Trinity JCR disaffiliates from OUSU after “insufficient” advice came “too late”
Trinity became the first college to disaffiliate from OUSU in six years after a decisive vote at the end of last term. Students have criticised the college’s decision, saying that they were not sufficiently informed about the implications of disaffiliation.
While Trinity students will retain their individual membership, the JCR will no longer be provided with Freshers’ Fair tickets, handbooks and welfare resources, such as condoms and rape alarms. Former JCR President Richard Appleton, who proposed the motion, cited OUSUs failure to advise the JCR during crucial rent negotiations as the final straw. Appleton said, “Numerous emails were sent to various OUSU officers requesting important information and assistance.
Most of these emails were either unanswered or were answered in insuf- ficient detail, far too late to be of any assistance.” OUSU President Alan Strickland responded to these accusations this week by saying he was “baf- fled” by Trinity’s decision. Strickland said, “Trinity JCR’s very poor Council attendance record may explain why their representatives were unaware of the progress we have made, when all of the information was readily available.
In the minutes of the end of term meeting, obtained by The Oxford Student, Appleton said, “Most of the services that it provided could be found elsewhere, and those which couldn’t should legally be available to individual members anyway, regardless of the JCR’s affiliation.
While Strickland insists that “OUSU would never turn away a student in need of help”, he fiercely denied that OUSU had any legal responsibility to provide welfare to non-members, saying, “The idea that the Oxford University’s Student Union would be allowed to act illegally is too ridiculous to imagine.” Several students have expressed their concern about the decision to disaffiliate.
Peta Rush, a first-year Law student at Trinity who was at the meeting, criticized the decision to disaffiliate, saying, “We were not made aware about the Freshers’ Fair tickets, and the implication was that our membership to OUSU would remain the same, but we would be saving money.” Other students are unaware that the college has disaffiliated at all. The motion was passed in a JCR of 44 students, with 35 votes in favour, 1 against, and 8 abstentions.
Another Trinity student, James Schneider, was, until speaking to The Oxford Student this week, unaware of his college’s disaffiliation. Schneider said, “I’m not even particularly aware what OUSU actually do for students”.
19th Apr 2007