Are the Pope’s comments too little too late? (page 16)
indigo goes to Klute. Sober. (page i9)
Durham’s independent student newspaper
Palatinate www.palatinate.org.uk
8
No. 767
Thursday 20th November 2014 | FREE
News Features: More students now go into social work
Politics: 12 Obama’s uphill struggle commences
Protesters outside Israeli Ambassador Taub’s address hand out cupcakes
Photograph: Venus Loi
Students’ Union rejects free education motion Josh Smith
Creative Writing: i12 An interview with Alistair Robinson
Durham Students’ Union voted against a motion that proposed to support free education on Thursday 13th November, following a heated debate in Assembly. The vote came as a debate on ‘This House Supports Free Education’ in the Durham Union Society on Wednesday was rejected by one vote.
Speaking for the proposition, Jamie Penston Raja, a member of Durham Young Greens, said at the Union Society: “A right to education is one of the only rights you have.” Penston Raja stressed how free education would increase voter turnout, leading to a society “which is happier and healthier to live in.” One of the most contentious issues in the Free Education debate has been concern for international students’ fees. An increase in international tuition fees, Penston Raja
claimed, has led to a 15% drop in the number of international students at university. Penston Raja continued: “This is detrimental to our society. There is less cultural understanding at university.” However, in the debate at the Students’ Union on Thursday, a representative for Hatfield JCR maintained that after the introduction of tuition fees, there has been no such fall in the number of students applying to university.
Speaking to Palatinate, Penston Raja said he was “appalled” at the result in the Students’ Union on Thursday, after he presented William Pinkney-Bird’s original motion in his absence. “The disregard for any of the economic points I put forward showed the prejudice and privilege held by many Durham colleges.” Continued on page 6
2
www.palatinate.org.uk
Editorial Now is not the time for free education On the front page of today’s Palatinate we’re carrying an article that has generated a lot of controversy, about a Students’ Union motion that has also generated a lot of controversy. If you missed it in your rush to read this editorial (an understandable reaction) this is Josh Smith’s article on the free education debate. This is a very serious issue for students, and one that we should have a say in, as students, citizens and voters. Therefore, even though nobody has asked for my opinion on this issue, I’m about to add my two cents. I am not an economist, and indeed the closest I’ve come to this issue is in an economics of social policy module I tangled violently with last year (five stars, take it if you can). However, as a person who frequently pretends to know things about economics for exams and such, I was disappointed by the content of the debate I witnessed at the Students’ Union Assembly. The spirit was right, as people stood to deliver clear, impassioned speeches about free education and
its impact, but the content was thin. At the very start of the debate, the impressive name of the Institute for Fiscal Studies was lobbed like a grenade against arguments about what it would cost the government. Though unclear, I gleaned that the high long-term costs of student loans on the UK government is higher than was estimated. Mr Penston Raja seemed to say that student loans would cost the government more than outright free education would in the long run. This is not an argument I have been able to find yet in the IFS (but there is a study the cost of student loans to the public by Crawford, Crawford and Jin [2014] that still doesn’t quite support this position). I should here say two things: first, as an American I come from a biased position. The US fees for a University comparable to Durham can easily come around $50-60K a year (for four long years rather than three). Second, I don’t doubt the value of education. Education is an incredible thing, indeed one of the most im-
portant things in any society. However, realities exist, and the reality is that a government that has sunk so much money into various social programs (I’m looking at you, NHS) has to be careful. We, as students, have a responsibility to ensure that money is spent in the right places. Higher education, with consistently high rates of return on investment is simply not the place at the moment. I don’t have space for all the arguments involved, indeed, this entire paper doesn’t have enough space for them. But this is a serious issue that needs serious consideration - more than fifteen minutes at an Assembly anyway. Do you disagree? We would love to hear from you. Email us with editorials or suggestions at editor@palatinate.org.uk. Justin Villamil
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
Inside 767 News pages 3-9
Careers page 10
Politics pages 11-12 SciTech page 13
Comment pages 14-16 Sport pages 17-20
indigo
Editorial page 2 Music page 3 Stage pages 4-5 Visual Arts pages 6-7 Fashion page 8 Features page 9 Film & TV page 10 Books page 11
Creative Writing pages 12-13
Food & Drink page 15 Travel page 14
Write for the Careers section Do you have your eye on the prize? The careers section brings the insider tips and news that students want. Why not write for our Careers section? No experience necessary, just email careers@ palatinate.org.uk to be placed on the writers’ mailing list.
The best of Palatinate Online www.palatinate.org.uk
News: Durham through to quarter finals of University Challenge
News: Students’ Union votes against free education motion
Stage: Review: Cabaret
Books: Welcome to the world of BookTube
Durham will compete in the quarter finals of the popular BBC quiz, having defeated York University in the programme broadcast on Monday.
The Durham Students’ Union rejected a motion calling for the Union to support free education for students.
Chloe James is blown away by Cabaret - DULOG’s first show of the year.
Arya Thampuran tells us why the new online phenomenon of “BookTube” is a revolution for the literary world
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 University. 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 Christopher Somers & Justin Villamil editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editor Lawrence Holmes deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors James Poole & Tom Fenton news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Henry Clare news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Josh Smith, Rebekah Wilson, Pippa Cole Politics Editor Marcus Natale politics@palatinate.org.uk Business and Economics Editor Richard Morgan business@palatinate.org.uk Careers Editor careers@palatinate.org.uk Science and Technology Editor Sadie Bartholomew scitech@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Patrick Brennan comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Ellen Orange & Sandy Thin deputy.comment@palatinate.org.uk Sport Editor Nick Friend sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors John Evans & Mark Ganly Indigo Editor Kate Wilkinson indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Sraddha Venkataraman indigo.deputy@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Francesca Jaworska feature@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Zosia Eyres Food and Drink Editor Anisha Mohan food@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Food and Drink Editor Tanya Birkett Travel Editor Oliver Collard travel@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Travel Editor Naoise Murphy deputy.travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editors Jessica Ng & Megan Magee fashion@palatinate.org.uk Film and Television Editor Jonathan Peters film@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Film and Television Caroline France Stage Editor Amy Price stage@palatinate.org.uk Music Editor Ana Symecko music@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Music Editor Will Throp deputy.music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editors Atifa Jiwa & Florianne Humphrey books@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Frances Marsh visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub-Editor Lucy Hart sub-editing@palatinate.org.uk Sub-Editors Morgan Hayden-Kentt, Marianna Mukhametzyanova, Kiara Murphy, Isabel López Ruiz, Ellie Mullan Online Editor Kat Hind online.editor@palatinate.org.uk Web Editor Ian Ager web.editor@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Venus Loi photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor Mariam Hayat illustration@palatinate.org.uk Blogs Editor Katie Winter blogs@palatinate.org.uk Publicity Officer Alexandra Fitzgerald publicity@palatinate.org.uk Advertising Officer Jess Sham
3
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November
Union President’s Column
www.palatinate.org.uk
News
News
@PalatinateNews
Dan Slavin This last fortnight has certainly been a busy one for me and the officer team! We have good news to report on the Living Wage campaign. Following our letter to the Acting Vice Chancellor, we have now received a response to say; the Director of HR is looking into as part of a wider review. Last week also saw the launch of our STOP.THINK.SIGN campaign which is designed to help students make the right decision about housing for next year. College talks are taking place throughout November, and we are planning a find your housemate event on December 5th and a Housing Fair on January 14th, both in the Students’ Union. We have lots of information and useful tips on our website, so find out more there. As you may be aware, members of one of the trade unions in the University began a marking boycott on 6 November 2014 over a pension dispute. We are currently working to find out more information about how widespread the marking boycott action is and the possible effect on students. We will keep you updated as we find out more information. In the meantime, if you have any concerns, we recommend you speak to your department. Whether or not the Students’ Union should support this action was debated at our recent Assembly meeting (13 November). There was a lively discussion and it was fantastic to see so many students who feel passionate about this in attendance, with strong arguments for both sides. Following a vote, Assembly, which is made up of a broad crosssection of our members, decided that whilst we believe that all workers should have access to a fair pension, we cannot support a course of action that would be detrimental to students. We are in regular communications with the University and the trade union involved, so we can work towards a positive resolution for everybody involved. Finally, if you are a first year, we want to know what you thought of your first week at University. We want all first year undergraduates and postgraduates to share their thoughts on the induction process with us via our online survey. We are keen to hear about your experience to help improve the induction process in the future. If you complete the survey you will be in with a chance of winning one of five £50 cash prizes! Visit our website to find out more information www. durhamsu.com.
Huge crowds gathered on the grounds of Grey College on Saturday 8th November for the college’s annual firework display. Chart hits and Disney classics accompanied the 20-minute display. Photograph: Jonathan Thorneycroft
Students’ Union condemns marking boycott
Phil Raine “moves on” from University Officer role
Palace Green “night climber” arrested
Illustration: Mariam Hayat
Photograph: Bill Free Homes
Photograph: Becky Wilson
The Students’ Union has voted against supporting a national marking boycott at an Assembly meeting last Thursday.
In a surprising reshuffle of staff at Durham Constabulary, Phil Raine has “moved on” from his role as Police University Liaison Officer to a position in the Durham City beat team.
A man has been arrested after climbing onto the roof of Palace Green Library.
Turn to page 5 to read more
Turn to page 6 to read more
ON
UNIVERSITY ADVERTISES FOR NEW VICECHANCELLOR
JEREMY VINE HOSTS COLLEGIATE UNIVERSITIES CONFERENCE
Hundreds of Durham students and residents watched Mayor Cllr John Robinson switch on the city’s Christmas lights on Sunday evening. The switch was pressed just after 5:15pm, despite Visit County Durham advertising that the switch-on would begin at 5:30pm. Maxie Peters provided entertainment alongside the cast from the Gala Theatre’s pantomime, Aladdin.
The University released its official advertisement for the position of ViceChancellor last Thursday, following the retirement of Professor Chris Higgins on 30th September. The advertisement was published in The Sunday Times and appeared in the Times Higher Education as ‘advert of the week.’ A recruitment pack for prospective candidates has also been published.
Former Durham student, Jeremy Vine, is hosting the UK’s first collegiate universities conference this week. The conference, which is being held in Durham, is due to finish on Saturday and will be attended by representatives from Yale University and Cambridge University. The conference will see delegates share best practice and is set to become a regular global event.
Turn to page 4 to read more
News in brief DURHAM MAYOR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
SWITCHES
4
News
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20h November 2014 | PALATINATE
Israeli Ambassador: “Peace is a series of small miracles”
Tom Fenton James Poole The Israeli Ambassador to the Court of St James Daniel Taub spoke at the Durham Union Society on Tuesday 18 November, two weeks before a scheduled visit from the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic representative. He addressed students in Elvet Riverside 140 amid tight security. Taub spoke for an hour on subjects ranging from his experience at the negotiation table to the Israel-Gaza conflict this summer. Only members of the Union Society were allowed to attend. Taub told students: “Peace is a series of small miracles.” But he said: “Peace is not utopian, not just a signing
ceremony on the White House lawn tied up with ribbon. “It is partial, it is messy, it is not entirely satisfactory. But it is better than before.” He also added the majority of Israelis want “a responsible, stable, thriving Palestinian state.” During questions he was particularly outspoken about Hamas and Turkey, describing Hamas as “a brutal organisation that does not have Palestinians at heart” and directly blamed Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for the deterioration of relations between the two countries. Throughout his speech, Ambassador Taub continually referenced the recent “massacre” in Jerusalem. Following his speech, Sky News interviewed Taub after an Israeli-British man was killed
in an attack on a synagogue. Joe Hill, the DUS President, told Palatinate after the speech: “He’s certainly a speaker with a lot of experience in international affairs and it was great to have him. “We look forward to hearing from the Palestinian diplomat representative Professor Manuel Hassassian on 3rd December.” Prior to the ambassador’s speech, around twenty protestors gathered outside Elvet Riverside, where they held up signs and gave out free cupcakes. One of the protestors, Matteo Capasso, a PhD student at Castle, told Palatinate: “It’s completely unnecessary and inappropriate for Durham Union Society to invite the Israeli Ambassador to speak. Israel is violating so many United Nations resolutions and is
a colonial power occupying the Palestinian authorities. Another protestor, Alistair Letcher, a 2nd year at Grey College who did not listen to the speech, commented: “All the views that he expresses are extremely prejudiced. “The conflict between Israel and Palestine is always presented as a conflict between two equal sides. But it isn’t. It’s between oppressors and the oppressed.” However, Union Society member Aidan Tilbury, a student at Josephine Butler, added: “It was a though-provoking speech. I don’t often hear the arguments from the side of Israel. “The Palestinian Ambassador’s upcoming speech means that the Durham Union Society is not being one-sided.”
her anger at the Union’s move to condemn the boycott, telling Palatinate: “I feel that it is a very surface solution to condemn the boycott. While it may fix things in the short term for student experience, I believe this decision could have long-term, negative impacts. If lecturers become demoralised, over-worked, and angry, our experience will suffer as a result. “While others in the private sector, some just run-of-the-mill target achievers, get bonuses, our lecturers are met with pay that has not risen with the cost of inflation, a higher workload for less pay, and an overstretching of resources. ‘ “This boycott is for the security of their pensions and I really believe they have more than the right to demand this of the University.” She added: “I believe students should get angry, but not at the lecturers. The lecturers are still turning up to work, carrying out their research, and taking lectures and tutorials.” Harry Cross, also a 3rd year at St. Aidan’s, expressed a similar view, saying: “I didn’t vote for Dan Slavin [who voted to condemn the boycott] for this. “It was a tragedy and I would never have expected such meanspiritedness from my union. “The DSU Officers were clearly only thinking of student interests in the shortest possible term. The mild inconvenience of not receiving marks on essays is nothing compared to how student
life will suffer if talented people are not motivated to take up careers in academia because they cannot secure a fair pension.” When asked what advice the University has for students affected by the boycott, Professor Ray Hudson, the Acting ViceChancellor, told Palatinate: “If students are affected by the assessment boycott, they should raise the issue with their student representative and the student representatives should raise the matter with their head of department. The University will then seek to do what it can to mitigate the adverse effects.” He continued: “The University is naturally disappointed that the University and College Union (UCU) took the
decision to ballot their members, and secured a majority for both strike action and action short of a strike. “We do, however, understand the strength of feeling and levels of concern of our staff about the changes being proposed to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension scheme. It is important to realise that we, as the employer, have no sway with regards to securing an outcome to the national negotiations relating to the USS changes. “The University hopes that the impact on students of UCU’s industrial action can be minimised and that the dispute can be resolved quickly. It is in everyone’s best interests for this to be the case.”
