Image by Lucas Haskins
At 09:12 this morning, 10th February 2023, Magdalen students received an email from Aaron McIntyre, the JCR Secretary. It was a notice that three members of the JCR Committee â Vice-President Madeleine Blackburn, Treasurer James Melia, and McIntyre himself â had resigned, citing âuntenable working conditionsâ.Â
A longer letter, shared with members of the JCR Committee at around the same time, alluded to âalleged misconductâ on the part of the JCR President, Ciaran Tobin, which had not been âin keeping with the values of our communityâ.Â
Accordingly, the three revealed that they had sent a letter requesting Tobinâs âimminent resignationâ on Tuesday 7th February. This was refused, prompting their own resignations.
Tobin subsequently sought to schedule a JCR meeting for 10:00 on Saturday 11th February, pursuant to rules requiring a 24 hour notice period. At 12:59, however, he sent out an email with the subject line: âResignationâ.Â
Tobin attributed his standing down to being unable âto work effectively with the Execâ, as well as a â[break] down in communicationâ. He also referenced his previous belief that he could balance âMy Degree, My Sleep, and the JCRâ, before concluding âI have not been able toâ.Â
Tobinâs email makes no mention of âmisconductâ or of the âongoing welfare issuesâ cited by the three committee members in their letter, nor does it explicitly address this morningâs resignations.Â