Main Updates:

• Updates from Stash Officer, Freshers Officers, Welfare Officers, Accommodation and Services Officer, LGBTQ+ Officers, Gender Equalities Officers, Ents Officers
• Access Statements
• Budgets and Finances
• Accommodation Survey
• • 3rd-4th Year Accommodation
• Garden Party
• Amendment to Clause 15 of Constitution
• JCR Refurb
• • JCR Room Booking
• Other Business
• • Building Noise in Howard Lodge
  • JCR Booking Continued

Full Minutes:

Present: President (Chair); Vice-President (Minute-taker); Treasurer; Internet Officer; Welfare & Equal Opportunities Officers; Ents Officers; Freshers Officers; Accommodation & Services Officer; Gender Equalities Officer (Katie Dong); Communications Officer; Ethnically Minoritised Communities (BME) Officers; Sports Officer; Stash Officer; Foundation Year Officer; Disabilities & Mental Health Officer; Academic Affairs, Social Mobility & Careers Officer; LGBTQ+ Officers; Green Officers; International Officer (Fumie Go); Access Officer

Absent: Gender Equalities Officer (Nellie Yarrow-Davies); International Officer (Chelsea Lee) 

1.     Apologies

Apologies were received from Nellie Yarrow-Davies and Chelsea Lee.

2.     Remote and Hybrid Meeting Protocol

Those in attendance were all present in person.

3.     Declarations of Conflicts of Interest

The Chair reminded all members of the Committee of their obligation to declare any Conflicts of Interests that might arise during the course of the meeting.

4.     Quick updates from all Officers:

The JCR Stash Officer reported that the stash orders have been completed, and that she is awaiting the upcoming delivery post her first stash drop to students.

The JCR Freshers Officers reported that they were currently underway with the interview process for hiring new Freps. This was going well and was being overseen by the JCR President and Vice-President. They noted that once deciding on the 13 successful applicants, they would await confirmation from college before relaying the decisions to all applicants – around the 8^th of May. They also noted that Marriage Formal had been fully planned and they were excited for the ceremony.

[Post-meeting note: The Freshers Officers asked the JCR President and Vice-President to officiate the vows at the wedding ceremony, which was agreed to as a new tradition from this year.]

The JCR Welfare Officers reported that they have a date in the diary for the Jacks Gelato welfare event and asked for suggestions for a welfare drop-in event for exam stress.

The JCR Accommodation and Services Officer reported that post attending Buildings & Environments Committee he had some updates, which he would elaborate on later in the meeting. (See agenda point 7 & 7a.)

The JCR LGBTQ+ Officers reported that the LGBTQ+ formal has been organised for later this term.

The Gender Equalities Officers reported that they are working on plans of events for this term, notably a potential self-defence workshop.

The JCR Ents Officers reported that the JCR Garden Party is in the process of being organised. (See agenda point 8.)

5.     Access Statements:

The JCR Disabilities and Mental Health Officer stated that there should be a requirement across College for accessibility requirements. She noted that there should be more publicity about Downing’s events in terms of access requirements – notably whether there is wheelchair access, a quiet space, what the noise levels might be or if a hearing loop is needed.

She reported that she was working with College to try and make access statements more commonplace for events.

She suggested adding alternative text to posts to make the information for events more accessible for all members of the Downing community.

6.     Budgets and Finances:

The JCR Treasurer reported that after attending SFSC the day before, he had discussions with the Senior Bursar and the Senior Treasurer at the meeting who notified the Committee of Downing’s unfavourable financial position. This led to a request by the Senior Bursar to the Senior JCR Committee to review the finances of the JCR and come up with a proposition of a reduced budget for the coming year. This was asked to be done by the 5^th of June if possible, or at a later date if needed. The request was to reduce overall spending of the DCAC accounts from c. £89k to c. £57k.

The JCR Vice-President also interjected to give some background about the College’s financial position and reported that the Sergeants Fund is happy to cover the DCBC funding of £5k pa, as well as cutting the newspaper subscription of c.£3k pa, so this would be an easy and significant cut to the budget.

The JCR Treasurer introduced paper JCR/26/1 which outlined the current Officer’s budgets for the coming year.

7.     Accommodation Survey:

The JCR President reported that she had been working with the Accommodation & Services Officer to create a feedback form about students’ experiences about College accommodation on Domus. This form has been drafted on Microsoft Forms – paper JCR/26/2. The JCR Accommodation and Services Officer also noted that he had been in touch with the JCR President about the form prior to its general release to students. Both Officers requested that the rest of the Committee review the form and provide any feedback as necessary to ensure questions target the entire undergraduate population.

