Palatinate 756

Durham’s independent student newspaper

Palatinate www.palatinate.org.uk

‘It Happens Here’

No. 756

Thursday 21st November 2013 | FREE

An investigation into the number of sexual assaults in Durham has revealed that these types of crimes remain under-reported Natasha Tierney New figures obtained by Palatinate from Durham Police have raised questions over the number of sexual assault crimes going unreported among students in Durham.

Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the data shows the number of rape and other sexual assault crimes reported in Durham City per year between 2008 and 2012, as well as a monthly breakdown of figures for the year 2012.

During the course of these five years, Durham Constabulary have dealt with between seven and ten reported cases of rape or sexual assault per year in Durham City.

In 2012, there were a total of ten sexual assault crimes reported, between zero and three per month over the course of the year.

Although the police were unable to confirm whether any of the cases involved students, several members of the University community have voiced concerns that the actual number of rape or sexual assault crimes among students is likely to be significantly higher than these figures suggest, regardless of Durham’s safe reputation.

Hidden Marks, an NUS survey from 2010, estimates that as many as one in seven female university students in the UK has been a victim of sexual assault at some point during their time studying. Despite this, the survey also estimates that only ten per cent of these cases are reported to the police.

This term, a campaign has been set up called ‘It Happens Here’,

which aims to raise awareness among Durham students about the issue of sexual violence both at the University and on a wider scale, in the hope that fewer sexual assault crimes will go unreported.

A Tumblr set up by the ‘It Happens Here’ team in Durham has already received nine anonymous submissions since October, in which victims recount being sexually assaulted, several of them while at Durham.

Although a few of the stories do mention police involvement, others also suggest – some stating explicitly – that the crimes mentioned were never reported.

10%

Percentage of students who report sexual assault to the police

Commenting on the Hidden Marks survey, Fiona, a Durham graduate and representative for ‘It Happens Here,’ told Palatinate: “There’s always a danger that these surveys are under-reports, based on women not feeling able to identify their assaults (if they knew the perpetrator so don’t feel able to call it rape, etc.), or not wanting to disclose.

“But I don’t see any danger that it’s an over-report. Personally, I probably know a greater proportion of women than that who’ve experienced assault during their time at university.”

In response to the apparent disparity between the results of this NUS survey and the data released

News: NUS launches 6 mental health campaign

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by Durham Police, Fiona told Palatinate that the figures are simply “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of the number of sexual assault crimes which are likely to actually be taking place in Durham City.

As a volunteer for Rape Crisis, she was unable to disclose details of her knowledge of unreported sexual assault crimes at Durham University. However, she did stress that “it happens,” adding: “In terms of ‘It Happens Here,’ our most important aim is awareness raising, so dispelling this myth that living in a ‘safe city’ among a relatively privileged student population means that rape and sexual assault don’t happen.

“We’re also hoping that we can help survivors of sexual assault share their stories, as this is often a powerful way in which we can identify our experiences of violence.

“There are a lot of myths around rape and sexual assault, as I’m sure you know, and it’s often very difficult to see an assault as ‘real’ unless it matches the narratives reinforced in the media and in society of rape by a stranger involving additional physical violence etc.

“We believe that dispelling these myths and making sure students are aware of all forms of sexual violence enables more survivors to access support.”

Many students have also commented on the sometimes ambiguous nature of defining a sexual assault crime within the close knit social circles of the University environment.

Continued on page 3

Politics: Canadian High Commissioner speaks at Durham

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175,000 people flocked to Durham for last week’s Lumiere festival Photograph: Venus Loi

Comment: Signing early can be a ‘deal with the devil’

Sport: Exclusive 17 interview with Simon Hughes

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Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

Editorial

www.palatinate.org.uk

Illuminating Durham Lumiere saw thousands of people flock to our Cathedral city for the biennial festival of light. The brilliant veins of artistic illumination that ran through Durham on those nights served not only to light up the streets but the people themselves. Indeed, the huge numbers led to potential logistical problems of overcrowding, largely alleviated by new control measures at entrances to the Bailey.

It would be very easy to simply dwell on the glory of Durham’s achievements, those of the city and the University; to simply turn Palatinate into a chronicle of good propaganda; a paper that seeks to keep to the comfortable realm of superficial, tabloid reporting. In a world that is ever more reliant and dependent on the media, where information and ‘news’ is easier to access than ever before, we are faced with far greater responsibility.

Is the free press something to be curbed and put on a leash? Many see newspapers as something to

be feared, and therefore treated as an automatic enemy. Even in the considerably less cut-throat world of student journalism this can be seen to be the case.

As incorrect and dangerous as such preconceptions are, often newspapers reciprocate, simply sticking to the safe issues that will not cause controversy. This is itself both lazy and opposed to the innate purpose of newspapers as purveyors of truth, regardless of ideological slant. Newspapers should be used to bring things to light; to highlight important issues that have not been addressed; to hold authority and individuals alike to account.

This edition seeks to not only show the glitz and beauty of yuletide Lumiere Durham, as covered extensively in Indigo, but also that which does not always see the light. The underreported nature of sexual assault at Durham is a cause for concern, especially in what is a statistically ‘safe’ city, where a sense of complacency

Inside 757 may develop. It is important to challenge what is obvious as it is to challenge that which is not.

Nonetheless, obvious issues should not be ignored: Durham’s housing frenzy, one of the earliest in the country, is annually challenged and annually condemned as detrimental to freshers. The Students’ Union’s ‘Take your time to sign’ campaign has received additional news coverage, as an important student issue such as this should do, with further opinion provided in the Comment section.

Palatinate, in the capacity as Durham’s student newspaper, provides this invaluable resource for debate and rebuttal.

Ben Hamer

News pages 3-7 News Features pages 8-9 Careers page 10 Business & Economics page 11

Politics page 12 SciTech page 13 Comment pages 14-16 Sport pages 17-20

indigo

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

Re: Re: Spuds, glorious spuds Vacancies Editor-in-Chief

The great debate rages on: ‘being catered is a choice ... anyone who is particularly fussy about their food can choose to go elsewhere’ Emily Spencer Annabel Walley Having followed the debate on college food in the recent issues of Palatinate, as finalists we felt compelled to respond. Firstly, we feel that students appreciate the luxury of college food.

When you first move to university you’ve got a lot on your plate with sorting out your course, making friends and settling in, so the convenience of having your meals provided is one less thing to worry about, not be taken for granted. Who doesn’t like having dinner made for them when they arrive back on a cold and dark evening after finishing at 6pm?

Secondly, we believe that we need to recognise the efforts of the catering staff. Not only do they serve three meals a day for 300+ people (and we’re [Trevelyan] a small college), they take into account various dietary requirements whilst providing at least four main meal options. I (Emily) worked for a contract catering company for three years in the university holidays so I can assure you that it is an extremely challenging job which involves hard physical work as well as compliance to strict food hygiene regulations.

Food hygiene law and the constraints of storage space mean that anyone who thinks their food has been languishing at the bottom of a freezer for months is mistaken. The job is tough and let’s not forget that these same staff work formals, staying late and putting up with our rowdy behaviour with a smile on their faces.

Furthermore, we believe that meals are about a lot more than just what is on your plate. A meal is a focal social point where we can discuss our days and catch up with friends. Who wants

to eat in their room sitting by themselves? Plus, the food is a talking point to spark discussion: the jokes about the many different forms of potato that exist on the college menu are a natural part of dining hall chat. If the food’s bad it starts conversation; it does the same if it’s good or just plain average.

We are not arguing that it doesn’t matter completely what is on your plate, or suggesting that college food is perfect. There are always those days where the meals are a bit quirky and confusing: chicken lasagne or fish taco, anyone? But in terms of the nutritional content of the meals, we think the options are there to create the diet that we want. We are all mature adults who are capable of making our own nutritional choices.

“if the food’s bad it starts conversation; it does the same if it’s good or just plain average” The two articles we are responding to focus on the prominence of potato on the menu without acknowledging that potato is almost always a side option, not an obligation. The same goes for salad and vegetables: there are normally at least two vegetable options and there is nearly always a salad bar from which we can take as much or as little as we choose, thus balancing our meal nutritionally if we so wish. We can also take two pieces of fruit at every meal, so surely we can all reach our 5-aday if we really want to! Plus, let’s not forget that not everyone likes salad and not everyone wants to eat their greens.

As for the specifics in the previous article, since when has salad been a component of a Sunday roast dinner (which comes with two vegetables) and why does pasta need to be accompanied by anything? And no wonder frozen desert tastes bad, we normally eat dessert. Maybe sometimes the desserts are frozen but this doesn’t seem to bother the majority of people and no one is ladling custard down our throats.

“the options are there to create the diet we want” When it comes to brunch, a wellloved Durham student tradition, we are by no means obliged to eat it: the deli bar remains an option as at every other lunch apart from Sunday roast. And not just Freshers (who are not all hung over) enjoy brunch; hard-working finalists do too, not to mention the not so hard-working ones.

Finally, being catered is a choice.

You can be self-catered in many colleges, most notably Josephine Butler and Ustinov. Therefore anyone who is particularly fussy about their food can choose to go elsewhere. As mentioned in the previous articles, this may well be people’s first experience of food away from home and they are jolly lucky that it is provided for them.

Letters to the editor Want to see your name in print on the editorial page? We’d love to hear your opinion on our stories. If you have praise for Palatinate or a bone to pick with us, email editor@palatinate.org. uk. Your letter could appear on this page in our next print edition.

The role of Editor-in-Chief involves leading editorial board meetings, training new editorial board members, planning content, liaising with the Students’ Union and University, sending off final proofs to the printers, and much more.

Deputy Web Editor

Our online team is hard at work redesigning our website, and they need a helping hand. If you have experience in HTML and PHP, we’d love to hear from you.

Deputy Comment Editor

As Deputy Comment Editor, you will help the Comment Editor gather content, decide on hot topics for discussion, and edit articles both for the print edition and regular online pieces.

To apply, email editor@palatinate.org. uk for an application form.

Comment Competition

This term Comment are launching a competition to inspire you to get writing! The competition is open to any member of Durham University – it doesn’t matter if you’ve never written an article before, we’d love to hear from you!

Write an article of no more than 700 words arguing for or against one of the following topics: The coalition government has been a success and has positively shaped the country; Feminism is an outdated term and will never be fully embraced by society; Abortion should never have been legalized; The burqa should be banned in Britain; Parents who want their children to achieve their full potential must invest in private education.

The winning article will be published in the final edition of term on Thursday 5th December, and the winner will receive £10 worth of National Book tokens. The deadline is midnight on Sunday 24th November 2013.

Palatinate is published by Durham Students’ Union on a fortnightly basis during term and is editorially independent. All contributors and editors are full-time students at Durham University. Send letters to: Editor, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN. Alternatively, send an e-mail to editor@palatinate.org.uk

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Ben Hamer & Jillian Ward editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editor Sally Wardle deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Charlotte Bransgrove & Natasha Tierney news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Justin Villamil news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Gabriel Samuels, Amal Vaidya & Benjamin Williams Politics Editor politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editor Marcus Natale Business & Economics Editor Jisoo Kim business@palatinate.org.uk Careers Editor Chloe Kopala careers@palatinate.org.uk Science and Technology Editor Jonny Bowers scitech@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Science and Technology Editor Chris Somers Comment Editor Cressida Peever comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editor Richard Morgan Sport Editors Emily Beech & Madeleine Sears sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Thomas Dimaio, Lawrence Holmes, & Dominic Thurlow-Wood Indigo Editors Robin Marshall & Justina Crabtree indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Rohan Banerjee feature@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Francesca Jaworska deputy.feature@palatinate.org.uk Food and Drink Editor Diana Grant-Davie food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Isobel Buckingham & Katie Shuff fashion@palatinate.org.uk Film and Television Editor Aalok Vora film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editor Emma Dawson stage@palatinate.org.uk Music Editors Larry Bartleet & Sophia Smith-Galer music@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Music Editor Jack Collins deputy.music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editor Kate Wilkinson books@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Lucy Edwardes-Jones visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub-Editor Katrina Muhly sub-editing@palatinate.org.uk Sub-Editors Ellie de la Bedoyere, Jordan Harries, Oliver Newson, Jacob Ratcliffe, & Tom Willshaw Online Editor Victoria Ferguson online.editor@palatinate.org.uk Web Editor Rhiannon Mehta web.editor@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Emma Werner photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Rose Innes, Nicola Todhunter, Joyce Uerpairojkit, & Emma Wind Illustrations Editor Harriet-Jade Harrow illustration@palatinate.org.uk Blogs Editor Eleanor Lowe blogs@palatinate.org.uk Publicity Officer Olivia le Poidevin publicity@palatinate.org.uk Advertising Officer Christopher Murphy advertising@palatinate.org.uk

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PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

News

www.palatinate.org.uk

News in brief UNIVERSITY NEWS

JOSEPHINE BUTLER OPENS ONLINE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS Students at Josephine Butler College last week received their first delivery directly from Durham Indoor Markets after the introduction of a new online delivery system. The college is the only in Durham that only offers self-catered accommodation as well as being the furthest away from town. The new system, proposed by the college’s Vice President Siri Minsaas, offers various food packages, from boxes of local fruit and vegetables to full meal packages.

