The Oriel College JCR Constitution

A)Interpretation of Constitution

  1. This constitution is applicable to and binding upon the Junior Common Room of Oriel College and is subject to the approval of Governing Body at intervals of not more than five years.
  2. All references that are in the singular can be read in the plural and vice-versa, except officers of the JCR of which there shall be one of each unless otherwise expressly stated.
  3. When a certain number of signatures are required to invoke an act of the JCR those signatures must all belong to those eligible to vote in a JCR election.
  4. All other constitutions and constitutional amendments that have been passed by the JCR previously are hereby superseded and of no further effect.
  5. A copy of this constitution shall be displayed outside the JCR (posted by the JCR President) at all times and a copy shall be made available on request from the JCR Presidentand via the JCR website.
  6. There are two types of elected Officers of the JCR, fully-elected and semi-elected, which are listed in the relevant parts of this Constitution.
  7. In the event of constitutional contradiction, the newest amendment to the constitution is null.

B) Purpose and Membership

  1. The purpose of the JCR is to represent the views of the Junior Members of Oriel College as a united body to any relevant bodies both internal and external to Oriel College and the University of Oxford.
  2. The JCR further exists to provide services to its members and to provide a formal social context for events both academic and non-academic.
  3. All Junior Members of College shall be members of the JCR unless they declare otherwise in writing to the JCR President at anytime during the academic year. Upon communication to the JCR President the revocation of membership is effective and will last for the remainder of the academic year.
  4. A member of the JCR who has revoked his/her membership shall still have access to JCR Facilities. A member who has revoked his/her membership will be unable to play any other part in the JCR than those aforelisted.
  5. Any person can be awarded Honorary Membership Status by a simple majority in a JCR meeting. The status lasts for one year and at this point a new motion must be proposed to the JCR in the normal manner. An Honorary Membership can be revoked at any time by such a proposal being submitted to a JCR Open Meeting in the usual way and a vote taken with a positive outcome achieved by a majority of those voting in favour of the motion.
  6. A person of Honorary Membership Status is unable to stand for election.
  7. A list of all those who are currently Honorary Members shall be posted outside the JCR by the JCR President.

C) Information Held by the JCR on Members thereof

  1. The JCR holds, solely for its own purposes, a copy of all members' names and their e-mail addresses. This information is stored and used under the head of the `JCR mailing list’.
  2. The JCR mailing list is used for the purposes of informing members of the JCR of events to which the JCR are party.
  3. If any member of the JCR wishes to review any records that have been created and held by the JCR they may do so by contacting the JCR President.
  4. Information held on the JCR Website is subject the privacy policy available online.
  5. If any member of the JCR wishes to be removed from any records that have been created and held by the JCR they may do so by writing a letter to the JCR President stating same.

D) Fully-elected Officers of the JCR

The Fully-elected Officers of the JCR are as follows:

1.The President: Shall preside at the JCR Committee Meetings and JCR Open Meetings, be responsible to the JCR for the work of the Committee and, where necessary represent the views of the JCR. The President must live in College for the duration of his/her term in office.

2.The Vice-President: Shall prepare an agenda for each Open Meeting of the JCR, and take minutes at each Meeting. The Vice-President shall be responsible for organizing guest dinners. In the event of the President being unable to fulfil his/her duties, the JCR Vice President will be required to deputise; shall disseminate information to the JCR by e-mail and posters; shall be responsible for noting attendance of Officers of the JCR at JCR meetings; shall keep up-to-date a copy of the constitution.

3.The Treasurer: Shall be responsible for all financial affairs of the JCR, collecting debts, paying bills, and giving information on the JCR's finances termly or as so requested to do so by resolution of the JCR after the passing of a motion proposed and passed in the normal way.

4.JCR Admissions Officer: Shall be responsible for organizing all JCR involvement in admissions related issues including interviews, open days, school visits, target schools, College and alternative prospectus, Oxford Access Scheme, any access issues which may arise as a result of someone from a non-traditional background and freshers mailing in liaison with the Tutor for Admissions and the College admissions officer. (S)he shall establish a Committee, in order to help in the organisation of Freshers Week and Open Days.

5.The Facilities Officer: Shall be responsible for the various JCR facilities and machines. S/he will also be responsible for the running of Shop.

6.Entertainments Officer: Shall be responsible for the arrangement of regular JCR entertainments. Three shall be elected.

7.Welfare Officer: Shall be responsible for ensuring Welfare provision for the JCR, as required. Two shall be elected – one male and one female.

8.International Officer: Shall be the representative of Overseas students, offer advice and support and arrange termly lunches for them; shall be responsible in ensuring they have ``settled in'' during Freshers Week by organising, but not limited to, a drinks party; shall also be responsible for maintaining good race relations within the JCR.

