Palatinate 820

Palatinate Officially the UK’s Best Student Publication, 2018

Thursday 17th October 2019 | No. 820

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SciTech look at our changing democracy in the digital age

Food & Drink explore an athlete’s changing relationship with food

Hatfield’s JCR exceeded planned budget by £44,000 Will Hutchings News Editor Last year, Hatfield College’s JCR overspent its planned budget by $44,447.26. This news was announced by current treasurer Sam Goring at an Ordinary General Meeting on 6th October.

The loss had accumulated over the last financial year (August 1st 2018 - July 31st 2019).

This came as a blow, since the previous JCR had planned to at least break even on their budget.

The JCR exec have identified the debt acquired by clubs and societies over time (which totalled around £1,500), and issues with reclaiming VAT as the main sources of this overspend.

A considerable amount was lost due to oversights and ‘administrative errors’, particularly with regards to Freshers Week 2018. This figure was approximately £25,500.

Goring made clear to Palatinate that “Michaelmas and Epiphany is where most spending takes place” and as such, this was where the vast majority of the overspending and loss occurred.

However, the fault does not lie entirely with any members of the JCR exec, past or present. Doubts about the efficacy of university oversight were repeatedly raised, both by the Exec and students of the college.

In Hatfield, a Finance Committee checks the expenditure of the JCR every term. If the JCR’s financial state sufficiently meets the University standards, the Treasurer’s oversight is maintained.

Despite this committee’s work, Goring still expressed doubts that the regulation was effective.

Continued on page 3

▲ Construction site at South College, set to be accomodate 498 student bedrooms. (Naomi Clarke)

First new college in 14 years set for 2020 opening • “topping out” ceremony held as student accommodation blocks reach full height • South College hopes to form their JCR from existing Durham students with a £500 scholarship

Naomi Clarke News Editior Building works at South College, Durham University’s first new residential College in 14 years, have been “topped off” as student accommodation blocks reached their full height.

The college is set to welcome students in October 2020, after construction began in Summer 2018.

The college aims to acquire 120 Durham students from other colleges to help set up their JCR (Junior Common Room), as well as the college’s values and ethos.

Principal-Elect of South Col-

lege, Professor Tim Luckhurst, told Palatinate that students will be offered a ‘pioneer scholarship’ with a £500 reduction in college rent for those who wish to move college.

The aim of the scholarship is to incentivise current students who wish to support incoming first year students to join South College’s new community. Professor Luckhurst has the responsibility of setting up the College community which he hopes will be a “collaborative” project with the new college members to create the college motto, shield, and ethos.

Professor Luckhurst has experience in pioneering a college community; whilst an undergraduate

at Cambridge, he had “the joy of going to a new college at an ancient university and taking part in creating its traditions, its societies… I really want to bring some of the excitement and pioneering experience that I enjoyed as an undergraduate and hopefully inspire that at South College.”

Professor Luckhurst is also an award-winning journalist for BBC News and Current Affairs, editor of The Scotsman, and most recently the founding Head of the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent and a director of KMTV, a local television station for Kent.

With this wealth of experience, he hopes to make South College

a “diverse and inclusive community where students can enjoy some of the best days of their life.

I want South to be warm, friendly and supportive - a community of learning and respect, but also fun.”

They have also proposed to the current college JCR Presidents if they would reprise their role at South College in 2020/21.

Four JCR presidents have reportedly expressed interest.

The self-catered College will consist of 498 bedrooms all with kitchen, living and dining room facilities. There will be four different types of ‘pods’...

Continued on page 3

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

2

Editorial

Some things never change

T

oday’s edition of Palatinate signals change for Durham University. As we try and defend the best interest of Durham students, University expansion always seems to be on our radar.

University expansion always seems to be on our radar Following from our reporting of staff reviews across faculties and colleges last year, change has been on our horizon for months now, and the ‘topping out’ ceremony for South College, as well as the opening of a new Teaching and Learning Centre, seem to mark an important milestones in this journey.

Fascinated by the notion of change, I decided to take a break from editing and look, as I often do, through our Palatinate archives, which span all the way back to the paper’s first edition in 1948.

Browsing through the various stages in Palatinate’s evolution (or devolution, as the occasional front page design reveals), my eye fell upon Issue 711 - the edition published as close to precisely ten years ago as possible, given our print dates.

A brief scan through the edition is telling of just how much has changed in only a decade A brief scan through the edition is telling of just how much has changed in only a decade. In Palatinate 711, one budding journalist argues that we must move beyond our fear of technology with the 40th anniversary of the internet.

Contrastingly, in today’s edition, Science & Technology ask where we draw the line on the invasive

use of technologies.

Further into 711’s Comment section, the practice of ‘blacking up’ in high fashion is defended, yet again serving as a reminder of how times have changed. The ‘shackles of political correctness appear all too tight again,’ states the author...

However, I am, too, reminded that here in Durham, some things always remain the same. In fact, at this very time of year a decade ago, Palatinate was also celebrating a visit from Jeremy Vine, much as our Profile section do in this edition.

Here in Durham, some things always remain the same The sight of our Profile Editors walking briskly alongside Vine en route from one commitment to another encapsulates just how indemand the esteemed journalist is whenever he makes a fleeting visit to Durham. As he recalls having to glue sheets of paper together ready for print, I’m reminded that even some of journalism’s most recognisable faces shared the humble beginnings of this office.

A flick through the rest of 711 reveals a piece on Charity Fashion Shows, a light-hearted take on Durham’s ‘diverse’ accents, and reviews of student theatre at the Assembly Rooms.

In many ways, I would argue, this is the unique charm of student journalism.

Looking back through years upon years of student writing, which is reflective of student life, we’re reminded that whilst our surroundings constantly change, some things never do, and Dur-

ham retains a certain timeless charm.

It is also important to remember that the Durham we know and love is not without fault However, it is also important to remember that the Durham we know and love is not without fault.

Students’ Union President, Kate McIntosh, reflects in her column today upon the need to continue efforts to push the University to align accommodation fees with our commitment to widening participation.

Fittingly, today’s edition of Palatinate also addresses some issues which are often swept under the carpet at university.

Notably, Comment examine whether there is still a valid place for sport initiations in university culture. Music celebrate the all-too-recent rise of female conductors within Durham’s leading student-run ensembles, and Creative Writing explore the theme of ambivalence.

Whilst I will defend the ‘Durham experience’ that myself and my friends alike reference all-toooften, we must also celebrate positive change. In a time of expansion and uncertainty, this has never been so important.

Inside 820 News pages 3-6 Comment pages 7-9 Profile page 10-11 SciTech page 12-13 Politics pages 15-17 Sport pages 18-20

indigo

Editorial page 2 Stage page 3 Features pages 4-5 Food and Drink page 6 Travel page 7 Fashion page 8-9 Music page 10 Visual Arts page 11 Books pages 12-13 Film and TV page 14 Creative Writing page 15 Interview page 16

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Oscar Elmom

The best of Palatinate Online www.palatinate.org.uk

NEWS FEATURES:

BOOKS:

MUSIC:

NEWS:

A series of texts sent over the course of four days in London, during the Extinction Rebellion (XR) Autumn Uprising.

This October, Durham welcomes its annual Book Festival, we are in for some extremely exciting events this year.

Matthew Prudham speaks to rising DJ James Organ. James has lit up festival stages at Reading & Leeds, Creamfields, and many

Henry Bird hung up his apron on the Great British Bake Off one last time after a shock elimination from the quarter-finals.

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Oscar Elmon & Jack Taylor editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Jamima Westermann & Tom Mitchell deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Naomi Clarke & Will Hutchings news@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Emma Lucia Felisi, Joshua Hurn & Tom Saunders deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Investigations Editor Anna Marshall investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Natasha Livingstone comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Jacob Whitehead & Lauren Naughton Profile Editors Philipa Murrison & Alexandra Beste profile@palatinate.org.uk Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones & Hannah Goldswain scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Katie Fraser & Jack Parker politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editor Chloe Sutton Sport Editor Tim Sigsworth & Tomas Hill LopezMenchero sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Alana Ker Mercer & Hector Pearce Indigo Editor Shauna Lewis indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Carys Frost Features Editor Kleopatra Olympiou features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Mary Bradshaw deputy.features@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Imogen Higgins & Elle WoodsMarshall food@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Molly Goetzee fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editors Freya Ellingsen & Hugo Millard Film & Television Editor Madeleine Strom & Aadira Parakkatt film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editor Martha Wrench stages@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Stage Editor Gabriella Sills Music Editors Theo Golden & Matthew Prudham music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editors Lotte Hall & Imogen Usherwood books@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor Abir Mishra travel@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Travel Editor Alex Bicknell-Cummings Interview Editors Kiara Davies & Rachael Brown Chief Sub-Editor Alex Leggatt Sub-Editors Clara Knight, Juliette Holland, Lizzie Murrall & Alice Latham Photography Editors Mark Norton photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor Nayva Lobo illustration@palatinate.org.uk Website Administrator Calum Johnston Advertising Officer Oliver Henry oliver.advertising@palatinate.org.uk Social Media Officers Connie Castle

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

3

PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

News

“This is to ensure Durham is world-class in research, education and the wider student experience.”

Continued from front ...some as townhouses which will have 12 bedrooms over 3 floors, each with ¾ beds and built-in furniture.

The operations team has already been outsourced to ‘Campus Living Villages’ who will provide the porters for the college.

The University held a ‘topping out’ ceremony for South College on Friday 11th October to mark that the student accommodation buildings have now reached their full height. In attendance were leading University Pro-Vice Chancellors, the Interserve Construction Executive, the South College

It’s been a busy start to the year and the term, as always, and I hope that you’re all settling (back) in to Durham. We were so pleased to welcome so many of you to the Freshers’ Fair a few weeks ago. Whether you ran a Freshers’ Fair stall, frepped, planned a Freshers’ Week event, or helped welcome students to Durham, you deserve a massive thank you. This year has proved more clearly than ever that volunteers make a very real difference to the Durham experience, especially in the first few weeks of the year, and we should all be very grateful for all that hard work.

The SU Officers have been working on a whole host of things so far this month. We’ve taken action against high accommodation fees – you might have seen our activity around the National Day of Action – and I’m planning ahead for serious conversations about aligning the price of Durham’s accommodation with our commitment to widening participation.

Sam, your Undergraduate Academic Officer, is leading the Officer team and working with the People of Colour Association in the creation of a decolonisation manifesto. The aim of this is to develop a common understanding of what decolonisation means. Demanding critical engagement with academia’s role in upholding colonial values and structures in the present day, and in the Durham context, is vital to all students accessing a good education.

If you are keen to get more involved in the Students’ Union, there are places up for election on Assembly, the body where we debate and vote on ideas.

You can find out more about that in my weekly email. And crucially, if you’re yet to register to vote make sure you don’t delay. Voting in national elections is fundamental to having your say in shaping the world around us, and the future.

President Elect, and Kate McIntosh the Students’ Union President.

Mark Gardham, Regional Director for Interserve, announced at the ceremony that this was a “key milestone” and that construction was currently “on track for its September 2020 opening”.

South College is part of the University’s flagship Mount Oswald development, a project worth £80 million which will also include a new home for its existing John Snow College, a University Hub building and a multi-use games area (MUGA).

The project is part of the University’s ten-year ‘Estate Masterplan’, which represents close to

£1 billion-worth of investment in buildings and people. This is to “ensure Durham is world-class in research, education and the wider student experience.”

Jeremy Cook, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience) said: “Durham University combines worldclass research and education with an outstanding wider student experience. Our Colleges are a key part of this wider student experience and we are excited to be creating our first brand new College since Josephine Butler College was established back 2006.

“These new facilities will benefit our students and also the lo-

cal community, as we increasingly share our facilities with our neighbours and increase the proportion of our students living in Collegiate accommodation.”

First brand new College since Josephine Butler College Mr Gardham stated: “The Mount Oswald is a key project for Interserve in the North East and we have been working hard to ensure that it benefits the local community, by retaining the local spend and creating new employment opportunities for local people.”

“The Mount Oswald develop-

ment will bring many benefits to the local community.

