Clubs registered with or looking to register with the University are being required to amend their constitutions to meet new University regulations. The new rules came into effect in October 2013, however, clubs that were already registered with the University were granted an academic year’s grace before they had to conform to the regulations.
Clubs run by Oxford University students, which are open to students from various colleges are eligible to apply to register with the University Proctors.
The Proctors’ Office acts as the administrative hub for the Senior Proctor, Junior Proctor and Assessor, who are elected by colleges annually. The Senior Proctor and Junior Proctor have responsibility for ensuring that the University, including clubs affiliated with it, operate according to its statutes.
Clubs not registered with the University are forbidden from using ‘Oxford University’ in their names or to use the University’s coat of arms. After a club has been registered with the Proctors for at least two complete terms, it is then eligible to apply for special permission from the Vice-Chancellor to use the University’s name and arms.
Registration enables clubs to receive support from the University Clubs Committee, which is chaired by the Assessor. Support offered by the committee includes discounted access to insurance cover, minibus hire and photocopying. The committee also gives small start-up awards of up to £200 to new clubs.
However, some clubs have been unhappy about some parts of the new pro forma constitution that incoming regulations require affiliated societies to conform to, except in cases where the Proctors’ office has approved any deviations.
The pro forma constitution of non-sports clubs requires clubs to ensure that at all times the activities of the club in question are conducted in accordance with University policies and codes of practice, which includes its Integrated Equality Policy, Code of Practice on Harassment and Bullying, and Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech.
Other requirements include that every member of a club’s committee and every officer of a club are “entitled to be indemnified by the club against all costs, charges, losses, expenses and liabilities incurred by him or her in the execution or discharge of his or her duties or the exercise of his or her powers, or otherwise properly in relation to or in connection with his or her duties.”
The pro forma constitution also states that a club “may be dissolved at any time by the approving votes of two-thirds of those present in person or by proxy at a General Meeting.” A club may also be dissolved, without the need for any resolution of the members, on not less than thirty days advance notice from the Proctors to the Secretary of the Club, or if at any time the Club ceases to be registered with the Proctors.
In addition, under the rules, if a club is being dissolved, its assets are required not to be automatically distributed amongst the members, but paid to or at the direction of the University.
President of Oxford Scandinavian Society Erik Hammar commented, “The Oxford Scandinavian Society initiated the process of registering with the University some time ago. However, we were informed that it had since recently become a requirement that all clubs bring their constitutions in line with a standard version. My committee and I were surprised by this reply. The specimen constitution is extremely detailed, attempting to govern the fine details of the club’s administration. More importantly, however, it grants final interpretative powers to the proctors, and further it demands that the club’s assets must be “paid to or at the direction of the University” in the case of dissolution. In the light of these highly questionable clauses, we have halted our registration process and are currently discussing how to proceed.”
A spokesperson for the University commented, “Clubs registered with the Proctors are required to follow the rules laid out in the constitution. This is the implementation of a decision of the Rules Committee which took effect from October 2013 with an academic year’s grace period for existing clubs. The Proctors’ Office is happy to advise individual clubs on specific issues as necessary and to listen to feedback on the constitution. A review of the general oversight of clubs has been agreed and will commence shortly.”
