Merton and Keble JCRs have overspent their budgets from Michaelmas term 2014.
With an undergraduate body comprising around 300 students, Merton has a budget of £2,000 for their Entz each term, yet this full sum was spent on Freshers’ Week alone last October.
“A high demand of alcohol from freshers which we didn’t anticipate” was blamed for a near £1,000 overspend last Michaelmas term according to Merton’s JCR Treasurer, Maira Chowdhury. She said that providing free alcohol at their Freshers’ Week and Entz was “one of the major reasons we overspent”.
However, as Chowdhury went on to comment, “This is easy to control really – we should provide as much as we can afford to, not to satiate demand no matter how high it is. This shouldn’t be a problem for next Freshers’ Week.”
Keble College also over-spent last Michaelmas, exceeding a third of their annual budget. Keble JCR President Roseanna Petersen commented, “We give our officers budgets for the academic year. The Entz officers used more than a third of this budget last term, but some of this was on investments such as new lights which will continue to benefit the JCR for the foreseeable future.”
Merton undergraduates were keen to defend the expenditure in Freshers’ Week, with first year Italian and Philosophy student Alex Eperon telling Cherwell, “Freshers’ Week is one the most important times in university life; you meet new people and establish friendships that will last for years.
“Merton’s Freshers’ Week this Michelmas lived up to and surpassed expectations of that. I personally rusticated to change course so can say that it was better than last year’s already exceptional week.
“On the first night, the Entz reps hired out Mad Hatter’s Cocktail bar, which we didn’t have the year before. I think this was probably fairly pricey, but I think it was worth it, as the atmosphere was lively, and people were dancing, but as it wasn’t a club people could just chat and start to get to know each other a bit.”
When asked to comment on Merton bops, Edward Thomas, an Ancient and Modern History first year at the college, told Cherwell, “I quite enjoy them.” He added that Merton’s “no fun” reputation is “ridiculous”.
Merton’s total expenses in Michaelmas term last year amounted to £9,574.80. The total income from capitation fees to the JCR was £8,687.93, leaving the College with a deficit of £886.87.
Chowdhury explained, “Our budget’s just a bit tighter for the next two terms. We’re just cutting down spending a bit by Welfare and Entz to cover the cost.”
Having only discovered that they were overspending at the end of last term, she added that, in Hilary, “Entz are only running bops and events with zero cost, for example Karaoke night.”
Typical expenditure for Entz activities varies across colleges. Data collated during Cherwell’s investigation into JCR spending last term revealed that Oriel spends £3,000 on Entz in a year, with an additional £1,000 spent on Fresher’s week. Jesus College budgets £2,000 for Freshers’ week, and sets aside £2,500 for social events, whilst St. Peter’s College spent £1,000 on Freshers’ Week, and has a £1,000 Entz budget.
St. Catherine’s College, which has 469 undergraduate students, spent £1,600 last term on Entz organised events. Jack Hampton, JCR President for St. Catherine’s College, revealed to Cherwell however that the College is “in a perfectly good financial situation at the moment”.
He continued, “Our JCR in the past has regularly underspent its allotted budget, so this year we have had room to make some capital expenditure projects making use of our surplus.”
The Merton and Keble Entz reps declined Cherwell’s request for cmment.