“Interserve is using local suppliers where possible and is also running educational visits and work placement opportunities for local schools and colleges. On the project to date, £27 million has been spent within a 40-mile radius of the site, 15 apprentices have been employed, seven people who were long-term unemployed have returned to work and 65 students from local colleges have undertaken work experience placements”.

(Naomi Clarke) Continued from front Goring made clear to Palatinate: “Michaelmas and Epiphany is where most spending takes place,” and as such, this was where the vast majority of the overspending occurred.

The news comes admidst a time of change for the College The news comes amidst a time of change for the College; the previous academic year (2018/19) saw levies switch to an opt-in system, and this academic year will see the Senior Man occupy a sabbatical position for the first time, with wages now factored into the budget.

Resultantly, the JCR lost more money than expected as many students opted out of paying levies.

However, the budget is expected to be more accurate moving forward, since it will now more accurately factor in losses from the new levy system.

The JCR lost more money than expected as students opted out of paying levies In the face of these setbacks, the Exec remain resolute and optimistic. The Exec told Palatinate that they are determined to have bet-

ter oversight of clubs and events, leading to more responsible money management.

Moreover, further inspection confirms that the JCR budget has, in fact, remained solvent and fulfilled financial obligations, proving the consequences of the overspend to be less detrimental than might first appear. Crucially, the JCR’s day-to-day spending has also been unaffected.

In order to make up for the losses, the JCR is planning to cut back on capital expenditure and improve the levy payment system.

The budget has been rebuilt “from the ground up” Overall, Goring said he was “confident” in his budget; since it has been rebuilt “from the ground up” with the overspending taken into account, the JCR’s financials should be “completely fine”.

Senior Man, Kathryn Rogers, echoed these sentiments in a statement to Palatinate. According to Rogers, although “the general

reaction within the meeting was shock,” the rest of the JCR seemed to have “a large appreciation for the work of Sam and myself”.

She also claimed to be “very confident” that, thanks to Goring’s budget, “the JCR will remain in a state of both balance sheet and cash flow solvency”.

“The JCR will remain in a state of both balance sheet and cash flow solvency”

Improvements are being bolsteredbyanewTreasuryTeam, which has two Senior Officers Improvements are being bolstered by a new Treasury Team, which has two Senior Officers and is to employ Juniors in coming weeks. The team is in discussion with the Durham Student Organisations (DSO) framework to further assess why the problem wasn’t spotted sooner.

Senior Treasurer Max Hart has stated that the team has an “emphasis on being proactive rather than reactive.”

Rogers, as the first Senior Man to occupy a sabbatical position, will now have “more time to oversee treasury proceedings,” according to Goring.

(Hatfield College)

4

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

News

University unveils new Learning Centre Joshua Hurn Deputy News Editor Durham’s new £40 million Teaching and Learning Centre is now open in the city’s Lower Mountjoy area. As part of the 2017-2027 Durham University Strategy, the centre will offer a range of new teaching and study facilities such as an education laboratory.

The new centre, according to Dr Tony Fawcett, the project’s Operational Manager, “has been designed for state-of-the-art student learning”.

With its premium conference facilities, the Centre is reportedly set to boost the economy of the NorthEast by up to £2 million.

The University has now released floor plans of the project, which show two large lecture theatres.

The building has utilised an ‘eco-conscious’ design method, in-

cluding insect-friendly plants and the placement of native tree and shrub species.

Pedestrian access from nearby colleges and main roads has also been improved.

In total, 499 jobs were created by the project, of which 32 are fulltime.

Jane Robinson, former Chief Operating Officer for the University, previously expressed the institution’s need “to ensure that its excellent reputation for research, education and the student experience is matched by a high-quality estate”.

The TLC is designed to allow the staff “to try out innovative ideas” In addition to the new Centre, the £700 million ten-year plan also includes proposals for a new £70

(Naomi Clarke)

million Business School at Elvet Waterside.

The project comes in the shadow of increasing criticism of the University’s efforts to match rapid expansion with adequate investment across other facilities, including library space and medical care.

The “academic staff and students will be able to collaborate seamlessly across all digital devices” Dr Fawcett expressed his excitement that the “academic staff and students will be able to collaborate seamlessly across all digital devices”.

He also expressed great enthusiasm about the Education laboratory. It is designed to allow the staff “to try out innovative ideas” before implementing them.

Jeremy Vine: From Astronomer to Astronaut Tom Saunders Deputy News Editor Last Friday, Durham graduate and esteemed Journalist Jeremy Vine visited the Durham Union to share his views on the future of journalism and media in the stratified landscape of social media and the internet.

Jeremy Vine presents the Vine Show on Channel 5, the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2, and the popular quiz show ‘Eggheads’, alongside enjoying a long and varied career in journalism.

Last Friday, he visited the Durham Union to share his views on TBCLC: Trump, Brexit, Corbyn and Leicester City. In this age of unpredictability, the words on the average Radio 2 listener’s lips are all too often: “What’s going on?”

According to Vine, the answer is simple: you’re going on.

The supposed knowledge of the expert, the control of the statesman and the influence of the spin doctor have all been stripped away in an era in which the accessibility of information has inverted the traditional power balance between those who inform and those who are informed.

Vine perceptively noted that in his days at the Coventry Evening Telegraph and later the BBC, the newspapers ‘told’ you something, now the key word in the news is not ‘tell’ but ‘share’.

Vine stated that, whilst the news does still operate in much the

same manner, it does not inform readers and listeners as much as it imparts. News and journalism, as professions, have had to swallow their pride and operate on a level of equality, as opposed to superiority, with their consumers.

The key word in the news is not ‘tell’ but ‘share’ However, according to Vine, and perhaps to the chagrin of some of his colleagues in established media, the death of the expert as unquestionable authority is something to be celebrated.

In an entertaining tale of how a friend of Vine’s avoided a heart attack by instructing doctors to operate on him before rather than after he had a heart attack, based merely on the knowledge of his prior family history, Jeremy aptly noted how those who may not be experts still have experience which is often invaluable.

As he put it: would you rather speak to an astronomer who has cultivated an extensive knowledge of space by studying it from afar, or an astronaut who has seen it with his own eyes and experienced it?

It is clear that in Vine’s opinion, experience almost always trumps knowledge. In his own words, we should be “listening to the listeners”, and who could be a better authority on that than Vine who, in his 16 years of experience on BBC Radio 2?

It was excerpts from some of these calls which provided some

of the most humorous events of Vine’s discussion, such as the caller who was on the verge of tears over the use of non-recyclable plastics, an expert attempting to explain away the pain but unfortunately only made the caller more distressed.

When asked about his biggest faux-pas, Jeremy recounted a listener who, in explaining why she agreed with circumcision, described the pain when her brother’s foreskin got trapped in his zip.

Unfortunately, Jeremy misheard zip for lift, creating some rather questionable mental images.

Those who may not be experts still have experience which is often invaluable.

The talk was made yet more entertaining by a bag full of props, which included varied items such as one of the shoes Jeremy wore on Strictly Come Dancing with a hole in its side, demonstrating the extent of his dancing ability.

Jeremy also presented a chopping board engraved with Theresa May’s name and title which he had picked up for £30 because, although it was intended for Theresa May, she got the chop, so to speak, before the engraver could give it to her.

Throughout the talk Jeremy cut a youthful figure; he was charismatic and engaging, with touches of self-deprecating humour peppered throughout. It was ultimately a thought-provoking and con-

(Durham Student’s Union) templative soliloquy on the state of modern journalism and the relationship between the media and the masses.

Jeremy was charismatic and engaging At times, we were reminded why the average listener of the Jeremy Vine show is 51, such as when he was momentarily shocked to find out that St Mary’s College was not in fact an all-female college anymore.

Nevertheless, his age and wealth of experience in radio and journalism has clearly impressed upon

him the concept that was the bedrock of his talk. Fundamentally, he discussed the idea that ‘ordinary people’ are not so ordinary after all, and that the future of media relies on recognising experience for what it is - an unattainable form of knowledge for most experts who observe from afar, but indispensable nonetheless.

The future of media relies on recognising experience for what it is HEARD ANYTHING NEWSWORTHY? Email news@palatinate.org.uk

5

PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

News

Over 500 receive new ‘Active Bystander’ training Naomi Clarke News Editor A pioneering, Durham-tailored ‘Active Bystander’ course has been launched this Michaelmas term.

The course aims to Educate, Empathise, Empower and Equip Durham University students with the skills they need to notice harmful behaviour and how to prevent sexual misconduct and violence.

Educate, Empathise, Empower and Equip Durham University students Over 500 students across all 16 colleges received the ‘active bystander’ course during preparation for Fresher’s Week.

The ultimate hope for the course is to reduce the levels of sexual violence and misconduct within the University and make it a safer environment for all.

In conversation with John Oliver, an Independent Active Bystander Intervention Champion and the creator of the course, he conveyed to Palatinate that “Durham is a safe place the majority of the time. But unfortunately, it does have a worryingly high number of reported incidences of sexual violence and rape.”

Oliver affirmed that “everyone can play their part to reduce this statistic by setting a culture which values and respects every stu-

dent.”

He informed that one of the ways this can be achieved is by bystanders acting when they are concerned about the safety around them. A technique of the 4 D’s can help assist in a situation: be that directly intervening, delegating to someone safely able to act, delaying action to a safer time, or distracting.

There has been 234 reported cases of sexual violence or misconduct between 2014-2018 at Durham University.

In a desire to support Durham students, the University appointed Clarissa Humphreys, the first ‘Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Manager’ for any UK University, in May 2016.

234 reported cases of sexual violence or misconduct between 2014-2018 at Durham Additionally, students from St Mary’s College, in collaboration with Clarissa Humphreys, pioneered ‘Consent Workshops’, which were adapted from the NUS Consent Matters course.

The course was first delivered to Mary’s Freshers in 2017 and is now being rolled out throughout the majority of colleges.

There was a previous American-based active bystander course used at Durham. However, it was

decided that the course was not catered towards a Durham context and was not proving as effective as they wished.

The Durham course features interviews, quotes and real examples from Durham students’ personal experiences.

During summer 2019 Oliver developed the programme as a Junior Research Fellow at Van Mildert College, in conjunction with Dr Victoria Brown, Deputy Principal at Van Mildert College, and Humphreys who help provide a precise knowledge in which topics are more or less prevalent at Durham.

The Durham course features interviews, quotes and real examples from Durham students’ personal experiences.

Durham Students’ Union was then involved in hiring paid student peer facilitators to deliver the course to their fellow students, with 14 students employed by the Students’ Union and 3 Students’ Union staff members who were trained by Oliver.

The course is being first delivered to College Freshers Reps, as they will be the first to greet incoming Freshers during induction period. It is hoped that through Fresher’s Reps living out these aims and championing these val-

(Naomi Clarke) ues, it will help imbed a consent culture within colleges and the University.

Professor Tom Allen, Chair of Colleges, said: “We’re committed to addressing sexual misconduct and violence in our community and to ensuring victim-survivors get the right support to report allegations, rebuild their lives and stay safe.

“Preventative work is fundamental in tackling this important issue. All students have access to bystander intervention training – helping them to interrupt and

challenge unacceptable behaviour – as part of the Looking out for others module within the online Consent Matters course.

“We have provided stand-alone active bystander training in recent years and for the 2019/20 academic year have expanded this so that more student leaders can participate and the material is specific to our context.”

“Preventative work is fundamental in tackling this important issue”

Trevelyan JCR compensated £600 for clean up Emma Lucia Felisi Deputy News Editor A large-scale voluntary clean-up of Trevelyan college, dubbed the ‘big clean-up of 2019’, was led and initiated by Trevelyan’s JCR and volunteering College Freps only 12 hours before freshers were scheduled to move into college.

The clean-up was in response to ongoing building works and water certification at Trevelyan college that led to 108 freshers being housed in alternative accommodation when they arrived to Durham.

Durham University told Palatinate: “At Trevelyan College, an inspection by College staff on the evening of Saturday 28 September identified some areas that needed cleaning. This cleaning was due to take place at 6am on Sunday 29 September.

