Being part of the JCR Committee: from the perspective of the Access & Outreach Officer

Written by Gabriel - a second year Philosophy and French student here at New College. He is the JCR Committee's Access and Outreach Officer, as well as being a Communications Student Ambassador and Step Up Ambassador for the College. 

I’m sat with a group of wide-eyed, keen Year 12 students in the dining hall. They’ve come as part of the New College Step-Up Programme to have a look around the College and learn more about what life is like at the University of Oxford. I explain that I’m the Access & Outreach Officer in the JCR Committee, and the usual response I’m met with is: ‘the wha-wha Committee?!’

It’s always quite confusing trying to explain to people what the JCR Committee is. The ‘JCR’ (Junior Common Room) refers to both the student body of undergraduates (pretty much those who are studying for their first degree) and the actual ‘common room’ wherein we can socialise and relax. The JCR Committee has the job of making sure life in College is the best it can be for the JCR student body. We do this by running events and allocating JCR funding for things such as College socials/parties, sports kits, free female sanitary products for the College, arts, and even pizza for our JCR meetings! And, before you call corruption, don’t worry: the JCR meetings are open to the whole of College, so the free pizza is for everyone!

The 2022-2023 JCR Committee

As you can imagine, if we’re responsible for such a broad range of things within College, there are many roles within the Committee. These include the roles you’d expect, like President, but also some which may surprise you, like Tortoise Custodian and Bike Officer. My role is one many people haven’t encountered in their former school committees: Access & Outreach.

So, what does my role entail, and why am I greedy enough to claim two things? The first half of what I do, encompassed by the ‘Access’ part, involves trying to make the University of Oxford (and especially New College) as accessible to everyone, regardless of background or identity. When people mention ‘Oxford’, the first image that comes to mind is usually one of elitism, posh people, and super-geniuses who knew how to speak 20 languages at age 11. So, many people might think ‘I’m not from one of these traditional Oxford backgrounds, so what’s the point in applying?’. Well, none of these stereotypes about Oxford are actually true, and it’s my job to demystify what it’s like to study here and make the application process as transparent and straightforward as possible, especially for those who always thought that studying at Oxford was out of reach.

The other half of what I do comes under the ‘Outreach’ heading. I work with the College Outreach officers (shoutout to Dan and Shelby!) to help deliver the Step-Up Programme as a Step-Up Ambassador, which involves giving tours and Q&As to students in our partner schools. I also run the @newcollegejcr Instagram account, where I work with the College subject reps to deliver ‘Day in the Life’ take-overs, which give prospective applicants an idea of what it’s like to be a student at New College. On there, you’ll also find other super useful information such as Interview Q&A sessions! 

Gabriel delivers a session to prospective students at the Step Up Residential

There’s definitely a lot of work to be done on the Access & Outreach front, and being a JCR Officer is a big commitment with a lot of responsibility, but I love being part of such an amazing committee! Everyone is so committed to what they do, and I couldn’t ask for better people to work with. I’m lucky enough to have a role that involves working with a wide variety of other JCR Committee Officers. For example, I work very close with Malwina, our Inreach Officer, to ensure that the support for people from non-traditional Oxford backgrounds doesn’t stop once they receive their offer, but continues throughout their time in College. Malwina runs some amazing events for those who identify as coming from an ‘Access’ background, such as movie nights and evening socials.

For me, being part of the JCR Committee has been one of my favourite parts of my second year at New College. Not only is it great fun to meet so many prospective applicants (and get a free lunch during their day visits to College), but it’s also immensely fulfilling to know that I’m working with a great team of people to break down barriers and make New College an accessible place for everyone, irrespective of where they come from or what school they went to.

Find out more about New College's Outreach work.