Butler College Magazine
Butler Bulletin
Issue 4/ 2015
Working for Formula 1 The work of an engineer in road car racing as told by an alumnus
PLUS Ushaw College Scholarly Ac#vity
Grace House Ready to Open The charity college has supported for years is ready to accommodate children
Josephine Butler College Trust The Josephine Butler College Trust exists to support the development of the College and its students. Suppor#ng the College Trust is a way to support students. Giving to the College financially is not an expecta#on of alumni. It is an opportunity to support students though, if you would like to do so. The Trust has recently funded: •
Mul#-Use Games Area (MUGA)
•
Boats for BCBC
•
PA System and Microphones for the Bar
•
Ligh#ng for the Bar
•
Artwork
•
Canvas prin#ng of student photography
•
Framing of student artwork
You can either donate a Single Gi5 or set up a Direct Debit to the Trust Fund. Direct Debits are a popular way to donate, with a number of Butler alumni recently se7ng up Direct Debits of £2 a month to the Trust. You can donate online at h9ps:// www.dunelm.org.uk/giving/butler (Single Gi5 only) or by comple#ng and pos#ng the dona#on form available under ‘Donate’ at h9p:// www.dunelm.org.uk/ (for Direct Debit and Single Gi5). If dona#ng by post, please indicate that you would like to direct your money to Josephine Butler College in the 'Direc#on of your Gi5' sec#on. If you would like to discuss the Trust or other ways to give to the College, please get in touch with the Alumni Rela ons Assistant at jbalumni.associa on@durham.ac.uk or 01913347264.
“Enabling the doers and shapers of tomorrow costs little to each of us collectively and we can change a generational mindset from ‘what if’ to people with a genuine belief in their ability to build and fund new things.” Julian May, Donor and Butler Alumnus (2010)
“2011 saw a new boat, funded by donations from the Trust Fund, take a crew to Wom en's Henley. More boats means more chances for more rowers.” Tom Hillman, Captain of Boats 2011/12
“The four portable speakers donated by the Trust have revolutionised Butler’s live music events. Thank you to the College Trust!!” Jonny Harrison, Co Technical Director 2012/13
Contents 4 5 REVIEW OF THE YEAR
10 11 PHOTO MONTAGE
17 SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
College Principal, Adrian Simpson, on the past year
12 SPORTS
Sarah Townley reviews scholarly events of the past year
6 ALUMNI FOOTBALL REUNION Butler old boys take on St. Cuthbert’s Alumni
7 REUNIONS REVIEW
A lowdown on all the spor#ng achievements from the year
18 GRADUATION PHOTOS
13 SOCIETIES
Congratula#ons Class of 2015!
A society showcase of the last year
19 GRADUATES 2015
The two successful alumni reunions
14 CHARITIES
8 WORKING FOR F1
A roundup of this year’s Charity achievements
Courtney Edgar on his exci#ng job
15 VISIT TO GRACE HOUSE
9 A VISIT TO THE YOUNG EUROPEANS
How the respite centre is ready to accommodate children
Johanne Rokke Elvebakken reviewing her traineeship in Kosovo
Welcome to an other edition of the Butler Bulletin! Read on for some fantastic articles from a huge vari ety of people as
16 USHAW COLLEGE
sociated with College. A huge thank you to everyone who has contribut ed, it is lovely to see that the Butler spirit is thriving in the alumni com munity! Thank you also to Alice for
A year of plays, music and community
Being able to begin work on the Butler Bulletin in my new role as Alumni Relations Assistant has been motivational
putting together a spectacular edi tion of the Bulletin! Make sure you stay in touch and I will see you soon at a reunion.
due to seeing how engaged the alumni community is.
It was a privilege to be your Alumni
Additionally seeing an overview of the year on paper is
Relations Officer for 2014/15, and
always heart warming, reminding everyone of the Butler
thank you to everyone who helped
spirit felt by all students, past and present. Thank you to
me in the role. I’m sure, under Alice,
everyone who has contributed. I hope everyone reading enjoys so much
the coming year will take the alumni
that they would like to contribute to future editions. If so please get in
community to great new heights.
contact and, to everyone, stay in touch with Butler this year! Alice x Alumni Relations Assistant 2015/2016
Matt x Alumni Relations Assistant 2014/15
Butler Bulle#n / 3
Review of t College Principal, Adrian Simpson, Welcome to this year’s Butler Bulletin. In addition to detailing some of our activity during the year, the Bulletin gives an opportunity for our alumni to highlight a little about life after Butler. For example, Courney Edgar reflects (on p8) on how his time at Durham led to a placement and now a full time job with a Formula 1 racing team. The Bulletin also reflects back on a very different year for Butler, when we housed around 50 postgraduate
the student support team with Karen Langdon as Vice Principal and Sandra MacDonald as Student Support Officer for our undergraduates. We also restructured the support for them so that Pam Burdis takes a wider overview of the College and provides support for events, college fellows etc. and Deborah Norman and Julie Barrett job share the student support secretary
Butler Day
students in the stunning surroundings of Ushaw College, about 4 miles from our main site. This gave us access to facilities we’ve previously only dreamt of, including a professional theatre and dedicated dining room. On p16 Matt Armitage reflects back on how we made use of it. This year was also a strange one for me personally. After setting the college up and seeing it through the first seven years, I took a year’s research leave in 2013 14 to develop my academic profile: time which was much appreciated and, I think, put to good use. Coming back soon made me realise that my heart belongs to Butler and showed me how much I had missed the College and all the activity which makes up life here, only some of which can be reflected in the Bulletin.