DRUNK STUDENTS RESCUED FROM CATHEDRAL ROOF Four students had to be rescued after climbing onto the roof of the Dean’s House, part of Durham Cathedral. It is thought the students in question were following the “night climbing” phenomenon at Oxford and Cambridge, whereby students scale buildings as part of dares. A police helicopter and two fire crews were required to safely retrieve the students, with the rescue operation estimated to have cost several thousand pounds. The University has confirmed that it has taken appropriate action regarding the incident.

Concerns raised over department move from Stockton to Durham Ben Williams Durham University’s Anthropology department has announced that it will be moving its medical anthropology department from the Stockton campus to Durham, isolating many Stockton students.

Stockton students will now have to travel significantly on a regular basis – or even be relocated to colleges in Durham – in order to take any anthropology modules as part of their degree.

The University currently offers Anthropology as both a BA and BSc, with the required modules for each formerly being split between the Durham and Stockton campuses re-

spectively.

The change is expected to bring significantly greater academic opportunities for students on both the courses due to the new flexibility.

Indeed, the department has stated that the change will allow them to “offer a wider choice of module and degree choice to current and prospective students than has previously been available in either location.”

The decision has been taken to increase the space on the Stockton campus for the Pharmacy department.

Some students have had mixed reactions to the news, with Lucy Astill, a third-year student from Josephine Butler College, commenting: “Overall, I think that the move is a good thing, as there’s so much over-

DURHAM BUSINESS SCHOOL BUILDING COMPLETED The new Durham University Business School (DUBS) has been fully completed. The building in Mill Hill Lane has been rebuilt, refurbished, and extended at a cost of £16.5 million. The new space provides new lecture theatres, more offices and social spaces, as well as a restaurant and lounge area. The completed project also finally allows all DUBS staff to work together on one site.

The project was designed by GSS Architecture and built by Miller Construction.

DURHAM UNIVERSITY SELECTED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE GRANT Durham University has been selected as one of five UK universities to receive substantial funding for the training of environmental and earth scientists. The Universities of Glasgow, Newcastle, St Andrews, and Stirling will share the £5million grant with Durham to fund over 60 PhD scholarships over the next 5 years. The announcement follows Durham’s recent success in securing a share of a £11million grant to support arts and humanities researchers.

The medical anthropology department is moving to Durham Photograph: Durham University

Continued from front page Several people admitted to Palatinate that they knew of friends who had not reported being sexually assaulted because the assaults often involved friends or acquaintances.

“Reports of sexual assaults involving students ... have been very uncommon indeed.”

Phil Raine, the University’s police liaison officer One Collingwood finalist stated: “The FOI data is surprisingly low compared to the “Hidden Marks” figures. I think many people are unsure of what constitutes sexual assault, especially in Durham where it is a smaller community and often could involve somebody you know, or a

friend.

“This might also mean people are less likely to report sexual assault for fear of the repercussions it may have.”

However, she did admit: “I personally have never heard of anyone reporting sexual assault in Durham.

Considering the notoriously low crime rate, I imagine there are fewer crimes of this nature than in many other university cities.”

This was something that was also emphasized by Phil Raine, the University’s Police Liaison Officer, who noted that reports of crimes of this nature were “very uncommon.”

“Whilst I fully acknowledge that there have been some reports of sexual assaults involving students during my time as University Liaison Officer I would say that they have been very uncommon indeed.

“I am not doubting that some students may certainly be reluctant to report such incidents, but I would still reiterate that Durham is a very safe city and the University as a whole is a very safe place to live.

lap between the two anthropology departments it makes sense to have them in the same place.”

Elizabeth Edwards, a second-year Anthropology student, also added that “anthropology is an extremely wide field, but now that the two degree programmes are being brought under one roof, rather than spread across two campuses, I think we will definitely have a more focused and integrated department.

“As far as I’m aware, I personally won’t be affected by any module changes. However, I think it’s great that the next second years will be given a choice over their modules, as opposed to the six compulsory modules which are currently in place.”

However, others have had more negative reactions, with one student from St. Cuthbert’s Society commenting: “I couldn’t imagine being forced from college halfway through my degree. The whole point in the collegiate system is to provide a strong and stable social base, which is now redundant.”

Lucy Astill also told Palatinate: “Surely it’s just common sense to consult the students. The least they could have done would be to make the move incremental so that current undergraduates aren’t affected.”

The decision has proven particularly controversial as the University did not engage in any form of consultation with students about the move.

Ricky Lee, JCR President for Stephenson College on Queen’s campus, told Palatinate: “The failure on the University’s part to consult with students regarding their college status is particularly concerning.

“What makes Durham unique is the collegiate experience, and yet the University has failed to consult students on a decision which greatly affects this experience.”

“Students should always be encouraged and advised to report incidents to the police as soon as possible. Durham Police are always here to help and we can only do so if we are told what is going on.”

Grace Abel, Community Officer at Durham’s Students’ Union, added:

“Welfare officers are trained to refer any student involved in such a case to the Police, the University Counselling Service, the Students’ Union Advice Centre, and several other specific services in the community. For more information, please see Durham Students’ Union website.”

“I couldn’t imagine being forced from college halfway through my degree.”

Cuths student He added: “It is causing unnecessary panic to some students, particularly regarding accommodation.

“Students face a difficult decision of either remaining living at Queen’s with their flatmates from other programmes or relocating to Durham and losing touch with their college community which has become their home.”

Recently, the University has come under intense scrutiny from students due to similar instances involving a lack of communication.

Last month, many students were annoyed when it was announced to finalists that their graduation date would be moved to July – when most tenancies would have already expired – causing great personal cost and significant inconvenience to some students.

Similarly, last year, the University came under fire for not adequately consulting students about the planned changes to the college allocations system.

Many students who have been sexually assaulted are reluctant to report the crime to the police Photograph: Rose Innes

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News News in brief LOCAL NEWS

RESIDENTS ANGER AS PUB CONVERTED TO SAINSBURY’S Durham County Council’s central and east area planning committee has granted the supermarket chain permission to convert The Lodge, a pub in Crossgate Moor.

Current planning rules allow old pubs to become shops without the need for permission. But people with homes close to the planned store were worried about the noise, light pollution, loss of privacy, and traffic problems. The City of Durham Trust also opposed the development, saying there was no evidence that it was needed.

NEW CAROL GETS PREMIERE IN DURHAM Jeremy Dibble, a Durham University musicologist, has written a work which is to be performed for the first time by Renaissance, a choir consisting of Durham faculty members, students, and alumni. The concert, entitled ‘Christus Natus Est: Music for Advent and Christmas’, will take place in Durham Cathedral Chapter House and will also feature festive music by Byrd, Tallis, Britten, and Durham student Ben Rowarth.

JOBS CUTS FOR LOCAL BOTTLE FIRM

A local bottle firm is expected to cut over 90 of its workers before Christmas. Refresco, which recently merged with Gerber Emig, is currently in talks of cutting half of its staff before Christmas and the remainder in the spring, before moving its plant to join Gerber Emig in Somerset. The decision comes as a serious blow to Durham’s local economy, after Peter’s Bakery closed and Kerry Foods cut 350 jobs last year. Roberta Blackman-Woods, Labour MP for Durham City, said: “I’m really sorry to hear of the closure, and have been in touch with the company and will contact the unions.”

www.palatinate.org.uk

Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

University and Union back ‘Take Students’ Union your time to sign’ campaign President’s Amal Vaidya

Backed by the University and several landlords, Durham Students’ Union has launched a campaign entitled ‘Take your time to sign’ and is strongly encouraging students to wait until the beginning of December to start looking for a house.

Older students will be familiar with the house-hunting panic that descends over Durham at this time of the year, but according to the Union, students should not rush into signing for a house.

There has been a growing trend in students signing for houses earlier in the academic year. It is claimed that first-years are pressured into signing a house, since they feel that all the good ones are let early.

The Union, however, has taken action to try and ensure that this does not occur. Working with the support of the University, they have delayed the launch of Studentpad, a letting website, until the 1st December.

Moreover, the Union have organised a forum for letting agents such as Hope Estates, Bill Free Homes, and StuRents, who approve of the campaign and have allowed the Union to put campaign material in their offices.

Advertising properties in all colleges and University buildings will also be banned until the beginning of December.

The ‘push week’ for the cam-

paign runs from 18th to 24th November, and housing talks will be given at most colleges by the Union, with the support of College Welfare and Livers’ Out officers.

The Union’s efforts, however, have not stopped some people approaching landlords directly, with a number of houses already let during early November.

Grace Abel, the Union’s Community Officer who is leading the campaign, reminds freshers: “After being in Durham for only a month, you may not have found the ideal group of people to live with.”

“After being in

Durham for only a month, you may not have found the ideal group of people to live with” Grace Abel A third-year student from Van Mildert also spoke about the problems she had experienced when she signed early with people she was unfamiliar with. She said that she “felt pressured that she wouldn’t get a house if she did not choose quickly, and signing early seemed like the only option.”

She continued: “Signing early made us make rushed decisions on the people we were living with as we hadn’t had the time to get to know them.”

In describing how the tensions in the house led to a hostile atmosphere, she concluded that the experience was “her biggest regret of university to date.”

Another concern is the rental prices that landlords charge for houses that are let early.

With student accommodation costs growing, landlords often charge a premium early on and are forced to drop prices later on in the year, when there is more pressure for them find tenants.

Grace Abel told Palatinate: “Landlords and lettings agents are salespeople and are trying to sell you a service; they are under pressure to let their properties. You as the student have the power.”

However, the campaign is unlikely to deter older students, who are already familiar with Durham and the people they plan to live with. This may lead some students to believe that they have to sign early or risk losing out if they want to live in a prime location.

Despite these concerns, the fact remains that there are more beds available than students in Durham.

Palatinate has previously reported that houses have remained empty throughout the year.

The Union will also be hosting a Housing Fair in January for students who want to find out more about properties and landlords.

Students are encouraged to have their contracts checked by the Students’ Union Advice Centre before they sign, to ensure they are getting a fair deal.

LUMIERE DRAWS LARGE CROWDS

Thousands of visitors flocked to Durham last weekend to visit Lumiere, the four-day light festival. As visitors viewed the twenty-five installations, huge crowds gathered in the city centre. Organisers operated a ticket only system between the hours of 4.30 and 7.30 pm to minimise overcrowding. The festival is expected to create en economic boost for the city of around £5 million.

Student houses are often advertised early in the year

Photograph: Arthur Dimsdale

Column Dan Slavin

The change in the undergraduate fee regime is one year old and postgraduate fees have been mainly unregulated for years; add in the residence charges and we, the students, are the biggest contributors to the funding of this university.

Completely separate to that, we are the key and majority stakeholders in our education and our University.

We are not however consumers of a product and I urge you never to see yourself in that way. A consumer can only complain or recommend; they’ve no power to intervene or effect positive change. Secondly, in the University setting, the role of our lecturers could become reduced in such a model, and there is a very real danger of student satisfaction being substituted for learning. We have a great responsibility here on both sides and we can’t be just complaining about what is wrong we need to be coming up with the solutions to these problems in partnership.

So with all that I ask: how does your University engage with you?

I know this varies from department to department and college to college and I’m confident that there are areas of exceptionally good practice, if not best, around Durham; however these are matched equally by bad practices that leave many students frustrated and ostracized.

This issue is being felt nationally and NUS and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are working together on this. And here in Durham the University and the Union are working together too. With the backing of the University Executive Committee the Palatine Centre hosted the first of a series of ground breaking discussions between your Students’ Union Officers, its Staff and senior members of University Staff on this particular issue on Monday.

Over the coming months the Committee on the Principles of Student Engagement will be meeting regularly and hopes to make recommendations in this key issue by the end of the year.

PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

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News

www.palatinate.org.uk

News in brief

Nobel Prize winner lectures at University

NATIONAL NEWS

Charlotte Bransgrove

UNIVERSITIES URGED TO STAND UP AGAINST HARASSMENT An academic has urged universities to pass on details of threatening behaviour exhibited by students or staff when they move institutions, after a researcher expelled from the University of Surrey for harassing her was handed a five-month prison sentence for threatening to kill a colleague at Queen’s University Belfast. Patrick Martens was sentenced last week at Craigavon Crown Court in Northern Ireland after pleading guilty to several counts of threatening to kill an academic and his wife.

DECLINE IN NUMBER OF POSTGRADUATES TAKING OUT LOANS A recent report suggests that fewer postgraduate students are choosing to take out loans to fund their studies. Prospective postgraduate students are able to take up loans of up to £10,000 from commercial banks to fund their studies. However, data from the recently disbanded 1994 Group seems to show that fewer students are opting to do so following the fees increase in 2012.

UNIVERSITY GENDER GAP REVEALED The head of UCAS has raised concerns over the “very worrying” gender gap between the number of male and female students applying to university. Mary Curnock Cook warned that men risked becoming an increasingly under-represented group at UK universities if current admissions trends continue.

By 2025, it is thought that the gap between the number of men and women students will be greater than that between deprived and wealthy students, leading Cook to argue that universities will soon have to treat male students as an under-represented group.

BUSINESS SECRETARY BRANDS MANY DEGREES “SUPERFLUOUS”

Vince Cable has condemned the “qualification inflation” that has occurred due to the rise in the number of jobs that now require a degree, such as accountancy and nursing. He argued that for professions such as these, degrees are “superfluous”, forcing students into higher education and creating a “major problem” by creating a barrier to the jobs market for school leavers.

Durham University was privileged to welcome Nobel Prize winner, Professor Peter Higgs, as he delivered a public lecture at the University on Tuesday 5th November.

Higgs, along with Belgian scientist Professor Francois Englert, is responsible for the prediction of the existence of the Higgs boson almost 50 years ago.

The Higgs boson, commonly known as ‘the God particle,’ is able to generate mass for other elementary particles, and thus is believed to be a crucial missing link in understanding how the universe works.

Last year, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, in Geneva, announced they had found evidence of the long-sought Higgs boson, with both Higgs and Englert subsequently awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics on October 8th 2013 for their role in the discovery.

“I hope it inspires students to go into Mathematics Sciences as a career” Professor Steve Abel

Originally from Newcastle, Higgs returned to the North East to deliver the Annual Collingwood Lecture alongside Professor Steve Abel,

from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University, entitled, “Electroweak Symmetry Breaking and the Higgs boson.”

Speaking about the event, Abel commented: “It was wonderful to share a little in the celebration of Peter Higgs’ recent Nobel prize.

The atmosphere was amazing actually – it felt like quite an event!

“Peter talked, in his brilliantly modest and understated manner, about the way the theory had moved from obscurity to centrestage in our current understanding of the mathematical structure of the Standard Model.

“I hope it inspires students to go into Mathematical Science as a career. The story is very unusual, inspiring and full of superlatives.”

Many students from the University were eager to hear Higgs speak, and the lecture was in such high demand that a live screening was shown in another lecture theatre, whilst a full video version is available online.

Higgs already has links with Durham University as well as the North East region, and in June was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree by the University in recognition of his landmark research.

He stated: “Durham is an important international centre for particle physics research and is somewhere that I have worked closely with throughout my career.

“The mathematics department at Durham was one of the first places I visited to explain my theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking, the concept which is at the heart of

Professor Higgs spoke at Durham Photograph: Durham University contemporary particle physics. sity, with one Mathematics finalist “I am delighted to be delivering commenting: “It was inspiring to The Annual Collingwood Lecture hear his story and he was clearly on the very same subject.” passionate about his subject.”

Guillermo, a second year physicist and Erasmus student, also added: “In my home university it is very unlikely I would get the chance to hear from a Nobel Prize winner.

Guillermo, physicist “Listening to Professor Higgs share his experiences with us was Students also spoke of their de- so encouraging. For me it was very light at the opportunity to meet impressive and something I will and hear about the work of a world never forget.” renowned scientist at the Univer-

company based in York, the GPA system will run alongside traditional degree grades, with a GPA of 4.25 representing a high first-class degree and a score of 3.00 equating to a low 2:1, for example.

HEA has said that the new system, which is being tested at some of the most respected institutions in the UK, including the University of Edinburgh and the University of Birmingham, “could run alongside, or ultimately replace, the existing honours degree classification.”

Earlier this year, Universities Minister David Willets backed the HEA trial, stating that the GPA system “offers greater transparency and focus for both students and employers.”

Sir Bob Burgess, Vice-Chancellor of Leicester University and Chair of the HEA Board, had called for changes to the current system of degree grading back in 2004, when he published a report that deemed the system to be “no longer fit for purpose.”

Indeed, official figures from 2012 show a dramatic increase in the rate of grade inflation, with

61,600 students leaving university with a first-class degree, a figure that has tripled since the 1990s.

Additionally, over two-thirds of students in the same academic year gained an upper-second class degree.

Durham University, however, has not opted to participate in the trial alongside other highly regarded universities.

Michael Gilmore, Academic Registrar at the University, stated: “When a call came round for expressions of interest to take part in the trial, we didn’t have the staff capacity to be involved.”

He added that the University would consider participating in future “if the trial showed that it benefited graduates.”

Aisling Cowell, a first year Law student, voiced her support for the GPA system, telling Palatinate: “Too many people are applying to the same jobs with the same level of degree, making the graduate job market more about who you know rather than your abilities.”

A third year Chemistry student, David O’Farrell, agreed, arguing:

“Something I will never forget”

UK universities pilot new degree classification James Poole Over twenty UK universities are set to pilot a new method of classifying degrees as part of a national experiment that could see an end to the traditional system of first, second, and third class degrees.

The trial, which runs from November 2013 until July 2014, represents a response to the mounting concern over the rate of grade inflation and lack of detail provided by the current grading system.

This news follows a recent report by Palatinate which exposed the shocking extent of grade inflation within Durham University.

The new system, which is used

by US universities, records undergraduates’ modular marks using a sliding scale from zero to 4.25, with students receiving a “grade point average” (GPA) to two decimal places at the end of their course.

However, in this one-year trial coordinated by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), a non-profit

“Our current system is extremely vague with too many people getting 2:1s.”

In contrast, Hatty Goddard, a first year Psychology student, struggles to see the need for change, arguing: “We have used this system for 200 years so why should we change it now?

“There needs to be more consistency in the education sector after the raft of changes that have already been introduced by the coalition.”

The HEA’s findings from the one-year trial are due to be published next autumn, with further investigation into the GPA system at another 25 institutions set to begin in the spring of 2014.

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To see all the latest news, visit www.palatinate. org.uk

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News News in brief NATIONAL NEWS

POLICE CAUGHT RECRUITING STUDENT INFORMANTS A student activist from Cambridge University has released footage showing how a police officer encouraged him to infiltrate and collect information on student protesters. The officer, who was monitoring political campaigners, wanted the student to name others who were going to protests and to identify leaders. In the recorded interview, the officer talks about how difficult it is to gather information without any help from informants. He was interested in a group known as Cambridge Defend Education, which has protested tuition fee increases. Cambridge University did not comment, saying it was a matter for the police.

UNIVERSITY STAFF TO STRIKE AGAIN After the action on the 31st of October, university staff are due to strike again. Even though the unions claim that the previous strike left some campuses deserted across the country, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association claimed that nine out of ten institutions reported “no to low” impact from the strike.

The strikes come as part of action by three major teaching unions – the University and College Union, Unite and Unison – opposing the 1% pay increase that academic staff in universities are receiving.

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON UNION PRESIDENT ARRESTED Michael Chessum, the President of the University of London Union (ULU), has been arrested after meeting with University of London management about the future of London’s Union. His arrest is apparently due to a demonstration organised by ULU on the 13th of November. Hundreds of students were out on the streets to try and ensure that the Union remained a student-led organisation.

www.palatinate.org.uk

Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

NUS launches campaign DUCK for student mental health Chair’s Column

Gabriel Samuels

A recent conference held by the National Union of Students (NUS) welcomed welfare officers from across the country to discuss student mental health issues in October.

The NUS National Student Mental Health symposium, organised in partnership with the charity Mind, opened on the 8th of October and welcomed over 100 students, staff, and representatives from mental health agencies across the country to the Royal College of Nursing in London.

Attendees were encouraged to give questions to experts in the field of mental health while representatives from Mind and the NUS welfare contingent delivered speeches aimed at increasing awareness of such issues.

Vicki Nash, head of policy and campaigns at Mind, opened the conference, expressing her joy that NUS approached Mind to work together.

She said: “There is not nearly enough support for people who experience mental health problems while they’re a student, and not nearly enough people finishing courses after developing a mental health problem.”

“These are really big challenges, and it is only through working together we can begin to tackle them.

We can make a difference by working together.”

NUS added: “We’re really proud to be taking the lead on supporting existing students who are experiencing mental health issues, along with improving access for prospective students.”

The Durham Students’ Union

Community Officer was in attendance as the NUS Welfare and Community training event went ahead over the summer.

The event, which took place between the 9th and 11th of July at a conference centre in Yarnfield Park, Staffordshire, included sessions and workshops focussed on helping student officers deal more effectively with mental health issues.

“There’s not nearly enough support for people who experience mental health problems.”

Vicki Nash, Mind charity According to the NUS website, the training was aimed at encouraging officers to ‘balance the needs of different student groups while challenging damaging behaviours and attitudes,’ and welcomed student welfare and community liberation officers from across the UK. The event is one of several that make up the NUS ‘Officer Development Programme’ for the academic year 2013/14.

Attendees were broken into small ‘tutor groups’ in order to get to know fellow welfare officers, discuss mental health issues, and outline effective approaches to various problems.

Grace Abel, Community Officer at the Union, attended the event and later outlined the Union plans for welfare development, stating: “The Union recognises the im-

portance of supporting our students who struggle with their mental health.

“We are planning to produce more resources to help students manage good work habits in order to reduce stress.

“With our Union, the NUS, and the University Counselling service working together, students who struggle with their mental health in Durham have many means to access support, help, and advice.”

She added: “We’re also looking into holding workshops about prioritising workloads, procrastination, perfectionism, and mindfulness, as well as building bridges with external support organisations.

“We believe these improvements align positively with the key theme of ‘access’ which was a major focus of the NUS mental health conference.”

Seminars took place across the three days, which included timemanagement and campaign promotion training, and were all directed by student welfare experts with “a wealth of knowledge and expertise in welfare and community issues within the Higher Education sector and many years of experience.”

Will, a Grey College Welfare Officer, commented: “Research shows that one in four people will experience some form of mental health problem in the course of one year.

“It is so important that Welfare Officers keep increasing awareness, remove the stigma, and have access to high quality advice and information in order to better manage students’ mental health and wellbeing.

“This kind of public event goes a long way to achieving these goals.”

CLASS PLAYS ROLE IN UNIVERSITY ENTRY

A report by published by the Sutton Trust has shown that students with parents in professional or managerial positions are three times more likely to attend a top university than those from working class families; even when they have earned the required grades. Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said that there is “no silver bullet” when it comes to the problems of building aspiration in lower income students. The report also showed that even though the US had higher fees, the grants offered to students and fee structure actually made universities like Harvard more affordable .

The Durham’s Students’ Union hopes to improve their provision of mental health services Photograph: Joyce Uerpairojkit

Naz Atkinson Hi everyone, We are now over halfway through Movember and moving rapidly into Tough Guy training season.

For those of you who have never encountered this horrendous physical challenge, dubbed on the website as the ‘world’s most demanding one-day survival ordeal’, then it’s about time you did!

Last year, DUCK took the largest University group to the event to try their hand in a game of life and death.

We’ve seen bruises beyond belief, cuts from shards of ice, men reduced to shivering, incoherent wrecks, and ‘legends’ attempting the course in mankinis, boxers and – in a certain case – one shoe.

Some complete it in record time, others prolong the agony by rocking up 4 hours after the starting gun but all who take part become part of an epic journey. SIGN UP NOW to TOUGH GUY 2014!

From one form of extreme exercise to another: DUCK presents this year’s Santa Fun Run! To me, nothing appeals more than donning the outfit of Old Saint Nick and joining in with the festive spirit on a merry 5k jog.

