In defence of Trev’s JCR

There’s no beating around the bush with Trev’s JCR Chair Ben Lambert who stands his ground and plays hardball.


After concerns were raised on Facebook about the handling of Trevelyan’s JCR elections, The Tab put its serious journalism hat on and had a word with JCR Chair, Ben Lambert. 

Find The Tab’s original coverage of the story here and Lairy Mary’s letter to the JCR here.

JCR Chair Ben Lambert explains how he’s no ‘Mao’.

The Tab: Does the Trev’s JCR consider the running of a single candidate in an election to be democratic and effective?

Ben Lambert: This JCR never has single candidate elections: Voters are always given the option to vote to re-open nominations.

Does the JCR itself intend to address the issue of social media campaigning, indeed any independent campaigning by candidates, before or after this election?

The JCR reviews its constitution and standing orders annually. Last year, this issue was looked at but not changed. We have a JCR meeting this Sunday, where any member of the JCR is able to bring any changes they would like for debate and votes. I personally, in my position as Chair, am not able to express opinions on such issues or decide to address them. To address them before would have required a JCR meeting at shorter notice than we are able to do constitutionally: Indeed, this coming Sunday is the earliest we could have a JCR meeting where anyone can set the business.

Does the JCR feel it has become ‘cliquey’ and self selecting?

The JCR officials endeavour to be as inclusive as possible, and I always encourage anybody who comes forwards to run for elections and aid them with any changes they would like to bring.

Does the JCR believe that the upcoming elections can have any
credibility given recent events?

Yes. We have upheld our regulations in a fair manner, and no candidate has gained an advantage by breaching regulations. In addition, the JCR still have the choice to re-open nominations.

Will Mr. Riad be eligible to stand again for election if the majority vote is to RON?

Potentially. If it were only the disqualification, yes. However, it has since been brought to our attention that he is not currently going to live in college next year, a requirement for election. If he can resolve this with the college officers, then he would be able to stand.

Does the JCR accept that it could have handled the situation better?

The JCR acted throughout in accordance with its governing documents, giving Mr. Riad opportunities to explain or otherwise engage with the process. I am convinced that we have taken a responsible level of care, and have been fair throughout.

Would the JCR recognise that in a normal democratic system a
candidate’s right to appeal does not infringe upon their ability to
stand in an election, as is the case with Mr. Jeremiah Riad?

Mr. Riad did not [personally] appeal the situation. Other JCR members appeals were immediately escalated to the college officers, as we felt the nature of their complaints meant that Mr. Cooper’s response would not have been accepted, and we recognised the value of speed. The college officers backed us, but had they not, there was ample time to reinstate Mr. Riad as a candidate or suspend the election.