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PALATINATE

The official student newspaper of Durham Students’ Union since 1948

Tuesday 9th November 2010 | Edition 722 | palatinate.org.uk QUIN MURRAY

Newsbox Extending Freshers’ Week?

The University looks into making Freshers’Week twice as long.

Page 3

University bullying allegations A former student brings claims that are described as ‘preposterous’ by the courts in a case against her PhD supervisor.

Page 3

Pulled Apart By Horses gatecrash student digs

Leeds metal band crash a second year houseparty in Claypath entertaining students with an hour long set.

Page 4

Graduate unemployment

New research by the Higher Education Careers Service has indicated that graduate unemployment is now at a seventeen year high Page 4

Fittest Fresher, the verdict is in. Who do you think is the fairest of them all? Judge for yourselves in our gorgeous three page special Fashion Indigo 7-9

Tuition fees backlash begins

indigo Film & TV

Mixed reactions from students towards the coalition’s plans for a steep rise in university costs Philip Cattle

S

tudents across the country have reacted strongly to the coalition announcement by Universities Minister David Willetts on Wednesday that tuitionfees could rise to £9, 000 per year.

Concern has been raised by many over whether the Liberal Democrats will vote for such a hike in fees, especially after Nick Clegg’s campaign promises in May this year to oppose removal of the tuition fee cap.

In a pre-election YouTube video, Mr Clegg said, “I think that the plans that the Labour and Conservative parties are cooking up to raise the cap on tuition fees is wrong” and claimed he would “resist, vote against, [and] campaign against any lifting of that cap”.

Referring to Liberal Democrat campaign promises, NUS President Aaron Por-

Launching soon...

ter claimed it was a betrayal of “the students and their families who voted for them”. Ed Miliband also criticised the coalition for breaking campaign pledges, accusing them of ‘destroying trust in politics’ at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The proposal outlines intentions for more expensive, top-tier institutions to charge the full £9, 000 dependent on conditions for supporting less well-off students.

This announcement had been widely anticipated, given the need to replace the gap in funding for universities following last month’s publications of the Spending Review. The Browne Review which was also published last month recommended to uncapping tuition fees from their current £3, 290 per year and allowing universities to charge fees at their own discretion.

The government also outlined plans to restructure student loan repayments into

a ‘progressive taper’, by which graduates earning less than £21, 000 would not pay any real interest on loans but those with salaries above £41, 000 would pay inflation plus 3%.

Critics of the government’s plans have cited fears that students may be discouraged from applying to university if fees rise as anticipated.

Nearly 80% of students polled in joint research by the NUS and HSBC said they would be less likely to consider attending university if fees increased to £10, 000.

However, Education Secretary Michael Gove dismissed the significance of this claim, purporting instead that “it won’t have that effect. I believe that people will make a rational decision on the benefits that accrue to them as a result of taking a university degree”.

Responding to the announcement, the

NUS President Aaron Porter claimed it was “transferring debt to students”, and that it “looks an entire generation in the eye and says ‘you’re on your own’’.

Meanwhile, the Russell Group of universities, of which Durham University is not a member, lauded the government’s proposals as “a life-saving cash injection”, claiming that this remained the only option for keeping the UK’s higher education establishment internationally competitive.

Durham students have had mixed reactions to Mr Willetts’ announcement.

Patrick McConnell, from Van Mildert, called it a “dangerous and lazy step backwards, which will see middle income families get squeezed the most”.

However, Sam Maitland from Collingwood was relieved, “At least it’s not a graduate tax. I don’t want to pay more if I do well!”

The new Facebook film, should we ‘like ‘ it? i10

Leisure

Our Games section has expanded!

Halo: Reach and F1 2010 i16

www.palatinate.org.uk

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

2

Editorial Favourites, letters, corrections and editorial

PALATINATE Y

Spinoza, Hume and Fittest Fresher

ou catch us, as ever, in a state of perturbation. Struck, to be exact, with a philosophical puzzler of the first order. Not since Russell and Wittgenstein shared some CO2 in the oaked and panelled plush of Trinity has synaptic machinery jerked and stammered as violently as that in the Palatinate office these last seven days.

For Berkeley and Spinoza were but playthings, the Cartesian cogito just so much cerebral candyfloss compared to this. A real three pipe problem of true Sherlockian complexity. Not here philosophy of language or mind-body dualism, but rather that more abstract and forbidding of concepts – Fittest Fresher.

Of course, it all really comes down to an issue of Aesthetics. And the key exam question ping-ponging around the office remains: is hotness of the heart-pounding, brow-moistening, palm-clammying sort a truly verifiable category? Is it empirically provable? Can one in all honesty judge the geometrical symmetry of a smile or the Ionic curvature of the cheekbones with a fair and unwavering eye? Is Kantian disinterestedness a possibility? Or is the whole thing, as the unusually helpful manner of the editorial board might suggest, about as interested as can be?

And so it is to these questions and more that we have put our attention this issue. As you have no doubt already seen (breathless and slightly flushed after a hasty peek at such posturing fleshly magnificence) we have decided to continue the Fittest Fresher tradition. When push came to shove – or, to be more precise, when decorous, dreamy models fluttered and catwalked into the audition – it was enough to make even the most converted anti-essentialist feel slightly dehydrated. One might well deconstruct gender signifiers at every turn, but it seems you can’t yet theorise away the calf-eyed moue or rippling bicep.

But still. All things considered. The whole thing remains rather silly, I hear you

say. Rather lowering. Debasing the princely purples and earnest editorialising that one would expect from Durham University’s official student newspaper. Where’s the poker-faced analysis on the important issues of the day? Where’s the knuckly, serrated journalism worthy of Woodward and Hastings? Mincing on about hair colouring and cashmere sweater-vests is not frankly the thing of a serious record of our times, let’s be honest.

Well, I can only apologize. Such Dionysian joys will be soon swept away under the carpet of license and normal service resumed next issue. Look in vain when next you pick up a copy for that honeyed smile or six-pack of porcelain firmness. We will return to our usual games-playing diet of vigorous health and stiff-collared intent before too long.

To bide you over until then, however, there are other excitements glowing shinily on the horizon. Once you have finished inhaling the spotless complexions and melting stares within, you might perhaps care to turn your attention towards Palatinate’s latest venture – Palatinate Television.

The concept has long been in the making. So long in fact, St Bede was originally pencilled in to be the face of our lunchtime news. Who knows, perhaps it’s something about being in the North. Something to do with the gothic, marshy blackness all around or having a painstakingly built Norman cathedral nearby poking its nose into the heavens. Whatever the cause, Durham is not a place to affect aristocratic ease and effortlessness. Not a place to pretend that Rome was built in a day or Athens in an evening. Sleeves need to be rolled up and foreheads bedewed.

And haven’t we just. We’ve lucubrated, groaned and toiled away to produce a new channel of glossy, gold-starred brilliance. We’ve gone back to first principles, whipped out the pens, pencils and rulers and built it all with care. This is as genetically perfect a product as student journal-

ism has yet produced.

It promises, quite frankly, a certain tone.

Never one to buck a tradition, we’ve made sure the one thing Palatinate TV possesses is one of Durham’s favourite mastermind topic: class. Other student outfits might have clumsily flung up a few videos of larky students mooing and halloing at their undergraduate best. But we’ve waited, held back, bided our time. The end product, as you will no doubt soon see, is as classy as can be.

Yes, we have logos, an astounding array of different sections and an endless stream of handpicked presenters. We might have missed wireless, the early days of VHS and DVD. But now Palatinate has finally reset its watch to 2010. Multimedia is where journalism is heading, the crewed and caviared yacht all graduates with a nose for the future need to leap aboard. And here at Palatinate some of the lucky ones, at least, have now made the jump.

Which, of course, just leaves the rest of us. Yours truly and assorted others still crunching away at the desk job of print journalism. Those of us with bodily casing, outward wrapping, that boasts little in the way of chisel or of charm. Only fit to tap and patter away in front of keyboards rather than bounce around in front of cameras. The type who might not have upset a BBC World Service studio in an earlier age, but are threats to public health when staring gawkily into a camera lens.

Oh well. There are victims of all revolutions. I suppose. Times must change and things must move on. Who knows, perhaps a quieter life might call. Embowered within the sheltered gardens of academia.

Still trying to cobble together that elusive thesis: ‘Hotness and Hume: an examination of the standard of taste in Fittest Fresher 2010’.

Stranger things have happened.

MR

To have your say on anything featured visit palatinate.org.uk

09.11.2010 No. 722 Contents Palatinate News pages 3-5 News Features page 7 Politics page 8 Careers page 10 Profile page 11 Comment pages 12-15 Sport pages 17-20

indigo

Features page 3-4 Travel page 5 Food page 6 Fittest Fresher pages 7-9 Film and TV page 10 Visual Arts pages 11 Stage pages 12-13 Music page 14 Books page 15 Games & Photography page 16

Favourites News page 5

Value for money?

Are our degrees worth the cash?

Travel page 7

Hitchhiking returns

Coming soon... www.palatinate.org.uk

The retro modes of transport is on the way back Comment page 15

Potty for Potter?

Corrections Durham Prepares for University Challenge 2011 The caption stated that the Durham’s 2011 University Challenge team lost 270-90 against St John’s College, Oxford. In fact, the team lost 120-340 to Magdalen College, Oxford.

The article incorrectly referred to the current tournament as the 2010 series. Based on when the final will be played, the current tournament is in fact the 2011 series.

Durham is therefore currently preparing

for what will be the 2012 series.

Send all comments and queries about this edition to editor@palatinate.org.uk Is the new module as magic as they claim?

Palatinate is published by Durham Students’ Union on a fortnightly basis during term and is editorially independent. All contributors and editors are full-time students at Durham.

Send letters to: Editor, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN. Alternatively, send an e-mail to editor@palatinate.org.uk

Editorial Board

Editors-in-Chief Matthew Richardson Ally Bacon editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editor Rosanna Boscawen deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editor Jack Battersby news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Dan Johnson news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Lucinda Rouse Rachel Aroesti Hugh Anderson-Elliot deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Queens’ Campus News Editor Lea Georgeson queens@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors David Wynne-Griffith Huw Silk politics@palatinate.org.uk Careers Editor Rachael Revesz careers@palatinate.org.uk Profile Editor Kirstyn Wood profile@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editors Thom Addinall-Biddulph Alexandra Bottomer comment@palatinate.org.uk Sport Editor Richard Lowe-Lauri sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Ed Dove John Burn-Murdoch Hugo Morrissey deputy.sport@palatinate.org.uk Indigo Editors Daniel Dyson Sophie Zeldin-O’Neill indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Alison Moulds features@palatinate.org.uk Food and Drink Editor Lydia Ashby food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor Jess Jones travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor s Antonia Thier Emma Spedding fashion@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Tamara Gates visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Film and Television Editor Madeleine Cuff film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editors Kathy Laszlo Lyndsey Fineran stage@palatinate.org.uk Music Editors Olivia Swash Nico Franks music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editor James Leadill books@palatinate.org.uk Games Editor Jon Zhu games@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub-Editor Lisa Paul sub-editing@palatinate.org.uk Section Sub-Editors Kayleigh Brandon Mei Leng Yew Joanna Turner Sarah Ingrams Chief Web Editor Chris Wastell web.editor@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editors David Drysdale Claire Coombes illustration@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Quin Murray photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editor Rob Burgess deputy.photography@palatinate.org.uk Publicity Editor Jo Rowley publicity@palatinate.org.uk Multimedia George Stafford multimedia@palatinate.org.uk

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PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

For more news visit palatinate.org.uk

Durham News

University in court over bullying allegations

A

llegations of bullying made by a former Durham student against her PhD supervisor were denied by the University as “preposterous” in court last Thursday.

Dr Hadil Bakir told Newcastle County Court that she had been subjected to a “campaign of harassment” whilst studying at the University’s world leading Department of Human Molecular Genetics.

She is suing the University for £200, 000 on the basis that senior staff failed to protect her from the alleged bullying.

The Iraqi student alleged that her supervisor, Dr Rumaisa Bashir, referred to “bloody Arabs”, and frequently ignored her during her four years spent at the University.

She also claimed that Dr Bashir belittled her work, stating that a poster created for her PhD met with the response, “It is not even good enough for a primary school report, let alone a PhD. Maybe the bin will make it better”.

Speaking for the University, lawyer Catherine Foster stated that Dr. Bashir “had no occasion to make racist comments or even imply racist comments”. She went on to describe the allegations of racist remarks as “preposterous”.

A global expert in the adult onset of

muscular dystrophy, Dr Bashir also allegedly subjected her student to minor physical abuse including opening a fridge door into her head.

A claim form lodged with Newcastle County Court said, “If the claimant was standing in the way of Dr Bashir, she would simply walk past her, treading on her toes, knocking her out of the way or otherwise making physical contact. She did not apologise and did not acknowledge the contact that she made”.

However, Ms Foster insists that Dr Bakir has a personal grudge against the supervisor who critiqued her work, “This claimant is simply not able to be dispassionate about her feelings towards Dr Bashir which clearly evolved over time to the point we are at now”.

She continued, “You have got it in for Dr Bashir to the point it is astonishing you are continuing with this claim”.

Dr Bakir says that since completing her PhD in 2006, she has developed bulimia, a stomach ulcer and suffers from depression as a result of the alleged abuse. Consequently, the mother-of-one has been unable to work.

The University denied the allegations at the court hearing on 28th October. The case has been reserved to Judge Christopher Walton who will announce his verdict later in the year.

NORTH NEWS & PICTURES LTD

Sarah Ingrams

QUINN MURRAY

New research by the Higher Education Career Services Unit (HECSU) has indicated that graduate unemployment is now at a seventeen year high.

The figures, released on1st November, showed one in twelve students graduating in 2009 were still without a job six months after leaving university. There was also an increase in the proportion in stopgap employment.

Some degrees faired better than others, with IT graduates being hit worst, but the results still recorded the highest level since 1993, a time when the UK was recovering from a deep recession.

The statistics also throw new light on the contentious issue of tuition fees, following Lord Browne’s review last month. The report had suggested that the current cap on fees in England should be removed.

Responding to the HECSU survey,

NUS President Aaron Porter stated, “This is yet further proof that the radical proposals in Lord Browne’s review to remove government funding for the majority of subjects and simply transfer this cost to students is unfair and illogical”.

These figures have caused considerable concern for students, with one member of Josephine Butler saying, “Everyone I speak to seems worried about getting a job next year. Getting a good 2:1 isn’t a guarantee [of job offers] at all”.

However, there was some respite for current students according to Charlie Bell, Deputy Director of Research at the HECSU. Mr Bell has suggested that unemployment rates may be peaking, with an expected decline in graduate unemployment in 2010.

How much is a Durham degree page worth?

5 >>>

Jack Battersby

The police are appealing for information regarding the theft of two signs from Topshop in Durham city centre.

Following a similar incident in 2009, the police are consulting CCTV footage in order to locate the offenders.

With each sign costing £1, 000 to replace, the police are treating the matter extremely seriously.

“The evidence is being examined and it would be better for all concerned if anyone responsible for the incident came forward immediately”, said Philip Raine, the University’s Police Liason Officer.

Hugh Anderson-Elliott

Dr Rumaisa Bashir is alleged to have subjected her student to a “campaign of harrasment”

Emma Hutchinson

Following the example of police forces all over the country, Durham University Police Liason Officer Philip Raine has started using Twitter to post details of incidents in the city centre involving students.

However, his tweets have not been limited to the standard warnings and cautionary advice typical of police officers.

Amongst their recent tweets were: “Just caught 2 students on The Bailey with traffic signs. The first freshers we have found that have been ‘men at work’ ” and “Only one uni related complaint tonight, all because one student thought he’d audition for X Factor in the street nr the viaduct at 3am”.

Also included in the team’s feed are messages of advice on crime prevention for their followers. “Is anyone at the Dara O’Brian show in Newcastle tonight? If you are, have you locked up?”

The light-hearted approach that has been taken here in Durham runs in stark

contrast to the more serious nature of several national police Twitter schemes.

However, Philip Raine, the Community Support Officer behind the idea, believes that less formality will help build links with the student population.

Mr Raine said his main purpose was to get more information out to students: “I thought if I try to do it maybe on a little more informal basis, people might respond a little bit better to it”.

