861 Palatinate (75th anniversary)

FORTNIGHTLY NEWSPAPER FOR DURHAM UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Palatinate 75th Anniversary Commemorative Edition

Editorial Staff

Editors: A.Burman, King’s College. L.W. George, Bede College.

Sports Editor: P. Kaufmann, St. Cuthbert’s Society Societies Sub Editor: J. Spaul, Hatfeld College.

Business Managers: E.Bardgett, University College. A.Marsh, King’s College. Publicity: D. I. King, University College.

Editorial

“ Let’s have a university newspaper ” said Mr. Kaufman (DUSRC Representative).

“ Fair enough - go ahead ” said S.R.C. And we did !

Dear readers - Palatinate-Palatinatedear readers. How do you do ! How do you do !

As this is our frst edition of our frst newspaper we’ll try to tell you what’s what.

At an editorial meeting we had to decide upon a name and a policy. The namePALATINATE (unless you can think of a better one) the policy-that is up to you. It’s your paper, not ours. We’ll edit it ; you write it ! Write what ? Anything, but remember its for Durham and Newcaslte so keep it of general interest if possible. And please, please, keep it short ! We haven’t room to publish novels .. . . . . . yet.

But we WILL publish anything of topical interest from student to student, especially so if we can help to bridge the present gap between King’s and Durham.

That is our aim-the rest is up to YOU.

Forthcoming Sports Fixtures

March 17th.

RUGBY-VARSITY V. COUNTY. Riverside Ground, Durham.

HOCKEY-KING’S V. MEDICALS (Crilmore Cup).

At Heaton. ST CUTHBERT’S V. ASHINGTON WELFARE.

At Ashington. March 20th.

HOCKEY-KING’S V. ASHINGTON WELFARE.

At Ashington. May 1st.

ATHLETICS - KING’S COLLEGE SPORTS.

At Cochrane Park. May 8th.

ATHLETICS - VARSITY SPORTS. At Heaton.

Durham Society News

Monday 1st. At the Greek and Roman Society. Colonel Milne, Economics Lecturer at King’s College, spoke on economic planning to the Social Studies Society.

Tuesday, 2nd. St. Aidan’s Society Visitors’ Debate, agreed 62-17 that “ the presence of women is necessary to raise the tone of society. ”

George Mitton discussed “Conservativism” at the Conservative and Unionist Association.

Wednesday, 3rd. At the Contract Bridge Club, the President and Secretary lost heavily.

Thursday, 4th. N.B. Scott and Canon Ramsey convinced 27 that “ the tavern chair is a throne of human felicity ” against the 17 followers of Registrar and T.A. Kennedy at the D.U.S. Debate. No abstentions.

Friday, 5th. Miss G. Colman, M.P., taught an open meetings sponsored by the Labour Club “ How Parliament works.” Are we a class of schoolgirls ?

Mr. M. Mock conjured with “ Paradoxes

and Perversions in Elementary Mathematics “ to the amusement of the Maths Society.

Canon T.C. Hammond’s subject at the Lightfoot Society was “ the underlying philosophy of bible monotheism.” Revelations?

Saturday, 6th. At the Presidential Election R. G.G. Foley, St. John’s beat A.J Parkinson, Bede by 173-124. One abstention.

Monday 8th. Rev. R.R. Williams at the Literary Society compared the “ Styles of Burke and Churchill.”

Brilliant speaking by Messrs. W. H. Burstone, M.A., and T.A. Kennedy failed to save the modern world from the need for Christianity-An impartial motion defeated by an emotional party led by Miss Coey and Mr. Darwin.

Tuesday, 9th. Morals and PoliticsConservatism and Socialism.” Bernand Dickinson to the Conservative and Unionist Association. At the Dramatic Society Margaret Marshall mimed, Were “ les enfants “ in “ Paradis ” ?

Durham Rag Week 1948

Rag Week will take place during the week of May 3rd-8th instead of, as hitherto, at the end of the term. Last year it was felt that such things as June examinations interfered seriously with the carrying out of the various activities designed to empty the pockets of the Durham public. The new date has the support of the Council of the Durham Colleges and it is hoped that the greater amount of time made available to students will result in really large scale participation by everyone.

One of the chief problems facing the Rag Committee and S.R.C. has been that of allocation of the proceeds. The impending nationalisation of the hospitals caused many people to feel that a disincentive to giving money to our traditional benefciaries existed. For this reason the money that is made will be divided between a number of local charities selected by a sub-committee of S.R.C. and in addition some specifc item of equipment will be purchased for the Durham County Hospital and which will be marked as a donation from the Colleges Rag Week.

Most of the usual activities will be carried on during the week. The Saturday street collection in Durham followed by a procession in the afternoon will be there ; from Wednesday to Saturday the Rag Revue will be performed in the Assembly Rooms, North Bailey, Durham ; it is hoped that a full scale Charities Ball in the Town Hall and a Tea Dance will be possible ; and of course during the week raids will be made on various centres of the population in the outlying districts. Rag Mag will appear as the usual and as many sellers as possible are needed to get rid of the 7,000 or 8,000 copies which have been ordered.

To get the whole campaign carried through there is only one major requirement and that is willingness on the part of a majority of students to lend a hand. If only 50% turn out on Rag Saturday and collect a pound each-and much more is possible-we would have £400 in the kitty. THere can be more than 50% ! ! There can be more than a pound a head ! ! Add to this sales of Rag Mag, Dance and Revue proceeds as well as the outlying districts’ contributions. Why not aim at a target of £1,000. It is possible and it is necessary !

If you can think of any ways of raising funds let the Rag Committee know ! !

If you can think of some good money raising slogans do likewise ! !

On Rag Saturday Durham is yours-(we have police permits). Make the most of it ! !

FILL THOSE TINS ! !

Celebrating 75 years of

PA L A T I N A TE

Thursday 9th March 2023 | No. 861

Celebrating 75 years of Durham student journalism in print

Students expose racial discrimination at Durham University

Tiffany Chan Investigations Editor

Several students have opened up to Palatinate about their experiences of racial discrimination at Durham, experiences that most had left unreported and unshared, until now.

Other students took the opportunity to share their thoughts about the prevalence of racism at Durham and the effectiveness of responsive measures. The responses were mixed.

In a poll run by Palatinate, in which 640 students responded, it was found that 37% of students agreed somewhat with the statement that ‘Students are more likely to face racism whilst

at Durham University’. 26% agreed completely with the same statement, while 22% disagreed somewhat and 15% completely disagreed.

In addition to the poll, 23 students completed a questionnaire, which found that just over half (52%) had not personally experienced racial discrimination at Durham University. However, 70% did know of students who had been racially discriminated against.

Several others shared their experiences independently of the questionnaire.

Of the 11 students in the questionnaire that had experienced racial discrimination, 10 had gone through such experiences multiple times. A total of 17 incidents were recorded.

The vast majority of cases (88%) involved verbal harassment

or abuse. Informants said they were mocked for their accents and/ or called racial slurs.

Deborah Acheampong, a thirdyear English and Philosophy student, described how a group of students screamed “Oi wagwan, wagwan” to her. She said, “I am not Caribbean and Jamaican patois, as it was dangerous to walk on, with

Continued page 3

Uni accused of neglecting

non-Science faculties following funding removal

Nicole Wu Editor-in-Chief

On 9th February, Palatinate revealed that Durham Doctoral Scheme (DDS) will only be available for prospective doctoral students in the science faculty going forward, with funding for other faculties being cut. In the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, cancelling the DDS fund saves Durham University two million pounds a year. It has been revealed that this decision was only brought to the a ention of faculties at the end of Michaelmas term which meant that staff in the affected faculties had been advertising DDS to prospective postgraduate students who had been hoping to join the scheme next academic year, with some students already having submi ed their applications for PGRs under the impression that they could be supported by DDS.

Durham’s decision to cut funding received huge backlash from current students, staff and alumni alike - many were quick to point out the disparity between science faculty funding and Durham’s other three faculties.

In their statement, Durham University claimed that it was a financial decision “significant financial pressure due to a range of factors at international and local levels” - however many commented that it was instead a political choice that failed to consider the importance of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences particularly in relation to Durham’s history as a humanity-focused institution and also reinforced elitism in academia.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 puts Durham’s Arts and Humanities at 33rd place, whereas Physical Science ranks 101-125.

A spokesperson for Durham Working-Class Students’ Association said: “We are disappointed but not surprised to see that DDS funding has been cut for non-science faculties. These actions align with the broader agenda pursued by the government and other higher education institutions of moving funding away from the arts. Cultural enrichment does not belong exclusively to the wealthy. Our culture is most vibrant when the working class contribute to it

Durham Cathedral lit to commemorate the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2023 (Hazel Minty)

We look back at the last 75 years of print

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Welcome to a very special edition

After 75 years and 861 print editions, we’ve made it here. A lot has changed over the past seven and a half decades and our 80-strong Editorial Team is a far cry from the seven intrepid founders back in 1948. Yet some things have remained ever present despite mother time: we have maintained consistent fortnightly prints during term time, we give all students at this university access to journalism despite Durham not having a formal course, and we serve all the students and residents of this “perfect li le city”.

Our wonderful publication celebrating 75 years is by no means a small feat. It has stood the test of time and modernisation and remains - with some of the original design features - as a physical paper in your hands. Whilst this edition is a commemoration of the glorious and expansive history of Palatinate, it is also a celebration of what the paper is now. This special edition’s commemorative front page pays homage to the very first print published on Wednesday 17th March 1948, 75 years ago exactly, and one week from tomorrow. We have featured the front page image that was used in the 1940s and replicated the text with highlight articles from the edition such as the first ever editorial. We hope this provides a snapshot of history without compromising from the important front-page news stories. There are other elements of history intersecting and juxtaposing with the modern that we hope you are

able to find as you enjoy the edition.

wouldn’t have got out to the Durham public without this paper, including huge influential pieces such as the recent 10.3% college-accommodation rent increase. It must be fair to say that students can now rely on this paper to communicate issues to them before any Durham institution will.

Editors-in-Chief

Nicole Wu & Daniel Hodgson editor@palatinate.org.uk

Deputy Editors

Elle Fitzgerald-Tesh & Arjun Seth deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk

News Editors

Emily Doughty, Ben Webb & Becks Fleet news@palatinate.org.uk

News Reporters

Charis Lim, Freddie Corrin, Nina Bu erfield, Maxim Meinertzhagen, Lucy Baldwin, Anne Parsons-Proctor & Nicole Ireland

Investigations Editors

Emily Lipscombe, Tiffany Chan & Joseph Manley investigations@palatinate.org.uk

Satire Editors

Sascha LO & Rory Cronin satire@palatinate.org.uk

Comment Editors

Josie Lockwood & Holly Downes comment@palatinate.org.uk

Deputy Comment Editors

Josie Sherman & Duru Akin

Profile Editors Christian Vince & William Rome profile@palatinate.org.uk

Science & Technology Editors

Cameron McAllister, Will Brown & Cas Gudgeon scitech@palatinate.org.uk

Politics Editors

Madeleine Ballay & Alex Everest House politics@palatinate.org.uk

Deputy Politics Editors

Guy Seagers & Liam Hannon

Puzzles Editor

Sophie Sherra puzzles@palatinate.org.uk

Sport Editors

Oliver Jervis & Sanjay Suri sport@palatinate.org.uk

Deputy Sport Editors

Maddie Parker & Joe Harston

Sport Reporters

Joseph Saunders, Tom Ewart Smith & Seb Thompson

Palatinate has been so much more than a reading material, hobby or society for many of the students that contribute. It is a creative outlet, a respite from stressful uni life, an opportunity to learn from other perspectives or meet like-minded people. The paper doesn’t belong to any one individual - it belongs to Durham students and may it always be under their command. It goes without saying that student journalism is more important than ever in these turbulent times and therefore protecting student organisations like Palatinate must be of utmost importance.

We are put in the unique position of protecting the interests of Durham students and making sure that institutions are held accountable. There are plenty of examples of stories that simply

But the paper is much bigger than simply a bringer of bad news - in fact, News is only one of our nineteen print sections. This paper is full of opportunity and full of space to fill with brilliant work - we have the wonderful role of giving student journalists the opportunity to publish their writing, illustrations and photography in a real paper. The team are able to interview prominent people from their sections and write these up for others to read and the chances and experiences that this paper provide are often so far beyond expectation.

Our incredible Arts and Culture magazine, Indigo, is an outstanding publication focused on creativity, critical pieces and design. Together with our illustrations team, Indigo are able to create some of the most gorgeous lay-ups to display students’ work with variety ranging from where to go on holiday, to the best fiction wri en by women in time for International Women’s Day. With the variety of topics and sections, Palatinate is able to represent the hugely diverse cultures and identities within Durham and showcase marginalised voices or untold tales - the paper exists as a blank canvas for all students to

come and literally create their own work to be memorialised on paper.

It is an honour to edit this incredible paper and be entrusted with the legacy of Palatinate. May she live on another 75 years!

Nicole Wu and Daniel Hodgson Editors-in-Chief

Indigo Editors

Charlo e Grimwade & Cameron Beech indigo@palatinate.org.uk

Deputy Indigo Editor

Melissa Rumbold

Features Editors

Roshni Suresh Babu & Siobhan Eddie features@palatinate.org.uk

Creative Writing Editors

Theo Mudhir & Elizabeth Buckley creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk

Stage Editors

Amelie Lambie-Proctor stage@palatinate.org.uk

Visual Arts Editors

James Macfarlane & Rae Rostron visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk

Books Editors

Ruhee Parelkar & Annie Pickup books@palatinate.org.uk

Style Editors

Caitlin Ball & Elif Karakaya fashion@palatinate.org.uk

Food & Drink Editors

Millie Adams & Eve Kirman food@palatinate.org.uk

Travel Editors

Lydia Doye & Lily Lake travel@palatinate.org.uk

Film & TV Editors

Alice Purves & Jacob Dax Harris film@palatinate.org.uk

Music Editors

Isabella Harris & Tom Harbo le music@palatinate.org.uk

Interview Editors

Lo e Micklethwaite & Charlo e Rodney indigo.interview@palatinate.org.uk

Photography Editors

Thomas Tomlinson & Nathan Becke photography@palatinate.org.uk

Illustration Editors

Rosie Bromiley, Victoria Cheng, Anna Kuptsova & Isobel Warwick illustration@palatinate.org.uk

Social Media Offi

Luca Veronese & Katerina Panayiotou Business Manager Thomas Simpson advertising@palatinate.org.uk

Our 80-strong Editorial Team is a far cry from the seven intrepid founders back in 1948

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

“I don’t think they would understand”: Students expose racism at Durham Uni

Continued from front

much as it has become integrated, is not their dialect to use or assume.”

Nicole Wu, a third year English student, noted a microaggression where a porter refused to hand over a parcel “until he told me my English is really good and that I looked pre y for an international student. I’m not an international student.”

A local student also noted “countless microaggressions”: “Students asking me where I’m really from, completely ignoring me when introduced to me and my housemates,”

Some experiences related to Covid-19. A graduate from St. Mary’s College stated that a family in a car “pulled up right next to me” and began “making slant eye gestures and throwing racial slurs alongside various derogatory references to the Coronavirus.”

In most cases, victims chose not to report the incidents because: “I have heard stories where staff don’t care or do anything,” and “From personal experience nothing happens.”

Several informants felt “embarrassed” about reporting. Law student Rishabh Chawda said, “I did not think the incident rose to the level of a reportable offence then. Now I realise that probably wasn’t true.”

On the other hand, one student said, “If I did experience racial discrimination I would report it if it was serious enough.” Jed Shaw, a second year German and Spanish student, said that racism at Durham “is nowhere near serious enough that I would consider reporting incidents.”

Overall, more respondents (65%) said that racism at Durham did not massively affect their experience at Durham University as a whole. 26% said it did not affect their experience at all.

Theo Mudhir, a third-year student studying English and History, felt that the university did take a “firm stance” against racial discrimination but “the impact of these experiences is not widely enough discussed”.

In particular, Mr Mudhir highlighted the “arduous” R+S reporting process. He received news of action two months after reporting, “in which I was informed that the individual was forced to move college, complete a training course, and was disallowed to contact me on campus.”

While Mr Mudhir felt that this was an “effective outcome,” he criticised the amount of time it took for real action to be taken, which had deeply a his university experience. “It was a very anxious time in my life which impacted my examinations, experience of college events, and friendships as my housemates argued with me

about whether this process was fair on the person I reported.”

Mr Mudhir concluded, “Being at Durham is the first time I have been so aware of my race as a point of difference. I honestly struggle to see Durham as a safe or enjoyable space even now.”

However Jed Shaw believed that not all instances of racial insensitivity at Durham constituted discrimination, They believe the university has “already goes too far” in combating racial discrimination.

Shaw said, “The solution to past discrimination is not to marginalise English students in the present day and take away opportunities from them.”

experiences.”

She also recognised the university’s efforts to decolonise educational infrastructures and applauded the university’s efforts in EDI.

However, she felt that “At times, it has felt like the university positions itself as a neutral body. Often, this is at the expense of the SU and/or other groups to bear the brunt of backlash.

The university’s R+S tool was introduced in 2019 in order to “provide a centralised platform” for university members to make anonymous or formal reports,”

Both the university and Durham People of Colour Association (DPOCA) are working to increase accessibility to the tool. DPOCA President Keturah Christie said that R+S “allows students to get directly in contact with the university following incidents regarding race rather than going through the college system… where often they’ve had to sit face to face with the individual who they initially reported.”

Efforts to raise awareness for the tool seem to have been effective, as the number of reports made through the tool increased from 168 in the 2019/20 year, to 231 in 2021/22.

Meanwhile, Ms Wu felt that she had experienced a lot of “positive discrimination”. With that being said, Wu stated that her experience of discrimination at Durham was “the first time I’d witnessed direct and explicit racism from someone with power over me.” Though she initially wanted to report the incident, ultimately “I’ve realised that my experience was really minor compared to the things that other students go through.”

Deborah Acheampong said that though it was hard to increase public awareness for racism, “I am grateful for the few communities in Durham where we can share these

Apart from R+S, students can also speak and make reports to DPOCA’s welfare team. For students seeking professional help, DPOCA guides students to Nilaari, a POC counselling service that offers six free counselling sessions per student.

Meanwhile, the SU’s Decolonising the Curriculum campaign targets racism in academia. Undergraduate Academic Officer Josh Freestone stated, “Decolonisation is about addressing the issues at their root. It is not enough to simply be nonracist, but rather one must aspire to be anti-racist.”

St. Chad’s International Representatives, Andrea Caputo and Esme Padge , held a tea party for international students and organise inter-college social events “so everyone can meet the wider international community outside

Moreover, Caputo and are involved with the Chad’s Culture, Heritage and Diversity Series which aims to create a “forumbased environment where everyone is welcomed regardless of if they come from international circumstances.”

college staff to organise a series of educational workshops throughout the year.

Intern Paulina Isabel Bartolome wanted “to incite discussion to make it an active learning opportunity,” as “education about racism is really hard to popularise.”

But she pointed out that the workshops “a racted people who were already actively anti-racist, so it felt that we weren’t ge ing the desired audience.”

Keturah Christie said that DPOCA’s Anti-Racism workshops, meant to be organised in partnership with colleges, were not ge ing enough traction.

On a wider scale, DPOCA offers Anti-Racism training to departments and colleges, often in partnership with college POC representatives. The training covers a range of topics from institutional racism, unconscious bias, privilege, and nuances in religion and race.

in. Such responses suggested that this was not a priority for colleges, despite many students we spoke to in Freshers’ Week detailing racial incidents they had experienced a week into their time here.”

Are students more likely to face racism whilst at Durham University? (%)

They said, “It’s going to take time until every student can always feel welcomed in every environment but we do believe that we are taking the right steps in this At University College, an AntiRacism Internship was set up in 2021 in which three students worked with

Yet like the Anti-Racism Interns, President Keturah Christie said the workshops were not ge ing enough traction. Many colleges make the Anti-Racism workshops optional for students, while other colleges just don’t have POC reps “making it harder for DPOCA to have links to the colleges.”

“We had instances at the start of this term of colleges not even responding to workshop requests, college workshops having an a endance of 2 (one being the POC rep) or colleges simply stating they don’t have room or time to fit it

In a comment to Palatinate, a Durham University spokesperson said: “We do not tolerate racism in any form. Where allegations of racism are made, we take swift and firm action.

“We would encourage any member of our community experiencing racism to report it, so that such behaviour can be addressed.”

“Students can seek advice via Durham Students’ Union, our Report and Support service, the Bullying and Harassment Support Advisors Network, their College Student Support Offices, the Counselling and Mental Health Service, and College JCRs, MCRs and GCRs.”

He told me... I’m pre y for an international student. I’m not an international student

It is not enough to simply be nonracist, but rather one must aspire to be anti-racist

(James Tillotson)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

“Decision have been made out of panic... we would just like Management to be honest”

Continued from front

and are themselves shaped by it.

“At Durham, our postgraduates are the future leaders of their field. Further exacerbating existing inequalities at Durham in this manner demonstrates once again that the University is not concerned with working-class students, or any other minority for that ma er, changing their field and driving society forward. Money, not art, not education, is Durham University’s priority. How long before the institution that genuinely, insanely, considers itself a peer of Oxbridge starts to limit undergraduate options too?”

A Durham UCU PGR spokesperson told Palatinate, “This announcement has been greeted with dismay from many current and former DDS scholars who testified to how they were only able to afford to pursue doctoral study because of the DDS. This is particularly the case for international PGRs such as myself who have few other funding options in our subject areas.

“Durham PGRs are not taking this lying down. Just as we campaigned to successfully increase UKRI and Durhamfunded PhD stipends during the past year, we are organising to resist and overturn this harmful move by our funder and employer. PGRs who are passionate about this should ensure they are in the union and ge ing active fighting this together with us.”

A current international student completing a Human Geography PhD said: I was only able to do a PhD at a major university because of DDS. Much of the research funded by DDS is carried out by students from the Global South who have few opportunities to study, but who are eager to contribute with important agendas beyond research.

