Downing College’s Cranworth Law Society has been banned from holding society dinners for a year, following an incident of misconduct after a formal earlier this month.

The incident occurred at Downing Bar after the society’s end-of-term formal on 13 March, and – as was outlined in an email sent to society members last week – “resulted predominantly from overconsumption of alcohol,” involving “several of our members, including a member of the Cranworth Executive Committee”.

Downing Bar closed an hour early that day due to the misconduct.

The Cranworth Society is the University’s largest college law society, and all undergraduates studying law at Downing automatically become members.

The sanctions imposed on all members of the society include a ban on society social dinners in College for the next 12 months, and a restriction preventing members from entering Downing Bar after the Cranworth Annual Dinner, set to take place in June.

In an email sent to students in the society last week, members of the executive committee stated that the incident “has resulted in disciplinary action from College against the relevant individuals”.

The email continued: “However, whilst the perpetration of this incident was unconnected to the Society and unrepresentative of our normal behaviour, the fact that it was our members who were involved, immediately after a Society dinner, meant that the Dean has deemed fit to punish us collectively.”

Varsity understands that the society’s co-president at the time used an offensive term towards a member of bar staff. Following the incident, he agreed to resign from his position.

In the email, the executive committee members explained that “personal sanctions have been taken against individuals in the context of Cranworth,” stating that “the perpetrating member of Executive Committee has been relieved of their role and will be forced to step down from any official representative positions of Cranworth”.

They added: “The remaining members of Executive Committee are incredibly sorry for the actions of these few individuals, and for the resulting sanctions.”

The society’s executive committee members also said that Cranworth members could “expect a formal apology from the involved member of Executive Committee soon”.

The society’s former co-president told Varsity: “The executive committee member accepts he made a mistake and his conduct fell far short of what is to be considered acceptable. As a consequence, he has tendered his resignation as co-president so as to allow the society to move past this issue. He has apologised to all the relevant parties involved and been subject to internal college disciplinary proceedings.”

The Cranworth Law Society was contacted for comment.