Despite the nationwide criticism of the innovation as having nothing more than gimmick value, this local scheme seems to have generated a positive response so far.

DSU President Sam Roseveare’s reaction to the idea was equally optimistic, claiming that it would help to raise the police’s profile among students.

Follow the Durham constabulary on Twitter:

@DurhamUniPol

Graduate unemployment hits 17-year high Fiona Carlyle

Police appeal for information over Topshop thefts

University considering extending Freshers’ Week

Catching criminals in 140 characters or less

Durham constabulary hopes that Twitter will encourage communication with students

News in brief

Under pressure: Durham graduates

40%

The University is considering alternative options for the organisation of Freshers’ Week as an internal report describes the current arrangements as “not fit for purpose”.

The criticisms centre on the inadequate period of time between the new students’ arrival to Durham and the official beginning of academic studies.

This often leads to the overlapping of introductory sessions in each department, as well as with the ongoing social activities organized by the DSU and colleges.

Currently two options are being considered, lengthening Fresher’s week to a full seven days or starting the induction process on a Tuesday, allowing the academic timetable to start on Monday.

Van Mildert combats poor formal attendance with chlamydia test offer

Rachel Aroesti

Van Mildert is to begin subsidising formals using Chlamydia tests.

The college has been forced to cancel a second formal this term due to low numbers of applicants, after prices were raised from £5.50 to £8.50 at the beginning of the year.

Both the Halloween Formal and the Livers-Out Formal had to be cancelled due to poor sign-up. In last week’s meeting, the JCR passed a motion whereby students who take a Chlamydia test will be given a £5 voucher which they can use to contribute towards the cost of a formal.

The NHS will give the college £5 for every Chlamydia test taken.

Got a breaking news story?

Of Durham leavers (including postgraduates) enter into full-time paid work

Want to gain experience in journalism?

30%

Undertake further study

7%

Email news@palatinate.org.uk with any story leads or to join the news mailing list.

Assumed to be unemployed Source: 2009 Careers Advisory Service survey

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

4

Durham News

National News

Oxford attacks government over fees hike DUCK Officer’s Column Martin Dorset-Purkis

SCA Column James Hubbard

Students from both Oxford and Oxford Brookes took part in the protest responding to government announcements over higher education

that they will not tolerate the withdrawal of public funding for the arts and the humanities and they will not tolerate an open market in university fees,” Mr Barclay added.

It was also revealed this week that Oxford has collected over £1bn from private donations.

This came after Oxford’s Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Hamilton warned ministers that increasing fees would not be

enough to offset the £2.9 billion of university teaching budget cuts announced in last week’s Review.

In a letter published online, ProfHamilton said the university funding gap could grow wider following the review of higher education funding by Lord Browne and that alumni funding was “fundamental” in such times.

“For almost half of the six years that

Oxford has been raising funds for the campaign, the world has been in an economic downturn – yet our alumni and supporters have continued to give.”

“Their generosity, which is a huge vote of confidence in Oxford, and in Oxford’s future at a time when government funding is so stretched.”

The university said that funds would go on research, scholarships and teaching.

Residents in uproar over conversion Folio thief Sarah Ingrams

bags prison library job

Conflict between ‘town and gown’ has flared up as local residents express their anger over the conversion of a former Gilesgate pub into student accommodation.

The Britannia Inn, located on Gilesgate main road opposite the church, has been Andrew Willard granted retrospective planning permission to be converted into two student houses.

The man convicted of handling a stolen Owned by Bill Free Homes, the propercopy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, taken ties have been inhabited by students since from Palace Green Library in 1998, has the beginning of the year. This is despite the been given a job in a prison library. landlord only having been granted permisRaymond Scott, from Washington, sion for one, eight-bedroom house in 2005 Tyne and Wear, was sentenced to eight rather than the six and four bedded properyears imprisonment at Newcastle Crown ties that actually exist.

Court in August for handling the Folio and Neighbours of the former inn objected removing it from the country. to the conversion, arguing that there are alCurrently serving a term at Acklington ready too many students in the area making Neighbours objected to the conversion, arguing that the area was already too crowded Prison in Northumberland, he has now parking and access problematic. been tasked with loaning out texts to other Peter Smith of Bill Free Homes ac- address them, “We’re not there to promote housing, the pub had stood derelict for five inmates. knowledged the issues raised by local resi- problems”. years. “It’s now a very nice building”, comA prison source said, “He loves finding dents at the planning meeting and agreed to Before redevelopment into student mented Mr Smith. books for the other prisoners to read because he thinks he is a bit of an authority on literature”.

The stolen Folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, was only recovered in 2008 when Scott tried to get the book valued at Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. At his trial Scott denied stealing the Folio, claiming he had found it in Cuba.

It was finally returned to the University earlier this year.

Leeds metal band crash house party

DURHAM UNIVERSITY

Student Community Action has started the new academic year with a bang! The freshers fair and projects’ evening were both extremely successful with over a thousand students signing up to the mailing list and over 350 people attending the project fair.

Saturday 30th October is Make A Difference Day, the UK’s biggest day for volunteering and SCA has many projects running all week to sign up for.

We’ve got bulb planting at the Botanical Gardens, leaf-raking at St Cuthbert’s hospice and a litter pick, which both commence at 10:30 on Saturday 30th, with well-deserved drinks at the riverside bar in the evening. Anyone is welcome and, whatever your interests and availability, there’s a way for everyone to get involved, just drop us an email community.action@dur.ac.uk for more information or to sign up. For Queens Campus events, such as the Fright Night at Preston Museum on Friday 29th email stockton.sca@dur.ac.uk.

Finally, watch out for SCA’s annual jazz and wine tasting night at Chad’s on 21st of November.

U

niversities in Oxford have made a headlines this week over their opposition to the recent changes in higher education funding.

A fortnight ago, more than 600 students took part in a demonstration against the proposal of increased tuition fees.

The protest, organised by the Oxford Education Campaign and in which students from both Oxford and Oxford Brookes took part was originally planned to coincide with the visit of Business Secretary, Vince Cable on Wednesday 27th October. However, Cable cancelled his visit, causing even further backlash.

Oxford Student Union president David Barclay said, “Cable’s decision not to come to Oxford because of a peaceful protest is one of the most cowardly acts by a British politician in living memory.

“There could be no more powerful image of a government turning its back on students than the fact that the Business Secretary himself cannot even explain its policies to them face to face.”

A spokesman for Mr Cable said on the Wednesday evening that he had decided to postpone his visit after taking advice from the police about threats of a protest and concerns about the level of disruption to the city. Police have since reported that the protest was mainly peaceful.

Yet the student message remains clear, ”Oxford students will lay down a marker

DURHAM TIMES

The great thing about Jailbreak is that no two teams will come back with the same story. If you log onto the tracking site twelve hours after the start of the event, you’ll be confronted by a fantastic mess of coloured lines radiating from Durham across Europe.

Charlie and I, dressed in newly-wed attire, were at the end of the lime-green line last November, texting in our location at each change of vehicle so that the website could trace our convoluted path south through the UK. We blagged lifts on greasy, dilapidated vans, in shiny hire cars. Even a converted post truck heading suspiciously to Poland aided our mission to make it to Australia by nightfall.

After 36 hours though, nursing sore thumbs and a significant downscaling in ambition, we had made it to Calais. We paused in the port, took a ceremonial photo by a sultry French immigration officer and jumped back on the same ship home.

We didn’t get anywhere amazing, no, and we were a dismal distance from the eventual winners in the Canary Islands, but we’d had an incredible journey witnessing simultaneously the very best and worst of human nature.

From the scoffs of the smug BA staff at Birmingham airport, to the coach driver who went 50 miles out of his way at four am to drop us in Collingwood turning circle, we’d broken out of the bubble for a weekend in one of the best ways possible. All journeys, we concluded, should be conducted in this way (as long as you’re not particularly fussed about the precision of the destination).

To be part of this year’s epic set of stories and to help raise another £20,000 for charities of your choice, visit www.unijailbreak.com/duck.

FLICKR ID: GERARD VONG

Lyndsey Fineran

In pictures: Last week saw Leeds metal foursome Pulled Apart by Horses play the top floor of a packed Halloween house party on Claypath after second year student Adelyah Ellmi won a competition on Kerrang! Radio. Above: Tom Hudson.

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PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

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Contact Hours Investigation

Do Durham degrees give value for money?

DSU President’s Column Sam Roseveare

With fees set to rise, Palatinate investigates why contact hours vary so vastly between subjects

QUIN MURRAY

If bungee jumping, white water rafting, elephant riding, living with Buddhist monks and trekking is your thing, the five week long expedition to Nepal could be for you

University staff work to ensure that all modules receive the correct amount of contact time. When a new module is introduced to a department, it is reviewed by an external examiner

Rosanna Boscawen & Hugh Anderson-Elliott

T

he Browne Review has paved the way for dramatic increases in the amount students pay to attend university, and many students are now beginning to question what exactly value for money is.

Conservative MP Graham Stuart recently questioned whether Durham students receive an adequate number of contact hours, and at a time when the very structure of our further education system is being radically altered, there is no more poignant time to consider the validity of his claims.

The most striking contrast is seen when comparing students in the Faculty of Science with those in the Faculties of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences.

A 3rd year Chemistry student will on average receive well over twenty hours of contact time a week, whereas a 3rd year Historian told Palatinate, “I have an average of five contact hours per week, plus unlimited dissertation supervision”.

It is of course necessary for sciences to have a greater amount of contact time than most arts, particularly when one considers that these figures include time spent on laboratory work. Currently, the overall cost of a science degree is greater than other degrees when government top ups are taken into account.

Nonetheless, many students are questioning why such contrasting levels of contact time result in the same price, and perhaps more importantly whether this will continue after the effects of the Browne Review.

Speaking to Palatinate, Sir Anthony Forster, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education, insisted that it is unhelpful to compare degree programmes in this way, saying, “degrees are not awarded on the basis of

comparison with other programmes. They are based on specific student performance”.

Information on the number of contact hours (which includes lectures, tutorials, seminars, labs and dissertation supervision) per module per year is readily available online in the Faculty Handbook and on the University’s main website.

When a new module is created by a department it is checked by the relevant faculty and also by an external examiner, who will consider it in the context of its subject and review the number of contact hours allotted to it, before it is finalised. As a result, the University deems that all modules currently have the right amount of contact time “in the context of their subject”.

However, even within the arts there are some surprisingly large discrepancies. Dissertation supervision is a topic of much

6 18 7 22 13

contention amongst arts and humanities students. Historians and Philosophers receive unlimited access to an expert on their subject.

Theologians on the other hand are limited to 30 minutes every two to three weeks, and English students find themselves at the bottom of the pile with only 45 minutes spread out into three sessions across 3rd year. In some instances these may not even be with the same member of the department.

Social Sciences do not fare much better. A finalist reading Anthropology and Sociology told Palatinate she has six hours of lectures and, on average, two hours of seminars per week. In her second year she had one lecture a week for a double module that was worth a third of the year. “I honestly do not understand why it’s something

Average contact hours Sociology, 3rd year. 4 hours dissertation supervision Maths, 2nd year History, 2nd year Computer Science, 2nd year.

Modern Languages (French, German & Italian), 4th year

All figures quoted anywhere in this article are based on the module choices of individual students and will not necessarily be the same for everyone on the same course in the same year.

that isn’t standardised at least to a basic level throughout all subjects,” she said.

The University is currently compiling precise averages of contact hours for each individual programme based on module choices made at 2010-2011 registration and the data currently available online regarding the number of contact hours per module. This data will be made publicly available in January 2011, with the hope that it will better inform both current students and potential applicants to Durham.

However, Sir Forster declined to give figures for average contact hours by degree at this moment in time, saying, “It is important to give verifiable averages and we do not want to mislead people before we have accurately worked out this information”. He maintains that the University is in no way holding back information about how many contact hours each programme provides.

When asked how the University justifies the disparities in contact time considering that all students (bar internationals) pay the same fees, Sir Forster insisted that the system is not unfair as the nature of the programmes are very different. The sciences require lengthy lab sessions, while arts and humanities and social science programmes are orientated towards independent reading.

“Tuition fees do not simply buy contact time. They include all aspects of the very particular university education that Durham offers,” he argues. This includes central services such as library, laboratory and ITS facilities. These are things that all students and degree programmes utilise and benefit from, and rightly all students contribute the same percentage of their overall fee to these facilities.

It remains to be seen how exactly the current upheaval in university funding will change the way degree programmes are funded, but in the mean time greater transparency would help both staff and students understand what we are paying for.

Reader, this column comes to you through the only medium I can currently communicate in. The ravages of freshers’ flu are clearly apparent from the tone, and indeed volume of my voice.

My advice to getting over it is simple – lemsip or equivalent, whiskey (brand non-essential) and a decent curry.

A week is a long time in politics. As Harold Wilson wrote those words, he was referring to political fortune, rather than political policy. Just as well, when we consider the language of higher education (HE) funding. A protracted affair, and seemingly one that is going to be played out extensively across the media, until the politicians, gauging what is politically acceptable, finally act.

As we steadily go further into term, our appreciation of the detail and future of HE funding grows, and it is obvious who the stakeholders are and equally obvious to see how they have affected policy; no éminence grise here – merely messy compromise hinted at in fervent tweets, illuminated on blogs and websites, and of course illustrated in papers such as this one.

The NUS have been just as active as every other group for national media attention – holding the attention of the media and public alike, and bringing the student voice, or at least, the student voice reflected through the prism of NUS, to the fore.

With the national dialogue playing out around us, we should also consider the dialogue at the local level, considering the impact on our own institution, and your own education. What about Durham? To this end, I have organised four public forums, where the ViceChancellor and I will talk about the Browne Review, the CSR and the impact on the University specifically.

The first of these forums will have already passed when this issue is printed, but there are a further three – Wednesday 10th Nov, in D003, Ebsworth Building, Monday 15th Nov in the Fisher Building, Ustinov College, and finally Wednesday 24th Nov in the Hall, Van Mildert College. All of the talks are held between 8pm and 9pm.

Towards the end of my last column, I reflected on Bill Bryson’s campaign a few years ago, to encourage students to become organ donors. I requested a different substance from you last time, and I must do it again. The National Blood Trust will be in the Three Tuns on Friday 12th Nov. Blood donations have really dipped over the past few years and it is essential that we get more students as active donors. Thank you to everyone who has booked in an appointment already – but as a reminder to everyone else – an appointment isn’t necessary and you will see me rocking up on the day as well. Visit www.blood.co.uk if you want any more information.

An equally pressing issue, if not quite an issue of life and death, is electoral registration. Although those of you living in University accommodation are already registered to vote, there are vast swathes of the livers’ out population who are not.

With the boundaries of constituencies due to be redrawn over the next year or so, it’s essential that the Electoral Services Manager, David, gets accurate information on the number of residents of the City. As always, more information will cascade to you from your invariably intellectually stimulating Senior DSU Representatives, or alternatively the equally able JCR Presidents.

Anyway, that’s me done – back off to bed with a cup of lemsip and the hope that I will be better soon!

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

7

‘Oxbridge Rejects’ Report

For more news and analysis head to palatinate.org.uk

Are we all ‘Oxbridge Rejects’?

Daniel Johnson and Rhian Addison

R

esearch by Palatinate has revealed that the idea that the vast majority of Durham students are ‘Oxbridge rejects’ is in need of some serious reconsideration.

Out of 103 students who were surveyed, 58 said they had applied to Oxbridge, much lower than previous estimates of 80 or 90 percent of students.

56%

The percentage of those surveyed who said they applied to Oxbridge

Although inevitably some students were quite defensive when questioned, an overwhelming 91 percent of students said they “weren’t bothered” by the stereotype, highlighting some of the benefits of a less strenuous academic workload.

Vice-Chancellor Chris Higgins claimed instead that we are in fact “consistently competing at the top of league tables with Oxford and Cambridge”.

“Durham University is an attractive proposition for students in its own right”, explains Higgins, with “90 per cent of entrants for the current academic year” making Durham their ‘firm’ choice.

Helen Jones, a Collingwood student who did not apply to Oxbridge, told Palatinate that she thinks “Durham is great in its own right. The courses offered here

are much more flexible than those at Oxbridge”.

Not everyone was quite so unequivocal.

