A Year in the JCR

ROSIE WALSH

It has certainly been a strange year for the JCR across 2020/2021, as for everyone, but despite the difficulties faced across this period, our student community has risen admirably to these challenges, demonstrating the close sense of community which characterises College as well as the resilience of our undergraduate cohort.

Michaelmas term started with a socially distanced Freshers’ Week, presenting new challenges to those responsible for organising events. Despite this, the week was a success, with a number of inventive ideas which enabled our new students to be welcomed to the Regent’s community. The second half of Michaelmas saw the JCR come together to celebrate Advent in inventive ways, including a switching on of the Christmas Tree lights and Christmas biscuit decorating within social bubbles. We also held a Christmas raffle, complete with mulled wine and mince pies, which raised over £350 for the mental health charity, Mind. The online Advent service also saw a range of wonderful contributions from the College community with JCR members singing, playing the guitar, and drawing on a range of other creative ways to maintain festive traditions.

Hopes for Hilary term were for a move to normality, but instead we experienced an extension of remote learning and many of our students, unable to return to Oxford, remained at home for the term. The JCR once again demonstrated great resilience and creativity in adapting to a remote term, and despite the increased restrictions found ways of connecting online to retain our sense of community. Across the term there were a number of online socials,

Rosie Walsh

was President of the Junior Common Room (2020-2021) and an undergraduate student reading for the BA in History and English (2019). Brews, and Welfare events, enabling members of the JCR to come together from across the world. In addition to this, the beginning of Hilary saw an online Burns Night celebration which brought the common rooms together to celebrate what is normally one of the term’s highlights. The JCR also used this opportunity to reflect on how we can make Regent’s Park a more inclusive and welcoming space, involving a number of student consultations and work with the College Equalities Committee.

The JCR was pleased to see a staggered return to college in Trinity term for some students and were grateful to be able to host some in person events and start to return to the ‘normal’ way of college life. Socials, Brews, and other events were able to resume in a limited capacity and, come rain or shine, saw members of our community come together. Towards the end of term, we were able to celebrate a number of Regent’s traditions, including a Finalists’ Formal, a birthday celebration for Emmanuelle to raise money for Meningitis Now, and a Recognition evening to celebrate those members of the JCR who have represented Regent’s Park within the wider university with activities which spanned sports and journalism to drama and charity work. Weekly college barbecues, introduced at the start of Trinity, were popular with the JCR, another enjoyable addition to college life that allowed the common rooms to come together. The term ended with a Valedictory service in the Quad, a lovely end to the year which celebrated the hard work and achievements of those who were graduating.

Although this year has certainly presented challenges to the undergraduate community, the array of activities and events in which our members have partaken are testament to the initiative and resilience of our JCR community. The JCR has continued to contribute to college life and across the wider university, and despite the turbulent nature of the past year continue to demonstrate the best of Regent’s Park College.