“The year I applied for my PhD,

the only funding I was eligible for was DDS. DDS funding is an important resource for a racting bright students who, because of their social, economic and national background, have limited opportunities to study in the UK. DDS plays an important role in funding outstanding international students - who are not eligible for research funding such as ESRC, AHRC, Leverhulme - to undertake important research at one of the UK’s top universities. The impact on Durham’s reputation will be significant, as it has shown a lack of commitment to its own diversity and decolonisation agenda.”

A recent MSc Archaeology graduate told Palatinate, “Unfortunately it doesn’t surprise me given the complete disregard of everything outside of the Science faculty nationally in recent years. As Durham owes so much of its reputation to the humanities, I had hoped it might be more aware of its own history when making such decisions.

“I think Durham might really struggle. It has long been a massive fish in the humanities and social sciences, and a large chunk of its reputation is based on this heritage. This is a complete abandonment of its own roots and ignorance of the debts it owes for its global reputation. Following this announcement, it will likely struggle to a ract the same calibre of talent at grad level with hopes of doing PhD study. I also think it will massively impact UG uptakes. Many of my friends at Msc had chosen their UG course with research in mind, without that impetus I worry for the undergraduate programmes viability going forward.”

Dr Rebecca Bamford, a Durham alumna who completed her undergraduate, masters, and earned her doctorate in 2004 criticised the decision “This decision carries the suggestion

that the university management doesn’t value its humanities alumni, current Durham humanities students, or Durham staff doing excellent humanities research and teaching. My concern is that excellent humanities students won’t be able to find funding, and therefore won’t be able to continue to PhD level. This is a loss to our whole society.“

Other UK universities and research institutions have been making efforts to support and fund PGRs. Sheffield Hallam University has made a recent commitment to increase PhD stipend to at least the Real Living Wage rate and to fund PhDs for at least 3.5 years. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are expected to release their improvements to funding in their New Deal for Postgraduate Research.

SU Postgraduate Officer-elect, Freddy Fossey-Warren said: “Ultimately, I think this is terrible news, and really a great shame. This decision is going to do li le more than further making PhDs the exclusive purview of the already privileged. As a history student myself, I am also greatly disappointed by the continuing marginalisation of the humanities within higher education, with this decision essentially telling all non-scientists that your work and faculty as a whole are explicitly seen as less valuable than STEM by the University”

Dan Lonsdale, SU Presidentelect and student activist said: “Cu ing DDS funding for nonscience faculties is a travesty. The simple reality is that this further excludes working-class students from Durham and from the arts. One might hope that a university notorious for its elitism and cultural homogeneity would be making efforts to combat the problem, not further institutionalise it. If Durham University cannot afford to provide a robust, varied and

enriching academic experience for the current number of enrolled students, why are they persisting in projects of expansion elsewhere? What does this imbalance of priorities say about the likely experience of students in the future? Serious reform is needed at Durham, reform which places students and student experience at the forefront, because this is unacceptable.”

out when Durham needs some greater intellectual credibility. We are told it is the jewel of the crown and yet we are being systematically starved of funding and the future of the field.

“It’s part of a broader plan of channelling money away from the core things that Durham has always done really well - to minority subjects that look good but the field will be really small and self-selection and go against everything the University is talking about in terms of wider student participation.”

Teaching staff at the university suggested that the DDS funding cut was simply another example of poor management from the University. In the summer, due to loss of teaching fellows considering the expiry of two year teaching contracts and other staff moving on - the Arts and Humanities Faculty requested 35 new vacancy posts, only five were given and only one of those is a permanent fulltime contract. Staff estimate that 30-40% of teaching capacity will be lost next year: some modules and formatives have been cut as well as reduced word count on summatives assessments in order to accommodate for the strain.

A member of teaching staff from Durham’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities told Palatinate, “the decision was made with absolutely no consultation at all [with Faculties and Heads of Department], after DDS had been already advertised... there was a huge issue with transparency and communication.” They went on to say “Decision have been made out of panic - we’re all adults, we all understand the financial situation and we would just like Management to be honest.”

They further commented on the contradictions of this decision: “It was done seemingly with no understanding of the impact it would have... DDS is really important as a recruiting tool, not so much about the money, but the scheme encourages people to apply, especially international students. At the same time, the University is asking [staff ] to engage with its revised strategy for the next five years: one of the major goals in the strategy is to increase the number of international students.”

A member of staff had concerns that: “It cuts the legs off our research funds, it takes away postgraduate student who are at the cu ing edge of research and have the time and space to explore in detail in a way that academics aren’t always able to due to teaching commitments”

They suggested that “[Management] are trying to say that Durham is a great research institution, but also taking away the building blocks of that profile. It’s particularly annoying as Arts and Humanities are often wheeled

A teaching staff member who spoke to Palatinate said “It’s all part of a sustained a empt to artificially reduce the workload so it looks like there is the capacity despite the University taking away the capacity. All part of a bigger scheme to make out as if individual staff members have less workload than they actually do. Trying to make the issue of teaching next year look doable on paper when it really isn’t.”

“The University are cancelling things out of fear and lack of money driving everything. These are not decisions made pedagogically, it’s going to have a big impact on students. The only motivating factor is student complaining, otherwise we’re stuck in this position. Staff are trying to do the best for our students but our hands are constantly tied by University management”

A Durham University spokesman said: “We are not reducing funding for PhD studentships. We expect to spend more on PhD studentships next year than we had budgeted to spend this year. “However, the increasing cost of each studentship means that we can afford to fund fewer new studentships than previously.

“Funding for existing DDS students will continue. New studentships for 2023-24 will be offered in the Science Faculty only.

“This decision was taken for financial reasons, but only after careful reflection given the importance of PGR studentships to our academic community.

“There are still a range of studentship options for people applying to Durham, including Doctoral Training Partnerships and Centres for Doctoral Training.”

(Mark Norton)

This is a complete abandonment of its own roots and ignorance of the debts it owes for its global reputation

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

University criticised for handling of Durham Union racism incident

Emily Doughty News Editor

A Durham University student has criticised the University on social media for their handling of hate speech as the University vow to “learn” from the incident.

Samantha Smith, a second year Law student of Afro-Hispanic heritage was called a “dirty n*****” by a member of the Durham Union Society Equalities Commi ee last year.

Ms Smith has said that she was the only woman of colour holding a position on the society commi ee at the time and said that the student “knew what he was saying and blatantly targeted me based on my race”.

In a Facebook post on the group “Overheard at Durham Uni” Ms Smith said she informed the University of the hate speech she had faced in the Durham Union when she was a member. An investigation was launched both by the University and the Durham Union.

The student who used hate speech was forced to write an apology to Ms Smith. The student’s apology to Ms Smith read: “You will be aware that I am required to have no contact with you. I assure you that I will abide by this and this

le er is wri en sincerely to offer an apology to you.

“I have been given this opportunity to write to you indirectly. I am therefore writing this le er offering my sincere apology to you as I understand my behaviour has caused you distress.

“During the last few months, I have reflected on my interactions with you, and it is my intention to follow the advice provided by the university.

“I wish you all the best in the future and once again I am sorry for the distress you have experienced.”

Ms Smith has criticised the apology saying that “In his ‘apology’, he doesn’t even MENTION what he’s apologising for. He showed no remorse then and clearly still doesn’t now”.

She went on to say that during the investigation the student “denied everything” and accused her of “lying, insulted me and tried to degrade my character. Some of the things he has said about me reduced me to tears and were beyond horrible to read.”

This is despite the fact Ms Smith says she had “5+ witnesses, CCTV footage, and the dings of an internal Union investigation which all ruled in my favour”

Ms Smith also received an email from the University where they admi ed that the apology was “minimal” and that in the future

County Durham News

they would make provisions so a “reasonable standard of apology” was met.

In the facebook post she also criticised the Universites handling of the case saying that “Durham labelled it as a “Level 1” offence (aka. Lower level) - in what world is calling someone a dirty n***** not serious??”

She went on to say that “Durham is supposedly one of the top academic institutions in the world, yet they fail to tackle even the most clear-cut racist incident… an apology and no-contact order isn’t sufficient. They claim a zerotolerance racism policy, yet clearly don’t take it seriously”.

In a statement a Durham University spokesperson said, “We are deeply sorry that one of our students has experienced abuse.

“We do not tolerate racism in any form and entirely condemn language of this kind.

“These allegations have been investigated by both Durham University and the Durham Union Society. Sanctions have been imposed in line with university policies and processes which go much further than those disclosed on social media.

“We are concerned that the apology was not commensurate with the very serious nature of the offence. We will learn from this.”

County Durham used as location for eco-friendly mobile app pilot

Ben Webb News Editor

Visit County Durham, Durham County Council’s tourism and community outreach initiative, has been selected to pilot the UnLi er UK application. The app, created by charity, Unbox the Universe, encourages people to be more environmentally friendly.

According to a recent press release from the charity, “UnLi er UK encourages people to play their part in maintaining clean and green communities by offering rewards from local businesses in return for disposing of li er responsibly.

“As well as being good for the environment, the scheme will help to boost the county’s economy

£1mill spent on Durham Levelling Up Fund experts

Ben Webb News Editor

An investigation carried out by The Northern Echo has discovered that Durham County Council employed consultants to aid their application for the government’s Levelling Up Fund in 2022.

The Council spent more than £1million on seven different organisations a empting to strengthen the Durham community and gain new investment, although each bid failed to gain funding.

They made five separate bids to the government, focussing on travel and road measures such as a relief road at Bowburn to tackle traffic congestion, new social housing and enhanced community assets in Horden, repurposing town centre land and buildings in newton Aycliffe, as well as traffic

improvements in Stanley and community engagement projects in Willington.

Amy Harhoff, Durham County Council’s corporate director of regeneration, economy and growth, said: “Levelling up proposals across the county were developed in partnership with communities and the private sector.

Due to the scale of work required to develop the five proposals, like many local authorities, we also appointed external consultants to support the process and ensure submissions met the government’s bidding requirements, ensuring the best possible case for investment was presented for County Durham.”

The government provides each individual County Council with £125,000 to support their bid, with the council able to invest this however they deem most fit.

Cathedral offers Afternoon tea at Harry Potter film set

Lucy Baldwin News Reporter

On 13th May, visitors will have the chance to enter the Chapter House at Durham Cathedral - the room used as Professor McGonagall’s ‘transfiguration’ classroom in the Harry Po er films - to enjoy afternoon tea.

by directing people towards the businesses involved in the scheme.”

The scheme has already been tested in Belgium with great success, as more than three million people across 581 towns and cities now use the app.

The free app, available on App Store and Google Play, provides a platform from which people can record the li er they collect, simply by uploading a photograph from their smartphone.

Officially launched at Durham BID’s Fire and Ice Festival, the pilot will run for three months.

Councillor Mark Wilkes, Durham County Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change, said: “We have a beautiful county and are determined to keep it looking its

best for all those who live and work in, and visit County Durham.

“Tourism contributes hundreds of millions of pounds to our economy each year, with events such as the Fire and Ice Festival a racting thousands of visitors and enhancing the vibrancy of communities, so it is vital we make a positive impression.

“We are therefore pleased to be working with Unbox UK to pilot this innovative app in Durham. Not only will it help to maintain a clean environment for residents and visitors, but it will support local businesses too. It also supports our approach to tackling li ering and environmental crime.

“ This involves education, antili er campaigns and the Big Spring Clean, along with issuing more than 1,000 Fixed Penalty Notices for those dropping li er. All these actions highlight our commitment to keeping County Durham tidy.”

Rachel Breeze, head of Unbox UK commented: “Unbox the Universe’s Li er Solution app, UnLi er UK, is more than just an app to help clean up li er, it’s an innovative reward system that encourages users to take action in their communities.

“We are excited to collaborate with Visit County Durham to launch the UnLi er UK app and drive positive change in our communities by encouraging sustainable habits and supporting local businesses.”

The Chapter House featured in Harry Po er and the Philosopher’s Stone, when Harry arrives late to ‘transfiguration’ class, and also in Harry Po er and the Chamber of Secrets when McGonagall teaches the class how to turn animals into water goblets.

The Chapter House, accessible via the cloisters, is rarely open to the public,

presenting an unusual opportunity for visitors to see one of the sets behind Harry Po er.

Afternoon tea will be served at 1pm to guests with prebooked tickets, with ‘indulgent food and a historic se ing’ promised.

Tickets are already sold out for what appears to be a highly anticipated event.

In 2019, the cathedral hosted a similar event, advertising afternoon tea in the Harry Po er classroom.

County Council installs 150 new EV charging points

Nicole Ireland News Reporter

The UK Government has granted millions to a Durham County Council scheme as more than one hundred charging points for electric vehicles (EV) are set to be built across the county.

Following the Government’s efforts to expand the country’s changing infrastructure, 150 new charging points are coming to County Durham in a £3.1 million scheme.

The authority is one of three councils to receive this additional funding to expand on an innovative pilot scheme it took part in last year.

Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Climate Change, Councillor Mark Wilkes, spoke on the investment: “We

The Chapter House itself dates back the 12th century and many early bishops were buried in its walls - before later choosing to be buried in the main cathedral building. are commi ed to making sure as many residents as possible can access electric charging and make more sustainable transport choices.

“The additional funding, which will create a further 150 charging points across County Durham, will help to improve access to electric vehicles and charging points.

“This is part of our wider plan to reduce carbon emissions and make the county one of the greenest places to live, work and visit in the UK.”

It is fantastic to see our innovative pilot scheme being recognised nationally.”

The council has received a £1.25 million plan to install 100 charging points, with the extra money planned to build a total of 250 charging points across the county, including 60 rapid chargers.

Volunteers in Durham Market Square (UnLi er and Visit County Durham)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Durham City Running Festival set to make a return in summer

Emily Doughty News Editor

Durham City Run Festival is set to return to its iconic location for the first time since Covid with participants once again finishing the race in Palace Green. The festival is set to be held from the 13th to the 15th of July.

The race, which allows entrants to compete in 5k and 10k runs, had been moved to allow for social distancing during Covid-19, something that saw the event cancelled in 2020.

Launched in 2016, 2023 also sees the return of Paula Radcliffe’s Families on Track, the Run Like a Legend Mile, XO Urban Orienteering and themed runs.

The festival will also coincide once again with the Durham BRASS Festival, another important celebration in Durham’s calendar.

The event, organised by Events of the North, is done in partnership with Durham County Council and Durham University.

Founder of

Durham University awarded gold award for hedgehog preservation

the Durham City Run Festival, Steve Cram said he felt “over the moon to be returning to Palace Green”.

He went on to describe it saying it was “an absolutely stunning location and while the final climb up the hill might test tired legs, we know that our runners loved crossing the finishing line beneath Durham Cathedral and Castle.”

Councillor Elizabeth Sco from Durham County Council celebrated the even saying ““The Durham City Run Festival is always a favourite and its return to the iconic Palace Green will make for the best kind of photo finish. Once again, it will coincide with Durham BRASS Festival and hosting this kind of combination of events brings the potential to pull in lots of visitors with all sorts of interests.”

Durham City Running Festival (Events of the North)

last Thursday.

Nina

Bu erfield News Reporter

Durham University has gained the gold accreditation from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society for academic year 2022/2023. This is due to the work of the Durham University Hedgehog Friendly campaign, a student run society working to make the Universities campus more hospitable to Hedgehogs.

The gold accreditation is the second high award available. The accreditation is offered and organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, which only offered an award to 92 institutions this year.

Hedgehog friendly campus is a national award scheme providing guidance to institutions across the UK to create a safer environment for hedgehogs, it is free to participate in and comprises University’s, Colleges and Primary Schools.

Durham joined Hedgehog friendly campus in 2020 and has been commi ed to the cause ever since. In the academic year 2021/22 we received a silver accreditation, and worked hard towards a gold award this year, which was granted

Durham County Council reverses plans to curb ‘aggressive begging’ in the city centre

Maxim Meinertzhagen

News Reporter

Durham County Council have recently abandoned plans to extend the domain of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to include measures which would make ‘aggressive begging’ a punishable offence in the city centre.

This decision comes after the Council opened a public consultation in March 2022 to gauge support for the proposal. Whilst almost 60% of respondents either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the measures would be an effective way to control aggressive begging, many reportedly felt that it would have a negative effect on homeless peoples’ lives.

harassing such as begging adjacent to ATMs or following people – may be contributing to anti-social behaviour.

If left unaddressed, the report says it “will become unmanageable and damage the reputation of the city centre, including loss of trade and a ractiveness to new businesses” as well as reducing the quality of living for local residents.

The report also outlines how, based on anecdotal evidence, some who are begging have travelled into Durham city from other ‘authority areas’ and that many “who are regularly visible in prominent locations, and perhaps give the appearance or perception of being homeless” are not and in fact do have fixed accommodation elsewhere.

An article released on the council’s website also highlights that similar rules designed to curb the issue have already been implemented in other areas of the country including Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Gateshead.

take this order forward at this time. However, that does not mean that we leave the issue unaddressed.

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society set up the initiative in light of declining hedgehog populations across the UK. Since 2000, hedgehog populations have halved, and the animal has been officially classified as vulnerable to extinction.

It is now estimated that there are fewer than a million hedgehogs left in the UK. This is due to a variety of factors, however most importantly urbanisation over the past few decades has led to decline in access to food, water and natural habitats for the hedgehog population.

To help save the declining hedgehog population the British Hedgehog Preservation Society set up the Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative in recognition of the fact that university campus take up quite a lot of land across the UK, which makes a sizeable difference in the quality of life for the nation’s hedgehogs.

Durham’s Hedgehog Society has participated in a variety of British Hedgehog Preservation Society events. Over the fall they

participated in the The Big Hog Friendly Li er Pick Challenge 2022, this was a competition between national universities to see who could collect the most bags of li er from around their campuses.

Durham came third place overall, having collected 72 bags of li er. First and second place were awarded to University of Greenwich and University of Cardiff, which collected 139 and 99 bags respectively.

Durham’s Hedgehog Society organises events acros the year in order to raise awareness.

County Durham has more woodland areas and tree cover than UK average

Ben Webb News Editor

A recent study carried out by mapping experts Terra Sulis, on behalf of Friends of the Earth, has found that nearly half of English neighbourhoods have less than 10% tree cover, with County Durham having 2% more trees than average.

England’s tree cover is just 12.8%, however the tree cover of County Durham has reached around 15%, making it one of the stronger areas by local authority.

humans, particularly in urban areas. They provide cooling in cities when water evaporates from their leaves, for example.

Further analysis from Friends of the Earth has found that County Durham has the seventh greatest potential for woodland expansion.

The study details that the county has 38,000 hectares of woodland opportunity, spanning 17% of the Durham area.

“The report refers to the positive work that our enforcement team is doing in the city in support of residents already. This will not diminish and as a result of this decision, we will continue to use the existing powers wherever necessary.

The analysis, carried out on behalf of Friends of the Earth by mapping experts Terra Sulis, has for the first time identified lone trees and street trees in England using laser imaging, bolstering previous research that accounted only for trees in woodlands and those clustered in smaller groups.

The benefits of this are huge, with the organisation suggesting that if the individual local authorities studied, including County Durham, were able to capitalise on their research, we could see a staggering increase in biodiversity.

Similar concerns were raised in a report released by the Council prior to the consultation, proposing the new rules and providing the reasoning behind them. The report describes how aggressive begging –where the nature of the tactics used are considered to be persistent or

However, the report goes on to acknowledge the controversial nature of the proposal and the need to take public opinion on the issue into account saying it is “seen by some, including many charities, that the introduction of a financial penalty linked to begging would be punishing some of the more vulnerable individuals in our society”.

In response to the results of the consultation, Councillor John Shu leworth said: “The outcome is that we are not in a position to

“There are strong views on both sides of the issue, as we’ve seen through the consultation, but it’s our role to make the right decision based on the evidence available. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

This comes amidst a wider issue of homelessness currently facing the North East, an area which has some of the highest levels of homelessness of any region in the UK. The charity Shelter, which provides support for the homeless, has found that there has been a 29 per cent increase in the region and that County Durham contains an estimated 226 homeless people, including 86 children.

Friends of the Earth said trees were not just important as carbon sinks to reach net zero, but they also had crucial benefits for

Likewise, the benefits of woodland areas for residents of County Durham are large. The Woodlands Trust suggests that woodland areas can be “beneficial for the physical and mental wellbeing” of all residents, as well as the upkeep of the local wildlife.

Aggressive begging may be contributing to anti-social behaviour

The North East has some of the highest levels of homelessness of any region

(Durham University Facebook)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

South tops academic rankings for second year in a row

Emily Doughty and Becks Fleet News Editors

South College has come out on top of Palatinate’s Evans Table – a ranking of college academic performance – for the second year running.

The system awards nine points for a first, four for a 2:1, one for a 2:2, and none for a Third or below. This number is then divided by the maximum possible score for each to award a college’s annual ‘Evans score’, named after the late former Sunday Times and Palatinate Editor Sir Harold Evans.

The rankings are based on the degrees awarded at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year. The rankings below come from data obtained by Palatinate in a

Freedom of Information request to Durham University.

Following Higher Education Statistics Agency guidelines, the data points (for a college’s annual results for any particular degree classification) sent were rounded to the nearest five. The true numbers, therefore, will likely differ slightly from these results.

Any data points with fewer than two students were rounded to zero, and excluded from these calculations.

Turnout in Durham SU officer elections lowest in over 20 years

Becks Fleet and Emily Doughty News Editors

Around 6.1% of students voted in this year’s Durham Students’ Union Officer elections, the lowest turnout in any full SU Officer elections in at least two decades. A total of 1,470 students cast a vote in the elections.

Data collected by Palatinate shows that the previous lowest turnout in the past 20 years was in 2021, when 13.9% of Durham students voted; this is still more than double the 2023 turnout.

their editorial “Why do people simply not care about the Students’ Union?” and claiming that thenSU President Millie Tanner didn’t have a “real mandate”. The election turnout that year was 18.6%, over triple the turnout in 2023.

nominated themselves because of job opportunities and time commitments, and in the future we’ll aim to help more candidates stay in the running, as we know it increases voting. In coming weeks we’ll do some investigation with voters and non-voters and we’d welcome student feedback on why they did or didn’t vote.

St. Aidan’s was the lowest ranking college, with Stephenson ranking bo om last year. The average ranking has been quickly increasing over time, particularly after the pandemic as the University introduced online exams and policies to mitigate against the effects of Covid-19, with many of the policies relating to online exams staying in place after lockdowns have ended.

