We run Freshers’ Fortnight with the Tutorial Department and the Admissions Office, and the details come by email. Check it.

The College has a great deal of useful information in the Postgraduate Handbook and the Offer Holder Information pages. You will need to log into JNet using [your CRSid]@jesus.cam.ac.uk and your JNet password, once you have received it.

Feel free to use the MCR for meeting friends, watching TV, or reading the paper with a cup of coffee. It is essentially our living room, and you will come to think of it fondly after some happy times spent there.

We want to emphasise that the MCR cannot be booked by anyone exclusively. It is a communal space everyone has access to 24/7 and everyone is invited to use at any time.

In the MCR we have a selection of newspapers, magazines, fiction books from the library, board games and a croquet set for your use.

If you are planning something bigger , pre-dinner drinks before Formal Hall for a birthday, say , put it through the app rather than hoping the room is free.

An approved booking does not empty the room, so it is still worth posting it on the MCR Facebook group: the people already sitting there are the ones worth telling.

Eight of them, in three groups, and none is a surprise.

Sharing it

• Talking and the television are both fine while somebody works in the corner. It is the volume that matters, not the activity.
• It is not personal storage. Take your things with you when you go.
• It is not a supervision room either , College provides those, and the café and study centre are the usual alternatives.
• Read the fire procedures once, on a day when nothing is on fire.

Help yourself

• The tea, the coffee with milk and sugar, the art supplies and the sexual health supplies are all there for you, as is anything in the fridge that is not labelled with somebody’s name. If you are not sure whose a bottle is, ask a member of the committee rather than guessing.
• Borrow the board games, the books and the inflatables for up to a week. Rinse the inflatables afterwards , there are hose taps on Lower Park Street , and leave the electronics where they are.

Leaving it as you found it

• Clear up: put back what you borrowed, bin or recycle the rest, wash and dry the plates and glasses and return them to the cupboards. Glasses go back to the bar.
• Lunch in the fridge is fine, overnight is not. Label it with your name and the date.
• Tell the committee when something breaks, or when something already looks broken or missing. Nobody is in trouble, it just cannot be fixed until somebody says.

If the thing you want does not exist, the Sports and Societies Officer can usually start it.

Pitch a new club

Who can apply

Both of these, not either:

1. a current member of the Jesus College MCR,
2. studying for, or recently finished, a postgraduate degree at Cambridge at the time of the event.

What to send

An email saying what the money is for, with:

• the theme of the conference,
• the date and the location,
• speakers, if you know them yet,
• a breakdown of estimated costs, item by item.

What the money can go on

• transport for speakers,
• refreshments for those attending,
• hiring function rooms,
• promoting the event,
• other reasonable costs that come with it.

Each application is taken on its own terms by the committee, usually at the meeting following its arrival, and the graduate tutors are sometimes asked for a view first.

The fund is finite, so an event or a group that has not had MCR money before is prioritised over one that has.

You can ask for the money upfront, because a conference that has to be paid for first often cannot happen at all. Keep every receipt either way. The Treasurer will be in touch to arrange the transfer.

Working with the JCSU Green Officer, our Environmental and Ethical Affairs Officer has put together an A to Z guide to sustainability. Download it today and find out how you can make small changes that add up to big differences.

Jesus College has published a series of documents on its environment and sustainability policies and practices:

2021

Sustainability Strategy 2020 to 30 and Responsible Investment Policy

2022

First Sustainability Strategy Progress Report and Decarbonisation Report

2023

Sustainable Transport Strategy 2020 to 30

2024

Second Sustainability Strategy Progress Report

In June 2021 the College released a Responsible Investment Policy. Its key commitments are to:

The MCR welfare team , the two Welfare Officers, the International Officer and the LGBT+ Liaison , can be reached by email, by pigeonhole, or in person. Their names and addresses are on the Committee page, and you can write to them without giving your name (see below).