role. With the usual excellent support from the JCR and MCR, particularly the welfare teams, this all seems to be bedding in well. Those changes have allowed us to substantially expand our college fellows’ programme. This year we welcomed three fellows from across the world to the College. Prof. Xu Huang from Hong Kong Polytechnic University came to us in the first term to work with the Business School on the development of research on the employee voice. Our Institute of Advanced Study fellow this year was
Dr. Kalyan Perumalla, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. An international expert in reversible computing, as part of the ‘emergence’ theme of the IAS, Dr. Perumalla worked on the simulation of complex systems for uncovering emergence phenomena at large scales. In our final term, we were host to Prof. Fran McGill from St Georges University, Grenada. A practicing obstetrician, Fran teaches medicine and was exploring the development of empathy in trainee medics. We’re delighted that all of our fellows became so involved in the life of the college and we’re looking forward to developing our fellows’ programme still further, with at least six fellows joining us at various points next year. The fellows got Floodlit Final particularly involved in the life of the Senior Common Room, which elected new members to its executive committee this year. It was particularly gratifying to see more events put on by the SCR which could engage the other common rooms. There was a tea party to celebrate Josephine
There were a number of key staffing changes during the year. After 8 years in post, Jill Tidmarsh left to take up a joint appointment across Stephenson College and the Business School. She not only left us with a legacy of excellent student support processes, but used her parting gift to help us provide a new college prize for the person who does the most to promote equality and inclusion. We appointed new staff and restructured
Butler’s birthday bringing in both MCR and JCR members just at the start of third term and, to help as part of the ‘’take a break’ campaign during the revision and examination period, the SCR organised a trip to Beamish museum with a coach load of students spending the day on the site in glorious summer weather, co inciding with a celebration of the centenary of the Women’s Institute. It was, as always, really interesting to meet with alumni during the year. The two reunions in London and Durham
were very well attended and many alumni came to College at other times during the year. More details about these are given on p7 by Matt Armitage, our Alumni Relations Assistant this year. I was delighted to see Kristina Hagen (JCR President, 2008 9) visit us from the US in December and we had many alums back for events like Butler Day. We’re also trying to engage more alumni in the life of the College in sitting on committees and even our Trust Board. It is also great to see that our alumni are keeping touch with each other, even keeping up their sporting activities see the report on the alumni football team by Matt Pountney (PC Pountney: who’d have thought it?) on page 6. We have developed our Trust Board this year. With the departure of a couple of lay members of the Trust, we had the opportunity to expand the skill set and ensure that the Trust is able to draw on the best and widest
Josephine Butler’s Birthday Party
Butler Bulletin / 4
f the Year
on,
reviews changes over the past year. Danny highlights, but the manner of them as an example of the Butler spirit: a bitterly cold March night saw well over 100 Butlerites cheering the Men’s A team to victory with cheerful enthusiasm.
Pitch Please with Best New Society Award range of advice in drawing in donations and using them for the benefit of the College in the best possible way. In addition to David Cliff of Gedanken Consultancy and Sanjee Ratnatunga from Ideas for Change, we welcomed Stuart Blacklock of Ashurst Solicitors as an alumni representative to the Trust. During the year, the new board has been developing its strategy and, in particular, has been supporting plans for a project to mark the College’s 10th Anniversary. In the meantime, the trust continues to provide support for assets to enhance the student experience longer term. These have ranged from new technical equipment, through support for music societies and sports clubs, to even providing unicycles for the new
Kieran Devlin outlines some of the highlights of the societies activity this year on p13. The resurgence of STAB, our theatre group, was certainly a cause for celebration: they not only put on the annual murder mystery formal dinner, but also had a swashbuckling play based on St. Agnes Eve. We also showed that we continue to be flexible in the
aspect to their learning. By using the IAS public lectures as a jumping off point, a group of Butler students developed their own ideas about the IAS theme (‘emergence’) either as it links to their degrees or to their wider intellectual interests. This was supported by the Butler Scholarly Journal and has led to a special edition of the Journal coming out this summer. As ever, that creativity and the energy that keeps Butler going relies on the leadership and particular efforts of many individuals. The year came to an end with the annual College Colours
Unicycling Society. All of the money donated to the college is spent on long term enhancements, either in response to bids such as these from our college members or for larger projects like our 10th anniversary project, and donations are always most gratefully received. As ever, a fair proportion of our bids come from our sports clubs and societies. Danny Agar gives a little more detail about or sporting achievements on p.12. However, it is worth noting not just the fact of our men’s and women’s football teams successes which
Trust board decisions aiding Tech Comm development of societies with a number of new and reinvigorated groups being set up. In particular, a new all male a cappella group ‘Pitch Please’ won the ‘new society’ award and has provided a much needed boost to male involvement in singing in the College. Add to that the usual outstanding concerts, pudding making, craft, fashion show, dance etc. and it has been a wonderfully creative year for our societies.