7a.  3^rd – 4^th Year Accommodation:

The JCR Accommodation & Services Officer reported to the Committee that he had received some complaints from some 3^rd year students continuing onto their 4^th year integrated Masters’ courses. They voiced concerns regarding their inability to obtain on-site accommodation for the 4^th year. This had been noted, and the JCR President and Accommodation and Services Officer were working to remove the Railyard rooms from the ballot for the next cycle, as they understood the importance of obtaining accommodation on Domus.

Unfortunately, post attending the Buildings and Environments Committee, the JCR President noted that it does not seem possible to increase the number of residential rooms available on Domus.

8.     Garden party:

The JCR Ents Officers gave an update regarding the planning of the Garden Party as a May Week event for GPC approval. They reported that planning was underway and was going well – ticket prices were looking around £25-35 pp, and that the event would roughly be from 12:30 – 16:00. As Downing did not have a May Ball this year, they were hoping to hold the Garden Party within the May Week events, however this was subject to GPC approval as this is not in the normal period for events in College. The event would only be open to Downing members, and the JCR Ents Officers were in the process of reaching out to music artists for the event, with reasonable costs only, as some student bands can charge disproportionately high prices. The event is not allowed to have any spirits available, so the drinks they were thinking of would be Pimm’s, wine, cider, bottled beers, as well as potential alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit punches. The JCR Ents Officers noted that the provision of alcohol for the event would be through the JCR Bar Committee, monitored by the student Bar Committee staff, and so the Officers were in discussions with Wendy and the JCR Bar Committee about potential provisions. The JCR Vice-President noted that he was aware of this as he was the JCR Bar Operations Officer, so would liaise with the JCR Bar Committee and the JCR Ents Officers about this moving forward. 

9.     Amendment to Clause 15 of Constitution:

The JCR Vice-President introduced paper JCR/26/3 to the Committee regarding a potential amendment to Clause 15 of the JCR Constitution. He reported that when co-opting the role of JCR Internet Officer with the JCR President, he was made aware of the high level of technical knowledge required to fulfil the role of JCR Internet Officer. The current JCR Internet Officer explained that this was true, and that if the potential candidate was not a Computer Science student, it would be extremely hard to properly understand the role. The suggestion to amend this elected position to a co-opted interview process was agreed by the Committee as a fair way to move forward for future JCR Committees. This change would have to be drafted up properly by the JCR Vice-President and agreed on by the Committee before the change is officially ratified at a meeting of the Governing Body. The aim of this amendment would be to incorporate it this year so that it would take effect for the next election cycle in Lent 2027. The JCR President also noted that the co-opted interview process would align us with the policies of other Colleges, with respect to the role of the JCR Internet Officer.

10.  JCR Refurb:

The JCR Vice-President introduced paper JCR/26/4 to the Committee. This outlined the renovations of the Butterfield building for summer 2026 and that the JCR room would not be included in the renovations during this period. It was reported that as part of this design process, the JCR Bar Committee noted to College that the JCR was an underutilised space, and that something needed change for it to be made better use of during the day. There were some optional suggestions to make the JCR a multi-functional space with moveable furniture to allow for current room bookings to continue, whilst ensuring the room can also be used for Ents and general leisure.

The JCR Committee suggested some changes to the lighting and furniture to make the space more appealing – mostly through a ‘makeover’ rather than any structural changes. The aim was for the refurbishment to take place over Michaelmas 2026 break rather than during summer 2026 to allow for better planning to take place.

10a.  JCR Room Booking:

The JCR Freshers Officers reported that there were many rooms in College that are available to book, however they aren’t easily accessible or reliably bookable by students. These rooms include the Tim Cadbury Music Room, the Wilkins Room and the Grace Howard Room. These rooms are prioritised for the Conference teams to book out to external organisations to maximise revenue for College. 

There were suggestions to change room bookings for the other rooms in College to be similar to the online booking system for the JCR room. This way, there is a clearer ay of identifying availability and students can view times that other rooms are potentially free.

It was noted that many students are unaware of how to book the JCR and how to check its availability. The JCR Internet Officer suggested that he could make a QR code that he could print and stick to the door to show the room’s availability. This would encourage people to check its vacancy and will increase awareness surrounding when it is likely to be occupied.

11.  Date of Next Meeting

13^th May 2026

12.  Any Other Business

Building Noise in Howard Lodge:

The JCR Disabilities and Mental Health Officer requested that there be further, more accurate communication with students regarding when building work will be taking place in Howard Lodge.

 JCR Booking Continued:

The JCR Treasurer suggested placing a surcharge on booking the JCR for an extended period to discourage lengthy bookings for one group of students. This was especially targeted to non-Downing groups and societies, as the JCR should prioritise Downing students. It was noted that this also would not be a financial burden on any particular student, but instead on the society, which is funded through other avenues.

There was no further business, and the meeting closed at 3:45 pm.