Even prior to the pandemic, the average grade was already increasing at a steady rate, as shown by the graph below showing the Evans Scores of Durham Colleges over time. South was only included from 2020 as that is when they had their first graduates.

South have topped the table in both years they have been included, with St. John’s college coming out on top in two of the three years before South was included, with both Castle and St. Chad’s also topping the table in recent years.

This year’s SU elections featured a total of 11 candidates, with the winners being Dan Lonsdale for President, Deborah Acheampong for Welfare and Liberation Officer, William Brown for Undergraduate Academic Officer, Freddy FosseyWarren for Postgraduate Academic Officer, and Skye Carroll for Opportunities Officer. The newly elected officers will take over their roles at the end of July 2023.

Only a single college got more than 10% turnout, with Trevelyan College ge ing just over 17% turnout, significantly higher than any other college. Additionally, only around 3.8% of postgraduate students voted in the election.

In 2015, Palatinate’s editors responded to that year’s low SU election turnout by asking in

When asked about this year’s low turnout, Durham SU released a statement on election night blaming two-factor authentication and the election candidates: “We think the University’s change to multi-factor sign-on during voting, the anticipated strike action and during voting will have impacted turn-out, along with other factors that we’ll need to be er understand.

“We also found it difficult to retain candidates who

“We saw fantastic campaigning from candidates and awareness raising from students across campus, and want to thank all the student groups, student media and Common Rooms who helped students to find out about the candidates running.”

Additionally, the SU election turnout was significantly lower than the average turnout for this year’s college JCR president elections. The average turnout in JCR elections this year was 14.85%, over double the SU election turnout at 6.9%.

The college with the highest JCR election turnout this year was St. Chad’s with 42%, and the lowest was Ustinov with 4.1% turnout. Only 4 colleges - Ustinov, South, St. John’s and Hatfield - had a JCR election turnout which was lower than the SU Officer elections.

Turnout in SU officer elections since 2003

Trevelyan family agree to pay reparations for ancestors’ involvement in African slave trade

Nina Bu erfield News Reporter

The Trevelyan family - the namesake for the college - have agreed to publicly apologise for their ancestors’ involvement in the African slave trade in the 1800s, as well as pay reparations to the people of Grenada, where their family owned six sugar plantations.

The Trevelyan family has been a staple of British aristocratic wealth for centuries, and have links to Durham; historian George Macaulay Trevelyan (G.M. Trevelyan) served as Chancellor of Durham University from 19501957., and in 1966 Trevelyan College was founded and named for him.

In 1834, when the British

government abolished slavery, they also financially compensated around 46,000 enslavers for their ‘loss’. The Trevelyans were included in this payout, and received about £26,898; this is estimated to be worth over £2.7 million today.

Since 2016, the family have made efforts to acknowledge and apologise for their ancestors’ actions. This has included travelling to the Caribbean and publicly apologising for their ancestors’ ownership of over 1000 slaves, a wri en formal apology signed by 42 members of the family, the donation of a £100,000 fund from BBC correspondent Laura Trevelyan, and the creation of a BBC documentary on the past of the Trevelyan family.

The family has been highly

praised for these actions, Nicole Phillip-Dowe, vice-chair of the Grenada National Reparations Commission, said: “It’s absolutely fascinating that I am seeing history being made. It takes a leap of faith for a family to say, ‘my forefathers did something horribly wrong and I think we should take some responsibility for it’”.

The Trevelyans hope that their actions encourage more families with similar legacies to pay reparations, and have called upon the UK government, saying “We urge the British government to enter into meaningful negotiations with the governments of the Caribbean in order to make appropriate reparations”.

The average turnout in JCR elections this year was 14.85%, over double the SU election turnout at 6.9%

The average ranking has been quickly increasing over time

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Leters from Alumni

To celebrate the vibrant and extensive history of Palatinate - we were keen to include stories and le ers from alumni: both Palatinate and Durham University. We were grateful to receive a huge range of responses from alumni.

Whilst we are not looking to publish more le ers, we are still keen to hear from alumni and learn more about both Durham and Palatinate’s past. Please get in touch with us via email editor@palatinate.org.uk with your insights and photographs.

Ma hew Wright

St John’s College, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Palatinate Photography Editor and Photographer, 1996-1999

“I must have taken literally thousands of photographs for Palatinate, all on 35 mm film. I’d visit the office in the student union regularly, where I had a large sheet of paper tacked to one of the doors. This was where photo requests were wri en (emails existed of course, but my memory is that all requests were handled on paper). I’d troll all over Durham taking the required shots - for much of my time on Palatinate I was the only photographer. Much of it was sports work, photos of random items to illustrate stories (I remember having to traipse off into the countryside to take a photo of a field of oilseed rape at one point). It was all great fun, and the pre-digital days ge ing

the opportunity to take so many photos and have somebody else pay for all the processing was a massive bonus.

What are your fondest memories of Palatinate?

“The camaraderie amongst the team - the stupid banter, late nights in the office, in-jokes. Also seeing the paper in print, with my photos on the front and back covers was pre y special.”

What was the biggest event reported on while you were on the paper?

“Probably the scandal involving the head of Chad’s (Duane Arnold) falsifying his qualifications in Who’s Who. Sadly I never got to photograph Duane.”

What do you miss the most?

“College News - as Photography Editor I used to insert photographs of my friends when college photo submissions were low. Most of the people I snuck into the paper didn’t even a end Durham.”

All photography courtesy of John Robert Emme - a member of Palatinate’s Editorial Board between 1966-69.

“The obvious things to me in retrospect is how seriously Palatinate was taken by the wider Durham community, by the number of official passes that I got, and Harold Evans support just as he started the Sunday Times colour supplement (he was not able to call it a Magazine because magazines could not be published on a Sunday).

“Smoking in the Dunelm, Ragweek, and a Best Dressed women’s competition are maybe best forgo en, “There are so many aspects of change as the new colleges were filled; Dunelm dances created town/gown tensions; the reduction of the age of majority in 1970 must have been a weight off College authorities.

“The Palatinate office was high on the right, and I remember li le natural light.”

Caroline Watson St Hild and St Bede College, English, 1981

What are your fondest memories?

“College. Singing in the Chapel Choir; Formals in Caedmon Hall; water fights and corridor cricket; sunbathing in the wonderful grounds; College Day; Bede Bar; the wonderful food which introduced us Northern grammar school kids on grants to things we had never eaten before in our meat-and-two-veg/ Spam fri er lives; and, above all, the feeling that we were all part of a warm happy family, presided over by the brilliant Dr Armitage and with an underlying culture of traditional, supportive Anglicanism and the history of the Northern saints.”

What’s the biggest change when you look at Durham today?

“The corporate culture of the university which has undermined the autonomy and unique individuality of the colleges.”

Funniest moment?

A water fight across a roof in Bede Main Building when we flooded the JCR below and caused the Chaplain to come charging out of his flat with cloak flying. What did you spend your time doing?

“Drinking coffee in each other’s rooms, discussing literature and social class and its impact

on us and the children that we encountered in the dying pit villages where we did our teaching practices.” Most frequented Durham locations?

“Bede Bar, Bede Chapel, the Travellers’ Rest on Claypath, Mugwump, the pizza place on North Road where you could get a pizza, half a lager and entrance to a disco for £1.50 and, of course, Klute!”

“Durham, in the 70s was, like many other places, ta y, cold and poor. We had lino on the floor of our rooms and television was banned. We couldn’t afford to drink much and there were very few places to go. Other than the ‘orange’ Chinese takeaway on Claypath and the North Road pizzeria, we only ate in College. We were, however, incredibly happy. Most of us were the first people in our families to stay on at school beyond 14, never mind go into higher education, and we were paid to go there by our county councils. We were determined to get as much out of it as we could and give back to society to help other young working class people achieve social mobility. We didn’t feel oppressed by the undergraduate gowns, the formal dinners and the chapel choirs; we loved them because they proved that we had made it!”

Palatinate’s Editorial Board member si ing beside the window enjoying a drink and a cigare e in Dunelm House. In the background of the window is Kingsgate Bridge and Durham Cathedral across the River Wear. The photo was taken in a large canteen area downstairs. It doubled as the green room for dances.

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Her Majesty the Queen visited Durham Castle in 1967. She was greeted by crowds of people including the young boy photographed above holding the Union Jack flag. Her Majesty was fond of Durham and regularly visited - in October 1947 whilst she was still Princess Elizabeth - she laid the foundation stone of St Mary’s College.

Kiara Davies St Chad’s College, Politics, 2021 Palatinate News Reporter, Deputy Comment Editor & Interview Editor

What do you remember doing during your time on the paper?

“Going as a photographer to a Sam Fender Concert and ge ing a free ticket. Interviewing Mark Gatiss at Hotel Indigo.”

Fondest memories?

“Pub visits after meetings, and spending Sunday evenings stressed laying up my sections with other editors.

Frepping in the Covid year, college days.”

What was the biggest event reported on while you were on the paper?

Academic Safety Net policies

What do you miss most about the paper?

“Working with such a variety of different people across the university.”

Andrew Hebden

Trevelyan College, History & Politics, 2000

Palatinate Editor, News, Features & Sport Editor

What do you remember doing during your time on the paper?

“Everything! Learned more about journalism at Palatinate than in my year studying for a journalism MA. Fondest memories?

“Visits to the chicken shop over the road for muchneeded nutrition on pre-deadline all-nighters”

What was the biggest event reported on while you were

on the paper?

“The biggest story was the protest marches over printer credits. Very 2000!”

What do you miss most about the paper?

“The banter with the team”

“Palatinate was great fun and it was a privilege to edit the paper. Proud that some of the design innovations have survived until the present day”

What do you remember doing during your time on the paper?

“I produced match reports from university rugby games I played in, sometimes wri en through mild or worse-than-mild concussion, and/or the aftereffects of a Wednesday night in Klute.

In 1999, Palatinate gave me reign to write a feature on Lawrence Dallaglio’s sacking as England captain for claiming to have used recreational drugs. I took a liberal stance and was called out by the Van Mildert principal for it. A proud moment, on the stairs by the pool table.”

Fondest memories?

“The freedom to write… and the sometimes irreverent spirit. Playing rugby, making friends for life, being at a hill college – and Mildert in particular. A liberal education in all the best senses of the phrase.”

Funniest moments?

“Not printable. Of the printable ones, being named “college rah” and “college miserable bleeder” in the same year. Unless I’ve remembered that wrong.”

Most frequented Durham locations?

“Maiden Castle, the Racecourse, Mildert bar, Klute.”

What do you remember doing during your time on the paper?

“Laying up, making wonderful friends, learning a huge amount about not only journalism but life.

What was the biggest event reported on?

“Palatinate’s push for independence, still prominent and necessary!”

Martha

McHardy Grey College, Politics, 2022 Palatinate News Editor and Deputy Editor

What do you remember doing during your time on the paper?

“I remember spending a lot of time stressing about the print edition, which stories were going on the front page, which articles hadn’t been wri en yet and how many copies were still left in the office at the end of print day.”

What was the biggest event reported on while you were on the paper?

“The first one is the pandemic. We were running a live blog about all the new Covid restrictions and constantly updating everyone about the new guidance and regulations. Later on we also worked on some bigger investigations about staff salaries during Covid and the impact of Covid on students’ mental health, as well as exposing landlords who were charging isolating students extra rent.

The next one is the high levels of spiking that took place on fresher’s week and I’m still very proud of our coverage to this day!! “

What do you miss most about the paper?

“The community and the socials! Being a journalist outside of uni is nowhere near as fun... I also miss the creative freedom of student journalism and ge ing to work on whatever story I wanted.”

Guards stand above the stairs in Durham prison c.1967

Palatinate’s Editorial Board posed for a photo in 1967

Martin Pengelly Van Mildert College, History, 1999 Palatinate Rugby writer

Joe Rossiter St Aidan’s, History and Politics, 2023 Palatinate Editor & Politics Editor

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

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As we celebrate 75 years, the team has been trawling through the past 860 editions of Palatinate, to give you some of the highlights since 1948. Some of these stories are still very relevant to our coverage today, some are fascinating and some (hopefully) are just a bit funny. We couldn’t include everything, but hope you enjoy regardless.

Special thanks to Becks Fleet, Rae Rostron, Joseph Manley and Daniel Hodgson for all their efforts in going through the seven and a half decades of print.

More than 70 years ago, it was proposed that the University of Durham would be renamed the University of Durham and Newcastle to reflect the increasing size of King’s College, a Durham college based in Newcastle-uponTyne.

This motion was defeated by 6 votes, increasing tensions between the Durham and Newcastle sides of the University. That tension eventually resulted in King’s College becoming independent in 1963 and becoming the modernday Newcastle University.

In 1965, “The greatest pub crawl of the year” was essential reading for university students. Almost 60 years later and nearly half (21 out of 43) of these pubs remain open for students and locals alike to enjoy. Some of the pubs of the past are open for business once again but in different entities. For example, The New Inn was reincarnated as Whitechurch, and The Criterion Hotel has been transformed into the Starbucks at the end of Framwellgate Bridge. Finally, in unsurprising news for the City of Durham, The Britannia made way for student housing.

In 2005, author Bill Bryson was installed as Chancellor of Durham University and spoke exclusively to the paper in a welcome interview.

Mr. Bryson, born in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, served as Chancellor until the end of 2011. He has cha ed to several Editors over the years since. His most recent interview came in February 2020, during which he said: “Durham is my favourite place in the whole universe – this is only place in the world where they call me ‘Doctor’ and name buildings after me”.

Adapting for the times, in 2001, the newspaper launched its very own website, ‘Palatinate.Net’.

If you searched for Palatinate. Net in August 2001, you were greeted with a message that read “Welcome to Palatinate.Net

“This new home for the University of Durham student newspaper launches here in October.

“Stand by for more details of this brand new site...”

The poll that ran in December 2001 was asking visitors to the website to voice their opinion on the best college bar. Back then, students only had 13 bars to choose from.

A music review also makes an appearance in Sense, the prelude to Indigo.

Budget cuts at University College alongside some the potential of ghosts in Durham Castle are some of the highlights... as well as Palatinate winning best student newspaper at the third National Student Journalism awards.

As for what was coming soon: “We’re in the process of doing major work behind the scenes of the site to make it even be er. There will be some minor changes in the coming weeks so please bear with us”.

In 2022, research by Palatinate showed that the majority of Durham students were not on the receiving end of a rejection from either Oxford or Cambridge. Yet, the ‘Oxbridge reject’ stereotype is nothing new in Durham, it was already being analysed by writers for the paper in the early 1990s.

On 1st May 1986, in the paper’s 400th edition, this piece of trivia featured. This is in addition to the potential “University of Durham and Newcastle” title that was nearly given to the University in 1952. This is curious considering the Editor’s initial drive for representation from both Durham and Newcastle (see front page of this edition).

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

In 2005, St. Mary’s College began admi ing male students. “St. Mary’s welcomes male freshers for the first time in its 106 year history” was the subheading. It was the final college at Durham University to still be single-sex and ahead of its first year of going mixed, The Guardian reported the college was to admit 92 men, making up over 40% of the college’s new intake.

Here at Palatinate, we always try and get the big-name interviews, but one of the finest hours this paper may have had was in 1971, where John Lennon was interviewed by the team.

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Back in 1956, a le er sent to the Editor was published on the front page of the paper, under the headline “Goodnight, darling”, detailing the distaste of the reader towards those “in Durham of both sexes who regard love-making as merely a means of gaining thrills”. Public displays of affection appeared to be the enemy and those on the paper at the time took it upon themselves to conduct some research, concluding: “This decrease in open love-making is encouraging: it shows that some students have a sense of propriety and consideration for others”.

Almost 50 years ago, the “worst nightclub in Europe” (The Mirror) opened its doors for the very first time “after more than a year of opposition from Town Planners”.

The Mildert informal that was a ended by an “exotic dancer” in February 1975 was not universally popular, with a empts to book “a male counterpart” prevented by “a Newcastle byelaw which prohibits male strip-tease in this area”.

Much like in this edition, at the end of the 1970s, Palatinate looked back at some of the highlights over the decade, some headlines that stick out include “Explosions at Mildert” and “Students sleep on their orgasms.

The 1990s saw some the paper being sold for some of the highest prices in its history, before it reached its current status of being free. The edition was at the cheaper end of the decade, costing 20p. Prices reached 55p as the years went on. In this edition, the front page reports on Labour Party proposals regarding the number of entrants from independent schools. Their plan was to “guarantee places for a certain number of candidates from state schools”. The paper offered a “toff talk-in” where you could “Ring Palatinate on the RahLine at lunch-times to give your views on Durham’s independent school intake-do we want more or less?”

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

COMMENT

Palatinate at 75 : what can it do for you?

Caleb Tu

Needless to say I felt a bit tired by the fourth hour of my five-hour zoom interview. It was for a MA in News Journalism at Cardiff. Only 20 or so people are accepted into the course and, without sounding too smug and up-myself, it’s one of the best courses of its kind in the country. Resultantly, I’m pre y sure I was up against freelancers who were at least 4-years my senior.

Besides the results from the tests I had just done, all I was equipped with was my experience from Palatinate and an anecdote about serving 80s songwriter Ma Aitken his 10pm Timothy Taylor’s in my local pub. By some miracle, I got a place on the course.

Although I hope this to be the start of a budding career in the journalism industry, for that we’d be wise to look towards some of the Palatinate alumni. The former editors boast a litany of highprofile media jobs at institutions like the BBC, ITV, The Times, and other outlets. The editors from 1976 and 1986 respectively, have made an indelible mark on British journalism. George Alagiah, arguably the face of the BBC News at Six, spent his tenure adding some edge to editorial pieces as well as swimming in Mildert lake.

Jeremy Vine, another former editor, even came out to bat for the paper recently in the row over the Student Union’s decision to cut funding for Palatinate as well as copyright the paper’s name. Needless to say

he backed the correct side of the argument. Thanks, Jeremy.

So, can Palatinate contributors expect to replicate this success in their careers to come? This question is as sweeping as it is rhetorical. Such high journalistic offices as mentioned above should hardly be treated as benchmarks, but rather proof that experience writing for Palatinate, and more importantly the skills learnt, can yield the nation’s finest jobs in the journalism industry.

statements, they are a noble pursuit nonetheless.

However, the skills I’ve found most important, and rewarding, from writing for this paper are a bit simpler. The ability to observe your surroundings and listen to others seems like an artform that’s being lost in today’s society.

Besides being pre y important for this practice, I would argue that it’s also quite good for you. This goes alongside deciding why you write in the first place. To make laugh, to make cry, to inform or to entertain, to provoke thought or even provoke action, honing each of these styles is a valuable skill, and one which Palatinate encourages you to practice freely.

This paper is a playground in which to express individual writing style. At the very least you’ll get a by-line and a sense of achievement.

So, can experience at Palatinate be a stepping-stone to a career in journalism? Well yes, I suppose, just as rolling a six in monopoly is a stepping-stone to winning the whole game. Far more valuable than a sentence on experience at Palatinate inked into a CV are the skills you learn from it and what you do with them.

For clarity, this advice is not coming from a sage old former editor with his own op-eds in a broadsheet. I’m an undergrad who’s only been doing this for a few months. But if this advice is already clear to me,

then it’s probably pre y obvious. Journalism remains a somewhat nepotistic field. The days of teaboys working their way up through smoke-filled Fleet Street offices are gone. Bachelor’s degrees are now necessary but not wholly sufficient. This is true of many postgraduate jobs today.

But Palatinate has shown itself to be a cradle for future journalistic excellence. With values of independent reporting and creative expression still in place today, one can have confidence that Palatinate will provide a platform to more future journalists in the making. It has done so for 75 years, so why would it stop now?

When asked what skills journalistic experience has provided people, some responses are commonplace: exposing the truth, holding others to account, fighting for those without a voice. Although these seem more like mission

Happy 75th Palatinate : notes from the editors

Holly Downes

Editor Josie Sherman Deputy Comment Editor Duru Akin Deputy Comment Editor Josie Lockwood Comment Editor

Student journalism has always been at the core of my university experience. I was introduced to Palatinate over two years ago when I timidly sent in an article commemorating Amelia Earhart for International Women’s Day. Amazed by the paper's journalistic excellence, I soon became Travel Editor for Indigo and later, Deputy Comment Editor, and now Comment Editor for Palatinate.

Palatinate has very a special place in my heart. It has given me a platform to speak on my thoughts, challenge other's actions, and has made me confident that journalism has a hopeful future ahead. As my time of editing for Palatinate is coming to a close as graduation is on the horizon, the paper has only sharpened my abilities, a racted even more talented writers and editors, and has made the student community everything it should be: a place of autonomy, inclusivity, and creativity.

So for that, Happy 75th Birthday Palatinate.

During my first term, Palatinate, was mostly a new piece of lingo I learnt; a nuanced shade of purple spread over all things Durham, with its journalism connotations taking a backseat in the frantic landscape of Freshers.

However, after a uning to Durham’s lifestyle, I stepped into the world of student journalism. Tentatively, I commented under Indigo Features and grabbed my first article: a simple li le film review-esque style article on Disney’s Encanto. Safe to say, it was nothing groundbreaking. Nevertheless, it made the print edition and sparked my confidence within Palatinate

As summer rolled around, I nonchalantly applied for an editorial role on Comment, on the off chance it could be a cool experience. Fast-forward a year and it’s safe to say Palatinate has opened a whole new world of opportunity for me.

Student outlets such as Palatinate are incredibly empowering, entertaining and educative and remains the backbone to Durham’s news circulation.

The 75th year anniversary of Palatinate marks the long-lasting influence and significance of student journalism. On an individual spectrum, it indicates a growing trend of student’s a raction to experimenting with the wri en word. From my experience, I can easily say that student journalism is one of the best, most efficient ways of having your voice heard by many and even making a change in your desired sphere by concretising your thoughts into a compact set of ideas and claims.

Not to mention, student journalism enables one to arrive at their often-unknown possibilities through their limitations; engaging with student journalism further develops verbal, wri en, and debate skills by practice as well as reading reading fellow contributors’ pieces. When the number of those intent on doing the same come together, we are endowed with a massive web of communication consisting of creative, authentic, and diverse perspectives – simply put, we have Palatinate.

