12 minute read
indigo
from Palatinate 836
by Palatinate
Editorial
Verity Laycock
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Durham should reimburse us for our tuition fees
You will call us snowflakes. You will call us entitled and say we need to ‘be resilient’.
We are resilient, we are aware that everyone is suffering and we are proud that doing our degrees from home is saving other peoples’ lives.
But we know that whereas schools have cancelled exams because of missed education, we have been denied a No Detriment policy, so as to “protect academic standards and uphold the integrity of our degrees.” Boris Johnson has never mentioned us in his addresses to the nation. Whilst those in the job market are having their salaries paid for, we must ourselves pay rent for private accommodation we legally can’t go to. The Russell Group ignored all 24 Russell Group student newspapers calling for a rethink on their compassionless policy.
For all this talk about us being snowflakes and far too concerned with our own mental health, we actually are very strongminded. Most of us will continue to stay inside for the sake of our grandparents, despite knowing that the virus is far more of a threat to them than it is to us. We will adapt to an onlineonly education and pitiless job market, with nothing but a mere few outbursts on social media.
You could say that we should be more optimistic; the vaccine is being rolled out, restrictions will get lifted soon and students ought to be using this seemingly infinite amount of alone time to crack on with their studies. In fact, we must stop moaning and start looking to the silver linings, for after all, everyone our age group is in the same position.
However, we are not in the same position graduates three years ago were, let alone graduates of last year were. Nonetheless, we are compelled to pay the same £9,250 as they did. Past students were offered a real Durham experience, filled with sporting matches, live plays, orchestras, endless societies and crucially, in person, face to face teaching, critical for those on a practical course and those who do not have adequate equipment to study online.
We agreed to pay the thousands of pounds for a prestigious Durham education, we did not do so thinking we may as well have gone to the Open University – which charges £3,000 less than Durham.
It is not the fault of staff and lecturers; they have readjusted too and have worked hard to transform their classrooms online. But clearly an online setting enables more distractions, less collaboration, less attention and as a result, less motivation and engagement from students. Yet still the University watches on, quietly pocketing our money when we are getting less value for it.
Whilst the government will not centrally refund or reimburse tuition fees to all university students, Durham could reduce our fees. It shouldn’t matter if the Uni won’t make money from us this year, as we are the ones who will have to repay our student loans for the next 30 years. Besides, a 189-yearold institution should have the reserves to cover one year of losses, especially as in 2019-20 Durham made a surplus of £54 million.
When the House of Commons debated the reimbursement of uni tuition fees, the Third Special Report of Session 201921 stated, “students have a right to seek a refund or to repeat part of their course if the service provided by their university is substandard.” Compared to previous graduates, we have an inferior quality education and a sub standard university experience. The University is thus taking advantage of our unequal bargaining position and inability to fund legal action.
We are keenly aware that there is a fine line between complaining
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too much and being complacent. We know that by asking, we will either be labelled as too entitled or too naïve.
Our cohort has been dubbed the Lost Generation. We’ve endured a patchy social life, tolerated missed milestones and seen job opportunities melt away so quickly The Resolution Foundation believes youth unemployment could rise to 17%, its highest in 40 years.
And so, when we are facing the worst recession in 100 years, we are undeterred from suggesting that unless we are reimbursed for our tuition fees, the sheer inequity will be the one thing that unites us all.
Tash Mosheim Editor-in-Chief Palatinate Editorial Board
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Tash Mosheim & Tim Sigsworth editor@palatinate.org.uk
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Seun Twins
Durham Students’ Union President
Got some really exciting updates for you (well as exciting as an SU update can be in a global pandemic lol). Assembly is finally open to any student who wants to come! You can attend Assembly as an observer and continue to engage in SU democracy.
It is absolutely great that more students can attend assembly, but it is also vital we continue to respect online spaces and behave appropriately. We have unfortunately seen several instances of people violating online spaces with inappropriate behaviours and content. If we want assembly to stay online and accessible, then we must respect the space.
The Culture Commission has completed the first stage of research! As many of you know – this work has been a labour of love for the commissioners for quite some time now. It is a chance to really identify and dissect this sense of “Durhamness” that we are always referencing but find it hard to describe.
The engagement from students has been fantastic but there will still be many more opportunities for students to shape this report in the second stage of research. I also implore any reluctant students to get involved and actively engage in this work so their views and opinions can also be documented. If 2020 taught us anything it was that social justice and climate change are urgent matters and we need to respect the art of disagreement.
