The JCR Committee
The JCR Committee runs the JCR and is governed by the constitution. They host three meetings a term to decide what to do with the money and what events to put on for the JCR.
The JCR can vote to elect honorary members, a list of which you can find here.
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JCR President’s Welcome
How you feeling? Get ready because this year is going to be a whirlwind in the best possible way. I’m Brodie and I’m your JCR President. In a nutshell, the JCR is the Student-Body, made up of a different roles like your Social Secretary, Welfare Officers, Arts Reps, Sports Reps and more. All the roles and details are written in a little thing we call the Grey Book. You want to know about something in college? It’s in that book.
And if you don’t feel like reading? That’s what I’m here for. As your President, I’m here to help, whether it’s a friendly face to chat to, or someone to talk about your ideas with. I’m your middle-man between the students (you, if you were wondering) and the College big boys. So, if you have issues or ideas, I’m there to try and make it happen. I’m pretty chuffed to be the first post-COVID (ish) President, which is great news for you because it means saying goodbye to Zoom tutorials. Asta la vista to the bubble system. Sit-down clubs? What’s that? Say hello to looking your tutors in the eye (I bet you’re buzzing), sitting with whoever you want in the Wolfson (our dining hall) and in-person fresher events. The dream.
Anyway, welcome to St Edmund Hall! If you applied here, brilliant choice, you will not regret it. And if you didn’t? Get out. Kidding- I didn’t apply here either (but only because I didn’t know about it. I ended up here out of pure luck and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. In fact, I liked it so much, I ran for President.
Teddy Hall is possibly one of the tightest of colleges there is, where everyone knows everyone. It’s not usual to find a college where the different years are actually friends, where you can sit down for lunch as a fresher with a third year, or find yourself as a second year going on a night out with a couple finalists. It’s a pretty dense college, population-wise, so you’ll see a familiar face wherever you are on-site.
Fun facts: we have the best food that an Oxford college has to offer, we have the best chat and we have the most fun. I know you’re here for a degree and good tutors (which you will get, don’t worry), but uni is about so much more. Get stuck in. Do something out of your comfort zone. Try a sport you’ve never tried- there are some niche ones out there, trust me- audition for a student play, perform at Mingtertainment. If you need advice, hit me up (jcrpresident@ox.ac.uk), speak to your college parents or, honestly, ask anyone on or off committee. We’ve all been where you are now- probably googling college stereotypes on Student Room, looking up packing lists, trying to suss everyone out on the Fresher group chats. We really are all here to help. Moving city, or country or house is no small feat, so it’s calm to be a bit frazzled. Let us know and we’ll do what we can.
Here are some nuggets of wisdom I wish I had when I was a fresher:
1) Whatever Student Room tells you, you are honestly not going to know what it’s like until you’re here. Easier said than done, but don’t lose your mind over what it’s going to be like. Trust me, it’ll be different to school and probably any other university, but different isn’t always bad.
2) Ming. You’ll hearing the word a lot so I figured I’d introduce you to it sooner rather than later. Ming is the affectionate name we call dinner in Hall. Unlike lingo such as Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity (which is what Oxford call 1st,2nd and 3rd term), Ming is unique to Teddy. iT started from a chef the college had decades ago that wasn’t the best, so all the students called the food ‘ming’, for obvious reasons. Now, with the food being top-tier, ‘going down for ming’, is the best thing you could say to someone
3) Don’t miss JCRT. If you’re a student, you love free stuff. JCRT is a weekly event -Fridays 4pm, put it in the calendar- with free snacks, smoothies and drinks. It’s a chance to hang out with the rest of hall as a break from doing tute work or the library (PS: the library is open 24/7, which is pretty cool)
4) Join the Facebook group @St Edmund Hall JCR 2022-2023. Even if you don’t have Facebook, it’s worth getting for uni. It’s where nearly everything is organised and all the tickets for any event will go out. If something is going on, it’s going to be on there first.
5) Don’t deep it. This one’s a biggie. I’ve been asking people what they wish they knew as a Fresher and it was that they wished they’d had more fun. First year set up for you to find your feet. Yes, try hard, and no, don’t miss tutorials or lectures. But, as long as you’ve set yourself up a good foundation, have a good time. Whether your idea of that is going out-out or watching movies with friends or going for a walk in Christ Church meadows, prioritise it once you’ve got what you need to do done. First-year exams are important to prove to yourself and to your tutors what you’re capable of and sets you up for a good grounding for the years to come, but at the end of the day (or year), they don’t go towards your final degree. Life is for living. So live it.
That’s all for now. But trust, you’ll be hearing from me a lot next term, so you’ve got that to look forward to at least, Until then, Get ready, get set, get Hall.
Sending (H)all the love and luck in getting ready for next term,
Brodie