Some students did express genuine concerns that Durham is simply “second best” to Oxbridge.

“Whilst I have enjoyed almost everything about Durham since coming here, and now there’s nowhere else I would rather be, initially I did feel as if I was heading for the next best thing after Oxbridge”explains an anonymous Castle student, “Not just in terms of league tables, but in terms of history, tradition and prestige, I had the distinct impression that Durham was somewhat wanting compared to its older rivals”.

Jack Higson, a third year physicist, explained, “I applied to Cambridge due to the reputation it has compared to other universities. Cambridge is also renowned for the top-class science facilities”.

One student went much further, “I’m not sure we’re even close to being second best”.

However, the Vice-Chancellor is eager to rubbish the view that Durham is in the shadow of Oxbridge. Speaking to The Sunday Times for their annual University Guide, he indicated that “Durham demonstrated particularly outstanding performance in individual subject league tables securing first-place rankings”.

Unfortunately no-one from the University was available for an interview with Palatinate regarding the subject.

Encouragingly however for the university, 79% of students questioned think that

Durham is unique and possesses its own distinctive and attractive identity.

While in the small minority, some students questioned turned down their offers from Oxbridge to come to Durham because they felt the smaller workload enabled them to pursue extra-curricular activities.

Palatinate discussed the decision with an anonymous Physicist, “There were a number of reasons I decided not to go to Cambridge. A few friends who had gone hadn’t given very positive feedback.

“I don’t mind working, but I didn’t want to feel obliged to work myself under and not have time for anything else. Some even said they wished they had gone somewhere else instead. Of course, that probably isn’t the majority view, but I still thought it was something worth thinking about.

‘Oxbridge reject’ survey

103

Total number of students surveyed outside the library on a normal Wednesday afternoon

91%

Percentage of students who said they “aren’t bothered” by the stereotype

2

Many Durhamites might have hoped to spend their university years at one of our older rivals

“Durham is great in its own right. The courses offered here are much more flexible than at Oxbridge ”

FLICKRID: CSTM-

Winston Churchill was one of many eminent historical figures not to attend any university

FLICKRID: WIT

It is a common joke amongst students that one of the main reasons many of us are at Durham is because of our failure to gain a place at Oxbridge, but Palatinate asks, is this stereotype fact or fiction?

“A lot of people at Durham do seem to have been unsuccessful in applying to Oxford and Cambridge, but certainly not all, and even if they were rejected, that isn’t necessarily a bad reflection on them.

“Some people at Oxbridge probably shouldn’t be there, in the same way that some people who were rejected were really good enough to get in - I would say that there is definitely a lot of luck involved”.

Many more than the stereotype suggests simply did not see the appeal of Oxbridge.

A significant number of those questioned (45 out of 103) chose not to apply, citing a variety of reasons.

An anonymous Hatfield finalist told Palatinate that “I liked Durham because it is respected but not as intimidating as Oxbridge”.

The University’s official rhetoric is quick to try and reinforce this distinction. In February, Chris Higgins claimed that although “people might see Durham as elitist... Durham is elite, but not elitist, there is a difference. We look for elite students, but it doesn’t matter what background they come from”.

Regardless of whether the stereotype is fully supported by the evidence or not, Durham is unquestionably an institution with a very strong academic reputation.

The message of the vast majority of those questioned was that we should not be bitter if some of us are ‘Oxbridge rejects’, and we should instead focus on what Durham has to offer.

Even if the majority of Durham students are ‘Oxbridge rejects’, those questioned seemed adamant that what they do with their time at university is far more likely to define and shape their lives than simply the choices made on a UCAS application.

Number of students surveyed who received offers from Oxbridge but chose to come to Durham

21%

Percentage of students who feel Durham is “second best” to Oxbridge

Tales from the rejection pile Matthew Richardson

It was a fleecy, yellowish sort of morning. Pale fingers of sunlight tapped on the brittle windowpanes, leaking in the fudgy sound of cars spasming down the narrow Cambridge roads outside. The study was ornate and neo-classical and belted with bookcases, shelf giving way to shelf. Before me sat their owner: an owlish, aquiline academic with a notepad and pen.

‘So,’ he said. ‘I think we’ll start today by talking about Philip Larkin.’

I coughed queasily. ‘Shakespeare? Of course, very happy to. Very happy to indeed. You know, it’s a funny thing, but ever since kindergarten when I stumbled across that Arden edition of Love’s Labour’s Lost…’

There was a slow, scholarly shake of the head. ‘No, no. I’m sorry. I said by talking about Philip Larkin.’

‘Oh, I do apologize. Not Shakespeare?’ I tried. ‘What was it you said again: John Donne? Marvell, actually, wasn’t it? Yes, of course, why not. It’s just where to begin…Can’t quite hear with the noise from the traffic, that’s all.’

‘P-h-i-l-i-p L-a-r-k-i-n,’ he intoned.

‘Because I see you’ve put on your personal statement that you’ve always enjoyed – ‘luxuriated’, I think, is the exact word you’ve used – reading a bit ofPhilip Larkin after rowing practise, is it?’

A desperate attempt that last bit.

Somehow I had it in my head that if I wasn’t quite the next F.R. Leavis they might squeeze me in the back door as a chap willing to cox the college eight and organise a regatta or two. And the truth was I had managed, somehow or other, to express an enjoyment, interest, love, passion, infatuation, adoration

and numerous ardent and unquenchable thirsts for a good three-quarters of the English canon. Poetry, prose, drama, essay, dialogue: if it had been written in the last 700 years it was on my personal statement somewhere.

As was Philip Larkin. And so, as I paltered on about the Hermit of Hull, claimed I very much enjoyed Deaths and Entrances and talked about Larkin’s poetic affinities (and, unfortunately, I seem to remember something about a ‘close, personal friendship’) with Thomas Hardy all to the increasing surprise and puzzlement of my interviewer, I knew the game was up. The home of Newton and Cromwell, Cook and Cleese, was not going to be mine. Three years’ worth of shelter would have to be found elsewhere.

But did that finish me off, reduce me to rubble? Shush now. No thought or diagnosis could be sillier. Having Cambridge or Oxford tattooed onto your CV is no more a guarantee of success in life than possessing green eyes or blonde hair. It is, by and large, irrelevant. Because what is the one thing that links Homer, Shakespeare, Dickens and Churchill together?

They didn’t go to any university, of any stripe, form or flavour, of any repute or prestige, of any position in worldrankings or newspaper top-tens, at all.

Ever. Zilch. And, looking back, they just about staggered through life all right, didn’t they? Managed to press the right buttons and make the right moves. Because it is who you are, not where you went. What you do at university, not its geographical location... Right?

Well, I’ll let you know in a year’s time.

Either from the boardroom or the dole queue...

9

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

Follow us at twitter.com/palatiELECTIONS

News and Information Elections

Politics Obama bloodied as Republicans snatch House of Representatives National, local, student political news From the UN to the DSU

Republicans make gains across the country, but must still deal with the threat of the Tea Party Huw Silk

W

“Just two years after his triumph, Obama faces political gridlock”

It is the Tea Party which has caused many Republican headaches. The Tea Party, a phenomenon that has dominated this electoral cycle, is a pressure group which is opposed to central government interference in the lives of ordinary Americans.

The nascent political movement, which competed in GOP primary contests and whose darling is Sarah Palin, may well have cost the Republicans a majority in the Senate.

The Republican mainstream candidate in Delaware, Mike Castle, lost his party’s nomination to an eccentric extremist backed by the Tea Party, Christine O’Donnell, who was even forced to deny

JONNEY YEATES

hen John Boehner, the Ohioan Republican representative, who is expected to replace Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, addressed cheering crowds last Tuesday night, he burst into tears.

On a night which saw Republicans gain control of the lower house with a number of spectacular victories, his were not tears of disappointment, even if the Grand Old Party did fall short of also seizing the upper house, the Senate.

Boehner will become the third most powerful politician in the United States, after President Obama and Vice President Biden, after the Republicans routed House Democrats, gaining over 60 seats to split control of Capitol Hill between the two main American parties and deliver a severe blow to Obama’s hope of implementing his agenda.

Boehner insisted, however, that this is no time for Republican celebration. This may be seen as a surprise considering the dramatic turnaround in GOP fortunes after their poor showings in 2006 and 2008.

However, there may be a tinge of Republican regret stemming from the fact that although the party managed to significantly trim the Democratic Senate majority, the results perhaps should have been even more positive for the party.

rumours that she was a witch. Castle, the moderate former governor of the state, had polled consistently ahead of the Democratic candidate, Chris Coons, by appealing to centrists. O’Donnell nullified this effect after her defeat of Castle, allowing Coons to win the state with some ease.

What would have been the most highprofile Republican scalp was the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who hung on to his Nevada seat. His challenger, archconservative Sharron Angle, committed a number of faux-pas on the campaign trail, including her declaration in support of the US withdrawing from the United Nations, in part to protest against the UN’s tendency to promote “fraudulent science such as climate change”. As with O’Donnell in Delaware, Angle isolated moderates and managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory for the Republicans in a contest against a very poorly regarded incumbent in Senator Reid.

There were, however, some successes for the Tea Party, most notably for Marco Rubio, tipped as a future GOP presidential candidate, who was elected to the Senate in the crucial state of Florida. He comfortably defeated his former Republican colleague and incumbent senator Charlie Crist.

Nevertheless, the movement has had a polarising effect which may prove to be toxic to the Republicans’ chances of regaining the White House in 2012. O’Donnell, Angle and other right-wing politicians may have benefited amongst traditional conservatives, but have not endeared themselves to moderate Americans.

It may have been that Boehner’s tears betrayed a sense of apprehension at the looming prospect of a civil war for the soul of the Republican Party. That the GOP failed to pick up states that they might have been expected to win – had there not been a divisive Tea Party-backed candidate instead of a moderate – may have actually pleased the Republican establishment.

Time alone will tell if the Tea Party proves to be a busted flush, but Republicans must hope that its influence and its polarising tendencies will have been severely blunted by these failures.

A further difficulty faced by the GOP is the distinct lack of credible, unifying challengers to Obama in 2012. Moderate Republicans such as Mitt Romney may be more appealing to Middle America, but the GOP base is far more enthusiastic for more conservative figures such as Palin.

Barack Obama has struggled to thwart heavyweight Republican attacks on his administration

Tea Partiers – Palin was outspoken in her backing for Angle and O’Donnell – will have had their credentials weakened, however, by last week’s disappointments.

But if the generally positive results were tinged with some frustration for Republicans, then the Democrats find themselves in rather more trouble. Just two years after his triumphant and historic victory, Obama faces the prospect of political deadlock on Capitol Hill.

What will have pained – not to mention worried – the Democrats is the loss of a number of traditionally liberal states to Republican candidates. Perhaps most notable of these was Illinois, the seat Obama himself held before 2008. The Prairie State, with a population of thirteen million and which gave Obama 62 percent of the vote in 2008, elected to the Senate Mark Kirk, who won in spite of allegations that he partly fabricated his military record.

Obama’s approval ratings have been consistently below 50 percent, and among registered independents – a voting bloc which launched him into the White House – numerous polls have shown less than 40 percent approve of his presidency. Even Democrats have taken issue with their

president. In the Democratic bastion of Rhode Island, the gubernatorial candidate told Obama to take his endorsement and “shove it”. He came third; the victor was an independent liberal.

“The Tea Party has had a polarising effect which may prove to be toxic to Republican chances in 2012” Some Democratic victors may also prove to be a challenge for Obama and the party hierarchy to work with. Joe Manchin, elected to the Senate to represent West Virginia, is a self-depicted conservative Democrat who has made a great issue out of the fact that he opposed President Obama’s plan to incentivise the reduction of carbon dioxide production.

Yet, in what may be seen as a blessing in disguise, Republican control of the House of Representatives may take some of the

pressure off Obama and the Democrats.

Obama may well attempt to pin the blame for political deadlock on to a stubborn Republican-led House. In addition, through worsening economic times, Republicans will not be able to wash their hands of responsibility and will have no choice but to share some of the blame. The anti-incumbency wave ridden by so many Republicans may not last now that they are part of the establishment.

In spite of the apparent torrent of bad news for Democratic strategists last Tuesday, the midterm elections still provide Obama and his party with hope. They will know that, but for the influence of the Tea Party, they may well have lost both Houses of Congress.

Obama will also be warmed by the slim possibility of a unifying Republican opponent being selected following the long and divisive primary season, which starts in just fourteen months time.

Perhaps it was the thought of the hurdles ahead that drove Boehner to tears.

Tuesday’s results were a great success for his Republican Party; but he as much as anyone is aware that there is little scope for celebration.

Osborne’s cutting axe takes its first substantial swing David Wynne-Griffith

Like a medieval axe man inspecting his tools before the final execution, the government has been softening up voters ahead of the spending review for weeks now. So when George Osborne finally brought his financial axe crashing down on the bulging budget deficit, it was strange that a whiff of anticlimax fumigated from the smoldering remains.

A Tory minister recently said that ‘the headlines could have been a lot worse’.

That is not to say that they were particularly good. It seems as if, as well as crossing bipartisan lines, the coalition derives

a strange satisfaction from being derided from all sides. Their theory goes that if everyone is painfully bleating that the cuts are unfair, they are ironically broadly fair for everybody.

Up and down Whitehall, the Lib-Con pact is patting itself on the back. The biggest challenge of their premiership so far has passed without any major hiccoughs.

Given that they have just imported an unprecedented £81bn worth of public spending cuts, this is no mean feat. Labour’s criticisms have, thus far, fallen on deaf ears. The new Shadow Chancellor, Alan Johnson, took the direct route of accusing the Coalition of selecting the cuts along ideological lines. This approach has been derided by

many due to Labour’s current economic credibility.

Ed Miliband recently proclaimed with all his political zest that ‘this was a spending cut driven by ideology’. According to Labour, there are plenty of backbench Tories who see the shrinking of the state as an ideological goal. The Opposition still portray the Clegg-Cameron couple as an ideological union primarily interested in preserving the privileged elite, rather than the national interest.

The number of public sector job losses (490,000) is enough to make any voter think twice about voting for the Conservatives or the Lib Dems again. However, the real reason that commentators are scepti-

cal about the Coalition’s cuts can be found elsewhere. The first is a simple practicality: these cuts are just plans, not realities. The Coalition are yet to encounter the infinite joys of implementation. It is also rumoured that many cabinet ministers have not fully appreciated the dwindling funds of their budgets. Many may find that typing hollow figures into a spreadsheet is very different to actually sacking staff and cutting off services.

Assuming that the Coalition can ensure that their sharpened cutting axe falls down without any hash jobs, they must still convince the public that they can replace the jobs that they are systematically extricating from the economy.

The Coalition feel that if they can cure the pain that they are currently doling out, voters will forgive them. However, they need to ensure that these cuts will definitely lead to a sustainable recovery. The only way for this to happen is if the private sector expands as fast as the state shrinks.

Unfortunately, commentators assure us that this eventuality relies on an unconsummated economic boom over the coming years.

Mr. Osborne has made elaborate assumptions about the private sector’s capacity for rapid growth. The Coalition is radical to its core. Whether they are too radical economically remains to be seen.

10

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

News and Information Careers

Careers

Former St Aidan’s College Geophysics graduate Nick Mohammed speaks to Palatinate on the Edinburgh Fringe, his rise to fame with the BBC and his love of Durham

Tom Davies

Rachael Revesz

Your short time at Durham is crucial to your long-term career success. Employers value your academic abilities but you need to ‘stand out from the crowd’ by providing them with evidence of key skills such as communication, problem solving, team abilities, analytical skills and more for when you apply for work experience, internships and graduate jobs. These skills can be amply demonstrated by becoming involved in charity work, societies, college activities, sport, debating events etc. Note these down using our PDP system on DUO (https://duo.dur.ac.uk/) and record and update your achievements and skills throughout your time in Durham. So get involved!

Tell us about your time at Durham.

I absolutely loved it! Although when I first came I didn’t drink – but that soon changed in Freshers’ Week when I was forced to down a mug of red wine and wear a toga!

It was a bit overwhelming. I also auditioned twice to be part of the Durham Revue and never got in. Ironically they have now made me an honorary member!

* Most creative image (£30 Amazon voucher) * Best technical image (£30 Amazon voucher) * Student favourite (£30 Amazon voucher) Winners will receive a large print of your winning photograph (after it has been displayed at your graduation).

