New JCR President elected: Benjy Penny

Benjy Penny was elected by the St Edmund Hall undergraduate students to become their next JCR (Junior Common Room) president. He takes over the role from current President, Emily Thwaites in 9th Week (8th December 2019).

Why did you choose to stand for election?

At Hustings I spoke about how I was shown the importance of the JCR President through a speech given to us during Fresher’s Week.  This friendly introduction described what was meant by ‘the Hall’s spirit’ and set the tone for the rest of our time at the College.  From being a source of guidance to new Freshers to being a point of contact for Finalists during their exams, the role of JCR President is integral to the running of College life.  I decided to run for the position, as I loved the idea of being able to manage and improve the JCR, as well as create meaningful and lasting change.  I greatly look forward to being at the heart of the JCR and working with all of its members next year!

What are you hoping to achieve?

There are many things I hope to achieve over this next year, including continuing the excellent work of last year’s committee to make everyone feel welcome and included in the College.  I would like to get more students involved with College committees and projects in order to improve the communications between the JCR and College. By working more closely with the St Edmund Hall Alumni, I believe it would be greatly beneficial to give more careers advice and examples of career paths to our students.  I also want to follow the College’s environmental direction and make the JCR more sustainable.

What do you think are the current strengths of the College?

I believe that the College has many strengths and our students have an enormous impact around the University: from our success on the sports pitches to the exceptional art, music and drama performed, we are widely recognised and respected for our achievements.  However, our greatest strength is probably our famous ‘Hall spirit’ and the community that is created in the College.  We all get to know each other very well, due to being a large student body living in a relatively small area, and this instils a sense of belonging among the students here – everyone feels welcome!

Tell us a little more about yourself, and your interests.

Although I am originally from South Africa, I have lived in London and attended school there for most of my life.  At Oxford, I am studying Earth Science, which is a practical degree involving several field trips a year and I enjoy the outdoors aspect to my course.  I love to participate in College sport and was a member of both the Teddy Rugby Cuppers Team and the Hockey Super Cuppers Squad last year. I am also involved in sport outside of St Edmund hall and in Hilary 2020 I hope to compete in the Town Vs Gown Fight Night for the Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club, which I was Treasurer for last year.  I am a great advocate of environmental sustainability and believe the College’s emphasis on this is truly worthwhile and needed.

What do you think might be the most difficult aspect of being JCR President?

I think my greatest challenge as JCR President will be managing my time between working for my degree and helping to run the JCR.  However this year we have a great JCR Committee and with both their help and careful planning, I hope to fulfil all of my commitments over the next year.

What was the most amusing or unexpected question you were asked in Hustings, and how did you reply?

During Hustings I was asked if I were to come back to the College, what event would I come back to and why.  My answer was to watch the Teddy rugby team in the Cuppers Final at Iffley.  Last year, a huge number of Teddy Hallers came to support the rugby team, it was an incredible example of Hall spirit, and we won the final!

Other JCR Committee Posts

Congratulations to the following students, who were also elected:

Gender and Sexual Diversity Officer: Beth Simcock
Academic Affairs Officer: Julien Kress
Access Officers: Lewis Sutton and Alex Wood
Environment and Ethics Officer: Rachel Trippier
Secretary: Izzy Hardwick
Sports Officers: Emily Currie and Tash Rix
Welfare Officer, female*identifying (where female* = female and minority gender identities): Felicity Hudson
Welfare Officer, male* identifying (where male* = male and minority gender identities): Alexander Abrahams
Social Secretaries: James Mann and Ishan Ramanathan

Visit the JCR website