“However, before this, Freshers’ Representatives voluntarily undertook the cleaning themselves.”

In recognition of the inconvenience the delay to the refurbish-

ment has caused, the University has made a donation of £600 to Trevelyan College Junior Common Room hardship fund.

The JCR President of Trevelyan, Giorgio Rand, told Palatinate: “The act of cleaning College some 12 hours before domestic Freshers arrived was seen as nothing but necessary by me and my team in order for there to be a Freshers’ week.

“The cleaning was required as builders had still not finished working or cleaned up.

“We knew that if it was not cleaned students wouldn’t have been able to move in.”

In regards to the delayed building works, Trevelyan’s JCR president has stated: “It seems nothing short of disgusting that this University managed to forget one of it’s 16 College in the months prior to the biggest events of the academic year.

“Equally, to leave student volunteers answerable to disgruntled parents and on the front line with virtually no support is a process

that Durham University must answer for, and see never repeated.

Rand wished to praise the Trevelyan teams who assisted during Freshers’ week, stating: “I would like to further point out the pride and admiration for every member of my Frep team (all 40 of them), who took on a situation they had not signed up for and gave the most excellent possible freshers week and welcome to Freshers irrelevant of the situation.

“I would like to say a special thanks to: Benedict Bauman and Tommy Wise (Trevs Head Freps), Amy Singhsachakul (International Rep) and Jarren Santos (Welfare Officer) as without their hard work in particular we would never have reached a point at which Freshers could have moved in, or had any experience other than of a building site.

“And I wish to thank three members of College staff in particular: Janice Ware (Operations Manager), Jim Johnson (Assistant Operations Manager) and Kathryn Cul(GeoGraphbot via Creative Commons) len (Receptionist).”

As of Monday 14th 16 Trevelyan College freshers still find themselves living outside of college.

The University’s statement in full: Lee Worden, Acting Principal of Trevelyan College, said: “As of Monday 14 October, 16 Trevelyan College students remain temporarily accommodated in Collingwood College and Teikyo University of Japan in Durham.

“Unfortunately there has been a further delay to the refurbishment works. The contractors have assured us all works will be completed by Thursday 1 November.

This includes an element of contingency.

“To minimise disruption to students and ensure their safety we have taken the difficult decision to wait until all works are completed before relocating the remaining students.

“We are grateful for students’ patience and cooperation and regret the inconvenience caused.

They will continue to pay no residential fees until they return to Trevelyan College.

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

6

News

Money trouble for 69% North East students also spent on social activities, transport, and household bills.

Emma Lucia Felisi Deputy News Editor A recent survey revealed that 69% of students in the North East worry about making ends meet on a monthly basis. This statistic comes from a survey conducted by Save the Student which investigated the budget of the typical North East student.

According to the study, the average monthly spending of students in the North-East sits at around £802. Most of this covers rent at £450 and groceries at £95, with a significant part

Parental support lies on average at £186/month Save the Students also found that most students get money from their student loans (74%) or their parents (75%). However, for many, this simply does not stretch far enough; 66% still have to work a part-time job, and 43% are forced into their overdrafts.

One Durham University student told the surveyors that “It’s extremely difficult

to cover the cost of living without a lot of extra support”.

Worries over money have a big impact on the student experience, with social life, diet and mental health being the primary consequences of such worries for 69%, 46% and 44% of students, respectively.

66% still have to work a parttime job Despite these serious financial concerns, the majority of students feel unsupported by the government. For 61% of students,

SFE’s maintenance loan is not enough to cover their expenses.

One student said their maintenance loan “is never enough” and that “the boundaries of how much parental income equals how much loan are warped.” Another student claimed that the loan “doesn’t cover my rent never mind anything else”.

Coupled with the insufficiency of maintenance loans, 31% of students also feel they don’t get enough support from their parents.

Parental support lies on average at £186/month. With this amount of average funding, students have called it “unfair to assume”

that if your parents earn more, “they will then fund you more”.

One particularly common grievance with the student finance system is that it “treats an only child the same as someone with 6 siblings”.

A sense of frustration over lack of information is also present in the study. Around 34% of students feel as if they’re not made sufficiently aware about scholarships and bursaries, and only 33% feel wellinformed on their student-loans.

Only 33% feel well-informed on their student loans

SU is “proudly pro-choice” Joshua Hurn Deputy News Editor In August, Durham Students’ Union confirmed its pro-choice commitment to ensuring that students receive appropriate reproductive care.

In a recent statement, the SU made a number of commitments; namely, that it is “proudly prochoice”, has spoken out against “any attempt to attack weaken or undermine this right”, and that “everybody deserves to be trusted to make the decision that is right for them and no one’s health or body should be subject to the prejudices others’ carry”.

“Everybody deserves to be trusted to make the decision that is right for them” The news comes after the Union Assembly voted in June to officially take a pro-choice stance.

This now means that the SU can support action against prolife groups in the University and help out pro-choice

campaigns on a wider scale.

One concern of students at the time was that the motion may facilitate or provoke the formation of a pro-life group in the University.

These concerns arose in light of the creation of the ‘Durham Students For Life’ group last year.

A number of other Student’s Unions have taken a similar stance The pro-life society’s initial event sparked protests, and it was also condemned by the SU for promoting anti-choice rhetoric.

The Durham SU is just one amongst a number of Students’ Unions who have taken similar stances and decisions on the abortion debate.

In recent years, a pattern has emerged surrounding the prochoice decision. The creation of a pro-life society tends to happen in retaliation to the confirmation of a pro-choice stance by Students’ Unions, as in Nottingham, Birmingham and Aberdeen.

However, the Durham pro-

life society became affiliated with the University and is listed as a society on the SU website.

Speaking on behalf of Durham Students for Life, PhD student Hanna Lucas called the outcome “disappointing” and “lacking in any reflection on the principles of free enquiry”.

Lucas also believed that it emboldens the “impoverished and intellectually-poisonous icon of ‘us’ and ‘them’”.

On the other hand, many students welcomed the motion, with St Cuthbert’s Feminist Society stating the motion “encourages everyone to realise that women should have the ability to make decisions about their own bodies,” and that the decision would “remove the stigma around the topic of abortion as a whole”.

Despite the motion, Durham Students for Life maintain that they are “thankful to have been affiliated and still have a voice in Durham”.

“women should have the ability to make decisions about their own bodies”

(Maddie Flisher)

In pictures: Durham SU redevelopments

(Naomi Clarke)

7

PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

Comment

Passionate teachers are Venezuela’s final hope confidence in the local police.

Michael Knezevic “The school year is starting cheerfully this Monday” (“Este lunes inician con alegría las actividades escolares”), proclaimed Venezuela’s state-run TV channel, VTV Canal 8, via Twitter.

Meanwhile, many classrooms were left empty as teachers headed to the streets to protest for an increase in their salaries and reforms in the education system.

The average salary in Venezuela is no more than $3 a month, hardly enough to cover the commute to work for most teachers. Yet, the teachers out on the streets were relatively few in number, as many feared reprimands from police and loyalist militias who uphold Nicolás Maduro’s controversial regime.

Protestors outside of the Ministry of Education faced violent opposition from counter-protestors, police, and national guard troops, as VOA News reported.

The country is grappling with a devastating humanitarian crisis, characterised by food and water shortages, power outages, and a dramatic rise in the incidence of violence and criminality. A 2018 Gallup survey ranked Venezuela amongst the most dangerous countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan and South Sudan, citing that only 17% of interviewees felt safe to walk alone at night, and little more - 24% - had

Those left behind face a dwindling hope of rising through the education system to become professionals These perpetual disturbances and a staggering inflation rate of over 900,000% in 2018 (according to the IMF) have prompted a mass exodus of over four million people from the country since 2014 when the economic crisis took hold (United Nations). As people hastily depart in search of better opportunities, lawyers, doctors, professors, and students constitute a huge brain drain which will undoubtedly be a severe hindrance to Venezuela’s growth and development in the long term.

Meanwhile, those left behind face a dwindling hope of rising through the education system to become qualified professionals. Many schools have closed down owing to power cuts, food shortages, and inadequate sanitation, while hyperinflation has rendered basic school supplies, such as pencils and school uniforms, unaffordable to many.

Parents, often with no formal training, are forced to step in as educators, because many primary and secondary school teachers have turned to private tutoring via Skype or headed across the border in search of an income which covers their basic living expenses. The enterprising parents, who take on this

responsibility, are often faced with groups of pupils who attend school for the rarely fulfilled chance of a state-provided meal, rather than an education.

A Bloomberg report on the Simon Bolívar University, once the most prestigious scientific and technological school in the country, details the bleak reality. Having lost half of its teaching staff, the remaining fulltime professors can hope to earn just $25 a month, a salary which is only made possible by alumni donations. The sports complex has fallen into disuse, and thieves have made off with toilets and showerheads from its empty carcass.

A twenty-year-old accountancy student from a public university in La Victoria, a small city outside Caracas, agreed to comment on the situation anonymously. She observed that “Education is not seen as a priority by the government. As far as the current government is concerned, the more illiterate the people, the better.” She argues that a less critical, intellectually held-back population is favourable to Maduro’s fickle hold on power.

strued by many as an attempt to limit the number of people seeking an education, through undermining the incentive of an increased salary and standard of living once working as a qualified professional.

The Education Minister, Aristóbulo Istúriz, blamed U.S. economic sanctions for the problems in his sector and praised the fact that public schools remained available without fees in a televised interview with eReporte in May of this year. Istúriz’s resignation is one of the protestors’ demands. I believe the passionate teachers and motivated students who overcome hunger and the allure of competitive state benefits on a daily basis are the final hope for the country.

Currently, future prospects and economic security have all but disappeared after years of state mismanagement, corruption, and an exclusive dependency on oil revenues.

I believe the passionate teachers and motivated students are the final hope for the country Back in La Victoria, the student mentions her mother’s colleagues, local teachers who “truly love their profession, who love to teach, and [who] say that students and children are the future of Venezuela, and that if they don’t learn – how will we ever progress?”

The country is grappling with a devastating humanitarian crisis Accordingly, with a minimum wage of 40,000 bolivars, workers receive less than recipients of the state’s per-person hand-out of 50,000 bolivars. This rate is con-

(Marquinam)

Johnson’s private life affects the nation - it’s our business Matilda Lloyd Williams

another. Such an argument is a hazard in relationships, and it seems wrong for the press to have so widely reported it.

It is a delicate balance the British press must strike, between its duty to scrutinise our government and public figures, against an individual’s right to privacy; it is wrong to blur this line for the sake of political agendas.

In June 2019, a neighbour reported to the police screaming and crashing coming from the home of Boris Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds; this was widely reported in the press.

Neither Johnson nor Symonds needed medical attention, pressed charges, or curtailed the relationship. While domestic abuse is a complicated beast, this incident seems more a heated argument involving door slamming and laptop bashing than one partner abusing

That Johnson argues with his partner does not necessarily affect his ability to govern That Johnson argues with his partner does not necessarily affect his ability to govern, his judgement or his reason. Anger is a natural emotion, even in politicians. If Symonds had alleged abuse, the situation would be different, for such an issue is against the laws of our country and would cast serious doubts onto the nature of our leader.

If Johnson had an affair with Jennifer Arcuri for no other reason than lust, with no political or economic benefit to either – that is not our business. If Johnson helped Arcuri receive advancements and funding

from his office that she did not deserve; if he interfered with fair process in his position as Mayor to favour Arcuri because of their private relationship – then he has brought his private life into the public sphere and made it a matter of national interest.

If a politician’s private life affects the fate of the nation, suggest an abdication of responsibility or abuse of power – then the press has a duty to investigate. But the normal ups-anddowns of life, tragic deaths and difficult loves, unruly children or sick relatives – in these cases, government office should not compromise the standards of privacy that any other voter enjoys.

If a politician’s private life affects the fate of the nation, then the press has a duty to investigate

(Raymond Wang via Creative Commons)

8

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

Comment

Changing perceptions of social work Ben Summer

(Nualabufege via Creative Commons)

Durham is bursting with volunteering opportunities, from the nationwide charity Nightline to local projects like DUCK (Durham University Charities Committee), demonstrating the hunger amongst students to make a difference. However, this ambition is not guaranteed to link up with career aspirations.