Ivividly remember the first time that I picked up a copy of Palatinate. It was a freezing day in my first year, and I saw the huge stack of papers South College reception.

Not really thinking much of it, I decided to take one back to my room.

When I read it, I was so impressed that students just like me had been able to produce something of such high calibre.

From that moment on, I became hugely invested in Palatinate. When I got my first article published – a Features piece – my flat pinned it up on our kitchen pinboard.

Not long after, I became editor of Food & Drink, Interview for Indigo, and most recently Comment for Palatinate

The paper is such a privilege to be part of, and it is a pleasure to be surrounded by such a warm, commi ed, and passionate group of people. I am beyond grateful for all that it has given me, and I hope that it remains a pivotal part of the Durham experience long into the future.

(Anna Kuptsova)

With values of independent reporting and creative expression still in place today, one can have confidence that Palatinate will provide a platform to more future journalists

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate COMMENT

STACK: a valuable addition or an unnecessarily flashy franchise?

Laila Hula

When you think of the medieval city of Durham, images of the 900-year-old cathedral and the picturesque river landscapes come to mind. What does not necessarily fit with this historical UNESCO World Heritage Site is a flashy new food and drink complex only metres away from Durham castle. The Danieli group has sent in their planning application which looks to develop the Yorkshire Trading Company into a new STACK venue later this year. However, this news has sparked worries from The City of Durham Trust.

Do venues like this risk losing Durham's historical integrity and small-town feel?

So far, this venue includes not only food vendors and bars but even extends to a stage for live entertainment and a rooftop bar. Although the development would add an appealing dimension to the city, do venues like this risk losing Durham’s historical integrity and small-town feel?

John Lowe, the chair of The City of Durham Trust, has responded to these plans with his convictions that “there is no deficiency in the evening and night-time economy in Durham”. In this case, the main factor to consider is whether Durham would really benefit from this leisure complex when the city already boasts many eateries for

residents and tourists to enjoy. Last month, Durham BID organised Durham Restaurant Week which showcased the best food that the city had to offer. From tapas at Gussto to Indian at Spice lounge, this initiative illustrated the many delicacies of Durham. Perhaps we should be continuing to promote the city’s already existing establishments instead of adding to the ‘stack’ of chains to compete with. STACK will join busy Silver street which also houses popular restaurants such as Uno Momento and Coviello.

Although I would agree with John Lowe’s beliefs that the city already has so many amazing restaurants to offer, I am convinced that students will be excited to try this new kind of night out. STACK will offer a new socialising space which is unlike anything else in Durham. Although the Food Pit is a similar concept, where different delicacies cater under one roof, STACK will provide a new outlet for entertainment in the city. As there will also be room to project football matches and stage live events, this development could prove to be a popular addition to Silver street. Having food and leisure under one roof will certainly prove to be popular with families. However, this may just be a shortlived novelty which could provide more angst for its neighbouring restaurants.

There is something to say about John Lowe’s remarks that there is no real “deficiency” in the night time economy; where food and drink are concerned Durham’s got it covered. I would also argue that there is a risk in over-modernising the city centre, since brand-new developments are already being made all over the city. For example, the multi-millionpound site at Milburngate bridge has already changed the image of the city. The Milburngate website boasts of its plans for a “60,000 sq ft retail & leisure space”. With large developments like this, historical sites such as the cathedral and the castle could lose their charm and end up being seen as old elements of the city.

Moreover, in response to STACK’s licensing application, John Lowe says that the “particularly large venue” will “have an adverse effect on the historic character of the city”. He adds that Trust’s reasoning for opposing STACK’s planning application lies in the fact that “it will create unacceptable noise pollution”. The planning application outlines that the speakers will face the castle and cause an unnecessary commotion. Perhaps the large complex being built at Milburngate

Cerys Warwick

Sam Smith’s 2014 album, In the Lonely Hour, brought the singer worldwide acclaim –and four Grammy awards. Featuring emotional ballads characterised by powerful vocal performances and stripped-down instrumentation that highlight the raw emotion of Smith’s lyrics, songs such as 'Stay with Me' were met with critical and commercial success.

This couldn’t be more different to Smith’s latest release, 'Unholy', a difference which has not gone unnoticed across social media. Searching “Sam Smith” on TikTok reveals a plethora of videos comparing “Sam Smith Now” and “Sam Smith Before”, contrasting the stars' new lavish and ‘over-thetop’ style with the simplicity that accompanied their debut album.

It is undeniable that Smith has experienced a drastic change since they first rose to fame; equally, it is understandable that fans of Smith’s earlier soulful ballads may not enjoy their recent releases. But does this change mean that Smith has 'lost themself', and are fans entitled to comment on this?

Alongside their musical evolution, Smith publicly came out as non-binary in 2019; a significant moment for both the music industry and Smith’s career. Since, Smith has become one of the most visible and vocal advocates for non-binary gender identities in the music industry, and has candidly discussed the influence of this on their music.

In an interview with GQ discussing their 2019 album Love Goes, Smith stated: “This album is about me and my relationship with love. It’s also about my relationship with myself. And so, being nonbinary and genderqueer, and all these things that I am, I’m able to live my life in full. I’m able to give all of myself to everything, which is

is more suited to anticipated noise due to it being further out from town, whereas STACK is due to take residence in a more central location.

Despite worries from The City of Durham Trust, it seems that STACK will indeed open its doors on Silver street this winter. I was surprised to learn that the application plans were undeterred by their critiques and will continue in its development process, especially as the Trust brought up problems with its licensing as well as the impact

the establishment will have on Durham’s image. I believe that this new development could prove to be a successful addition to Durham’s entertainment scene and both popular with locals and students. However, the location is where the problems arise. Since many of Durham’s best food spots reside on Silver street itself, it wouldn’t be surprising if the competition that the STACK novelty brings ends up being damaging for its independent restaurants.

such a blessing”.

While a musician's style or sound may change, this does not mean that their original identity was lost in the process. Many musicians – including Smith themself, according to recent interviews – view their evolution as a natural and necessary part of their artistic growth. Crucially, whether a musician’s changes are well received or not depends on the trends and demands of the music industry, undeniably influencing the wave of backlash 'Unholy' has provoked.

'Watermelon Sugar', which Styles declared in concert is “about the female orgasm”.

Underlying this difference is transphobic discrimination and fatphobia. As Vogue’s Daisy Jones aptly surmises, “it is not the sexual nature of the video which is at the crux of the outrage, then, but rather the non-binary person who dares to step into it”. Certainly, this has influenced much of the backlash Smith has received.

Some have argued that changes in Smith’s image form a ploy to stay relevant, accusing Smith of manipulating their identity for further fame – a critique often levelled at female musicians.

Comparison between Sam Smith and Harry Styles demonstrates this. Though both have faced criticism for going against societal norms in their music and personal lives, a different rhetoric accompanies their actions. At iHeartRadio’s 2022 Jingle Ball, Smith performed 'Unholy' in a Valentino silver sequin jumpsuit, which was met with criticism and derogatory comments online. Yet, only months prior, Styles was celebrated for performing in a sequin-jumpsuit at Coachella.

Indeed, Smith’s recent music video for 'I’m Not Here to Make Friends' has been critiqued as “explicit”, “hyper-sexualised” and, according to one journalist on Good Morning Britain, “extreme hardcore pornography” – referring to the fountain of water sprayed in Smith’s mouth. A sexual insinuation, certainly, yet no more so than in

Over Taylor Swift’s fifteen years in the music industry, she has undergone several distinct “eras”, each marked by a different musical style, image and persona. Yet to interpret this solely as a media ploy overlooks Swift’s use of change as a societal critique: her 2017 album reputation and accompanying disappearance from the public eye can be seen as Swift’s response to harsh media criticism she faced, and as a commentary on the ways in which society labels and regards women.

In this, Swift’s actions bear remarkable resemblance to Smith’s. While staying relevant in the music industry is important for any artist, it is clear that for both artists, transformations in their image and style were motivated by a variety of factors. As an artist, Sam Smith has always been known for their introspective music, dealing with themes of heartbreak and vulnerability.

Their change in image, which has included a more flamboyant and gender-bending style, can be seen as a continuation of this, and an exploration of different facets of their identity.

Fans cannot expect a musicians’ style and music to remain static through the duration of a ten-year career.

Is Sam Smith's evolution a plea to remain relevant?

While a musician's style or sound may change, this does not mean that their original identity was lost in the process

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate COMMENT

A year into the war: catastrophic future of the Russia-Ukraine war

Grant Kuppenheimer

As muffled bells toll, the deafening silence of solidarity consumed the nation at 11:00, as PM Rishi Sunak stood stoically next to Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, the situation became ever more poignant with the rendition of Ukraine’s national anthem at 10 Downing Street.

In a later broadcast, the King acknowledged how “the people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale a ack on their nation”. It is unfathomable that the word war would be u ered in Europe in the 21st century, especially when some are still alive to remember the last land conflict fought on this continent. While the RussiaUkraine war has raged unofficially for the past nine years, most of us view the commencement of hostilities with Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February of last year. In an address to the European Parliament, President Von der Leyen comments, “One year on, Putin’s perfidious plans continue to be foiled by the brave Ukrainian nation… Russia has completely alienated itself from Europe…[and] Putin’s imperial fantasies have woken up to a bleak reality”. Despite overwhelming odds, Ukraine has surpassed all expectations in defending its homeland, with European and American allies aiding the country, in unwavering conviction.

unlikely that Ukraine will begin to gain the upper hand.

Suppose Ukraine can continue capitalising on an ever-deteriorating Russian military situation, with 100,000-200,000 casualties inflicted on the invading power. In that case, they may reach the 1991 frontier of their country and possibly beyond.

As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mentioned numerous times, negotiated peace would only be considered once all occupied territory is under Ukrainian control. Therefore, in addition to territorial advances, Ukraine will a empt to ensure that Russia can never relaunch any invasion against Ukraine by decapitating its military posture.

If these predictions become a reality, and Russia is perpetually placed on the defensive, the Kremlin will advance this war from military to political priority.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin sees a potentially victorious NATO-aligned Ukraine as a threat to the survival of the Russian state, a more significant response from the belligerent will be deemed necessary. The approval of tactical nuclear weapons or other strategic military capabilities would be deemed politically warranted in this new demonstration of Kremlin desperation. In this case, no number of sanctions or threats from Europe and America would avert such a decision.

In a recent interview, retired American CIA director and general Petraeus commented that on using nuclear weapons, NATO would ‘take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the ba lefield…and every ship in the Black Sea’. In this hypothetical escalation, the UK and 29 other member states of the bloc would be at war with the Russian Federation.

Arjun Seth

It's pre y risky writing about Prince Harry these days.

I'm quite afraid that anything wri en here could land me an unwanted mention in a new Disney Plus tell-all or Amazon series detailing his and Meghan’s struggles adapting to life in one of the world’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

However, his potential absence from May’s Coronation is something I find quite shocking.

deserved and earnt through a good relationship with the public that has been pruned and cultivated. The late Queen was not revered and admired because of her role, but instead because of what she made of that role - as a patron of the Commonwealth, the face of modern post-Empire Britain and an invaluable counsel several heads of governments relied on during crisis.

However, the most pressing question for many reading this article is simple: what next? What will become of Year Two, and how will this conflict end? Turning to the RAND Corporation for guidance, a Washington-based think-tank, their experts conclude that a static frontline will most likely develop as successful Ukrainian counteroffensives have matched Russian offensives. However, RAND analysts agree that the Russian offensive situation is bleak at best; with fresh military defeats and entire units of conscripts refusing to fight, it is not

The fundamental question that should be discussed is how to find a way out of the ever-descending spiral of armed conflict before this war escalates to a level that supersedes Ukraine’s borders. How can the allies of Ukraine in Europe and America aid in bringing an end to hostilities which would guarantee both the sovereignty of Ukraine and Russian external security? What is most dangerous about the incessant chant of ‘Slava Ukraini’ (English: Glory to Ukraine) while giving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy standing ovations in the European Parliament and House of Commons, all symbolic actions of support and solidarity is how the aggressor’s ever reckless behaviour will escalate in retaliation, for it is Russia’s determination that is most detrimental to the continuation of this conflict.

This situation is quickly reaching the point where any notion of negotiated peace is thrown out in favour of total and complete Ukrainian victory. I ask my readers, what are you prepared to sacrifice to secure such a triumph?

Britain is less than 100 days away from its most important day in most of our lifetimes, and it’s still uncertain whether the King’s very own son will a end. Whilst most of us are ready to lose the weekend to bunting, silly cut-outs and national cheer in what will hopefully be a sunny bank holiday; Harry remains “in a predicament” about whether he’ll be able to spare the hour on the day and even turn up.

Respect and public admiration cannot just be acquired with a single command but instead is built up over many years of hard work, commitment and graft – something the King himself knows all too well having had to work especially hard to improve his public image after Diana’s death.

If Harry and Meghan are keen to become a new “showbiz couple” like the Beckhams or Clintons, then they need to realise that to be wanted in the public eye you need to command respect first. People don’t want to hear what you have to say unless they like you. Snubbing the sovereign on the biggest occasion of all when your popularity is anyway falling will only make this worse.

Advertisers won’t ask polarising figures to headline commercials, nor will charities be looking for patrons who are viewed negatively by nearly half the population (as YouGov polling on the Duchess suggests). Just ask Prince Andrew about being dropped when your popularity plummets.

think the distance and 8-hour time zone shields them, but the fact of the ma er is their fame stems from their association to the British royal family – an unparalleled global brand itself. In 5 years, they have not launched any independent work and their global offering remains bi er criticism of their relatives and the country that paid for their lifestyle. Try as he may, Harry can never really re-invent and divorce himself from this, because arguably it is all that the world knows him for.

Ge ing an estrangement from relatives is no easy feat and is sure to be no simpler when the eyes of the world are upon you. So, if the Sussexes really want their other ventures to take off they need to get the bee out of their bonnet first and rebuild their relationship with the people that made them famous and into a brand: the British people.

To develop their brand, then, they need to repair their relationship with the British public

This seems baffling, not just because Harry is the direct next of kin of, he who is to be crowned, but because the Sussexes are currently trying to rebrand themselves as a new A-List celebrity couple in their own right and boyco ing Britain’s most positively spun party is simply going to lead to further bad press.

The key to success as a celebrity couple is popularity and this can’t be bought or organised by any friends (yes, even if you’re on texting basis with Beyoncé).

Instead, popularity has to be

Their current reputation divides households but is not irreparable. The British people, the group that will always be Harry’s natural market, be it for philanthropy or commercial endeavours, do see his recent behaviour as exploitative and disingenuous.

Whether the intention is such, the public seem to have already made up their mind, with over half judging the Duke’s actions as narcissistic and dishonourable.

If Harry and Meghan really want to develop their brand, then they need to repair their relationship with the British public. They may

A good place to start is a ending the country’s biggest national holiday for a lifetime and coming to offer respect to the person who is our new sovereign.

This is not about biased media coverage, cruel palace staff, or “your truth” vs “my truth” – it’s just common sense.

Harry is still the prince who the British public once adored, and there is a yearning to see him and Meghan return because that fairytale is missed.

He would do well to support his father, family and country, and return for the Coronation as we all move into this new Carolean era together.

A end the party Harry, even if it's for your own interests

It is Russia's determination that is most detrimental

Popularity has to be deserved and earned

(Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons)

Tolerating 75 years

Satire Editors: Sascha Lo & Rory Cronin

For more, visit www.palatinate.org.drpk/fridaynightwaswastedonthis

Durham from 1948-present: a brief yet informative recap

Caleb Tutt

If I were to tell prospective Durham students that their only options for hill colleges were St Aidan’s and Mary’s, they’d likely begin throwing up and crying. Dystopian as this image is, this was the case in 1948. Much has changed since.

The air thick with Jo Malone fragrances

Colleges have come leaps and bounds. The postwar industrialism of the

50s presented us a gi as welcome as a nosebleed: Grey college. In an interview in the late 80s, it was confirmed the architect who designed Grey “thought it was all one elaborate practical joke” and has resultantly apologised for the eyesore he created. Remedially, the hedonism of the 70s gi ed us Collingwood college. Whilst far superior and some nicer shrubbery, still resembles a Nazi Megastructure.

Recreation has also changed. With few clubs, a Hatfield night out in 1948 usually consisted of thieving ration books from the then 97% club. This practice was outlawed by RON, the SU president at the time. To fill the void, the club James Allen’s was founded, selling

sherry triples, tobacco snuff, and barbiturates.

College

Durham characters look back fondly upon the years of old. None more so that Crossgate cat, whose descendants have long upheld the tradition of seducing second years before biting them and

running off. Although silent when asked how he thinks Durham will change in the years to come, he did give off an air of apprehensive fervour about the future of his territory. Either down to a new Rushford court college, or the fact that I chased him down Neville Street for a follow-up answer.

As Palatinate has evolved so too, has the city of Durham. Once a bastion of Northern pride and industry, now a Southern embassy in the North. The Wear runs beige with barista-style oat milk and the air thick with Jo Malone fragrances. And so, I, like Crossgate cat, also feel the similar urge to panic, bite, and run far away from a Durham long-since changed.

The University’s catering options: The official inquiry

Caleb Tutt

I’ve managed to split these so-called “catering facilities” into two categories: the “How f***ing much?” category and the “cost of living victim” category.

The Billy-B: Apparently this place is called “Small Island Coffee”. I only realised this when my bank statement told me I had spent £300 at this exotic beach retreat. Like Mustique, this small island is busy and expensive. I paid near a fiver for a duck wrap that’s best described as “sodden”. Pricey, crowded, and full of London and Surrey’s brightest (and richest), this place is just like Embargos in Chelsea. And for those of you who know where that is, YOU’RE THE PROBLEM.

TLC Café: TLC may as

Sexism smexism: Durham fixes sexism

Charlotte Low

Gone are the good old days where the eligible young bachelors of Durham would message a girl on Tinder: ‘Are u free tonight…just did some ket so may not perform but we can have some fun’. In retrospect, it was polite of him to pre-warn the poor girl that he wasn’t even going to a empt to close the orgasm gap.

well stand for “The -Loving Criminals”. I literally saw a guy ahead of me steal a diet coke and a fistful of KitKats from the display table and just walk off. How did nobody notice him? Shocking. I nearly called the police. Yet, given the prices here, I’m not-so-ashamed to say I half considered doing the same.

innovative! It’s a favourite amongst super-senior university staff. Like the balcony at Fab’s, it’s reserved only for the elite few. The coffee is unfairly cheap considering the staff who eat there are on salaries of blood diamonds and Fabergé eggs. The revolution won’t spare this establishment.

And now for the places where the cost of living has been a particularly cruel mistress:

volume) in Western Europe. Emblematic of the college at large, this catering option is peculiarly big, yet vacant and soulless.

Palatine Café: It’s called “Circolo” apparently. Probably because its circular? How

Graph of the week -Barney Bird

St Aidan’s college: This is for all of the gourmands who enjoy the plastic and hair that has been cooked in the Hild Bede kitchen, driven 10 minutes across town in a van, and reheated in a room called the “Lindisfarne Centre”. It feels almost cruel to even joke about this one. It’s just sad. Van Mildert college: I’ve been told by a reliable source that Van Mildert has the second largest dining hall (by

Durham leads with cutting edge research, proving what logic and reason can't

Collingwood college: A banquet fit for royalty. Long tables. Great company. They let us fill the Men’s Rugby Floodlit Cup up with squash (amongst other things). Obviously, the food served there is the same ersatz-matter as other colleges, but I’m rating it highly for one simple reason: I’m biased.

Upon reflection, it’s clear that the only thing served up quickly and cheaply by these places is the wave of cortisol and misery they all conjure up in different ways. If the staff weren’t such lovely people, I reckon Durham University catering would be an issue for the Hague, let alone the Food Standards Agency.

So, what can we expect in Durham now that sexism no longer exists? Well, Hugo has decided to stretch his trust fund to buy you a Woodgate. George has removed, ‘posh blondes only’ from his Hinge prompt response. Even Freddie has stopped rolling his eyes in Jimmy’s smoking area when girls tell him they do a sociology or ‘Jasper’-the horse from his polo playing daysforbid an education degree.

In addition, the Durham men have now acquired the ability to actually communicate with women, instead of laughing at her response to ‘So which school did you go to?’. You no longer have to fear being the victim of a competition of ‘sleep with the poorest fresher’ – with the criteria being she doesn’t ski at least once a year, or own a Longchamp bag. Women don’t have to concern themselves with the actions of men at all in sexism-less Durham. Without misogyny, condescending a itudes, and a hefty quarter-zip collection, what do the men of Durham really have left?

Shocking ink shortage puts Palatinate readers on the edge of their seat

The last two weeks have seen Palatinate editors and writers picketing outside Ryman’s Stationary, demanding that more ink is shipped into Durham as a matter of the highest priority. The unprecedented shortage has been scandalously and shockingly revealed to be caused by an escaped highly trained kangaroo with a vendetta against all print media, it makes very little sense but I think its best to

The 50s presented us a gi as welcome as a nosebleed: Grey

The coffee is cheap considering the staff who eat are on salaries of blood diamonds

The defintive answer to whether butter is a carb!

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

PROFILE

Lord Frost: “Self-government and democracy are the best way forward”

Profile speaks to Lord David Frost

about Brexit,

Boris

Johnson,

and the way forward for the Tory Party and British politics.

William Rome Profile Editor

Lord Frost is not your average politician. He comes across immediately as simultaneously less political and more ideological than most of his contemporaries in Parliament, perhaps because he is not a politician by trade. He is also authentic and quietly charming, regardless of one’s opinion of his political positions. Throughout my breakfast with him, he was eager to respond to challenge and did so with composure.

Lord Frost made his name through Brexit – as Boris Johnson’s Chief Negotiator for Exiting the European Union and later minister for the Cabinet Office. He remains very enthusiastic about this project whilst emphasising the need to make the most of the opportunity. It “ought to be appealing whatever people supported [in 2016]… if we give someone a sense of opportunity… ge ing the government out of people’s lives, showing the country’s a bit more nimble and different”.