STAB’s play based on St Agnes Eve
Similar creativity has been at work with our scholarly community. Sarah Townley details this on p.17 of the Bulletin, but I would particularly highlight the new programme we have set up encouraging students to develop a wider interdisciplinary
dinner at which Sir Thomas Allen, chancellor of the university, gave many different awards to those recognised by College Council for their contributions, including full colours to Matt Armitage, Will Macaulay and Alice Whitehouse. Along with common room executives, club and society presidents, staff, mentors and friends of college, they are the reason 2014 15 was such a success and on which we will build new ideas for 2015 16. I hope you enjoy reading the Bulletin and finding out a little about time at, and after, Josephine Butler College.
Butler Bulle#n / 5
Alumni Football Match Matt Pountney (JB 2010 2013) reports on the recent football match: Butler Old Boys FC vs. St Cuthbert’s Society Alumni FC. affair, with chances few and far
bulge. Half started celebrations had to
heart of defence. Despite the result
between. William Garrison and Matt
be cut short as the ball flew over the
there were plenty of positives to take
Pountney, marshalling the defence
bar, a connection so clean it cleared
from the performance, so many
superbly, with us showing some
the neighbouring pitch. If only it could
pundits have predicted that a bright
promise on the break with efforts led
have bobbled in.
future lies ahead for this young team.
by Jonny Gabriel.
Quiz question: What do the following organisations all have in common: Yorkshire Building Society, Grace House, John Lewis, Silver Sands and Teach First? The answer is that they were all represented on Sunday 22nd March 2015 on a rather solid football pitch in Regent’s Park London.
At this point Cuths sensed that
The headline though was the turnout.
After some half time oranges, we
perhaps it could be their day. So it
Whilst Cuths could find no substitutes,
came out revitalised in the second
proved as Robert Young, doing the
we had five to choose from. These
half. Josh Mason's delivery from
Old Boys a huge favour by going in
numbers will only increase as more
corners was Beckham esque and it
goal, was beaten first by what I'll
players join the ranks of JBCFC alumni.
seemed only a matter of time before
generously describe as a bouncer and
Football has always been a sport that
we'd go ahead. Sure enough the goal
second by a cross that proved too hot
breaks down barriers and brings
came as beautiful Josh scored a
to handle.
people together, so what better way
beautiful goal firing a free kick from a tight angle past their keeper. Jubilation on the sidelines for the assembled WAGs. After the goal we
These companies had all featured at
played our best stuff, getting the ball
various points on the legendary
down and cutting them open. We had
Josephine Butler College Football Club
chance after chance and a second
(JBCFC) shirt and were now being
goal seemed inevitable. Jonny had
used at the inaugural game of the
their defence on toast at this point
for old mates to keep in touch and
Enraged by this injustice we laid siege
provide London with a bit of the
to the Cuths goal. At this point they
passion that playing for Butler College
resorted to some dirty fouls, with their
gave us. If you want to get involved,
ginger left back 'the giraffe' scything
get in touch!
me down in full flow. We had a few more chances from set pieces and balls into the box but it wasn't to be, and the final whistle came.”
Butler Old Boys FC, a newly formed
and after a mazy run squared the ball
The game finished 2 1 to Cuths. Man
club made up of JBCFC alumni. It was
to Ben Pickup, four yards out with an
of the match was given to Will
a beautiful sight to see five
open goal. We waited for the net to
Garrison for a tenacious display at the
Butler Old Boys FC 12 St Cuthbert’s Society Alumni FC
generations of Butler footballing talent on show and showed just how much the Club meant to so many people. But I digress. The previous night’s social at Infernos did not claim any alcohol victims, despite the best efforts of Taha Abrar. The game itself was a friendly against another alumni team made up of St Cuthbert’s Society members. Lal Chadeesingh was given the honour of captaining the side and picking from a squad that had grown considerably in size. I will hand it over to him to tell the story of the match.