Social work isn’t always an easy sell. Negatives perceptions of the profession are prevalent in popular culture; for instance, social workers are often associated with children being removed from their families.

In reality, it is often the social worker who prevents such things from happening.

You won’t be hard-pressed to find employment opportunities on campus. The entire student experience is geared towards finding a job or further training post-graduation. In an era where young people flock to banking and law straight after uni-

versity, how do you convince students to choose a career in social work?

Negatives perceptions of the profession are prevalent in popular culture That’s where Frontline comes in.

The charity offers a two-year programme training graduates, many from top universities, to become the next generation of social workers.

When social workers are equipped with the proper tools, they can work alongside families to keep children safe. This is not an ideal of what the profession should be, but what all professionals in social care strive to achieve every day.

Creating a generation of dynamic social workers involves recruiting and training high-potential candidates, which is intrinsic to what Frontline does. In 2012, founder and CEO Josh MacAlister identified the profession’s significant shortfall in recruiting “the best and the brightest”, and strived to change this.

Frontline’s training process combines academia and practical experience, scouting all over the country for high-potential graduates.

After weeks of intensive lectures, the selected graduates are put to work with families under supervision from seasoned social workers, meaning they qualify with experience, academic support, and a fully funded master’s degree.

The charity places societal impact at the centre of its social work, aiming to ensure everything they do improves the lives of vulnerable children.

Creating a generation of social workers involves recruiting and training high-potential candidates This mission has attracted huge numbers to apply to Frontline’s twoyear programme. Could this be part of a wider trend of graduates choosing professions with a clear social impact?

Initiations are wrong, but could do some good Emma Chapman For many Durham students, getting involved with sports and societies is a key part of university life. Fast forward past Freshers’ Week and rumours of infamous sports initiations begin to circulate. A mass game of Chinese Whispers - “Did you hear what the rugby boys are made to do?” and “My friend in 3rd year says her’s was awful...” - stirs fear in new students.

Student media are no strangers to initiation horror stories. Last year, The Tab published an article detailing the worst of the lot, from apple bobbing for dead rats at Manchester‘s rugby team to drinks mixed with dog food and raw eggs at York’s hockey squad.

The added excitement of knowing that what you’re doing is secretive Backlash against such stories and fears for student welfare means universities, including Durham, have banned initiations to prevent excess drinking and bullying. Yet the practice is strongly rooted and, if anything, the crack down adds a childlike thrill to initiations.

There’s now the added excitement of knowing that what you’re

doing is secretive and under the radar.

The tradition lives on through a new name: “welcome drinks”. The concept remains unchanged – to boost the ego of returning students and frighten freshers.

The ban has had some effect over the years, with fewer and fewer groups holding hardcore initiations.

However, it is unlikely that we will see a complete end to the practice.

At its heart, an initiation serves a simple purpose: to bring new members into the club No cohort wants to be the group to kill initiations entirely. If you suffered initiations as a fresher, you want to have your turn with the power. Shouldn’t you have a go at the “fun” too?

However, so-called ‘welcome drinks’ aren’t all bad. If the layers of bravado and “fresher-bashing” are stripped back, at its heart, an initiation serves a simple purpose: to bring new members into the club.

If you don’t mind White Ace being duct-taped to your hands and can successfully follow demands to strawpedo a bottle of wine, an initiation can bring club members closer together and improve team cohesion.

So, for initiations to be a positive and exciting experience for everyone, we need to remove the fear.

Freshers should feel comfortable in

the knowledge that they will not be forced to drink alcohol, nor will they be forever condemned by the club for refusing to do a disgusting task.

Some freshers, simply joining the club to play sport on a Saturday morning, may not want to take part at all. That too should be welcomed.

By changing the nature of initiations to focus on cultivating club spirit instead of humiliation and disgrace, they can be used as a force for good.

It is unfair to deprive freshers of the excitement of being welcomed into their new club, as it is equally unfair to continue normalising cruel practices.

Things need to change. And if they do, we may see better sports performances, stronger team bonding and

happier members. After all, a team built on mutual respect will always beat a team built on fear.

It is unfair to deprive freshers of the excitement of being welcomd into their new club

“

For initiations to be a positive and exciting experience, we need to remove the fear

”

(raindog via Creative Commons)

PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

9

Comment

Adjusting to life in an automated world Abraham Leonard Keefe A few years ago, the Institute for Public Policy Research made a startling prediction: that roughly half of the current jobs in the North East were at risk of being replaced, the highest amount for any region in the UK. It would not be by a wave of refuge-seeking immigrants, nor by a mass post-Brexit outsourcing to China or India, but by a looming new industrial revolution - the prospect of large-scale automation.

“Efforts to

reign in big tech are largely a populist talking point

”

This topic has not gone completely unnoticed - across the pond, the prospect of a great technological replacement has been discussed by a wide variety of political personalities, from Tucker Carlson to Andrew Yang.

Efforts to reign in big tech are largely a populist talking point, as populism generally relies on the demonisation of a specific group, be it justifiably (such as in relation to certain corporate bodies), strategically (such as scapegoating immigrants, Jews, or freemasons), or just absurdly (such as blaming lizardmen, annunaki, or aliens). With automation, there are elements of all three.

Of course, there are also those that herald the coming of full automation joyously, such as those at the head of some businesses and corporations.

And why wouldn’t they?

With the amount of exploitation in present-day labour relations, and the focus on systematic and standardised mass production, the robot is the cheap, obedient perfectionist needed to produce and distribute product, where human error and conflicted interest no longer factor into the profit-making equation.

It’s undeniable that with automation, production efficiency is vastly increased.

So then in terms of adequately producing goods for humanity, surely efficiently automated production would be collectively beneficial?

Sadly, no - efficient production does

not always correlate to collectively efficient distribution across the populace.

In fact, technological acceleration could end up as hugely damaging to scoiety, in that the distribution of the produced goods could become massively unequal. Without human labour being a necessity, suddenly mass amounts of the population become useless to the rich and powerful.

Automation also poses a metaphysical question to humanity – what is our role in an automated world?

Without the leverage of being a necessity for the wealth accumulation of the wealthy, suddenly the workers are deprived of the ability to use many of their most successful tactics, including unionisation, strike action and democratically elected government.

Any tiny existing chance of social mobility would be completely wiped out, and those who have made a fortune through exploitation and corrupt lobbying would be cemented ever more to their post at the top of society.

Automation also poses a metaphysical question to humanity – what is our role in an automated world? Manual, material labour would no longer be a human task,

and hence perhaps human purpose would manifest itself from an increasingly intellectual angle, championing human subjectivity and abstract thought over immersion in the material world.

With automation production efficiency is vastly increased Life under automation could be catastrophic under the current system, and to address this there will be challenges: we may need revolutionary action to topple corporate

(Ting_** via Flickr)

power, we may have to act fast while we still have the power and leverage to enact change, and we may need to address the psychological effects of unjustified hierarchy in a way no movement has ever done before.

GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Send your thoughts to: comment@palatinate.org.uk

10

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

Profile

Kate Adie: “You have to go carefully, but that doesn’t mean you don’t go there”

Profile speaks to former BBC news correspondent about feminism, Newcastle-Durham university rivalry and reporting from war zones.

Pip Murrison & Alexandra Beste Profile Editors As a reporter for the BBC, Kate Adie has covered conflicts from the Iranian Embassy siege to the Tiananmen Square protests, has been held at gun and knifepoint, nicked by a bullet, kneed by a policeman in the groin, all to get ‘the story’. It has often been remarked that “getting on a plane at an airport where Kate Adie is getting off” is a good decision.

Prior to her remarkable career, Kate grew up in nearby Sunderland before going on to study at Newcastle University. She fondly recalls how, back then, the Newcastle Students’ Union had bought a greyhound, Newcastle Nowt, so as not to be outdone by Durham University, which had bought a racehorse, Palatinate Purple, to raise funds for the Durham Union.

“Our student newspaper spent its entire time getting into trouble” “He did run in several races and he did okay. But that’s when the Vice-Chancellor intervened, not on the grounds that it was wrong to have a greyhound, but he gathered that so many students were spending their very precarious grants on backing it. And he considered that probably wasn’t the best use of student’s money.”

Another aspect of university that left an impression on Kate was the student newspaper. “Our student newspaper spent its entire time getting into trouble. We kept printing things that people objected to, things that we could be liable for.” She jokes how the Editor “spent his time going down to the printers saying we can’t do the next print run because we are in trouble again.”

Yet despite going on to become one of the most well-known faces on the BBC, Kate recalls, “I never really had anything to do with journalism. It’s a curious thing. I was never tempted to write for the newspaper. It just so happened that later I went into journalism and years later into the BBC.” “I almost drifted into

interviewing as one of my bosses in local radio [Durham Radio] said ‘there’s a job going in Plymouth’ this was on Friday - ‘and they need someone on Monday morning can you go fill in.’ And I turned up as a producer and discovered I was in television, that’s how it was.”

“The reporter on shift on the scene had gone off to a dinner party, so I went in early and it happened” Many consider Kate’s ‘big break’ to have been her coverage of the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980. Kate calmly reported from behind a car door as smoke bombs exploded behind her and as the SAS abseiled in to rescue the hostages.

“I was asked if I’d come in early because the reporter on shift on the scene had gone off to a dinner party so I went in early and it happened, so there you go - there’s an element of luck in every job.”

From then on, Kate would be sent to many other conflict zones.

Kate entered the BBC at a time where women in broadcasting were a minority but insists, “everybody’s workplace was maledominated in those days, misogyny and discrimination were all a part of everyday life.”

“Misogyny and discrimination were all a part of everyday life” “I

turned up sometimes to do work to interview and record and such, and people would say we were expecting a ‘real’ BBC person… People would say ‘could we talk to the producer’ assuming I was a sort of typist. That sort of thing went on all of the time.”

“There were also people who would feel uncomfortable being interviewed by a woman. They would say that it was not right that you were asking the questions.

You just gritted your teeth and got on with trying to do the job. But it was something that all women faced.”

When asked if Kate considered herself a feminist, she quickly replies, “I think any women would

describe themselves as a feminist...

It means equal opportunity… equal pay, equal in the law and it also means taking equal responsibility in society.”

Kate herself has been a target of ‘fake news’ against women, being widely misquoted as saying that modern female journalists have ’cute faces and cute bottoms and nothing else in between.’

“That is a lie, that was put out by someone who invented it, and was picked up by tabloids. It gets repeated because it’s a stick to beat women with. And the person who did it, determinedly said in a quote in a talk, that there is no recording made, no note made, and that it was concocted.”

“It’s a stick to beat women with” “It’s delicious to men who still don’t like women with equal roles in professional roles. So of course, you read it and re-read it, its continuing misogyny there was never any basis to it.”

Kate has covered everything “from natural disasters to floods, earthquakes, famines all of those sorts of things.” Such coverage she admits was “very physically extremely challenging and you’ve got to be able to rough it without complaint pretty well.”

“You’ve got to get on with the fact that there are hardly any facilities. There may be a lack of any sort of food somewhere decent never mind to stay but just sleep.

Sleeping in a vehicle, sleeping on the ground, sleeping in a cave, sleeping in a pigsty - I’ve done all of those sorts of things.”

Being a female foreign correspondent posed further challenges for Kate. “When you go into countries where women have secondary status and are discriminated against, particularly in the law, […] you have to go carefully, but that doesn’t mean you don’t go there.”

“You did not go there to brandish the sword of feminism, but you did go there to do a job” “I always took the view that you did not go there to brandish the

Former journalist Kate Adie is known for her coverage of various war zones (Photograph

by Ken Lennox)

sword of feminism, but you did go there to do a job. You went there to get a story to interview people to get information. And you tried not to let anything get in the way of that because you have a job to do.”

“The world of entertainment has become very much king and news has to fight its corner” Whilst gender imbalances plagued the workforce in the past, Kate cites the decline in news journalism as a modern challenge to the industry, “Television news is under enormous pressure because the entertainment world has more money.”