As many of the submissions as possible will also be included as part of a publication that will be given away by the Careers Advisory Service for free at graduation. All suitable photographs will also appear on the Careers Advisory Service’s designated Flickr page.

Submit a photograph and a short explanation to: careers-advice@durham.ac.uk . Give your e-mail the subject Photography Competition Closing date: Friday December 10th 2010. For full terms and conditions please go to: www.durham. ac.uk/careers-advice/students/photocomp

I thought I might end up working for an oil company; I didn’t always know I wanted to be a comedian. I did a postgraduate at Cambridge and got involved in comedy there, and I’ve been a professional magician since the age of 16. But I couldn’t get more job satisfaction than I do now – you are instantly rewarded. You make people laugh or you don’t.

“Learn what you’re good at, and don’t piss people off” Did you get a chance to see Durham’s comedy trio, Wittank?

Yes! I thought Kieran (Boyd’s) and Naz (Osmanoglu’s) stand-up was brilliant.

They’ll go far.

I meant “proportions” as in the size of the paper, not the importance of it! But I loved Palatinate, especially for the reviews. I remember they had a bit of a love-hate relationship with The Durham Revue. The group would have to perform some Palatinate sketch to get them back on their side.

It may take hundreds of millions of smooth shaves to make it at the Edinburgh Fringe

a loss. At that time I took out a “careers investment loan” – they’re probably not available now – to help me along the road. My agent spotted me at one of my shows and the production company Talkback Thames approached me to make a television show.

But it’s been a long, long process over the six years since I graduated. It took two to three years before the BBC gave us the go ahead.

You’re now a successful comedian – but how did you start out?

The King Is Dead – your new spoof panel show on BBC3 – sees you, Simon Bird and Katy Wix interview and prod fun at celebrities. What was it like working together?

I gigged a lot. And I went back to the Edinburgh Fringe every year, to be seen. Up there it’s so expensive and you usually make

It was a challenge for all of us, because we’d mostly worked with scripts until that point. Simon (Bird) was doing very well

with The Inbetweeners, but that was scripted too. Sometimes we had really quick-witted guests and we were like “Shit – they’re going to show us up!”

How was the feedback for the show?

I think the press were baffled – they might have interpreted us as being unnecessarily childish or harsh. We were aiming towards a young BBC demographic and were learning on the job. I think there is room for improvement with the second series, but we’re proud of it and we got good viewing figures.

You’ve also performed for Radio 4 – Nick Mohammed in Bits – where you enacted the part of a 2nd year Durham student, Cordelia Grimes. Do you think your jokes about Durham are accurate?

Beware - the interns are coming!

The new line-up of graduates is grimly determined to make it Rachael Revesz

The current generation – that’s us – are a frightening bunch. Weather-worn, hardened by constant recession-related media threats, dim graduate prospects and the looming reminder of that earth-shatteringly mundane part-time menial job, we are grimly determined to get a foot in that door. We stay up late and gnash our teeth, applying like frightening robotic machines to internships, traineeships and graduate

“We stay up late and gnash our teeth, applying like robotic machines. . . “ schemes as unemployment comes knocking on our dark window.

They were totally exaggerated, obviously, but still based on truth. I was just poking fun at that upper-class, affected attitude that you see around Durham – people tend to adopt it when they go there. I actually downloaded St Aidan’s Fresher’s handbook and quoted the jargon section. But often the things I joked about, like going to Hound, were things that I did myself when I was a student. It was my way of celebrating Durham. A lot of people got in touch after that and I don’t think anyone was pissed off.

You also jested that Palatinate had “Guardian proportions”.

What has the transition between Geophysics and comedy been like?

Flickr: Frank Hurley

Let us know: what does Durham mean to you?

The Careers Advisory Service is holding a photography competition for all final year students (undergraduates and postgraduates).

Do you have a photo that you’ve taken during your time at Durham that would encapsulate the impact that Durham has had on you? How has Durham made you who you are today? How has Durham prepared you for your future?

Interpret this theme any way that you would like to! Include people, buildings, specific occasions, activities…

We’re looking for powerful and striking images that people will want to look at again and again.

There will be prizes awarded for:

VANESSA WHYTE

Skills for success - Tom Davies, from the Careers Advisory Service, urges you to get involved

Calling all finalists for a photography competition!

The latest news in the graduate jobs market Advice from the Careers Advisory Service

Nick Mohammed’s heart “lies in Durham”

Tips and Tricks from the Top

Bear the cold hard world with CAS skills

Follow us on Twitter @palatiCAREERS

It is a coping mechanism. If we aren’t networking pros or born into a rich estate, the normal layperson will understand that we are screwed.

We always worry – how to make a good impression? Will we make the most of it?

Are we likely to get a job? Shaking with nerves, dripping with sweat, awkwardly fumbling with our ties and shirt cuffs – what on earth do they make of us young, unprofessional, jabbering wrecks?

Quite a lot actually. We are, apparently, a menace to the stability of other people’s employment.

John O’Connell, a commentary writer for The Times, wrote; “As if life were not hard enough, the impact of working long hours in unstable conditions has, since the recession, been aggravated by the need to be constantly vigilant lest unpaid interns prove too competent.”

But Lord Alan Sugar himself said that he is not looking for “cautious Carols or steady

What are your upcoming plans?

I’ve had some exciting talks with Channel 4, and I’ve got further work with the BBC. I’m also doing a live show in November with one of my characters Mr Swallow.

He’s based on a teacher I had at school, and funnily enough, I’ve had pangs to go back to Durham so I might visit soon. It sounds tacky but my heart does lie in Durham.

What would your advice be to aspiring artists?

The industry is tricky. It is a slow build-up, and you have to been seen as much as possible. The Edinburgh Fringe is the best place to showcase your work. It’s also important to learn what you’re good at, and to not piss people off. The BBC can be quite edgy.

It’s a risk for them to take on new people – even I don’t have a guarantee for my future.

Fingers crossed! It’s hard, but you’ve got to stick at it.

Next edition...

We speak to Guardian columnist and best-selling author, Lucy Mangan, on how to achieve in journalism . . .

Eddies”. What are we supposed to be, then?

The averagely competent Richard? The get-us-a-cuppa Caroline? Or how about the lame duck Lindy, who just stares at her screen all day and pretends to be busy?

“It’s dog eat dog out there...”

It’s dog eat dog out there. Interns should be competent and willing to show it. Otherwise, just what is the point of us giving up our time for free? We could be earning good money, honourably intending to lessen our massive debts at the end of our studies and share the burden that our parents had to do for years on our behalf.

So, excuse me Mr O’Connell. You’d better start stocking up those tins of baked beans while you can afford them, because the interns are coming!

. . . plus Durham graduate Emily Grainger tells us how it really is to work in a fast-paced law firm in the city . . . . . . and don’t miss more tips and tricks from the top.

Got ideas and articles of your own?

If you’d like to write for this section don’t hesitate to get in touch. careers@palatinate.org.uk

11

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November2010

Check out our archive of interviews at palatinate.org.uk

Profile

Interviews Profile

Look inside the minds of today’s big movers Interviews with those shaping the world

From cellular biology to CEO: the Vice-Chancellor

Kirstyn Wood talks to Vice-Chancellor Chris Higgins about his lifelong dedication to Durham, his decision to desert academia to lead this university, and the unique appeal of your Durham degree Durham’s weaknesses? Is there anything you would like to improve upon?

CH: I am, in effect, chief executive of the University- it’s similar to being the chief executive of a business: an independentlygoverned organisation. It is a charity with educational purposes. I am responsible for about 15,000 students, 3,500 staff , a quarter of a billion pounds a year, 61 listed buildings, and the most important estate of any of the universities in the UK. Unlike the chief executive of a company whose job is to make money for the shareholders, my job is to provide the best possible research and education.

CH: There are parts of our estate which are difficult to keep at the standard we would like. We just don’t have the endowments of Oxford and Cambridge. In order to compete with them, we would need endowments to ensure that we are immune against the fluctuations in the economy to which we are subject at the moment. However, even despite our relatively modest size and budget, we have managed to become, according to The Sunday Times, the best university outside of the Golden Triangle.

KW: Statistically, most finalists will receive a 2:1 at the end of the year- is this a big step down from a first in the eyes of employers? Is a 2:1 from Durham distinct from others?

CH: A 2:1 from Durham is very different from a 2:1 from somewhere else. Degrees from some universities are not really an education; they’re a training for a profession.

It doesn’t really matter what subject you do at Durham. We prepare students for flexibility and leadership. Proportionally we have more graduates in the ‘Who’s Who’ in the UK than even Oxbridge.

“A 2:1 from Durham is very different from a 2:1 somewhere else...

We prepare students for leadership” In fact, and this you may not know, in recent US world ranking of universities that global employers want graduates from, Durham was placed 24th! Proportionally, we have more graduates in employment with PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Sandhurst than any other university in the UK. The collegiate system in particular provides a distinction; the students have the freedom and the opportunity to excel at whatever they want to excel at.

KW: In your opinion then, what are Durham’s strengths and weaknesses?

CH: Durham’s greatest strength is its human scale. It’s a medium-sized uni, broken up into departments and colleges, into distinct communities of people. It’s a very personal university. Students who come here really do make friends for life. It’s this human scale, and also the size of the city, which allows people to interact on such a level as to develop these life-long friendships. The small environment allows our students to really participate in whatever they want to participate in and so begin to develop true leadership; Richard Dannatt and Will Carling are just two good examples and, of course, in the media profession we have Jeremy Vine and Sir Harold Evans.

KW: And what would you say about

KW: What are your short-term aims for the University?

CH: We want to keep doing what we’re currently doing. We’ll never be at the very top because of our size, however, we will soon have world-class sporting facilities, and a big new library and a big new law school.

All this takes time, but the ball is rolling.

Size holds us back in league- table terms, but not as a university. Expansion would be a mistake however, because then we’d lose the human-scale factor.

KW: How do you think Durham is perceived by prospective students?

CH: Many who could come to Durham don’t, because they don’t always recognise the value of the Durham degree, and we haven’t perhaps sold ourselves enough.

I was an Oxbridge reject and when I accepted my place at Durham, it was the place where Oxbridge rejects went. But Durham really is the best place for a bright, motivated and rounded education. There is a strong emphasis on merely the academic at Oxford and Cambridge whereas Durham is better at providing people with a whole student life and, consequently, a whole education.

KW: How has the place changed since your student days?

CH: When I was a student there were about 4,000 students, whereas there are now about 15,000, so it has grown. There are more post-graduates. The ethos is very much the same: everyone wants to take part. There is absolutely an opportunity for everyone, of whatever culture or creed.

KW: Is Durham uniquely good at educating people or is it mostly about the ‘well-rounded’ appeal?

CH: We aim to be good at research and education and to link the two. Research is so important to this university. We want the brightest staff, and we want them to really engage with the students.

KW: Are newly-graduated ‘Durhamites’ really fought over by employers? Are you saying we honestly shouldn’t worry about getting jobs in July 2011?

CH: Alumni almost always say they are not in any job that they thought they might be when they came to university. What Dur-

ham graduates do is, once they get in, they really succeed. If you look at the league tables, we don’t come at the top for employability, but that’s because it’s measured in terms of getting a job in the first three months, and many of our students go and explore after university. Some universities very much train people for specific jobs. If there was a league table measuring longterm success, Durham graduates would do just brilliantly!

DURHAM UNIVERSITY MEDIA OFFICE

KW: As Vice-Chancellor, what does your job entail?

KW: So when you graduated, was a career in academia something you fell into or was that a conscious decision?

CH: I made a conscious decision to continue in academia; I would argue I failed to get into Cambridge because I was at a local comprehensive school and some of the teachers hadn’t even gone to university themselves. Durham recognised my potential and took me. I came to do Botany, then when I graduated I moved into academia, and went to the University of California.

What I really did was make the decision to go into research: at the time I probably had no idea what the Vice-Chancellor was.

KW: Would you say your Durham degree helped you in your career in molecular biology?

CH: I was at the forefront of molecular biology at Berkeley and yes, Durham got me there. I was a bit of a geek when I came to Durham. What I really wanted to do was to be a musician initially. But I realised that I wasn’t good enough to make a top musician! At Durham I spent most of my time playing music.

KW: You went from botany- the study of plants- to cellular biology in humanswas that a difficult transition? Did your degree in Botany help you?

CH: Yes, what a good education should provide bright students with is a way of thinking. I did my degree in the cellular level but not in the whole organism- there’s not that much difference between plants and animals. I couldn’t answer the questions I wanted to in plants with the techniques that were available at the time. The way to answer these questions was with cell biology, molecular biology and molecular genetics. My Durham education gave me the opportunity to do that.

KW: Tell me about your involvement in stem cell research?

CH: I worked on the resistance of cancer to drugs. I had a lot of expertise; I was invited to be advisory committee to House of Lords. We came up with the best set of legislation, respecting all views but allowing research under some conditions. However, over in the States, President Bush put in place what I would call intellectually incoherent laws. If you have private funding, you can do whatever you like out there. In the UK, the source of the funding is irrelevant, there are clear regulations in place. In the States, if you have private funding you can do whatever you like, completely unregulated. Bureaucracy slows things up in the UK, obviously, as it always does, but we

have some really good legislation and clear rules.

KW: What do you think will come of this research in the future?

CH: I have no doubt that stem cells will provide important cells for study, to replace testing on animals for example. They’re going to be most important in medicine.

Most diseases are caused by cells going wrong, however some are caused by cells just going missing. Stem cell technology allows us to replace those missing cells. It offers real potential, and it’s going to take a long time to realise that potential. It will take years of clinical trials. The potential to cure presently incurable illnesses is vast.

“We aim to be good at research and education and to link the two.

Research is so important...”

KW: So do you believe we’re going to see spinal regeneration in humans in our lifetime?

CH: Ha! It’s been done in rats. Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman, became a strong supporter of stem cell research after he fell from a horse and became a paraplegic. He had previously been a born-again Christian but swiftly realised that stem cell research was his only hope!

The one other big important area in biology is plant genetics- we’re going to have

problems feeding ourselves in the future.

Our climate is going to change and seeds may become redundant in new weather conditions. We need to improve plant nutrition, viability in different environments and such.

KW: You were a member of the governmental body we can thank for the neareradication of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, weren’t you? Are we likely to see another Mad Cow Disease crisis like that of 1999 in the future?

CH: The body is likely now to shrink, the job has been done. BSE is effectively eradicated, science has effectively eliminated it.

We now know how to stop transmission from people to people. We do need to put measures in place to ensure that it doesn’t emerge again.

I would argue that the skills I acquired at Durham in addition to academic skills, being a JCR president and leader of the university orchestra, gave me skills that enabled me to sit on government panels- it really is a great preparation for leadership.

KW: What advice would you give to those graduating this year then?

CH: I hope that at Durham we provide an education which provides people with the confidence to be flexible. Find what you’re good at. If that takes two years after graduation then so be it. Don’t worry about which subject you’ve done. We give you an education which prepares you for everything. Law firms are looking for people from every other subject than Law. I have a friend who’s a great QC in London who did Chemistry!

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

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Comment Analysis

Comment From the Union

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Our writers discuss topical matters This edition: the Harry Potter module

How can we best improve the UK’s economy?

Looking at British history, there are lessons to be learned for the country’s financial future CAMANO10

Jessica Pratt

Anna Holt

The last few weeks have seen three very different Friday night debates at the Union, with abortion, the alternative vote and size-zero models being discussed by our visiting experts.

The abortion debate stirred strong feelings, as everything from personal stories and legal codes were brought into speeches in order to try to convince the impassioned audience to change sides.

The proposition narrowly won, having convinced people that abortion was indeed a fundamental human right, in the loudest and closest vote of the term so far.

The alternative vote debate raised serious questions about the merits of the referendum which will be held next May. The opposition side for the evening consisted of a harmonious Labour - Conservative coalition of MPs Iain Wright and James Wharton, who emphasized the complexity of the proposed system.

The most interesting revelation of the night was how few people in the audience really seemed to understand the AV system or the reasoning behind it: it made me consider whether, if this selfselecting audience with an interest in politics and the possibility of reforming the voting system have so little interest and enthusiasm for AV, it is worth holding the referendum at all.

