STUDENTS AND RESEARCH A Year in the JCR

A Year in the JCR

NICHOLAS CROMPTON

Despite the challenges presented over 2019/2020, the JCR has had another strong year: one which epitomised the College’s traditions of community, creativity and, despite its small size, making a real contribution in the wider University.

The academic year began with a superb Freshers’ Week programme, organised by Orlaith Fox and Matthew Jones, to welcome our first-year students and introduce them to life at Regent’s. This set the tone for a busy Michaelmas Term social calendar, arranged by Social Secretary, George Redford. We also saw the creation of joint football and mixed hockey teams with St Benet’s Hall – more to come on these later in the report. Other highlights of the term ranged from careers events including an information session from Teach First and a dinner hosted by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer organised by the JCR law society, Le Quesne, to the arts, with Skye Humbert directing this year’s annual Pantomime: the Regent’s take on A Christmas Carol. As we rapidly approached the end of term, Christmas festivities continued. We enjoyed a typically popular JCR Secret Santa event followed by the annual carol service in Pusey House and Advent Formal Hall.

As ever, Hilary Term was busy in the JCR. There were a number of well attended social events, including a fundraiser for breast cancer focused charities to mark Pink Week. In sports, although time on the river was disrupted by the elements, there was strong uptake among our fresher rowers, while our joint rugby team with Merton and Mansfield continued to be well represented by Regent’s. Moreover, JCR members filled the Oxford City ground in Marston to watch the Regent’s/Benet’s joint football team beat Jesus College in the final of the intercollegiate reserve Cuppers competition. Similar success was enjoyed on the Hockey pitches, as our joint team with Benet’s, led by David Crowther, won the University Third Division in the team’s first year of existence.

Nicholas Crompton was President of the Junior Common Room (20192020) and an undergraduate student reading for the BA in Geography (2018).

Owing to complications presented by the Covid pandemic, Trinity was very different to any term we had seen before, and the JCR had to adapt very quickly to changing circumstances. On the social front, there were regular online events such as Brews, quizzes and comedy nights. The JCR was in regular contact with College throughout the term, looking to support students’ welfare during these difficult times. Given the challenges students faced, the term exemplified how these situations can bring us together. We were delighted to celebrate Emmanuelle’s birthday with an online party organised by Marnie Ashbridge which raised over £500 for Meningitis Now in honour of Antonia Bruch, and to gather later on in term to recognise the outstanding extracurricular achievements of JCR members in the wider university. Impressive and eclectic, they spanned sports, music, drama, politics, journalism, comedy and entrepreneurship. During Trinity, the JCR also reflected on issues of systemic racism and will be working with College on a number of initiatives in response, one of which is a joint common rooms research project into the history of portraits around the College.

The 2019/2020 academic year was an historic year. I suspect it will be remembered by JCR members as one which brought students together to respond positively to its many challenges and epitomised the best of Regent’s spirit and endeavour.