Hello all,
I write as the currently coopted senior member of Compsoc, to let you
know that as of the AGM in Hilary term this year, Compsoc has been
unable to elect a committee due to lack of candidates, and so formal
operation of the society has been suspended.
This means that unless someone steps up, there will not be a presence
at this year's Freshers' Fair, and not much chance of a termcard or
any other events next academic year. It also means that we can't
realistically accept any new members.
We are no longer registered with the University Clubs' committee and,
amongst other things, this means that we are no longer called Oxford
*University* Computer Society but just Oxford Computer Society.
It's not yet clear for how long the society can remain in this state,
neither fully operational nor having been dissolved, but it would not
make sense for it to stay this way for more than a couple of terms.
I would like to once again urge any student member who has an interest
in the continued existence of the society to get in touch as soon as
possible so that an interim committee who can provide a Freshers' Fair
presence and one or two events for next term can be formed. Hopefully
we would then hold an EGM next term to elect a normal committee.
The society has, I think most people would agree, been an excellent
source of informative talks and activities over the years, and I firmly
believe that it still has a place - although its focus will naturally
evolve with the evolution of computing in the University and more
generally. Stepping forward now and helping out would not only help
ensure that a focal point for computer enthusiasts is maintained in the
student University, but also provides an impressive addition to any
graduate CV.
In addition to this, I would like to bring your attention to the
report on constitutional reform, presented at the last AGM by our
outgoing Secretary.
<http://www.ox.compsoc.net/minutes/Report_on_Constitutional_Reform/>
This may be of interest to those wishing to play a role in the future
of the society, and Adam has made some very interesting points about
possible changes to the consitution and other more practical matters.
Note that for the time being, the services provided by the Compsoc
network remain unaltered. However, if the society is not restarted within
a few terms it is very likely that some, if not all services, would have
to be withdrawn. The currently acting sysadmins can be contacted at the
usual address. It is highly desirable that a new committee be able to
co-opt a new Systems Administration Coordinator (SAC) as soon as possible,
in order to ensure that the network remains viable.
I have posted an abbreviated version of this announcement to the
Society's web site:
<http://www.ox.compsoc.net/minutes/Report_on_Constitutional_Reform/>
Please also distribute this message freely to anyone who is not
currently a member and who would be interested in coming on board.
For any general questions, please feel free to email
<committee(a)ox.compsoc.net> which is currently composed of some members
who are best placed to assist in the reformation of the committee
proper (recently-ex committee members).
Alternatively, if you would like to discuss things more widely, do
consider joining <compsoc-discuss(a)lists.ox.compsoc.net>[0] and discussing
these matters there.
Regards,
Dominic.
[0] <http://lists.ox.compsoc.net/mailman/listinfo/compsoc-discuss>
--
Dominic Hargreaves | http://www.larted.org.uk/~dom/
PGP key 5178E2A5 from the.earth.li (keyserver,web,email)