Students’ Union condemns marking boycott James Poole The Students’ Union voted against supporting a national marking boycott at an Assembly meeting last Thursday. The boycott, which began on 6th November and is due to finish today, has seen academic staff refuse to mark summative assignments or give feedback to students in a bid to improve their pension scheme. Hundreds of thousands of academics from across the UK are taking part in the boycott, although it remains unclear how many Durham University members of staff are involved. Leigh Spanner, the Academic Affairs Officer at Durham Students’ Union, told Palatinate: “The marking boycott is clearly not in students’ interest. Assembly as a whole, which is made up of a broad cross-section of our members, who are elected to represent the views of all students, sets the policy of the Union. “Whilst we believe that all workers should have access to a fair pension, we cannot support a course of action that would be detrimental to our own members. “The Students’ Union is in close communications with the University to establish how widespread this action is and how much it is affecting students. We have information available on our website, which we will be regularly updating.” Alicia Kenshole, a 3rd year student at St. Aidan’s, expressed
The boycott is due to finish today
Illustration: Mariam Hayat
DUCK Chair’s Column Jordan Riley Winter is now officially upon us and aside from watching the copious amounts of exciting Christmas ads now featuring on our screens, we’ve been super busy planning our festivities for DUCK Week and have officially opened our Santa Dash event for sign ups. Last year, Santa Dash was one of our most exciting events and this year we’re hoping to make it even bigger and better than before, as it’s officially part of DUCK Week 2014/15! Working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, our Santa Dash provides some festive fun, whilst helping to raise vital funds for the fight against heart disease. The best news is, you don’t have to be a marathon runner to take part. It’s only 5 kilometres and there’s no obligation to run – you can walk all the way! The British Heart Foundation provides every participant with a Santa suit and this year we will have one runner dressed as a Christmas pudding who will lead the way for the Santas to chase the pud! Make sure you sign up online via the Durham Students’ Union and join us on Sunday 7th December at Maiden Castle to get in on the action. It’s £15.00 to participate with all proceeds going directly to the British Heart Foundation. I also thought people might also be interested in hearing about our Jailbreak successes over the weekend; as I’m writing this all 26 teams have successfully made it away from Durham to exotic faraway locations, be it Inverness, Germany, Calais, London or Darlington! With only 9 hours left we’re looking forward to seeing the final results – head over to our Facebook page to check out the map and find out more!
PALATINATE | Thursday 20h November 2014
5
News
www.palatinate.org.uk
Phil Raine “moves on” from university officer role James Poole In a surprising reshuffle of staff at Durham Constabulary, Phil Raine has “moved on” from his role as Police University Liaison Officer to a position in the Durham City beat team. According to the Constabulary, Phil Raine left the position at the end of the last academic year with Chris Dunn temporarily covering the role over the summer. The reason for this move, however, remains unclear. Speaking to Palatinate, Phil Raine said: “I started the University Liaison Officer’s role eight years ago and it is something that I have absolutely loved doing. “Everyone’s time comes to an end and it was decided that it was my time to work in another area. “I do miss working with the students and staff of the University enormously but am also looking forward to working with the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Durham City. “Durham is a fantastic city and a great place to work. Obviously I am still around so hope to bump into many of you around Durham.” Rebecca Carey has been announced as the new Police University Liaison Officer and
formally took over the position last Monday. Carey, who has previously worked in Durham Constabulary’s Alcohol Harm Unit, will be joined by PC Ralph Thompson who is part of the Durham City Neighbourhood Team. Dave Coxon, Neighbourhood Inspector for Durham Constabulary, told Palatinate: “PCSO Phil Raine, who has done a fantastic job in the role as university liaison officer over the past few years, has now moved on from the role. “This decision was taken in order for Phil to continue to develop his career within Durham Constabulary and he will now be based within the Durham City beat team. “We recognise the need to maintain this important role so following Phil’s move, the role was temporarily covered by PCSO Chris Dunn until we were able to appoint a suitable permanent replacement to the post. “We hope that Rebecca will become as valued within the University as Phil clearly was, and that the positive relationship between the organisations and people within them, will continue to grow.” Commenting on the move, the
Phil Raine was well-liked as Police University Liaison Officer
Photograph: Bill Free Homes
University would only tell the paper: “We acknowledge and have appreciated the contributions of our previous Police Liaison Officer
Phil Raine and we wish him every success in his new position. “We continue to enjoy a very positive relationship working in
partnership with the police and we look forward to welcoming Rebecca Carey into her new role.”
“We have taken steps to meet with the HR Director to establish a timeline for activity.”
Campaign Committee, which the then-President, Oliver Gratton, said was “a politically neutral effort to bring about a fair wage for Durham University employees.” Last year, the DULC hosted a talk and organised an online petition calling for the “fair treatment of employees” that received 601 signatures. In that same year, the Students’ Union also agreed to join the NUS in their Living Wage campaign and approved a new Durham University Living Wage Society (DULWS). Outside the University, Durham City MP, Roberta Blackman-Woods, released a statement earlier this month, urging the University to live up to its status as a “leading North Eastern institution.” She added: “In the University’s response to the Durham University campaign for the Living Wage it has the chance to really change the lives of those living in Durham,
and make a lasting contribution to the local community.” However, Professor Ray Hudson has previously expressed scepticism about the Living Wage, arguing that “more sophisticated” figures are required to calculate a figure such as a Living Wage. Despite this, he is also one of three authors of a 57-page report entitled How Can Universities Support Disadvantaged Communities?, published in September 2012. One of its statements reads: “Universities can do more…by promoting good practice, such as setting an example to other employers by…ensuring that all employees are paid at least the Living Wage.” In its most recent statement, the University said: “The University has agreed to review its position on the Living Wage, taking into account the range of benefits available to our staff.”
Pressure mounts for University to pay the Living Wage
Steph Lam The President of Durham Students’ Union, Dan Slavin, has sent a letter to the Acting ViceChancellor, Professor Ray Hudson, appealing for the University to pay the Living Wage. The 286-word letter requests that the University should “investigate how Durham can become a Living Wage employer.” This is the latest effort to raise the issue of the Living Wage, a national initiative that was launched in 2011. Calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, the Living Wage is “the minimum hourly wage needed for an individual to meet their own or their family’s day-to-day needs including housing, food and clothing.” Freedom of Information data
requested by Palatinate in March 2012 revealed that around 12.5% of permanent University staff and more than 90% of contracted workers are paid below the living wage, which is currently set at £7.85 per hour. In his letter to the Acting ViceChancellor, Dan Slavin described the difference in wage between the highest and lowest paid University staff members as “unjustifiably high.” He added: “Some of the University’s lowest paid workers are the most valued by our students; with the domestic staff often cited as a key part of the college community.” Since sending the letter, Dan Slavin has told Palatinate: “Following our letter to Professor Ray Hudson we have received a response to say that the University’s HR Director will be looking at the Living Wage as part of a broader review.
“[The Living Wage] has the chance to really change the lives of those living in Durham and make a lasting contribution to the local community.”
Durham City MP, Roberta Blackman-Woods Pressure for the University to become a Living Wage employer has gained momentum since March 2012, when the Durham University Labour Club (DULC) founded the Living Wage
6
News Continued from front page “No-one seemed to listen to the arguments from the IFS (Institute of Financial Services) that tuition fees are costing more than other systems, and therefore giving universities less money as a result. “I have never felt less represented by my students’ ‘union’.” Frans Robyns, a member of Durham University Conservative Association, opposed the proposition in the Union Society on Wednesday. Robyns spoke of the dangers of over-crowding the market with graduates, which has led to a shortage of vocational skills, and has also de-valued the degrees of those who decide to attend university.
“I have never felt less represented by my students’ ‘union’.” Jamie Penston Raja, Young Greens Robyns stressed that the state would not be able to pay for free higher education and argued the quality of education would decline as universities are left to
“I view it as further evidence that Durham students are clever enough to not be swayed by vague, selfinterested, and intellectally shallow arguments and instead listen to reason and practicality.”
www.palatinate.org.uk
shallow arguments and instead listen to reason and practicality. “We should be investing our time and energy into setting up more vocational courses aimed at bringing skills back to Britain’s labour market. Robyns added: “I felt that the opposition ultimately failed to address any of these key issues, which is what led students of all people, to agree that free higher education is counter productive.” In direct opposition to this, Craig Martin, a Durham City Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, argued that tuition fees prevent certain young people
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE from coming to university at the prospect of a student loan. The vote at Assembly on Thursday called for free education to be a policy of the Durham Students’ Union; for support of student campaigns on campus for free education; for the President and Academic Affairs Officer to lobby the Vice-Chancellor and other figures within the university to support free education; for the Student Officers to push free education as a priority in the upcoming General Election with key decision makers. It was rejected by 13 votes to 11, with four abstentions.
Frans Robyns, Conservative Association, after winning the DUS debate survive off government grants. “Why are we funding meaningless universities with meaningless degrees?” Also speaking to Palatinate, Robyns commended the debate: “I’m very pleased with the way the debate went on Wednesday and I view it as further evidence that Durham students are clever enough to not be swayed by vague, self-interested and intellectually
The Durham Union Society’s debate
Photograph: Amber Hodge
Palace Green “night climber” arrested Becky Wilson A man has been arrested after climbing onto the roof of Palace Green Library. The police and fire brigade rushed to the scene at 4.30 am on Thursday 13th November, after CCTV footage alerted them to the 22-year-old’s strange behaviour. It took the authorities approximately an hour and a half of extensive searching before the man was discovered hiding at one of the highest points of the library’s roof. The fire brigade deployed their aerial ladder platform during the operation. He was helped down at 6.00 am and checked out by the ambulance crew before being arrested. It remains unclear why the man was on the roof, but some believe it is related to the trend of “night climbing” which led to four Durham students drunkenly climbing onto the roof of the cathedral last November.
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
7
News
www.palatinate.org.uk
Students lobby G20 leaders to tackle corruption and tax avoidance Tom Fenton Students from ‘ONE Durham’ took part in a campaign outside the Bill Bryson Library on Tuesday 11th November in support of an international campaign to fight corruption and tax avoidance. The group is part of a wider international advocacy organisation, ‘ONE campaign’, which has six million members across the globe. They campaign on anti-poverty issues relating to Africa, working with political leaders to combat preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and they demand greater transparency so governments are accountable to their citizens. Set up last term, the group has around 40 students who, according to co-President Sophie Jewsbury, “are actively interested in volunteering”. The society, founded by Jewsbury and Ellie Ratcliffe, has held a number of photo campaigns and talks, including some by a couple of MEP candidates in April.