“News bulletins are now pushed into further regions of time, no longer prime time. That is because entertainment has more power than the news world.”

“You’ve got a progression where

the world of entertainment has become very much king and news has to fight its corner. Its lost its day in the forefront.”

Finally, Kate was keen to address all aspiring journalists. “First of all, it’s a hugely worthwhile job.

Journalism matters. It is a pillar of democracy, it tells truth to power.

It is not just a sort of grand phrase, it’s a necessary function.”

“You find it fascinating, varied, surprising” “The other thing to say to aspiring journalists is that it’s a terrific job, you get to learn so much more about the world around you and you find it fascinating, varied, surprising. Yes, there can be revealed a lot more serious and darker side to life, but it’s an absolutely riveting job. Go for it.”

PALATINATE |Thursday 17th October 2019

11

Profile

Jeremy Vine: “Power is shifting now from expertise to experience”

Profile speaks to journalist and broadcaster Jeremy Vine about his time at Durham, the climate crisis, and the changing world of politics and media.

Alexandra Beste & Pip Murrison Profile Editors Between interviews and talks at the Durham Union and the Cathedral, Jeremy Vine is in high demand when he comes to visit his alma mater. Yet despite his busy schedule, the radio and television broadcaster is happy to do a walkand-talk interview through the streets of Durham with Palatinate.

“The rowers came up and were quite beefy” Strolling from Dunelm House to Palace Green, Jeremy easily takes on the role of tour guide and points out Hatfield College as we cross Kingsgate Bridge. “This was my college. I was C stairs, third floor.

I had one of the windows looking out the back so I had this view (of the river).” He jokes, “I remember being told off by some of the rowers because I put my window open and played really loud music.

The rowers came up and were quite beefy.”

Jeremy recalls some of the antics that went on at the Bailey college when he was a student there in the mid-1980s. “There was a thing where people would be thrown in the pond if they – male and female – were regarded as not being good enough looking to use the bar, which was very silly.”

Outside of college, Jeremy spent a lot of his time at Palatinate, serving as the paper’s Editor in Epiphany Term of 1986. During our stroll, he gets excited when we show him an old copy of one of his editions. The headline – ‘Foul Play’ – triggers his memory.

caused a lot of bother.”

Looking more closely at the old newspaper, he describes how the editors used to lay up the newspaper by hand.

“It does look quite tragic, really” ‘It was basically all typed on the same typewriter which was electric and then it was put together by taking the paper out of the typewriter and gluing it to card that then went down to the printers.’ He quips, “It does look quite tragic, really.”

After his Palatinate days, Jeremy went on to pursue a career in journalism at the BBC. He first worked as a reporter for the Today programme on Radio 4, then served as a Westminster correspondent.

In the late 1990s, he became the broadcasting company’s Africa correspondent. One moment that sticks out to him from this time is a speech by Nelson Mandela.

“He had made a promise that he would put running water in

everyone’s house… He was going to put in the last tap this morning.

And he made a speech about how politics was about that tap. It was the most amazing thing. I thought ‘his reputation is incredible, he will die as a legend… but he still has to put in that tap’. To me that’s what it’s all about, that tap.”

“I love this place. This is the most beautiful building in the world” By now, our walk-and-talk has brought us to Palace Green, but Jeremy still has time for one more question before his sound check at the Cathedral. We ask him how the recent Extinction Rebellion protest in London, during which journalists were prevented from entering the BBC, relates to issues of journalistic impartiality.

“I think with the climate there’s no doubt that it is actually happening and that it is predominantly man-made; those two things have been brought to us by science so I would not want

to question that.”

He continues, “I think the issue about protesting is if breaking the law is acceptable: whether we, the BBC, should be against law breaking because breaking the law is bad, or whether we should be reporting completely impartially and say that this is so important that it might be justified. I think the key is just to get all voices on.’

On that note, he has to race off , but we see him again later during his speech at the Cathedral.

Funnily enough, his opening words that evening seem to add a final note to his city tour, as he says, “I love this place. This is the most beautiful building in the world.”

“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave” During his talk, entitled ‘What on Earth is Going On?’, Jeremy explores the current state of national and international politics.

A central focus is Brexit, which he at one point compares to the

“In the olden days we relied on journalists to tell us stuff, they were gods in a way” In this context, he observes how “power is shifting now from expertise to experience – from people who study things to people who experience them.” Drawing on his experience as the host of his own programme on Radio 2, Jeremy explains, “To talk about a dynamic inside a large family, you book a mother of five. You don’t book the RAC to talk about cars breaking down, you book someone who’s stuck in a van in a hard shoulder on the M6.”

This phenomenon affects both the world of politics as well as the world of journalism. ‘There are more and more incidents where experience defeats expertise...

In the olden days we relied on journalists to tell us stuff, they were gods in a way, people like Sir Robin Day… The stories are now being turned around. You move from listening to astronomers telling us about planets, to hearing the story directly from astronauts.’

“The audience are broad-casting and I am the listener” He jokes that this is “excruciating for me, ladies and gentlemen, but maybe that’s the point - the listeners run it now.” But Jeremy’s message is clear: there is power in the individual voice. “The audience are broadcasting and I am the listener… 25,000 calls, 25,000 astronauts, let’s go.”

“People would be thrown in the pond” “We were talking about foul play which was the… Union Society, isn’t it? That guy, Richard Calland… had overspent on his printing. Somebody who did not want him to be elected went down to the printing company to get his receipts and having got the receipts, they then delivered a kind of revelation on it. So basically, his election was struck down so it

Eagles’ song, “Hotel California”.

He explains, “In the middle of the song, it uses the line: ‘You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.’ That is the status we are now in with the EU.”

Radio and television broadcaster Jeremy Vine was a student at Durham University between 1983-1986. (Photograph by Jack Taylor)

To see more Palatinate Profile interviews, including Tim Luckhurst and Anton du Beke, visit: palatinate.org.uk/category/ profile

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

12

SciTech

Durham scientists capture ‘cosmic web’ Frances Rigby FA team, including astrophysicists from Durham University, has been the first to have directly observed the cosmic web, a huge network of gas filaments that connects galaxies across vast distances.

The gas permeating the space between galaxies is known as the intergalactic medium. Cosmological simulations have predicted that the majority of this gas has formed structures of sheets and filaments, arranged to form the cosmic web.

Galaxy formation and evolution has been predicted to occur at the intersection of these huge gas filaments. This theory has been difficult to show observationally but has now been carried out by a team including researchers from Durham University.

Galaxy clusters comprise of thousands of gravitationally bound galaxies Galaxy clusters are structures comprising hundreds to thousands of gravitationally bound

galaxies. A protocluster is a galaxy cluster still in the process of forming. The team were able to detect individual filaments of gas spanning the distance between the galaxies of the SSA22 protocluster.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, the faint ultraviolet radiation emitted by hydrogen gas in the intergalactic medium between the protocluster galaxies was detected. This allowed the team to map the gas filaments in the protocluster over a length of 1 megaparsec, equivalent to 30 billion billion km.

The light from the SSA22 protocluster has travelled an enormous distance to reach us, taking approximately 12 billion years.

Therefore, observations of the SSA22 protocluster act as a window to the younger Universe, giving insight into how the first galaxies formed following the Big Bang, around 14 billion years ago.

Professor Michele Fumagalli is an astrophysicist at Durham University that co-authored the paper.

He commented: “It is very exciting to clearly see for the first time multiple and extended filaments in the early Universe. We finally have

a way to map these structures directly and to understand in detail their role in regulating the formation of supermassive black holes and galaxies.”

These observations give insight into how the first galaxies formed Cosmological simulations further suggested that a flow of gas from the filaments of the cosmic web due to gravity fuels star formation and supermassive black hole (SMBH) activity within the SSA22 protocluster galaxies. Through observation it was confirmed that the protocluster contains high concentrations of newly formed galaxies with rapid star formation and highly active SMBHs known as active galactic nuclei (AGN). These active galaxies were found to be located within the gas filaments,“the edge of the field that we viewed,” said Hideki Umehata, first author of the paper, from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo and the Riken Cluster for Pioneering Research. “This adds credence to the idea that these filaments are actu-

Not your average web (Image by NASA, via Flickr) ally powering the intense activity that we see within the galaxies inside the filaments.”

The findings provide evidence for the existence and purpose of the cosmic web, one of the largest, yet most difficult to observe structures in the Universe. Important insight can be gained into the pos-

sible process for the birth and development of galaxies in the early Universe, including our very own Milky Way.

Biased science reporting is hard to swallow Callum Bennett Why does a quick Google search of ‘red wine and cancer’ reveal the article “Cancer Risk: Bottle of Wine Equals 5-10 Cigarettes?” alongside “Can A Daily Glass Of Wine Help Prevent Cancer?”?

Part of the problem seems to be with poor reporting of scientific issues The relationship between science and the media is often overlooked, but is highly important.

Most people use news to stay up to date with key developments in scientific fields, which can then lead to shifts in their opinions, lifestyle choices and possibly even how they vote. One field that I feel is very often badly reported on is dietary science, since it seems that every day we are bombarded with shocking and often contradictory statements about what you should

No more bacon? (Image by Didriks, via Flickr) and shouldn’t eat and drink.

Part of the problem seems to be with poor reporting of scientific issues by the media, such as the cherry picking of the most shocking studies (rather than the most rigorous), the assumption of causality from associations, and the misrepresentation and misunderstanding of scientific issues in

the media. Even relatively simple issues in dietary science are very often confused and misreported; a great example of this is the 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) report on the cancer risk associated with eating different types of meat. The Guardian reported the story with the headline “Processed meats pose same cancer risk as

smoking and asbestos, reports say” whereas in The Mirror readers were likely to be shocked by the headline “Eating bacon is ‘as likely to cause cancer as ASBESTOS’” This is simply not true. Even a cursory look over the report will reveal that processed meats were classified as a “Group 1 carcinogen”, which means that “there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer”, since the groups are categorised by the amount of evidence that exposure to the material causes cancer, not the likelihood that the material will cause cancer.

We are bombarded daily with shocking statements about our diets Therefore, the fact that processed meats are in the same group as asbestos, tobacco and plutonium does not mean that eating bacon poses the same “cancer risk” as these other substances,

a fact that was widely available throughout the report and on the WHO website.

Since this fact was so widely available, it seems unlikely that any journalist that actually read the report would fail to understand this.

Therefore, it seems that the report was purposefully twisted in order to seem more shocking, a clickbait tactic which is often deployed in other types of journalism, but that it is disappointing to see so often in science journalism.

For me this highlights the requirement for not only more scientifically literate journalism, but also more scientifically honest journalism, since not only are people’s lifestyles and opinions influenced by the way in which science is reported, but the credibility of science itself may also be harmed.

Want to write for us?

Send an email to scitech@ palatinate.org.uk

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PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

SciTech

Democracy in the age of technology Toby Donegan-Cross Have you ever wondered whether your phone listens to you? If it did, what would that mean? Its grasp on how to manipulate you for profit would be unthinkably draining on your pocket. Whoever it is listening: unknown, unaccountable, untraceable. Perhaps more frightening would be its access to your innermost secrets. Yet put yourself aside for a moment, and ask yourself: what is the bigger picture?

This is one of the questions which provided the impetus for The People Vs Tech: How the internet is killing democracy (and how we save it), writer Jamie Bartlett’s

2018 treatise on what the digital age means for democracy.

Put yourself aside for a moment, and ask yourself: what is the bigger picture?

As a premise goes, it is fairly simple: the archaic, ‘analogue’ processes of creating legislation in parliament are rapidly outpaced by the digital revolution, creating a growing chasm in which unaccountable and uncontrollable forces can operate. The insolvency of Cambridge Analytica in May of last year marked a turning point in how the public understood this conflict. It is

this which forms the starting point for Bartlett’s enquiry.

So far, so good. The book delivers what those who take a trivial interest in the topic might expect, but it is in the following chapters that the book opens the door on the innumerable complexities of the central conflict. For example, Bartlett reveals perhaps the largest peculiarity of Trump’s path to the White House; that it was not Trump, but Theresa Hong, a digital communications specialist, who wrote many of his uniquely Trump-esque tweets.