DUCK is currently trying to reach outside of the bubble and engage with what I call ‘real’ people, those with ‘real’ jobs and ‘real’ lives.

The Santa Fun Run is open to all, and will not only be a way of encouraging the public and students to mingle all in the name of Christmas Spirit, but we are hoping to raise thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation. Sign up is now open!

Excitingly, on the 25th November we will be holding our first ever DUCK forum, which is aimed to give you guys the opportunity to feedback on DUCK events this term.

Perhaps you loved the Expedition’s Fair but wished there had been more information talks, or maybe you had the time of your life hitching on Jailbreak but needed more time to fundraise. We want to hear from you!

GET INVOLVED: DUCK Forum – 25th November, ER201, 7:30-9:30pm Santa Fun Run – 8th December 2013 Tough Guy – 26th January 2014 Naz Atkinson, DUCK Chair, dsu.duck-chair@durham.ac.uk

PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

News in brief INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kirsty Walter

US colleges and universities have seen a seven percent increase in foreign students, totally more than 800,000. Much of the growth was fuelled by China, who already sends the most international students to the US, and Saudi Arabia. International students currently contribute $24 billion to the American economy, despite only making up 4% of the student population. Meanwhile, a record high of only 283,000 American students studied abroad last year.

Since 2004, the Nightbus has been providing a safe and inexpensive option for Durham students travelling at night.

Yet recently, the service has been unavailable, leaving many students to choose between an expensive taxi journey or a long walk home.

Commenting on the suspension of the service, Grace Abel, Community Officer at Durham Students’ Union, said: “We considered alternatives as soon as possible and we provided an interim service using volunteer drivers. Unfortunately, this proved to be unsustainable.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our members.”

The one-pound charge to use the Nightbus means it is a popular alternative to taxis, which can be very expensive, especially when travelling individually.

Taxis in Durham must adhere to maximum prescribed fares set by the council, but these allow them to charge a minimum fare of up to £2.55, or £3.15 after 10 o’clock.

This means the starting fare could already be far more than the cost of a journey on the Nightbus.

Ed Fincham, a student at St Aidan’s, commended the good value of the service. He noted that without the Nightbus, “it costs [him] a fiver to get into town.”

Availability is another key issue.

On weekends, taxis can often be completely booked up from early evening onwards.

In contrast, the Nightbus functions

Several minor colleges in the United States are struggling to survive, with many others under severe financial strain. As many as a third of institutions are on an unsustainable financial path, according to report by the consulting firm Bain & Company, based on an analysis of some 1,700 US colleges and universities. Meanwhile, enrolment numbers overall are in decline due to America’s university-age population decreasing from its 2011 peak, and because the slowly recovering economy is luring many prospective students into jobs instead of university.

BURMA CALLS FOR HELP FROM UK UNIVERSITIES Nobel Peace Prize-winning politician Aung San Suu Kyi has called on British universities to help remove the suppression of Burmese universities by the nation’s former military regime. Speaking at an event at the University of London, the Burmese opposition leader said that campus life had been “destroyed” by the military junta, which ruled Burma between 1962 and 2011, over its fears of widespread student uprising. She appealed for help from British universities to aid education reform and help build “a happier human society.”

WILLETTS SAYS MORE STUDENTS SHOULD STUDY IN THE USA Universities Minister David Willetts is encouraging more students to apply to American universities in order to boost the country’s economic competitiveness. He said that it would help students – particularly those from lower income families – to broaden their horizons and builds contacts overseas, whilst denying it would spark a ‘brain drain’. He has also asked British universities to start to offer more American–style liberal arts degrees, which do not focus on any one discipline, to promote more rounded students.

News

www.palatinate.org.uk

Suspension of nightbus service puts student welfare at risk

U.S UNIVERSITIES SEE RECORD NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

SMALL US COLLEGES STRUGGLING TO FILL SPACES

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Students may be forced to walk home if they are unable to afford taxis Photograph: Emma Werner almost exclusively on short journeys and does not run to a fixed timetable.

Students arrange to be picked up by calling the driver, which means that missing a seat simply means a short wait until the driver returns or another is available.

“Safety is the biggest issue when it comes to the Nightbus” Cathy Gill, Trevelyan

The calling points of the Nightbus are extensive, reaching out to all the

hill colleges, Neville’s cross, Langley Moor, the Viaduct (including the train station), Claypath, Gilesgate and the centre of town.

The suspension of the service could mean that some students’ welfare is put at risk, too.

Cathy Gill, from Trevelyan College, commented: “Safety is the biggest issue when it comes to the Nightbus.”

She expressed concern for students – especially female students – who might walk home alone, either unable to find a taxi or unable to afford one.

Genni Wetherell, a student at Van Mildert College, agreed, telling Palatinate: “It’s not just used by drunk people.

The very appeal of the Nightbus is its affordability and availability.

“The cost of a taxi puts students off using them and, without an alternative, many will resort to simply walking.”

In 2011, the Nightbus transported over 10,000 passengers across the city, proving its popularity.

In March 2012, the Durham Students’ Union was optimistic about the Nightbus service, believing that “neither impatience nor finance” was a threat to it. Many therefore see this as a rather abrupt end to a very popular service.

However, Abel was keen to reassure students who have been effected by the suspension, telling Palatinate: “We are currently in negotiations with a number of service providers and we hope to have the night bus operational as soon as possible.”

When asked if the potential to be a future high-earner was important, Lucy, a postgraduate student at Ustinov College, added: “A lot of students are motivated by money and earning a large salary, so this is very persuasive.

“However, although I would like to earn a good salary when I finish my studies, this is by no means the primary factor. I chose Durham because of the rank it held for my subjects in the league tables, in addition to the prestige it had.”

Durham produces millionaires

Philip Naylor Spears, the luxury lifestyle magazine, has found that the UK’s universities are producing the second-highest number of millionaires, beaten only by the USA. 42 UK institutions entered the top 500 list for millionaire graduates, with Durham University achieving the rank of 173. Oxford and Cambridge secured places in the top ten, coming fifth and ninth respectively.

Overall, Engineering was the subject which produced the most millionaires. However, the study also found that that although degrees such as Engineering, Politics, and Law appeared to lead to high salaries, it is often the pursuit of a career in financial services or entrepreneurship that provides the pathway to being a millionaire, rather than pursuing a career in the professions.

The inclusion of Computer Science at ninth in the list could be a reflection of a trend towards the continued growth of the technology industry, according to WealthInsight, the consultancy firm which contributed to the study.

Though there are some prominent examples of those who found fortune in the technology industry without a degree – such as Facebook’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Bill Gates – the study found that still almost 99% of millionaires are university graduates.

Commenting on whether the number of millionaires who come out of an institution could be used to influence the university choices of prospective students, Andy, a St. John’s student, told Palatinate: “If you could choose an institution that you know produces millionaires, then you would definitely consider that university.”

Durham made the top 500 list for millionaire graduates Photograph: Joyce Uerpairojkit

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Thursday 21st November | PALATINATE

News Features

www.palatinate.org.uk

International students ques

With increasing pressures on international students, college JC Justin Villamil It is an undeniable fact that things are changing for international students at UK universities.

New controls on international student immigration proposed by the Coalition government are designd to deal with the rising numbers of international students that present higher education institutions with a new set of challenges Meanwhile, traditional difficulties such as language barriers have not been fully tackled. With these challenges, Durham’s JCRs have had to adapt, both in administration and culture.

Traditional Challenges Though there are many wide and political pressures exerted on international students, some of the most difficult ones to overcome are as simple as cultural and linguistic differences.

According to many of Durham’s college international officers, EU and North American students tend to adapt quickly to British culture and assimilate with relative ease.

According to those interviewed, this ease of integration has much to do with the fact that these students are native English speakers.

Those whose mother tongue is not English, however, have greater difficulties integrating with home students – especially if there are large groups with whom they can speak their first language.

“I definitely think that all colleges need reps to represent international students” Lina Boe

Colinette Wang, the international officer for John Snow College, told Palatinate: “In general, the support given to international students is plentiful ... the University ... has a very helpful International office and English Language Focus groups, which students can easily book into.”

Wang is from Hong Kong and says that she is therefore usually able to break down the language barrier.

This is especially helpful in John Snow, where she says there are a higher proportion of Chinese students.

“Most of the students that arrive and have a problem tackling the

World map showing countries by the number of students sent to Durham Data: Durham University, Graph: Justin Villamil English language are ... Chinese,” she said.

The main danger, Wang told Palatinate, is that these students form groups that speak only their native language, rarely venturing outside this group.

The reaction from this phenomenon, she explained, “is usually exclusion.”

Lizzie Reavley, the international officer at St. John’s College, is experiencing a similar problem.

“I think within John’s the international students are very much welcomed and feel part of college as a whole,” Reavley told Palatinate.

However, those whose first language is not English “can become more isolated due to a larger language barrier than those from other countries (including America and most European countries) – at least this was the case this year and last year.”

Reavley says that these students form the same groups Colinette talks about – isolated, and only speaking their first language.

While Reavley allows that this is a perfectly natural reaction upon coming to a new country, she says that for a university and college atmosphere, this phenomenon is not ideal.

Students who speak a different language in groups “isolate other students from their conversations whilst simultaneously isolating themselves from the rest of college,” she said.

One of the solutions John’s uses to minimise this effect is to spread international students out in college accommodation.

“The support given to international students is plentiful because the University, for example, has a very helpful International Office and English language focus groups” Colinette Wang

“John’s tries to ensure that the international students are spread out across college (in terms of rooms) to encourage students to socialise and get to know the home students as well,” Reavley said.

“This means that within John’s, the international students aren’t necessarily obvious or isolated. No-one is ignored or left alone.”

Joe Deering of Hatfield agrees with the problem of the language barrier, but takes a different strategy to deal with the problems of isolation.

Deering believes that social events

will bring people together more than anything, as all students, no matter where they come from, will generally attend college events.

“Inevitably, the language barrier is sometimes a divider, and naturally some tend to form groups based around this, but at all college events they join in, so they don’t isolate themselves from college,” Deering said.

No matter what the approach, however, none of the international officers that Palatinate spoke to could say for sure what worked and what did not.

Overall, the feeling is that the fact that students cannot engage with the rest of the student body is regrettable, but inevitable.

Nevertheless, Reavely pointed out, “This is a small minority of students and the majority are very well integrated and inseparable from the home students.”

New Challenges Some argue that international students in the UK are facing unprecedented pressures and therefore require an increased system of support from their colleges.

For instance, international students at Durham are facing changes in immigration policy proposed by the current government.

Two of the most salient changes, as highlighted by the National Union of Students in a recent petition, are

charges for use of the NHS and fines for private landlords who do not ensure that residents have the ability to reside in the UK. For the NHS, the petition would include an estimated £200 charge for non-EEA international students to use NHS services.

“The further monitoring and regulation proposed by the Government is unnecessary, will cost more than it benefits and will unfairly target a group that contributes a phenomenal amount not just economically, but also to the strength of our education sector,” the NUS said in a recent statement.

“Internationals have other needs and problems that can arise, and having a defined role to take care of those issues is paramount” Joe Deering

Now more than ever then, JCRs are put in the position of coping with both internal and external pressures on an increasingly international student body.

In addition to these proposed changes, however, international stu-

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PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

News Features

www.palatinate.org.uk

stion college representation

CRs are changing tactics to keep up with international demand dents already face new regulatory procedures upon graduation.

As Palatinate reported last year, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) has abolished the Tier 1 visa, which would have allowed students to stay in the UK for two years after graduation.

Now, all international students must apply for a Tier 2 visa to remain in the country after graduation.

The Tier 2 visa is points-based, and in order to keep this visa, international workers must maintain a steady minimum £20,000 salary and comply with various field-specific regulations.

The question to be asked, then, is whether JCRs should create a more business-centred role to assist international students looking to enter the workforce.

“For me, and for a lot of international students, it wasn’t so hard to feel at home because English is my first language, but I had a lot of friends who had a lot more trouble” Olivia Ryan

Catherine Ainsley of St Cuthbert’s Society told Palatinate that the college is trying hard to take international opinion into account this year.

“We are trying to improve this representation by having an international rep team of students to help plan events and give international students a bigger voice within the college,” she said.

Representation Issues In many ways, the argument over representation is really an argument over whether international students

should be treated just like any other student or if they should receive additional services tailored to their unique challenges.

The majority of Durham’s colleges seem to fall on the latter side of the debate, as they have some form of international officer, either as an executive role or as a non-exec officer.

Nevertheless, some see adding an exec officer role as a mechanism for further isolation.

