so many times in previous JCR meetings that everyone had grudgingly accepted the bail-out.” She claimed that the majority of the JCR were tired of the issue while, “the majority of freshers (bless them) didn’t have a clue what was going on, considering it was their first JCR meeting.
“In all honesty, it is a fair amount to pay back as college agreed to foot £10,000 towards the total ball loss. If it means that the JCR remains on good terms with college, then it’s worth it.”
President of the Ball Committee, Crispin Royle-Davies, wrote an email containing an apology last term, but declined to comment this week.
This contribution is less than a third of the total of £13,597 lost by the college as a result of the ball. Last term the JCR agreed to pay the college the sum of £3,500 in compensation, but the Brasenose Governing Body, which holds full control over the JCR budget, rejected this proposal, prompting the JCR to propose a more generous contribution this term.
Last summer, College Bursar Philip Parker insisted, “the JCR could not expect the College just to write a cheque for the loss” and said, “We will certainly be putting in place measures to learn from the experience and avoid losses at future balls as the College has no desire to provide any financial support to future balls”. He declined to comment this week.
The motion, proposed by JCR President Dan Wainwright and Treasurer Stephen Kyberd, noted that the JCR “breaks even or has a slight surplus year on year”. The payment will leave the JCR with just £3,300. The motion also states that “The JCR would aim to reach a stable capital base of £5,000 over a number of years,” without specifying how long this would take.
Wainwright commented, “The JCR finances are still in good shape, despite this loss”, and that “the meet- ing on Sunday went really well”. However one Brasenose undergraduate described the atmosphere as “one of general resignment.”
A second undergraduate said, “We had hashed out this issue so many times in previous JCR meetings that everyone had grudgingly accepted the bail-out.” She claimed that the majority of the JCR were tired of the issue while, “the majority of freshers (bless them) didn’t have a clue what was going on, considering it was their first JCR meeting.
“In all honesty, it is a fair amount to pay back as college agreed to foot £10,000 towards the total ball loss. If it means that the JCR remains on good terms with college, then it’s worth it.”
President of the Ball Committee, Crispin Royle-Davies, wrote an email containing an apology last term, but declined to comment this week.