“The first half was a cagey
Old Boys Football Match
Butler Bulletin / 6
Alumni Reunions 2014 2015 Alumni Relations Assistant, Matt Armitage (JB 2011 2014), reviews the success the alumni reunions. It is evident from the roaring success of this year’s reunions that the alumni community is going from strength to strength. When our students leave the College they head off into a huge variety of careers and move all around the world. To get this diverse community back together for a night or a
Reunion Dinner at Ushaw College
weekend is something special to see.
cheesy Klute) and even more
back to return to the vibrant
to Butler everyone then enjoyed a few
The reunions put on in London and
Butlerites turned up to join the crowd!
atmosphere of College. Plenty of
more drinks before heading out for a
back at Butler provide the perfect
For those that could make it on to the
alumni contributed to the singing
superb night at Klute! It is safe to say
opportunity to facilitate these magical
end of the night, they ventured on to
sensations of the evening, showing
there were more sore heads on the
moments. As well using them as an
one of Londons infamous night clubs
the current students that vocal chords
Sunday than I have seen in a while,
occasion to see those friends you still
to finish off an excellent night of
do not get much better after
and the sofa’s in the bar were
keep in touch why not use them for
reconnecting with past friends. It was
graduation! Saturday was the main
commandeered as the alumni
catching up with those people you
fantastic to see so many
day though, full of sporting fixtures,
hungover corner for the majority of
used to play sport with or lived in the
representatives of different year
Meet the Angels and then a dinner
the day.
flat next door?
groups, and to see the various groups
out at Ushaw College. As Butler had
overlapping to share their experiences
taken on care of Ushaw College for
and memories of their times at Butler.
the year it seemed the perfect
December’s reunion saw a host of Butlerites hit the London scene again. The 50 or so alumni who attended
The second reunion of the year was of
were treated to a lovely 3 course
course held back in Durham. The full
dinner before moving on to a bar
weekend of festivity was kicked off by
nearby where some cheesy tunes
a karaoke in Butler bar, providing the
were blasted out (in reminiscence of
perfect opportunity for those coming
opportunity to explore the beautiful location and building, with the meal taking place in the main refectory. The food (and the wine) went down very well, and when the group came back
Looking back over the years, the reunions have become steadily larger and the alumni more enthusiastic. With the alumni community continuously growing we can only hope that this trend will endure! Butler will continue to change, with additions to the sport and society roster, building renovations and of course fresh staff and students, but it is certain that the underlying magic of Butler will remain. I for one will be attending the next reunion, and many more for years to come, so why not join me! It would be great to see as many people there as possible, and it is even better to see a host of year groups interacting with one another! So if you are a recent graduate or if you have been an alumnus for nearly 10 years, come and see what’s new in Butler and enjoy that feeling of home that will never change.
Alumni Reunion in London
Butler Bulle#n / 7
Working for F1 Courtney Edgar (JB 2010 2014) reveals what it is like working for Formula 1. ways of visualising the terabytes of data which are generated and building an application for all aerodynamicists to use to present and interpret this data.
As I write this, it’s hard to believe that it's nearly a year since graduating from Durham. I could only stay away from Butler for a few months before returning in November for the fireworks weekend, in February for an alumni weekend and in June for Butler day. As I now live near Silverstone in Northamptonshire, it's considerably less far to London than to go on the 4 hour pilgrimage to Durham so attending the London reunion was a must. For the third year of my degree I left Butler to go and study at Queen’s University in Canada. It was during
At the end of the placement I was offered a full time job following graduation. Most of my fourth and final year of university was spent on a project in which I looked at the aerodynamics of Russian Ekranoplanes; huge planes which fly a few metres above the ground. In July 2014, I graduated with Fairmont a First Class degree and moved to Brackley in Northamptonshire to start work for Force India F1 again. My job now includes the kind of projects I did on my summer placement as well as helping to manage the supercomputer and developing software to improve all stages of the
hairpin on the Monaco Street Grand Prix Circuit CFD process. The work is very secretive because it’s such a competitive field where millisecond differences matter on track. There are nice perks though; gifts from team sponsors and visits to the Silverstone race circuit which is next door to Force India’s HQ. At the moment, I’m not
part of the group within the team that goes to races in exotic locations like Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Monaco; though I hope to work towards that role.
that year abroad that I received an email from the engineering department which detailed a summer placement opportunity in the aerodynamics and CFD department of Force India Formula One team. I had always been a really big fan of the sport but working with it had always seemed out of reach or reserved for a lucky few. I sent off my personal statement and after a couple of months or so I heard back that the application had been successful and I could start a placement in July 2013. The placement work in Force India's aerodynamics department consisted mainly of software development using a variety of programming languages and packages to work with all stages of the CFD process. This mainly included automating tasks in the CAD application which is used for designing the car, developing new
From a previous year at Force India’s HQ
Butler Bulletin / 8
A Visit to the Young Europeans Johanne Rokke Elvebakken (JB 2011 2014) describes her traineeship in Kosovo. Grandmas preparing burning hot peppers for dinner and cakes tossed in sugar and honey for dessert. Violent rioters in the streets and neighbours so friendly they will ask you in for tea every time they see you. In my opinion a visit to the Balkans can best be described as one of opposites.