This week’s motion ‘This house would ban size zero models’ debate was a new topic for the Union. The size of the audience and interest in the debate shows how important it is for us to think beyond the tried and tested list of subjects and to explore new ground.

Speaking for the propostion was successful model Katie Green, who at 5’10” and a size 12 is unbelievably classified as a plus-size model, which hardly represents the larger half of the population, or even the average woman.

She discussed her own experience of being told to lose two stone if she wanted to continue modelling, and the subsequent foundation of her “Say No to Size Zero” debate. Joining her was model agent Eleni Renton.

Meanwhile, the ban on size-zero was opposed by Susan Ringwood who runs B-eat, the eating disorder charity, and Ian Marber, the celebrity nutritionist more commonly known as The Food Doctor.

The evening was certainly thought provoking, and my fears that the food at dinner before the debate would be critically scrutinized or ignored by the speakers turned out to be unfounded.

Coming up in the next fortnight, we have debates on the monarchy and the EU, as well as the culmination of the Second Chance project, and some fantastic socials including the Venetian Ball and trips to watch the rugby in Edinburgh and visit Durham Brewery. www.dus.org.uk

Analysis

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o we have a deficit. We must live within our means. As a nation we must not spend more than we earn. And definitely not £178 billion more. Now, I make no claims to know anything about economics or market functions, which obviously has some bearing on the situation. But, very basically, we just don’t seem to be earning enough to allow us to be taxed enough, to maintain a basic standard of living for all.

“The British people, as a nation, just aren’t worth much anymore” This problem arises when there simply aren’t enough jobs; there aren’t enough ways for us to make money. I assume this is where the whole credit crunch thing comes in. That’s how we came to breaking point, to cutting point. But surely this was there long before. We, as a nation, just aren’t worth much anymore. Our natural resources, coal and copper and iron ore, are gone. The cost of our labour is too high, and rightly so, for us to be the smoggy workshop of the world we were in Victorian times. What we do have is that standard of living, that standard of education, which means we have banks and companies and corporations who rely on brain power.

All we can sell is intellectual property.

You may think, well, surely that’s a good thing. But essentially only a very small number of these jobs can ever be provided; they are tertiary industry, they are services and they rely on the wealth and desire of other people, not on their need.

An agriculturally-dependent society is sustained on the needs of others and can rarely look above their own needs. Yet a society held up by this sheer edifice of

SPEAKER’S CORNER

We need another scientific genius like George Stephenson, father of the train, to give Britain’s industry and economy a much-needed boost

greed and luxury and ever-elevating expectations has no foundations; we ripped them out somewhere between the 17th century and the 21st. The wise man built his house upon a rock, and I think we had some rock there somewhere to begin with, but it’s been eroded to sand, and that sand has been heated up and moulded into glassy skyscrapers on Threadneedle Street.

So what can we live without? Unless we maintain this standard of living, this education system, then we will be left with nothing. And we cannot live with an inhumane society, with a growing underclass, disregarded. Surely without equality we are stagnant: where will the next generation of intellectual property come from if young people are not given opportunities to grow and to learn? David Cameron tells us he is being fair. This government is in an impossible situation. But we can’t survive on greed. It is a contradiction in terms. It is entirely unsustainable. Greed is not good.

If we look to the post-war settlement, the original welfare state of Attlee’s Labour, it came at a time when Britain was at its

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alatinate Careers 721: “Miss the careers fair? We didn’t”. Quite frankly, if you’re not too keen on working for an investment bank or a ‘professional services’ company, then there wasn’t a great deal to miss.

“Broadly speaking, on the second day alone, 17 out of 41 stalls were from the burgeoning financial services sector”

Daniel Johnson hates: The Careers Fair

Now, beyond promoting the newspaper for which I write, this headline concealed the worst thing about the careers fair: the gross overrepresentation of the murky world of corporate finance. The distinct impression I gained from the careers fair is that your best bet as a clever, young, aspirational person (don’t worry I’m not describing myself here) is to go and work in the city, doing unsociable hours, earning an absolute shedload of money.

Isn’t there more to a career than this?

Broadly speaking, on the second day

lowest, when we still had rationing and a massive war debt. But Attlee’s government looked to create a new society, with a National Health Service and social engineering, not just to repair the one the War had left behind. And during what is often called the ‘Age of Austerity’, the state was fairer to its subjects than ever before. Cameron’s rhetoric asks for a Big Society, he seems to want to recreate our “Broken Britain”. The welfare state’s improvement of free, compulsory education for all, which had begun with the Elementary Education Act of 1870, was farsighted and far-reaching, teaching our population to aspire to a better life.

But how will the Big Society revive our nation? Cameron calls it ‘people power’. He wants to remove the state from public services such as libraries, post offices and even schools. As rhetoric it almost works, but I fear it is not the stuff on which nations are re-created and national crises averted. We need something altogether more radical.

So what is my solution? Tax more?

Or will that just drive people to emigration? Lower our expectations? Yes,

maybe a little, but the dignity of a basic standard of living is a human right. And maybe our radical solution cannot be provided by politics, by moving the money around. What we need is to create something which fulfils a need and to sell it.

alone, 17 out of 41 stalls were from the burgeoning financial services sector. Whilst this may be representative of its importance to our economy, it fails to open the student’s eye to the whole variety of careers into which they could go. It seems that the ‘careers’ fair should actually be renamed the ‘how to make as much money as possible’ fair.

The message it sends (and I’m sure everyone is astute enough to realise this and make their own decision) is that going into the city and working for a company like Deloitte is just the done thing. Earning lots of money, with little regard for the ethical scruples of some of these finance giants is portrayed as the primary goal upon graduating.

In its defence, there were some genuinely interesting companies from outside the sphere of finance at the fair. Teach First seems like a fantastic idea, and who wouldn’t want to work for one of the biggest brewing companies in the world?

But the dominance of finance and professional services was there for all to see.

I understand if people like the idea of a competitive environment, where there are tangible financial gains to be had from success. Yet, surely there are many more satisfying rewards for high levels of achievement than simply the size of your salary or bonus.

Maybe my plea will fall on deaf ears, as

in our society being as rich as possible is so admired and valued. Nevertheless there must be more to work (in my view) than earning money. Of course, being able to look after yourselves and any offspring that you may intentionally or accidentally bring into the world is important, but beyond a certain point I cannot see how more money equals greater happiness or fulfilment.

“All we can sell is intellectual property” We need a capitalist solution to a capitalist problem. At the moment the world needs energy, fuel for its expansion; it needs clean, green fuel for its future. If Britain’s boffins can solve that one, and market it abroad, then maybe we’ll be in with a chance. I know I don’t have the first clue about science, but someone, and hopefully someone British, does. Wasn’t it our technology, our trains and our factories, our steam that made us great? It was George Stephenson, James Hargreaves and James Watt. We need today’s scientists to discover the new steam, and fast.

“There are many more satisfying rewards for high achievement than the size of your salary” I’m not from a particularly wealthy or poor background but earning lots of money has never been what drives me. It was the opposite mentality of many of the firms at the careers fair which made it such a disappointment.

This culture which the careers fair seemed to so openly endorse by the very nature of the companies present (armed with their sharp-suited graduate reps) made my visit to it a very short one.

13

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

Browse our archived opinion pieces at palatinate.org.uk

Opinion Comment J. NATHAN MATIAS

Glee: key to happiness The television show which has got us smiling Matthew Lee

I

have a confession to make. Before I do, it would be best if you took a seat or at least prepare to catch your jaw as it plummets towards the floor in shock.

This a crime so heinous even Mother Theresa would struggle to offer absolution.

A few days ago I bought a Glee CD. It was neither a present for a hated relative nor part of a “Worst Nightmare” themed Halloween costume. On the contrary, I bought the Glee CD, dare I say it, for my own listening pleasure. Maybe it was the ethereal glow of the cover which caught my eye or the montage of joyous faces plastered on the front. Nevertheless, much to the horror of the shop assistant, and my own dignity, I pur-

Degrees will become a privilege if the cap on tuition fees is removed Kelsey Tollady

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e’ve all read about it, and we probably all have starkly contrasting views on it. The cap on university tuition fees being dissolved may not be directly affecting those of us at university right now, but will undoubtedly cause major ructions in the British higher education system for many years to come.

Whether you think it is a positive step in improving the quality of higher education, or a step towards elitist, unfair selection of candidates based on wealth as opposed to intelligence, we can all see that this is edging towards an Americanized format of privatisation in the education sector. The real question is: is this a good thing or a bad thing?

“University is not ideal for everyone” Despite incessant complaints from most sections of British society (perhaps less so in Scotland) that university education in the UK is too expensive and that the loans accumulated by many result in a spiral of debt that stretches long into adulthood, in reality, we have had it pretty sweet. For most of us, though I am aware not all, tuition loans or even parents can generally cover the cost of paying for studies, and there is a comprehensive, though at times very confusing, system in place to help those less affluent amongst us (including myself) to pay for actually living away from home.

In the US, £3290 a year on your studies would almost seem too good to be true, with students often paying between $10,000 and $25,000 a year, based predominantly on the perceived quality and merit of the education system. Now for most of us, those figures probably sound terrifying enough to scare us away from ever picking up a book again, for fear of arbitrary debt and loan repayments.

However, surely there is something to

be said for allowing universities to charge what they think is necessary to give us a decent education? With the current system, degrees in almost anything are available, to almost anyone with the ability to use UCAS or a telephone. Though not necessarily a bad thing (and I’m sure many would even question the vocational merit of my degree in History), by making these courses more worthwhile through better funding and research, the worth of the resultant qualification would be much higher.

In the job market today, many graduates are finding that their degree is simply not enough to get them the job they want or expect. If companies knew that degrees were being made more valuable, and that the standard of teaching and resources were higher, the issue of that huge sum for tuition would, in many cases, seem reasonable for the greater career prospects at the end.

Of course, a subject like this can’t go without considering those for whom paying more than £3290 a year is simply impossible. Across the country, this would probably add up to a huge amount of people. The proposal is getting so much news coverage partly for the fact that, on the surface, it sounds too discriminatory to be true. However, students will still be able to get loans.

We are adults and, if by balancing the pros and cons, university at such a high price seems unreasonable, that is entirely fair. But for many of us, facing up to the inevitable implementation of this policy is both necessary and, in the end, what we really want.

Not all students in the US have tens of thousands of dollars spare to throw at higher education,yetsomehow,becausetheesteem of having a degree is so high, they manage.

The subject of this article is extremely hard to discuss without sounding horribly elitist and pompous, and perhaps the hardest thing to say without alienating people is that maybe this system will make university less of a right and more of a privilege.

I believe that anybody, regardless of their money, relations, or even sometimes their grades, should be able to enter higher education if that’s really what they want or need to do. But let’s face it, we all know that there are many students out there, maybe even friends of ours, who simply go to university because almost everybody else does.

University is not ideal for everyone; I have friends from home who have reapplied to different universtities several times, to different courses, because they really don’t enjoy it. However, due to the increasingly prevalent culture in British society that without a degree you cannot progress in the world and will inevitably end up living on the streets, they keep trying.

This simply does not need to be the case.

“This system will make university less of a right and more of a privilege”

“Even a fleeting encounter with Glee evokes happiness” chased the album of my own free will.

For those of you who are not selfanointed “Gleeks”, the American TV show has become a worldwide phenomenon. The story of a dysfunctional Ohio show choir struggling for survival has already captivated ten million viewers in the USA and recently became the first E4 programme to break the two million viewer mark for seven years. Of course, the main attraction is the unique blend of cheesy pop, rock and even a dash of punk that has sold over five million albums and thirteen million singles across the globe.

Unfortunately, a certain stigma has been attached to Glee. Most people see it as a clichéd teen comedy that appeals to hormones rather than the heart. A soulless mash of popular music and pubescent emotions that displays all the musical talent of a Peter Andre-Paris Hilton hybrid.

Admittedly, I bought into this mob mentality mainly because I considered myself a modern Neanderthal whose conversation usually consists of two grunts, “Pub” and “Klute.” I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Even a fleeting encounter with Glee evokes a level of happiness unbeknownst to myself and millions of people. It may be an emasculating experience but Glee offers a rare antidotal

joy amidst the monotony of daily life.

Unfortunately, the simple idea of being happy is alien to the UK as a whole.

The recent release of the Legatum Prosperity Index, an international survey based on “wealth, life satisfaction and

“Maybe our depression is due to more than personal wealth” development,” ranked the UK thirteenth.

In other surveyed areas such as optimism about job prospects and future economic growth, the UK came in at a lowly 98th and 93rd “respectively”.

Clearly, happiness is an abstract concept that cannot be quantified easily but it shouldn’t take a happiness league table to recognise that an endemic pessimism is sweeping across the UK. The natural conclusion would be that the financial boom and bust has translated into society’s doom and gloom. Lack of job opportunities and optimism when it comes to economic growth has thrown the UK into a spiral of depression. Yet Ireland and Iceland, who have both joined us up a certain financial creek without a paddle, rank above the UK. Maybe our depression is down to more than just personal wealth.

The atrocious weather is always a good place to start but then again Norway, which topped the 2010 happiness rankings, hardly benefits from a tropical climate.

Perhaps it’s the fact that Wayne Rooney and Cheryl Cole have replaced Winston Churchill and the Queen as the face of modern Britain? Maybe our national tradition of moaning about everything has started to have an overall effect. Nonetheless, we still struggle to see the bright side of life.

This is where Glee comes in. It may have a reputation as a programme aimed at teenage girls but even extremist antiGleeks have to admit it nurtures the spark of happiness within us all. The much maligned TV show literally makes a song and dance of every situation, good or bad but ultimately you can’t help smiling in unison.

Many of you will be disdainful, labelling my views as a Mary Poppins-inspired life lesson. On the other hand, another grim winter along with more financial hardship is on the way, now more than ever we need to appreciate the happy things in life whatever their reputation.

Who knows, we might even make the Prosperity Index top ten next year. As a wise man once said, “Don’t stop believin’”.

Maybe, by making it less straightforward to go to university, less people will do so. Maybe they would gain qualifications and work experience as a result which will be a whole lot more enjoyable, and possibly even more lucrative, than if they’d sat through years of lectures on something they didn’t really care about, just so they could get a sore liver and a piece of paper at the end of it.

Surely it is only fair to leave university places for those who genuinely want to be there, rather than giving them to those who just don’t know what else to do, and have no intention of deciding until their due three or four years is over.

Perhaps the Americans don’t have it entirely right, but I think it is time to realise that something needs to be done about the British system. As Dr Wendy Piatt (Director General of the Russell Group of leading universities) states, “our leading institutions will not be able to compete with generously-funded universities in other countries if they are not able to secure extra funding”.

If increasing fees and encouraging private funding is what it takes to see change, and competition on an international level, then this new education reform can only be a good thing.

With the government being less involved in institutions’ financial autonomy, they would be less restricted to DAWN ASHLEY give us real value for money, real educaMaybe we all need a little more Glee in our lives in order to prove the happiness of the nation tion, and a real, worthwhile experience.

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

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Durham’s architectural merits should be duly appreciated With the new library development in progress, the university’s architectural diversity has been further examined Featured Article

“

It’s so prittty, so byoootiful”- this is most families’ response to news that the little darling would be heading to Durham.

Initial impressions generally agree with this; the immense cathedral stones, the juts of the cobbles, the leaning riverside streets.

Of course we get used to the city, we pass by the same locations and the effect is eventually lost. Yet most of us, if asked to describe Durham, immediately reference the way it looks. The panoramas and the atmospherics of the place are the university’s main calling card; it is crucial that we, as a university, do our best to both preserve and when we do develop, develop well, the city.

“The panoramas and atmospherics of the place are the university’s main calling card” We can view the designs for the new complex that will sit adjacent to the library, a large new building that is being drilled into the ground and our heads this winter.

It’s a difficult excercise to build in Durham, working around the historic city. The university has largely done an excellent job in fitting into the city the best way it can; in fact, it has done far better than much of the other work that has been erected across Durham. But the planned new development looks to have a few problems.

Let me explain my objections. We’ll first need to have a look at a few aspects of Durham city, to understand what the university are working with. Everything starts with the cathedral. In my layman’s terms, I see the cathedral as sublime in its stark, harsh monotony. No messing around with neoclassical cornices, no cherubs or gargoyles, just vertical fields of flat and huge surface.

