Minutes for General Meeting, Sunday 7th Week MT05

Meeting commenced: 8.30pm

No committee reports

Motions:

Biology Magazine Motion

This JCR notes that:

1) Next term, a new student run biology magazine will becoming available for all colleges to subscribe to which promises to contain a variety of articles, cartoons and debates on subjects of interest to everyone. 

This JCR believes that:
1) Supporting student run magazines is important and has demostrated this belief in the past by subscribing to lots of copies of tabourey.  It should also be a great read for everyone and as each issue is priced at the amazingly low cost of £2, it won't dent the JCR budget.

This JCR resolves to:
1)Subscribe to 30 copies for Hiliary term.

Proposed by Andrew Holyoak
Seconded by George Shirreff

Proposition:

This is a new student-run magazine, and we have supported similar things in the past. It is not just for scientists, and we have a magazine rack in the JCR now, so we should make the most of it to provide as diverse a range of publications as possible. [List of things which will be included in the magazine]

SFQs:

• Did you say it would include zoo reviews?

  • Yes. It’ll help the Entz team decide which we should visit.

• Are the 10 copies per term to be kept in the JCR?

  • Yes, for now, and if they are popular we can order more copies in future to be put in the postroom.

• What is it called?

  • Nudibranch. It’s apparently a type of spotted sea-slug.

• How much will it cost?

  • It will cost the JCR £2 per copy, and we will buy 30 copies over the year. Currently they are intending to produce one issue per term.

Motion passed nem. con.

Smoking in the Bar Motion

This JCR notes that:
1) The MCR have asked for smoking to be banned in the bar
2) The SCR are largely in favour of smoking being banned in the bar
3) That there is pressure on college legally to ban smoking in the bar
4) That the number of people who smoke in the JCR is not particularly huge.
5) Smoking AT the bar, when drinks are being served, is already banned.

This JCR believes that:
1) Smoking throughout the bar is not desirable.

This JCR resolves to:
1) Ban smoking in the college bar
2) Consider, if resolves 1) is rejected, to ban smoking in the two smaller rooms, but not in the main bar area.
3) Consider, if resolves 2) is accepted but resolves 1) is rejected, to restrict smoking to the raised area directly to the left of the entrance.

Proposed Varun Chandra
Seconded by Jon Adamson

Proposition: College want to know our view on this, and this is purely for consultation, not binding. There are four options available to us – the 3 in the motion, and to reject the motion entirely. Smoking will already be banned when food is being served, in keeping with the new licensing laws. The form of this motion provides the opportunity for clause-by-clause acceptance, to establish exactly what our views are.

SFQs:

• How will this be enforced if smoking is limited to certain areas?

• The bar staff will be responsible for this.

• If we reject this motion, will it be forced on us anyway?

  • We don’t know. We use the bar most of all the groups in college, so hopefully College will take our view into serious consideration.

• What legal pressure is there on College?

  • College’s lawyers’ advice is that the new legislation will reflect this, but since we are a private members’ club we do not know to what extent it will apply to us. We will probably be exempt.

• What effect exactly would limiting smokers to the raised area of the main room have?

  • We don’t know – it is just one of the options that has been presented to us.

• Will we be allowed to take drinks outside the bar to smoke outside?

  • This would be illegal under the new laws, but college probably wouldn’t enforce it.

• Could we use the bar terrace as a smoking area, leaving the Buttery open at all times?

  • This could be suggested, but there would probably be issues with students having access to the food and equipment in the Buttery outside serving hours.

Opposition:

• There should be some allowance made to smokers. To claim there is “legal pressure” is silly, since the chances are the legislation will either allow smoking in the bar outright or not.

• There are a limited number of smokers and they have rights to use the bar as well. It is already banned at the bar itself to protect staff, and smoke doesn’t affect the bar much given its size and high ceilings.

Debate:

• This would not affect non-smokers much, but would make a big difference to smokers, and could appear to be the victimisation of smokers.

• The Home Bursar is not trying to impose this on us, but merely to consult us.

• Proposed Amendment:

• We should remove the resolutions apart from that about banning smoking in the small rooms.

• Amendment accepted.

• The MCR have voted in favour of banning smoking in the bar outright, but they have their own rooms, which are non-smoking.

• However, college want to emphasise the bar’s inclusiveness and treat it as a College bar, not just for the JCR.

• Nevertheless, surely to ban smokers from it would decrease the bar’s inclusiveness.

• This is not the result of anyone having raised any specific health concerns with the Home Bursar.

• During events the main room of the bar is used by most people and the other rooms are more chilled, so surely it is not fair to deny smokers the right to spend time in these rooms by banning smoking here?

• The small room nearest to the bar is already non-smoking when food is being served. Chill-out rooms will not be very nice for non-smokers if other people are smoking in there.

• Proposed amendment:

• The games room should remain ‘smoking’ for people playing games. The other small room should be permanently non-smoking.

• Proposition: Darts players are usually smokers.

• Opposition: We should have a vote on this.

• Vote:

  • For – 31

  • Against – 11

  • Abstentions – 12

• Amendment passes.

• Proposed Amendment:

• Ban smoking in the main room during bops.

• Proposition: The main room is big with high ceilings and not so busy, so smoking is not really an issue. However, it is busy during bops, so we should ban it then.

• Opposition: The JCR should vote on this, and the high ceiling remains the same at all times. It would be very hard to enforce this when the bar staff are already extremely busy during bops.

• Vote:

  • For – 12

  • Against – 17

  • Abstentions – 24

• Amendment fails.

Summary in proposition: It is good that we have discussed this and found a compromise. Varun will take our opinions to college.

Summary in opposition: College should consult the bar staff first, since they have to work there.

Vote on Motion:

• For: 31

• Against:7

• Abstentions:10

Motion passes

Meeting closed: 8.50pm

As is my reign of GM minute-writing. Sniff. Thank you to those of you who’ve read them over the year without getting mind-numbingly bored (hopefully) and made my job worthwhile! S xx