Josephine Butler College I was fortunate enough to do a summer internship in the NGO Democracy for Development in Pristina before starting my second year. Moreover, I wrote my dissertation about the obstacles to civic citizenship in the aftermath of the NATO intervention in 1999. The way I see it, Kosovo is a very interesting place to be a young person interested in international politics. The newborn, post war country is struggling to receive international recognition as a state, while also dealing with serious internal issues such as high unemployment, corruption and gender inequality. Despite the issues Kosovo is facing as a country, the population is, in general, very welcoming. Kosovo is a young country with a young population. The average age is 26, in comparison the average age in the UK is 40. Despite this having its difficulties, it makes Kosovo and the surrounding region vibrant with lots of happenings.
Johanne on a work trip to Albania with women in national costumes
Mother Theresa Boulevard, Pristina My name is Johanne, and since graduating from Durham University with a BA in International Relations in
The Embassy Logo 2014 I have been doing a six months traineeship at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pristina. The embassy is accredited to both the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Albania. To me, working at the embassy was a dream come true. While studying in Durham my interest for the Balkan region grew. In cooperation with
There is always a festival happening, with topics such as sculpting for the environment and documentary film. Furthermore, Kosovars have their own way of dealing with their past. Recently the artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa opened a football stadium filled with dresses on washing lines to pay tribute to Kosovo survivors of sexual violence. For me the days at the embassy were like the Balkan region itself, very diverse. The size of the diplomatic mission is small compared to work
The city of Prizren load, therefore my co trainee and I had the opportunity to do many
interesting tasks. On a weekly basis I attended meetings on varied issues such as water supply, migration, radicalisation and the post system in government agencies and international organizations such as the UN and the EU. Additionally, I had the opportunity to travel to Albania both for work and in my free time. Furthermore, to me it was astonishing working with diplomats that have first hand experience of historical events I was taught in lecture halls in Durham.
Visiting DokuFest in Prizren, a yearly documentary festival in Kosovo
Butler Bulle#n / 9
Sports 2014 2015 Sports Officer, Danny Agar (JB 2012 2015), reviews sporting successes this year. Another year has
Darts B team also secured promotion
come to an end for
into the top division after a fantastic
Butler sport and it
season, as well as representing the
has been an
University in the York Durham varsity,
extremely
with their win securing Durham’s
competition both colleges were
JBWFC have had quite a lot to live up to this year after the success of getting promoted to the Premiership at the end of last season. I don’t think any of us were expecting it but we have had the most successful year in Butler Women’s Football history, winning the Premiership having not lost a game, seeing off some fierce opposition in the process. The highlight of the year though has to be winning the cup. We faced a strong Cuth’s A side in the final but had enough to beat them 2 0, with great support from everyone one who came to cheer us on! Another highlight for the club was winning Team of the Year for the second year running. This year it has been a pleasure to share our success with the Men’s team after their Floodlit Cup victory as we both supported each other hugely throughout the season. Even though we will really miss some key players who have left this season, I’ve got no doubt the next one will be just as good. Sophie Cope Josephine Butler Women’s Football Captain 2014/15
amazingly tied on points. Langwith,
Men’s Football Floodlit Cup
successful year for the college. Butler
overall victory in the competition. We
has improved upon last year’s
also hosted the BCBC head race,
performance of 7th to finish 6th in the
attracting a large amount of crews
overall college points table with 2080
and putting on a great competition.
points. In addition to this, the college
Finally in third term we had the festival
finished in an impressive 5th in terms
of sport, and Butler put in a very
of points earned per student. We have
strong performance to finish 4th
had many successes over the year for
overall, improving on last year’s 5th
a lot of teams. The Men’s and
place finish.
Women’s Basketball teams both managed to win the Premiership, cementing Butler as the strongest college in terms of Basketball. There was remarkable success for the Indoor Cricket side who, in addition to walking away with the Premiership, were called up to represent the University at a BUCS tournament. This ns itself was a fantastic achievement. But then they surpassed all expectations to win nearly all of their games against other University sides: a remarkable achievement from our College cricket team.
Outside of college sport, we again visited Langwith College in York to engage in a variety of sports and societies. After a whole day of sport and after the final University Challenge
having hosted the event, decided to settle the tie with a boat race. Butler came out triumphant to win the first varsity of the year (Video on JCR page). For the first time Langwith came to Durham in third term for a rematch, and Butler put on a fantastic show on the field to win the Varsity by
Club of the Year, Netball, lost out on
a large margin. Both varsity’s were
the Premiership title on point’s
well attended and great nights out in
difference and the Men’s Rugby team
York and Durham followed the day’s
clinched promotion to the Premiership
sporting action.
after a stellar season. The combined Butler and Mildert Women’s Rugby Union team “MilBut” were victorious in the Premiership while the Men’s squash team walked away with the division one title to achieve promotion to the Premiership for next year. The
The presidents this year have all been fantastic and have managed to get brilliant participation from the new intake of freshers, something which I believe has contributed to the great achievements and improved performances of the whole of Butler Sport this year. Overall it’s been a great year full of success for the college, we have improved from last year and I am sure that we can continue to push on and improve even further in the
Rugby at York Varsity
JBWFC League and Cup Success
years to come!
