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The term Junior Common Room is used in the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and the University of Durham to refer to the collective of students (similar to a students' union) at a constituent college of the university, as well as to a physical room set aside for the college students' use. The term is generally abbreviated to JCR. In Cambridge University, the acronym JCR has the same meaning, but can also stand for Junior Combination Room. Other universities world-wide do use the term, primarily to refer to common rooms.
Form and Function
The word "Junior" in JCR refers to the fact that under University statutes, students are deemed to be "junior members" of the university, in contrast to dons (fellow, professors, etc.) who are deemed "senior members".
Typically, students at a college will elect a governing body for their JCR, referred to simply as the "JCR committee", "JCR bench", or "JCR Exec" (short for "Executive Committee"). Most Oxbridge JCRs confer honorary JCR membership on distinguished individuals who are not students at their college, though naming frivolous honorary members is also common. In a far rarer practice, some JCRs can vote to bestow collegiate accolades upon individuals who have rendered distinguished service to students or to the college. At Durham, honorary memberships are usually reserved for current members who are graduating but have been involved in college life.
In most cases, a JCR represents all students at a college, but in most Cambridge colleges, it represents only undergraduates.
Similarly, the collective of senior members at a college is referred to as the Senior Common Room (SCR).
In colleges admitting graduates as well as undergraduates, there are often separate associations that represent the unique interests of graduate students. These graduate associations are often called Middle Common Rooms (MCRs). At Oxford, this term is a misnomer: by the university's statute, graduate students are also junior members, and the term "middle member" is without meaning. As a result, the term Graduate Common Room (GCR), although more recent than MCR, is gaining popularity.
Official JCR Web Sites
Cambridge:
Oxford:
Durham:
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