Anger over room mixup
A RECENT FINALIST from Pembroke College is furious after being accused of illegally occupying his room at the end of Trinity Term last year in a case which he says shows up the "sheer bureaucratic obstruction" of his college.
Simon Cozens, who spent five years studying at the college, was charged a fee of £50 for every night he spent in college after 8th week. and he was asked to send a letter of apology to the Accommodation Manager and Head Porter of the college for inconveniencing them.
"I would ask in future that you consider the implications of your actions" a letter from Pembroke told the student.
Cozens, who is now working at OUCS on the Banbury Road, finished his Finals on Friday of 8th week, and was due to speak at a university-wide IT conference the following week.
He had expected that he would be able to stay in his room beyond his allowed time, since he was a guest at the conference, but was asked to vacate his room the day after his Finals had finished.
Janette Griffiths, Domestic Bursar at Pembroke, told the Oxford Student: "Mr Cozens was given the same opportunity as all students wishing to stay beyond the end of term. They are asked to complete a request form. Mr Cozens did not and left making his request to so late in the day that we were unable to help. This was communicated to him and he chose to ignore it."
Cozens instead went to see the acting Master of the college, Ken Mayhew, who agreed that he could stay in his room for the weekend until a solution was found. He was asked to meet with Mr Mayhew and the Accommodation Manager at the end on Monday 18 June.
Miss Griffiths at Pembroke explained the college's view of the situation. "The Acting Master said that he could stay in his room just for the weekend, because the Acting Master did not know what arrangement had been made. This did give the college problems with the incoming Open Day residents." She said that the £100 fine was procedure for "unauthorised occupation of a room", and admitted that she even found a room for Simon at Corpus Christi.
In a letter he sent to the college, Mr Cozens wrote: "I am very, very dismayed to learn that this gesture of goodwill on my part has been repaid by nothing but sheer bureaucratic obstruction." He refused to pay the fine and said, "The Master did not respond to my email or my phone calls, but the 100 pounds fine silently dropped off my battels."
The Domestic Bursar at Pembroke thought that the letter of apology was justified, and added that if Cozens was a Finalist, he should have realised the procedures for vacation residence in Pembroke.
4th Oct 2001