“We were really happy about the reception that we received from students. Sometimes advocacy can be met with some cynicism – people question the effectiveness of petition-signing and awarenessraising efforts.” Ratcliffe agreed: “I thought the event went well - we had a lot of engagement from students throughout the day, wanting to find out what we were doing. “Because we’re a new society it’s great to have people interested, and the campaign outside the library was a great way to let people know more about what we do! “I feel like we definitely made an impression; but most importantly the people who were interested enough to find out what we were doing seemed really interested in the ONE campaign” Jewsbury said: “ONE does not fundraise – it seeks to make change by raising awareness amongst the public and lobbying the decisionmakers to change policy (their mantra is, ‘we don’t want your money, we want your voice’). “The Trillion Dollar Scandal
campaign last Tuesday was in support of ONE’s international campaign against corruption and tax avoidance. “ONE have worked out that a trillion dollars are siphoned out of developing countries every year, through money laundering, tax evasion and embezzlement. “It is money that could be otherwise used to fund the fight against poverty, disease and hunger. The leaders of the world’s 20 most powerful countries – the G20 – are meeting in Australia this November to make decisions that will affect billions of lives. “We need them to take further action in four areas: public information on who owns companies and trusts; transparency of payments in the oil, gas and minerals sectors; automatic exchange of tax information; and open government data so citizens can hold their leaders to account One member of the group wore a mask of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who supports their proposals.
gramme enables universities to share knowledge and resources internationally. Through the prestigious designation, Durham University will seek to develop debates, policies and tool kits to evaluate
cies on professional standards and responsibilities and the economic, ethical and social impacts of the promotion of heritage.” Professor Ray Hudson, Acting Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, added: “It is extremely important that the valuable work of Robin and the multidisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners has been internationally recognised in this way as this will offer an added impetus to further explore the interface of archaeology, ethics and cultural heritage within a programme of research and practice linking South Asia and the UK. “It is also extremely fitting that Durham University should host this UNESCO Chair as joint custodians alongside Durham Cathedral of our own UNESCO World Heritage site.” Professor Kiran Fernandes, Higher Education Director for the UK National Commission for UNESCO and Head of Department of Management at Durham University said: “I am delighted that Durham is joining a national and global network of eminent research institutions that, within
Chancellor George Osborne supports the group’s campaign Photograph: Charlie Capel
Durham awarded a world-first UNESCO Chair
Rose Malleson Durham University has been awarded the world’s first ever UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage. The chairholder will be Durham’s Professor Robin Coningham, the leading UK archaeologist in the field of South Asian archaeology. Coningham, Professor of Archaeology and Pro-Vice Chancellor, came to worldwide public attention last year when he made a ground-breaking discovery about the date of the Buddha’s birth that has the potential to rewrite the history of Buddhism. Coningham has already completed fifteen international missions for UNESCO. Whilst on an expedition to Nepal, his team of archaeologists discovered a tree shrine at Lumbini that pre-dates all known Buddhist sites by at least 300 years, significantly pushing back the Buddha’s known time line. Coordinated by the United Nations, the UNESCO Chairs pro-
“It is also extremely fitting that Durham University should host this UNESCO Chair.”
the economic, ethical and social impacts of cultural heritage, strengthen its protection in crisis and conflict situations, and prevent its use to exacerbate differences and tensions. Professor Robin Coningham said: “Cultural heritage and archaeology can play a unifying role in post-conflict responses but the unethical or imbalanced promotion may alienate communities, generate conflict and lead to the destruction of heritage. “Through the Durham UNESCO Chair, we seek to address this challenge by shaping debates and poli-
their different fields and academic focus, are all working towards achieving UNESCO’s overall goal of building peace and sustainable development in the minds of men and women.
Professor Robin Coningham
“Through the Chair, Durham will lead the way in exploring the role that cultural heritage and archaeology can play in promoting peace, security and inter-cultural understanding.”
Photograph: Durham University
8
News Features
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
Graduates on the frontline
Palatinate investigates the ever-growing number o Henry Clare They say that Durham is a bubble a self-contained world within itself. For many of the students here, it’s very easy to forget that there is life outside of our small, northern city. For three or four years, thousands of undergraduates live and breathe Durham. Then, in the blink of an eye, it all comes spiralling to a halt, bringing about one of life’s most daunting questions. ‘What next?’ This two-word question might seem simple enough, but in reality it’s nigh on impossible to answer. This question is one that final year students have been grappling with for months now, with countless careers events and prospectuses being used as preparation for a time when Durham can no longer be called home. Needless to say, to many graduates, life after Durham will be a life in the city. The four walls of the Bill Bryson Library will be swapped for the comfort of a warm, cosy, albeit small, office space, in a rewarding, well-paid job. Statistics back this assumption up. The Times Top 100 graduate employers list shows that the majority of graduates go into careers in the banking, consultancy and law. Indeed, many office jobs are attractive as they are well paid, and the majority of graduates will have the grades and the attributes to achieve immense job satisfaction. However, for Martha Leahy, a fi-
“The four walls of the Bill Bryson Library will be swapped for the comfort of a warm, cosy, albeit small, office space.”
nalist at St. Mary’s College studying Criminology, life after Durham will be about achieving life satisfaction for others, even if it’s at the detriment of her own. She’s part of an ever-growing brigade of youngsters looking to move in to social work, having enrolled in Frontline’s two-year graduate programme, with a view to becoming a social worker after completing the scheme. Should Martha succeed in her ambition, her world of work will be one of vulnerable, needy people that
More and more students are choosing to get involved in social work after graduating desperately need her help, which contrasts greatly with your average post-degree office job. It’s certainly an interesting career path. Although the thought of social purpose is one that undoubtedly attracts many graduates today, this hasn’t always been the case. The profession has come under attack in recent years, most notably in November 2013, when the then Education Secretary Michael Gove, claimed that graduates going in to social work provide too many excuses for people’s social deprivation, at the expense of potential solutions. “In too many cases, social work training involves idealist students being told that the individuals with whom they will work have been disempowered by society,” Mr Gove controversially said in a speech to the NSPCC. “They will be encouraged to see these individuals as victims of social injustice whose fate is overwhelmingly decreed by the economic forces and inherent inequalities which scar our society. “This analysis is, sadly, as widespread as it is pernicious. It robs individuals of the power of agency and
breaks the link between and individual’s actions and the consequences. “It risks explaining away substance abuse, domestic violence and personal irresponsibility, rather than doing away with them.” However, a year after those com-
“In too many cases, social work training involves idealist students being told that the individuals with whom they are working have been disempowered by society.” Michael Gove, speaking in November 2013.
ments were made, the concept of post-degree social work has undergone a radical facelift. Newly created graduates schemes handpick the very best students; giving them an intense two-year train-
ing course before allowing them to help change the lives of some of Britain’s most troubled families. The rise and rise of such graduate schemes has meant that the profession is quickly becoming one of the most appealing ventures for final year students. Frontline has led the charge. Having been launched in 2013, the initiative has quickly shot to fame. Within six weeks of its launch, 4,000 final year students had applied to Frontline’s graduate scheme. Just under a year later, Frontline displaced Channel 4 in order to reach 76th place in the prestigious Times Top 100 graduate employers list – the first time that a social work employer has ever made the list. It also ranked above illustrious private sector employers like Santander, Lloyds and the law firm Hogan Lovell, which is a further indicator of its success Perceptions towards social work seem to be changing by the second. But why are so many graduates choosing to get involved? For Martha, the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people is the most attractive aspect:
Photograph: Nicola Todhunter “I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people. “Through developing leadership and communication skills, I hope to successfully bring about change in these challenging circumstances.” Martha was also quick to praise Frontline’s approach; especially its willingness to give graduates hands -on experience of the intricacies as-
“I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of children.” Martha Leahy
sociated with the profession. “I think a large factor involved in the increased interest in social work is that Frontline offers such a unique route into it. “Similarly to Teach First, Frontline begins with an intensive course over the summer, followed by a great deal
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
9
www.palatinate.org.uk
News Features
in helping the vulnerable
of students going into social work after graduating of ‘on-the-job’ training, and an option to qualify with a Master’s degree. I imagine that this model is the way that many people like to learn.” The comparison to Teach First is an interesting one. Having been founded in 2002, Teach First has gone on to become one of the most popular routes in to teaching, ranking second in the aforementioned Times Top 100 graduate employers list. Like Frontline, Teach First gives graduates the opportunity to immerse themselves in to their chosen field of work, taking them straight out of study and into their chosen career path. When talking about the success of Frontline, CEO Josh MacAlister claimed that the company was founded with a similar ethos to that of Teach First, and that his own experiences of the scheme played a crucial role in the founding of Frontline: “After I graduated from Edinburgh, I joined Teach First, and absolutely loved it. I was working in a school in Oldham, and felt as though I was learning something new every day. “I worked with a lot of kids that were in care, and what immediately became clear was that when children had good social workers, they did far better in school, as they had a better life outlook and were more motivated to do well. “However, too many kids had social workers that were coming and going all the time. It was very disruptive for them, and had a huge negative impact on their attainment. “After observing this for a while, I wondered whether the philosophy behind Teach First could be applied to social work.” After writing a 500 word report, MacAlister’s idea was picked up Lord Andrew Adonis, and just six months later Frontline was up and running. Despite his own belief in the project, MacAlister revealed his joy at Frontline’s rapid rise. “It’s really great news, and a show of confidence from students across the UK that social work can be an attractive career path. “Frontline, in conversation with graduates, sets out the societal issue for children that need social workers. If you look at the statistics, the life outcomes of children needing social workers from a young age is very poor, only 7% of those in care go to university. “The idea is to get graduates interested in societal issues, and to show that they can make a positive difference to another person’s life. “We want to be one of the biggest graduate employers in the country, and help people to get in to what-
Does DUCK inspire graduates?
ever profession they want to go into, whether that’s social work, making their own charity or working in government.” MacAlister also commented that, although participants in the scheme will be encouraged to pursue a career that attracts them, the fact that more than half of the Teach First participants have gone on to teach professionally bodes well for the future
“The idea is to get graduates interested in societal issues, to show that they can make a positive difference” Josh MacAlister
of social work. The success of Frontline has had a snowball effect on the industry. New players are rapidly entering in to the field, and one of the most notable of these is Think Ahead, a similar scheme that specialises specifically in mental health. Like Frontline, Think Ahead was founded as a result of the deficiencies in support for those suffering with mental health issues. Chief among these is the dichotomy between the ever-growing
Photograph: Durham Student’s Union
demand for mental health social workers, and funding cuts by commissioners. Natalie Acton, the founder of Think Ahead, hopes that the scheme will be able to match the success of Frontline and Teach First when it takes on its first cohort of graduates in 2016. “I think more and more graduates are seeing that social work is a viable option – and schemes like ours can only serve as encouragement. “Social work gives graduates a feeling of responsibility and independence, which they struggle to find in other jobs. “Most students who come out of university don’t want to go straight into the office, they want a job that challenges them, that gives them responsibility and independence, and, most importantly, gives them a chance to make a difference.” The fact that the job gives graduates responsibility cannot be doubted. The decisions made by social workers can have a detrimental effect on their clients, particularly those suffering with issues as sensitive as mental health. For that reason, Acton points out that schemes like Think Ahead have a duty to give graduates the best training that they possibly can: “We’re very conscious of the need to support graduates throughout
their time working for us. “Before starting our summer programmes, graduates will work with a mental health professional, who will ensure that they understand the work that they are doing. “Once they are in their placement, they will be supported and coached by another mental health professional, and a named professor who will help them through any academic issues. “Of course we also need to give them skills in diagnosis and law, as these are both very important parts of mental health social work.” Martha isn’t the only Durham student going in to Frontline next year, with MacAlister pointing out that many of their cohort have come from the University. When Think Ahead launches next year, Acton will also be keen to capitalise on the willingness of Durham students. Although both MacAlister and Acton point out that no prior experience is required, some practise in volunteering can be useful when applying. Perhaps this is the root of the success of Durham students when applying to schemes like Frontline – initiatives like Durham University Charities Kommittee (DUCK) and Student Community Action (SCA) allow students to gain the skills necessary for a career in social work. Earlier this year, DUCK was named
the Student Fundraising Group of the Year at the National Student Fundraising Awards. Catherine Richardson, Head of Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre at the University, believes that the skills gained through DUCK and SCA can be applied to any career. “Organisations like DUCK and SCA help students gain skills which can be applied in any organisation and some specific projects lend themselves to working in support roles across a range of sectors.” Although Martha hasn’t been involved with DUCK or SCA, other university experiences undoubtedly helped her when making her application. “I’ve volunteered with ChildLine’s school service in Durham for the past couple of years, which involves delivering workshops in local primary schools about different forms of abuse, and where children can go to receive help. “Greater awareness of these issues has further encouraged me to pursue a career in child protection, and was really helpful during the assessment process for Frontline. “I know that SCA offers many opportunities to get involved with some fantastic projects, for example Children Achieving Through Student Support (CATSS), which could undoubtedly inspire people to get involved in social work.”