JBWFC with Team of Year Award
A nervous start for the Men’s A team in the first round of the Floodlit Cup, initially going 1 0 down to a physical Staff A side, little did we know that this would be the only goal we would concede on our way to lifting the trophy. However this was swiftly rectified as Butler ran out eventual 4 1 winners. The next round saw us drawn against Mary’s, who were dispatched 1 0 after a great goal from Sam Taylor. Next up was the much anticipated game against Hatfield A, who all of the team were desperate to beat. A fantastic performance saw Butler overthrow the Premiership outfit 2 0, to set up a replay of the semi final at which Butler exited the tournament last year against Stephenson A. A fine Stephenson A side dominated the game, but Butler managed to hang on, supported by huge numbers of fans. The game ended in deadlock and was decided by a penalty shoot out. Joe Colebrook made some great saves before Jack Skilton stepped up to take the deciding kick, burying it in the bottom corner to send Butler to the Floodlit Cup final for the first time. The final against Aidan’s A saw Butler fans arrive in their droves, expectant to see the side bring the trophy home. Those on the side line really did act as the twelfth man, roaring out songs to create a fantastic atmosphere. Ben Cohen gave the fans even more to shout about as he scored an unbelievable solo goal to send Butler 1 0 up at the break. In typical Butler football fashion, we couldn’t do it the easy way and were reduced to ten men shortly after the restart. However, a resolute defensive performance allowed us to hold on until full time, as fans invaded the pitch to celebrate the first Floodlit Cup win in Butler history with the players, celebrations lasting long into the night.
Floodlit Daniel McElhone Josephine Butler A team captain 2014/15
Cup Winners
Butler Bulletin / 12
Societies 2014 2015 Societies Officer, Kieran Devlin (JB 2012 2015), outlines activities of societies this year. there’s so much potential for societies in the Varsity it’s frightening. In the proceeding weeks we had the magnificent 2014/2015 has been a terrific year for
Butler Bake Off, which
societies. Following one of our most
had some of the most
successful sign ups for a Freshers’ Fair
astonishingly elaborate
ever, with some societies registering
and delicious cakes seen
more than one hundred names, we
outside BBC One. We
began with justified enthusiasm and
had the STAB formal, a
optimism for the year ahead. From
wonderfully acted and
Michaelmas Concert directed mystery in
Christmas concert, or the moving
the spectacular
solemnity of the Carol Concert. They
environment of
were the perfect end to a wonderful
Ushaw. We had
term for societies.
Bring a Buddy Week, where
It was quieter second term, though we
people were
kept going understatedly, with events
rewarded with
like Dance’s excellent performance at
chocolate bars for
the Fashion Show still showing the
bringing a friend
brilliance of societies and all their
along. The
potential for inclusivity, passion, and
Christmas and Carol
ambition, only followed by STAB’s
concerts; two shows
second play of the year. It’s been a
contrasting in tone
wonderful year, and I’m sure
but equally brilliant,
2015/2016 will be even better!
whether it’s the vibrancy of the
Dance Troupe at Fashion Show the opening weeks we had successful meetings with newly rejuvenated societies, such as Feminist and GRAW societies, and meetings with old favourites. We then participated in the York Varsity trip. Previously the Varsity trip was sports centric, but societies were asked to engage with the York folk, and engage we did. There were a few technical issues, primarily in terms of dealing with the concept of time and space in crossing the city, but we were saved by an electric performance from Dance Soc in their bar, along with a famous victory overall in the Varsity.
STAB Formal
Sorting out these few problems
Butler Bulle#n / 13
Charities 2014 2015 Charities Coordinators Sam Stradling (JB 2013 2017) and Karolina Fidrych (JB 2013 2016) review fundraising achievements this year.
2014/15 has been another successful year for Butler’s Charity Committee, raising both money and awareness for Grace House North East, Butler’s nominated charity. Membership has been high all year and plenty of freshers have gotten involved, though whether this is due to a passion for charity or the sweets provided at each meeting is unknown! With the introduction of positions such as DUCK Officer, Rag Raids Officers and Communications & Publicity Officers, more members have been able to get involved with the organisation of Charity Committee and the running of fundraising activities.
