MCR President’s Report

Oliwier Melon (DPhil Engineering Science, 2018)

Through the unique challenges posed by Covid-19, Mansfield’s diverse and ever-growing postgraduate student body has demonstrated incredible resilience. In addition to outstanding academic achievements, its members have embraced change and made the most of limited social opportunities to establish caring connections and friendships. I am extremely proud to have been part of this wonderful community during these unprecedented times.

In the summer of 2020, Mansfield’s Covid-19 Working Group was busy monitoring cases of the disease in the UK and making plans for Michaelmas term. It became apparent that stringent measures were necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff. As a result, the term started with inductions being delivered digitally. To help people settle in, the MCR Committee prepared guides and, in collaboration with the Welfare team, hosted various online events. Socially distanced meetings with College parents allowed students to get to know others studying similar subjects. To encourage bonding between students living together, we ran a competition for the best ‘Household Fancy Dinner’ photo. Supported by College and the JCR, we organised a matriculation ceremony on our splendid Quad where we proudly celebrated the enrolment of 125 new MCR members.

During the lockdowns, the MCR Committee also provided support for students’ emotional and physical well-being, including giving away mats and basic sports equipment and subsidising online yoga classes and a mindfulness course. Near Christmas, we hosted a cheerful outdoor mulled wine event on the Quad to enable students to interact with each other. Similarly, in Trinity term, we introduced weekly wine and cheese events held in the Crypt or on its terrace. Shortly before the end of the year, the College organised a Formal Hall, with social distancing guidelines safely in place: the first formal event that many of our number had attended. As a bonus, Magdalen College invited Mansfield students to partake in their online events and gave us access to their punts.

Together with the SCR, we also kept the Michael Mahony seminars running which, despite not including dinner, attracted large audiences. Our inaugural speakers were Amirmohammad Farzaneh (DPhil Engineering Science, 2020) who explained the benefits of 5G, and Prof Michèle Mendelssohn (Tutorial Fellow, English & American Literature), who described how Victorian technology contributed to the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde. The second seminar was philosophical in nature. Juan Rafael Álvarez (DPhil Atomic & Laser Physics, 2018) interpreted quantum physics through the lens of ‘Schrödinger’s camel’, and Prof Joel Rasmussen (Tutorial Fellow, Theology & Religion) drew our attention to truth and uncertainty in Søren Kierkegaard’s Philosophical Fragments. Our final seminar saw Joseph Field (DPhil Industrially Focused Mathematical Modelling, 2016) give an entertaining presentation on ill-posed inverse problems, or, as he amusingly framed it, ‘Who’s That Pokémon?’. He was accompanied by Dr Nishant Kumar (Visiting Fellow, Zoology) who highlighted the application of similar mathematical techniques to human-animal systems in tropical megacities.

The MCR’s dedication to promoting Mansfield’s core values of equality, diversity and care was highlighted by several important actions. First, we welcomed our first Kofi Annan Scholars: a group of exceptional individuals from developing regions. We also unanimously passed a Sustainability Plan motion, which resulted in College setting up an Environmental Sustainability Working Group (with JCR and MCR representation) that aspires to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. In parallel, MCR Bench members have contributed to the Mansfield Equality Committee and the Race Equality Working Group. We also worked with College to make Mansfield more welcoming to students with children or caring responsibilities. Furthermore, as part of the University-wide movement to address its colonial past, we arranged an online ‘Uncomfortable Oxford’ talk. Leaving this engaged and informed, we booked another in-person ‘Follow the Money’ tour in Trinity term. Importantly, since Mansfield has been recognised as a University College of Sanctuary, our members helped organise a Refugee Week. Lastly, but by no means least, the MCR Bench established a Gender Expression Fund in support of gender nonconforming members of our College.

Being MCR President has been a great privilege. I have grown as a person and been grateful for the opportunity to be involved in the College beyond my degree. Heartfelt thanks are due to the MCR Committee for their positivity, enthusiasm, and tireless work over this year.

‘I have grown as a person and been grateful for the opportunity to be involved’