10
Careers
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
Career Insight: marketing and advertising Former Durham student Andrew Barratt gives us an insight into his marketing career
Toyosi Taiwo
Andrew Barratt is an account executive at Ogilvy Public Relations London. Graduating from University College in the summer of 2012 with a first class degree in Geography and Anthropology, Andrew went straight into work with a graduate scheme at PepsiCo. His graduation coincided with one of the world’s largest global displays of sponsorship marketing and advertising in the UK – otherwise known as the 2012 Olympics. This was a fitting coincidence give his
“I started work the day after my graduation ceremony”
choice of career to move into marketing and branding. Here, Andrew talks to Palatinate about Durham life, and gives advice for those wanting to pursue a similar career path: “I left Durham certain in the
knowledge that a job in marketing was how I could use my academic interest of Anthropology and Geography to have a successful career. I look back fondly on my time at University – both inside and outside of the classroom. It was my comedy writing in the Durham Revue which spawned an interest in copywriting and creativity, alongside my degree course which gave me a passion for understanding different people and cultures. Both of these have proved invaluable skills for my current job, giving me a competitive advantage. I started work the day after my graduation ceremony on a graduate placement with global FMCG giant PepsiCo. I worked under the Walker’s brand team to launch a new product development called ‘Deep Ridged’. At the time, this was the largest marketing spend for PepsiCo in 10 years. As a brand manager, working alongside sales, I was excited to work for an international company and launch a newly developed product which millions of people would buy. Working directly for a brand powerhouse – such as PepsiCo, Unilever, and P&G, was a great experience to understand marketing from a com-
Careers Bulletin
Skills Workshops
mercial perspective, and it enabled me to develop my skills as a project manager effectively. This provided me with a fantastic grounding in understanding marketing and its function within a wider business which, ultimately, is driven by sales. The other side of the marketing
“To land a job in marketing, the most important thing is experience”
discipline is that of the work of agencies. The marketing communication agency global powerhouses include WPP, Omnicom, and Publicis. Ogilvy & Mather is one of the world’s largest advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies in the world, and is owned by WPP. I started my career at Ogilvy in the mid-half of 2013. Working for a marketing agency is just as exciting as being the client, not least because of the diversity of brands that you are able to work with. My main clients are currently Volvo and British Airways; however,
All workshops can be booked via the University careers portal
What
When
CV Skills and Checking with IBM
24th November 13:00-15:00
CG28 (Chemistry Building)
25th November 12:00 – 13:00
PCL053 (Palatine Center)
What First? with Teach First
Developing your Business Idea
Getting into Postgraduate Study
24th November 18:30 – 20:30 28th November 13:15-14-00
Job Openings Microsoft Graduate Scheme Deadline: 22nd November 2014 Location: London Industry: IT and Telecommunications Salary: £26,000 Degree Needed: 2:1 Apply at: www.careers.microsoft.com Hiring For: Sales and Technical
JP Morgan Graduate Scheme Deadline: 30th November 2014 Location: UK Nationwide and Abroad Industry: Finance Salary: Competitive Degree Needed: 2:1 Apply at: www.careers.jpmorgan.com Hiring For: All Investment Banking Sectors
Where
Kenworthy Hall (St Mary’s College)
CG91 (Chemistry Building) all job openings are for 2015
Cancer Research Graduate Scheme Deadline: 4th January 2015 Location: London Industry: From business, to marketing, to scientific research Salary: £24,000 + benefits Degree Needed: 2:1 Apply at: www.cancerresearchuk.org Hiring For: All Sectors
Nationwide Treasury Graduate Programme
Deadline: 11th December 2014 Location: Swindon, London Industry: Finance Salary: £25,000 + Benefits Degree Needed: 2:1 Apply at: www.nationwide-jobs.co.uk Hiring For: Treasury
within my time at Ogilvy I have also worked for IBM, Unilever brands, Vodafone, and luxury cigar brand Habanos. I work predominantely to develop social media strategies for brands and provide cosultancy on how brands can use social media platforms to gain brand advocacy, drive sales, and essentially, create brand awareness. I also work to develop traditional media strategies for brands – engaging media outlets with brand communications, which include Photograph: Andrew Barrett product launches and wider public relations. To land a job in marketing, the most important thing is experience Would you like and ideally with a professional orto write for the ganisation. Do not underestimate the holiday breaks as an opportunity to careers secgain a competitive advantage to get tion? Email us work experience and secure a job after graduation.” at careers@palatinate.
P
Andrew’s own independent articles can be found at: social.oglivy.com
org.uk
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
@PalatinatePol
11
Politics
www.palatinate.org.uk
Abenomics: Japan’s post-recovery economy Jack Caley For many years Western economies such as the United States and the United Kingdom have suffered from inflation, and its effects have worsened in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The World Bank states that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in 2011 was at 4.5% in the United Kingdom, but averaging around 2.5% in the last 10 years. Japan however, despite being one of the largest economic players in the developed world, has suffered from the lesser-known economic evil of deflation for the last few decades. Although consumers have not had to worry about seeing their savings eroded by inflation, due to the existence of deflation, there have been many problems for the policy-makers of Japan. Shinzō Abe was re-elected in the 2012 Japanese General elections with his party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), gaining a landslide victory over the Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ). Many, such as David Pilling, have argued that Mr Abe now has a point to prove with this being his second term as PM, since his first stint was widely regarded as lacklustre at best. He has been branded ‘Abe 2.0’ for his new energised approach and radical ideas, which have been coined ‘Abenomics’, to reinvigorate the Japanese economy and eradicate deflation from the country. Most were showering the policies with praise last year, such as Richard Harries who regarded it as the ‘impressive brainchild’ of Mr Abe due to its ‘aggressive monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy and a new growth strategy’. It has seen the government spend over ¥10 trillion per year on public works projects in order to stimulate the economy through Neo-Keynesian thinking, and companies such as Toyota have seen their profits flourish since 2012. In addition to this, unemployment is at a healthy and very low rate amongst developed economies at 4.1%. These are all worthy achievements in the aftermath of the
financial crisis. Deflation was the key feature to address for Mr Abe and broadly it has not been a feature of the economy since his election in 2012, with the World Bank placing CPI at 0% in 2012 and 0.4% in 2013. Even from the most positive outlook, this is not a wild improvement
‘Japan... has suffered from the lesser-known economic evil of deflation’
and could just be seen as a continuation on the course that Japan has been on since the financial crisis, with deflation falling year on year and inflation beginning to occur. The policies appear to be having an impact on the economy, but issues are now arising for the general Japanese public. One of the key features of these economic policies to eradicate deflation has been the increase of Con-
sumption Tax, which is set for another rise in October 2015 from 8% to 10%. After the initial rise, GDP, perhaps coincidentally, fell by 7.1% and this has led to many further critics of Abenomics. Professor Seki Obata is one of the leading critics of Abenomics in Japan and believes that this fall is not even the biggest issue with these policies. The whole concept of ‘reflation’, his perceived goal of these policies, relies on the devaluation of Government bonds, which he argues could lead to a danger of default. Despite the changes implemented by Mr Abe, Japan is still suffering from below target inflation and splits are emerging from within the Bank of Japan (BoJ) itself. The main policy issue here is the mass purchase of bonds by a huge Quantitative Easing programme, and on 31st October, the BoJ committed to purchase ¥80 trillion (roughly £438 billion) of government bonds a year. The recent vote to introduce the radical quantitative easing measures was split 5:4, showing a great lack of consensus for these policies.
The Japanese Government itself has shown reluctance to introduce the tax hike scheduled for next year. The issue of the Consumption Tax rise has become one of the defining factors of Abenomics in recent months, and appears that it could now be the make or break factor for Mr Abe over whether his policies will be judged as successful. He has already achieved, and is likely to continue achieving, some form of inflation in the Japanese economy, but raising Consumption Tax further is going to impact on the lives and purchasing power of the ordinary Japanese people. More and more support is being lost for the tax rise amidst the added problems of a weakening currency and Mr Abe is now showing indecision on the rise. Abenomics began as a broad set of policies but is now finding itself defined by one policy regarding Consumption Tax. It may be something that is necessary to bring about inflation, but at what cost? This is the question currently being asked by the Japanese population.
12
Politics
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
@PalatinatePol
Lame duck? A final nail in Obama’s coffin? Michael Aspin A government brought to a standstill over a controversial budget; the most powerful nation on earth almost driven to defaulting on its debts; endless legal challenges to healthcare reforms; an insurance computer system ridden with technical difficulties and multiple criticisms over foreign policy in Iran and Syria were just some of the obstacles President Obama faced from the Republican Party over the last four years. Now, he faces even more hardship as he enters the final two years of his Presidency. America’s Grand Old Party (GOP) regained the House of Representatives in 2010, and regained the Senate from the hands of Obama’s Democratic Party in the US mid-term elections on Tuesday 4th November. Now, the Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress and, most crucially, the legislative agenda. This Congress has been rife with gridlock, and is the least productive Congress in over 50 years. It is indeed true that vehement opposition to Obamacare from the Republicans contributed to the budget crisis and shutdown last autumn. However, voters tend to blame such events on their President, and duly punished his party at the ballot box.
With a third of Senate seats up for re-election, many predicted that the Republicans would gain the six seats required to obtain a majority. The Democrats expected defeat, but were annihilated. Obama, in some areas of the United States, became such a toxic name that even Democratic candidates distanced them-
“Voters tend to blame events on their President, and duly punished his party at the ballot box”
Obama, going into his final two years, will now face a hostile House and Senate Photograph: AP
selves from him. The GOP had a strong start to the night, with new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell easily being re-elected with a 15-point majority. Republican Joni Ernst from Iowa impressed voters with a campaign advertisement in which she spoke about her childhood working on a farm and castrating pigs. Clearly, the voters wanted her to go to the Senate and cut back some more ‘pork-barrel’ spending: she won by eight points and gained the seat from the Democrats. The GOP gained West Virginia’s Senate seat for the first time in 58 years, and gains in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina, amongst others, were enough to secure a Senate ma-
jority. Republicans have 52 seats, and could extend their majority after a run-off election in Louisiana. Some saving grace for Obama’s Democrats could be that they held off, albeit only just, the Republican challenge in New Hampshire. However, they lost more seats in the House of Representatives to the GOP, which now holds more seats in the House since the Second World War. In individual states, 36 Governorships were up for grabs, and some Democrats thought that they could kick out tax-cutting Republican Governors. It was not to be - Obama’s unpopularity in his old Senate state Illinois meant that voters elected a Republican Governor, and the GOP won Governorships in Massachusetts and Maryland that are
traditionally seen as Democratic strongholds. President Obama could rise above this electoral misery, and embrace the Republican Party in a spirit of bipartisanship and work with them to continue strengthening the economy and work together in areas in which compromise is available, such as trade and tax. However, even as Obama sat down to dine with Republican Speaker John Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss political co-operation, a refusal to budge on immigration reform will see the President at loggerheads with the Republican Congress, who will probably react with numerous bills to scrap Obamacare and to curb federal spending. The Democrats may have lost
the Senate, but may still impose a filibuster and block any bill that comes through the House (they still have more than 41 seats). The President may veto everything that turns up on his desk from Congress and issue executive orders to bypass a democratically elected legislature. If this is the case, we will see yet more gridlock. Trust in Congress is at an all-time low, and as the States gear up for the 2016 Presidential Election, governing America and actually helping those who don’t feel the benefits of economic recovery may get shunned aside yet again. If the two parties don’t work together, the $4bn spent on these elections will go down the drain, and leave America with a lame duck President who cannot govern his country.
Israel’s Wall, ‘security fence’ or ‘separation barrier’, depending on how optimistically you wish to regard the situation, and on who you ask, is a new symbol of oppression for millions of Palestinians living in the West Bank. Whilst Israelis see it as guaranteeing security and necessary for defence, the Palestinians refer to the wall as an apparatus of apartheid. The wall is set to stretch further, in fact four times longer than the Berlin Wall, and climb higher in some places, reaching around eight metres. Israel began construction of the ‘security fence’ in 2002 in response to the second Intifada against Israeli occupation. In this respect, the wall has been effective and the frequency and level of such attacks - which at their peak made simple bus journeys a question of life or death – has waned considerably. This type of efficiency is likely to prevent a clear and proven security medium from being halted. Last week, whilst Germans
celebrated the unification of their once divided state, Palestinian activists armed, like their German counterparts twentyfive years previously, with hammers and crowbars, began to create a cavity in a section of the wall which passes through the West Bank between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Symbolism is important in politics and the image of young Palestinian activists attacking the wall with hammers, in the hope of crossing, was a powerful image indeed. This is powerful in two respects: firstly it demonstrates a desire to leave and to bring down the wall; and secondly there is a power image of Palestinians trying to break through the wall to access Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque. Moreover, some Arabs have expressed the recent assault on the wall as a show of solidarity for Arabs living in Jerusalem under Israeli aggression. In this respect the fence is truly seen as a modern day Berlin Wall.
