The Conference of Common Rooms (CCR) was an ambitious model: a single democratic forum where common room and SU presidents could set the agenda together, argue it out in the open, and hold their representatives to the result. A year on, I am confident this forum has had been a force for real change.
Shermar Pryce, President for Communities and Common Rooms and Chair of the Conference of Common Rooms
The Conference of Common Rooms (CCR) was an ambitious model: a single democratic forum where common room and SU presidents could set the agenda together, argue it out in the open, and hold their representatives to the result. A year on, I am confident this forum has been a force for real change.
Chairing its founding year has been one of the privileges of my term. What struck me most was how quickly the room behaved like a serious democratic body. Motions were challenged. Some passed comfortably; others were won only on a second attempt, and a handful we are still working through. That friction was not a flaw in the model. It was the model working as intended, and our advocacy was stronger for it.
There are three things which I am especially proud of. The College Information Tool, now live on our website, equips student leaders with reliable data on cost, finance, and welfare across colleges, supporting informed decision-making and evidence-led discussion. The Think TWICE campaign turned a mandate on waterway safety into messaging that ran the length of the year and permanent signage at key sites along the river. Aacross six conferences, you passed sixteen mandates that your SU presidents then took into the committees that shape student life across the collegiate University.
The figures are encouraging, but they are not really the point. The point is that this Conference took its authority seriously, and it is encouraging to see the University recognising and responding to the priorities it has raised. You set our mandate, and we accounted for it back to you every time we met. Being held to that standard is exactly what made the year worth it.
This week’s CCR has been my final as Chair. Rather than set it all down in writing, I would rather you watch it. You can watch on our Instagram: a record of what this first cohort built, and a marker for where the next one can take it.
To every president and representative who shaped this year: thank you. Serving as your Chair has been one of the honours of my time at Oxford.