In perspective, this domineering presence is enhanced by its hilltop location and the bareness of Palace Green. The open space allows the cathedral to attend to itself, to sit with the clouds rather than to be oc-

cupied with any business of looming over competing structures. In contrast, I’m going to risk bodily injury and say that I find the Bailey rather disappointing. It lacks the nerve to properly convince as a mere feudal subsidiary alley (it’s too wide), yet in its weathered and deliberately muted colours it stresses too much of a continuity, a supposed ‘shared heritage’ with the cathedral. It tries to tag onto some of that structure’s lustre, rather than acknowledging it as superior and untouchable.

This obviously won’t be changing and isn’t the fault of anyone still living; but what we can deal with is the prelevance of the same principle, that of attempting to integrate with the cathedral in a kind of oldie-English manner. For example, the new houses and shops around Claypath are vile; a banal kind of mash-up of feudal nostalgia with the (perfectly legitimate and utterly separate) architecture of the mining cottage. Students often live in these equivalents of concrete hobbit holes; fake in their supposed cosiness.

They attempt to integrate themselves to the old city and the cathedral but seem to have never looked at that masterpiece; it is cold and brutal, not ornate and fiddly.

We find this unfortunate mistake in the The concrete structures of Dunelm House and Kingsgate Bridge are not often noted for their archictectural merits, despite their uniqueness designs for the above-mentioned new complex (at least in the pictures on display). The nates in its close proximity to the red brick ing. Which community congregates there? its sophisticated use of difficult and incurving windows and roofs try to pull its departments nearby, the tight enclosed From the look of it, this problem of timidating environments. It has also built centre of gravity down, to suggest cosiness spaces between it and the unpretentious space may be repeated in the new com- one of the best structures in the city; the and old-fashioned homeliness. It is these Anthropology or Geography departments. plex. The large proposed outside areas will D.S.U. Yes, that’s the Durham Student’s structures that truly jar with the cathedral.

The space between the library and Ge- be too cold for the winter. In the summer, Union. Often compared to a nuclear bunA weird reversal has taken place: the cathe- ography is a good one; shadows can play the only way I can picture them being filled ker (wonderful structures), it and its comdral looks frankly modernist, utilitarian and but it remains lively, wind rushing us into are in a kind of ‘Where’s Wally?’ style im- plementary bridge are in effect a two finaustere, against the deliberately ‘at one with action. This distinguishes it from the space ger salute to those other buildings that act the setting’ or ‘heritage preserving’ new de- in front of the Calman Centre, which in itlike luvvies, trying to integrate themselves velopment. And as for the wooden frame... self is a perfectly decent building. The probwith the cathedral. In its uncompromising For the past century the university has lem is that the Calman is an agrophobic on blocks, jarring angles and brutalist clumpmade some impressive choices with their a plain; the overly large gap in front makes it ing heaviness, it references, but does not designs for the central library and the sci- vulnerable, its colours too light and lacking challenge, the cathedral’s infinites of colour ence site. The library itself is a fine piece other surfaces to play off, its potentially pow- age of a thousand people standing staring. and shape. It is a brooding secret, its funcof work, dark squares lacking in ornate erful facade has no opponent but thin air.

And then we have my bête-noir; the glass. tional stairways cloaking the few light-holes distractions. It has dignity and solidity in This problem of empty space is a major Across Britain, and in the new complex’s it deigns to allow. It is genuinely powerful, its simple composition; it is an unselfcon- one amongst the many disgusting com- designs, acres of glass freeze up any kind of without trying or needing to assert that scious block that radiates a quiet inner mercial and property centres built around personality. They convey emptiness, they power. It doesn’t ask the cathedral’s blesspower. Its narrow strip windows could be Britain over the last generation. Unless give the impression of hygienic grubbiness ing, and in that way they are true friends. made of five metre thick glass (the fact they you’re a monument such as the cathedral, with their mildly distorted transparency.

I would recommend, to further the uninever open, presumably to stop us chuck- too much surrounding is a crime. Wide, Imagine if the cathedral’s glass was clear; versity’s largely positive contribution to the ing books out of the windows, helps this flat, windblasted spaces, foster no sense of it would look isolated, exposed, trying to Durham cityscape, that they remove the conception). If it does have a weakness, the ‘community’ which planners preach. justify itself amongst others rather than greenery that obscure this fine structure. it is how sunken it appears; it looks a little These artificial concrete gaps are too self-confidently asserting its own claim.

I love the idea of tourists and proashamed of itself, which it doesn’t need to open, disconnected. Take Walkergate; I will not lose faith in the new complex spective students floating around the be. It has the strength to be firmly above one feels liable to be snipered as one walks yet, until I am able to see the result. The riverbend, to have their faces smashed ground. This kind of architecture reso- through its centre, so far from any build- university deserves praise for, until now, in by this uncompromising beast.

KAYSGEOG

Freddie Myles

“The cathedral looks frankly modernist”

Amazing degrees do not always produce amazing teachers

The Conservatives’ policy of demanding teachers have good degrees could have unwelcome effects on schooling

4

making it more difficult for many to begin a potentially rewarding career. It could be presumed that those graduating with a lower-classed degree will automatically be less capable of teaching than their more highly-qualified peers. On the other hand, it could be argued that these plans would severely limit the number of graduates applying for careers in teaching.

In some areas, such as maths and science, where the number of graduates applying for jobs is already low, these changes could prove detrimental. Surely, in order to teach, the professional only needs to understand fully the material they are teaching to their pupils and any graduate will have a greater understanding of their chosen discipline than a student studying it to GCSE level. Surely what schools H4

D

octors are trusted with our lives everyday. Lawyers are responsible for maintaining equality and justice in society. Teachers are entrusted to inspire and mould the malleable minds of the future. Given the importance of education and its pivotal role within society, it seems only right that the new government should be striving to turn teaching into an elitist profession with the same prestige as occupations such as Medicine or Law. However, is openly preventing those with lowerclass degrees from beginning a rewarding career really the best way to support the education of the youngest generation?

This year, the Conservative Party has announced plans to offer greater incen-

tives to those with high qualifications to begin a career in teaching. This, of course, has huge benefits as the role of education is critical to the future of our society and only the very best professionals should be entrusted with the minds of the youth.

The ability to inspire and educate is clearly a talent that should be rewarded with prestige, and ensuring that the teaching profession is respected and elitist should surely be a principal aim of the government.

However, whilst graduates with high-class degrees are promised incentives, those leaving university with less than a 2:2 will be essentially barred from beginning a career in education. Funding for those with lower grades to join post-graduate teachertraining programmes will be withdrawn,

CA

Abi Smith

really need is the maximum amount of choice in order to select the best teachers possible. For example, it would obviously be preferable for a GCSE History class to be taught by a teacher with a History degree (be it a 3rd or a 2:1) than by a highlyskilled geographer. Moreover, if fewer teachers were employed, classes would automatically be larger and that evidently would be detrimental to the education system. What schools really need is more teachers, which would enable students to receive a greater level of personal attention in order for them to achieve their potential.

It is, of course, necessary for teachers to have a profound understanding of their subject in order for them to provide the best education possible for their classes.

However, high academic achievement is not always directly linked to the ability to teach. The most intelligent academics might not necessarily be able to connect with pupils whose minds do not work in the same ways as their own and could

even find that explaining basic principles to younger students does not stretch them to their full intellectual capacity. However, this is not to say that highly-qualified academics do not have the skills required to be good teachers; rather, it is not merely intelligence alone that makes an educator successful.

Surely being able to inspire the minds of pupils and fill a classroom with enthusiasm is a talent as worthy as a high-class degree.

A good teacher is firm but fair, kind but in control, and sympathetic yet strong.

This delicate equilibrium that has the ability to spark the imagination of students is surely what schools need to be searching for in teachers and is a skill that does not come automatically with a top-class degree. Schools need to attract as many applicants as possible in order to select the candidates who are most likely to bring energy and enthusiasm to their classes, which is ultimately far more important in a profession such as teaching than obtaining a particular grade at degree level.

15

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

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Debate Comment

The Harry Potter module indicates decreasing standards

“Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion” is evidence that university education is becoming more and more populist HUNG CHIEH TSAI

Joe Adams YES

NO

“

H

igher education has become a business. While less than fifty years ago, merely attending university (on merit, I might add, as university was free) and attaining a degree was an achievement in itself, over a third of young people now begin higher education and the numbers are on the rise. The recent decision to raise tuition fees highlights the tax burden created by the vast number of students applying.

So should the government be congratulating itself for creating a society so interested in academia? One study showed that over 70% of secondary school pupils consider higher education; however, it cannot be denied that the focus of university has changed. Much is made of the ‘university experience’, which tends to revolve more around drinking and partying than thinking and studying. Obviously this varies from institution to institution: while Cambridge has a Fresher’s day, a fortnight of fun is not an uncommon period. Many applicants will therefore choose their university on the basis of its nightlife rather than its course content.

How does a university like Durham, then, with its small-town feel and limited clubbing scene compete? By offering modules that appeal to today’s youth such as “Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion”.

Leaving aside the Daily Star’s allegations of a “Harry Potter BA”, such a module appears to be cheapening Durham’s excellence as a higher education institute, especially when it is so out of context. Offered as part of the BA Education degree, it sits alongside worthy modules such as “The Philosophy of Social Science”. While the module’s aim appears to be an exploration of the modern schooling system, one wonders why it is necessary to involve Harry Potter to achieve such an aim. To quote from the course content, can second-year Education students not understand “prejudice and intolerance in the classroom” without referring to “Gryffindor and Slytherin”? Will we next see the Science department offering “Star Trek and the Age of Technology” or the History department offering “Gladiator and the Age of Empire”? While Harry Potter could feasibly be studied in English Literature as part of a module on children’s fiction, when universities feel the need to make serious academia accessible through slavish adherence to popular culture, it implies declining academic standards.

“Such a module cheapens Durham’s excellence in higher education” Despite university attendance rates increasing year on year, which would theoretically create a more diverse pool of students achieving a range of degree classes, the opposite has occurred. Degree classes, like GCSEs and A-Levels, are getting higher each year. Comparing the data even from 1995 and 2009, it can be seen that the percentage of firsts awarded rose by a staggering 80%, with small increases in every other class. Grade inflation, then, exists even at university level. As stated before, university is a business. League tables and reputation are now synonymous, despite the ludicrousness of said tables which have

Jonathan Pye

The Harry Potter books are beloved by millions of readers, but do they merit academic study?

placed Durham consistently in the top 10 in the country but not in the top 100 world universities until 2010. Awarding higher degrees gets league table rankings, which attracts the best students. To quote a thirdyear historian, “nobody in the department has got a 2:2 for three years”.

Perhaps Potterian learning should be extended to more institutions, following reports that 48% of universities offer remedial literacy and maths courses to their students. This is not even limited to the former polytechnics; one unnamed vice-chancellor has admitted to offering special tutorials. Rowling’s prose is clearly aimed at the younger reader; Bloomsbury targeted the nine-to-eleven market with the first novel.

Perhaps “Harry Potter degrees” could be aimed at the lower-literacy market, offering traditional subjects in an easy form; a cut above the “mickey mouse” degrees of Golf Management and Surf Science.

Academic standards, then, are not just declining in universities but in schools as well. AQA included Harry Potter as a set text in A-Level English Language and Literature only two years ago. That Harry Potter is being ranked alongside classics such as Of Mice and Men and Tess of the D’Urbervilles as worthy of A-level study is laughable at best. Perhaps, then, classics is the wrong word, as there has been (rightfully) no objection to the inclusion of The Kite Runner in the A-Level syllabus as it is a work of adult fiction with historical and cultural themes worthy of exploration. Harry Potter is an enjoyable read and a book suitable for studying at Key Stage 3 or even 2,

but no further. Book sales charts should not influence education; one awaits with horror the A-Level question “Compare and contrast the use of the supernatural as a plot device in Harry Potter and Twilight”.

England. The late 1990s. A schoolboy escapes from suburban Surrey, a district at the heart of the mythical realm known as middle England. He goes to a boarding school and learns to practice magic in a semi-parallel universe. He becomes the most popular figure in contemporary world literature. Now read on; everyone else does…”

Last year, the head of our department, Martin Richardson, chatted to me about the possibility of a Harry Potter module that had been brewing for some time, how ideas and themes related to the literature itself could be translated into a set of lectures that would be inspiring, motivational and provide a deeper insight into the role of these books in our society today. A year on from that talk, I doubt either of us could have predicted the storm of interest that has swept around the Education department.

As the opening quotation from Blake’s ‘The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter’ suggests, extraordinary numbers have been swept away by the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Before I begin my main defence of the module itself, I just want to clarify a few ‘grey areas’ that people ignorant of the finer details may not know or have realised.

Firstly, this module is being run by the Education department, not the English department. People in Durham who have been critical of the module have suggested that it is absurd that students at this university should be studying the books as works of literature. We are not studying the books as works of literature. Secondly, a common myth bandied around is that the media and opinion round our ‘emerald isle’ show that university education is somehow being devalued as a result of the module. This again, is simply not true. Major newspapers such as The Guardian have reported favourably in light of the module, The Times proclaiming boldly “What a wizard idea”. Just how much interest this module has created can be illustrated by its inclusion in The National, the newspaper of the United Arib Emirates that described this module as “The only course of its kind in the world”.

“Academic standards, then, are not just declining in universities but in schools as well”

“This module is being run by the Education department- we are not studying the books as works of literature”

While Harry Potter has made great progress in tearing children away from television and video games and into something that might one day make them capable of writing coherent essays, its cultural value should not be overstated, and should not be something worthy of serious academic study. That it is viewed so, not only by the University but by the Yale Divinity School, who offer a course in “Christian Theology and Harry Potter”, seems to me clear evidence of declining academic standards.

How can we expect graduates to prosper as adults when they are spoon-fed knowledge at A-Level, ill-prepared for the academic rigours of university, and taught in a childish manner when they arrive? With the coalition government already making university more expensive, universities should not be cheapening their degrees but concentrating on making them worth their soon-to-be-excessive costs.

Indeed, the bulk of criticism has come from the likes of The Sun and The Daily Mirror with sarcastic headlines such as “It’s Harry Swotter” and irate comments from its readers, and I’m not exactly sure, but I don’t really take seriously anyone who reads these newspapers telling me that my university degree is not worthy as a result of participation in the module.

So, no doubt you will be following this article with bated breath wanting to know exactly whether or not we gown up for lectures every Friday and disappear into a room in Education that is full of cauldrons and broomsticks and are given lectures

by Professor Flitwick on how to levitate a feather. This, rather surprisingly, does not happen either and whilst many of you might be starting to think I’m not taking this article seriously, there is a genuine point behind that. This module, like any other in

any department, is not an easy option or one where we simply watch the films and write an essay on Harry’s mood swings.

Moreover, this module seeks to place the phenomena of Harry Potter in the various contexts of our world today. The phenomena itself for example; why have the books themselves created such a frenzy?

“Much can be learnt from what goes on in the classroom in relation to the novels”

Are we just reading the books? Indeed not, in fact the secondary material from academic sources on Harry Potter is huge.

Books on the philosophy of Harry Potter, the fight between good and evil, the idea of prejudice in our class system, the notion of what goes on within a boarding school, the theme of friendship and solidarity, the ideal of ‘love will out’. All of these have found their way, in one guise or another, into the 21st century understanding of just how influential Harry Potter is in society today and material is growing by the day. To again use a quotation from Blake: “Joanna Rowling’s creation hits the spot by addressing many of the anxieties in our changing political and cultural world”.

As I have just outlined, this module does not simply concentrate on one theme.

Some people have been quick to jump the gun and say that we may just be looking at one singular topic throughout the course of the year. Take the idea of prejudice: this can be taken from a range of different angles and Harry Potter is simply one of these angles that we can use as a springboard to explore the issue in more depth. J.K Rowling has made sure the prejudice against the house elves, half-blood wizards and witches, perhaps even against half human centaurs, runs through her books for a reason.

Thus, it comes as no surprise to readers of the books when characters from these factions blossom into some of the true heroes of the books. I hope to have illustrated here just how one theme can be opened up and examined from different viewpoints.