These acts of ‘attempted liberation’ come at a time of sudden violence and protest in Jerusalem. Since July, tensions in Jerusalem have continued to rise amid settlement expansion and denial of access to holy sites. This culminated on Friday as dozens of Palestinians scaled the wall using ramps and ladders. This particular protest is a common occurrence now following Friday prayers. Whilst some of these protests are peaceful, and organised by local non-violent groups, others have met with more resistance from Israeli forces. On the same day, Palestinian youths scaling the wall near Ramallah were met with a torrent of live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets as they attempted to march towards Jerusalem. This particular protest was centred on highlighting the difficulty in accessing Jerusalem, when a journey that should take fifteen minutes, due to check-
points, in reality takes an hour and permission. Recent non-violent protest movements led by young activists paints a positive vision of resistance to the wall and Israeli policies. Like the crowds that gathered around the Berlin Wall on that night in November twenty-five years ago, the Palestinians hold in their hearts and minds the same sentiments of unity and togetherness; something nothing and no one ought to divide. “It doesn’t matter how high the barriers will be, they will fall. Like the Berlin Wall fell, the Palestinian wall will fall,” activists said. Yet whilst the ‘hot war’ between Israel and Palestine continues it is very unlikely that Israel will succeed from the securitisation benefits that the wall confidently provides, yet, activists ought to bear in mind that the same was said of the Berlin Wall shortly before November 9th, twenty-five years ago.
Breaching the wall: Israel’s iron curtain
Patrick Mason On the evening of 9th November 1989, thousands of East Berliners took to the streets. They came with sledgehammers and crowbars, and amidst clouds of dust and jubilant crowds, they wrenched away thirty years of oppression and economic hardship under Soviet rule and broke through the wall. Now, twenty-five years later, Berliners enjoy freedom, and what’s left of the wall – amongst other sections, the East Side Gallery, a stretch over a kilometre long, decorated with bright murals in the 1990s – serves as a powerful reminder of the divisions that faced the city, country and whole world during the second half of the last century. If Berlin was the point where worlds collided during the Cold War, then after the 1960s the security fence between Israel and the West Bank became a potent line of today.
13
PALATINATE | Thursday 6th November 2014
SciTech
Reader’s Scigest A QUICK LOOK AT SCIENCE
HOMOGENEOUS HIPSTERS Anti-conformists tend to look the same, according to a mathmatical model written by neuroscientist Jonathan Touboul. This almost paradoxical conclusion arises because there is not sufficient time to predict majority behaviour in order to constantly defy the trends; a system of interacting people who are trying to be different will, eventually, all make the same decisions. Though the model has been used to demonstrate the ubiquitousness of the hipster beard and other fashions, it is also thought to have important implications for other statistical sytems, such as the stock market and the inhibitory networks of the brain.
www.palatinate.org.uk
ESA’s Philae makes historic comet touchdown Jennifer Horrocks On Wednesday 12th November, 510 million kilometres from Earth, there came the most defining moment of space exploration for a generation; scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully landed the spacecraft Philae on the surface of a comet for the first time. However, the mission has since been put in serious jeopardy as it was revealed Philae had landed not once, but three times, rebounding and finally landing in a shaded area.
If scientists do not find a way of moving the lander, the lack of light will prevent solar panels from charging and the probe will shut down once its batteries expire in a matter of days. If the lander cannot be moved, it is hoped that the instruments on board might be able to gather and relay more information about the comet surface before the batteries expire. The lander Philae, roughly the size and weight of a washing machine, detached from Rosetta, the parent spacecraft, at 8.35 am GMT on Wednesday morning, with the
SENDING DATA... WITH A TWIST
A laser beam has been sent 3 km across the sky over Vienna with the portraits of three famous Austrians encoded in its twist. The transmission of information via the orbital angular momentum of light was first proposed in the 1990s but this marks the first time the technique has been used to send data over long distances in the openair. Twisting light, which exhibits a corkscrew-like motion, is more useful for telecommunications than polarised light because a single twist configuration can form an entire information channel; theoretically, this permits an infinite number of channels to use to carry messages. Additionally, eavsdropping would be almost impossible since twist is quantum in nature and therefore any mid-travel measurement would destroy the state. PUTIN-PEDIA
Russia’s presidential library has announced that is making its own version of the popular internet encyclopedia Wikipedia in order to portray Russia “objectively and accurately” and provide better information about the country than the original. Wikipedia is commonly denounced for containing incorrect information, however the reasoning for the creation of an alternative encyclopedia could equally be to further increase Kremlin control over the internet; previously this year, Russian bloggers with more than 3000 followers were forced to register with a media regulator and websites condemning President Putin were blocked.
An artists impression of Rosetta approaching 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Image: ESA/ATG medialab
successful touchdown confirmed at 4 pm. Over 2000 people have been involved in the £1.1 billion project since Rosetta was launched in 2004, and the anticipation, followed by extreme relief and jubilation, was tangible as the scene from ESA’s Mission Control in Darmstadt was beamed around the world. The mission, two decades in the making, aims to study the origin of comets, their relationship to interstellar material and what this can tell us about the origins of the Solar System and even life on Earth. The current problem with Philae is that the comet has such low gravity, the lander simply bounced off the surface and re-landed in a shaded area. Thrusters designed to help keep the lander on the comet had broken down and harpoons had failed to activate correctly, meaning only ice screws were available to attach the lander to the comet. However, the mission did overcome countless other potential problems which may have prevented any data being received from the surface, including the possibility of Philae crashing into cliffs or falling into a crevasse. Scientists had no control over the landing site once Philae was released from Rosetta, leaving them to rely on photographs of the rocky, boulderstrewn surface taken from the space-
craft to choose a suitable spot prior to freeing the lander. Despite the current problems with Philae, the achievement of landing the craft intact on a comet and receiving photographs and data from it is a huge step forward for space science that has already greatly improved our knowledge of the surface features of comets. The comet, known as 67P or Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is 4 km in diameter and moving at 34,000 mph. Comets have been widely speculated to be the original source of water and organic compounds to Earth, but research has been largely limited due to the lack of direct sampling. It is hoped that Philae’s instruments will be able to analyse the chemical and mineralogical composition of the comet’s surface, nucleus and coma, where dust and gases interact. The UK’s Open University has a mass spectrometer on the lander and aims to analyse the composition of ice on the comet to examine any similarities with the water on Earth. A particular focus of the mission is to monitor the comet during perihelion in August 2015, when the comet’s orbit takes it closest to the sun, dramatically altering its behaviour. It is now a race against time to see if scientists can re-position Philae before the batteries expire, saving the mission and allowing the groundbreaking research to go ahead.
alertness due to a common cold have had their alertness restored by caffeine. Another key effect of caffeine is activating the ‘fight or flight’ response. This is a very old biological system which prepares the body to fight or run in dangerous situations. In preparation for either response, blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate increase. In addition, the metabolic rate increases, turning fat into glucose in the blood. Caffeine also increases urine production by exciting the small intestine, causing secretion of water and sodium. In the colon coffee stimulates mobility and promotes defecation, but this is not thought to be caused by its caffeine content. The stimulant effects motor behavior, giving quicker reaction times, and can affect hand steadiness. Smokers will have a reduced response to caffeine, whereas women taking oral contraceptives will have an increased response to it that will
last longer than usual. People who regularly drink caffeine quickly develop dependence and once the body is used to caffeine it maintains the same level of sleepiness, mental alertness and reaction time as non-caffeine consumers. Having too much caffeine however can have a negative impact on your health, causing anxiety. A Durham University study showed that having more than three cups of coffee a day makes you three times more likely to hear voices and experience out-ofbody experiences. In addition you can become dependent on coffee to increase arousal and it is quite an addictive state to be in, with severe cases of fatal overdosing. However, despite all this, caffeine is thought to be a mild antidepressant and can help prevent some types of cancers. So next time you’re in Flat White or Costa enjoying a coffee, make sure to look out for the effects.
The truth behind your cup of coffee Bekkie Morrell Statistics suggest that most people reading this newspaper will be half way through a cup of coffee or tea; whether it is a YUM mocha, a college tea or a Tesco Value black coffee being downed to complete an allnighter, 90% of adults in Europe and North America consume caffeine on a daily basis. Caffeine is the worlds most widely consumed stimulant. It now comes in a range of products from energy drinks, teas, coffees and pills to chocolate, chewing gum, bottled water and crisps - there are always new ways to get the caffeine kick. The amount of caffeine consumed depends on your beverage of choice. Instant coffee has 45 milligrams of caffeine, with Starbucks coffee and other luxury coffee products having very high concentrations that range from 188 to 600 mg. Strong tea is nearly equivalent to an instant coffee
with 51 mg, Red Bull has 80 mg and, surprisingly, 9 grams of dark chocolate has 20 mg. Unsurprisingly, however, most of these products are much more likely to be consumed when the person is stressed. Caffeine is absorbed by the body very quickly, with 99% of the caffeinated product in your blood stream within 45 minutes. But the highest concentration occurs 15 to 20 minutes after consumption - this is when you feel the ‘caffeine kick’. Once in the blood, caffeine acts as an inhibitor to adenosine, which is a molecule that promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. This inhibition causes increased activity in the central nervous system. The most well known effect of caffeine is reducing fatigue. This however depends on how much caffeine you consume and how much tolerance you have. Caffeine is also known to improve alertness, as shown in studies where people with reduced
14
Comment
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20th November 2014| PALATINATE
Page 3: sexist relic or opportunity for equality?
As Page 3 celebrates its 44th birthday, Zoë Boothby claims its time has come to end Zoë Boothby
‘What is the hottest part of The Sun?’ ‘Page 3.’ Figuratively, of course. Or is it? The Sun’s Page 3 began in November 1970, 44 years ago this month. Then, the pay gap stood at 45%, sexual harassment in the workplace was not a legally recognised offence and Jimmy Saville and Dave Lee Travis were key figures at the BBC. However, in 2014, Page 3 is certainly no longer ‘hot’ – it is an outdated and sexist institution. The subject begs the question: is Page 3 really still relevant? The advent of the pornographic age has sexualised our society to an unnerving degree. It is near impossible to escape Kim Kardashian’s gluteus maximus (trust me, I’ve tried) or to watch a music video without at least a hint of soft porn (guilty as charged Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj).
Do we really need another image of a woman on her knees in a compromising sexual position? When porn constitutes an alarming number of adolescents’ sex education and the distinction between porn and real sex is becoming increasingly blurred, should our newspapers not be kept clean and asexual, rooted in a desire to communicate and educate? The juxtaposition of men in the tabloids – politicians and bankers for example– dressed professionally in suit and tie clashes with the daily image of a woman posing provocatively in her knickers. The Daily Mail would struggle immeasurably if a woman of recognition didn’t ‘pour her curves’ into a ‘figure-hugging dress’ on a regular basis. Women’s magazines are equally as guilty – if you haven’t noticed your own cellulite it’s only a matter of time before the ‘Circle of Shame’ strikes. How are women ever to be taken as seriously as men when they are reduced to the contents of their fridges and make-up bags? There
seems to be a common misunderstanding that these things constitute news. Sexism is present in all aspects of the media, and until women get fairer representation these attitudes will continue to pervade into public consciousness. Let’s combat
this issue head on by tackling the most established of these misogynist features. Some would consider the critics of Page 3 hypocrites – is Heat’s ‘Tor-
so of the Week’ not the Page 3 male counterpart, as a feature purely dedicated to the male form? Though it may be objectification of a sort, it cannot be considered to be in the same vein as Page 3: the difference is that the celebrities that appear in this feature have made their name by a means other than stripping off in a national publication. I use the term ‘made their name’ loosely: the ‘News in Briefs’ – really? – bubble inserted alongside Page 3 girls is minimal, and to add insult to injury, puts words and political opinions into girls’ mouths. Their ‘stances’ on current affairs looks obscenely incongruous alongside their naked chests. Until 2003, the Sun were publishing images of women aged 16 – they only stopped doing so when it became illegal. It is obvious why they are Page 3 ‘girls’, a point further emphasised by the school attire they are dressed in. Many young Page 3 models are happy to be photographed and consider it a viable career; however, is
the platform for this really a newspaper? Page 3’s presence in The Sun normalises female nudity in a way that it wouldn’t in a niche publication. As the Page 3 campaign protests, ‘Boobs aren’t news’. They were present in 1970, and they are here in 2014. There will still be boobs another 44 years from now. Is it really necessary that a page in a family newspaper remind us daily that a woman is in possession of breasts? Page 3 is simply archaic, a throwback to a sexist era recently exposed by Operation Yewtree. For women who are trying to break into glamour modelling, there are other outlets for them to display their assets. Let porn exist separately from the news – it is simply not the place. The hottest part of The Sun? Personally I think women can be pretty damn sexy when they are intelligent, funny and fully clothed.
which should not be the case. Our bodies are designed for sex and reproduction, therefore, why is the general public so ashamed and uncomfortable about the topic? Sexual education in schools focuses far too much on the dangers of sex and not enough on the pleasurable aspect. This has been linked to Britain’s very high teen pregnancy rate, as it fosters irresponsible attitudes, especially in boys. However, it can also be linked to men viewing women as sexual objects designed for their pleasure because the joint pleasure aspect is not emphasised. It is this skewed attitude that means glamour models are objectified. It is also true that The Sun creates a gender imbalance by only having female models- having a similar page dedicated to male models could easily rectify this. In fact, dedicating pages to both male and female models would balance the division in sexual expectations that are currently present between men and women. By giving it a gender-balanced stance, it removes the one-sided appeal of the paper, making it accessible to all.