There is useful information on the College’s welfare pages. You can also find welfare advice from the Graduate Union and the Cambridge University Students’ Union, as well as the Student Advice Service.

You can also find more specific information from the MCR about counselling and advice and sexual health, as well as information for those with families and/or partners in Cambridge.

For most incidents the people to call are the Porters. They can be reached on 01223 339339 or at the Porters’ Lodge itself. They will be able to help out with many situations, or at least tell you who you should call if they can’t help.

To access mental health support, a good first port of call is the College’s welfare pages, which list the various channels through which you can get help. There is a Welfare Tutor on duty 24/7/365, the Porters know who is currently on duty, in the Lodge or on 01223 339339.

If you are having problems with the building you are living in (i.e. maintenance problems) you can report these online at JNet or to the housekeepers. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to contact any member of the MCR Committee, and we will do our best to help.

You do not have to put your name to a welfare message. In the app, a welfare thread goes to one officer and the President and to nobody else, and there is a box to tick that keeps your name off it. They can still write back, they just will not know who you are.

If you would rather not use the app at all, every officer’s address is on the Committee page, and the SU Student Advice Service sits entirely outside the College.

Cambridge may appear quiet and safe, but even so, security measures are important. There is no need to panic, but we want you to be alert to potential risks, especially at night. Avoid the public parks after dark. Also, if you see anything suspicious around College, please contact the Porters.

Getting back in after midnight

Main gate

The wooden doors at the end of the Chimney. Locked at midnight in term.

After midnight

Jesus Lane vehicle exit, Victoria Avenue vehicle entry, or the gate at the end of Lower Park Street , University card at the reader.

All gates open

5.30am.

Lower Park Street

If you live there, the Porters hold a back-gate key against a £10 deposit.

Three things worth remembering, none of them Cambridge-specific except the last:

• Walk back in a group rather than alone, particularly after a night of drinking.
• Keep out of the public parks after dark and stick to the lit, busy routes.
• Tell the Porters about anything that seems off in College. That is what they are for, and it is never a bother.

College Nurse

Mrs Jacky Poskitt

Email

college-nurse@jesus.cam.ac.uk

Telephone

Surgery 01223 339450, mobile 0750 088 3448

Web page

College Nurse and Physio on JNet

You must register with the College Nurse so that she can help you during your studies at Cambridge. When you first arrive at College you are asked to complete a form, which is kept confidentially in the College Nurse’s office. In the UK you must register with a National Health Service General Practitioner (GP) , there are lots nearby. You should let the College Nurse know which one you’ve registered with, for her records.

If you have any concerns about your own health or that of a colleague or housemate, please contact the College Nurse on one of the telephone numbers shown above or attend one of her surgeries. The College Nurse is located on the ground floor of Staircase 1, Library Court. Please inform the porters if you are unwell. The Porters’ Lodge is open 24/7 and all Porters are trained First Aiders.

If any of your personal health details should change, it is important that the College Nurse is kept informed. Any student (or partner of a Jesus student living in College) should notify the College Nurse if they or their partner become pregnant. If a parent or another relative comes to stay in a College house to help, the Graduate Tutor has to give permission and the Tutorial Office and the Lodge record that they are there.

There is no University Dental Service, but there are dental practices nearby.

Jesus College has an ethos of tolerance, friendliness and consideration for others. You should never have to put up with anyone else’s bullying or harassing behaviour. Should you feel that you are being harassed don’t hesitate to speak to a member of the Committee, in particular the Welfare officers, International officer, any member of the JCSU welfare committee, or any of the Welfare Tutors (contact the Porter’s Lodge to find out who is on duty). All can offer confidential advice. Your problems will be taken seriously and procedures are in place should you wish to make an official complaint. We can also direct you to further support or counselling services if needed. The College has an official policy on harassment.

