Elections to the MCR Committee
Elections to the MCR Executive Committee are held in Michaelmas term of each academic year, usually early in November. See the section headings below for more information about how the elections are held, which positions are elected and what to do if you would like to be on the committee:
Election timetable
The MCR Committee Secretary will open nominations two weeks before the elections. Notice of this will be sent to all MCR members via the mailing-list.
If you would like to stand for any position, submit your nomination via email to the Returning Officer who is in charge of carrying out the elections stating why you would like to run. Nominations must be seconded by members of the MCR and nominations close seven days before the election.
Once all the nominations have been collected, manifestos for all the candidates will be put up on the website for MCR members to peruse. The manifestos from the last election can be seen here as examples if you need any guidance for writing your own.
The elections are then held on-line over two days and the results are usually announced at the MCR Black Tie dinner in November. All posts run until the following November, but those on one year courses can still run and be elected. Volunteer committee members will then be co-opted to fill those positions over the Summer Break.
[top]Positions available
The committee generally comprises of the positions described below. Further positions may be co-opted by the committee.
President
Represents everyone in the MCR at College and University level. This involves attending many meetings to express the views and desires of all MCR members (as well as of course keeping the MCR committee in check!).
Vice President
The Vice President position on the MCR committee is new, to support and complement the workload and efforts of the President. The MCR operates in 3 communication channels – with college, with students, and with external organisations. The Vice President is imagined to lead projects in these areas when the President is otherwise engaged.
Secretary
The secretary takes the meeting minutes, organises the weekly Bulletin and organises the grad talk events each term, and is given licence to personnel-manage/harangue committee members on minute-items not followed up from previous meetings.
Treasurer
Has lots of fun organising your MCR part of the college bill as well as sanctioning all those crazy ceilidhs, bands, decorations for the MCR. Organises the MCR stash each year.
Computer Officer
Spends his/her life updating the Emma MCR webpage (amongst the most advanced of its type in Cambridge) and mailing list. Familiarity with HTML, jQuery, and PHP / MySQL (or willingness to acquire it) is essential.
Welfare Officer
The person in the know about all things to do with welfare. This involves liaising with welfare representatives at College and University level, as well as knowing everything about topics ranging from Chlamydia screening to funding opportunities.
Accommodation Officer
The point of call for all College housing-related problems and sits on the College Buildings and Services Committee. A lot of the job involves chasing people up to fix things as well as undertaking the yearly Accommodation Review.
Social Secretaries
These three socialites are each given one of the following roles:
- Dinners Sec (unsurprisingly organises the MCR dinners, opening sign ups and co-ordinating table planners)
- Events Sec (sorts the post-dinner entertainment, from casino nights to DJs, as well as other one off events during the year, such as the MCR trip abroad)
- Swaps Sec (arranges the formal swaps so MCR members can experience dinners at a range of different colleges and welcomes guests from those colleges to Emma)
Womens' Officer
The Women's Officer provides information for and looks after the welfare of the female graduate students in Emma as well as participating in discussions and activities concerning women's issues at a University-wide level.
Green and Ethical Officer
Tries to keep us all from wrecking the planet before we graduate. This officer works with College to promote new eco-friendly initiatives.
LGBT+ Officer
Organises LGBT+ specific events and liaises with the CUSU LGBT+ Committee. Is always available for guidance and support on any LGBT+ issues or concerns.
International Officer
Organises a range of events for international graduate students throughout the year. Available to answer queries specific to international students and works with the committee and college to solve any problems.
[top]General points about being on the committee
Although each job obviously has its particular responsibilities the whole committee helps out at MCR dinners and other big events. Being part of the MCR committee is a good laugh and also gives you the opportunity to put something back into College life.
[top]Do consider being on the committee if:
- You enjoyed taking part in Freshers’ week events and MCR stuff since then and want to get more involved this time round.
- You have lots of new and exciting ideas re: dinners/meetings/events/accommodation/all of the above.
- You like organising parties etc. and want find out more about the college, learn the names of the porters/chefs, get keys to the cellars, dine at high table...
- You fancy meeting a whole new bunch of people and getting dragged to lots of events kicking and screaming.
- You think you can do better than the outgoing MCR committee.
- You like standing up and making a prat of yourself in front of 120 people.
Don't get involved in the MCR Committee if:
- You just want points on the CV.
- You haven't got the time to spare because you are a Blues rower/manic workaholic/manic socialite with 5,000 engagements each week.
- You can’t commit to attending committee meetings every two weeks during term time.