It is right to say that the fantasy element of glamour modelling presents women’s roles as providing male pleasure. This is true and does present an issue in society but only because men do not have the same role thrust upon them. Women should view men as being able to provide the same amount of sexual pleasure and enjoyment as they offer them. Having a male glamour model would produce such an effect, as men
would become sexual fantasies to women. Men’s sexual fantasies and urges are normalised and accepted, women’s are not. Women who are sexually liberated and open are seen as predatory and dirty: the derogatory term ‘slut’ illustrates this perfectly. The sexual fantasies and urges of both sexes must be normalised in order to foster a healthier and more positive approach to sex and The Sun provides the perfect national platform for this. Moreover, the West
is incredibly critical of Muslim men ‘subjugating’ their women by making them cover their bodies. But by banning Page 3, would we not be exemplifying similar notions? By claiming Page 3 models are in opposition to equal gender rights, not only are we alienating women from a female cause but also dictating what is an appropriate career path for women. Women have campaigned tirelessly to be able to do what they want with their bodies, but the women behind the No More Page 3 campaign are in effect dictating what women should and should not do. By abolishing Page 3, not only would there be no major societal changes, but a major potential platform for balanced sexual liberation and expression would be eliminated too.The criticism against Page 3 is being completely misdirected and we should be campaigning for a male model page alongside the female one. The social taboos around sex need to be broken down; Page 3 has the ability to do this, as well as promote gender equality.
“
Is it really necessary that a page in a family newspaper remind us daily that a woman is in possession of breasts?
”
P
Tweet your reactions to
@PalatiComment
Alexandra Fitzgerald suggests an interesting alternative to banning Page 3
Alexandra Fitzgerald
Page 3 models can either be viewed as independent, sexually empowered women or as sexual objects; the fact that society views them as the latter is indicative of a problem in society, not a problem with the newspapers. These women are sexualised but they should not be seen as objects. The argument that Page 3 encourages rape culture exemplifies this perfectly: Page 3 does not cause rape, rapists cause rape. By blaming Page 3, some of the responsibility, which should be so very firmly placed on the rapist’s shoulders, is removed from them. Page 3 is not the cause of a societal problem, but acts as a very good reflection to the attitudes that do. The British generally view sex as illicit and this is where the problem lies. By making sex a taboo subject, sexual acts are rendered sordid,
Illustration: Asher Klassen
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
15
Comment
www.palatinate.org.uk
‘The Tab’: the future of journalism?
David Siesage supports The Tab’s journalistic values, but James Knight thinks we can do better David Siesage Since its demonic inception in 2009, The Tab has divided opinion. The Guardian calls it ‘neither clever nor funny;’ The Daily Mail says it is ‘always ahead of the game.’ For perhaps the first time in my life, I agree with the latter. A journalistic monster formed from entrails of The Sun, Vice and Buzzfeed, The Tab publishes cheeky, sensationalist articles for rapid digestion and dissemination. Love it or hate it, it has brought a fresh new dimension to the once stale landscape of student journalism. And I think it’s great. The Tab’s journalism is founded on one key principle: ‘Think about what students want to read, not what you want to write.’ This may seem self-evident. Yet it is a rule that is routinely forgotten by student broadsheets across the country. As a former Comment Editor of this very paper, I am more guilty than most of writing (and publishing) self-indulgent, ill-researched political op-eds – articles which are read more by their author (and their beleaguered housemates) than those for whom the newspaper is produced. Student broadsheets are capable of producing ground-breaking, thought-provoking and disruptive journalism; some of Palatinate’s news output in recent years has been all of those things. But for every notable scoop, there are five opinion pieces on Middle Eastern wars and green energy. There is no denying that these issues are important, but who goes to their student paper for analysis of complex international problems? Heavily subsidised student broadsheets may act as a training ground for the Times columnists of the future, but they are rarely relevant to their target audience. The unfortunate truth is that the CVs of their editors are often prioritised over the interests of their readers. The Tab does things differently: for its writers, ‘the reader is king’. As a result, it has two million monthly readers, and has expanded into 48 universities in just five years. These numerous outlets have broken big
stories before nationals, and some now pay their writers. Its management team even sponsors a £4,500 bursary for aspiring journos at City University. It’s hard to fault the business model. That’s because it’s a model which has been successful internationally. This year, Buzzfeed has attracted $50m of investment, whilst The Sun has retained the largest readership of any paper in the United Kingdom - despite its Murdoch ownership and controversy over Page 3. Meanwhile, those serious news outlets without the financial backing of a media tycoon or a sister tabloid continue to lose money consistently and fast. By co-opting the bad puns, bold design, and rabble-rousing style of its national bedfellows, The Tab has come to dominate the student newspaper market in the same way. Admittedly it has attracted more than its fair share of controversy – from the infamous ‘Rear of the Year’ to its questionable handling of errant columnists – but it remains popular regardless.
“
Student hacks take themselves far too seriously
”
Critics will no doubt produce a long list of allegedly sexist, homophobic and pro-‘lad’ articles published by Tab outlets across the country. Some of these criticisms are justified. But detractors will use them to condemn The Tab’s approach and claim it is damaging and irresponsible: these arguments should be given short shrift. Those who moralise about The Tab are missing the point. Not all publications need a noble direction or a worthy cause; for The Tab, being relevant and readable is more important than being taken seriously. It is the Prince Harry to Palatinate’s Charles: its mischievous and flippant spawn. It might get in trouble, but it entertains. And at least it talks about something other than the bloody environment. In an era when students (especially student hacks) have a tendency to take themselves far too seriously,
publications like The Tab keep us grounded. They may be loud, brash, irritating, and even offensive - but we need them. As The Tab itself is so fond of telling us, they’ll stop writing it when you stop reading it.
James Knight It’s hard to stand in condemnation of the popular student-oriented news website The Tab without sounding like a haughty killjoy who gets a buzz from reading The Financial Times. Indeed, professional cynic and all-round misery Jeremy Paxman was recently reported as branding the Tab a “disgraceful newspaper”. Regardless of where one stands on the quality of its journalism, one can’t deny the popularity of the website, which gathers 2 million readers a month. Its presence is ubiquitous on many university campuses, although those who read it seem to regard it as a guilty pleasure at best. So should we respect The Tab as an honest, no-frills presentation of news students want to hear, or resent it as a disgraceful purveyor of non-news with no integrity? I would opt for the latter. “We cover the news students care about, in a style they actually want to read”, states The Tab website in a populist declaration of its motives. This is assuming that we want to read an insubstantial list of relatable observations, the type that makes the reader feel special simply by knowing what Loveshack Wednesdays are; that we care about the journalistic equivalent of boring secondary school ‘banter’, in which the humour of an article is directly proportional to the amount of times the word “chunder” is used. And you know what? Maybe we do. The prominent readership would certainly suggest as such; but this doesn’t excuse the quality of The Tab’s output any more than the continuing success of ¬¬¬Hello Magazine excuses the complete lack of merit in an article about Kerry Katona’s tan lines. The Tab is certainly
aware of its lack of journalistic integrity: it prides itself on casting the characteristic norms of ‘a good article’ aside in favour of ‘a good laugh’. After all, who cares about structure and substance? I have absolutely no patience for a stodgy block of hard prose - I want a condensed list that I can power through before my mind clocks that I’m reading instead of chopping quaddies like the typical student that I am. As for content, I only want to read about what I know, and that doesn’t extend far beyond a low-brow, idealised picture of student culture and pictures of arses. In taking pride in these sensationalist traits, the Tab has an air of irony to it. But it isn’t clever irony, it’s that kind of self-conscious irony you see people declare to avoid impending criticism. It’s the irony of the quirky
“
The Tab is certainly aware of its lack of journalistic integrity
”
music festival-goer who claims his torn tie-dye jumper is ‘ironic’, but secretly likes it. Tab journalists always write with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks, they don’t aim for quality, they don’t hide their tabloid status, they have a distinct idea of their audience. However, in their incarnation of yellow journalism, the Tab presents itself less as a parody of lazy writing, and more as actual lazy writing. In other words, The Tab is bad, everyone knows it’s bad, Tab journalists know it’s bad; but acknowledg- ing and playing
u p
to this inherent badness doesn’t make it any less bad. Of course, the Tab is not alone in its vacuous brand of internet journalism, the likes of which is now on the rise among the ranks of easilypleased procrastinators. Unsurprisingly, The Tab receives 65% of its traffic from social media by preying on our crushing boredom. The fresh waters of social media are now muddied with the tempting lures of click-bait headlines, with promises of something “mind-blowing” or “the cutest thing ever” at the surface. Needless to say, the quality of the ‘news’ offered by sites such as Buzzfeed is nothing special. A “list of 17 Saved by the Bell characters you need to be reminded of immediately” isn’t exactly the most informative of pieces; it’s just another dose of 90s fetishism for our obsessed generation. This level of journalism is infectious thanks to its success, with the likes of The Telegraph and The New York Times adopting similar tactics online. It’s not long now until The Times are reminding us that VHS tapes were a thing. It’s fair to view this new journalism as inherently manipulative: the formula to make the bored masses consume has been cracked. It might seem innocent to provide us with a fine selection of dog GIFs, but these companies are still getting rich off our addiction to their sugar-coated gimmicks. The hard truth is that decent, informative journalism does not attract our interest anymore. The Tab will continue to succeed, entertain, and quench our need to identify with student culture. I just lament that it goes about doing so in such a boring and shoddy manner. We can do better.
Illustration: Mariam Hayat
16
Comment
Thursday 20th November 2014
www.palatinate.org.uk
Science and Catholicism: too little too late?
James Colville questions Pope Francis’ recent comments regarding major scientific theories
James Colville
Pope Francis used to work as a nightclub bouncer. It sounds a bit like the start of a joke, but it’s true. He has a Twitter account, a Harley Davidson, and he dances the tango whilst shaking his hips like Shakira. Eighteen months into his papacy and it’s apparent that Jorge Mario Bergoglio isn’t your average Pontiff, but it gets even better when he professes that evolution and the Big Bang theory may just be real. How daring. How revolutionary. Well actually no, not that revolutionary. Often hailed as the father of modern genetics, Gregor Mendel proposed what is known today as the genetic basis of evolutionary theory as early as the mid-19th entury. Mendel probably could have publicised his work more actively and been discovered earlier, but as an Augustinian monk perhaps he was well practiced in humility as well as science. And the Big Bang? Whilst the words themselves can be attributed to Fred Hoyle, the concept belongs to Georges Lemaître, a scientist who is as notable for the contradiction of being a Catholic Priest and a physi-
cist, as he is for being Belgian and famous. So maybe there isn’t a Science versus Religion debate after all. Bergoglio endorses a scientific explanation for the universe and its inhabitants, and there is a demonstrable history of the Catholic Church actually contributing to scientific understanding. Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air down the stagnant corridors of the Vatican and we can all rejoice in a happy coexistence between science and religion. Not only that, Bergoglio is clearly of a much more liberal virtue than any of his predecessors, even going so far as to call for a global abolition of the death penalty. It’s a peachy, rosy world blessed by the Virgin Mary and everyone is going to live happily ever after. Not quite, and I wouldn’t expect to see his holiness bumping fists with Richard Dawkins any time soon because the skeletons amongst the robes and funny hats in the divine closet are numerous and monstrous. Put plain, this “new found” enlightenment, of one of the most oppressive religious organisations still incumbent, has come about far too late. It’s too late for Galileo, who endured torture under Pope Paul V for being heretical enough to sug-
gest that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It’s too late for the millions of hysterical mothers who lived a lifetime of misery believing that their unbaptized dead infants would suffer forever in Limbo. It’s too late for the thousands upon thousands of children who had to experience mental, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of those on the Catholic payroll and then witness the meticulous and systematic cover-up ordered by the highest Catholic authorities. These people I very much doubt will find any comfort in the fact the current papal administration has read a Ladybird book of Science. “But that is all in the past!” cry the defenders of the Church as they frantically point to the many charitable works undertaken around the world. This is true, but unfortunately all that charity rarely comes for free and the Church with Pope Francis at the helm remains steadfastly and unapologetically Catholic in its teachings. He has condemned the free distribution of condoms in countries riddled with AIDS, and remains orthodox on the teachings of sexual practice. Thousands have died and will continue to die accepting a slow and miserable death as preferable to an eternity in Satan’s fiery playground. Millions will endure abject
poverty bringing up children they can’t afford to feed because their sexual activities are dictated by a group of celibates. If you are a homosexual then I’m afraid that the Vatican will still take a very active interest in what you get up to in the privacy of your bedroom and if they don’t like what they see, then you’ll be off to the sulphurous pits as well. I am not interested in what the Catholic Church and its members think or what they believe, that’s up to them. I care about what they do and what they teach. Morality, truth and wisdom, this is where they have in-
fluence and this is where they still do - in the opinion of this author at least – great harm. Whilst Pope Francis, when compared to his predecessors, may seem like the first step in the right direction towards a Catholic Church for the modern world, I don’t think it’s enough. The science versus religion debate is as old as it is boring, and it will go on and on maybe forever. But with religious teachers as high up as the Pope prepared to admit that the traditional teachings of the bible are wrong - or only to be understood metaphorically - isn’t it time that they admitted they are wrong with regard to areas of morality as well?
