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Jesus! May Ball in name change fee controversy

God only knows what the logic is…

| UPDATED jesus may ball May Week ticket prices

Jesus College is charging attendees £40 per name change for a ticket. The ball costs £150 for a standard ticket, £170 for priority and £190 for a dining ticket.

For context, a member ticket for Murray Edwards garden party costs £41. There you can get a day of food, alcohol and events. At Jesus' event that amount of money will get you a logistical necessity.

The ball hasn't even sold out yet but the name change fee is already in place- so your friends/S.O/family/pet cat better not snake you out or you'll be left in a pretty tricky financial situation.

The Presidents, Will Thurlwell & James Kendall highlighted that '50% of the name change fee is donated towards our chosen charities for this year' and 'the remaining 50% is retained as an administration fee.'

With such high transfer prices, you best be ready to commit to this ball

The presidents clarified that the '£40 name change fee is not a new introduction. It has been customary for Jesus May ball since 2014 to charge for name changes and is standard market practice amongst other May Week events as well.' They explained that confusion came about as 'last year, some name changes were carried out for a brief period with any fee being levied, but this was in error and not in line with the T&Cs.

Name change fees are common for May Balls but are usually significantly lower. For comparison, St Johns May Ball will only start charging name change fees on 16th of May and it is £10. By the 22nd this goes up to £20, by the 29th it goes up to £30. Only if you leave it to the 5th of June does the name change fee go up to Jesus' current £40.

At Trinity, charges will begin to apply from 14th March. It will initially be £5 and go up to £10 on 18th April. However, where ticket changes become extraordinarily expensive is upon the transfer of doubles to other members of Cambridge, who don't go to Trinity. This will incur an administrative charge of £40 and the difference between the reduced and standard prices, £65, must be paid.

The presidents explained the reasons behind the fee to The Tab saying: 'The name change fee should discourage those who aim to sell tickets at a profit by making it harder to do so. This way, more people will be able to buy tickets from us at the regular price.'

However, with many Cantabs frequently changing their minds as to which May Ball they wish to attend, it seems unlikely that such a policy will prove popular.