Indeed, many aspects of our conversation ultimately end up back at the issue of Brexit. He argues that the British response to the Ukraine war “vindicates” his view that Britain can more effectively “react quickly and lead” outside of the EU.

When I challenge him on the links between increasing Sco ish nationalism and Brexit, he comments that “there’s nowhere else [for the Sco ish] to go” other than the UK, characterising Sco ish nationalism as fickle, “like a comet”. He encourages the British government to be “robust” and observe the policy that “the state is the state – like every other country in Europe, we don’t allow secession”.

He sees Brexit as a sustainable project, despite its unpopularity amongst the young, but his justification – “people have got other things to do in their lives” than have another fight about Brexit – feels to me like he considers his ideological opponents simply apathetic. Clearly, though, he intends to remain a champion of the Leave cause. One of the two key parts of how he sees his role going forward is as “the voice of the Brexit we did and the fact that Brexit’s a good thing for the country”.

Frost’s other role is to promote “normal conservative policies”, in particular “[neo-]liberal reform and change.” For him, the “red meat” is the key to the Tories winning the next election. “Half of our voters are

si ing on their hands…and I don’t think it’s enough to say ‘well, they have nowhere else to go.’…We need to give people a sense that they can believe that they are electing a Conservative government and one that will go in a certain direction.”

He disagrees with the conventional wisdom that the Tory Party has too wide an electorate, with the ‘Red Wall’ voters holding fundamentally different positions to more affluent ‘Blue Wall’ voters: “I do people the credit of believing that when they voted Tory it’s because they wanted Tory policies”.

pulpit” to defend those persecuted for exercising their fundamental freedoms, which are invaluable to “testing which arguments are good and which arguments aren’t”.

Naturally, his former boss Boris Johnson comes up in our conversation. Frost assesses him as a “great man brought down by flaws”, but presents a different Boris Johnson to the general public perception. He is “very intellectually thoughtful in a way that doesn’t come across in public,” and Frost thought, interestingly, that “he does have firm convictions, not in every area as we discovered, but in many of the areas that ma er.” However, “he never was willing to quite invest enough in the organisation around him to bring system and process and clarity of decision-making”, derailing his administration.

Yet, what Frost rates most highly about Johnson is his charisma and, crucially, his “authenticity”, ascribing his popularity to his “way with words and his refusal to be typecast and pushed around”. Frost seems unconcerned by the populism inherent in Johnsonian rhetoric. Indeed, although his composed and eloquent demeanour does not suggest it, Frost’s view of the political world has a distinctly populist streak.

Frost is a strange mix of establishment insider and outsider. He considers the Civil Service to be inherently pro-EU as “they just think it is natural that Britain should be part of the EU and somewhat unnatural that we’re not”. He himself was a diplomat for many years, qui ing after becoming disillusioned with Civil Service groupthink. He then returned to the same department as a special advisor, a role he found “liberating”. Yet, in particular before the 2019 General Election, “there was a lot of suppressed hostility and people questioned our legitimacy to come in.” He compares the time after the election to the Normans post-1066: they’d “won the ba le but [had]… to operate through a lot of people” from the old establishment.

Frost is not a man afraid to speak his mind. He considers himself a “purist” in what he says, and he is eager to discuss the importance of freedom of speech. Frost is in Durham with The Pinsker Centre, a free-speech think tank, to speak at the Durham Union Society about his experiences. He argues that “we’ve lost the culture of robust debate”, observing that the expression “well, it’s a free country” has fallen out of fashion. The Government cannot solve the problem but it should “use the bully

A common theme in our discussion is Frost’s concern about the concept of career politicians, whose experience is limited and whose lives are “bound up with their political success.” He believes that there are some ministerial

“roles where you might always want someone who’s a bit more of an expert”. He proposes that here should be a way of “ge ing people in for shorter periods and ge ing them in the Commons, not as MPs but able to defend their case in Parliament” without ennobling them for life as Frost himself was.

This same principle applies to Frost’s advice for aspiring politicians. Before entering politics, “get to know how the real-world works, get a proper job of some kind and some skills. …Do something that you’re interested in…and feel enthusiastic about.”

The most fulfilling stage of Frost’s remarkable career was the “extraordinary…18 months of doing the talks” with the EU. As his “life’s not invested in politics in the same way” as career politicians, he is very selective about any future commitments, having rejected a post in Liz Truss’s fleeting administration. “I would want to be sure that [in] any ministerial job, I was doing something that needed doing, that the government was commi ed to it and I was in sympathy with the broader aims of the government”. Perhaps uncharacteristically for a politician, Lord Frost is not prioritising career advancement. Instead, as seen in recent weeks with the debate surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, he will remain in the public eye, advocating for a vision of Britain in which he firmly believes.

Quickfire

Boris or Rishi?

Both are good at the right moment

Who will win the next election?

It’s still up for grabs if we do the right things

Best political book?

Just in Time by John Hoskyns, Thatcher’s head of policy.

A life in the civil service or as a politician?

Life of a politician because it’s still be er to be in control of what you’re doing and able to say what you think.

Favourite Album?

Hold Your Fire by Rush

Worst PM of recent years?

Theresa May

Oxford or Durham?

I feel it’s an unfair question. I’ve got my loyalties so I have to say Oxford.

(Simon Dawson, No. 10 Downing St. via Wikimedia Commons)

Frost sees his role going forward as “the voice of the Brexit we did and the fact that Brexit’s a good thing for the country”

I would want to be sure that [in] any ministerial job, I was doing something that needed doing, that the government was commi ed to it and I was in sympathy with the broader aims of the government

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Abortion in England and Wales: ongoing ba le for autonomous decision-making

Profile’s Christian Vince speaks with Dr Sam Halliday about the continued criminalisation of abortion

England and Wales and the framework blocking complete female autonomy

Christian Vince Profile Editor

Dr Sam Halliday is an associate professor in Biolaw with a research focus of beginning and end of life decision making.

After studying an undergraduate in Law with German law with a year in Trier, Dr Halliday studied for her PhD in Giessen, Germany. As a result of her fluency in German, a lot of her work is comparative between the state of English law and European jurisdictions.

I wanted to speak to Dr Halliday after hearing a series of lectures on the topic of abortion in the UK. To many people’s disbelief, procuring an abortion is illegal in England and Wales with defences allowing doctors to procure one under certain circumstances. Having thought of English law upholding progressive values, it was odd to discover the continued relevance of a Victorian criminalisation of abortion.

Dr Halliday started the interview by breaking down how abortion law has changed over the past 200 years.

Historically, “women have never been trusted to make these sorts of decisions themselves”. Going all the way back to roman law “the contents of the woman’s uterus belonged to her husband”, therefore procuring an abortion would be denying the man an heir to his riches. The early 19th century saw a complete prohibition under any circumstances, even when the woman’s life was at risk.

it followed history’s framework”. The legislation made abortion permissible under certain circumstances, but it remains an illegal act. “The woman’s request for an abortion is just that: a request”. Halliday goes on to clarify “any woman can have an abortion under 13 weeks, but she has to ask for one. Of course, not all doctors agree with abortion” which poses a problem.

to hold criminal status and ask if there are any signs of reform.

Dr Halliday says, “I think criminalisation will stay for a while at least. Not because it is right but because abortion is such a hot potato”. “There is no real desire to engage with abortion law reform within this government, nor any previous government”.

Dr Halliday points out the issue with continued criminalisation of abortion. She says the World Health Organsiation [WHO] “recognised that criminalisation is stigmatising the act of having an abortion, having an impact on women in a multitude of ways”. She goes on to talk about there being “a real movement for decriminalisation but there also being movement in parliament to restrict abortion access”.

neighbours, “in Germany, women have a right to abortion in the early stages of pregnancy”. Dr Halliday says, “every woman can elect to have an abortion up to 12 weeks without any requirement that a doctor must sign it off ”. However, the catch is that the woman seeking the abortion must have counselling. This all feeds into the discussion that women are unable to make any sort of informed decision and, therefore must get a second opinion.

The 1900s saw a slow recognition of needing to procure abortions in instances where the woman’s life hanged in the balance. In this period, and indeed still today, “lawful abortion was equated with doctors acting in good faith to save a woman’s life”.

Despite the 1960s being heralded as “a very liberal time”, the introduction of the abortion act was “not a liberal measure as

With abortion being “very common in the UK with roughly 1 in 3 women having one in their lifetime”, I wonder why it continues

The issue is the stigmatisation around abortion and the framing of women as being irresponsible, argues Halliday. She suggests that the legal and social framework depicts women “as victims of their own circumstances”. “They are regarded as incapable of making a responsible decision because they are selfish”. Dr Halliday mentions many people thinking that women make flippant decisions about abortion because they simply don’t want to deal with being pregnant or because “they want to go on holiday”.

Looking over to our European

It is clear, following the discussion that the current state of UK law is lacking in protecting female autonomy, according to Halliday. There is hope that within a lifetime England and Wales will see decriminalisation of abortion, however, we still have a long way to go in this ba le for female autonomy.

Dr Halliday, following this discussion, spoke to profile briefly about the launching of the new Medical Law and Ethics LLM, starting in September. Being able to take modules from many different departments, Dr Halliday emphasises the diversity of this master’s course. If you have a degree in a social science or other relevant subject and an interest in medical ethics, this degree would enable you to do research that truly ma ers.

(Amanda Hirsch via WikiCommons)

in

Abortion is very common in the UK, with roughly 1 in 3 women having one in their lifetime

Women have never been trusted to make these decisions themselves

There is no real desire to engage with abortion law reform within this government, nor any previous governments

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Working in harmony: PalTV and the future news cycle

Dylan Rana PalTV Station Manager

As we celebrate Palatinate’s momentous milestone and look back on 75 years of print journalism, it’s important to look ahead to the future of how we deliver news. In today’s digital world, how readers engage with news has changed. And so, we’ve adapted the way in which we tell stories that ma er to students accordingly. This shift has birthed video journalism - an approach to news & storytelling formerly confined to broadcast television.

But now, the art of video is accessible to everyone. In the last ten or so years, the price of creative equipment such as cameras, microphones, computers etc., has plummeted. The ability to create broadcast-quality content on the budget the size of PalTV’s was a pipedream 10 years ago.

James Tillotson Founder of PalTV

PalTV and Palatinate are both run in their entirety by unpaid student volunteers. Those participating receive no course credits for their degree, unlike many universities that have media and journalism courses, not that this has ever been a disadvantage for the teams at PalTV and Palatinate. The widely varying experiences of the students that make up our teams strengthens our journalism. Through effectively bringing together highly motivated Durham students that are keen to learn we have produced award winning journalism and creative content time and time again.

Projects are never the work of one individual, whether it’s a light-hearted creative show or an interview coming in from Chile with PalTV global. In Durham, or internationally, a project team consists of producers, presenters, writers, researchers, camera operators, editors and a plethora of other support functions from media law checking to marketing and publicity. Without every element the station wouldn’t be able to produce the content it does. PalTV’s structure is similar in many regards to professional TV stations, but with a critical difference. Members of the team are encouraged, and oftentimes required, to not be specialists but generalists. A presenter may need to jump onto a camera, a broadcast controller might need to interact with an online audience during a broadcast - the list of situations goes on.

This is possible as a student station - a strong culture of shared learning ensures that when someone joins the team it’s not long until they’ve picked up skills in a wide set of areas. This,

(Elle Fitzgerald)

partnered with a strong sense of ‘making do’ and a keen aptitude for improvisation has seen PalTV excel at making content that rivals professional broadcasters, with li le to no funding and equipment at points. This leads to PalTV members being proficient across the full production process from commissioning all the way to broadcast, a skillset that would be hard to build anywhere else. All these skills are self-taught within the teams, handed down from experienced students to new joiners.

As student run outlets, PalTV and Palatinate can afford to be experimental, challenge established formats and hold institutions to account. For the most part, if a piece doesn’t do well it doesn’t ma er, we’re all students and no one is relying on revenue for an income - the stakes can be gloriously low. However, the flip side of this is the potential for success when we get it right. In many instances PalTV has been first on the scene at many events which have gone on to be in the national and international spotlight. Our team, as students, are entirely embedded within the communities we report on. Just a few months ago we deployed a team late at night to film and interview people queuing for housing. Through the hard work of multiple students on the team this footage was edited into packages, explainers wri en up and then sent to national news outlets. Within a day PalTV’s reportage was in front of millions of viewers on national news from the likes of the BBC and ITV. This in turn raised awareness of what was unfolding and forced accountability for those responsible. It’s always rewarding hearing angry murmurings from institutions after they are held to account, especially when they’re forced to change for the be er.

that powers PalTV’s investigative video journalism. With video, we can dive deeper into topics and investigate student issues with greater detail. This isn’t to say that video will replace print. Instead, documentaries and short videos can complement Palatinate’s tight wri en content.

PalTV’s recent documentary on Durham’s student housing crisis is a brilliant example of this symbiosis. Our producers drew heavy inspiration from Emily Doughty’s analysis of Durham’s housing costs in context and even featured both Emily and Palatinate’s Editor-inChief Daniel Hodgson.

of the protest. That’s the power of video: we told the narrative of a complex event in a digestible and entertaining manner.

These two projects in particular demonstrate how PalTV has been able to craft a distinctive style of video journalism. We combine studio segments with vox-pops and interviews to weave a narrative in our content. This helps us present important issues and difficult conversations to our audience and help shape the conversation surrounding topics like the housing crisis, homelessness, local devolution and more.

Yet now, technology has evolved so quickly and the quality of free online technical training is stellar. Video content creation has essentially been democratised. Anyone, anywhere, can tell their story, and with platforms like YouTube and social media sites, students can publish their work for the world to see.

It’s this very freedom to create

Our extensive video journalism isn’t just limited to local & student issues. In an instalment of ‘PalTV Investigates’, we had originally set out to cover a solidarity protest in Market Square after pro-democracy activist Bob Chan was seemingly beaten outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester in October.

Upon contacting the consulate for comment, we received misleading content and propaganda that questioned the accuracy of the British press’ coverage.

Our producers then gathered footage from the event and conducted a thorough visual investigation. The video walks our audience through the key moments

What does this mean for the news cycle moving forward? Video captures a ention, and our slick content style has been moulded to keep our viewers engaged in the stories we tell. It allows PalTV to dive deeper into topics, but what it can’t replicate is Palatinate’s timely and reliable coverage.

In our video journalism, PalTV instead takes a step back and find evergreen angles to news stories. With that, we can build on the incredible work of Palatinate’s journalists while providing a fresh perspective on key issues.

That’s precisely what excites me about Palatinate and PalTV’s strong relationship: two styles of journalism working in harmony.

Humble origins to broadcaster of the year: PalTV two years on

Elle Fitzgerald Deputy Ed-in-Chief and PalTV Head of Welfare

As a founding member of PalTV, it has been amazing to watch its development from the beginning. Founded during the Covid-19 pandemic, all interviews were conducted over zoom and the initial team did not meet each other for another term. A team which started out in isolation, filming our first projects and interviews remotely from our rooms at home during lockdown, has flourished into not merely a team of over 100 members but a community of enthusiastic student journalists aiming to inform and entertain the wider Durham community.

While part of PalTV I and many others have been able to build a portfolio of work, giving us firm footing for our future careers. Whether I have been presenting light-hearted interviews with Durham students asking how ‘rah’ they are, interviewing an awardwinning Hollywood art director, or an impromptu livestream of the South college protests for the benefit of national media outlets, PalTV has afforded countless

opportunities which would have otherwise been una ainable. PalTV members are renaissance men, with team members holding expertise in multiple areas — creating a team of well-rounded and highly adaptable journalists.

Having been part of Palatinate since my first time at Durham and PalTV from my second term, PalTV has given me the platform and training to develop my journalistic skills in broadcast journalism alongside traditional print. Being trained in presenting, camera operating and scripting has given me practical skills which I would have otherwise not had the opportunity to develop. PalTV’s robust leadership structure has also presented the chance to mentor other students as they too develop these skills, offering a sense of guidance and initiative which helps to train future student journalists and maintain PalTV’s outstanding skillset.

Beyond having the opportunity to work in front of the camera, working as Head of Welfare, looking after a team of such talented, creative and resilient individuals has been an honour. To see the channel come from nothing to winning NASTA’s Broadcaster of

the Year in only a year has been an unforge able and incomparable experience. To have been involved in PalTV since its creation has been an unparalleled chance to see how a successful station is built from nothing. I look forward with preemptive wistfulness to see how the future years of PalTV members continue our legacy. I hope they experience our same sense of pride and nostalgia on their 75th anniversary.

Visit www.PalTV.co.uk to find out more about PalTV, our story and to watch our latest award winning programs!

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Artificial Intelligence at University: A guide to using ChatGPT for work

Will Brown SciTech Editor

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere at the moment. At first it was a novelty, something to have funny conversations with and send them to your group chat. Now, we’re beginning to grapple with the real-world consequences of artificial intelligence. Unsurprisingly, a lot of university students are now starting to wonder how the sudden boom in AI can help them with their work.

Firstly, don’t get it to write your essays. That’s just dumb.

Granted, it has been done. ChatGPT will write you an essay if you ask it to. It won’t be a very good one, it won’t be referenced, and it may well have just copied text from the internet – which will send your plagiarism score soaring.

Don't get it to write your essays. That's just dumb

Universities are unsurprisingly scrambling to find a way to reliably detect whether or not essays are wri en by artificial intelligence. There are some rudimentary detectors available, including one offered by ChatGPT’s creators OpenAI. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But it won’t be long before these detectors get be er. I don’t think it’s worth risking the academic misconduct charge.

So, how can you use AI to your benefit? I’ll tell you how. But firstly, I’m going to go into this with a massive caveat. AI is not perfect, far from it. Don’t take it’s word as gospel, and check over anything it’s helped you with before using it in your summatives.

With that caveat out the way, I genuinely believe that artificial intelligence has the potential to be an immensely positive, transformation experience for our education. It might be in its early days, but here’s all the ways I’ve found it can be of use so far.

A Personal Tutor

Wouldn’t it be great if you had someone that you could talk through a topic with?

You could go to your lecturer’s office hours, of course. But not everyone has the confidence for that, and sometimes it’s such a quick question that you don’t feel it’s worth troubling them. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is merely a click away.

Struggling to grasp the specificities of dialectical materialism? Not quite ge ing the hang of quantum entanglement? Can’t distinguish cadere from caedere? For everything from answering a quick question to generating lesson plans with follow-up questions that it will mark for you, ChatGPT is here to help.

Alternatively, Bing AI is perfect for this task. Whereas ChatGPT cannot connect to the internet and is only trained on data up until 2021, Bing is an AI-powered search engine that can have a conversation with you. It can’t talk for as long as ChatGPT can, and cannot come up with lesson plans. But if you’ve got a quick question that needs a quick discussion, then Bing is perfect.

Want to give it a try? Try asking ChatGPT: “Explain [a topic] to me with the necessary complexity required of a university course”.

A Writing Assistant University requires a lot of writing. Whilst I’ve already cautioned against using it to write your essays, I’d happily recommend using it to help you with other aspects of writing.

Want someone to summarise your lecture notes in a simple paragraph? Ask ChatGPT to do just that. Need to cut fifty words out your final paragraph in order to squeeze under the word count? Ask ChatGPT to find what’s irrelevant.

It can also restructure your sentences for you. If you’ve got a clunky sentence in one of your lab reports that could do with rewording, then just ask ChatGPT to make it clearer for you. You're also likely to see this sort of technology appearing elsewhere. Notion already has an artificial intelligence function as part of its premium plans, and thanks to Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI it likely won’t be long before you’ll be able to do this directly inside Word or OneNote.

A Reading Assistant

As it says in the DCAD posters, Academic English is nobody’s first language. I’m sure we’ve all stared at a paragraph from a random article that apparently revolutionised the discipline, and yet is so deeply couched in jargon that it’s more or less unreadable. Wouldn’t it be great if someone could read it for you and then explain it back to you in easier terms?

Thankfully, ChatGPT can do just that. It’s able to read lengthy chunks of academic jargon and send it back to you in a fashion that’s actually legible. I’ve often found it useful to get complex paragraphs ‘translated’, and then go back and read the original with an understanding of what it is trying to convey.

Try the following prompt: “I’m reading an academic article for my course, but I can’t understand it. Can you read it for me and then summarise in simpler terms?”

A Proof-Reader

No ma er how many times I read through my essays, it always seems like there’s another mistake that needs fixing. Microsoft Word doesn’t catch everything, Grammarly is quite pricy. But ChatGPT? That’s free

Ask ChatGPT if it will proofread your work for you, and it’ll happily oblige – returning your text for you, with any errors fixed up nicely.

However, exercise caution with this one. I’ve heard reports it ChatGPT adding in a few extra sentences out of nowhere when it does this. Perhaps be er used on shorter texts.

A Reference Compiler

Referencing is complicated. It’s no wonder that so many options exist to automate it, ranging from citethisforme.com to Microsoft Word’s built-in referencing system. If you’re looking for another way to compile your references, feel free to ask ChatGPT for help. It’ll ask you for all the necessary information (author, year, title, etc.) and generate a reference in whatever style you’ve asked for.

This is particularly helpful for more complex references. We’ve all go en used to directly citing papers, but more complex tasks – secondary referencing, for example – can be made easier with a bit of AI assistance.

You can’t put the AI-genie back in the bo le. Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly going to change the way we approach education. We’ve been warned not to use it for our essays, which I’d agree is sensible. But it’d be foolish not to make use of this technology to help improve our own learning process. There are a variety of applications for ChatGPT in education, and it’s important to remember that AI language bots are really still in

A Conversation with ChatGPT

their infancy. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is currently running on version 3.5 of their language software, with version 4 rumoured both to be coming this year and to be a significant upgrade on the current version. Universities are going to need to reckon with how this changes education, and they’re going to need to reckon with it fast. Otherwise, there may soon be an epidemic of perfectly-wri en AI essays that nobody can tell the difference between.

Can you write me a short paragraph explaining how students should and shouldn't use you to help with work at university?

"As an AI language model, I can be a helpful resource for students at university who are looking for information, ideas, or inspiration for their work. However, it's important for students to remember that I am not a substitute for independent thinking and critical analysis. While I can provide suggestions and guidance, it's ultimately up to the student to develop and express their own ideas in their work. Additionally, students should always make sure to properly cite any information they obtain from me to avoid plagiarism. In summary, using me as a tool to supplement their own thinking and research can be a helpful approach, but relying on me exclusively is not recommended."

