St John's bans bops
St John’s SCR has suspended all college bops following a series of acts of vandalism which have left areas of the college in an “unusable state” and student facilities temporarily closed. General levies have also been imposed on all members of the JCR and MCR in order to pay for a major clean up operation in the Table Tennis Room, after college staff discovered faeces and urine last week. The squash courts were also been shut as part of the crackdown by the SCR on unacceptable behaviour.
In an email to all members of the JCR, the Senior Dean, Carolyne Larrington, explained the decision, highlighting the “unusable state” of a toilet in the Beehive basement, the generally “filthy condition” of the area in general and damage to the squash courts as the reasons behind the ban. The email also warned that further levies may be imposed in the future and asks for students with any information on the incidents in question to contact the Senior Dean confidentially.
The actions by the college have prompted controversy amongst the student body. “A lot of people have raised the question of why the college is punishing everyone for the actions of a few,” said JCR President Harry Kretchmer. One second year undergraduate, who did not wish to be named, told The Oxford Student: “I hope the SCR reviews its decision to ban college bops.
Everyone really enjoys the bops and it would be a real shame if the majority of students were affected by something like this.” Kretchmer has already written to college authorities to highlight the effect of the closure of the games room on upcoming pool matches and will meet with the Senior Dean this week to discuss the issue. “It is the job of the JCR to mediate between the college authorities and the student body,” he added.
The issue of vandalism will also be raised at a JCR Committee meeting and at forthcoming meetings of the JCR-MCR Joint Council and Decenal Committee. Kretchmer was unsure as to why vandalism had suddenly become such a problem in the college, which previously has only experienced occasional incidents of disturbance. “It seems that all these things have just come at once.
He denied that it was due to a particularly boisterous intake of freshers, stressing that the damage could also have been caused by a member of the MCR or someone from another college. Until now, themed college bops have taken place every fortnight and are generally well attended by students. Previous events have included a charity shop theme and a bop where participants were encouraged to make their costumes out of dustbin liners.
27th Oct 2005