Joe Deering, a member of Hatfield’s international frep team, believes that international students are generally fine with the current level of support that they receive.

“The feeling is that international students are treated just like home students, so the same support systems apply, and for those who have a problem related to their status as an international, the international rep team can handle it,” Deering told Palatinate.

“There is a more than adequate welfare team to tend to their needs otherwise.”

Hatfield College has a team of four international freshers’ representatives that are then meant to exist in a supportive capacity for the rest of the year.

However, Deering admitted that increased international numbers this year have exerted pressure on Hatfield’s current system.

“With the increased number of international students, my college needs to establish a larger number of reps for them and create more defined roles for the international reps which extend past fresher’s [week],” Deering said.

Therefore, Deering added, Hatfield is in the process of re-developing the role of the international team.

“Internationals have other needs and problems that can arise, and having a defined role to take care of those issues (banking, visas etc.) is paramount to a successful college environment,” he said.

Other colleges take the opposite approach.

Hild and Bede has the most inter-

national representation of all Durham’s colleges.

Lina Bøe, the college’s international officer, sits on the executive committee but also has three more international representatives that work beneath her.

Bøe is adamant that every college should adopt such a role.

“I definitely think all colleges need reps to represent international students as there are more things to consider for us that come from abroad,” Bøe said.

As to whether the role in college should be an exec or non-exec position, Bøe said that though she recognises variation between colleges, in the case of Hilde and Bede it should be an exec position.

“Being a big college like Hild Bede, I think it is necessary that at least one rep is on the exec,” she said. “The purpose not only being better communication with the college and the student body and representation, but to work against the ‘us and them’ mentality that is sometimes found in Durham.”

Josephine Butler College is currently considering adding an executive position for international representative.

Butler already has two international representatives, and has created an ‘international committee’ to provide a platform for international students to be able to enjoy the collegiate system in the same way as home students.

Butler’s JCR President, William Kendall, told Palatinate that nothing has been officially decided, but that “a recent focus group suggested this may be useful.”

According to Kendall, the outcome of this proposal is still up in the air,

and will be discussed further in upcoming Butler exec and JCR meetings.

While Butler’s discussion about additional representation for international students is commendable, there is some question as to whether it is needed, as international students seem to be well integrated into the college already.

Kendall described this integration as stemming from an inclusive attitude. He told Palatinate that instead of problematizing international students, Butler celebrates diversity.

“Events like World Cinema nights, Global Voices current affairs debates, trips to hear speakers, February’s One World Week, [and the] Chinese New Year Formal are all excellent examples,” he told Palatinate.

£200

The amount per year the government would charge international students for use of the NHS

This, according to Kendall, ties into the strategy of Butler’s current international representatives, Nicolas Restrepo and Dharrnesha Inbah Rajah, to “project Butler’s cultural diversity ... throughout the college.”

Josephine Butler isn’t the only college considering the addition of an international representative executive role.

St Aidan’s College Vice-President Olivia Ryan told Palatinate that Aidan’s already has an international welfare representative role.

“We don’t have an international

Exec member, yes,” Ryan said. “But we are considering adding another international rep role onto another one of our committees, which is still under debate and will hopefully be passed as a motion at our next JCR meeting.”

Ryan went on to state that the nature of Aidan’s is such that a committee position would be directly responsible to the committee chair, and therefore preferable to a ‘subexec’ position.

“I think the internationals could use a bit more representation and integration at Aidan’s,” Ryan told Palatinate.

Ryan, who is originally from the United States, says she had no trouble herself.

“It wasn’t so hard to feel at home because English is my first language, but I have a lot of friends who had a lot more trouble,” Ryan said.

St John’s College faces a similar problem of carrying support for internationals throughout the year.

“During freshers’ and international welcome week, there is plenty of support for students within John’s, as the international reps are very much present,” Lizzie Reavley said.

“Throughout the rest of the year we are trying to be present and the college support networks (such as tutors and welfare) which are set up for all students are always there.”

Graphs: Justin Villamil (data based on undergraduate statistics)

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Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

The world of law: From Palatinate Editor to QC Joel Donovan QC, editor of Palatinate in ’84, discusses his path to becoming a Barrister at Cloisters Chambers and spills advice for future lawyers.

Ben Hamer

The following features are part of a series of interviews with ex-editors of Palatinate which took place over the 2013 summer vacation.

How did you end up at Durham University?

I grew up in the country and went to the local state grammar. I didn’t manage to get into Oxbridge and subsequently attended Durham University. I initially did physics but after half a year, I decided to switch to law for the following year.

Why did you decide to switch subjects?

My parents suggested that I switch;

it wasn’t any brilliant brainwave of my own. Law turned out to be much more of my scene. I was able to get into Palatinate in my second year at Durham and on the strength of editing one page, I was able to secure editorship in 1984 unopposed.

Why did you run for that?

Apart from doing a bit of sport, working at the Palatinate was my main extracurricular activity.

When I studied Law, it was a relatively light subject in terms of tabled curricular time, although there was a reasonable amount of reading around it. The paper was my main passion.

After completing this role in my second year, I concentrated more on my studies, and although I con-

tinued writing in my third year, I decided I was rather like Edward Heath breathing down Margaret Thatcher’s neck and it was not necessarily the most helpful thing.

“the paper was my main passion” Joel Donovan

I didn’t have the nerve to go for a journalistic career; the careers service then funneled law graduates remorselessly into the City of London law firms, which I ended up doing for a bit when I graduated.

I realized this was a dreadful mistake when I felt profoundly envious of people who worked on the sandwich bars around the office. I

subsequently became a Barrister, which I really enjoy.

When did you become a QC?

I became a QC in 2011 and I do mainly clinical negligence and personal injury for claimants.

I never went into journalism, which was partly a result of nerves and partially because I felt it would be a waste of studying Law if I did not go into the profession in some way.

However, it took some time for me to find the right path in Law; I hated being a solicitor but really enjoyed being a barrister and hankered about being a barrister from the off.

I didn’t really have any financial backing and I needed to get some salary under my belt and some life

experience before becoming a barrister.

“If you want to be a barrister you’ll have to see off fierce competition” Joel Donovan

I would advise those who are embarking in a law career to make sure that’s what you’re willing to do. If you want to be a barrister, you should be aware that you’re going to be committing to a heavy financial investment in your career track and you’ll have to see off fierce competition.

“If you’re passionate about something, then do it”

Palatinate talks to Rachel Medill, a former Durham student about her transition from stockbroker to founder of the Ride High charity.

Ben Hamer

Rachel Medill, the Founder of the Ride High charity, tells Palatinate about her transition from stockbroker to pioneering a charity which provides disadvantaged children with the opportunity to learn to look after and ride horses.

Which subject did you read at Durham?

I did Anthropology at Collingwood.

And then you went into being a stockbroker at Natwest?

My whole career was a complete accident. I never intended on having a career; I came from an upper-class background and rode horses very seriously, and I was longlisted for British teams. My parents suggested I go to university. I found my course great but when I graduated, I decided to return to riding horses; I never had a charitable thought in my head initially.

What did you go into following university?

When I graduated, I went to London and would take on any old

job. Initially, for a year, I worked within commission-only sales roles before deciding that although I liked living in London, I needed money so I joined Natwest and trained as a stockbroker. The crash happened in 1987 whilst I was working there, and then I got a payrise. However, I was not designed to be a stockbroker; I don’t have a head for figures but I wanted a job. I subsequently decided that I wanted to go into marketing and spoke to my manager about it, who really argued against it. However I still made the move and went into marketing and energy, which I loved.

me decide on setting up a charity.

I kind of knew I could do the business side, but I didn’t know anything about kids at all.

Would you recommend going into charity work?

I think it is really hard but if at some stage in your life you think you’re passionate about something, then do it. My biggest piece

of advice is to do as much as you possibly can while you’re enthusiastic.

How did you find University at Durham?

Before university, I had two years out riding horses. When I came to Durham, I was too scared to even go into the cafeteria on my own. If I had my time at University again,

I would join lots of societies – especially the equestrian one. I have no idea why I didn’t; my best friend would do parachute jumps and so on. The things I am passionate about, I spend time on.

When I have interns working for me, I tell them that if you really want to do well, you should work really hard and it is really important to do the extra bits.

“Do as much as you possibly can while you’re enthusiastic” Rachel Medill

On my forty-fifth birthday, I decided to stop. I was the director of the British Equestrian Federation and worked with a woman in Brixton who took inner-city children riding. She told me that she had never encountered any problems with the children since they started riding and this made

Ben Hamer speaks to Rachel Medill, second from left

Photograph: Jeremy Vine

PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

11 www.palatinate.org.uk

Business & Economics

Grad schemes overshadow SME opportunities

Should Durham do more to promote jobs with smaller companies?

Joshua Parker

The Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young, and KPMG) dominates the Durham careers scene.

In a way, that’s understandable. With their colossal turnovers, they have resources to provide incredible graduate opportunities, and they know how to develop snazzy advertisements. They are instantly both the most recognisable and most attractive option for many looking for work after university.

However, they are not the beall and end-all. There’s a dizzying array of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) which often provide a far more intimate and

focused environment to develop the skills that will make you successful. So the question is: has the dominance of the Big Four made SMEs look second-best?

It would be silly to say that a job with the Big Four is a bad thing. It is indisputable that they are the market leaders, and we can understand why many people see a career within a Big Four company as the peak of career success.

It has been my great fortune to work at a consultancy firm that sits firmly in the SME bracket.

From this, I experienced an intimacy and an independence that was distant to my friends working for the Big Four. Furthermore, I received training that equalled that of my friends in the Big Four whilst also developing a much

greater ability for independent thought and responsibility.

SMEs “often provide a far more intimate and focused environment to develop the skills that will make you successful”

By working in a smaller company, I also got to see far more of the internal workings of how businesses function. I also worked with the directors and the managers at the top of the

company, rather than just being a faceless intern making coffee and photocopying. My pay was pretty good, too.

So what is it that SMEs provide that makes them just as a good choice as the Big Four?

In SMEs, you won’t gain big company training – usually characterised by endless tests, training workshops and presentations. Instead, you get thrown right in, gaining hands-on experience and early responsibility, giving you valuable transferable business skills. You’re likely to be offered quick career progression, too. These chances for experience over training give you more options for both upwards and sideways movement in the industry.

Yet, if you look at how Durham

seems to approach post-university career options, you wouldn’t believe that such opportunities exist. Nearly the entire careers scene is dominated by the Big Four and other major conglomerates. There is now a feeling amongst Durham students that failure to get a job with the Big Four is failing at your career before it has properly even begun.

This is not the case, and Durham must do more to promote the smaller chaps.

P

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Art means business: the financial dimensions of Lumiere Durham’s businesses played a large role in funding the festival

Durham restaurants Oldfields, Bistro 21, Ramside Hall, and Finbarrs were Lumiere Ambassadors, and agreed to host fundraising dinners at their restaurants.

Radisson Blu provided accommodation for crew and artists, and hosted a VIP Gala Dinner.

Jisoo Kim

Lumiere brought four dazzling winter evenings to Durham.

Even in times of austerity, from 14th to 17th November, Durham was once again transformed into a nocturnal playground of light following its success in 2011 and 2009.

Artichoke initiated the grand project of the Lumiere Festival of Light.

Artichoke has been working with artists to put their largescale arts on show in unusual places such as streets and public spaces.

As a registered charitable trust, Artichoke substantially relied on grants, donations and, sponsorships to finance Lumiere.

Financing public arts can be difficult and is seen as controversial, yet Durham County Council maintained itself as a major funder of the Lumiere this year.

Along with the light festival, a conference – Art Means Business – was held on Friday 15th November in Gala Theatre.

Helen Marriage, Co-Director of Artichoke, Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council, and many entrepreneurs in the art industry attended.

They shared their views on how artists and the art industries could potentially find creative solutions to the challenges facing 21st century urban society.

In 2011, Lumiere yielded £4.3m for the local economy.

It attracted 50,000 visitors from outside of County Durham.

Stores and businesses in Durham were eager to sponsor Lumiere, a high profile project which

The financial aspects of Lumiere

.yielded In 2011, Lumiere £4.3m for the local economy

.Centre Prince Bishops Shopping sponsored the 9 meter tall ‘Consumerist Christmas Tree’ installation

.volunteered Barclays Bank Durham to help man-

age the donations Artichoke received during the festival Durham businesses and financial institutions played a pivotal role in bringing Lumiere to life Photograph: Venus Loi offered fantastic opportunities to publicise their brands through huge press coverage.