The Welfare Tutors are available to listen and to offer help with any problems that are not purely academic or administrative. Undergraduates and postgraduates are welcome to contact any of them. Every day in term time there is a Welfare Tutor on duty who can be contacted whatever the hour in case of an emergency or urgent problem through the Porters’ Lodge on 01223 339339. Out of term, ring the Lodge or the Tutorial Department on N Staircase, 01223 339468.

If the prospect of speaking to a member of staff is also daunting, the MCR Welfare Officers would provide a listening ear or get started with procedures on your behalf. If your complaint is about a Welfare Tutor or Officer, you can still speak to us and we will do everything we can to ensure that you feel heard.

You do not need a diagnosis to book. Rachel Michel is the College mental health nurse, and she sees students about anything from academic stress to something that is simply not going well. If you would be better served elsewhere she will say so and point you there.

Email

r.michel@jesus.cam.ac.uk

Drop-in hours (term-time only)

I Library Court, Room 1. Mondays and Thursdays, 2.30 to 3.30pm. Tuesdays and Fridays, 10 to 11am

Appointments

Email Rachel to arrange a time outside drop-in hours.

Additional information on surgery times and contact details for the College nurse, mental health nurse and physiotherapist can be found here.

The library has a Personal Welfare section in the building at classmark PYW. These books cover topics ranging from study help to personal welfare and may be browsed and borrowed as normal. We welcome suggestions to improve and expand this section.

You may also be interested in the following:

• The University’s collection of Wellbeing ebooks.
• LGTBQ+ resources and collections.
• BLM library on the College intranet, produced by Jesus students.
• The Librarian offers wildlife wanders to current Jesuans throughout the year, please contact the library to request a walk.

During Easter term the library has a collection of relaxation aids that are left out in the Garden Room, including colouring books, origami, jigsaws, and puzzles.

The University Counselling Service is free, confidential and open to every student. Book online, the form takes as much or as little as you want to give it, and they write back to arrange a time.

The Student Union provides a Student Advice Service for confidential advice ranging from making friends through academic support to student finance.

Seven destinations, each one somebody else’s page rather than ours. The first three are the ones to start from if what happened involves another person.

Cost

Nothing, to any MCR member.

Where

CUSU at the New Museums Site in office hours, or any MCR Welfare Officer.

Notice

36 hours. Requests are filled confidentially.

Through the CUSU Sexual Health Supply Scheme, free:

• Condoms (standard, non-latex, trim, and large)
• Lubricant sachets
• Dental dams (standard and non-latex)
• Pregnancy tests

The Welfare Officers cannot tell you what to do, but they can give you unbiased, judgement-free information on contraception, emergency contraception, pregnancy support and crisis support , and they will not repeat the conversation to anyone.

If you have arrived with your family, you are welcome to inform the Welfare Officers who can assist you to get in touch with crèches, schools, baby-sitters and childminders.

The Senior Postgraduate Administrator is the College’s childcare contact. They keep a contact list of student families with children, so please let them know if you wish to be added. Some events for Fellows and their families are organised by the College throughout the year, and postgraduate families are invited to many of them.

A registered partner can use the gym and come to Formal Hall as your guest. The form is above.

The University’s Childcare Office runs a central fund for unforeseen pre-school and after-school costs, holds a good deal of practical information for student and staff parents, and runs the Student Parent email list, which is the best single source for children’s activities around the city.

The Newcomers’ Group is run by volunteers, who organise Coffee Mornings during term time at the University Centre (Grad Pad), for the families of those attached to the University. Children are welcome and toys are provided. They also run a neighbourhood scheme that introduces new families to people already here, and a small-ads page for the pushchairs and high chairs everybody buys and sells twice.

Of course, all members of your family are very welcome to attend MCR events. Some events are particularly child friendly. There will also be other events throughout the year, so look to the MCR bulletin for information on upcoming events.

The Rooster is the Jesus College MCR Punt, exclusively for use by our postgraduate students and their accompanying guests. It can be booked from the end of March to the beginning of October each year, after which it is stored for the winter.