Visit to Grace House The year started off with Dare Night, which raised over £400 for charity and introduced the freshers to our College charity. Alongside ever popular Charity Comm. events like the Winter Warmer and Charity Formal, this year
we’ve also had a Christmas Fayre and organised our own Rag Raid in Sunderland. Epiphany Term was particularly busy for Charity Comm. with Butler’s Got Talent, the Grace House Auction and the Fashion Show,
which brought our total raised for Grace House up to £5,000, thanks to the generosity of our students, staff and members of the community. The highlight of the year, however, was being given the opportunity to pay a visit to Grace House in Sunderland and see the direct impact of our fundraising efforts on this wonderful facility for children and young people with life limiting illnesses. As Grace House is soon to open its doors to its service users, we are hoping that our contributions to Grace House can develop from raising money and awareness for this incredible facility, and that we can begin to help with gardening, story telling or other volunteering opportunities. In June 11 members of the college completed the Coast2Coast raising a further £1,500. We’re hoping that larger scale events like this will carry on in the years to come. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful, charity filled year.
Pitch Please fundraising through Coast to Coast cycling
Butler Bulletin / 14
Visit to Grace House New JCR President, Hattie Pridmore (JB 2012 2015), explains how Grace House is ready to open. On Thursday
the CEO gave us an inspiring tour of
16th July
the building, emphasising the key
along with
features which really make a
Alice Whitehouse, Fiona Hathaway,
difference to the experience of
Matt Armitage and Andrew Tinkler, I
families who visit.
Soft Play Area
Green Bedroom had the privilege of attending a
There is specialist equipment
private viewing of Grace House prior
throughout the building, which will
to the official opening. Practically fully
enable the children to have a
finished with a few tweaks to be
comfortable stay whether they are
made, all that is missing are children!
playing in a soft play area, sitting in
They are now eagerly awaiting a visit
the lounge watching TV or having a
from Oftsed to have the final
shower. In the entrance stands a
inspection before the facility is given
beautiful Cinderella figurine providing
the go ahead to be fully up and
an especially warm welcome for
running. The event was attended by
children. Mickey Mouse and a throne
other dedicated supporters and
also feature in the building, all Disney
partners, all of whom have helped in
items that have been donated by
some way, from building and
Asda. Each bedroom is en suite and
construction, to providing specialist
has been assigned a colour, and a
blinds and windows. Dr Karen Parry,
particular favourite for the group was the yellow room with Minion duvet covers. The bathroom was noted as an especially important aspect, as families often have to give up their bathrooms with large baths for small showers in order to compensate for other changes in their homes. The shape of the building is rectangular with a courtyard feature in the middle surrounded by accessible doors, allowing wheelchair
Alice, Hattie and Fiona with Cinderella
access outdoors and to any other
example, they would like to develop
area. The courtyard is a defining
interactive opportunities in sports and
feature as it makes the surrounding
arts for the children, and create
area look less clinical and more like a
services for parents who may also
home. To encourage green and
stay. An empty patch of land behind
outdoor activities, a herb garden has
the building has also been suggested
also been planted. 6 months ago, the board of trustees decided that Grace House would not be opened as a hospice, but for respite care, so hospice was dropped from the name. Dr Karen Parry emphasised that due to enhancements in
Central courtyard
medical care, many patients now live much longer. In the North East, the need for hospices is not as great as it once was and the
as a potential spot for an outdoor play area with wheelchair accessible swings and roundabouts.
need for respite care is greater, so the
The visit was a fantastic opportunity to
decision was supported. Following this
see the incredible impact that our
change, what was once the
support has provided. If you would
bereavement room has now been
like to see any more pictures of the
transformed into a music room and
facility taken during the visit, please
‘Den’, for children to play and be
contact me at
themselves.
hatherleigh.pridmore@durham.ac.uk.
Although finished and fit for purpose,
If you would like to be involved in
there are still visions to develop the
further fundraising, join Team JB and
experience at Grace House further to
sign up for the 5K Colour Run on
fulfil the requirements to become
Sunday 6th September at 12pm in
Centre of Regional Excellence. For
Herrington Country Park Sunderland.
Butler Bulle#n / 15
Ushaw College Matt Armitage (JB 2011 2014) describes the year of plays, music and community at Ushaw College. With the start of the 2014 2015 year we saw the majestic Ushaw College become home to 50 of our postgraduate students. Ushaw College, situated in Ushaw Moor, has been affiliated with the University since the late 70’s, and as a former Catholic seminary it was the principal Roman Catholic seminary for training Catholic priests until it closed in 2011. At that point the Business School decided to move out there briefly in 2012. 2 years later a decision was made to try and make the College suitable for living in, and so during the summer of 2014 Butler headed up a renovation project to create living quarters for 50 students, fully self catered and with large social areas to replicate the success of the Butler community. The past year has seen the postgraduate community grow in its ability to house such a large group in an off main campus site, and has provided some excellent opportunities
Ushaw College attendance. The only down side for the evening was having to leave the venue to head back for a Ceilidh at Butler, as Ushaw does not possess quite enough room for a huge crowd of dancing Butlerites. STAB Play
Alumni Reunion for us to move events out to the spectacular grounds of Ushaw. Formals This year two formals were moved out to Ushaw, the STAB formal and Burns formal. The STAB formal consisted of a murder mystery play in Ushaw’s stunning theatre, before moving on to dining in the main refectory. A book club meeting turned sour when one of the regular members was poisoned, and the formal guests were able to quiz the other members of the book club about their parts in the tragic murder. At the end of dinner a rather fetchingly dressed Adrian Simpson
appeared in a police uniform to reveal and arrest the culprit. STAB made a spectacular effort with the performance and the location, utilising the main theatre very well for added effect. The first formal of Epiphany term, Burns formal, was also held out at Ushaw. It is hard to explain just how perfect the atmosphere of Ushaw was suited to celebrating the great Scotsman. As selected students read out poems of tribute to Burns, their words echoed and amplified in the refectory, creating a haunting and lingering effect upon those in
Ushaw College also played host for this year’s STAB play, based on the Canterbury Tales. Ushaw provided just the right atmosphere for the tales, as the audience were taken on a tour from room to room and treated to a variety of performances from the members of STAB. There was a buzz to the place on the night and STAB really made the most of the venue, utilising not just the theatre but many of the other rooms around the site too.