Chapters four and five deal, respectively, with how artificial in-

telligence affects the workplace and the new economic monopolies caused and reinforced by technology. Yet the most rewarding, revealing and disturbing chapter is the final one, about crypto-anarchy.

Due critical success followed, being shortlisted for an Orwell and taking the 2019 Transmission prize. This owed ,in large part, to the lively sense of voice in the book; upbeat and curious in equal parts.

The reader is left sceptical and glum about democracy’s chances – ‘Cambridge Analytica was just one company of several’.

Throughout it all, a growing sense of rage is compounded with

admiration for the criminal ingenuity of Silicon Valley technocrats.

The reader marvels and fears at what the future will bring should this chasm continue growing. You grow frustrated at yourself. We have all helped contribute to this conflict, and this de facto makes us negligent or even self-destructive.

Authors who write on technology probably wonder about the posterity of their work, as by their very nature, they become outdated within years. Below is a recording of a phone call in which I interviewed Bartlett on his views of what has changed in the past year since his book was published.

An interview with Jamie Bartlett, author of The People vs Tech have been lampooned as someone of the liberal establishment? I suppose if you are talking about democracy in a theoretical way, you might risk being accused of overintellectualising the topic.

Toby Donegan-Cross Toby: Could you tell me a bit about your background, and how you got into your line of work?

Jamie: Well, I graduated from university with a degree in History, and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I floated around for a while. It’s difficult in your twenties, as you have all these ideas and ambitions, but it’s hard to actually get a foot on the ladder. I ended up doing a couple of masters degrees, one at the London School of Economics which I paid for on a credit card because I was so desperate to get something going. I was paying that off until only a few years ago.

The masters was in International Development, and this got me into a research job at a think-tank. I still wasn’t quite sure, but I started getting interested in extremist terrorist groups and radical movements and how they use technology. They are usually very good with technology compared to the rest of us, so that got me into the Dark Net, which was the subject of my first book. I felt that there were so many interesting ways to research online trends that people weren’t doing yet, so I set up a research centre within Demos which started using machine learning to try to understand social trends.

Toby: Could you explain a little more about Demos? How did your research centre fit within the broader aims of Demos?

Jamie: Demos is a research

Jamie: Again, I try to make it as clear and simple as possible. I try to avoid any funny jargon or too many theories. But when you write these books, it always goes to a particular audience. I really try to be neutral, because that’s my job: I am a writer and researcher, not a politician. think tank which has been around since 1993. It started as a sort-of Blairite, reform the Labour Party, centrist type thinktank that always claimed to be run separately from formal politics. All think tanks try to take academic work and try to make it make sense for people who write policies, and for journalists too.

Toby: And out of this came the book?

Jamie: Well, not really. They’re actually quite independent. I wrote the Dark Net in 2014, which is probably my most well-known.

But the books have always been a little bit independent. I still cover both areas, and I have an interest in researching how life is online, but they are technically separate.

The People Vs Tech came more out of the BBC series I did, The Secrets of Silicon Valley.

Toby: I was interested that your book was, well, not apolitical, but

Jamie Bartlett (Image via Wikipedia) that it didn’t particularly align to one party-political agenda. I wondered if you had a sense of what types of people had been most receptive to your message.

Jamie: That I don’t know, but that the book is non-party-political is important, because I don’t feel like this is a left or right-wing problem. I think there is something a lot deeper going on about how society and democracy is structured, so I try to go out of my way to avoid making it about party positioning.

Toby: I suppose it strengthens the message.

Jamie: Well, I hope it does! At the moment, actually, it’s really quite difficult to stay as someone who is neutral or objective about these issues.

Toby: Have you found that you

Toby: Since the book’s publication in April of last year, I wondered what your assessment is of how the world has changed since then? If you were to write the book again, would you do anything differently now? Have the questions which you were asking changed at all?

Jamie: The thing is about any and every book I have written, is that I have always ended up feeling the same way. When you write a book, you get a reaction from people, you speak at events, people email you and give you ideas and feedback about what you should have included, even if you don’t ask for it. There are always things which make me think ‘I wish I’d have put that in! I should have analysed it slightly differently.’ For example, I should have focused more on facial recognition technology, because that was obviously going to become a big question, and would have been easy to incorporate, yet I barely touched it

at all. Interestingly, though, public awareness about this stuff is way higher now than when the book came out. Although the book came out in April, I was writing it a year before that, and thinking about it a year before that. The ideas that I was toying over in my head were in 2016.

Toby: That would have been when Cambridge Analytica was at the height of its criminal operation?

Jamie: Well, most of what they did I don’t think was criminal. It was mostly perfectly legal, but they were just using the system in the way it’s supposed to be used.

People have since then realised that they don’t like the way in which the system is meant to be used. If you just think of it as a criminal act, it is easy to say ‘it’s just a bad actor using the system’, rather than thinking it’s a systematic problem. So when the book came out, people rightly said that attitudes were changing. I am really glad that they are now thinking about it, and I’m more optimistic now than when the book came out because of how much people are thinking about these issues.

NB: Since our interview, Bartlett has begun a new series on BBC sounds, The Missing Cryptoqueen. It centres around Dr Ruja, who, in 2016, promised a financial revolution akin to Bitcoin. Armed with legions of devoted believers, her company made billions from global investors before she abruptly disappeared.

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PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

Politics

Trump impeachment: what’s going on?

Reeya Gadhvana For many voters, and indeed the general public, the Trump impeachment inquiries have become a slightly convoluted affair.

With an ever-increasing list of actors, intentions and evidence emerging, it’s perhaps first most useful to outline the essential facts.

The inquiry centres around President Trump’s pressuring of Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in an attempt to convince the latter to investigate people and issues of political concern to Mr. Trump.

This includes, crucially, Hunter Biden, against whom the President has raised corruption allegations.

These developments came to the forefront due to a yet unnamed whistle-blower, whom we only know is former CIA. Thus, a national debate has arisen around the adventures of Trump and his band of aides, to the delight of Democrats, and disdain of the majority of Republicans.

A scandal involving Hunter could give Trump the political leverage he needs Why Hunter Biden? As the son of former Vice President Joseph Biden, who is perhaps Trump’s most likely rival out of all the Democratic candidates, a scandal involving Hunter could give Trump the political leverage he needs with the American electorate in the upcoming 2020 election.

To many, impeachment may

seem a slightly excessive response to a seemingly typical political occurrence - leaders collaborating with foreign leaders for matters of perceived state interest. However, President Trump’s misgivings are far and wide.

France’s IVF bill Sol Noya-Carreno Thousands have gathered in street demonstrations in Paris to oppose a new bill which would expand the availability of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other fertility treatments from infertile heterosexual couples to single women and lesbian couples. Attendance statistics have varied: police estimated around 42,000 people attended while Occurrence (a media-funded research company) estimated 74,000.

Police estimated around 42,000 people attended Under the new bill, the cost of IVF and other fertility treatments would be funded by healthcare for lesbian couples and single women.

The bill would also give the children of sperm donors the right to discover the donor’s identity once

they reach the age of 18. The draft of the bill has passed the lower house of parliament and is due to reach the Senate later this month.

Mostly attended by members and supporters by rightwingandconservativegroups The protests were mostly attended by members and supporters of right-wing and conservative groups, such as Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party.

Although the Catholic Church has criticised the bill, it has not directly encouraged the protests.

So far, the marches have remained non-violent, in contrast with the protests against the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2013.

If passed, the bill will bring French policy in line with other European countries, such as the UK and Belgium.

Wednesday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

Politics

Hong Kong protest updates

Tabatha Baylis Despite the police’s continued use of tear gas, rubber bullets and a new mask ban, Hong Kong protestors show no sign of relenting.

The long standing use of police brutality is no longer restricted to Hong Kong’s adults - approximately ​750 of those arrested s​ o far have been under 18 years old​; a statistic which caused an outcry among the

Impeachment may seem a slightly excessive response to a typical political occurrence First to note is the imbalance of power between the two figures.

Ukraine is a nation that receives substantial amounts of aid from the US, which have, under Trump’s orders, been withheld since conversations began. While initially denied, it later became clear that the circumstantial relationship between aide, a presidential visit, and the willingness of Zelensky to cooperate with the corruption investigation was, in fact, on a quid pro quo basis. A definitive abuse of power on Trump’s behalf.

A further issue arises from the fact that, as Head of the Executive branch of government, Trump possesses control over the nation’s intelligence agency, the FBI. Such inquiries into Hunter Biden could easily proceed with a simple request. Instead, notes from his phone call with Zelensky were stored in a highly secure system reserved for classified information.

Intermediaries such as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, handled the negotiations covertly.

It is this push for secrecy which has, for many observers, substantiated uneasiness.

16

people of Hong Kong. ​Footage​has emerged of a young high school student being shot at point blank range with a live round, marking a major escalation in the use of force.

In terms of business, the potential PR minefield has made itself evident as commercial firms scramble to placate China. ​After facing intense criticism from the Chinese state media​, Apple removed an app that enabled Hong Kong protestors to track the police, plunging the technology giant deeper into the

complicated politics of a country that is integral to its business.​In an ​email ​to employees, Tim Cook, Apple’s Chief Executive, said that the company had removed the app after receiving ‘credible information’ that ‘the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present.’ As a result, the app violated Apple rules and local laws.

Many firms are struggling to balance the enormous economic opportunity that comes with being a Chinese ally, with its 1.4 billion consumers, and the tarnished public image that comes with giving way to a government that has become inherently authoritarian.

The potential PR minefield has made itself evident as firms scramble to placate China Working Families Party via flickr The defendants of Trump remain considerable. However, as Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan explains, whether it be Zelensky, Putin or China, these investigations implicate a ‘foreign’ influence on the American political system. Further still, it is unconstitutional and illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning an election.

While an impeachment inquiry doesn’t necessarily mean the end of Trump, it does mean law-

makers take a serious look into his activities. The President’s administration continues to refuse cooperation, even while it is reported that more than half of US voters want Trump impeached and removed from office.

A definitive abuse of power on Trump’s behalf Democrats have ostensibly shown support in favour of an inquiry, with Republican consensus largely

in support of Trump. In the midst of growing evidence, indictments of Giuliani’s associates for their part in the pressure campaign, and Trump’s placement in the defensive, an upheaval seems likely, if not now, then in 2020.

Studio Incendo via Wikimedia Commons

REALITY CHECK? For sources on this and all our articles please see our online editions at www.palatinate.org.uk

Welsh independence by 2030?

Lydia Buckroyd Despite Plaid Cymru’s ambitious promise of a Welsh independence referendum by 2030, there’s almost no chance that it will actually happen. We only need to look into the results of previous referenda to see why - both the 2016 EU referendum and 2014 Scottish referendum have become some of the most divisive occasions of the 21st Century. Both have threatened to destroy the status quo of British

politics, and for a government to take the risk of a third decisive and important vote would be almost unthinkable.

Both the EU and Scottish referendums have threatened to destroy the status quo More than that, we have to consider the fact that there’s little to no public demand for such a vote.

While Plaid Cymru may be willing

Llywelyn2000 via Wikimedia Commons

to make sweeping political statements for media attention, backing for the promise is still in a minority, despite recent increases in support.

Add to this the country’s industrial weakness, and the fact that historic calls for autonomy have been rooted in a desire for cultural recognition, not wide-reaching autonomy, and the probability that the public would ever vote in favour of independence becomes slim.

There’s little to no public demand for a vote All of these factors form a clear image of the improbability of a referendum - because the public are unlikely to ever support it in large enough numbers to warrant a vote, the government will be able to justify skirting the issue on the grounds of potential future division caused by any referendum. Plaid Cymru may have to settle for disappointment this time.

Companies​​ ranging from Marriott to Versace​​ have hurried to backtrack on any apparent slights against China. Carrie Lam has stated her refusal to rule out possible intervention from Beijing​ . However, for the moment it seems that city authorities have been entrusted with managing the protests, even as resistance grows increasingly passionate - or desperate.