Illustration: Mariam Hayat
The cost of making money
Nicholas Heath criticises work experience culture and the costs for todays students Nicolas Heath
The word ‘work-experience’ was banded about a lot throughout my second year. It has become synonymous among most students as a form of employment currency. Unpaid internships and workexperience can be exchanged in the long-run for meaningful, and thus paid, employment. The lack of fiscal gain in these placements is psychologically offset by the fact that in the future it will be your ticket to a salary.
Undoubtedly work-experience has a huge role to play in any jobseeking quest. It can help build meaningful social networks; allow you to ‘try out’ a certain industry or job before you commit yourself to that a certain career; and it allows you to develop the essential skills you will need when starting on any career path. However, the idea of work-experience has spiralled out of control. For many career sectors, such as journalism, having multiple workexperiences under your belt has become the perquisite for any meaningful job application. In order to be deemed a competitive candidate for a particular role, graduates are expected to have had a significant background in that industry.
Of course, this isn’t the case for everyone. It can’t be denied that a common outcome of a work-experience placement is the possibility of continued (and paid) work with that company. Nevertheless, this is not the case for the majority. Work experience, and lots of it, is frequently becoming the norm for any graduate looking into employment. Especially when those candidates you are competing against have it, it has become an expectation. With this notion ingrained into most students, it is inevitable that companies have taken advantage of this ready supply of free labour. There is no impetus for giving skilled and hard-working candidates pay for the work they are doing when there are plenty more will-
ing to do it for free – all in the name of experience. Inevitably, what has resulted is a vicious cycle. Somehow we have come to a situation in which companies are able to employ the vast majority of their seasonal work in an unpaid capacity, which students are willingly perpetuating for fear of missing out. This system has become the status quo. However the impact is tangible. For many, transport costs are the bare minimum provided by companies. Often stringent limits exist on your ability even to claim this. While undergoing the numerous work-experience placements needed to be deemed ‘employable’, students will have to cover their own costs and living expenses.
The Sutton Trust has recently stated unpaid internships on average cost the intern £926 per month. This culture of free labour in the name of work-experience is unsustainable, especially for many lowerincome graduates. Such a system inevitably rewards those of means and punishes the less affluent. Eventually, either we will begin to see some serious inequalities in the graduate employment process- if they can’t be seen already- or something will have to give.
P
Have a different opinion? Share it with us by emailing comment@palatinate.org.uk
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
17
Sport
www.palatinate.org.uk
Team Durham Dance Troupe light up Bonfire Night at Botham charity fundraiser Bryony Newey Ira Moskadina Team Durham’s Dance Troupe will remember the 5th of November. In front of over 100 guests including former England cricket captains Paul Collingwood and Sir Ian Botham, the thirteen-girl troupe performed a fifteen-minute routine at the luxury Rockliffe Hall Hotel in Darlington in aid of the Beefy Foundation, Sir Ian Botham’s charity. Performing at college, university and external events, over the course of the past few years, Team Durham’s Dance Troupe has made a name for itself as one of the most sought after performing groups that the University has to offer.
“The dance troupe were sensational, the room was mesmerised”
Operating at consistently high standards year upon year, there is tremendous competition to break into one of the University’s elite dance groups. With numbers rarely climbing above ten, auditions are held at the beginning of the year so that there is a settled group with which to rehearse and perform on a consistent basis. Criteria are specific with dancers required to be well-rounded and strong enough to cope with the rigorous demands of high-level and frequent performances. In an aver-
age week, we rehearse as a group for between six and twelve hours. As a team, we have always prided ourselves on choreographing all of our own routines in various styles, including commercial street, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary. We specialise in creating pieces to fit specific themes, such as the tribal inspired commercial street routine, performed at the Africa themed Hatfield Charity Fashion Show 2014 and our cabaret jazz routine performed at St Mary’s Valentines Themed Fashion Show 2014. The pieces are normally three to five minutes long, but the team have choreographed and performed considerably longer routines, such as our fifteen-minute piece produced for Castle June Ball 2014, following an earth, pagan and tribal theme. However, the opportunity to perform for the Beefy Foundation was a first leap into the unknown of performing for external non-student audiences. The opportunity came about thanks to a terrific performance from the troupe at the ‘I Dreamed a Fashion Dream’ University College Charity Fashion Show. We were approached afterwards by Tim Tavanyar from a company called Already Sorted. Having already been impressed by the quality of our routine at the Hild Bede Military Charity Fashion Show and the University Charity Fashion Show where we performed Jazz and Contemporary pieces, he enquired as to whether we would be interested in performing at external charity events. Only a couple of months later, we received our invitation to do this performance. The evening began with an eerie performance from six of the team outside the ballroom, with dancers
Team Durham Dance Troupe mid-performance Photograph: Johnny Macauley
dressed up as scary children to complement the outdoor decorations and fireworks. Following the first two courses of the meal, we then made our appearance, providing the night’s main source of entertainment.
“I loved Troupe’s Show, it was seriously impressive and tightly performed”
The work, choreographed by ourselves, was a combination of different routines, all focused on the overall theme for the evening of Halloween. With sixteen different costumes and three costume changes, this was anything but a basic routine
for our group. The first three routines moved from cabaret, musical theatre and jazz for the ‘Rocky Horror Show’ section, before switching to hip-hop for the drumstep remix of ‘This is Halloween’. The Rocky Horror Show section was designed to look like a flashmob, with the group entering the stage from the back of the banqueting hall and surprising all the guests by dancing between the tables. Ellie Webb choreographed a fun, stylised piece that combined musical theatre with modernism alongside the track ‘They don’t scare me’. This was followed by Olivia Fox’s elegant contemporary choreography to Florence and the Machine’s song ‘Seven Devils.’ Juliet Fu Liyuan choreographed a powerful commercial street routine to Kanye West’s ‘Black Skinhead’, before co-captain Ira Moskadina took charge of the last five minutes, incorporating a fast paced, energetic routine to a medley of remixed Michael Jackson songs, ending with the original choreography to Thriller. Although exhausting, the final five minutes of the performance brought a rapturous response from the impressed crowd. Full of vibrancy and enthusiasm throughout, even the medley of Michael Jackson songs managed to feature elements of the Halloween theme. Sir Ian and his daughter and event organiser Sarah were delight-
ed with our performance, claiming: “the dance troupe were sensational, a fifteen minute performance took some effort and the room was mesmerised for the full show. We will be using them again.”
Full of vibrancy and enthusiasm throughout
Similarly, Tim Tavanyar, to whom we owe our opportunity, raved about our performance: “I loved Troupe’s Show, seriously so impressive and tightly performed. All the people I spoke to agreed that the performance and entertainment were fantastic. Well done!” However, far more important than our performance is that the Beefy Foundation and the five charities that it supports shall benefit from the evening. All money raised on the evening is being split between Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Cardiac Risk in the Young, Juvenile Diabetes, Brain Tumour Research and Support across Yorkshire and Battens Disease. Sarah Botham added that “although we know that donations from the evenings are well into the thousands, we are delighted to say that pledges are still coming in. It was a fantastic evening, enjoyed by all, raising funds for the Beefy Charity Foundation.”
The evening was in support of Sir Ian Botham’s charity, The Beefy Foundation Photograph: Beefy Foundation
18
Sport Sport
www.palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
Ruthless Durham give lacrosse lesson to struggling Leeds Mark Ganly The Women’s Lacrosse 1st continued their unbeaten start to the season last Wednesday, beating bottom of the table Leeds University 18-1 at Maiden Castle. Having begun the season with four wins from four, Durham were no doubt confident going into the game and they showed no signs of complacency from the draw. Not two minutes had passed before Izzy Clifton Brown found herself just a few yards out and passed her marker expertly before scoring. That was the start of three quick scores for the home side, as Hannah Sims finished from a few yards out after a clever pass by Alice Good-
inge, before Goodinge herself added a third. Durham has notched up 63 goals in their first four matches and after this swift start it was easy to why. Leeds found it difficult to create clear chances and Louise Jeffrey was the next to score for Durham after strong defensive work by Sims, who dispossessed her opposite player before feeding Jeffrey to make it 4-0. It was clear Durham were prepared to work just as hard without the ball as with it and two Leeds drives were broken down after great marshalling from India Rose May and Annabel Edwards left the opposition with nowhere to turn. At the other end, the Leeds goalie was doing her best to keep her side in the game and produced an excellent save when it seemed Anna Featherstone was certain to score.
Despite their dominance, the home team missed a number of chances, with Clifton Brown shooting over from close range before the post cruelly denied Jeffrey. The persistent waves of attacks eventually took their toll though and Meg Clements got her first of the game before Jeffrey added another. They were now 7-0 up with just a few minutes to go before the halftime break. Despite the clock ticking down there was still time for two more scores. Clifton Brown went on a strong run taking possession deep into Leeds territory before feeding Emily Sambrooke-Smith who rounded her defender to score. Right on the half time whistle Durham added another and it was 9-0 when the sides swapped around. Whatever was said in the hud-
dle for Leeds clearly worked as they finally got on the scoreboard 5 minutes into the second half, Durham guilty of a lack of concentration as the Leeds shooter was given time and space to finish from close range. The home team weren’t about to get complacent however as Clements converted shortly after to restore Durham’s advantage. They pulled further ahead not long after, despite the Leeds goalie producing two great stops to deny Durham from just a few yards out, Emily Fitzsimons shot low to the keepers left to reward the team for their pressure. Leeds didn’t make it easy for themselves and allowed Durham to score straight from the draw with some lacklustre defence, allowing Jeffrey to stroll through untouched to make it 12-1.
As the away team completely surrendered Durham turned on the style. A beautiful threaded pass from Goodinge split the Leeds defence with Jeffrey on hand to collect and shoot on the turn for a great score. Minutes later, Jeffrey turned provider as a similarly precise pass set up Clements and the score was 14-1. In the last ten minutes Durham refused to take their foot off the gas and continued to put together plays. Further scores for Featherstone, Goodinge and a late double for Amy Graham completed the route. Durham can be mightily happy with their performance which leaves them ahead of Loughborough at the top of the Premier North league. They next take on University of Manchester on Wednesday 26th November.
Hallam. The women’s 3rd team dominated their cup match with York 2nd XI, coming away with a 9-0 victory. The 4th team beat Hull 1st XI away 2-0. The reslt of the week came in the Welsh Valleys where the women’s 5th team travelled to Bangor to play their 1st XI. They came away with a fantastic underdog victory on penalty flicks. There was a rare scare for the men’s lacrosse 1st team – they were losing 5-3 at half team to Leeds Beckett and looking at the prospect of a first defeat in five years.
The men secured their first victory of the season in a narrow 72-70 win over the same opposition. The men’s and women’s volleyball teams both put in great performances against the powerhouse of university volleyball, Northumbria, but lost out narrowly. Both sides will look to join Northumbria in the final at the end of the season. It was a very successful week for Durham tennis. The men’s 1st team thrashed Stirling 2nd team 12-0, and the women stayed top of their Premiership with a 10-2 win over Leeds Beckett. The women’s 2nd team moved above Loughborough in the Premier North after beating them 10-2. The men’s 2nd team thrashed Sheffield’s 1st team 12-0 to stay top of the Northern 1A Premier. The netball 1st team’s promotion push gained momentum after beating Edge Hill 67-30, whilst the men’s badminton also moved closer to the Premier League promotion placeswith a 6-2 win against Leeds Beckett 2nds. The men’s squash team stayed top of the league despite suffering their first defeat of the season - narrowly losing out to Newcastle 3-2, whilst the women lost out to a strong Newcastle 1st side 4-0. All of Durham’s teams will now look to consolidate their strong starts to the season and attempt to ward off the challenges of Loughborough and stay at the top of the BUCS table.
Beth Barratt
end of October, to encourage both adults and children to explore the City through sport. Last weekend we organised a Wheelchair Basketball tournament for University and community teams from across the country, which saw Team Durham take on Sheffield Hallam, Northampton and Nottingham Trent Universities, as preparation for their BUCS competition later in the year. While Canoes are celebrating the appointment of Dan Robson, their full time coach who has been contracted for the next three years, we are also supporting an influx of new clubs, with Handball looking in good shape after a massive Sports Fair sign-up in Induction Week, and Clay Pigeon Shooting entering into BUCS for the first time.
