A welcome from the JCR

Dear incoming Univ undergraduates,

As JCR President this year, I am delighted to welcome you to Univ!

I’d like to begin this letter by saying “congratulations”. By managing to get a place at Oxford, the world’s greatest university, you’ve no doubt showcased an enormous level of academic ability and even more tremendous academic potential. Your hard work has allowed you to successfully navigate the Oxford admissions process, and you will now begin what will no doubt be a transformative and enriching new chapter.

The transition to life at university tends to invoke a great feeling of unease. After all, for many people, it’s the first time they find themselves mostly in charge of their own affairs and the novel responsibilities that accompany them. This is completely normal. I can assure you that the members of the JCR and the staff at Univ are acutely aware of this and will do everything we can to ensure that your transition to university life is both a smooth and enjoyable one.

The “JCR” is simply another name for the undergraduate body here at Univ, which now includes you! The community here at Univ is notoriously friendly, active, and welcoming. The “JCR committee” takes on a breadth of responsibilities, ranging from hosting social events to representing the student voice at all levels of college administration. It is comprised of JCR members, who are elected at various points throughout the year. During term time, we have biweekly meetings, every other Sunday, where you can directly vote on changes to how things are done at Univ. I must add that these meetings are always accompanied by a large amount of free pizza, so don’t miss out!

The first major undertaking for this year’s committee is Welcome Week. We have a substantial array of activities and experiences planned to make sure that everyone is able to find something to make this time a memorable one. However, it is important to note that Freshers’ Week is by no means the be-all and end-all of social activity at Univ or Oxford. There are plenty of equally significant opportunities throughout your time here to meet new people, make friends, and have fun. There is no “correct” or “ideal” way to enjoy this week; simply try your best to do whatever makes you feel at home here.

To keep up to date with the latest happenings in the JCR, make sure to join our Facebook group! If you haven’t already, also join the Freshers Whatsapp group. While you’re at it, check out our beautiful JCR website. Please do not hesitate to get in contact with members of the JCR committee if you have any questions or concerns. If we’re not able to directly address your query, we most definitely will be able to direct you to someone who can.

Attending a university like Oxford is truly an immense privilege. Countless opportunities for success and good fortune are now well within your grasp, I implore you to make the most out of them.

I greatly anticipate meeting and working with you all!

Shermar Pryce (he/him) (2021, PPE)
JCR President 2022-2023
Shermar.Pryce@univ.ox.ac.uk

A welcome from the WCR

Dear new Univ members,

Welcome to University College, often called Univ, and to the Wier Common Room (WCR). The WCR comprises all the graduate students at Univ. Our aim is to be a community for the graduates of Univ to feel at home in, and to provide a social setting where you can enjoy your time in Oxford! Univ is a proudly international, open and diverse group, and the returning members are looking forward to welcoming to the fold! You can get to know more about the various committee members who help organise the WCR, their roles, and various other aspects of graduate life on the “The Weir Common Room” section in the “Live@Univ” section of the Univ website.

In the spirit of welcoming you to the college, we will be running a packed program during Welcome Week, which runs from Sunday 2 to Sunday 9 October. We really encourage all of you to attend this week as it is a great opportunity to meet lots of other new graduates and settle into the college. These weeks have always been a blast in the past, despite COVID issues over the last few years, and I’m sure this year will be no different! For those of you arriving earlier, we will also have lower-key events running in the two weeks before Welcome Week so that you can start meeting people when you arrive. There are timetables for both of these weeks in your welcome packs.

For the most up-to-date information on our activities, please join the University College WCR group on Facebook. More general information on the WCR, Univ and Oxford may also be found on the “Learn@Univ” tab on the Univ website. The website also has up-to-date college coronavirus information, a dedicated space for “New Student” information and a series of useful FAQs which I recommend using as a first port of call. On a more social front, please feel free to get connected with us on Twitter, the Facebook group and Instagram (@thegradlet and @univwcr) where we post regular posts of student profiles and events occurring at Univ. More information about these accounts can be found within this section of the website.

Finally, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or the rest of the excellent WCR committee members by email. The entire WCR Committee and I are more than happy to help in any way we can, and are dedicated to making your start in Oxford as smooth as we can.

I look forward to meeting you!

Michael Hutchinson (he/him) (2019, DPhil in Statistics and Machine Learning)
WCR President 2022-23

See further details on our New Students page.

Published: 27 September 2022

Explore Univ on social media