The Queen's College Record 2020

Reports and College Activities
QUEEN’S HOMELESS SUPPORT
President: Ying Ying Teo
Walking through the streets of Oxford as freshers who had just matriculated into the
University, we were met with sights of people sleeping right outside our College walls.
Queen’s Homeless Support is born out of an acute awareness of the city’s jarring
disparity that coexists with our privileged institution.
Homelessness has always been part of Oxford’s landscape and there are already
pre-existing student organisations that provide food and other necessities to those
sleeping rough. However, while on our rounds, we realised that the rough sleepers in
East Oxford, a disproportionately disadvantaged community, have been underserved.
And so, we set out with the goal to fill this gap – with three evening shifts a week to
provide help to the homeless in East Oxford.
Founded on the eve of the outbreak of COVID-19, the society had to put its activities
on hold as we were sent home to complete Trinity term. The pandemic has put into
perspective how the homelessness crisis in Oxford is a ticking time bomb. Once
emergency legislation runs out and when the economic impact of the outbreak bites,
we anticipate that homelessness will worsen in Oxford. There is a long way to go in
battling homelessness structurally and as a Queen’s community, we should do more to
help the homeless who are the most vulnerable in times of crises.
Over the past few months, we have also been in talks with the College kitchen
for donation of excess food to the society, so that food access for the homeless
and reduction of food waste can be achieved simultaneously. We look forward to
implementing these goals in the coming year!
KORFBALL
Captain: Hamish Smeaton
Although the annual Trinity Korfball Cuppers did not go ahead due to the pandemic,
Queen’s students have been influential in the success of the sport this year. As a
relatively niche sport, the majority of University players begin from scratch, so it was
great to see several Queen’s students signing up at Freshers’ Fair and attending the
Michaelmas beginner-oriented taster sessions run by the Oxford University Korfball
Club.
At a more experienced level, three Queen’s members represented the University during
the year, with Ellie Woods making several strong league appearances for the second
team, while Gemma Smale and Hamish Smeaton enjoyed successful seasons in their
final year with the club.
76 The Queen’s College | College Record 2020