Two members of the Mansfield Entz team have apologised to the college’s JCR after confusion surrounding a recent intercollegiate trip to the Ministry of Sound, a nightclub in London.
The two students involved told Mansfield JCR members they were sorry “for not appreciating the sensitivity surrounding the issue of profit made from Ministry of Sound tickets sold to members of other colleges.”
Controversy first arose before the trip took place, as it emerged that one of the pair had made a profit from selling tickets to other colleges.
By the terms of the Mansfield JCR constitution, members of the JCR committee or “Bench” are not allowed to make a personal profit if in the sale they are acting in their capacity as a Bench member.
The Mansfield College Scrutiny Committee looked into the case and found that although “the member in question did not actively tell the buyers that he/she was acting as a Bench member” (indeed, Entz Committee members are not officially Bench members), nonetheless buyers in other colleges “had come to the assumption that they had bought tickets from Mansfield’s JCR.”
The Scrutiny Committee’s report concluded, “A line must be drawn between JCR activity and private activity. In this instance, such a distinction was blurred in a way that the Scrutiny Committee feels was irresponsible and misleading.”
A settlement was reached whereby buyers were given the option either to accept a refund for the tickets or to proceed with the transaction in a personal capacity with the JCR committee members in question. The members of the Entz committee were allowed to keep any profits they had made as a result of these personal transactions.
However, the incident was the subject of further controversy this week, concerning the way in which these profits were allegedly spent. In an email sent to the Mansfield JCR this week, JCR President Maia Muir Wood claimed that members of the Entz team “were involved in posting on the Mansfield Entz Facebook account about the way in which they ‘spent’ the profit” and that “the SC [Scrutiny Committee] agree that this was grossly irresponsible.”
According to unconfirmed reports by a source who wished to remain anonymous, the members in question went to The Ritz Hotel in London on Saturday to spend the profits they had made, then informed college members of this fact on Facebook.
A Mansfield second year said that “where they spent the money is not the issue”, but took a dim view of the fact that members of the Entz committee made a personal profit from ticket sales.
She said, “I think it’s totally embarrassing and they should pay the money back. If it’s not money spent on the JCR, then I don’t think they had a right to take it.”
The two JCR committee members responsible for the apology both declined to comment when contacted by Cherwell this week.
Muir Wood, telling college members she wanted to “clear the air” about these events, concluded, “There is no turning back the clocks, and I believe strongly that the time has come to draw the line under this episode”, adding, “generally we as a college must now look to the future and ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