Obviously this is an education module and therefore the our education system in the 21st century will not escape our attention. Much can be learnt from what goes on in the classroom in relation to the novels.

Children have been motivated beyond belief to pick up these books and read for hour upon hour, seeing themselves as a Ron, or an Hermione or a Harry, perhaps even a Snape. This is no coincidence and any work that ensures children will delve into books instead of sitting mindlessly on sofas, blowing up zombies on their Xbox54 deserves proper examination.

As I come to my conclusion, I am painfully aware that this debate will rage for quite possibly the entire year. As I see it, the criticism of this module is mindless, and is made rashly with the criticisers not even bothering to research properly what the module is all about, simply writing it off as ‘unworthy’ on the basis it has Harry Potter in the title. The debate that this module creates merits serious academic consideration and I challenge anyone with blind, snobbish prejudices to pick up a secondary material book and start reading, or come to a lecture and see for yourself before jumping on horses and leading a charge. If you chose not to heed my advice, promise me one thing, stop with your anger and leave those who know how serious a challenge this module presents, to study it, by ourselves, in peace. As Albus Dumbledore once said, “It is our choices Harry that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities”.

17

PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

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Sport

Sport

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Young Aidan’s show cutting edge as Cuth’s play crossbar challenge GARETH CHAMBERS

Men’s Football St. Aidan’s A:

2

St. Cuthbert’s A:

1

John Burn-Murdoch

S

unday 24th of October saw the men’s football Premiership get underway and one of the biggest matches of the opening weekend saw Cuth’s A line up against Aidan’s A. Having narrowly escaped relegation to the First Division on the final day of last season, Aidan’s were keen to make amends with a confident start to the new campaign.

Opponents Cuth’s on the other hand performed admirably last year; building on a promotion from the second tier in 2009 they achieved a berth in the Championship pool and thus came into this fixture as favourites.

With eight freshers in their starting eleven it was always going to take some time for Aidan’s to get into a rhythm and they were almost punished by an incisive Cuth’s move in the opening minutes. A pinpoint through ball beat the Aidan’s defence but the finish flashed wide.

It wasn’t long, however, before Cuth’s took the lead. A slick move down their left flank in the fifth minute ended with a slide rule pass to Tom Vjestica who slotted coolly past Rob Berjely in the Aidan’s goal for 1-0. A number of Aidan’s defenders had been appealing for offside as the ball was played through, but the referee was having none of it and the goal stood.

Cuth’s continued to dominate proceedings and half way through the first half they were unfortunate not to extend their lead.

Some excellent interplay on the edge of the Aidan’s penalty area culminated in the ball being laid off to Ewan MacLeod, who saw his rising drive crash back off the crossbar with Berkely well beaten.

This narrow escape seemed to spur Aidan’s into life and within minutes they had struck the woodwork themselves. A move down the Cuth’s left ended with Rick Hartley’s looping effort which dipped over a

ings. There followed a period of end-to-end action as Cuth’s twice missed the target when through on goal, while Aidan’s saw plenty of the ball on the edge of the Cuth’s box.

With fifteen minutes remaining, it looked as though Aidan’s had blown their chances of winning when Taylor somehow contrived to smash the ball out off the bar from six yards out, and a reinvigorated Cuth’s immediately set out to make Aidan’s pay for their profligacy.

A lightning fast counter-attack down the right ended with striker Tom Goldwater finding the crossbar and watching as the rebound was struck wide with the goal gaping.

“With fifteen minutes left it looked as though Aidan’s had blown it”

Aidan’s skipper Joe Hook was a calming influence as The Badgers came from behind to take all three points

stranded Ben Forrest in the Cuth’s goal but came back off the crossbar, leaving the score at 1-0 as the half time whistle sounded.

The second half got off to a lively start as first Cuth’s saw a goal chalked off for offside, and then a goal-line scramble saw Antoine de Mazieres fail to make contact with the

ball when gifted with a glorious opportunity to equalise for Aidan’s. With the pace of the game quickening a goal seemed imminent, and sure enough it came only moments later. Defender Andy Maxwell jumped highest and powered home a header from a corner to put Aidan’s back on level

terms with half an hour to play.

Following the equaliser, the match opened up and it was clear that the game could easily go either way. Aidan’s substitute Tommy Taylor was immediately at the heart of the action and saw a shot saved as Aidan’s looked to take control of proceed-

Only minutes later, and finally there was a breakthrough. An innocuous shot from Aidan’s skipper Joe Hook was parried by Cuth’s goalkeeper Forrest, and on hand was none other than Tommy Taylor, who gleefully made amends for his earlier howler by tapping home from close range.

The final ten minutes saw Cuth’s desperately search for an equaliser of their own.

Aidan’s defenders made timely blocks on several occasions while the best opportunity for Cuth’s to restore parity was missed, as a fantastic cross was volleyed over the bar at the far post.

In the dying seconds Aidan’s had a great chance to wrap things up, but after a great run, winger Neal Sarwal saw his low shot saved by Forrest in the Cuth’s goal. Moments later the final whistle was blown, drawing a close to a thrilling encounter between two teams unafraid to attack in numbers.

Aidan’s have the start they wanted and can look forward to the return of a number of senior players in the coming weeks, while Cuth’s can take heart from a brave performance, and will be left wondering what might have been had they not developed such a close relationship with the crossbar.

Pietersen: set for a glorious return to form or a winter of discontent?

“Pietersen has endlessly thrived against the best this planet has to offer”

The reason for this is that many county players, let alone international stars, have succinct and water-tight techniques. Take Ian Bell for example.

Technically, Bell is one of the world’s

EES

best, but whilst his technique allowed him to excel at a domestic level, the shrewd, cut-throat attitude needed at international level meant that, until recently, he often faltered at the notorious final hurdle.

Pietersen, with a lesser technique, has endlessly thrived against the best this planet has to offer, not because of his ability to get his ‘foot to the pitch of the ball’ but rather because of his aggressive, almost bullying attitude when he shapes up at the crease.

Had Flower and Strauss bowed to Pietersen’s dominating ego, then he may have been sat at home this winter, playing Duplo (Lego pieces are too small for a young one) with his 6 month old son, Dylan, instead of putting an in-flux Australian side to the sword : CYBERD

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, ‘avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it’.

For Kevin Pietersen, arguably the world’s most absorbing cricketer, this almost became a brutal reality before he was, perhaps inevitably, selected for the forthcoming Ashes series Down Under.

After a dismal summer test series against the equally unpredictable Pakistanis, ‘KP’, from the professionalism point of view, went AWOL, stating publicly on Twitter that he had been dropped.

Whilst he may have felt within his rights to release a decision in which he was the sole subject matter to the waiting press and public, this looked like an ego that had lost its right to be so brash.

After all, if one compiles a test series average of 52.55 against a world class Australian side as Pietersen infamously did in 2005, then you are more likely to be given leeway from the ever-pouncing media for

the occasional ‘ego exposure’ than if you have just scored 140 runs in 6 innings against a mediocre and transitional Pakistan side.

Fortunately for Pietersen, England currently have one of the most tactically and mentally astute coach-captain combinations in cricket today, Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss.

Their decision to omit ‘KP’ from the Twenty20 and ODI squads versus Pakistan may just have saved both his position within England’s batting line up, and more importantly, his ego.

FLICKR ID

Hugo Morrissey

in their own backyard – a prospect a man of Pietersen’s calibre will relish.

The ECB management are not looking for vocal public thanks from ‘KP’ for their clever man management (especially having just imposed strict rules on ‘Tweeting’ during the tour).

The thanks they are looking for needs to come in the form of runs, scored in the way only Pietersen can - arrogantly.

Playing the Australians at their own game, so to speak, is of paramount importance if England are to succeed in winning Down Under for the first time since 1986-87.

Whilst Pietersen’s latest innings back in his native South Africa weren’t of stellar nature (36 & 0), his attitude since then has suggested he is reinvigorated for the challenge ahead. If this proves to be the case, Flower and Strauss will be able to pat each other on the back.

Ultimately, it could be argued that the decision of the ECB management to include Pietersen was a no-brainer. If he hits top gear England win, and if he doesn’t, then he will probably still score a similar amount to his would-have-been replacement.

That said, he also has the potential to drag morale with him, whether up or down. A Pietersen slump could have disruptive ramifications for England; Flower will be hoping his subtle man-management will keep this cat from popping out of the bag.

When looked at in detail, the careful and clever way that ‘KP’ has been managed during this barren spell in his professional career has been excellent. Flower will pray his actions follow the famous line from the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’: ‘You give a little love and it all comes back to you’.

In the mood and on form, no one can argue Pietersen’s integral importance to England this winter, but it is the mood that will determine the man - and Pietersen is hungry to show the world what they, and he, have been missing.

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

18

Sport

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College sport: an arena for universal participation William Turvill offers a riposte to Simon Lamb’s article on Durham’s conflict of sporting allegiances TOM BRADLEY

Van Mildert edge Hatfield in rugby epic Men’s Rugby Van Mildert A:

32

Hatfield A:

18

Nick Johnston

Van Mildert Men’s Rugby came out on top, despite a late scare, against Hatfield A 1711 in a hard fought match last Sunday. In a game stifled by persistent rain, there was no room for expansive back line play, with the focus inevitably turned on the forwards to make the hard yards.

Mildert started the match by far the brighter of the two teams, making their mark on the scoreboard within the opening two minutes. After a break down the right wing, the forwards repeatedly delivered quick balls, edging Hatfield deeper into their own 22 and drawing in the defence. The ball was then shipped out to Toby Hayes on the left to score a textbook team try, duly converted by Chris Grant.

Hatfield responded strongly, creating a number of chances of their own and were able to reduce the deficit with a penalty for offside soon after going behind. As conditions worsened, both sides were forced into handling errors in an increasingly scrappy first half.

“Mildert started the match by far the brighter team, scoring within the first two minutes” Hatfield were ultimately rewarded for keeping the ball in their forwards, taking the lead after 25 minutes when a strong lineout created the opportunity for a rolling maul. The forwards duly delivered with an unconverted try to give Hatfield a lead for the first time, 8-7.

Soon after the break, Mildert regained the lead with a penalty for offside, and there was to be no more scoring until 10 minutes from the end. Both sides, frustrated by the lack of opportunities to fully utilise their backs, continued to keep things tight with their forwards, with forays into the backline often resulting in misplaced passes and dropped catches.

A forwards battle seemed to suit Mildert more than Hatfield, with a particularly sterling performance from prop Donald Maclennan, both in the scrums and in the loose.

With 10 minutes left in the match, Mildert were rewarded for their consistent pressure with a penalty in front of the posts. Quick thinking from Liam Gwynne allowed the replacement scrum half to dive over for a try from a swiftly taken penalty under the posts. With a conversion from James Corbett, Mildert found themselves more than a score ahead, 17-8.

The match was not, however, over as a contest, with Hatfield forcing Mildert to work for their win. A penalty in the dying minutes set up a tense finale, but Mildert’s tired defence was ultimately able to withstand the pressure and come away with a valuable win.

Whilst Mildert’s forwards produced a display described by captain James Lo as ‘dominant throughout’, Hatfield will take little consolation in a losing bonus point from a match that they could have won.

College sport is the driving force behind Durham’s impressive student participation figures

I

n the last edition of Palatinate it was reasoned that participation in college sport may have a negative effect on Durham University’s sporting status - that college sport is detrimental to the potential of ‘Team Durham’. This may well be true, but there are understandable reasons for students choosing to neglect playing university sport in favour of college sport.

The prospect of playing university sport is alluring. It can be a first and/or last opportunity to participate in a sport at a high level; for many, also, it may be an opportunity to promote a career as a professional sportsperson. Additionally, there can be a prestigious feel to playing sport at university level. So why, in that case, would ‘sporty’ students put their college sport commitments first?

The first, obvious, reason, is that they don’t feel good enough to playing sport at such a high level. Alternatively, students may just not want to play sport at this level and don’t have the aspiration to take sport on to an even higher plain.

The required level of commitment is another contributing factor to a student’s decision not to play for Team Durham.

Straight from Freshers’ week the intensity of university-level sport is high. Inevitably, the amount of time which Team Durham sport takes up means that the sportsperson will not be able to live the ‘average’ life of a student.

The intensity of university sport can be socially beneficial but there is a case for suggesting that it may be more isolating than college sport, with its highly social focus. College teams may not become as tight-knit, but it is likely that playing for a college team will aid integration into the college community as a whole. This can be especially appealing when not living in college; playing sport is a way to maintain a strong connection between student and college in spite of geographical inconvenience.

Looking at the situation cynically, is there really as much motivation to excel for the university as there is to do well for your college? Durham University is based in two cities and is comprised of around 14,000 students; a college can contain as few as 350 students. Is it not natural that a student should care more about the achievements and well-being of an institution which they are more associated with?

Charis Woollcombe-Gambrill used to

play rugby at university level before quitting because, amongst a number of other reasons, she had stopped enjoying playing the sport at university level. WoollcombeGambrill, who still plays women’s rugby, football, cricket and badminton for St. Cuthbert’s Society, says that, for her, “attending the trainings and matches became a massive chore which didn’t seem right for something that was meant to be recreational”. She does not feel as though she has the necessary “competitive drive” to try any other sports at university-level.

“Playing sport is a way to maintain a strong connection between student and college in spite of geographical inconvenience” BUCS (British University and College Sport) boasts that 36% of students are physically active compared with 21% of the general British population. At Durham University 90% of students are involved in college sport and are, therefore, physically active on a regular basis. WoollcombeGambrill suggests that Durham’s collegiate system is integral because it means that more people are confident enough to take part in sport.

If a student enjoys university sport then great, but for the students who aren’t involved in Team Durham, the college system provides additional levels that aren’t available at most other universities. This means that, at Durham, students are able to play sport at a level at which they are competent and happy. Woollcombe-Gambrill argues that the University “should care more about the happiness of their students than BUCS success.” Certain universities may do better than Durham in some highprofile sports, but in their overall student population, 54% less people are physically active.

Even if the BUCS statistics are more concerned with success over participation, health and happiness, we can at least appreciate how great the college sport system is for the students of Durham University.

Butler see off impressive debutants in start to frisbee season Ultimate Frisbee Josephine Butler A: Trevelyan B:

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Pete Vickers

Trevelyan College B Team may be newly formed and in their first season, but they appear to be well set after forcing title hopefuls Josephine Butler to dig a little deeper in an intriguing Ultimate Frisbee encounter.

The game began with a spell of one-way traffic with Butler enjoying large portions of possession, and it was no surprise when first blood went their way, with star handler Carlo Hill producing the 1st of his 5 assists with a long disc sent down the right wing for Rich Claridge to complete with a comfortable take.

Trevs lacked confidence with the disc and struggled to string a series of passes together, which lead to them being placed

under increasing amounts of pressure.

This was perfectly symbolised by a second Butler point, after Trevs carelessly gave away possession and the disc was gleefully accepted by Hill, who threw for James Carthew to catch.

The Butler attack appeared far more polished, and they enjoyed further success with both Carthew and Claridge again getting their names on the score sheet, whilst a solitary reply from Piran Merkl was all Trevs had to show for the opening stages.

Ultimate Frisbee is a game that relies on good ‘spirit’ from it’s players and this was perfectly captured by Butler’s fifth point, which was brilliantly caught by Chris Smith with a full length dive on the run.

However, the momentum of the dive had carried Smith out of the scoring zone, so the decision was left to Smith’s marker, who honestly reported that the landing leg had in fact been in the scoring zone at the time of landing, and the point stood.

Both teams then got back to business without complaint, teaching many how sport should be played.

Maybe complacency crept into Butler’s

game at 5-1, or maybe Trevs shifted into a higher gear, but a remarkable comeback suddenly materialised as Jonny Knowles, Jonathan Pennington and Chris West (2) all scored in quick succession, making all the players sit up and realise that this game could go all the way.

Trevs could have even taken the lead if puller Mike Hibberd had held a precise Pennington disc, but his one-handed attempt was unsuccessful. His effort was jokingly received by his team mates, and after completing the mandatory press-ups for such casual behaviour, the game continued.

Butler eventually found their feet again and turned their play up a notch, refusing to fall behind. A huge 50 hook from Hill almost found a great cut from Carthew but his valiant effort wasn’t enough.