• You can book the punt in 2-hour timeslots (between 7:00am and 9:00pm) on UPay with a price of £6.50 to cover its maintenance.
• You can book 1 week ahead of the timeslots, much like with formals. Please do cancel your booking if your plans change.
• The punt is moored in the punt pool by the Fisher building in St John’s College. See directions below.
• By the end of your booking, return the punt to the correct side of the quay (see below) and lock the punt and pole to ring 4 as shown below.
• Do not leave the cushions or any rubbish in the punt.
• If you run into any problems, have suggestions or have questions about this process, contact the Sports and Societies Officer by email (sports@mcr.jesus.cam.ac.uk) or Whatsapp. Alternatively, you can use the MCR anonymous feedback form.

• Enter the St John’s main site on the private road next to the Porter’s Lodge on Northampton Street. You do not need to check in at the Porter’s Lodge there.
• Please note that if you try to enter St John’s through the Porter’s Lodge on St John’s Street, the Porters often will redirect you back outside and ask you to walk along Bridge Street, on to Magdalene Street turning right onto Northampton Street to access the punt pool.
• You may use this custom Navigation Route on Google Maps, or the three screenshots below, to help you get to the Punt Pool.

The keys for the punt as well as the keys to our cushions locker are stored in a lockbox that is attached to our locker in the basement near the Johns punt pool. The code for the lockbox will appear on your UPay booking. Please be sure to return the keys to the lockbox when you are finished punting.

1. Enter the Fisher Building via the stairs to the basement.
2. At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and walk down the corridor.
3. There are a set of wooden lockers on the right side.
4. The Jesus locker has a lockbox on the front of it.
5. Use the code given on UPay to open the lockbox and retrieve the keys inside.
6. The locks and keys are colour-coded. Open the locker to retrieve the cushions and take them back outside to the punt on the East quay. Note that the black key should be left in the lockbox after opening the cupboard.

• Give your phone and keys to someone else while you are punting, in case they (or you!) accidentally end up in the river.
• Keep the lock safely and do not let the mooring chain slip into the water.
• Try not to let go of the pole, they don’t always float! The wooden pole locked on the East quay is ours, you can try this one if the metal one does not agree with you.
• Be careful of digging the pole too deep in mud where it might get stuck. If it does get stuck, give it a quick twist and it should come free.
• If you’re having trouble directing the punt as you push it, you can use the pole as a rudder. There is also a wooden paddle that can be used for steering.
• Collisions can happen! Passengers can sometimes try to use their hands to soften the impacts but use your judgement to avoid getting your fingers trapped. See the section below on handling incidents.

• Please return the punt back to East Quay before your booking is over as others may have booked it after you.
• If you are running later than anticipated in returning the punt before the end of your session, as a courtesy please check on UPay to find the name of the person who has booked the punt for the next session and contact them, e.g. via the MCR Whatsapp chat, to let them know the situation and when you expect to be back.
• You should lock the punt to ring 4 as shown in picture 2. If for some reason ring 4 is not free, you may moor on a free ring but please inform the Sports & Societies officer immediately by email or Whatsapp.
• Please be sure to return the cushions to our locker when you are finished with them. Do not leave them in the punt unless the next group agree with you to return them themselves.

I’ve never punted before, can I still give it a go?

Yes. Most amateurs on the river are likely new to it too! Please do be as patient with other people on the river, listen to any tips given (particularly by professional tour guides), and be considerate about letting other boats pass.

How many people can go on the punt at once?

The punt is rated for 6 people (including the punter). Please follow this strictly for insurance reasons.

Can I bring guests?

Yes! Please note that you are responsible for your guests and should accompany them at all times. At least one Jesus MCR member must be on the punt during a booking.

Can I take the punt out for longer than 2 hours?

The booking system is set up to allow fair use for all MCR members. Please go with other MCR members and book 1 slot each, consecutive to each other. Please don’t try to book multiple slots yourself as we may have to remove you from the list of punt users.