9.Accommodation Officer: Shall be responsible for representation of student views on accommodation to the College and in particular to the Bursar; shall be specifically responsible for JCR input into discussion of the plan to upgrade student rooms in College while such a plan exists; shall attend and represent the JCR at the Buildings and House Committees; shall be responsible for the administration of the room ballot, and has the power to take such measures as are reasonable to ensure that students with disabilities and special requirements have appropriate accommodation, including removing them from the room ballot and assigning them a room.

10.Careers & Academic Affairs Officer - Shall:

  1. assist JCR members in their academic lives in general
  2. provide a link between tutors and students to deal with academic issues or problems as and when they arise; shall work with the Senior Tutor specifically, to represent and care for the academic interests of members of the JCR.
  3. be responsible for keeping the information on careers and academic affairs on the website and careers notice board up-to-date. This includes conducting the JCR’s relations with the Careers Service and posting notices accordingly.
  4. provide information on course-changing and academic complaints procedures when requested by members of the JCR.
  5. provide information on academic grants and bursaries (inc. vacation grants/travel grants etc.) available; shall produce a ‘guide to academic grants and bursaries’, to be displayed on the notice board and available on the website.
  6. If necessary in specific cases, and with the permission of any individual involved, work closely with the JCR welfare team to resolve problems.
  7. attend the OUSU Academic Affairs meeting, and report to the JCR as necessary.

11.All Officers of the JCR present at an Open Meeting shall be required to summarise their activities since the last Open Meeting of the JCR. Those officers who have given a written apology for absence must also provide a written statement of their activities, to be read out by the President.

12.The following Committee positions shall be elected by 6th Week of Full Term in Michaelmas Term: Vice-President; Treasurer; JCR Accommodation Officer, Careers and Academic Affairs Officer and JCR Admissions officer.

13.The following Committee positions shall be elected by 6th Week of Full Term in Hilary Term: Male Welfare; Female Welfare

14.The following Committee positions shall be elected by 6th Week of Full Term in Trinity Term: President; Entertainment officers; Facilities Officer; Overseas Officer.

15.All positions last for a year from the date of assumption of the role.

16.If any position is vacant the JCR President will assume the post's responsibilities although if (s)he so chooses will be able to appoint a person to that office until such time as an election for the post may be held.

17.All candidates for Officer positions, if successful will assume their new role on the last full day of full term in the term of their election with three exceptions: the admissions officer who will shadow the previous admissions officer for a reasonable period in order to gain experience of the role; the Male and Female Welfare officers, if elected in Hilary, will be officers elect for the Trinity term in order to receive peer support training.

E) Semi-Elected Officers of the JCR

The following are deemed to be semi-elected Officers of the JCR, and shall be appointed by a simple hand vote conducted by the JCR President at a JCR open meeting:

  1. RO - The JCR Returning Officer: shall be responsible for the running of elections, hustings and referenda in the JCR; shall keep up-to-date a copy of the constitution.
  2. Food and Wine Representative: Shall hold at least two food committee meetings per academic year; shall represent the JCR on matters concerning food to the college.
  3. OUSU Representative: shall co-ordinate OUSU-JCR interaction.
  4. IT Representative: shall be responsible for running the JCR mailing list, as defined herein; shall keep up-to-date the JCR website.
  5. Charities Representative: shall organize at least one fundraising event per term. The funds raised shall go to the charity of the JCR's choice.
  6. Environment and Ethics Representative: shall develop, organize, and run environmental schemes within college.
  7. LGBT Representative: shall represent the LGBT population of college; shall organize social events as required.
  8. Sports and Gym Representative: shall liaise with and represent college sports teams; shall be the point of contact in college for the University Sports Federation.
  9. Disabilities and Equal Opportunities Representative: shall represent disabled/differently-abled population of college; shall organise social events as required; shall co-ordinate disabled room provision with any disabled members of college and the Accommodation Officer.
  10. Christmas Representative: Two shall be elected; shall be responsible for decking the halls with bells and holly and bringing festive cheer to all in college during the Christmas period.
  11. If there is no officer or representative on the JCR Committee who is currently in the first year, after 6th week elections in any term, then the JCR must elect a First Year Representative by semi-election at the next Open JCR meeting. They will have a non-voting seat on the JCR Committee.
  12. The first year representative will voice concerns of first year members of the JCR to the JCR Committee.
  13. JCR Representatives assume their role at the close of the Open JCR meeting in which they are elected.
  14. All positions are held for a year from the date of assumption of the role.
  15. The following positions shall be elected by 6th week of Full Term in Michaelmas Term: IT, Food and Wine, Charitites, LGBT and Christmas Representatives.
  16. The following positions shall be elected by 6th week of Full Term in Hilary Term: OUSU and Equal Oppurtunities Representatives.
  17. The following positions shall be elected by 6th week of Full Term in Trinity Term: RO and Environment and Ethics Representative.
  18. If a JCR Representative resigns before the end of their term the JCR Vice President or Returning Officer will give sufficient notice such that a new semi-election can occur in an Open JCR meeting as soon as possible to fill the post in question.
  19. The JCR President may, from time to time, as (s)he sees fit, call a meeting of all Officers of the JCR, both fully elected and semi-elected.