Austria votes Oscar Elmon Support for the Austrain far-right fell as former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) looks set to form a new government. ÖVP won the legislative election with 37.5% of the vote, winning 71 seats, whilst the 2nd place Social Democratic Party of Austria had 21.2% and 40 seats.

Austria’s far-right party, Austria’s Freedom party (FPÖ), had been in coalition with ÖVP until their leader,then Vice-Chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache resigned in May after scandal.

Strache was covertly filmed offering large public contracts in exchange for campaign support from a woman he believed was the niece of a Russian oligarch.

This election has allowed Kurz to reclaim his title as the world’s youngest leader, aged just 33 This caused the collapse of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition government and triggered the calling of a snap election.

FPÖ saw their vote share fall by over a third, as they lost 20 seats with only 16.2% of the vote, compared with 26% in 2017.

European Council President via Flickr Austria had been led by a caretaker government, led by caretaker constitutional lawyer Brigitte Bierlein. This was after Sebastian Kurz became the first Chancellor of modern history to be removed from office due to a no-confidence vote.

This election has allowed Kurz to reclaim his title as the world’s youngest leader, aged just 33.

The Green Party had a better election night that in 2017, in which they failed to reach the required 4% for seats in parliament.

The party gained 8.6% of the vote, reaching 12.4%, to re-enter parliament.

Protests in Iraq: fighting the system Tanay Vankayalapati The latest surge of nationwide protests in Iraq are indicative of a country struggling to recover from nearly two decades of conflict and uncertainty. Since the start of October, thousands have flooded the streets to protest against not just the current government of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, but more crucially, their seemingly unending cycle of suffering. The day-to-day lives of the people in Iraq show no signs of improving, whilst the political system which is supposed to fight for them appears only to be fighting for itself.

The day-to-day lives of the people of Iraq show no signs of improving Sold promises of economic prosperity by successive leaders, most Iraqis are not seeing any real change. Since 2003, the unemployment rate for Iraqis has remained persistently high,

especially for the young people leading protests, of whom around 25% remain without a job, according to the World Bank.

Most Iraqis are not seeing any real change At the same time, essential public services remain woeful and many are stuck in poverty.

In response, the Prime Minister promised increased security jobs, but to most of the protesters, his words are worthless. Coming into office with pledges of reducing corruption and ending the elite’s domination of Iraqi politics and public life, he has, like so many of his predecessors, achieved little.

Government ethnic quotas persist, meaning its administration remains controlled by a select few factions - far from a meritocracy.

Government remains controlledbyaselectfewfactions The reaction from these political leaders offer little hope. A

harsh crackdown from troops, acting on the orders of the very elites the protests are targeting, has left more than 100 dead, and for many, internet access has been blocked. The praise for pro-

testors from those in power are in sharp contrast to the authoritarian realities they are facing.

The UN has condemned the crackdown, calling for those responsible to be held to account, but

Yaz Albaz via flickr their words are unlikely to have much impact. Iraqis have got the attention and sympathies of the wider world, but until they see real change, their protests will be futile.

17

PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

Politics

Boris brings brand new Brexit plans Kai Dattani Boris Johnson’s latest Brexit plans come in the context of months of dangling the apparent inevitability of No Deal over Parliament and the public, a consequential split in the Conservative Party, and an unlawful prorogation of Parliament. In light of the Benn Act, which forces Johnson’s hand in asking the EU for an extension of Article 50, if no deal can be agreed, this new Brexit plan may be the only way Johnson can keep his promise of leaving the EU on Halloween.

However, there are inevitable hurdles to overcome - hurdles that appear very similar to the ones that cost Theresa May her Brexit deal and her job.

So, what’s actually in it? Boris Johnson has knocked together something that departs from May’s deal, in the sense that there is no longer any ‘backstop’ that could keep the United Kingdom tied into the Customs Union. In its cur-

rent form, the deal attempts to overcome the Irish border issue through the creation of a Northern Irish regulatory alignment with the EU, which can be amended through a vote in the Northern Irish Assembly every four years.

In terms of custom checks, the language and rhetoric being used continues to be vague and undetailed, referencing electronic checks away from the border. The actual details of any potential system remains buried away, possibly in the archives of some think tanks, with the EU still remaining unconvinced as to the feasibility of these measures.

The language and rhetoric used continues to be vague and undetailed On paper, this sounds like something that may just have the potential to tick all the boxes and work its way through the current fractured Parliament. The DUP retain

EU2017EE Estonian Presidency via Flickr a level of control over Northern Irish customs, whilst harder, ERGtype Brexiteers can see that the UK will not have to enter the Customs Union. Some Labour MPs, fearful of the wrath of their Leave voting constituents if they do not deliver Brexit, have even offered their lukewarm support.

However, this has all the signs of another Chequers situation. Johnson’s new plan is about to undergo a long and ‘intensive’ phase of negotiations and inevitable modification. What has started as ‘regula-

tory alignment’, subject to a vote in the Northern Irish Assembly, may eventually evolve into full membership of the Customs Union for Northern Ireland, something that the DUP and some harder Brexiteers would not accept.

This has all the signs of another Chequers situation Johnson may be forced to choose between a compromised Brexit deal, or the potential of no Brexit

at all – something that could both destroy his premiership and the modern Conservative Party as we know it.

Furthermore, as both Labour and the ex-Tory rebels become more ardent in their Remain credentials, this Brexit crisis continues to exist as a hung Parliament crisis.

Too hard for some Tories and too soft for the ERG, the risk still exists that our broken and divided Parliament may not be able to pass any Brexit deal at all.

Brexit: Democracy under the microscope Oscar Duffy No day goes by without someone mentioning Brexit. While many are bored by this, in essence, what the past three years have taught us is that an opinion on Brexit is just as much about how you define democracy as it is whether or not you want to stay in the European Union.

Remainers have become, by default, advocates of representative democracy, emphasising the supremacy of Parliament in order to smooth over the result of the referendum in 2016. Leavers take a different approach, bypassing the idea of trusteeship and appealing to the sense of direct democracy and people power that existed in the ethos of Brexit, tying the referendum to the taking back control narrative that defined the campaign.

The very idea of what British democracy is has deteriorated The very idea of what British democracy is has deteriorated, and the product of Brexit will not be a stronger or weaker Britain outside of the EU, but a deeply damaged democracy, defined by politicians bowing to smaller pressure groups rather than parliamentary process.

Let us look to the most obvious form of democracy that can be defended in this debate: the referendum in 2016, the vote that started

it all, or indeed ended it depending on where you stand. By definition, referendums are advisory affairs, meant to guide government and parliamentary policy through an explicit expression of public sentiment. This is the argument often put forward by Remainers, and while true, it is thin. While policy may state that referendums are not binding, why put the question to the people in the first place, if you don’t have the intention of following through?

By definition, referendums are advisory affairs, meant to guide government Besides, the argument that the referendum has no legitimacy was not shouted so emphatically back in 2017 when article 50 was triggered. It’s only now, when the process has become so overwrought that politicians are resorting to calling into question the very democratic credentials of the initial vote.

Rapidly changing events mean that constitutional circumstances have changed. This is not to say that we should have a second referendum, but to illustrate that the staunch defence of the democracy that Leavers revere can be countered using definitions of democracy itself. If elected politicians delegate important decisions to the public, why are they elected to make decisions in the first place?

This is the argument that Remainers are beginning to cling to.

A perfect microcosm of the impossible conundrum between parliamentary and direct democracy is found in the Liberal Democrat proposal to stop Brexit should they gain a majority in the next election.

On the one hand, cancelling Brexit without a second referendum is a denial of the 2016 referendum, the nightmare of hard-line Brexiteers in the European Research Group and a denial of the legitimacy of direct democracy. It applies the arguments of the supremacy of parliamentary power through the theory that a majority in the House of Commons is a greater indication of public will than a referendum three years ago.

Democracy is in the public consciousness, but can anyone really define it?

However, while this policy can be backed up by theory, does the rhetoric surrounding the importance of direct democracy mean that carrying out this policy would be the straw that broke the camel’s back?

Would the perceived breakdown of democracy lead to the actual breakdown of it? None of this is clear.

The only undeniable argument is that democracy is in the public consciousness more than ever, but can anyone really define it? via Pxhere

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

18

Sport

“I take great pride in putting Spennymoor back on the map”

Jason Ainsley has taken Spennymoor Town to the brink of the National League since being appointed manager in 2007, and juggles management with a job in education. He tells Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero how he does it.

Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero Sport Editor Situated seven miles south of Durham, Spennymoor is a town of some 19,000 inhabitants. Its football team sits in the bottom half of the National League North, and you would be forgiven for thinking this was an unremarkable North East club at first glance. But that would be to disregard the incredible story of Spennymoor Town and their Manager, Jason Ainsley.

“I was just pleased when Arsene Wenger got the sack,” Ainsley laughs. “Out of the top six divisions in English football, I think I’m the Manager who’s been at one club for the longest, so I’m pleased with that”.

It is hard to verify Ainsley’s claim, but nobody in the Premier League or Football League can challenge his longevity. The closest to his record in the top four divisions is Jim Bentley, whose eight years and counting at Morecambe is still four years off Ainsley’s time in charge of Spennymoor. In any case, this 12year journey of club and manager has seen winning the FA Vase at Wembley, three promotions in the past six years and a total overhaul of the team’s fortunes on and off the pitch.

“I’m the manager who’s been at one club for the longest out of the top six divisions” Ainsley’s success at Spennymoor is even more remarkable considering he juggles management of the club with a job in education. Previously Head of Behaviour at St Peter’s Academy in South Bank, Teesside, he is a Head of Year at Mortimer College in South Shields. Ofsted have just completed their inspection of the school when we speak, and Ainsley says he is “over the moon” with how it has gone.

How he has any time to talk is a mystery. He is watching the Under18’s in the FA Youth Cup when he answers the phone, and the shouts and whistles from that game form the backdrop to our conversation.

He says Headteacher, Simon Hignett, and the rest of the staff at Mortimer College have been hugely understanding in giving him time to prepare for each fixture, while his wife has been the “backbone” to his success.

He says the two jobs complement each other perfectly. “It’s an 1116 school – my lads are all above that but act like 16-year-olds,” he tells me. “It’s very, very similar.

You’re having to deal with various different characters, various different man-management skills, so they go hand-in-hand.”

“Spennymoor United folded in 2005 with looming debts, but Spennymoor Town was born from its ashes” Ainsley is a passionate figure on the touchline, and he appreciates that there is a certain irony to his title as Head of KS4 Behaviour at Mortimer College. “I keep saying I’m going to settle down on the sideline, but it never happens. I think I’ve been a good lad this year, though. I am getting better.”

Born in Stockton, Ainsley turned out for Hartlepool United in the Football League and captained what was then known as Spennymoor United in his playing days. He played for a host of other non-league clubs in the North East, and enjoyed spells abroad in Australia and Singapore.

Spennymoor United folded in 2005 with looming debts, but Spennymoor Town was born from its ashes after merging with Evenwood Town, another Northern Premier League side in trouble. When Ainsley’s good friend Jamie Pollock stepped aside from managing the club, having guided them to promotion from Division Two of the Northern League in 2007, the former Spennymoor Captain and thenAssistant Manager was his logical replacement.

But Ainsley still had a huge task on his hands with the club on the verge of bankruptcy and their Brewery Field home ground in ruins.

The turning point was Bradley Groves’ appointment as Chairman in 2009. The new owner wanted the club to be ambitious but also self-sufficient, hence why Spennymoor Town turned down promotion from the Northern League First Division. This is despite winning the title three years in a row – something which the rules do not allow anymore.

“When the Chairman came in, the Council weren’t on speaking terms with the club,” says Ainsley.

“They owed gas bills, they owed electric bills, the ground was horrendous.

The Chairman decided to get everything in order first. Do I agree with it? I think if you win the league, you have to go up. But they were the rules, and the Chairman wanted to build a solid foundation first.”

Arguably, Ainsley’s finest moment as Spennymoor Town Manager came in the 2013 FA Vase final at Wembley. Spennymoor

Ainsley is known for his passion on the sidelines and is also a head of behaviour at Mortimer College. (David Nelson)

were favourites having overcome Guernsey over two legs in the semifinals – the first of which they had to fly to and which was beamed live back to County Durham. They narrowly beat Tunbridge Wells to lift the trophy in front of 7,000 travelling supporters.

