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if the society is not restarted within a few terms it is very likely that some, if not all services, would have to be withdrawn.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@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@lists.ox.compsoc.net[0] and discussing these matters there.
Regards, Dominic.
[0] http://lists.ox.compsoc.net/mailman/listinfo/compsoc-discuss