tour around the College facilities that Butler is using. What's next It was decided that Butler would not house any students there again next year, even though it was a successful year. Hopefully for the future though Butler will still be able to carry on using the great facilities there for plays and music events, as well as dining. Ushaw has been a challenge for staff and students alike, but it was also rewarding in laying ground work for future development. If you ever get a chance to visit it is well worth it, especially to check out the old library!
Alumni Reunion The college also hosted the dinner for the annual Durham reunion in February 2015. It was a magnificent evening and many of the alumni greatly enjoyed the dining experience in the refectory and were treated to a brief
STAB Formal
Butler Bulletin / 16
Scholarly Activity Sarah Townley, Student Support Officer (Postgraduate and Pre sessional), reviews scholarly activity over the year. Earth and in space. Her inspiring message related to self confidence: ‘Everything is possible if you can visualise what you want to achieve.’ The College’s scholarly programme continues over the summer months. From July to September each year, Butler is the home College for students from countries all over the world as they study on English for Academic Purposes programmes in the English Language Centre. As part
Green Debate
‘Desktops to Supercomputers.’ The College also continues to develop a beneficial working relationship with the Durham Energy Institute (DEI). In June, students from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Energy presented short talks about energy research with the aim of inspiring undergraduate and future recruits.
of our Pre sessional Collegiate
Our own Postgraduates have
Experience Programme, we host a
contributed their research at College
series of accessible lectures that are
Josephine Butler’s scholarly
The scholarly programme continues to
community has continued to thrive in
be as lively as it is diverse. We were
2014/15 with a host of events
delighted to host the ‘Green Debate’
designed to inspire the intellectual
at which our student led Green
curiosity of all College members. Our
Committee grilled local parliamentary
Lecture and Seminar Series opened in
representatives on environmental
October with historian, Dr Helen
issues. The College’s values of equality
Mathers delivering a biographical
and inclusivity were further explored
The College has
lecture on Josephine Butler’s life. This
during Professor Joe Elliott’s
continued to
erudite talk built a solid platform on
provocative lecture on Debating
establish close links
which the College’s scholarly
Dyslexia and Professor Gary Craig’s in
with the Institute for
programme could explore current
depth discussion of his significant
Advanced Studies
themes that we believe may have
contribution to the Making of the
(IAS) in innovative
drawn Josephine Butler’s attention if
Modern Slavery Bill. In May 2015,
ways. In January
she was still alive today. We have had
NASA Senior Medical Advisor, Dr
2015, the College
engaging talks on the controversial
Saralyn Mark delivered an inspiring
formed the first
David Roberts (Postgraduate Researcher in
topics that engaged Josephine Butler
talk on her work as the ‘Space Doctor.’
pilot BIASFREE
Computer Science) talking at a Scholar’s
throughout her life, including sex
Dr Mark spoke articulately about her
Student Scholars
work, rape and slavery.
work on women’s health both on
group to discuss
open to all on topics ranging from entrepreneurship to intercultural communication in a fluid world.
Supper at Ushaw College
the IAS’ annual theme of Emergence. The Butler Scholarly Journal (BSJ) continues to offer a platform for students to think beyond their degrees on a range of topics that inspire curiosity. Appropriately then, the BIASFREE student scholar group’s work will feature in the annual printed edition of the BSJ.
events with the MCR continuing to support a series of Scholars’ Suppers for the postgraduate community on a wide range of topics. Many of these events have been held at Ushaw College and have supported the College’s delivery of a good student experience in a fantastic scholarly setting. Several Butler postgrads also successfully participated in the
Alongside this, the College was
multidisciplinary annual Hill Colleges
delighted to host Resident IAS Fellow,
East Research Forum in March.
Dr Kalyan Perumalla who delivered an
IAS Lecture
interdisciplinary lecture entitled
Butler Bulle#n / 17
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