“It was a really good atmosphere, but I didn’t enjoy the game because it was a tense affair,” he admits. “I think I was the first one in bed about midnight and I was drained. It was an awful day at times because you had to leave lads out who played a massive part in the season and who could have played at Wembley.”

“I work at an 11-16 school and it’s very similar to football management” You sense that Ainsley takes greater pride in how the club has progressed over the past decade.

He has already taken Spennymoor higher than they have ever been before, and last season they were a penalty shootout away from reaching the National League in the play-off final against Chorley, which Ainsley describes as “heartbreaking”. For him, the Vase final is just one highlight in a long list of achievements at Spennymoor Town.

“Obviously the Wembley final sticks out in everybody’s memory,” he says. “But we’ve had some massive games in the play-off

finals which we’ve overcome. And just being on the same pitches as Stockport County, York City, and clubs like that. You have to pinch yourself sometimes because Spennymoor’s only a small town and you’re competing with fulltime clubs with big support bases.”

There have been tangible results off the pitch, too. Ainsley recalls how he used to avoid bringing potential signings to Brewery Field because the stadium had gone “to wrack and ruin,” but it is unrecognisable now thanks to extensive work. Earlier this month, Phil Neville’s England Women’s Squad trained at the ground prior to their Middlesbrough friendly against Brazil.

The club boasts an impressive academy, and home games regularly attract crowds of more than 1,200. Perhaps this has something to do with the appeal of non-league football and the struggles of North East clubs in the top four divisions, but Ainsley says it is also down to Spennymoor’s attractive style of football.

“People get surprised when they come and watch Spennymoor. The loyal supporters know, but it’s real good football and they’ll get their value for money. When you go and watch Football League clubs and Premier League clubs, the players don’t get close to the supporters; everybody knows everybody here. There’s a real community spirit, and I think that’s what’s important.”

So what’s next for Ainsley and Spennymoor Town after missing out on promotion to the National League by the smallest of margins last year? Ainsley seems to be realistic about the Club’s chances, but firmly believes his side can make it to the fifth tier of English football. That would mean the Football League would be just one promotion away.

“There’s a real community spirit” “Whatever happens, and management’s never forever, I’ll take great pride in putting Spennymoor back on the map,” he says.

“If you’d told me 10 years ago that there’d be 1,200 supporters here at the ground, that there’d be under-soil sprinkler systems on the pitch, new stands, new ground, I’d have said you were joking.

“This club can go in the conference and I don’t think there’s as big a gap as what people think. On our day, we’ll give any team a game. But we’re a part-time club, and we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s at it from the start, because if they’re not then we just become another ordinary team.”

“I’ll take great pride in putting Spennymoor back on the map”

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PALATINATE | Thursday 17th October 2019

Sport

Durham Women lead the way in FA WSL 2...

Tim Sigsworth Sport Editor Ahead of their game against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday 13 October, Durham Women, managed by Steph Liddey, were unbeaten in four games with a 100 per cent winning start to the WSL2 season.

Their success, perhaps even their very existence, is made all the more remarkable by the unique circumstances in which the club operate.

Durham are the only outfit in either WSL division not to be attached to a men’s team, and therefore possess neither the subsidies nor the pre-established fanbases with which many of their competitors are blessed.

Durham Women’s success is even more remarkable given theiy are the only WSL outfit not affiliated to a men’s club Similarly unique is the club’s relationship with Durham University. Their roots can be traced back to 2006, when current General Manager Lee Sanders founded South Durham and

Cestria Girls - a youth football club for girls.

In 2014, Cestria partnered with Durham University and applied to join the newly-expanded Women’s Super League as Durham Women F.C.

Their success is made more remarkable by their unique circumstances As part of this partnership, the club has unfettered access to the University’s state-of-the-art facilities at Maiden Castle, owing to their small budget; Durham would not usually be able to access such high-quality facilities.

Alongside training and player development, the Wildcats also benefit from their relationship with the University in terms of recruitment.

Four of their current squad − defender Kathryn Hill, midfielder Megan Bell and forwards Molly Sharpe and Iris Achterhof − signed for the club on scholarship deals akin to those commonplace in American university sport.

Whilst playing part-time in the WSL, the costs of undergraduate or postgraduate tuition at the University, as well as accommodation in the city, are

insert caption here (insert credit here)

covered by the club.

Moreover, after the demise of Sunderland Women, the absence of any other professional women’s football club in the North East of England has allowed Durham to establish firm links with local clubs through their sister club programme.

They also have a strong team of reserves, Durham Cestria,

which allows young players to develop in a strong, competitive environment.

Cestria won the North East Regional Women’s Football League last season and currently occupy third place in the FA Women’s National League Division 1 North.

As such, astute decision-making and off-pitch innovation are working to great effect for the

underdogs based at New Ferens Park.

Durham’s recent performance pays testament to women’s football as the premier format of the sport within the city.

The Wildcats benefit from their close relationship with the University

...and Durham Palatinates reach WBBL semis Betty Codona WBBL Trophy on a double-header weekend in Essex in late September.

Several summer signings have buoyed the Palatinates On Friday 27 September, hosts Essex Rebels were defeated 7866 with Hayward, Elderkin and MacDonald putting up 21, 19 and 17 points, respectively.

Elderkin’s double-double was perhaps the best performance on the day, especially as it came alongside twenty-one rebounds and three assists.

The following day, in the quarterfinals of the same competition, Sheffield Hatters were dispatched 60-50, with Hayward, Elderkin and MacDonald all scoring double figures once again.

Now into the semi-finals, the Palatinates will face off against Nottingham Wildcats in a one-leg tie. insert caption here (insert credit here)

Tim Sigsworth Sport Editor Durham Palatinates, the University’s Women’s Basketball team, have made a blinding start to the new Women’s British

Basketball League season.

After making several summer signings, including Leicester Riders’ Dee Hayward and Claire Paxton, and Newcastle Eagles’ Kara Elderkin and Ferrol’s Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee, the Palatinates

have won their opening three games with an average margin of victory of 17.3 points.

Having reached the final of the competition last season, Lee Davie’s side started as they meant to go on, with two victories in the

The Palatinates returned to Durham for their first home game of the season On 5 October, in the first round of the WBBL Cup, Essex Rebels were once again the opponents

as the Palatinates returned to Durham for their first home game of the season.

In contrast to the meeting between the two sides a week prior, the match was far more comfortable for the hosts as they triumphed with a resounding 8757 victory.

Hayward was on particularly fine form, adding eight rebounds, five assists and four steals to her impressive points tally of 24.

Equally impressive was Team England’s Mollie Campbell, who notched up a respectable eleven points, fourteen boards, four assists and a block.

The Palatinates will face Nottingham Wildcats in the semi-finals Their performances deservedly earned them a place in the WBBL’s All-Star Five for the week, with Fong Lyew Quee’s twenty points and Elderkin’s thirteen boards also deserving of mentions.

Moving into the quarter-finals of the Cup, the Palatinates will play Oakland Wolves at home in the next round. Durham’s next home game is against BA London Lions at the Sports and Wellbeing Park, Maiden Castle on 19 October.

20

Sport

Thursday 17th October 2019 | PALATINATE

One-on-one with Jason Ainsley

The Spennymoor Town manager on juggling football with a career in education (page 18)

Wildcats roar into life in WSL 2

The story behind Durham Women FC’s table-topping start to the season (page 19)

Team Durham off to winning start on first BUCS Wednesday Tim Sigsworth

Sport Editor

DURFC, pictured here in victory against Exeter last season, got their 2019-2020 campaign off to the best possible start with a 25-18 win over Bath (Jamie Smith)

DUHC target another season of success Alana Ker Mercer

Deputy Sport Editor Having returned in August for an intensive pre-season with two brand-new pitches at their disposal, Durham University Hockey Club are looking ahead to an exciting season full of changes and competition.

This year, BUCS have altered the traditional system of play within the top two sides of the University, hoping to raise the level of competition and standard experienced by the leading University sides.

The 1st and 2nd squads will now play a series of eight games each, four played at home and four away.

This new system will see both 1st squads travel the length of the country to Exeter, Bath and Bristol, whilst the women’s 2s journey to Oxford and the men’s 2s venture north to Edinburgh.

As a result of the new system,

DUHC will see a clustering of games whereby both the men’s 1sts and 2nds and the women’s 1sts and 2nds will compete against the same opposition on the same day, further raising the level of support at the matches.

The first of these clusters for DUHC will take place on Wednesday 20th November, with the squads hosting four home fixtures against Nottingham University.

Durham University Hockey is a highly competitive club, possessing five men’s and five women’s teams. DUHC not only participates in Wednesday BUCS competitions and cup rounds, but also chooses to be an active opposition in Saturday leagues, with the 10 teams travelling all over the North and across the UK. Each team trains once or twice weekly, with the top squads receiving gym sessions and physiotherapy. Members within the top squads then offer up time to volunteer coaching the 3s-

5s, whilst also teaching skills to the next generation in providing sessions on Sundays to the Durham Juniors. Players are also offered the opportunities to develop umpiring skills through the Team Durham umpire development program.

The club’s top teams host a variety of players, all of whom either have or currently do represent their individual nations such as Tess Howard, a Castle Geography student and senior GB hopeful.

Other names include Izzie Howell, a second year and member of the Welsh women’s hockey side, goalkeepers Louisa Bray and Ollie Payne for GB U23s, 1st team women’s captain Kerry-Anne Hastings for Scotland and Natalie Konnerth for USA development.

DUHC have previously claimed the title of Number One Hockey University within the UK, adding to the many titles already held by Team Durham as one of the top team sports universities in the country.

The Men’s 1sts have successfully reached the BUCS finals for the past three years, claiming gold in 2018 alongside the women’s 2s.

For the season ahead and with turnouts to trials greater than positions available on teams, expectations are high.

Already the club has seen the Women’s 3s place eight shots behind Manchester University’s goal-line, the Men’s 4s defeat Newcastle University and the Women’s 5s claim an impressive victory against Sheffield Hallam in BUCS and the Women’s 2s maintain an early winning streak in their Saturday league prior to the start of their own BUCS competition.

The club once again aims to keep up its feared status on a national level, upholding their motto of possessing players and squads that are ‘reassuringly talented’ and offering hockey at the highest standard in the pursuit of many BUCS titles and top spots in league rankings.

With a new academic year now underway, Team Durham have kicked off the new British Universities and College Sport (BUCS) campaign in fine form.

In the men’s Super Rugby series, the UK’s premier interuniversity rugby league, Durham triumphed 25-18 over Bath thanks to three tries and a number of conversions from Nathan Wyman at Rosslyn Park on Friday 4 October.

Five days later, in the first BUCS Wednesday of the year, there was plenty of action here in Durham, with the men’s and women’s football 1s beating Birmingham and Edinburgh’s 1s 3-0 and 4-0 respectively.

Edinburgh were also the opposition for a women’s lacrosse double header, with Durham’s 1s and 2s both running out winners by considerable margins; the 2s’ 17-5 win was followed soon after by a 15-6 victory for the 1s.

Indeed, lacrosse was where Durham enjoyed their best successes on the day, with all seven teams winning and none conceding more than six points.

The first Durham-Newcastle derbies of the season took place on the hockey pitches at Maiden Castle, as the men’s and women’s 4s secured +3-1 and 2-1 wins over their local rivals. This comes after DUHC’s intensive preseason in preparation for BUCS altered competition this season.

Indoors, on the badminton court, the men’s 1s dispatched Birmingham’s 1s 7-1 whilst the 2s triumphed 5-3 in a tight, hardfought match against York’s 1s.

In netball, losses for the 1s and 3s were offset by victories for the 2s, 4s and 5s, as the men’s tennis 1s’ sumptuous 12-0 win against Loughborough’s 1s was mirrored by equally impressive 3-0 victories for the men’s and women’s volleyball 1s against Newcastle and Sheffield Hallam.

Want to write for us? Email us at sport@palatinate.org.uk