Prince Bishops Shopping Centre sponsored the 9 meter tall ‘Consumerist Christmas Tree.’

The installation aimed to raise awareness of the excessive use of plastic bags and its environmental consequences.

TSB Bank, Thomas Cook, Calendar Club, Fat Face, Goldsmiths, Jones Bootmaker, and Flight Centre all worked together to collect

3000 discarded plastic bags from customers to create the tree.

Walkergate sponsored ‘Litre of Light’, the installation made by recycled plastic bottles filled with water used as lights. Workshops were held for 600 children in 21 schools.

Lumiere Durham this year decided to support the ‘Litre of Light’ project, pioneered by a Philippine charity My Shelter Foundation, which provided lights to underprivileged house-

holds where electricity is neither accessible nor affordable.

Waterstons Ltd, a business and IT consultancy based in Durham, was once again a major sponsor of Lumiere this year, as in 2011.

Director Sally Waterston praised Artichoke’s work in Durham Prison and said, “I love the idea that this magical festival will be enhancing the lives not only of residents and visitors but also people who may be disadvantaged and forgotten.”

.sideOldfields, Bistro 21, RamHall, and Finnbarrs restaurants hosted fundraising dinners at their restaurants

Barclays Bank in Durham volunteered to help manage the donations Artichoke received during the festival.

Its staff also sold raffle tickets at the Gala dinner for Lumiere employee fundraising.

Without the huge amount of cooperative work from these Durham businesses, Lumiere Durham 2013 would not have been nearly as successful.

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Politics

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Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

@PalatinatePol

Boycott the boycott

Josh Newmark on the ‘success’ of the BDS movement

U

nder the pretence of “holding Israel responsible for its occupation, colonization, and apartheid” of Palestine, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is leading a campaign for a blanket boycott of goods and services from firms connected to Israel.

This has been widely and enthusiastically promoted by the pro-Palestine coalition. However, while I am entirely supportive of freedom and security for the Palestinian people, any claim that the BDS campaign is a humanistic cause is plainly wrong.

The movement seeks to demonise the general Israeli populace, something which can only prolong and deepen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Thus, those in favour of genuine peace and freedom must boycott the boycott.

At the societies fair at the start of term, I picked up a pamphlet that proudly stated that “BDS is working!”.

Reading further, it was clear that their interpretation of a successful

boycott is quite different from that of someone concerned with the plight of the Palestinian people.

The pamphlet claims that BDS is effective, on the grounds that private companies either owned by, or heavily involved with, private Israeli businesses have “lost contracts worth billions.”

Yet despite this rhetoric, there has been no mention of any change in Israeli state policy, or indeed any mention of the Israeli government at all; nothing on how the boycott has helped the Palestinian cause.

The campaign ‘works’ if you wish to see Israeli Jews penalised on the basis of their religion and nationality. If you support the BDS campaign because you have been told that it will force the Israeli government to change its policies and recognise Palestinian rights, you will find little evidence of any success.

I can be forgiven for feeling that the campaign is much more concerned with demonising and indiscriminately attacking Israelis, than

with proffering help and support for the Palestinian people.

The ‘Friends of Palestine’ movement should certainly consider rebranding as ‘Enemies of Israel,’ as I’m sure I am not the only one to be deceived into thinking that BDS was a movement prioritising the rights of the Palestinian nation and its people.

While the excessive military force deployed by Israel is an atrocity which must be stopped, BDS is not the way to go about it with retaliation.

The BDS propaganda machine eliminated Israel’s human face and turned a diverse nation of eight million into a faceless monolith representing oppression and apartheid.

Just as Hamas does not represent the ordinary Palestinian, so too do Jewish ultra-nationalists not represent the average Israeli.

How can BDS truly claim that their campaign will be helpful to the Palestinian cause? Its only outcome is this relentless alienation of ordinary Israeli citizens, giving the Israeli public

BDS and Rabbis for Palestine Photograph: Mike Gifford the impression that the world simply resents their very existence.

Only within those Israeli citizens can the power to change the course of events for Palestine be found. After all, it is the Middle East’s most (if not only) functional democracy, and forcing them into a corner will do little to win them over.

Two wrongs will never make a right; real activists, whose concerns for the Palestinian people are derived from a belief in freedom and equality, need to escape this ‘demon

Israel’ paradigm, and stop victimising the common Israeli.

What is needed is a focus on positive engagement with Israeli citizens, each of whom has the power to hold the state to account. Easing the paranoid defensive mentality, which is a driving force behind Israel’s military policy, and which exacerbates the conflict and the repressive measures imposed on the Palestinian people, will lead the way forward to real progress.

#PALPOLL : If there was a general election held tomorrow who would you vote for? CON 33%, LAB 40%, LIB 9%, UKIP 11%

Polling Data: YouGov / The Sun Newspaper (Two week average 4/11/13 - 15/11/13)

Lessons from our friends across the pond Canadian High Commissioner urges students to ‘think anew and act anew’ Alex Stock

The High Commissioner for Canada, Mr Gordon Campbell, spoke to a group of students in Durham Castle in October.

Mr Campbell, who has enjoyed a varied career as Mayor of Vancouver and as a pivotal figure in the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, spoke warmly of the UK’s relationship with Canada.

While acknowledging that economically America is Canada’s “most important friend,” he said that “the UK is their best friend.” And with about 400,000 Canadians living in the UK, the cultural similarities resonate with the shared history between the two nations and ensure that the UK is a cornerstone of Canada.

He then expanded upon the underlying theme of his talk, Abraham Lincoln’s adage that “we must think anew and act anew.”

Mr Campbell urged students to “help the older generation disenthrall themselves” from institutions and constructs which were designed for a world which is dramatically dif-

ferent to the one in which we now live. He also called on everyone to “put on new, 2013 glasses” and consider “ways to put modern solutions to work on problems.”

“The UK is their [Canada’s] best friend” Mr Gordon Campbell

Mr Campbell considered the challenges posed by an ageing society and the wider implications for healthcare.

In his province of British Colombia, the average cost for healthcare for someone in their thirties of $2,200 per year is dwarfed by the cost for those over the age of eightyfive, which amounts to $22,000.

He urged a more sustainable approach towards the provision of healthcare by contending that “the best preventative healthcare programme invented is education.”

Mr Campbell further recognised climate change as a key issue requir-

ing attention if we were to disenthrall ourselves from outdated approaches of the past.

He mentioned the reduction of the pine forests in British Colombia by 80 per cent in the last ten to fifteen years and the impact of climate change on the Arctic, which affects thousands of people, including Canadians living in the Arctic Circle.

The High Commissioner emphasised the importance of setting environmental standards and the necessity of “not waiting till everyone agrees they’re setting them.”

The concept of consensus is hugely difficult to achieve in a highly complex and globalised world and he encouraged powerful nations to “take leadership on the issue” by “leading by example as much as telling others what to do.”

One of the most important points Mr Campbell made was in reference to the dramatic changes taking place in Asia and, specifically, China.

He referred to the “balance in the world” brought about by Asia’s influence and suggested that the “rest of the world has to be open to China in

Mr Gordon Campbell Photograph: US Embassy Canada the same way that China has to be for Canadian and non-Canadian stuopen to the rest of the world.” dents alike to engage with concepts Mr Campbell believes it is no long- that will have a huge importance to er acceptable to rely on the rest of bear in the very near future. the world to learn one language and Mr Campbell’s willingness to encouraged a greater understanding strengthen ties between the UK and of other countries and their cultures. Canada, especially for students, is In a talk in which the High Com- praiseworthy, and the important idemissioner covered a lot of ground, as he imparted left the audience with it was an illuminating experience much to ponder.

PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

13

SciTech

www.palatinate.org.uk

Celebrate Science Fair: an inside perspective Bryony Hockin

A

s a second year Chemistry student, I am not ashamed to say that I love science. In fact, I will shout it from the rooftops. Science is awesome, and personally, I think more people should feel this way. So recently I agreed to volunteer for the Celebrate Science Fair as part of the chemistry demonstration team. This will be fun, I thought, I get to throw liquid nitrogen around, make things change colour and maybe clean up some slime; and besides, I’ve had experience working with hordes of small children before.

A week later, I’m standing in a huge marquee, surrounded by screaming children and their longsuffering parents; the only thing that makes them stop running around like tiny pinballs is the prospect of playing with some slime, seeing stuff glow in the dark or watching a foam volcano. All that, of course, is my job – or, rather, the job of the legion of volunteers recruited from the chemistry department.

The St John’s Ambulance people are stationed ‘coincidentally’ next to our stand and keep giving us worried looks every now and then as we gleefully toss liquid nitrogen at each other, but fortunately none of our experiments are especially dangerous.

They’re just very, very messy.

Some of my favourites include making slime out of PVA glue, playing with thermochromic pigments (heat-sensitive, colour changing rub-

A QUICK LOOK AT SCIENCE

ber ducks anyone?), and of course, the wonders of dry ice.

The kids, naturally, are absolutely spellbound. Even the slightly jaded, secondary school ones raise mildly impressed eyebrows when I make a colour-changing steam volcano out of dry ice and water.

Their parents, initially hesitant, eventually swarm forward and ask us questions: How does this magnet work? What’s a chemistry degree like? What do you want to be after university? Well, I’d like to work with pyrotechnics, but some of my saner colleagues would like to be teachers, or work in research to develop new pharmaceuticals. Most of the responses from parents are accompanied by something along the lines of, “I never did this stuff at school!

Do they do this in school these days?

Fantastic!”

Science can sometimes be underappreciated by the general public, whether because of its sometimesnegative image in the media or because people simply feel like it’s too complicated to understand.

But in a city like Durham, which has world-class university facilities right on its doorstep, it seems fair for the University to give back to the community by showing kids (and parents, and grandparents) in the local area that science is for everyone.

Engaging with science should always be a fun experience, and ultimately we’re here to prove that to people and to engage with science.

Many of the families stay for hours

Dry ice and a slice? The fun side of both chemistry and fruit at the Celebrate Science Fair Photograph: Bryony Hockin as their children become engrossed banana (don’t ask). in each new experiment; it’s a hectic “So, who wants to be a scientist experience for us volunteers, but in- when they grow up?” I ask a group of credibly rewarding. six-year-olds who are all covered in As the day draws to a close, we slime and foam (and, come to think set off our final foam volcano, use up of it, so am I). the liquid nitrogen by throwing it on “ME!” they yell back. the floor (I kid you not, this is the official method of disposal) and mop up slime and shattered bits of frozen

Little Crumpington since records began” it is easy to be complacent about the figures, but it is hard to dismiss the fact that our weather is becoming much more variable and extreme.

As an example, 2012 experienced 42% more rainfall than 2011. Many will remember the hosepipe bans and dried up reservoirs of 2011, with farmers struggling to irrigate crops and every other news report featuring Environment Agency staff standing by a reservoir urging people to conserve water.

How does this fit into the global picture? A large influence on the planet’s climate is the El Niño Southern Oscillatio, otherwise known as ENSO or El Niño events.

El Niño events occur roughly every two to seven years, lasting between nine months and two years. During this period, the Pacific Ocean warms by more than 0.5 degrees Celcius, for reasons still debated.

Warm water shifts from the East to West Pacific, affecting trade winds, bringing warm, wet weather and flooding to South America and leaving behind drought and increased fire risk in Australia, South East Asia, and the West Pacific.

In turn, these changes have devastating consequences on fish stocks,

monsoon behaviour, and crop yields.

Further afield, El Niño events change the pattern of snowfall in the USA, bringing drier, warmer winters to the northern states and increased snowfall to the south. Changes in wind behaviour lead to fewer Atlantic hurricanes but more tropical cyclones in the East Pacific.

In Africa, the pattern is also mixed with East Africa experiencing increased rainfall but South and Central Africa seeing drier conditions and drought. Closer to home, the effect of El Niño events is not as obvious, but it is thought to make winters wetter in Northern Europe and drier around the Mediterranean Sea. A particularly strong El Niño event may even have helped to start the French Revolution by causing crops to fail. Coinciding with the recent storm, Australian and American scientists have published research entitled “Inferred changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation variance over the past six centuries,” reconstructing the ENSO variability for the last 600 years from palaeo records.

It found that a series of lower-impact El Niño events may have been connected to the Little Ice Age, when Europe saw generally colder temperatures 1550-1880 and the River

WELL-TRAINED PROTEIN

Storm St Jude: a warning from the oceans of things to come?