It is important that we stay alert to these issues in this new year, though it is encouraging to see students still have an appetite for this work.
Some more news to look out for: Sarah’s PG or Not to PG campaign; Ewan successfully lobbying on the housing front; Anna taking ECO DU brilliant demands to UEC and the joint meeting of Senate and Council to reignite environmental sustainability in Durham postCovid-19; and me joining the Students United Against Fees – Campaign alongside a national network of SU sabbatical officers.
It is important to highlight silver linings in this strange time so watch this space. As always, your SU president is here for you just email me at su.president@ durham.ac.uk
News Durham offers former student £1,000 after transphobia row
Continued from front
incorrect” and “unfair and undemocratic.”
Following his appeal to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA), Sofocleous has now been offered compensation of £1,000 and another letter of apology to settle the case before it goes to a full review by the OIA.
The letter, which was issued from the Head of the Philosophy Department, stated “While this [monetary compensation] will not make up for your negative experience, I hope it will go some way toward compensating you for your distress and inconvenience”. A Durham University spokesperson said: “The offer of compensation to Mr Sofocleous was made solely in recognition of a concern he had raised that a complaint could have been handled more swiftly and appropriately.
“This offer is in line with the guidance of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, which has reviewed this case.”
They also said: “Durham University is opposed to any form of discrimination. We are striving to build a more equal and inclusive University where all members of our community can thrive and where all staff and students feel welcome, safe, supported and valued. “To reassure our community that we do take decisive action the University now publishes a list of sanctions and the type of offence on our website.”
Further information can be found using this link.
risk, the policy also gives Durham SU the right to appoint an independent chair for the event, or require additional security or stewarding or extra speakers at the event to provide “a balance of perspectives.” Speakers may also be required to submit a copy of their speech to Durham SU for approval in advance.
Durham SU will consider a speaker to be high-risk if they are part of a terrorist organisation or if they are considered to hold extremist views that may cause harm to specific groups.
A speaker also may be considered high risk if they are “widely regarded as controversial,” or if the speaker is likely to cause “fear or alarm to the student body,” or “unrest and overcrowding.”
An Opportunities Coordinator will review requests by student groups by carrying out online research of the speaker and their organisation. The speaker’s social media pages will also be reviewed. Any higher risk speakers will be referred to Durham SU’s Opportunities Manager and Director of Services for approval. Requests they do not approve will be referred to the Durham SU Chief Executive.
Durham SU oversees approximately 250 student groups whom it is legally responsible for. Students groups
(Amana Moore)
SU seeks right to prohibit student groups’ external speakers
Martha McHardy
News Editor
Student groups will be required to confirm all their external speakers with Durham SU under a new freedom of speech policy which will be presented to SU Assembly this evening
According to the policy, student groups will be required to inform Durham SU of any event that involves external speakers at least two weeks prior to the event, and any requests for external speakers that are “controversial or higher risk” will be required to be requested with four weeks’ notice. This will apply to events held on and off campus, and both digital and in-person events.
Student groups will not be permitted to confirm or publicise any events involving external speakers until a request has been approved by Durham SU.
The policy will give Durham SU the right to cancel, prohibit or postpone any event involving an external speaker, if the policy is not adhered to or if risks cannot be mitigated successfully.
In order to reduce the level of (Amana Moore) that are not affiliated with Durham SU such as the Durham Union Society will not be required to adhere to this policy.
One SU Representative told Palatinate that “there is a level of ambiguity” in the policy, including the definitions of terms such as “controversy” and “fear.” However, they said they were not “overly concerned about the policy being used to stifle open discussion at the University,” although they warned that this is something “we must be wary of.”
In a recent interview with Purple Radio, Durham SU President Seun Twins explained that anyone with a “financial or legal” connection to anyone linked with controversy will be subject to a risk assessment by Durham SU, and reiterated that “freedom of speech is not the freedom to say anything evil,” in line with the policy which states that “the freedom to express views must be balanced with the need to secure freedom from harm for students and communities.”
If a student group disagrees with the decision taken by the SU, it will have the right to submit a complaint under the Durham SU Complaints Procedure. However, this will not reverse the decision until the complaint is resolved.
The freedom of speech policy will be passed onto the Board of Trustees for approval.
