St John’s College has banned ents until further notice following damage to the ceiling and glass in the urinals of the men’s toilets.

The incident occurred in the Fisher Building during an internet memes themed bop last month (21/01) and left a ceiling tile smashed.

The episode was described as the “final straw” for senior College staff in a string of recurring damage to College property, as outlined in an email sent to students a week later by JCR members.

The email said that the Dean and Domestic Bursar would ban ents indefinitely unless those involved came forward, with a deadline of Tuesday 31st January to confess.

A further email sent to students on 10th February by the Dean, Nick Friedman, confirmed that no ents would be permitted until the JCR presented a “credible plan” to prevent damage to college property.

The Dean said that if further damage occurred he would also deny permission for all ents next term.

A spokesperson told Varsity: “Undergraduate ents have been paused at St John’s while the JCR works on a detailed plan to ensure College property is not damaged during events.”

John’s students flocked to the anonymous Bridge of Highs Facebook confession page to express outrage at the decision.

One student wrote: “It’s actually really messed-up that the actions of such a small group of people mean I might not get any more normal ents before I graduate”.

Other students expressed similar sentiments, with one student telling Varsity that people are “quite annoyed at being punished for the actions of a minority”. Many posts urged those responsible to own up, whilst some have tried to paint the incident as a harmless alcohol-fuelled incident, suggesting that the person responsible may not have owned up due to being too “blasted” to remember.

Some students have accused the JCR of “mismanagement” of ents. In response to one Facebook post, the JCR’s ents officer commented: “The JCR wants the next ent to happen as much as the ‘people’. After all, it is them who dedicate 8 hours of their Saturday night to run the ents.”

JCRs require permission from College authorities to hold ents. Difficulties with maintenance, as well as frustration at the behaviour and perceived lack of responsibility from students during Ents, have led to recent crackdowns on bops and other entertainment events.

Churchill’s own unofficial Facebook confessions page, Churchfess, has recently seen numerous angry posts concerning recent decisions regarding student fun. One submission likened the college, which has banned bops for “security reasons”, to a “police state” and noted “authoritarian behaviour from the Dean” in light of the ban on ents and alleged harsher policing of noise complaints. Robinson College’s JCR also expressed concern over students “getting rowdy” at bops at their last open meeting.

For now, it seems that John’s students are taking matters into their own hands, finding other ways to relieve the stress of work by organising secret ents, a source told Varsity. One such event advertised on Facebook gave a wink to the incident that caused the ban, imploring attendees: “Please no breaking ceilings”.

A college spokesperson said: “Undergraduate ents have been paused at St John’s while the JCR works on a detailed plan to ensure College property is not damaged during events.”