The Buttery: Christ’s College’s Open Letter

The series of events that prompted an Open Letter with 100+ signatories advocating for a less hotel-like college experience.


Outside lecture halls and supervision rooms, a large part of our Cambridge experience is shaped by the college staff – from the Porters and Bar Managers, to the Catering Staff and Housekeeping Team. 

Therefore, when members of Christ’s College felt that a beloved member of the college staff was not given due recognition, they became concerned about the college’s hiring process. The Tab spoke to Noah Hatchwell, a third-year student at Christ’s and a leader behind the Open Letter responding to this affair, to find out how hiring processes are being perceived by the student body at Christ’s. 

Credits: Kitty Tseng

Where It All Started: The Buttery

Early this term, the former Bar Manager of Christ’s Buttery left college, leaving an empty position. However, the Bar Assistant stepped up and assumed the duties of Bar Manager that were far outside his responsibility. Noah said how he “not only kept the Bar/Buttery going, but also trained two bar assistants, did orders, did the timetable, and also did events.” This included taking the initiative to dress the Christ’s Buttery with Halloween decorations and wearing “three different costumes for the two days leading up to Halloween and on Halloween day.”

With this beloved Bar Assistant, the Buttery came alive with “an energy never seen before.” Noah said that before, the Buttery was almost always “empty because no one would ever come and [the Buttery] only sold a handful of coffees and beers… no music, no games, no special menus, no decorations.” Now, the Buttery has “reliable people coming in here to spend money.” Noah shared that he and his friends “come in here almost every day to do work” and has seen “better foot traffic” ever since. 

However, Noah and his peers recently discovered the decision on the new Bar Manager. Noah was “deeply saddened and frustrated” that this beloved Bar Assistant, with more than nine years of experience serving the college, had been denied this promotion. Instead, the college reasoned that an external candidate was a more appropriate replacement. 

How It Continued: The Open Letter

Soon, Noah and his peers united the Christ’s student body to draft an Open Letter. Addressed to the Christ’s College Operations Management and associated members of the hiring process, the letter featured students echoing their appreciation for the loved Bar Assistant.  The Open Letter showed just how many people he had impacted positively. They wrote he “is actually the only thing keeping me sane” and he “never fails to imbue the Buttery with a cheerful and welcoming atmosphere”. They added how he “goes above and beyond to build rapport and create a loyal customer base.” For one student, he made a huge impact as “an exceptional person that has always made me smile and truly is concerned about me and my well-being.”

With more than a hundred signatories, this letter also advanced a number of requests. This included a request for a public acknowledgment of the Bar Assistant’s contribution to the Buttery, and, for him to be reconsidered for the role of Bar Manager. However, the college leadership’s response to such an Open Letter, left Noah and many students at Christ’s feeling frustrated, as many of the letter’s requests were left unmet.

Credits: Kitty Tseng

Where It’s Going: Implications

Noah shares that beyond feeling frustrated about the treatment of this college staff member, the way this situation was handled means so much more to the students of Christ’s College.

Firstly, he believes it sheds light on the lack of acknowledgment of the work of college staff. Noah recognises that this Bar Assistant “has been here for nine years” and the former Bar Manager for 25 years, but feels as though “they were not given the recognition they deserved.” He understands that he was working “more than double of his hours overtime”.

Secondly, Noah alleges it illustrates the lack of value for student opinion throughout the hiring process. Noah says he feels the “college was not aware how much [the Bar Assistant] meant to students.” This frustration was also echoed in the open letter, with students appealing for attention: “Please consider our welfare – and understand the priorities there should be for the student body at Christ’s.” They pointed out that “valuing staff members like [the Bar Assistant], who are inherently part of Christ’s community, makes a considerable and tangible difference to showing students they’re cared about too.”

Lastly, Noah says it highlights a potential disagreement between the college’s values and the students’ priorities. Noah says he has felt like “the college’s hospitality staff has kind of turned this [college] into a hotel-like place.” He says it seems like the hospitality services provided in college “should be more about feelings,” perhaps valuing “friendly, welcoming, fun, engaged” friend-like figures over professional hospitality staff.

Christ’s College has been contacted for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Kitty Tseng

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