(Will Brown, generated with OpenAI's DALL-E 2)

Digital ID cards: zombie policy or important modernisation?

Hugh Halsey

Tony Blair and William Hague on BBC Radio 4 discussed their new push to introduce ID cards. For some, this may give a sense of Déjà vu after the former prime minister’s failed a empt to introduce them at the end of his tenure in 2006. However, have times changed? Today, the aim is to digitise these cards and bring them to smart phones. With lots of resistance and concerns expressed by the British public, has opinion changed at all since Blair’s last a empt?

New method to help find hidden helium

Cameron McAllister SciTech Editor

Durham researchers have helped to develop a new model that could be used to identify new helium gas resources – especially important in light of the global helium supply shortage. The study, published in Nature, was led by the University of Oxford, with Durham’s involvement led by Professor Jon Gluyas, Executive Director of the Durham Energy Institute.

The proposed model helps to explain the existence of previously unexplained sources of helium. In doing so, the study also identifies the geological locations where helium is likely to be found, so it can be tapped and extracted without emi ing greenhouse gases.

Helium may be the second most abundant element in the Universe, but it’s quite rare down on Earth. While helium is constantly being produced by radioactive decay in the Earth’s crust, it is also constantly escaping – and not just in the form of runaway party balloons. Helium is light enough that it can get enough heat at the top of the atmosphere that it can simply float away and escape the Earth’s gravity.

Sometimes helium ions produced by radioactive decay – alpha decay, a common form of radioactive decay, produces alpha particles which are just helium atoms without the electrons – fire energetically into the atmosphere. While they would usually be deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field due to their charge, they can sometimes collide powerfully enough with molecules in the atmosphere to steal their electrons, leaving the helium neutral and free to escape into space.

Helium atoms are tiny, so great at diffusing – just think of a party balloon a few days after your birthday. Helium usually escapes the Earth’s crust by diffusing through water all the way until it reaches Earth’s surface.

However, the new study considered the effect of nitrogen on this typical helium-escape narrative. The research identifies the geological parameters required for nitrogen concentrations to be high enough to form gas bubbles.

If nitrogen bubbles are present the helium will escape from the water into the gas and bubble towards the surface.

If these helium-rich bubbles hit a low permeability rock that they can’t pass through then they will become trapped. If the overhanging rock has the right structure, this could result in a substantial helium-rich gas field.

Helium’s constant escapology means it is currently a finite resource. Today, most helium is produced as a by-product of natural gas production by fractionally distilling the extracted gas mixture. As the mixture is cooled other gases (like nitrogen and methane) liquify, while helium, which has a lower boiling point than any other element, remains gaseous.

The most pessimistic predictions have helium running out within the next 20 years. While this seems unlikely, massive supply shortages have already become common, with at least four such events since 2006 (including last summer). Should we be worried about helium running out? Yes. Helium isn’t just used for balloons and highpitched voices; it is vitally important to cool the superconducting magnets used in MRI scanners. It is also used in the manufacture of computer chips, scientific research, quantum computing, and more.

The radioactive processes that produce helium can also split apart water molecules to form hydrogen in a process called radiolysis. Hence, the proposed model also predicts the co-occurrence of hydrogen resources. Much of the hydrogen produced will have escaped or been consumed by microbes, but much may still remain.

Hydrogen burns with oxygen to produce only water, so has immense potential in helping the world transition to net zero (and beyond). However, more than 99% of hydrogen is currently produced from coal and methane, which itself accounts for over 2% of global CO2 emissions.

If the new model is found the be effective at predicting locations of economically viable hydrogen and helium resources, it could be vitally important in solving the global helium shortage and potentially helping the world to transition to cleaner fuels.

feel like my mind is being read.

Back in 2020 in an interview, Blair commented on the data required for his scheme saying, “people probably will give more information to their supermarket than to the government”. So perhaps the security threat is not as severe as some would make it out to be.

The former political rivals made big claims on the Today programme that the country would fall behind other large powers without the introduction of these marvellous cards. Although I’m not sure I would go that far, there is an important point being made. Technology has progressed at an extraordinary rate over the last 20 years and with the rise of AI systems such as ChatGPT, it shows no sign of slowing down.

We now use our phones for everything. Banking, texting, emailing, socialising, and travel. You notice it when you don’t have it and it was probably some time ago that you went without yours. My point is that we are no stranger to trusting technology with bank cards, tickets, and other sensitive information. One extra identity card is not a huge leap of faith.

However, is the technology currently available sufficient to protect this vast quantity of sensitive data? Members of the public have expressed their concern over the security of government-held data. Any database containing that much personal data would certainly a ract constant cyber-a acks and the idea of criminals ge ing their hands on that data doesn’t bare thinking about.

But it’s not like databases like these don’t already exist. Facebook and Instagram have built up vast quantities of data on your movements, activities, and interests. So many times I go onto YouTube or Facebook and the recommendations

But what good is any of this if the public do not support it? There is a long history of tried and failed a empts to introduce an ID card system. During the first world war a mandatory identification card was introduced to wild unpopularity. Although it was accepted due to unique times, it was scrapped soon after the end of the first world war.

Is the technology currently available sufficient to protect this vast quantity of sensitive data?

However, the government didn’t give up and in 1939 reintroduced the system in light of the second world war. This was more successful than the first. However, public opinion was never fully convinced by the scheme and after rationing finished, it wasn’t long after that the identification cards were once again scrapped. Public opinion has never been sympathetic with the government having information about us even if we are willing to trust Facebook with it.

Regardless of the benefits provided by the scheme, if public opinion is against the proposal, we

are unlikely to see it happen. Data collection has occurred in other ways over the years as seen with Facebook and Instagram. But they haven’t exactly filled the public with confidence with regular scandals resulting in a great public desire to restrict these vast businesses. That is why I believe we are unlikely to ever see this system on our phones. Public opinion is not showing any sign of swaying in favour, with increasing security concerns with technology and greater desire for data protection from companies such as Facebook. I actually think this scheme would be valuable for society. It would make identification much simpler and not to mention stop you losing your student ID card at the college bars. But until the public are persuaded that ID cards are safe and would be an asset to this country, they will never be any more a part of our lives than a discussion on the Today programme.

(Kurious, Pixabay)

(Generated using OpenAI's DALL-E 2) Super cool liquid helium is vital for the operation of MRI scanners (National Cancer Institute, Unsplash)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate SCITECH

UK academia, clinical science, and the NHS: a glimpse into the future

Cas Gudgeon SciTech Editor

This issue marks the 75th anniversary of Palatinate, a milestone that arrives in the wake of waves of nationwide UCU strikes, mounting NHS pressures, and a slow-burning exodus of researchers, clinical scientists, doctors, and nurses. A little over three years a er the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the midst of a cost-ofliving crisis, where do we stand now?

Industry clinical trials collapsed during the pandemic

Last October, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) released an annual report which revealed the decline of industry clinical trials in the UK. Between 2017 and 2021, the number of clinical trials in the country decreased by 41%. This was accompanied by a 44% drop in the number of patients with access to clinical trials on the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN), with roughly 22,000 fewer patients accessing novel therapies undergoing advanced trials.

The report also found that the UK has fallen behind other countries in the life sciences sector, in part due to issues stemming from pay and pension cuts. In 2017, the UK ranked 3rd globally in the number of phase I trials in progress, 2nd in phase II trials, and 4th in phase III trials. In 2021, the UK was in 4th place in phase I trials, 6th in phase II trials, and 10th in phase III trials, having been overtaken by countries such as Spain, Australia, and Japan.

“The time it takes to set up trials and recruit patients in the UK is out of line with our global competitors and is moving in the wrong direction,” said Richard Torbett, Chief Executive of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). “As a result of this, and growing commercial pressures, pharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking elsewhere when choosing where to develop and launch new medicines and vaccines.”

It is estimated that the UK life sciences sector – if maintained and invested in adequately in line with recommendations by pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Roche – could potentially yield significant economic benefits.

Over the next 30 years, R&D investment could net the UK economy an additional £68 billion, as well as a 40% decrease in disease burden.

Baroness Brown, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, stated “Against the backdrop of intense pressure

on the NHS, clinical research is on a precipice. Clinical research is not a ‘nice-to-have’ but vital for the healthcare service to become more efficient and effective. Rather than an additional pressure, the ability to engage with research can aid recruitment and retention for staff, and can bring in industry funding.

“Without urgent actions from the Government, such as those recommended in our letter, the UK’s clinical research capacity could be permanently diminished, leaving the NHS, patients and the UK economy worse off in the future.”

Between 2017 and 2021, the number of clinical trials [in the UK] decreased by 41% [...] with roughly 22,000 fewer patients accessing novel therapies

Growing discontent in academia

portends mass exodus

At the end of last year, over 70,000 staff members and academics across 150 universities took part in the largest highest education strike in the history of the UK.

In correspondence with Nature, researchers stated that deterioriating working conditions were jeopardising the future of scientific research.

Richard Harris, a geographer at the University of Bristol, wrote “This is the 12th year in a row in which the employers have offered below-inflation pay increases, which means the salary scales are getting less and less each year. They’ve offered a 3% pay increase, but inflation is about 11%. That’s an 8% pay cut in real terms, equivalent to losing one month’s pay.”

“I’m going to stop peer reviewing for profit-making publishers until the industrial dispute is settled, because it relies on goodwill and very little of it’s actually paid […] When you keep cutting people’s pay and pensions, that goodwill begins to dissipate.”

One of the strikers’ conditions was the reversal of a cut to pensions, which amounted to a 35% decrease in retirement income. The cut was pushed through following an evaluation of a report in March 2020 which found that the Universities

Superannuations Scheme (USS) had a deficit exceeding £14 billion. However, the deficit has since been resolved according to the UCU, following the release of the USS financial monitoring report which highlighted a surplus of £1.8 billion.

The UCU has also reported that two thirds of academic staff intend to leave higher education at some point within the next five years, with three quarters of researchers saying that they were likely or very likely to leave academia. In a survey of almost 7,000 researchers across 100 institutions in Britain, 90% of UCU staff said they were not optimistic about the future of academia, and 60% of staff were unhappy about the prospect of working in higher education for the duration of their remaining career.

Across the country, the pandemic and the cost-ofliving crisis together have inflamed workers’ discontent, culminating in waves upon waves of strikes in the public sector. Helen Coulshed, a chemist at King’s College London, wrote “While some vicechancellors earn £500,000 and can claim expenses for all sorts of luxuries, our PhD students and staff are using food banks. They’re deciding which days they can eat, or which meals to skip. That level of discrepancy in one university is not acceptable.

“At King’s, student numbers have increased by 25% over the past two years. At the same time, we’ve had a 3.9% increase in staff So, our staff-to-student ratio has gone bonkers, which has knockon effects in terms of availability of our time and head space to think about research.”

Tidal wave of NHS resignations

Tens of thousands of skilled and experienced nursing staff, many aged 21 to 50, are leaving the profession, according to an RCN report released on February 13. The report lays out the root causes of poor retention and growing resignation. Between 2018 and 2022, just under 43,000 nurses le the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register. In 2020/21 the number of nurses leaving the NMC grew by 9%, followed by a further 3% in 2022.

a pay cut of 8% in real-terms. Similarly, NHS hospital doctors have had their real-terms pay cut by 7%.

Figures from the NHS staffing trackers show that 140,000 hospital and community health staff le the NHS service in the year to September 2021, including one in 10 nurses and one in 18 consultants. For nurses, the most common reasons cited for leaving included excessive pressure, personal circumstances, and retirement. Notably, just 14% of nurses who le a er the beginning of the pandemic said that the the pandemic had influenced their decision to leave. For GPs, burnout, job dissatisfaction and physical working conditions were what led many to leave the profession, with many GPs reporting that the amount of time spent on ‘unimportant’ tasks was a contributing factor.

Recent figures from UCAS indicate that, in addition to record numbers of experienced nurses leaving the NHS, fewer nurses were joining the profession. O -cited reasons for leaving included inadequate pay, unsafe working conditions, harassment and discrimination at work, and insufficient staffing to ensure patient safety. Since 2010, some nursing roles within the RCN have seen real-terms wage cuts of up to 20% over the course of the last two decades; the average NHS nurse has had

One of the government’s targets in 2023/24 was to have 50,000 more nurses working in the NHS. However, internal NHS estimates uncovered by The Independent indicated that this target was unlikely to be met. In December and January, a recordbreaking 50,000 patients a week waited for over 12 hours to be admitted in A&E.

“Nursing staff are leaving the profession, realising they can get similar or better pay in supermarkets and retail without the stress of the job,” said Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing. “Poor pay is creating severe staff shortages and making patients unsafe. Nurses, patients and the public deserve better than a government that won’t listen.”

(Magnus Hagdorn, Flickr)

While some vicechancellors earn £500,000 and can claim expenses for all sorts of luxuries, our PhD students and staff are using food banks

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

International Women’s Day: aiming for equal voices Student

Madeleine Ballay

Politics Editor

Every year, the 8th of MarchInternational Women’s Day - brings reflections on the current state of women’s rights. We weigh the steps forwards against the sexism that continues to shape the lives of women around the world.

Here in Durham, I have spoken to three women in positions of student leadership to discuss where we are in in terms of representation in student politics, their experiences as women in visible positions of responsibility and their ideas for making Durham a more gender-equal community.

President, largely agrees that Durham still has a ‘problem with respect’ towards women, despite incremental progress towards equal representation.

She noted the insidious comments by peers as well as university staff on her appearance rather than about her work and the sexualising Tindurs and Durfesses which undermine women’s a empts to be taken seriously in a professional capacity. The way in which women in positions of leadership are perceived might not actively prevent them participating in a rich culture of student politics, but it is a cultural hurdle over which they must climb in order to be heard and seen equally to their male counterparts. Cowell did not expect her “skin to be thick enough”, having witnessed the treatment of SU and JCR officers before her. “It’s hard to always have to speak louder to get the a ention of majority-men rooms” whilst avoiding accusations of bossiness, shrillness or of being overly emotional.

Durham’s problem with misogyny is clearly not restricted to a ‘problem with respect’. We have a problem with sexual violence: the University was in the top ten for reported accounts of sexual violence on the Everyone’s Invited 2021 report. However, the experiences of covert, often subconscious sexism that repeatedly cropped up when talking to student leaders highlights the underlying culture which beli les the challenges faced by women in this University.

We witness the evidence of

are seen, how far we are taken seriously.” Being a woman in a visible position of leadership still requires a thickening of the skin and the resilience to regularly demand equal treatment to male counterparts.

Dismantling this culture of silent assumption surrounding gender roles would take wide ranging, coordinated action between the University, colleges and student groups, according to Cowell, Gibbons and Peterson.

the institution’s historically male dominated culture. These public conversations recognising the existence of barriers to women’s participation in student politics and leadership are key to deconstructing subconscious biases surrounding representation.

Finally, all three women emphasised the importance of

The issue that was most commented on by the three interviewees was how difficult it is to have one’s voice heard equally to men. Their concerns echo those of Kate McIntosh, the SU’s 2019-20 president. In a blog post on the SU website, she called out “Durham’s problem with respect” and the reductive language used to describe her and her work. She wrote of being told she was “bossy, manipulative, overly opinionated or ‘unsavoury’”.

Two years later, Izzy Cowell, Grey College’s outgoing JCR

Roisin Gibbons, Durham University Labour Club’s Secretary, explained the differences she has noticed in the way in which men and women engage in student politics. “DULC is quite a male-heavy society, but a lot of the women who are involved are on the exec”. She suggests that women involved in politics find themselves having to commit themselves more entirely to their organisations in order to demonstrate expertise and be taken seriously. By placing themselves in positions of leadership and dedicating more time to a cause, women might be protecting themselves from assumptions of amateurism. Gibbons highlighted that “it is brilliant that women are represented on the exec, but questions do need to be asked as to why women have to make politics their personality to be taken seriously.

this daily. Cowell referred to the regular instances of being spoken over by men. Kathleen Peterson, Durham Union Society’s Assistant Custodian, spoke of the way in which her authority as bar supervisor of 24s is be er observed when accompanied by a male colleague. Gibbons explained how certain people assume her ideas and contributions to a discussion must be those of a man. All report a certain degree of invisibility when staff or students fail to realise the extent of internalised sexism in our approach to women in this institution.

Peterson summed up the problem well: “It is less about how we’re treated, and more how we

DU Intersectional Feminism Society : causes for hope

Madeleine Ballay Politics Editor

As well as recognising the slow progress of gender equality, International Women’s Day is a good time to reflect on the progress being made, on reasons to remain optimistic.

I spoke to Fleur de Bono and Raychel Lawrence, President and Vice President of Durham University Intersectional Feminism Society, about some of the things that they find give them hope, as well as about some of their work this year.

They both highlighted the importance of the society’s existence, followed by its success in providing a space for women at the University to express themselves freely on the subject of sexism. As well as providing a space for intellectual discussion

on feminist theories, books and current affairs, Fem Soc prides itself on successfully creating a safe space for women to share their experiences of misogyny.

When questioned on the importance of this safe space, De Bono and Lawrence point to the culture that diminishes women’s voices – both in Durham and in wider society – to demonstrate the significance of networks that do the opposite and focus on issues specific to women.

There is also optimism to be found from the close collaboration between societies led by women. For example, Fem Soc recently ran a coffee morning with DU Labour Club and also has close links with the Durham branch of Student Action for Refugees (STAR). They argue that these links are tightly forged thanks to the base-level of mutual respect that exists between women, without having to justify

their beliefs, actions or decisions.

A highlight of this year for the society was the beginning of a partnership with SmileMakers, a company that makes vibrators. They held a workshop centred around female pleasure, reminding us that sexual pleasure is highly political. The presence of a women-led student group encouraging empowerment in this manner, is in itself a cause for optimism.

De Bono freely admi ed that feminism societies across the world face the issue of “preaching to the choir”, she emphasised the importance of creating these spaces regardless. Durham, along with many other UK universities still have serious issues with gender-based violence along with the unconscious biases that contribute to allowing the former. Feminism societies across the country remain as relevant as ever.

Cowell argued that more research needs to be done to understand the way different genders engage in student politics. She explained that “women being more represented than men on Welfare commi ees and less so on Governance or Finance ones” is not a situation that should be accepted at face value. There should be a concerted effort to subvert the prevalence of traditional gender ideals at this University. Questions should be asked as to whether these gendered trends are in fact a mere reflection of society outside Durham, or whether there is a culture, a use of language that reinforces gendered thinking. Academic institutions, Peterson and Gibbons pointed out, are ideally placed to promote this social analysis, as well as to act as se ings for a larger conversation about sexism embedded in culture, language and behaviours.

Incremental steps are already taken by individual organisations on an unofficial basis. Cowell recalled a conversation with her fellow JCR presidents (of which only three out of seventeen are women) in which they discussed the lack of women’s representation on this year’s PresCom and how they would a empt to ensure that this did not impact their work on gendered issues. Peterson spoke of the Union’s proposed women only socials, whose aim would be to dispel concerns over

University-wide leadership in the effort to combat sexism alongside colleges and student organisations. On one hand, Cowell pointed out positive steps in senior leadership – in 2022 Karen O’Brien was the first woman to become vice-chancellorand on the other, Gibbons noted that Durham is still lagging on equal pay. In 2020-21, women occupied 38.3% of highest paid jobs, in contrast to 66.4% of the lowest paid jobs. In order to actively pursue a gender equal environment the University needs to lead in the direction it wishes to head.

Academic institutions are ideally placed to act as se ings for a larger conversation about sexism embedded in culture, language and behaviours.

It’s hard to always have to speak louder to get the a ention of majority men rooms

It is less about how we are treated and more how we are seen, how far we are taken seriously

In conversation with three women student leaders, we discuss the state of gender equality in Durham.

IWD 2021 Melbourne (Ma Hrcak Wikimedia Commons)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Palatinate and politics 75

The NHS at 75: surely a system still fit for 2023?

In most ways, the Britain of 1948 is a country lost to time. Women wore rollers, men wore hats. Memories of World War Two were fresh at hand, and rationing was still (partly) in force. And yet, similarities persist. In 1948, the country was in the midst of heaving itself out of the wartime doldrums. Here in 2023, we, too, are reckoning with damaged infrastructure at almost every level. And there is one institution which links post-war Britain to its postCovid future like no other.

The National Health Service was the brainchild of Atlee’s 1945 government. The ‘Post-War Consensus’, a period of relative ideological cohesion between the two major parties, allowed for a swathe of social care reforms to be passed. Of these, the NHS has been perhaps the most enduring.

Millions of Brits make use of it every day as a ma er of course, but the NHS was once no more tangible than any other bill. It was a hugely ambitious project, even as one journalist noted at the time, this legislative aspect amounted only to the “ground floor of the building”, so

British Rail 75 years on : where are we now?

Emily Doughty

Early in his time in office, Clement A lee received a le er from a railway worker. The man, who did not want to burden A lee “did wish to see that a success is made of the nationalisation of the railways”.

To make this possible the worker outlined “general suggestions” for the improvement of the line, the main ideas being coordination across the country and cooperation from the workers for all legislation regarding changes to the trains. This, he hoped, would “convey some useful information” regarding the running of changes.

The le er comes from 1940s Britain where A lee, the Prime Minister who had promised a bright new Britain, took a brave step towards this goal and nationalised railways. The rail, which had been badly impacted by World War II, needed improvement after suffering heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe.

Faced with a failing train network that needed to power the country, A lee had decided to

nationalise the railways and invest in them centrally, something that took place in the 1950s. This, as well as working alongside trade unionists representing the workers would create a train line fit for the growing economy of the UK, helping the nation move out of the bi er shadow of war. Was the train network perfect in 1948? No. It was, however, a step towards a be er future.

But what has become of A lee’s vision 75 years later? It has, in truth, largely vanished; rails were slowly privatised under the Major government in the 1990s, and the government has only taken over a small minority of lines since, as a last resort when operators are not up to standard. Perhaps it is not such a surprise then that over half of Britons support renationalising the railways in some form, a show of just how important they are to our daily lives.