Jennifer Horrocks

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wo journal articles have been recently published which suggest that El Niño events, which cause temporary but extreme changes in global climate, are becoming more frequent due to current climate change.

While the well-documented effects of El Niño include bush fires in Australia and flooding in South America, what does this mean for Britain?

The October storm left more than just some broken branches in its path. As hurricane force winds up to 99mph battered southern Britain and mainland Europe, storm St Jude left fifteen people dead. It is not crazy to suggest this storm could be part of a series of extreme weather events in Britain.

After a series of the wettest summers on record, it was a welcome change for many to experience this year’s noticeably warm summer, including a three-week heatwave back in July.

In a world of weather-related statistics, where every year seems to be the “seventh warmest this century” or the “wettest 23rd September in

Reader’s Scigest

Thames was used as a frozen market place.

Worryingly, they say that El Niño events occur more often now than they have for at least the last 600 years, and predict this will only increase due to climate change.

These findings agree with those of Power et al. (2013), who, in “Robust twenty-first century projections of El Niño and related precipitation variability,” used climate models to claim that the non-uniform response of the planet to climate change will only increase the variability of El Niño events, making them less predictable as well as occurring more often.

There will also be an increase in extreme events, with more floods and droughts affecting the Pacific region.

In 2012, Enfield and Mayer published a study of sea surface temperatures that claimed the tropical Atlantic Ocean warmed 4 to 5 months after the peak in El Niño events in the Pacific.

As El Niño events get more intense and more variable, the specific ramifications per country are hard to predict.

However, it seems hosepipe bans, more spiders and trees on the railway line may be the least of our worries.

Scientists at Oxford University and Warwick University have developed a microscopic self-assembling transport network. The network is constructed by DNA and the motor protein kinesin, and is comprised of both ‘assembler’ nanobots consisting of two kinesin proteins, and ‘shuttles,’ which are made of just one protein to power their movement along DNA strand ‘tracks.’

The system is able to construct its own network of DNA tracks, as well as dismantle itself when instructed by the chemical signals it receives.

The shuttles are multi-purpose: able to either transport cargo or relay signals to one another, controlling the behaviour of the network. A wide range of applications has already been suggested for the system, including the catalysis of chemical reactions through the bringing-together of necessary chemical components.

CHANGING THE PECKING ORDER A leading vetinary expert has questioned whether free range hens are actually housed in better conditions than those in cages. According to the research from Bristol University, the new regulations on ‘enriched’ battery farming mean that the hens often have more space than their free range counterparts. The regulations, brought in across the EU in 2012, mean that caged hens must have 600 square centimetres of floor space per bird, plus a perch and a scratching post. The research in Bristol showed that hens in many free range farms had higher levels of stress, higher mortality rates, and an increased rate of pecking one another compared to the enriched system.

MISS-ED OUT OF HISTORY

A study published last week in the journal Astrobiology has revealed the remnants of a complex ecosystem of bacteria that is thought to be three-and-a-half billion years old.

The bacteria, which were discovered in a sample of sedimentary rock in the Pilbara district of Western Australia, formed microbial mats that resembled carpets, and are thought to be an example of the earliest forms of life present on Earth. The discovery of this community of bacteria has extended the geological record of so-called ‘Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures’ MISSs by almost 300 million years and is being heralded as a significant advance in human understanding of early microbial life.

14

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Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

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Don’t sign a deal with the devil this year Signing for houses too early can lead to worse problems along the way for students would love you to think – the earlier they get their paws on your carefully handwritten deposit cheques, the better. But the simple truth is that there are more houses in Durham than there are students. So there is just no way that Durham could ‘run out of houses’ and leave you stranded.

Signing early on, without giving yourselves a chance to properly investigate the property, can lead to numerous problems when you come to actually move in. A friend signed for her cosy 2-up 2-down on Allergate with high hopes and admirable anticipation, only to move in and find hideous amounts of mould growing on the bathroom walls. Two months later the problem is yet to be rectified – and yet reviews say that the landlord is often unreliable and

“

Millie Tanner When is the most stressful time of your year? You might be forgiven for reasoning that, being the hard working, academic-minded Oxbridge rejects that we are, the summer exam period must come top of everyone’s list. Yet it would seem that between late November and the beginning of Epiphany term, stress levels steadily increase as tensions run high over that same question on everybody’s lips: “who are you going to live with?”

It’s that time of year again when Modern Languages second years smile smugly to themselves as they

Many letting agencies have already started advertising their properties to students Photograph: Cressida Peever sit party to endless conversations on the same topic; finalists breathe a sigh of relief that they never have to do it again; every other student appears to go into a brief two-week meltdown – everyone has begun to discuss housing.

From 18th – 24th November, the Students’ Union is running a campaign, rather nattily named Take Your Time to Sign. In past years there has seemed to be the belief that if you don’t sign early, all the good houses will be gone – and that’s if you’re even lucky enough to find a house, given what an awful shortage there is in Durham.

I can tell you that this is categorically not true. This is, of course, what the landlords and letting agencies

“

signing early on, without giving yourselves a chance to poperly inversigate the property, can lead to numerous problems

”

you’ve had half a term to get to know these people and yet you’re preparing to sign a legally binding document to say you’re happy to spend another year in their company

”

masks problems that later become apparent. Needless to say, a week’s extra research would have flagged this up and the situation may have been avoided.

Practicalities of the house aside, the other big decision to make is exactly who you want to live with. For freshers especially, this is an incredibly daunting decision – you love all of your new-found friends, so how could you possibly choose just five of them to live with?

But to put it another way, you’ve actually known these people a mere six weeks. I don’t wish to sound condescending, but in the grand scheme

“

of Life At University it’s just no time at all. You’ve had Freshers’ Week

the culture of early lease signing has to stop

”

and half a term to get to know these people – and yet you’re preparing to sign a legally binding document to say you’re happy to spend another year in their company, come what may..? There seems little logic in making this genuinely important decision under time pressure, or under the influence of others’ pressure on you.

A recent Tab article tells us that “the annoying habits your housemates managed to hide throughout freshers will start to emerge the minute you move in” – succinctly put, that’s right. Surely you need to give it a term to check that your roommate’s 4am tooth brushing (or worse) habit isn’t a deal breaker. By then you’ll have decided whether you can put up with someone who, whilst supplying top chat at predrinks, appears not to have learnt the basic art of flushing the toilet.

As Livers’ Out Rep for St Cuthbert’s Society, it is my responsibility to ensure that students have the best advice about housing, and I wouldn’t back a scheme that I didn’t believe was giving realistic guidance. What we’re saying in Take Your Time to Sign is that the culture of early lease signing has to stop: for the sake of every student who spends a miserable year with housemates who are no longer their friends; for the sake of every set of housemates who have to live with mould, damp, poor house maintenance or difficult landlords because they signed the contract too quickly. Give yourself the chance to make the right decision and enjoy the experience of living out next year.

P

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Art must be more than merely sensationalist Planning to lose one’s virginity publically does not demonstrate performance art Madeleine Brown

Part of the developmental experience of studying at university is beginning to question our ideas and traditions, and learning to communicate with each other, a process by which we realise that we have shared interests and concerns about our society.

Students are in the unique position of often being asked to reflect on the future challenges of their society. And as young, free, confident individuals, we are known for our innovative and sometimes downright outrageous attempts to draw attention to whatever topical issue has temporarily engaged our interest.

Recently, Clayton Pettet, a nineteen-year-old art student at Central St. Martins, has announced his plans for his ‘performance art project’ that he reckons will receive rave reviews for challenging contemporary perceptions of sexuality. The project, ‘Art School Stole My Virginity’, features Pettet having sex with his partner for the first time in front of a gallery of 50

to 100 spectators, followed by a Question and Answer session.

Although the performance is part of a graded school project, Pettet’s underlying desire to execute such a piece probably extends much further than mere mark grabbing. (It will be interesting to see the grading criteria for this project, and whether or not sheer exhibitionism will compensate for insufficient development of ideas). He claims that the purpose of his piece is to draw attention to the cultural perception of “virginity”, which has become “heteronormative” in its definition. He also aims to challenge associated traditional views, opening up an “interesting debate” about wider issues concerning gender and sexuality. “My piece isn’t a statement as much as it is a question.” Pettet asks, “Is virginity even real?”

Hesupposedlyfirstconceived the idea for this piece aged 16 when his peers were beginning to lose their virginities as part of their sexual development. Pettet,

on the other hand, decided to make better use of his own, saving it for “altruistic” purposes in his art. However, many have questioned whether this planned piece actually constitutes “a r t ”,

leading us back to the age-old philosophical debate: what is art, anyway?

If art is the production of visuallypleasing aesthetics, requiring some degree of skill and experience on the part of the artist, then no, this performance does not qualify.

But if we take a more modern conception of art, meriting it on concept, ideas and the confrontation of convention, then Pettet’s piece will definitely succeed in achieving the shock factor now typical of contemporary artistic practices. Personally, I think it’s a great shame that the conception of Visual Arts has degenerated from the highly-esteemed rigorous academic pursuit of the past to the publicity-driven, sensationalist, commercial model of the contemporary art world.

Illustration: Cressida Peever

Furthermore, Pettet has received heavy criticism from social groups.

A spokeswoman for the Lesbian and Gay Christian movement has termed the project a “stunt” that degrades “the special relationship of sex between loving partners.” I would be inclined to go further, and identify the work as essentially an act of pornography (interestingly, the online dictionary defines pornography as obscene visual material ‘having little or no artistic merit’.).

Although our society in general disapproves of pornography for its core values and the detrimental implications it has in society, I wouldn’t be completely averse to its use in art to challenge social norms. However, I think Pettet’s piece is naïve and confused, his concept lacking sufficient reflection and development to justify the use of such a contentious and potentially offensive medium. It would seem that the predominant motive behind his planned performance is more a desperate, sensationalist attempt to make his name, attract unwarranted attention, and proclaim his “message” to the world. Alas, another unfortunate product of the contemporary art world.

Legislation would force professionals to speak up New ideas to prosecute professionals failing to report child abuse marks progress Ellie de la Bedoyere

The ex-director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has reopened the floodgates on opinion surrounding the way society deals – or, more importantly, fails to deal – with child abuse. In the BBC’s Panaroma programme, Mr Starmer called for mandatory reporting of child abuse, proposing that professionals working in close contact with children who do not report child abuse suspicions should face prosecution. However, quite clearly they do not offer sufficient protection, and it is naive to assume otherwise. Take a look at a few of the famous cases recently reported – the victims (Baby P, Daniel Pelka and Keanu Williams) or the newest member on the predator list, Jimmy

Savile – these are not just cases of horrific child abuse, but also cases of long-standing neglect at the hands of the professionals that surrounded each child. Liz Dux, of law firm Slater & Gordon, representing 60 of Savile’s victims, believes that mandatory reporting could have made Savile’s crimes known to the police as early as 1964, and that without changes to the law, “we risk another Savile case.”

These are just the obvious cases of institutions failing children and by implication, allowing the continuation of their abuse; let’s not forget the countless cases that slip past the public eye.

I do not readily advocate anything that lies in the margins of a ‘Big Brother’ state – i.e. where a community transforms from ‘neighbourhood watch’ to a collection of ‘state spies’ – leaving people afraid to do or think anything. In the case of child abuse, what we want to avoid is a situation where suspicions are rashly

reported, healthy families are torn apart and everyone tiptoes around each other nervously, fearing the punitive power of their neighbours.

However, Keir Starmer is hardly proposing the renewal of Stalin’s totalitarian state. Instead, Mr Starmer recommends that professionals who suspect child abuse and fail to report it should be prosecuted. This does not make reporting suspicions a legal obligation for all of society.

If someone who works with a child in such a position of authority, purposefully or accidentally overlooks child abuse they should be legally reprimanded: to purposefully or negligently disregard signs of abuse is a case of neglect. Although such negligence may not be a criminal offence, it is certainly criminal. If a parent or guardian is failing, then who else is looking out for that child other than a teacher, a social worker, or a doctor?

Who else is in close enough proximity to a child, and professionally trained

to spot signs of abuse? Undeniably, there is already an unwritten social and moral responsibility that figures of authority have towards children in their care, so why not stretch it to a legal responsibility and establish this as the first, and most effective, barricade to sustained child abuse? We would merely be enshrining in legislation what should already happen.

This article does not intend to point a finger of blame at these professionals – that would be entirely unreasonable. Firstly, abuse is not always obvious. Secondly, it is unfair to blame someone for being hesitant about potentially destroying a family based on a niggling feeling or suspicion. While mandatory reporting is, of course, not the sole answer, it does remove that crucial hesitation by taking away the individual’s choice about reporting their suspicions and responsibility for that decision, as it would become a legal obligation.