F) The JCR Committee

  1. All Officers of the JCR shall constitute the JCR Committee.
  2. The Ex-President, Ex-Vice President and Ex-Treasurer from the preceding year shall be Ex-Officio members of the JCR Committee and may attend JCR Committee meetings but will not have voting rights in such meetings.
  3. The JCR Committee may release up to £200 per JCR meeting for a single cause without permission from the JCR, requiring a simple majority of those attending a committee meeting.
  4. The seniority of the Officers of the JCR is as below:
  5. President
  6. Vice-President
  7. Treasurer
  8. RO
  9. Accommodation, Facilities, Entertainments, International, Welfare and Academic Affairs and Careers Officers
  10. Food and Wine, OUSU, IT, Charities, Environment and Ethics, LGBT, Disability and Sports and Gym Representatives.
  11. Christmas and First Year Representatives.
  12. Every Officer of the JCR is responsible for the training of his/her successor in their role.
  13. A JCR committee meeting shall be held at least once between each JCR meeting and shall be organised by the JCR President.
  14. The quorum for a JCR Committee meeting is 10 voting members of the JCR Committee.
  15. The JCR Committee has a right, by simple majority, to veto any constitutional motion of the JCR that has been passed in a JCR meeting in the correct manner.
  16. Such a veto must be invoked after the first reading of the motion. The following JCR meeting will then be told of the exercise of the veto. If the motion is again passed by the JCR meeting - but this time by a majority, it is declared a valid amendment and no veto can be invoked against it.

G) Process to Remove an Officer or Representative of the JCR

  1. An automatic motion of censure will be passed if an elected officer of the JCR does not attend, without a prior written apology, a meeting of the JCR. Two motions of censure passed on two separate occasions during a single term of office will induce an automatic motion of no confidence at the next JCR Open Meeting.
  2. The JCR President shall announce at the next Open Meeting of the JCR that a motion of censure has been passed upon an officer at the last meeting of the Committee, and will post a notice to that effect in the JCR.
  3. A motion of no confidence may be proposed against any Officer of the JCR which must be passed by a two thirds majority of those present, which if successful will have the result of the officer being removed and a by-election being held for his/her post at the next reasonably available opportunity.
  4. A non-elected or elected officer who has been removed from office may stand for the post for which they have been removed.

H) Finances of the JCR

  1. The Treasurer will keep full accounts of all monies of the JCR, which are available on request for inspection by any member of the JCR or Governing Body for any purpose.
  2. The Treasurer will present his/her accounts and all receipts to the JCR once a term or on the demand of the Committee or after the passage of a JCR motion to this effect. The accounts for the previous Full Term shall also be posted outside the JCR at the start of full term. Such accounts shall be submitted to Governing Body for scrutiny, ordinarily through the Joint Consultative Committee.
  3. Any questions referring to the JCR accounts shall be raised in an ordinary motion at a JCR Open Meeting as soon as reasonably possible after the discovery of a discrepancy or apparent discrepancy.
  4. The Treasurer shall post outside the JCR his projected spending for the term by 1st Week of Full Term. Any queries shall be raised by a member of the JCR at the first Open Meeting of the JCR following the posting of the projected spending plan by normal motion. Such termly budget shall be submitted to Governing Body for scrutiny, ordinarily through the Joint Consultative Committee.
  5. The Treasurer is entitled to make payments, up to £200, on behalf of the JCR after ratification by the JCR President except in the case of the JCR Shop budget where payments of up to £1200 (from the JCR Shop budget only) a term may be made solely for the purchase of Shop stock.
  6. Officers of the JCR will receive reimbursement up to £10 for expenditure related to the fulfilment of their duties each term.
  7. The Treasurer shall advise the JCR Committee at the first and last meeting of the Committee in Full Term of the financial standing of the JCR or as they may demand.
  8. No contracts, service agreements or other promises deemed binding for a period in excess of three years may be entered into by the JCR unless there is no duty placed upon the JCR to pay any monies to the other party to the contract.
  9. The JCR Treasurer shall be responsible for any debit cards which are provided with the JCR's banking facilities.
  10. No other JCR Officer or Representative shall have possession of such a debit card.
  11. The JCR Treasurer may enact any electronic transaction (including, but not limited to, debit card transactions and payment of funds via online transfer), only with the JCR President's written permission. Email is, in this instance, acceptable.

I) Conduct of Elections