Despite not scoring, Butler used the territory gained to their advantage and pressed high up the field, which lead to a steal from Lysander Jaffe who smartly played to Nick Williams for the point.

This lead to another passage of Butler dominance that lasted until the 40 minutes were up, with Smith and Claire Miller both

scoring, and Claridge notching up another couple to take his tally to 4 points for the game.

With the score at 10-5, the cap was set at 12 ,and the game looked all but over when Smith caught his third point, but there was still time for Trevs to claim one back to give them a more than respectable 6 points. The game was eventually finished by Williams completing a neat Butler move.

Trevs captain Jonathan Evans spoke highly of his team’s efforts: “It was our first ever game so I’m very happy with that performance. We held them really well but they beat us for fitness as the game went on.”

His ambition of a mid-table finish was supported by opposing Captain, Hill, who was quick to compliment the opposition: “They were not what we expected for a debut team! It was a hard-fought game and could have gone either way but we came through strongly”.

Butler are looking to better last years 2nd place finish and ‘hard-fought’ points like these will go a long way to achieving that.

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PALATINATE Tuesday 9th November 2010

Whatever your game, get into it at palatinate.org.uk

Sport

Fencers give fair fight against northern counterparts QUIN MURRAY

Joel Butler

“Unlucky, close, instructive”. Durham University fencer James Dix succinctly described the tight defeat of the Men’s A team to a talented and combative Manchester side.

Mistakes had been made in the team order for the opening weapon, and mistakes on the piste against unsympathetic opponents culminated in a tight but stirring defeat for Durham’s men.

Despite shows of individual spirit and ability, the overall performance was not enough to overcome Manchester, whose team included GB foilist Jason Shillingford.

Tom Miller, a Commonwealth Games fencer for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, put in a particularly strong performance for Durham, fencing with verve and precision to end with an indicator of 4 points in foil, but this could not counter the consistency of Shillingford and company, who led by six points at the conclusion of foil.

This advantage came as much through Durham confusing their own tactics as the skill of their opponents. A team captain, Simeon Quigg, had not intended to fence the opening and closing bouts, but mistakes had been made in naming the order.

Despite a concerted effort from the team, this error could not be surmounted against unforgiving competitors. The team were obviously disappointed with themselves for making avoidable errors, but this is at least a learning experience going into the next match.

Both sabre and foil followed similar patterns, with Durham suffering narrow defeats across both weapons. This was particularly galling in sabre, after another fine performance from Tom Miller – and a strong overall score from the team – was undone in the last bout. Dean Protheroe lost ten points without reply to Jason Shillingford in the final duel to turn a 40-35 advantage into a 40-45 defeat.

Durham did manage to recoup some points in epée, winning by six points. A consistent show of fencing saw the team win all but one bout, with club captain Rowan Edmondson, and Braxton Worsham netting positive scores. Braxton was particularly impressive, finishing with the highest indicator of any Durham fencer, +9. Durham’s women, however, did manage to taste success, defeating Edinburgh by 117 to 105.

The majority of this advantage came

Richard Lowe-Lauri

The youngest driver who will ever race the full Nurburgring in a single-seater, James Birch is Durham’s very own motorsports prodigy. Having raced cars of all kinds since the age of nine, and with a mass of international championship titles under his belt, Birch’s dream of becoming the next Jenson Button is – compared to most – very real indeed.

Best achievement of your sporting career so far?

Winning the European Volkswagen Championship last year. I’m at the stage where I’m either going to make it professionally or I’m not. My win in Europe meant Volkswagen offered me a drive with Formula Three as their factory driver, and they’re certainly the team to be with at the moment.

Mixed emotions: the men’s side were out-muscled by Manchester, whilst the women triumphed over Edinburgh with 12 points to spare

from a commanding victory in sabre, arguably the team’s strongest weapon. Durham ran rampant throughout this part of the match, not losing a single sabre bout and securing no less than three 5-0 victories, finishing with a 30-point advantage over their opponents.

This advantage stood the women in good stead for the other weapons, although they were clearly determined not to rest on their laurels. When Helen James failed to score a point in her first epée bout, Kira Roberts was substituted in for the remainder of the weapon, finishing with a neutral

indicator rather than a negative. Commonwealth Fencing Federation champion Kira was instrumental throughout the match, scoring two 5-0 victories in sabre and hauling back 11 points in a single bout as DUFC’s women began to struggle in foil.

Spurred on by their experienced and communicative coach, Professor Laszlo Jakab, Durham women maintained their advantage to the end, losing epée and foil only narrowly and winning by a comfortable 12 points. Although they could not triumph across all weapons, the ladies managed to build upon their brilliant work in sabre by

maintaining close chase of their opponents across epée and foil.

These results leave Durham Men’s 1st team 4th in the BUCS Men’s Fencing Northern Premier, and Durham Women top of the equivalent female league. Durham’s women will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the table while the men are still looking for their first win.

DUFC Men’s 2nd team were also in action on Wednesday, and they got their BUCS Northern Conference Men’s Division 2B campaign off to a winning start with a 127117 victory over York 2nds.

Future bright for badminton thanks to new initiatives Michael Piggford & Juliet Carlisle

Major new developments in badminton at Durham University have seen the sport become widely accessible to players of all standards. The existing elite University Squad has been working in partnership with BADMINTON England’s new regional development officer to combine all areas of badminton in the University.

From college players, to staff members, to purely social participants, there is now a place for all abilities to enjoy this Olympic sport. With 2012 just around the corner, BADMINTON England is focused on increasing adult participation, particularly for 16 to 19 year olds. This partnership with Durham University is the perfect vehicle to reach this target.

The University Badminton club is made up of an elite squad of 36 performance athletes, which this year has seen the new addition of a development squad. Two women’s and two men’s teams compete in the BUCS leagues throughout the season, with Women’s 1 battling it out in the Northern Premiership against some of the best teams in the country. They are currently ranked in the top 8 teams nationally and notched up

James Birch talks booze, Button and Top Gear

an impressive draw against Loughborough last week.

The newly formed development cell runs on a Saturday morning down at Maiden Castle between 10am and 12pm.

The scheme, co-ordinated by BADMINTON England qualified student coaches, launched with great success on October 23rd and provides University members with access to affordable, structured coaching sessions. Acting as a stepping stone for progression into the elite squad, the training is open to anyone wishing to play badminton at a higher level.

College badminton is now administrated by the University Badminton Club, which has overseen a vast improvement in the relationship between the elite squad and players at college level.

This, combined with the development squad, has allowed for greater visibility of college players and the identification of individuals with the potential to move into the elite set-up.

The race has begun to see who the winners of the 2010-2011 season will be; can Josephine Butler A snatch the men’s premiership league? Will a new champion emerge in the Mixed Knockout competition? Watch this space! With colleges able

to access coaching and practice time at Freeman’s Quay, who knows what this new season will bring?

Not only have badminton opportunities improved for students, but it is one of three sports which can be accessed by Durham University staff. With the improved facilities at Maiden Castle, the Durham University Staff Badminton Club has opened its doors to postgraduates and extended friends and family.

“Badminton at Durham is now widely accessible to players of all levels” Playing on a Tuesday night, 8pm -10pm, the club is run by willing staff members and is now becoming more involved in local badminton tournament opportunities through work with BADMINTON England.

‘No Strings Badminton’ is the final project, launched at Queen’s Campus Sports Centre. This pay and play opportunity is a fresh new badminton initiative, open to all, with no strings attached.

Whether you come every week or once a month, with no membership fees and a guaranteed playing partner at every session, No Strings makes it easy to grab some court time and make some new friends. This session takes place every Tuesday 5pm - 7pm, with all equipment provided.

There is no doubt that the combination of all these new developments has created an environment where everyone can find a place to get involved.

Closer connections between the elite squad and all other players within the University will help to develop the sport as a whole, improving the progression of players through the college system towards competing at University level.

With quality coaching for all on offer for the first time, we can expect to see some big strides forward both in participation numbers and in the quality of badminton in Durham.

If you would like any further information please contact Juliet Carlisle, President of Durham University Badminton Club at j.r.carlisle@durham.ac.uk, or Rachel Frobisher, Badminton England Regional Officer at rachelfrobisher@badmintonengland. co.uk.

How do you juggle your sporting commitments with your degree?

I’m quite lucky because most races take place in the summer. But even during term time when I’m away test-driving a car there are long periods when there’s nothing to do, so I always take some work with me.

Worst thing about motorsport?

The fact I’m probably going to end up deaf when I’m older! When I’m in the car I have to wear a special kind of earplug that moulds to my ear, but they’re really uncomfortable and I hate the mute sensation. If I don’t wear them, though, my ears end up ringing for days!

As a race driver, what’s your approach towards alcohol?

I shouldn’t drink at all, but it’s very hard at university, where peer pressure is rife. As a rule, I do my best to keep fit, spending 5-6 hours a week in the gym.

I’m also club captain of Hatfield Football Club this year, which is another thing I have to juggle!

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Obviously I’d love to be the best. That’s every driver’s dream. But I need to be realistic: there are people out there who don’t go to university, training every hour of the day. Ultimately, if I can just make a career driving a car for the rest of my life that’d be great. I’m not fussed about making millions.

So fancy yourself as the next Stig?

Who wouldn’t want to be the next Stig? It’d be a brilliant job!

Who’s your money on to win this year’s F1 World Championship?

I’d like Weber to win, but I think Alonso has got the momentum behind him now. It’s been a very good championship.

Hamilton or Button?

Button. By sheer coincidence my helment looks just like Button’s, with my initials, ‘JB’, across the side. Mechanics always like to make a joke about it!

What car do you drive off the track?

Ford Fiesta Zetec. 1.25. Silver, too!

Tuesday 9th November 2010 PALATINATE

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Inside: Aidans’ footballers sweep Cuth’s aside, Butler edge frisbee debutants, and all the latest University news

DUAFC 1st XI deliver Leeds Met knockout blow QUIN MURRAY

Men’s Football Durham:

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Leeds Met:

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Pete Vickers

D

Lea Georgeson-Caparros

urham Men’s 1st team produced a highly professional performance at the Racecourse to knock out the University of Leeds’ 2nd team. Despite Leeds being a BUCS league higher than Durham, the Palatinates looked far superior and won comfortably, 3-1.

An early goal from Javier Garay and a second-half brace from Brazilian playmaker Vitor gave Durham the victory in a game that could have easily seen more goals, with both teams squandering numerous chances.

Durham’s 1st goal came in only the 6th minute, when striker Elliot Kay caught his marker cold and powered past him to get to a long ball which he managed to square to striking partner Javier Garay, who casually side-footed home to give Durham the lead. The partnership between the strikers was a key element to the success of the team, as they linked up well both on and off the ball, hunting as a pair at all times and creating numerous chances with their skill and strength.

Kay will definitely be disappointed not to have got himself on the score sheet, creating half chances all afternoon. The best of these came early on as he got the ball out from under his feet in the penalty area and shot firmly across the face of goal, narrowly missing the far post.

“Durham were assured in defence, and aside from the goal, seemed rarely flustered” The Leeds equaliser will not be remembered fondly by the Durham defence who backed off a Leeds striker who turned, surged forward, and shot from 25 yards.

However, the strike was far from clean, and keeper Eddie Walter looked to have it covered until it somehow managed to squirm inside the post, bouncing awkwardly in front of him.

This was a rare Leeds attack, which will make it more frustrating to the Durham team as they look back on what could have been a clean sheet. Throughout the game, Durham dominated Leeds physically, winning high proportions of headers and loose balls. A pressing defensive strategy proved very effective in hustling Leeds off the ball.

The team was lead by the superb frontline of Kay and Garay who imposed themselves on the Leeds players, creating pressure that they weren’t comfortable with, which allowed Durham to steal possession frequently in midfield and high up the pitch.

Captain Sam Stevens epitomised the Durham defensive play with a gritty performance in centre midfield that strangled any potential threat.

The second half saw Vitor up his game considerably, and as he started pulling the strings of the attack, Durham looked unstoppable. He set the tone perfectly with his goal early in the 2nd half, coolly finishing at the back post from a Kay flick-on.

New Queen’s sports centre opens for business

Durham 1st XI produced a stunning second half performance to overcome a strong Leeds Metropolitan outfit who struggled to keep pace

His ability to move the ball in and around the penalty area was a pleasure to watch and his quick feet lead to his 2nd goal on 70 minutes, when Musgrave salvaged the ball from a tussle with his full-back and slipped the ball inside to the advancing Vitor. He sweetly turned his man and drilled his shot under the body of the advancing keeper.

The central midfield combination controlled the game, with Stevens breaking up the Leeds play and Vitor’s deft touch and complete awareness of his team mates sparking the attacks. He frequently brought Durham’s powerful wingers into play who ran riot all afternoon against their full backs.

Durham’s right winger, Chris Heritage, tormented his marker with his combination of speed and strength on the ball. A slightly cooler head when finishing could have lead to goals, as his efforts were slight-

ly wayward. The Durham attack was well balanced on the left by Cosimo Codacci, who was the bright spark of the opening half hour until injury saw him replaced by the equally effective Chris Musgrave.

“Vitor drilled his shot under the body of the advancing keeper” Full-back Sam Colley joined attacks with increasing regularity that gave Durham further attacking options with his excellent delivery, whether they were through open-play or from his trademark searching throw-ins. “Everybody played great today, we all contributed to making that happen”, commented Colley when asked about the victory. “There were great

performances all over the pitch”, he said.

However, the game could have followed a completely different pattern if Leeds had taken a golden opportunity in the opening minutes. A hopeful punt up the field wasn’t dealt with by the Durham centre halves, leaving a Leeds forward clean through on goal. Luckily for Durham, the attempted shot over the isolated goalkeeper was poorly judged and the ball sailed over, much to the relief of the Durham team.

After this early threat, Durham seemed assured in defence, and aside from the goal, were rarely flustered. “One of their forwards kept dropping off so once we shut him out they had no way to link up” explained Colley.

Safely through to the 2nd round, Durham are looking for more cup scalps to claim and they will be joined in the draw

by Durham 2nd’s who were given a bye past the 1st round.

Prior to October 2010, a trip to Queen’s Campus sports facilities meant a dreary walk over to the Ebsworth Building, where a small room on the ground floor had been allocated to house the somewhat limited sports equipment that was available.

Needless to say, getting your fitness fix of the week was never truly satisfying. Students had begun to look to local gyms for the kind of facilities they needed to work off their beans on toast.

This is hardly impressive for a university which boasts a 90% participation rate in sport on a regular basis, and was ranked 6th out of 152 Higher Education Institutions in the British University Sport rankings in 2008/2009.

Happily, all this changed at the start of the new academic year. On Wednesday night, Durham University students and staff celebrated the opening of the brand new Queen’s Campus sports centre.

The unveiling of what lay behind the glass doors of the lofty structure was highlighted with a Basketball match, which brought Durham Wildcats up against the experienced Nottingham University.

Cheered on by the Durham Divas to the sound of Durham University’s Brass Band, Wildcats sailed to befitting victory.

Over two hundred students joined the DU sports captains and VIPs invited to witness the much-anticipated opening. With eight indoor courts and the latest technology filling the floor in the new fitness suite, no wonder so many came to catch a glimpse of what was on offer. Not to mention the novelty that had all the students talking- touch sensitive showers!

This centre is only a taste of the plans held for the University’s overall sports facilities. With the sports hall accounting for only a meagre 20% of the £12 million invested in reinventing Durham’s sports profile, there is a lot more to look forward to.

The big question is what it’ll mean for Queen’s Campus itself. Principal Summerbell insisted that it would do a great deal for both John Snow and Stephenson Colleges in encouraging students to get involved.

Nonetheless, it is impossible to deny that it will promote the integration of the campus as part of the University as a whole. After all, even Main Campus students would have to admit the appeal of such facilities.

Director of Sport, Peter Warburton, drove this idea home by adding, “The centre at Queen’s provides us with a series of new opportunities, and we expect our participation rates to rise still further with a facility which is quite literally on the doorstep of so many students”.

Also on the horizon is the completion of the enhancement of Maiden Castle’s own sports facilities. In addition to the on-going building work for the new Law School situated next to the Science Site, it really seems that Durham University has its eyes set on the prize. When asked his opinion on the University’s prospects as a result of these investments, Vice Chancellor Chris Higgins spoke the word on everyone’s lips, “Fantastic”.