A St John’s College bop was closed down on Saturday owing to the presence of a number of non-St John’s students and damage to ceiling panels outside the room in which the event was being held.
According to various sources, the bop was shut down at half past midnight after the damage was reported. Normally run from 10pm until 1am, college porters are said to have entered the bop, switched on the lights and asked everyone to leave.
The damage has been described as affecting the wooden ceiling panels just outside the room but there are potentially serious ramifications due to the relatively new state of the bop venue. Since the opening of Kendrew Quadrangle in October 2010, St John’s JCR has been able to hold bops in a room built specifically for JCR use.
According to one third year student, “Its official name is the ‘Events Room’ and it is used for some other stuff, but it’s basically purpose built for bops.” The student also claimed that it is a substantial improvementon the previous location of college bops which, “used to be in a grotty basement.”
In tune with recent James Bondmania following the release of the latest film in the series, Skyfall, the theme of the bop was ‘The Spy Who Bopped Me – James Bond(age)’ with many students arriving in black tie in full James Bond style.
For two members of the JCR committee, Jessica Edge and Emily Fradd, the closing down of the bop had a substantially detrimental effect upon one of the few moments of relaxation that Oxford students have access to, due to the college’s actions interrupting their DJ set. “We were inconsolable following the cancellation of the bop, halfway throughour first ever set. As we understand it the reason for this disturbance was that our tunes were so bangin’ that it brought the roof down. Literally.”
There was a further concern by the JCR reps that there was a potentially more malicious reason for the bop’s closure than ceiling damage alone.“As the only female DJs of term we would hope that there is no truth in the rumours that there was an underlying sexist agenda at play.”
Andrew Kennedy, who also attended the bop, jokingly added, “St. John’s College Senior Dean Dr. William White is reported to have been seen racing along St. Giles’ on Saturday evening shouting: ‘Women DJing? WOMEN DJING!? No, no, no, no- not on your watch, Willy, not on your watch.’” However no other witnesses or evidence have come to light that can corroborate this claim.
Due to the outcome of this bop, one St. John’s second year has claimed that the future of college bops is at risk as the question of “whether our next bop will happen is up in the air.”