Yet, the problems described by the railway worker in his le er to A lee remain unfixed. The railway worker in 1946 warned of policies that went against the wants of rail workers. Fast forward to 2023, where workers from major unions ASLEF

and the RMT have taken numerous days of strike action in January and February alone to force a change in vision from government, and it is hard not to see why demands for change are so raw.

The second issue remains the disparity of rail provisions. The south of England, particularly London, continues to receive significantly more funding for transport than the rest of the country. This has led to a country disconnected, like the country of 1948, with connections between the North and South leading to growing economic divides. With a country based largely in the South and a government unwilling to give in to demands from the workers who keep the rails running, it is hard not to ponder whether the prophecies of the 1940s in the worker’s le er have come true.

Overall, however, the main similarity between 2023 and 1948 is the lack of investment in the rails. While A lee managed to find a solution to this, the rising price tag and shortening length of HS2 along with limited investment elsewhere leave us wondering if anything has truly changed in 75 years.

to speak.

The sort of bipartisan cooperation necessary for such an undertaking seems a pipe dream in the divided Commons of today. Certainly, the current government is far less liberal with welfare spending than the Tories once were:

Rishi Sunak has made clear his desire to improve the service, but it was in his time as Chancellor that it faced billions in real-terms cuts.

Public support is clearly present

When the NHS was first introduced, post-war optimism was in full swing, and it seemed to many that this was one more step towards a brighter, cleaner future. A lifetime later, the shiny new service is nearly buckling under concurrent crises. Multiple wings of the workforce are striking over pay and conditions, and the sector is haemorrhaging workers. The most recent studies predict a deficit of almost 40,000 in nursing alone.

From outside the institution, the public have bi er – and valid –complaints about quality of care. Waiting times across the country have been an issue for years; it is no guarantee, for example, that an ambulance will arrive at the scene of a heart a ack within 30 minutes, or that you will be seen in A&E within 4 hours. Waits for non-emergency treatment can last years.

Nonetheless, public feeling about the NHS is hardly bluntly negative. Its central mission, that healthcare should be free at the point of access, is supported by 94% of Brits, polling suggests. Well over half in that survey felt that even in its current state, its existence made them proud to be British. Public support is clearly present; fiscal, not so much.

Our health service stands moreor-less the same in a country which has changed drastically around it, and current trends are unsustainable. If the NHS is to make it to 100 years old, a new consensus of values, between the public and our lawmakers, will have to be reached.

Natalie Rengger

A statue commemorating frontline NHS and care workers during the pandemic (Tony Hisge via Wikimedia Commons)

Potsdam conference (via Wikimedia Commons)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

years on - what’s different?

The lasting impacts of the British Empire

Keelan Worwood

A itudes towards the British Empire as an institution have evolved much over the past 75 years, and its status as a global hegemon has declined greatly too. Despite this, the legacy of British imperialism is still a relevant discussion in the politics and culture of 2023 Britain.

diminished by Japan’s invasion of British colonies in South and SouthEast Asia. Britain was no longer perceived as a dominant military power, therefore the inevitability of decolonisation seemed apparent to many.

Currently, these predictions of a decaying empire have come largely to fruition. Britain has lost its status on the global stage as an economic power, being surpassed by the US, China, and Germany to name a few. In the past 75 years, more countries - such as Sudan - have gained their independence from Britain. Recently there have been pushes in Jamaica and Barbados to leave the commonwealth to a ain complete sovereignty.

By 1948, the beginning of the end for the British empire had already commenced. Following World War Two, nations that fought with allies against the axis became more nationalistic and started to call for independence from imperial oppression. In 1947 there was the Declaration of Indian Independence and in 1948 Sri Lanka and Burma (now Myanmar) gained independence following mass protests from nationalists in their respective nations. This was largely due to the empire’s prestige being

Cultural debate has also evolved around the history of British colonialism. Anti-colonial ideas fostered by W.E.B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey have become widely mainstream in 2023. Decolonising school curriculums and higher education is a significant focus in the UK. In June 2020, protests broke out across the country against institutional racism after the murder of George Floyd, at the height of which a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol was thrown into the harbour. Churchill is now seen as a divisive figure who, on the one hand, was instrumental

in the defeat of fascism in World War Two, but was also a vehement racist responsible for the Bengal famine. Despite this shift in views, 2019 YouGov data shows that 32% of the UK population still think the empire is something to be proud of and 37% are indifferent, whilst only 19% are ashamed.

the black population receiving worse public services and the continuation of disparity between black and white neighbourhoods. Secondly, the British mandate ended in Palestine and the State of Israel was established. The reckless conduct of Britain in this region would result in perpetual conflict, especially around the West Bank and Gaza strip following the illegal occupation by Israeli se lers in 1967. In 2022 alone, more than 150 Palestinians and over 20 Israelis were killed.

Two particular actions taken by the British Empire in 1948 have shaped global politics over the past 75 years. Firstly, apartheid began in South Africa (a self-governing dominion of the British Empire) which would lead to the blatant subjugation of black citizens until the early 90s. While legislated apartheid has ceased, the socioeconomic effects remain heavily ingrained in South Africa, with

Over the past 75 years, it is apparent that the foretold collapse of the British Empire has taken place and, while there are clear examples of the detriment to the world caused by Empire, there is yet to be a consensus among the British public whether it is a legacy over which to feel shame, pride, or indifference.

ing at the peak of the British Empire’s power, pictured with his family (Royal Collection of the United Kingdom via Creative Commons)

The UN declaration of human rights (and wrongs)

Carolina Hughes

On 10th December 1948, the United Nations (UN) proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). December this year will see the UDHR’s 75th anniversary – but it may not be a time to celebrate. The UDHR faced criticisms at its inception regarding the validity of its universalist application, and there are arguments that suggest this is perhaps still prevalent today.

The UN modelled the UDHR predominantly in response to the human rights travesties that occurred in the World Wars. It aimed to make human rights applicable in all areas of life, rather than just political protections, to emphasise its truly universal application. Its continued relevance today indicates that the drafting commi ee thoroughly deliberated and cautiously authored UDHR articles; however, the Declaration was not met without resistance in 1948. During the drafting, only 58 Member States were involved, and only 8 individuals formed the commi ee responsible – many Asian and African states were under colonial rule or had not yet come into existence. Evidently,

the UDHR’s claimed ‘universalism’ was curated by the western world’s colonisers. However, the academic Klug argues that this was balanced by the UDHR’s stated purpose in comba ing colonial slavery, genocide, racism, and sexism.

Yet as we draw away from the post-war context in 1948 and consider the 191 Member States party to the UN today, it should be questioned whether universalism is an accurate description of the Declaration in 2023. Arguably, the biggest challenge to this is the growing recognition of intersectionality; the increased globalism of cultures, religions, and languages, and the overlap of these identifiers with race, ethnicity, and gender identity means that ‘universalism’ is in danger of aligning more closely with ‘generalisation’. This is most notable under the controversial Article 16 which protects “Men and women[‘s]… right to marry”. When considering gender specifically, the UDHR was initially praised for adopting unisex language; yet references to heterosexual marriage and “himself and his family” reiterates that there is a heteronormative universalism within the articles that continues in 2023.

-

Universalism in the Declaration has meant that there is both “overly universalistic… language” as well as it being “not universal enough” in its applicability. However, in both 1948 and 2023, universalism is perhaps the most appropriate and accurate answer to human rights issues available on a global scale. Though the UDHR does not legally bind any signing state, it has been internationally respected as having such effect. It has been responsible for inspiring further international and domestic legislation and its continued popularity reaffirms its ability to effectively protect human rights. Though it may not be applicable in every instance, it is evident that the UDHR has merit, as supported by reaching its 75th anniversary. The UDHR had a central aim in the protection of individuals against the cruelties of World War. This se ing has since dissolved into a far vaster pool of global concerns and though the 1948 articles are not perfect, they still provide an effective basis upon which more specialised legislation and protection can be formed by governments, institutions, and organisations going forward.

By 1948, the beginning of the end for the British empire had already commenced

Cultural debate has also evolved

Puzzles

The Oscars Trivia

Can you answer all these Oscars 2023 questions?

1. Who plays Evelyn Quan Wang in ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once’?

2. How many Oscars did ’Titanic’ win when it was released?

3. What year was the original ‘Top Gun’ released?

4. Who directed the film ‘Elvis’?

5. Who will host the 2023 Oscars?

6. What time will the Oscars end (UK time)?

7. Who won the ‘Best Actress’ category in the 2022 Oscars?

8. Where are the Oscars held?

9. What film are Charlbi Dean Kriek and Harris Dickinson both involved in?

Where’s the Striped Man?

Can you find the small striped man in this illustration?

Anagrams of Celebrity Names

Can you unscramble these names?

1. CANCEL THAT BET (2 words)

The Equaliser Puzzle

Fill in the blanks with numbers so that the product of each row and column are equal.

Creator: Alex Bowie

2. DRAB AS MANY (2 words)

3. TINY BLONDE (2 words)

Maths Mazes

Editor: Sophie Sherra

For online versions, answers and more puzzles, head to www.palatinate.org.uk/category/puzzles @palatinatepuzzles

Chess Puzzle

Black to move and win.

Sudoku 861

Puzzle

Quiz = 1. Michelle Yeoh, 2. 11, 3. 1986, 4. Baz Luhrmann, 5. Jimmy Kimmel, 6. 3am, 7. Jessica Chastain, 8. LA, 9. Triangle of Sadness, 10. Best Actor.

Chess Puzzle = 1...Ba4 (2.bxa4 b3 3.axb3 a2) (2.Ke3 Bxb3) (2.Nd5 Bxb3)

Maths Maze = 39 (top), -408 (bo om).

Where’s the Striped Man = left corner.

Anageams = 1. Cate Blanche , 2. anByr Adams, 3. Enid Blyton.

Thursday

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Palstrology

Gabi Gordon and Eve Kirman, a prophetic pair, look to the stars to offer some much-needed insight

Aquarius

20th Jan – 18th Feb

You’ve been trying to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights for over a week now. It’s time to be realistic with yourself and give up, you’re not going to see them.

Pisces

19th Feb – 20th Mar

You may find yourself becoming obsessed with things for no reason. Yes, the new premium Tesco meal deal is exciting, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy one every day.

Aries

21st Mar – 19th Apr

When it comes to your love life, your friends will keep you on track. Take their advice on board, even if it is fuelled by Woodgates.

Taurus

20th Apr – 20th May

This week brings a new shift of emotional maturity in your life. Don’t just go to SNK because everyone else is. Get that much-needed beauty sleep instead, summatives don’t write themselves.

Gemini 21st May – 21th Jun

It’s time to do a deep dive into your emotional psyche. Yes, it’s upse ing that North Road Spoons has closed, but perhaps there’s something else ge ing you down.

Cancer

22nd Jun – 22nd Jul

ST AIDAN’S

JOHN SNOW

QDear Violet, I am quite frankly scared that my boyfriend is a red flag. He is 5 foot 3, does rugby and musical theatre... like he has major problems!

I somehow want to marry this boy (go gay me!) but I feel like my 6 foot 2 body can’t take the constant bad back of bending down. Do I ask him to buy stilts or do I chop off my legs?

QDear Violet,

I really need your help!! I think I have fallen for my JCR president. I spent all of Michaelmas longing, gazing at him as he walks past the JCR, and I spent the whole term restlessly waiting for him to come and talk to me in the JCR, I even bought toasties so I could be around him (I’m a celiac!) But alas, he has another lover, his girlfriend! What should I do?

I think he’s my person but he’s taken by someone else.

Ask Aunty Violet

Have a problem for Aunty Violet?

Fill out the form via the QR code!

Leo

23rd Jul – 22nd Aug

You’ve been really grinding the gears of your housemates lately. Stop leaving dishes to ‘soak’ for days on end – it doesn’t make them any easier to wash.

Virgo 23rd Aug – 22nd Sep

Stay vigilant this week as flu is going round again. A trip to Boots would be wise, you can’t go wrong with Berocca.

Libra

23rd Sep – 23rd Oct

Hangxiety is coming your way. If you can’t remember a lot of your next sports social it’s probably for the best.

Scorpio

24th Oct - 21st Nov

Stop being so worried about whether you’ll find a seat in the Billy B. Luck is on your side this week, however the plug socket probably won’t work –you’re not *that* lucky.

Sagi arius

22nd Nov - 21st Dec

The full moon this week has left you feeling stressed out, the fact you keep seeing your ex on the Bailey probably doesn’t help. Walk home via Windy Gap next time instead.

Capricorn

22nd Dec - 19th Jan

You’ve been feeling particularly creative recently, perhaps channel this energy into your essay. Font type and colour may push your mark up to a high 2:1, it’s worth a try.

PalatiDates

In the final PalatiDate of term, will Jenny and Sam find that special connection at Cafédral?

Sam on Jenny

Initial vibes? She was kind of late to the cafe but apologised so much that I don’t think I could hold it to her.

What topics arose? Her weird experiences with rugby lads at InShanghai.

How would they describe you?

Jenny on Sam

Initial vibes?

Shy - really shy, but turned out to be very funny once we started cha ing.

What topics arose?

A long , long talk about our zombie apocalypse strategies.

How would they describe you?

ADearest reader,

What a palava you have on your hands! First and foremost, I feel that we should address the most prevalent issue: the rather significant height difference between you. Don’t fre le petal, Aunty Violet has some suggestions to facilitate your kissing, without any need for chiropractors, expensive stilt investments, or even amputation!

1. Integrate different kissing positions into your repertoire. Perhaps you could sit down, or your boyfriend could stand on a step stool of sorts?

2. Give each other massages! Your boyfriend can help ease your back, and you can help to soothe his neck (which I am sure is also suffering!)

And remember, we’re all the same height lying down xoxo

ADearest reader, I would like to extend my most sincere apologies to you, this does indeed sound like a frustrating situation to be involved in!

Above all else, I would strongly encourage you NOT to eat toasties to impress people. While I can see the temptation, it is simply not worth flaring up an allergy in order to flirt. Also, I am afraid that despite being a hopeless romantic, I cannot endorse you a empting to break up a relationship (unless this other lover is a truly horrible person).

If you really feel like you need to address your feelings, perhaps you could talk to your JCR prez about your emotions - but I would tread extremely carefully! Also, do remember that love triangles are MESSY!

Probably quiet and nervous - li le does she know I was nursing a massive hangover.

Describe them in three words. Enthusiastic, funny, cute

Most awkward moment?

Probably when I told the waitress to enjoy her food.

Which Durham college would you place them in and why?

Trevs because she was wearing hexagon earrings.

Did they meet your expectations? Any surprises?

I was surprised she rides horses but, this is Durham.

Is a second date on the cards?

I’m waiting on her response right now so hope I don’t regret filling out the feedback form.

Marks out of 10: 8

Signups

Like really loud, I feel like everyone in the cafe could hear me laughing.

Describe them in three words.

Golden retriever vibes

Most awkward moment?

When he suggested looking up ‘first date icebreakers’.

Which Durham college would you place them in and why?

Grey’s because they have no bar and he doesn’t seem like a big drinker.

Did they meet your expectations? Any surprises?

Surprised that he watches Real Housewives - red flag?

Is a second date on the cards? Absolutely.

Marks out of 10: 9

website

(Images: Nicole Wu)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Palatinate Sport: a look through the archives

Joe Harston & Maddie Parker

Deputy Sport Editors

Upon Palatinate’s 75th anniversary, there seems no be er excuse to celebrate Durham’s sporting past, which has of course been well documented by fellow Sport Editors gone by.

We have spent the last few weeks reading articles produced by Durham’s journalistic alumni who delivered stories of some of the most impressive and audacious university and local athletes.

Just a short glance at the wall in Maiden Castle will remind you of Durham’s rich sporting history in various sports. Gold plaques bearing the names of Gabby Logan, Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Strauss and many more tile the interior of the cafe.

So, take a moment to enjoy our findings as we delve into former print editions sharing the sporting successes of future world class talents - who were likely unknowing of it at the time.

First Edition

A full back page of Palatinate’s primitive first edition in March 1948 was dedicated to sport, where the editors were able to focus short pieces on cross-country, ice hockey, rugby and fencing, with the first sports feature being a report on a day of rowing action.

Norman Bu erworth reported on the Senate Cup, won by Kings College; the Graduates’ Cup, where Kings College B were victorious; and the Women’s Invitation races.

He described the day’s events as showcasing a ‘good average rowing standard’ but expressed that many teams ‘showed a need for basic training in fixed seats or tubs’.

Our findings certainly suggest that throughout his time at Durham and beyond, there are very few Palatinate Sport editors who have failed to reference Will Carling in at least one article during their editorship. And who are we to break tradition?

Referred to as ‘Durham’s greatest sporting graduate’ by the editors of Palatinate’s 800th edition, Carling is a man that should need no introduction.

A mainstay in Durham’s first XV, a career in Rugby was at the forefront of Carling’s ambitions during the la er stages of his undergraduate life, although he told Palatinate in 1989 that his status amongst peers at Durham somewhat spoiled his final year at the university.

In the same interview he said, “I’m a bit miffed in the sense that I did something that I feel the University got a lot of mileage out of, but just didn’t appreciate.”

Rugby

Before his graduation, Carling had already made his debut for Harlequins and England while still an undergraduate. Within a year of leaving the university, he had become the youngest ever England rugby union captain.

Palatinate match reports in the late 80s were li ered with references to Carling. A 1987 report highlighted the Hatfield student’s importance to the side after a tight 21-20 win away to Yorkshire Luddites by writing, “The University’s win owed much to Carling’s kicking. He added three penalties to his earlier [two] conversions.”

A report later in his university career made a jibe at his popularity during a 20-10 win against Newcastle, in what may have been one of his quieter performances.

“Congratulations to the Durham side and to Will Carling who apparently did play, although not many noticed!”

Cricket

Joining Carling at Durham in the late 80s was cricketer Nasser Hussain – who is now found on Sky Sports as a presenter and commentator. Palatinate’s reporting proved Hussain to be ever-present in Durham’s cricket successes at the time, featuring in numerous articles.

The Hild-Bede alumnus’ career, of course, stemmed far past university cricket as he too had the honour of captaining England between 1999 and 2003 across 45 test matches.

Hang-gliding

You would instinctively think that teams would represent Durham in increasingly niche sports as the years rolled by, but our archives unveiled an intriguing story. In the 1980s it emerged that the University had a hang-gliding squad, and a successful one at that.

This particular article, titled ‘Glide to Victory’ recalled the triumph of the four man team at the British National Club Championships, where they overcame opposition from 25 other clubs from across the country.

However, for a sport which looks terrifying enough at times, the conditions faced by John Archer, Graham Geary, Clive Brewi and John Rankin as they leapt off the Wiltshire hills were described as “hazardous”.

With winds suddenly changing direction, causing violent turbulence, and “screaming around the gliders” at times, it was a miracle the team were both able to take flight and fearless enough to partake.

When winds dropped to 25mph, the anxious helpers eventually launched two of the Durham pilots, who flew downwind for 1.5 miles before landing safely in a nearby field.

As Hussain took on duties as England captain, a future captain had not long graduated from Durham. Hatfielder Andrew Strauss was a name we were unable to locate in the Palatinate archives, possibly because it wasn’t until his second year at Durham that he was convinced to solely focus on cricket after spending time in Durham’s second rugby XV. Nonetheless, he continued to fly the Durham flag throughout his highly decorated career as one of England’s greatest batsmen.

Women in Sport

It‘s safe to say that coverage of women‘s sport has developed astronomically over the past 75 years but when digging through our archives we discovered a peculiar, yet captivating, article under the title ‘Great Sporting Heroines of Our Time’.

Dating back to November 1988, Mandy Edge - Northern body-building champion - was interviewed by Palatinate about her career, athleticism, and general escapades.

Described as “8st 2lb of solid muscle”, Edge was an athlete and competitor (apparently fuelled by shredded wheat and raw eggs), who worked as a Research Technician in the Department of Biological Sciences.

With an impressive physique and cheeky repartee, Edge boasted the title of Under 52kg body building Northern Champion ‘87 and North East Champion ‘88. Beyond that however, she self-professed that her muscles were bigger than both the Bionic Woman‘s and Superman‘s.

It was her humour that was so striking - she spoke candidly about plastic surgery, how bodybuilding is inherently narcissistic, and how the sport increased her sex appeal.

When asked who the man of her dreams was, Edge named Barry de Mey (an IFBB Hall of Fame bodybuilder), explaining “if you have seen him and are female you will know why.” Moments later, when asked what she hoped to be in a future life, Edge simply replied “Barry de Mey‘s trunks.”

However, beyond the innuendos, Edge clearly had a passion for her sport, with ambitions of winning Ms. Olympia - professional bodybuilding’s most prestigious competition - and condoning the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Although the Ms. Olympia dreams were never quite realised, Edge did place 5th at the British Championships three years later. With her usual confidence and wit, Edge assured the Palatinate readers of the 1980s however that her best performance is “still to come.”

Durham 20-10 Newcastle, from Palatinate 418, 19th November 1987

Durham’s hang-gliding team, from Palatinate 391, 9th October 1985

Durham men’s cricket first XI featuring Nasser Hussain (back left), from Palatinate 416, 22nd October 1987

Women’s Invitation race, from Palatinate 1, 17th March 1948

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Durham alumna Gabby Logan discusses her love for sport, Hild Bede and life in broadcasting

Oliver Jervis Sport Editor

“Sorry about that.” Zoom, in all its post-lockdown glory, had failed us again. Had nerves not been so prevalent on my part, such a fifteen-minute interference with our scheduled interview would have been lightly laughed off. Instead, panic threatened to rubbish each aspect of my careful preparation.

That was when the skill Gabby Logan so often deploys in her broadcasting work came to light. “Nevermind. Let’s get started.” With such calm words and a characteristically lax approach, things were simply rolling again. This is ‘Gabby Logan’, after all. Who else could so easily deliver under pressure, and make all seem well?

However, ma ers have not aways been so refined and abundant with experience in the life of Logan. There was a point in her life when she did not stand as arguably the pinnacle of Durham’s living sporting history. There was a point in her life when Gabby Logan was merely an undergraduate Law student at her beloved Hild Bede, trying only to find her place in the big, wide world.

