Grant Kuppenheimer talks to SJCR president Anna Robinson about her pathway to the presidency, plans for the common room and how she wants to make student life more accessible.
On a cold Tuesday morning, I found myself lost in my own college, attempting to find the executive office of the St John’s Common Room to interview their president, Anna Robinson. After embarrassingly asking for directions, I scaled six flights of stairs in Linton wing, finding the office at last. For the next 30 minutes, Anna and I conversed about her pathway to president and plans for the charity with its soon-to-be incorporated status and relationship with our new principal, Jolyon; we certainly had a lot to discuss.
While originally hailing from Northern Ireland, Anna recently graduated in accounting in finance, and expressed how coming to Durham, specifically to St John’s College, was always a dream. Beginning her first year during the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted how college life was so very different from what it is today, which impacted her motivation to continue improving student life as SJCR president. College events like the fashion show and summer ball were particularly impactful for her as an undergraduate. They sparked a future interest in the SJCR.
Anna’s first exposure to the Common Room was becoming the SU comms rep in 1st year, followed by becoming the Sports and Societies officer and Treasurer, where her interest in the charity really kicked off. She expresses how being allowed to “empower people with the opportunity to make change” was the main drive to joining the SJCR exec, and this passion quickly developed into standing for the presidency. Since her election, Anna has prioritised incorporating the charity, which will massively improve the trusteeship and governance of the SJCR. “Getting the Bailey Wardrobe up and running”, she explains, and introducing the Ball Fund will “allow all our events to be more accessible”, a critical point in her manifesto.
It is greater student engagement and accessibility that are the central goals for her leadership. Anna was eager to comment that the relationship with the sub-branches of the SJCR, the Middle and Cranmer Common Room, has much improved, and she is constantly pushing for more inclusion and engagement with both. Additionally, the transition to a new principal is highly productive and smooth. Still, Anna comments on how there will always be adjustments to new leadership styles and changes, especially with the recent departure of Principal David Wilkinson and Phillip Plyming, former warden of Cranmer Hall. Bi-weekly meetings with Principal Jolyon Mitchell, she explains, have greatly eased this transition.
The president will always push for greater student accessibility within the college. Hence, she refuted the possibility of college losing its exclusive perk of free laundry and formals for students. If the college decides to introduce payment for access to laundry services and formal dinners, “the SJCR will actively lobby against such measures” as “formals are such an important part of the student experience”. Charging, she argues, “would decrease student engagement and be downright unfair”. Robinson clarifies how any hindrance to student access is a red line for the SJCR and hopes such exclusive services will continue to be available to students.
Regarding improving college life, Anna loves to see the growing number of college societies and recognises that there is always a need for more social spaces. Her long-term goal is to establish a college toasty bar, a service greatly missed since its previous closure. Despite these ambitious plans, the question is where. Anna notes that space is minimal in college, which is the primary constraint to such plans, but that “if we could find a space for it, we would definitely open one”. Still, there is much to be thankful for. Anna points to the LRC library and study centre as an example of the exceptional opportunities for John’s students. She continues to strive for as many diverse opportunities for students as possible at different times of the day to increase engagement, and will continue to work with the college in these areas.
To close our conversation, I hinted at the possibility of her standing for re-election, but she said her involvement with the SJCR and active membership within the college will definitively end at this year’s conclusion. Anna is looking forward to a job in accounting in Newcastle and is excited to remain in the north despite moving on from Durham.
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