Can I go up to Grantchester?

2 hours is enough to go along the Backs, but not to go to Grantchester. Please refer to the above on how to book for longer than 2 hours and be very careful taking the punt on the rollers near Darwin up the river if you want to attempt Grantchester punting.

What to do if there’s no space on our side of the quay?

You may need to push other punts apart to access ring 4. If all the rings on our side are taken, make sure to inform the Sports & Societies officer and the Punt Pool manager, Alex Ramsey, before you go. He is usually based by the workshop at the quay opposite to ours at the Fisher building, where St John’s moors their own punts.

What happens if I discover damage to the Rooster when I come for my booking?

Inform the Sports and Societies officer immediately.

To access the discounted rates, you must book Scudamore’s services (including self-hire) via this link instead of their main site. On average, your booking will be discounted by 30 to 50% depending on the time of year and how far in advance you make your booking. When you go to your punting trip, you must present your valid CamCard to authenticate your access to the scheme.

Please note the following conditions about the scheme:

• You should hire well in advance. Amendments and cancellations have to be made at least 48 hours in advance.
• Late arrivals and no-shows are not tolerated.
• Just like for the Rooster, the maximum capacity is 6 people.
• Do not run over, as you will be charged extra at the usual rate.

The College and the University run on committees, and it is often not obvious who to write to. Twelve common cases, and the address for each.

Every student is assigned a Tutor, and for postgraduates that is the Graduate Tutor, supported by a small team because the post covers more than four hundred people. You can go to any Tutor about anything at all, however large or small, they will listen in confidence and point you at expert help when it is needed. Most hold a drop-in.

The Tutors who are part of the College administration form the Tutorial Department, located on First Floor, N Staircase, Second Court. They organise everything related to students, including:

• Applications for extensions
• Interruption to your studies
• Leave to work away
• Financial planning for your degree
• Applying for financial assistance
• Letters (including for visa purposes)
• Returning home unexpectedly
• Difficulties with your studies
• Information about College activities (such as graduations)

Full information is found on the Postgraduate pages within JNet, particularly on the Academic Support page. You can request letters here, and access the full list of tutors via JNet.

The Graduate Tutors

When you arrive you are assigned a College Contact: a Fellow from your faculty or something near it, told to you on arrival. They are there for the informal question , the academic or professional one your supervisor does not cover and the Welfare Tutors would not , and for making sure new postgraduates get asked to things.

The College Porters are responsible for the college’s safety and security. They can be found at the Porters’ Lodge (P’Lodge) at the end of the Chimney, at the main Tower Gate. Their office is open and staffed 24 hours a day, every day, both in term and out. As your first point of contact with the College, the Porters are a great source of knowledge and are definitely the people to ask when you don’t know something, including about contacts and places in College.

At the Porters’ Lodge, you can:

• Check out a spare key if you are locked out
• Get replacement light bulbs
• Send and receive mail. Royal Mail (standard postage rates apply, cleared in time to catch postal collection). University Messenger Service (UMS, for mail to Faculties, Departments and Fellows of other Colleges, two deliveries/collections daily Monday to Friday). Inter-Collegiate Mail Service (ICMS, student to student, one collection daily Monday to Friday)
• Collect parcels (check your pigeonhole in the MCR for the parcel slip)
• Register your bicycle
• Reserve tennis or squash courts
• Notify them of any emergency situation

East House is where you need to go to pay College bills or fees, or to pick up grant or scholarship cheques. The finance office is on the first floor on the left, and is open Monday to Thursday, 2:30pm to 4:30pm (around the time bills are due, these hours are extended to 10:00am to 12:30pm and 2:30pm to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday).

Council approves everything that happens in and to the College, from building work to student provision, on set dates through the year, and its minutes are in the library and on JNet. Four junior members sit on it , the JCSU President, the MCR President, and one elected representative from each , and all four are Trustees of the College.