“I was really lucky with Hild Bede because when I was applying. I didn’t know much about university and no one in my family had been to university. When I applied to Durham, I didn’t put a college down, which is pre y much unheard of!

“A lot of people were asking “how did you get in Hild Bede if you didn’t put a college down?” and it was really the luck of the draw.

“I think it was the perfect place, really. It’s quite a nice big campus and yet that feeling of being a li le bit away gives you a nice walk into town. It didn’t make me feel like I was right on top of everything.

“Also, the stuff that went on within the college, whether it was the social life or being deputy president, being able to get involved with stuff like that was a very valuable experience.”

The University in general also ppeared to serve Logan well as she sought to discover what life had in store for her.

It may seem like an absurd possibility now but, at one point, a career in broadcasting was merely a pipe dream for the regular television presenter – one she would have to work towards with vigour.

“I would say that, without being too grandiose and pu ing too much weight on it, if I had gone to another university, I don’t think I’d be doing what I am doing now because of the circumstances and complements of various things that happened.

“Because I went to Durham, I was able to work at Metro FM because I’d met someone to give me work experience. The chances of me meeting someone the year before at another university were slim.

“I am sure I would’ve got there in the end, but it was a weird set of circumstances. Durham’s collegiate system and size allowed me to have a very nurturing environment in the University and go off and do what I was doing in Newcastle on the radio.

“It all worked out well, but I think if I’d have been somewhere like London, in a bigger city, not had quite that same pastoral and nurturing environment, then it might have been very different.”

Moreover, Logan’s passions were not limited only to broadcasting during her time in the ‘Land of the Prince Bishops’.

From her very birth, sport has been an integral element of the Hild Bede alum’s foundations, whether that has been through having a father whose career included being the captain and manager of Wales’s football team or becoming herself a rhythmic gymnast for Great Britain.

With its almost distinct sporting infrastructure, Logan was able to appreciate to a greater degree the influence of sport in a community se ing.

was the sort of energy that was around.

“I loved the fact that it was a good, sporty university and that was something very important to me.”

Three days after graduating from Durham University, Logan truly began her journey along the path of broadcasting with a year-long contract at Metro FM. Upon its conclusion, the future Euro 2022 presenter entered the ever-evolving world of Sky.

Yet, all was not rosy during this experience. Despite being subjected to frequent misogynistic incidents, Logan has gone on to become a pioneer for women seeking to enter the world of sports broadcasting.

“There have been massive changes since I started out at Sky in 1996, nearly thirty years ago. There weren’t many women in positions in authority, in front of the camera, or behind the camera. Things were very different and there was a bit of toxicity in the air and that was probably the same in other industries that had traditionally been male dominated.

“That wasn’t an unusual thing to go into, but obviously it reflected what we see on our screens, read, and hear because women’s sport wasn’t covered.

“There has been such a change in coverage for women’s sport and that makes it normal for women to cover sport.

“There is definitely a much broader church of experience, backgrounds, and ethnicities in all the places I work and it feels as though, particularly in recent years, that we are in a really good place.

you can go into that area and that’s something for you. It opens your mind to do something else you didn’t initially think was for you.

“That’s where I think sport is important for the social change it can elicit.”

Logan has also sought to deliver her

it’s really hard. Sharing it is quite difficult and then having to talk about it is really awful because sometimes you don’t want to talk about certain parts. But you’ve wri en it, so you have to and it’s in the book!

“By the time I got to Durham, I finished my own personal sporting ambitions, but I did want to stay involved somehow. The beauty of Durham is that you have sport at college level, which isn’t as competitive as university level, but it still gives you a chance to be part of something so that was a really good, democratic opportunity for people.

“A lot of people started sports they hadn’t played before when they got there. You had women’s football which was just starting out. We had a team called ‘The Mooses’ at Hild Bede and they had a really good social side to what they did as well.”

This enjoyment also extended to the famous faces on show, as well as the atmosphere created by what today the student body regard as ‘BUCS Wednesdays’.

“At the time, we used Maiden Castle for the gym and that was also used by Newcastle United which was kind of weird. You would go to use rusty weights and David Ginola would be in the same room, so it was a kind of mish mash at those facilities.

“The thing I loved about Wednesdays and the sport that went on everywhere was the feeling that, even if you weren’t really sporty, you were encouraged to move and do something. So, I always would do something sporty on a Wednesday, like go for a run with a friend. That

“There’s not a lot I would say needs to happen in terms of numbers and opportunities. The doors are open. It is now a very good and encouraging place for women to work.

“I think gender parity in terms of pay would be a good thing. That will come.”

Beyond this, Logan has also witnessed the evidently exponential growth of women’s sport in the United Kingdom and beyond. As aforementioned, one of her most significant gigs as a presenter was the famed London 2012 Olympics, on which she has previously stated that it “changed broadcasting forever”.

Thus, with just over a decade since the landmark event, I enquired as to what Logan regarded as its greatest legacy.

“London was unbelievably successful in terms of medal hauls. From a female sports perspective, it was the first Olympics where it was pre y much a 50/50 split between men and women.

“We had Victoria Pendleton and Beth Tweddle and Hellen Glover and Jessica Ennis-Hill. There was more than just one athlete or sprinter. So, for young women there was this idea that there were all these women being celebrated across a variety of sports, making them a ractive.

“For me, it’s always about the possibilities for women. If you can’t see something, you don’t know

own message and story to the world. Recently, this came to fruition with the publishing of her autobiography, ‘The First Half’. In typical fashion, the experienced broadcaster revealed the process as fairly straightforward.

“I started writing it about a week into lockdown, as I saw it was going to be a few months at least before we got back to sport. As it was, football came back quite quickly.

“I’d wanted to do it for a while and I thought, well I’ve got this time so I might as well start writing it. The process of writing was really quite smooth, and I wrote a lot every day –thousands of words.

“I told my agency I’d wri en it and sent it over to them. It went to a fiveway auction, and I got a bit of a kick out of that whole process! Then the publisher I went with started the process of a few short rewrites and they took it from there.”

Nevertheless, Logan is – despite how it may seem on the small screen – only human. Worries did exist as to how her life story might be received by the general public.

“Once you hand it over, that’s when

“I wrote a lot of it with my own children in mind (in relation to) making mistakes and life experience.

“I was hoping they’d take a lot from that, but I’m not sure either of them have actually read it! They pretend they have!”

As a concluding remark, and with the concerns of the interview’s initiation a distant memory, I ask Logan which lesson she holds as most significant following what has thus far been an illustrious broadcasting career.

“One thing I learnt through sport is preparedness and when you do sport, you train for something. You train to be ready, and you look at that from a 360-degree process; you look at it from your nutrition, your physical state and your mental state.

“But it’s also about having fun, teamwork, and having camaraderie and when the time is right, reaching out and helping other people and passing on those things.

“The thing about life is, when you’re younger, you have this linear idea that when ‘this’ happens, ‘this’ will be okay, when actually it’s all evolving all the time. You never really stop.

“When you put the pen down on your final exam, that is not the end. It’s just a different way of being examined and trying to make friends with that is quite healthy, I think.”

Without being too grandiose, if I had gone to another university I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now

(Closing Ceremony A via Flickr)

For me, it’s always about the possibilities for women

Gabby Logan’s new memoir, ‘The First Half’ is now available to buy from your local bookstore.

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

SPORT

Aggression Sessions Spar 9: an evening to remember

Oliver Jervis & Maddie Parker Sport Editor & Deputy Sport Editor

Se ing the scene

Six months is a rather long time in the life of a student. During such a long period, one’s career prospects may finally become animate, or one could fatefully meet the love of their life. However, there is another option: the possibility to train relentlessly to become a fighting machine – all in the name of charity.

On Thursday 23rd February, Rainton Arena transformed its colossal, LED-saturated figure into a being comparable only to the likes of Madison Square Garden and the famed O2 Arena.

Lights, cameras, and action were all sources of guarantee as a vast stream of expectant students befi ed in black tie, dresses and beverages descended eagerly upon Aggression Sessions’ Spar 9 event. Where else would they be on a dim Epiphany night?

Ten matches were listed, with 20 fighters prepared to perform in a ring that had occupied their dreams and nightmares through summative seasons galore. Morning lie-ins had been sacrificed long before that moment, with such benevolent selflessness to the cause added to by a sustained effort at remaining u erly teetotal.

Nevertheless, all was not doom, gloom, and ominous anticipation. The small ma er of walkouts was yet to be perfected. Away from the air sparring being performed in a ghostly ring, many participants prepared for their moment of glory aided by nothing more than booming headphones and multicoloured strobe lights.

Soon enough, the mounted clock announced a mere half an hour to go before the first contest’s arrival. Chants ensued, and pints flowed. Swirls of tables surrounding the ring were filled with snacks, buns and bo les. This was more than a mere boxing event: it was a celebration of charity and sport.

Students, friends, and family were all welcomed by a banner emblazoned with Spar 9’s selected charities. This year, the organisation had decided to partner with ‘CoppaFeel!’, who aim to increase the awareness of young people in relation to breast cancer, and ‘Sport in Action, Zambia’, Team Durham’s selected charity.

As the allo ed time of ba le approached, videos were played to the audience outlining the inspiring purpose of this event. Heartwarming messages were delivered from fighters, executive commi ee members, and families alike.

With the conclusion of such a prelude, the fighters readied themselves to enter the ring for one final time. On this occasion, the punches, injuries, victories, and screams would all be real. Only the tolling of the bell would decide their fate.

Here are some of Palatinate Sport’s favourite fights and moments from a special evening of boxing and charity mayhem:

Arif v Bongard

The first ba le was waged between two fighters seemingly beset with contrast. Nehaal Arif of Trevelyan College was the first participant to walk out before the cheering crowd, representing absolutely a distinct singularity of purpose as he strode towards the ring alone and fired up for the occasion.

Conversely, Jojo Bongard of John Snow College, danced out with a marching band of friends each adorning a bald cap in support of their leader and peer.

An expected tentative start from both fighters ensued, as the amateurs a empted to decipher one another’s strengths and weaknesses.

Arif eventually landed a couple of right- and left-handed hooks, as Bongard responded with his own delicate combinations. Nonetheless, nothing of substance fell either way before the bell called for the end of the first round.

In fi ing fashion to the theme of the contest, the second round erupted into life despite its contained prelude. Bongard came out the stronger with a barrage of hits to Arif’s frame, which inevitably sought solace against the ropes.

The third round persisted in the same vein of ba le, with Bongard’s relentless energy and close-combat style proving too much for his opponent. In the blink of an eye, the match was over and the John Snow man was announced as unanimous victor much to the delirium of his travelling contingent.

Harris v Gregory

In the evening’s second match, two women were welcomed with an array of excitement to the ring. First out of the blocks was Stephenson College’s Annabel Harris, followed quickly by Ailish Gregory who set her warring stall immediately with a fi ing walkout tune.

On this occasion, the first bell was met by a scrappy start to the fight. Uppercuts and further offensive manoeuvres were enjoyed from both corners of the ring before Gregory asserted her dominance for the remainder of the encounter as counts aplenty swept Harris’s way following a smash to the head early in the match.

The second round was met by somewhat of a resurgence from Harris, whose body refused to – quite literally – give up the fight. Despite this, each one of her rebellious a acks were masterfully repelled by the overbearing Gregory. Every second brought further bruises for Harris, as her opponent sought to finish the long-awaited job.

Eventually, the referee decided he had seen enough. With a melodramatic wave of the arms, the fight was over. Heartfelt hugs were shared between the two irrepressible warriors, as their long and arduous journey came to a loving end.

Harrison-Sterling v Cheung

How would you walkout for a momentous fight such as this? Some choose inspiring songs, others their favourite dance. Grey College’s Monty Harrison-Sterling elected to do so with his father,

surprising the crowd in a blazing tartan kilt.

Collingwood College’s Ian Cheung took to the ring with less razzmatazz and more solitary focus.

A slow start to the match ensued before Cheung grew into the affair with left hooks in abundance as the seconds passed along.

This continued into the early stages of the second round, until Monty bounced back in style. Quite suddenly, Rainton had a genuine fight on its hands. Energy and calculation met to cause an eruption of fierce boxing.

Back and forth from both red and blue led into the third round, with such spirit only being briefly halted by an apparent nosebleed on the part of Cheung. This was followed by a final 30 seconds dominated by sheer tiredness and waning wills.

At the conclusion of the fight, the crowd was evidently bereft of certainty. Who would win? On what basis would the result be delivered?

Somewhat surprisingly, a unanimous decision was made. Harrison-Sterling had won against the odds witnessed in the first round. Who knows what happened to his father’s kilt after that one? It is anyone’s guess.

Towler v Frankpit

“Chat **** get hit” was the beckoning banner for this particular fight, paraded by the supporters of the blue corner’s Dan Towler. Ed Frankpit had the impossible task of following this act; however, the Stephenson man did his best as he strode towards the ring.

With the general interval awaiting, this was set to be a spectacular affair.

As spectators began to grow comfortable in their plush seats, the ba le before them became anything but relaxed. Towler and Frankpit began with an exchange of seemingly obligatory blows exclusively to the body and head.

This theme duly set the scene for the second round, during which Towler remained composed and steady as he awaited the opportunity to make a significant hit on his opponent.

Nonetheless, the man in the red corner was having none of it, using this calculated reluctance on Towler’s part to grow with confidence into the match. As a result, tension built with genuine jabs and hooks being few and far between the evasive hopping of both fighters.

Who would make their mark in the final round?

This question was answered by ‘The Tank’ himself, who exploded into the dying embers of the fight with a powerful swinging climb towards triumph. No **** had been cha ed during the match, but such conditions were unnecessary as the requested hits made themselves known on the body of a faltering Towler.

Despite a brief five-second-long resurgence, the banner bearing man’s match was over. Ed had –excusing the pun – tanked to victory in unanimous fashion. .

Diamond v Fenton

Kicking us off with a closely contested bout was Mary’s own Rachel ‘Hard As’ Diamond and Collingwood’s Annabel ‘Can’t Put a Dent On’ Fenton. In the first two minutes, Diamond was living up to her name - with her strong left jabs making her a tough opponent to crack.

However, the second round saw a determined comeback from Fenton - ge ing increasingly stuck in and, after a third round where both competitors were in it to win it, the decision appeared on a knife edge.

Nonetheless, Diamond was unanimously awarded the victory after a contest in which both fighters gave it their all.

Moore v Shaw

Those who tuned in to watch Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury were probably expecting a showcase more like the one Sarah ‘Gimme’ Moore and Elisa Shaw ‘To Knock You Out’ put on display.

With each of their walkouts featuring signs targeting their opponent, stakes were high and the tension echoing around Rainton Arena was palpable.

The first round brought with it a

few strong right jabs from Shaw, but Moore’s determination left the red corner defending as we headed into the first break.

Whatever their coaches had said at the interval seemed to be working, as the second two minutes bringing with them a much more composed fight.

Opposing chants circled the ring as tiredness set in and despite all Shaw’s valiant efforts, some fantastic combinations from Moore rendered her the victor by unanimous decision.

Pallin v Grimshaw

With the announcer’s pleas for the increasingly intoxicated crowd to return to their seats being drowned out by a wave of Northern Irish music, it meant only one thing - TJ Pallin had entered the arena.

Soon after arrived his opponent, Nick Grimshaw, who - despite one of his contingency taking a tumble on stage - appeared unphased and ready to compete in our final bout of the evening.

Tentative but alert, these two fighters patiently waited to risk it and throw the first blow in a predator and prey style stand-off

After a minute, it was Grimshaw who came out fighting first, backing his opponent up against the ropes and keeping him fairly subdued for the first round. The rest of the bout was more even, with Pallin landing a good right hook in the second round, but he struggled to reach Grimshaw to make a real dent.

With Grimshaw’s final left jab sending his opponent reeling backwards, it was decided unanimously that he would be our final Aggressions Sessions victor.

Speaking to Palatinate, and with the event all wrapped up, Grimshaw’s first step was “to ring my parents and let them know how it went.

“After that I think the obvious thing will be hi ing Loft hard. I’ve not really drank at all this term so cannot wait for the afters!”

An extended version of this feature article, including coverage of every fight from the night, is available on the Palatinate website.

(Victoria Bowland)

Celebrating 75 years of Palatinate

Sport

Floodlit Finals: who will prevail?

Sanjay Suri Sport Editor

Next Wednesday represents one of the most anticipated days of the year for college sport in Durham: the football Floodlit Cup finals. Both the men’s and the women’s matches will take place at Maiden Castle, as well as being streamed live on PalTV.

In the men’s final, Collingwood, aiming for their third successive Floodlit win, take on South, who have reached the final in only their second ever entry into the tournament. They did not even exist as a college the last time Collingwood lost a Floodlit tie. It is a true David vs Goliath story, yet South are far from underdogs in this bout.

In the women’s match, Collingwood once again feature, but here they will be taking on postgraduate college Ustinov. Ustinov are featuring in their first ever final, whereas Collingwood are in their first since the Covid-19 pandemic. These two teams have ba led at the top of the league, with Collingwood just winning out, adding to the pre-match hype.

Resilience or dominance?

Both Collingwood and Ustinov received byes in the first round and have shown impressive form throughout. Collingwood have had to show resilience to edge past Van Mildert and Josephine Butler, requiring penalties against the former, and securing a tight 2-0 win against the la er, who knocked them out at the same stage last year.

Ustinov have showcased dominance throughout the tournament, breezing to the final

If Collingwood are to win this final, midfielder Ciara Byrne will surely play a large part. Her distribution and defensive prowess have made her one of the star players of the tournament so far and has been pivotal in both of Collingwood’s victories so far.

Up top, Rachel Young will hope to maintain the form that she has had so far this year. She is undoubtably a very well-rounded player, who has a lethal finish as well as being able to provide key passes to her teammates to set them up for chances and goals. Her composure will be key and,

should the match go to penalties, her experience of scoring the winning spot-kick could be the turning point.

Ustinov, on the other hand, have dominated their opponents, pu ing five past the joint Trevelyan and South team, and four against Castle in the semis. They are also yet to concede a goal. This defensive security surely points to a tight match where chances for the a ackers will come at a premium.

However, they cannot afford to be complacent. Collingwood will be by far their toughest test and will punish any errors, however minor. Their league performance indicates that they are strong at the back and going forward. Do they risk pushing players forward, when the Collingwood countera ack is so potent?

When these two met in the league last month, it was Collingwood who got the win — a win that turned the title race in their favour. However, league form rarely carries over to a cup match. Although Collingwood will have the psychological edge, Ustinov are mature enough to not let that get to them.

This match is very much a ba le

between a team who have swa ed aside every opponent they have faced with ease and a team who have had to fight tooth-and-nail for every victory. Does adversity make you stronger, or is it be er to be the dominant force in the tournament? We will only know the answer at the full-time whistle.

David vs Goliath

Those who are more casual college football fans would take one look at this fixture and immediately assume that it will be yet another Collingwood walkover. By far the most successful college in terms of sport, Collingwood tend to be favourites in every competition they enter.

However, if you take a look at the form book, one might assume that South have the slight edge. Having dispatched Ustinov, Castle, Stephenson and Trevelyan en route to the final, the Owls certainly have momentum. They have looked like the be er team in each of those fixtures and tight scorelines, including the penalty shoot-out win over Trevs in the semi-final, can be

misleading.

Collingwood, on the other hand, have not been the swashbuckling superpower of years gone by. What was expected to be a routine match against Josephine Butler in the first round turned into a nail-biting 1-0 win due to an early red card. They needed penalties to get past Van Mildert, a common theme when these two meet in Floodlit, and their 4-3 win against St John’s in the semis could have been very different, had John’s scored their late penalty.

For Collingwood, players such as Jack Camarda, Ma Keogh, Freddie Merre , Rob White and Tom Hizze have all starred for DUAFC M1s this season and, despite missing the semi finals due to a fixture clash, should be available for the final. This could explain why they struggled so much against a John’s team who were enjoying a fairytale run in the cup.

South, meanwhile, can call upon the services of Reuben Bull, Morgan Lant, Jack Gibbons and Yuta Osawa. Gibbons and Osawa especially were instrumental in their win against Trevs last week, providing vital support in a ack and defence respectively. Collingwood will need

The roads to the finals

to manage Gibbons carefully. Mark him too aggressively, and you will give up space to other players who are perfectly capable of taking advantage. If you sit back, he will try and take you on and will be a thorn in your side.

Both sides have earned their place in this final. They have had tight wins, gri y wins and chaotic wins throughout the tournament, and wins like those shape champions. It would be a surprise to see one of these teams run away with the match and penalties is very much on the cards.

One mistake, or one world-class moment could swing this match. For Collingwood, they would love to add to their legacy, especially after what has been a difficult league campaign where none of their four premiership teams have mounted a title challenge. For South, it would represent a huge underdog story in their college’s infancy, and really put the college on the map.

This fixture is really on a knifeedge, and impossible to call. It is certainly not one to miss.

“If I had gone to another university I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now”

Oliver Jervis interviews broadcaster Gabby Logan

“Sharing the sporting successes of future world class talents”

Joe Harston and Maddie Parker explore the history of Palatinate Sport over the last 75 years

South College, en route to the final this year (Joe Harston)

THANK YOU FOR 75 YEARS!

Since the paper’s inception, it has been purely dedicated to informing, entertaining and supporting Durham students and these missions have not changed in 75 years. Holding huge institutions to account and making sure that marginalised or struggling voices are heard from throughout the city is ever important. We are proud of everything this paper stands for, particularly during these increasingly troubled times.

It goes without saying that this paper would be nothing without the support of our fantastic Editorial Board and contributors. Every edition is written, edited, lay-ed up, illustrated, photographed, advertised and distributed by full-time student volunteers.

We are proud to be the voice of students and a stalwart within this small city. Thank you to all who have involved with this paper, your support has meant that Palatinate is able to continue producing high-level journalism and provide students the opportunity to work in print. Despite the many challenges, we are certain this is going to continue for years to come.

Palatinate’s Editorial Board and contributors gather to celebrate 75 years of the paper

75 years of Durham Student Journalism

861 Print Editions

1000+ Editorial Board members

1 million+ readers each year

Laudable alumni, including Sir Harold Evans, George Alagiah, Hunter Davies, Jeremy Vine

Palatinate’s Editorial Board 2022-2023