Durham consolidate BUCS lead over Loughborough John Evans Durham went 170 points clear of Loughborough at the top of the BUCS League Table after a week of brilliant results. The women’s rugby team had perhaps the most emphatic victory – thrashing the league’s bottom side Birmingham 113-0. The men’s 1st XV had a tougher task at home to Newcastle, securing a dramatic 15-12 victory with a last minute try. The men’s 2nd XV stayed top of the Premiership B by beating secondplaced Nottingham Trent ‘s 1st XV. It was also a successful week for the footballers. The women stayed top of the Premiership with a 1-0 win over a strong Birmingham side, and the men earned a very solid 3-1 away win at Sheffield Hallam. In the Conference Cup, the men’s 2nd XI won on penalties against Leeds Trinity, and the women’s 2nd side recorded their second 10-0 victory in a row, this time over Teeside University 1st XI. The women’s and men’s hockey 1st teams both held on to second place in their respective Premier Leagues, by recording wins against Leeds. The women won 3-0 whilst the men outclassed their opposition to come away 5-0 victors. The women’s 2nd team defeated Newcastle in a very impressive victory, whilst the men earned a respectable 0-0 draw with Sheffield
“Durham went 170 points clear of Loughborough at the top of the BUCS League Table after a week of brilliant results.”
They managed to turn it around however, to maintain their unbeaten streak by winning 10-5. The women’s 1st team recorded a comfortable 18-1 victory against Leeds, whilst the 2nd XI won 12-3 against York. The women’s basketball team moved to within touching distance of Loughborough, who top the Premier North, by thrashing Leeds Beckett 109-27.
Team Durham looking towards smaller clubs
It has been an exciting few weeks for Team Durham Sport as we head into the second half of the Michaelmas term. Following an excellent fortnight, we have maintained our lead at the top of the overall BUCS League Table. A big focus this year is on our smaller clubs, who are making tremendous progress in their quest for success. Judo participation at Queen’s Campus has increased hugely this year by working with community members to raise the standard of training and coaching, while Orienteering ran a RunChallenge event from Maiden Castle at the
Canoes in action at BUCS Canoe Polo Photograph: Jed Wee
19
PALATINATE | Thursday 20th November 2014
Sport
www.palatinate.org.uk
Could Football Manager steal your life?
With Football Manager back on our shelves, we spoke to Iain Macintosh - journalist and co-author of Football Manager Stole My Life about the game’s success, its potential for ‘addiction’ and some of the most memorable anecdotes from the FM archives Nick Friend & John Evans
On Friday 7th November, Football Manager turned 24 years old. The social life scourge, the degree killer is back again. Since its debut in 1992, the game has changed its name, publishers and virtually all of its features. Championship Manager has become Football Manager and Eidos Interactive has become Sega. The game is constantly growing and winning international acclaim 20 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide thus far. The commentary bar and 2D match screen have both been consigned to history, replaced with a high-tech 3D engine. You are left with what journalist Iain Macintosh describes as a game that “is definitely light years ahead of any other football management game that has ever existed.” Macintosh, though, is far more than just a journalist. By his own admission, he loves the game – so much so that, alongside Kenny Millar and Neil White, he wrote the highly acclaimed book, Football Manager Stole My Life: 20 Years of Beautiful Obsession. A collation of stories from Football Manager players around the world and featuring interviews with the creators of the game, the book explains quite how and why this management simulation game has become such a cult figure in the world of gaming “It is just a game?” is the question asked by singer Robbie Williams, who also describes it as the “best game I’ve ever played.” Williams is part of a huge band of the game’s loyal followers. Macintosh tells me that, at first, securing a deal with publishers was difficult. Many, he says, told him “there
was no market for such a book.” How wrong they were. “It was funny, I’d always wondered why there wasn’t a Football Manager book,” the co-author tells me. Fortunately, Backpage Press agreed with him and took a punt on the book. Their faith has been repaid. Indeed, even Macintosh has been “pleasantly surprised that the book proved so popular.” Former Molde and Cardiff City manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has even suggested that playing FM helped him to understand his reallife tactics. This separation, though, of reality and the virtual world is something that Macintosh is keen to stress. “I think ‘addictive’ is a dangerous word,” he starts out. “The vast majority of players manage to create a balance between the real world and the make-believe.
“The vast majority of players manage to create a balance between the real world and make believe.” Iain Macintosh
We had a chapter where I interviewed a psychoanalyst about the effects of the game and while all addictions rest on the same principle of action and reaction, the appeal is primarily that we like to ‘play’.” This inability to isolate fact from fiction makes for stories both hilarious and concerning in equal measure. Macintosh himself claims to have once donned a suit and played Abide
The detailed individual statistics which set FM apart
The newly updated 3D match engine for FM 2015
By Me on Spotify prior to a virtual FA Cup final. Others have played the Champions League music prior to a big computerised European tie. The tales are both comical and bizarre. Macintosh’s favourite anecdote from the book is a hysterical example of the sheer power of the game on one’s emotions. “I’m still tickled by the guy who wanted to make his FM game more realistic during a tricky away tie in Turkey, so he opened his window and set fire to his wastepaper bin. I respect that level of dedication.” Unfortunately, however, for every hilarious example of the game’s power, “there are a few people who’ve gone completely overboard and lost their families because they’ve been so obsessed.” Indeed, Football Manager was implicated in 35 divorce cases in 2012! As Iain says, “it’s a good game, but it’s not as good as having the love and respect of your children.” The question is; how has the game reached this level of popularity?
Photograph: Sports Interactive
Photograph: Sports Interactive
What is it that absorbs gamers to such an extent? Macintosh’s response to this is intriguing. He suggests that its charm and longevity are down to those who make the game. “It’s a labour of love and people respect that. It’s not a game put together by faceless suits. They’re very close to their community. The primary asset they have is an office full of people who just love playing it.” This is most definitely true. Along with the 60 full-time game developers who work for Sport Interactive, more than 1500 researchers act as scouts to portray every one of the 600,000 players on the game database as accurately as possible. Because of the sheer number of players on the game, occasionally those at Sport Interactive get it wrong. The likes of Freddy Adu, Cherno Samba and Sharbel Touma are testament to this. All three are cult legends that never made the grade in reality. Macintosh tells me that his favourite ever FM player is Michael Duff on Championship Manager 1998. While not hitting the heights of Zlatan Ibrahimovic – perhaps Football Manager’s greatest piece of early age scouting – Duff’s career (he now captains Burnley in the Premier League) is a prime example of Football Manager’s unrivalled attention to detail. Alex McLeish, whilst manager of Rangers, was reportedly told by his son to buy a young player from Barcelona ‘B’, after the player put in some extremely impressive performances on Football Manager. McLeish refused, and told his son that video games and real-life are completely different, that just because a player becomes good on a computer game does not mean it will happen in reality. That player was Lionel Messi. However, the most curious name
to come from the world of the game may well be Vugar Huseynzade, the Azerbaijan-born Swede, who in 2012 got the manager’s job at FC Baku off the strength of his Football Manager ridden CV. He beat former European Player of the Year Jean-Pierre Papin to the job. Managing in the real world has not been as straightforward as Huseynzade had hoped. Macintosh points out that the one area where FM will never match reality is in the challenge of “standing in front of a room full of enormous blokes telling them what to do and hoping they won’t hit you.” This is one area where the amateur boss has had to adapt. After giving his team a rollicking following a heavy defeat, his players revolted and caused the manager to totally adjust his style. As Macintosh highlights, “the game now reflects that sort of thing. If you don’t have a reputation, the players won’t accept you shouting at them.” As a fellow lover of the game, speaking to Iain is both fascinating and entertaining. I play FM for the same reason that everyone else does. For so many who dream of being a footballer or manager, this is often the closest and most realistic way of doing it. It provides the same emotional rollercoaster that you get, sitting in row Z on a Saturday afternoon. Yet, for all of the game’s benefits and qualities, with FM15 flying off the shelves, Macintosh does finish our interview with a warning to students. “I used to stay up until 4am playing Championship Manager 97/98 and I missed an entire module because I couldn’t wake up at 9am. Eventually, due to that and many other reasons, I failed my degree. “Still, it wasn’t all bad news. I won the UEFA Cup with Southend United.”
Sport
Thursday 20th November 2014 | PALATINATE
Dance Troupe at Beefy Foundation Dinner
Team Durham Dance Troupe on their Halloween performance p. 17
Sports Round Up
Catch up with the latest round of BUCS results p. 18
Interview with Iain Macintosh
We sit down to discuss the release of Football Manager 2015 with the author of ‘Football Manager Stole My Life’ p. 19
DUWRFC crush limp Birmingham Genevieve Moody
Team Durham Dance Troupe pictured with former-England captain Sir Ian Botham at the Beefy Foundation Halloween Dinner (See Page 17) Photograph: Johnny Macauley
DURFC 1st XV snatch last minute win Cameron Davies
A frustrating rugby match for Durham ended in delight after a try in the final minute saw them ease ahead of their opposition, Newcastle, to win 15-12. They now move above Newcastle in the Premier North A to fourth position, five points off leaders Leeds Beckett. The initial period of play saw no team dominating territory, but it did yield the first try of the game. A Newcastle player broke through Durham’s defence and ran half the pitch, promptly offloading the ball before he was tackled. The Palatinates tried in vain to halt Newcastle’s advance but the away side had plenty of support runners, ultimately leading to a try under the posts. This was duly converted to make the score 0-7. Durham struggled to apply pressure throughout the first half; they
made progress into Newcastle’s 22 but let opportunities slip away by knocking the ball on or being off their feet during the rucks. It was following these promising but ultimately futile Durham attacks that Newcastle scored again. This time it was from a ruck five metres from Durham’s try line on the eighteen-minute mark. The conversion was missed, leaving Durham 0-12 down against their local rivals. The home side had penalties but they could convert them into points on the scoreboard. They then had Brody Wilson sent off 36 minutes in for holding onto his man whilst on the floor. Newcastle were then camped on Durham’s try line for the rest of the half but could make nothing of it as the Palatinates’ defence stood firm. Nevertheless the score remained 0-12 to Newcastle at half time. The first play of the second half almost provided the opportunity for a try for Durham. A break was made following the restart, with Jack Barker unable to
latch onto the final grubber kick. The Palatinates’ concerted efforts finally paid off in the 58th when Jamie Clements showed his opposite number a clean pair of heels and touched down in the corner, galvanising his teammates on the sideline. The conversion was missed but a few minutes later Durham added more points to their tally through Matt Holmes, who kicked a penalty after Newcastle were deemed to be offside. With full time fast approaching and the score still at 8-12, Durham had multiple penalties in Newcastle’s half but could not find a way through. In the 79th minute however, Durham received a lineout five metres out and Newcastle were relegated to fourteen men. The Palatinates took the initiative during the last play, and after multiple phases, finally inched over the try line to score courtesy of Jamie Bache. Barker added the extras to give Durham the win by three points in a nail-biting encounter for the now-ecstatic Palatinate supporters on the sidelines.
DU Mens Rugby Fixtures 26.11.14 1st XV vs Leeds University 1st (Away) 2nd XV vs Strathclyde University 1st (Home) 4th XV vs UCLAN (Away)
P
Want more sport? Find us online at www.palatinate. org.uk
follow us @palatiSPORT
Durham Women’s 1st XV provided a fantastic exhibition of attacking rugby, dismantling long-standing rivals Birmingham in their fifth BUCS match of the season. In spite of the rivalry, this Birmingham side is not what it once was. On the back of a narrow escape from relegation last year, Birmingham now sit bottom of the Premier North Division, with their goal difference an astonishing 662 points worse off than that of their visitors. Making their intentions clear from the outset, a fast start saw flanker Rue Joe-Laidler go over inside the first three minutes to give Durham an early lead. The tone was set and, from then on, the hosts hardly had a single spell in possession. Further first half tries from Broadway, Stephens, Birkby, Halcrow, Gough, Lee and Pitcher, along with seven conversions, meant that Durham went in at the break a mere 59 points up on their scoreless opponents. With the game virtually in the bag, the away side could have taken their foot off the pedal and sauntered to a comfortable victory. However, this was never likely. Some incredible phases of play by the forwards coupled with some spectacular runs from the backs pinned a sorry Birmingham side on the back foot. Now comfortably in their stride, the Palatinates continued to power through Birmingham’s forwards, whilst running rings around their back line. Stephens, Pitcher and player of the match Jade Birkby, as well as scores for Hind and Reynolds, gave Durham a staggering 113-0 advantage by full time – the highest score Durham has ever put down against any team in the Premiership. Perhaps more impressive than the final scoreline was the exemplary attitude of the Durham side as they kept to their high standards for the full eighty minutes. The league leaders head to midtable Edinburgh next Wednesday as they look to maintain their ominous form.