Whatever your opinion about this

proposed legislation, it is undeniable that in every one of these cases an adult in a professional capacity close to that child has failed. They have either failed to notice, or even worse, have failed to report what they have noticed. There are certainly a number of factors within this, including an overstretched, underfunded state education system which means that teachers are unable to give children the individual attention they need. The same is true the equally overstretched, underfunded, bureaucratic disaster that is Social Services.

I do not suggest mandatory reporting is a solution, only a step in the right direction. Those who may have previously hesitated to act on suspicions would be forced to. Those who might not have wholly engaged with their responsibility to notice child abuse will have to. And, if it is clarity that the Department of Education advocates, nothing makes something clearer than punitive legislation.

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Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

Brits abroad should not have to pay higher fees The Government is putting expats returning to the UK for study at a disadvantage

Richard Morgan

One of the things that makes me proud to be British is our education system. In the UK, a kid from the wrong side of town who works hard can find himself studying at the best academic institutions in the world. This is all made possible by our belief that everyone should have the opportunity of higher education and access the ladders of opportunity to a better life in our society.

Yet what our government seems to forget is that this principle should not exclude any British students – even those living overseas.

To be classified as a ‘Home Student’ paying UK fees (and the right to loans for tuition and maintenance costs), the government requires the student to have resided for the past 3 years as an ‘ordinarily resident’ in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, another EEA state, or Switzerland; criteria an overseas Brit outside these countries does not meet.

Yet, British students abroad do not seem to meet the definition of an ‘International Student’ either.

Her Majesty’s Royal Revenue and Customs department defines an international student as “someone who has come to the UK to study and will be in the UK only for the period of their studies.” A UK passport holder cannot meet this definition as they can stay in the UK as long as they want. Nevertheless, Parliament groups them with International students.

Currently, the government’s classification means that many Brits, re-

gardless of whether they have lived in the UK for the majority of their lives, find it difficult to come back home to the UK to study as the international fees are too high and they are denied access to student loans.

The second component of the government rules on access to student loans is that the applicant’s ‘ordinary residence’ must have been in the UK for the last three years.

The immediate family of overseas applicants must own or rent a house in the UK and the student must spend 183 days of the year in the UK. Practically, this means applicants have to have gone to a British Secondary school for the last three years to receive a loan. In a global economy where parents work overseas, the government rules have become outdated.

The government’s defence of its policy is that it prevents expatriates sponging off the UK system and then flocking back to the other country when it is most convenient.

“

We need to remind those in Westminster that we want to invest in all our young people.

”

This could be remedied by charging higher interest rates if students leave and fail to use their degree to contribute to the UK economy. Their

The starting rate for intetnational fees for 2013 is £13,300

Photograph: Images Money

argument remains discriminatory to Brits overseas, as students who have been living in the UK for the last three years before they get their loan have never been prevented from leaving the country after they complete their degree.

The government also argues that only the households who are currently paying UK taxes should have access to the Student Loan system.

Yet for UK students who have recently returned to the UK with their parents who are currently back paying UK taxes, the fee status remaining international seems even more unjust.

According to the logic of the government, we should start refusing loans to students from households who do not pay taxes, or do not pay

rights of access to government loans. It is wrong to take away the right the student would have had if their family had remained in the UK. It is also unjust for the parents who should be free to live and work across the world without having to worry about affecting their child’s status as a UK ‘Home Student.’

Part of being British is our love of learning and our faith in the investment of our young people’s education. We need to remind those in Westminster that we want to invest in all our young people.

what they consider to be enough.

The problem with this argument is that it punishes the students – the group who have nothing to do with taxation yet.

Others would argue that young British people who have lived outside the EU should just wait, get their degree from the country they live in and then move back for jobs.

However, the reason why some 270,000 international students come here to study is that there simply are not many universities like Durham in the world. Not only are our UK institutions outstanding places of learning, they provide students with a unique and unforgettable experience.

The choice parents make to move country should not affect the child’s

P

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Germany’s third gender will incite discrimination Although the new law recognises intersex people they will still face stigma daily

Kenneth Chan

Germany has become the first European country to allow parents to leave the gender of newborns blank on birth certificates when gender is ambiguous. Many hope that this new legislation will effectively create a new category recognising the separate but equal status of ‘intersex’ people – the term for those born with characteristics of both genders, due to about sixty identified sexual development conditions.

However, this third category really is an unprotected non-status. The

law states that if the child can be assigned to neither the female nor the male sex, then the child has to be entered into the register of births without such a specification. For these babies, rights like marriage and basic services like insurance do not apply.

There is immense pressure on parents to decide on the gender of the baby, often resulting in the baby undergoing all kinds of cosmetic gender-reassigning genital surgeries. Yet, since according to current legal practice, the gender status of babies can only be defined medically, the only way for parents to attain basic rights for their children and avoid discrimination is by having them undergo these ‘normalising’ genital surgeries.

Biological sex exists along a spec-

trum of numerous possibilities, as evidenced by the many intersex people whose looks can be predominantly male, female or often a mixture. Some intersex people eventually identify as female or male, and some don’t identify with either.

When decisions are made by doctors or parents to conduct surgery on a newborn, the baby’s own gender identity is taken out of their hands for the purpose of checking a box.

Ironically, by forcing babies to conform to rigid categories of ‘normal’ genders, we deprive them of the opportunity to live normal lives. For many, these surgeries are a mutilation. In fact, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture recently called for a universal ban on these surgeries.

While the new law shows recognition of intersex people and the fact that intersex people face discrimination from the moment of birth, it does nothing to improve the lives of these people or help them integrate.

There definitely needs to be action taken to ensure genital surgeries are only done based on the decision of the intersex individual themselves as legally consenting adults, or at least as individuals with formed gender identities, but even this alone will be unhelpful to individuals shunned by society.

At the root of the issue are the fixed societal perceptions of gender: boys like blue, wear trousers, have short hair, play physical sports and don’t cry; girls like pink, wear ponytails and skirts, and bake cakes. Al-

though we can easily recognise the artificialness of these stereotypes in defining the differences between men and women, this recognition does not go far enough in breaking the social boundaries between physical gender differences.

Some would go as far as to say that just like other things we are born with, such as sexual orientation, birth gender should not be mandatorily indicated on official documentation.

Idealistic visualisations of a society free from gender aside, the word we are looking for here is, as usual in the course of modern human history, ‘acceptance.’

P

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ASHES SPECIAL Exclusive interview with...

ONES TO WATCH

by Nick Friend

Shane Watson

Simon Hughes

Channel 5’s ‘Cricket Analyst,’ respected author and ex-Palatinate talks to Dominic Thurlow-Wood about his career, Durham, and the upcoming series When did your career take off?

In the summer of 1980, after my first year at university at Hild Bede College, I managed to break into the first team at Middlesex County Cricket Club. At the time this was a major achievement, as the team comprised ten international players and me. I was awarded Man of the Match in the televised quarter final of the Gillette Cup, which enhanced my reputation, with the team going on to win the double of the Cup and the County Championship later that summer.

After the season had finished I returned to “Butlins,” the name by which university was known by Mike Gatting, the Middlesex Captain at the time. Due to the successes of the team and the subsequent bonuses, I was, for a short while, dubbed “the best paid student in the country” by the press.

How important was your cricket at Durham University?

Playing cricket for the University was a fantastic experience as the whole team was extremely driven to gain first-class status for Durham.

In my time, this was a privilege that was held only by Oxford and Cambridge and we wanted to establish ourselves amongst the elite universities. The matches were very competitive and the extra training definitely helped me to improve as a cricketer.

How did you find the transition from Middlesex to Durham?

Having spent twelve fantastic years at Middlesex, I left to join Durham [County Cricket Club] in 1992 and spent two seasons with the county. Durham was undergoing an exciting period as they had their first-

class county status accepted in 1991 and 1992 was their debut season in the County Championship.

We succeeded in putting Durham on the cricketing map as the county attracted established players such as Ian Botham, Geoff Cook and myself to play in the first two years...we played with the philosophy that the older players would take any flak if the team lost to help the younger players to develop. At the time we had Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison in our academy so the strategy turned out to be successful.

How did you find Durham’s social scene?

Those two years at Durham were one long party, due in part, to Botham’s influence; however, the people in the area are so caring and interested that I look back with fond recollections at my time at both university and DCCC. I’ve enjoyed the delights of Klute a few times over the years and I remember having a few excellent lock-ins with ‘Beefy’ in the Dun Cow Inn. Who was your fiercest opponent?

The man that sticks out in my memory from a batting point of view is certainly Sir Viv Richards. He would walk to the crease looking like he was half asleep and then proceed to smash the bowlers to every part of the ground with devastating shots and great timing. There were moments when every possible fielder was stationed on the boundary and the Sir Viv would still find a way past them.

What’s your prediction for The Ashes this winter?

England deserved to win emphati-

cally in the summer series. However, this wasn’t necessarily due to their brilliance but rather the fact that Australia were very ordinary. One thing that sets England aside from their rivals is that their bowlers are especially good at biding their time and pouncing at a crucial moment.

Apart from Ian Bell, all England’s batsmen had poor series and the unit will have to be more prolific to repeat their recent success down-under.

This winter, I would expect an Australian team that is prepared to show a greater fighting spirit in front of its own fans. Having said this, if England play well they have the individual talent to win any match and a bowling unit that is certainly capable of taking 20 wickets.

Prediction: England 3-1 Australia

Tremlett or Finn?

Without a doubt, both bowlers have the pace and bounce needed to make the most of the typical Australian wicket, however, I think with England selection, there is a perception that a fast bowler loses his edge after the age of 30. At 24 compared to Tremlett’s 32, Steven Finn would therefore be a more percentage choice and I think he will be picked, yet Tremlett had a fantastic series

last time England toured down-under and has experience on his side.

Does this mean Boyd Rankin only has a part to play in the ODIs? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Boyd Rankin played a part in both the One-Day Internationals and the Test Series. He has been extremely impressive in his previous games and benefits from an extra yard of pace compared to most bowlers, so will therefore be a prized asset for England in future years.

What is your opinion on DRS? Is it fundamentally flawed?

DRS (Decision Review System) is definitely not fundamentally flawed, in fact, it’s extremely important in order to avoid umpiring howlers.

However, I’m not saying that it was a raging success in the home series.

Hot Spot was, in truth, totally useless and needs to be improved dramatically if it is to be a help rather than a hindrance to the third umpire.

The key to DRS is that the third umpire understands the technology.

There is the potential for the umpire to have independent control of the replays rather than having to rely on the host broadcaster and this would make decision making much easier.

Furthermore, if Snickometer is involved in future series then the potential for third umpire mistakes will be significantly reduced.

A final word on Durham Durham is a special place and I would advise every student to look around and appreciate the fact that the city and county are unique.

Three wickets in the first 90 minutes left the home side struggling at 1025 by Lunch. Enter Paul Collingwood who played perhaps the innings of his career; in 245 balls he made just 74 runs, but no England fan really cared about the lack of runs. The final half-hour saw Anderson and Panesar, perhaps two of the worst batsmen to ever play for England, delay and prod their way to one of the most celebrated draws in history. England went on to win the series 2-1.

Example 2: 2010/11, Brisbane…

England were soon on the ropes in the First Test; the tourists were bowled out for 260 in the first innings, and entered their second on day four 221 runs behind after

centuries from Hussey and Haddin.

With two days remaining, it looked unlikely that any outcome other than an Australian win was possible. Enter Alastair Cook, and the most incredible run of form perhaps ever seen. The opener, who was very nearly dropped after a poor summer, scored 235* to take England to safety. He went on to average over 100 throughout the series, placing him as one of the England’s best batsmen ever as England won the series 3-1.

Example 3: 2013, Trent Bridge… the worst Australian team ever? It didn’t look like it after day one; England were all out for 215 and then Ashton Agar came to the crease. 98 runs from the number eleven ques-

tioned everything that had been said leading up to that series. All of a sudden, we weren’t so sure about that 5-0 whitewash. In the end England won that test by 14 runs, and the series 3-0, but not before several fans had turned the TV off in disgust.

The preparation for this Ashes series has not been ideal; the second warm-up game was almost rainedoff completely, and the first match posed questions about the potency of the England bowling attack.

And so, like any Ashes series, we just don’t know which England team will turn at ‘zero hour.’ All I know is that, just in case, I’ll be staying away from the back pages over the next five days.

“Those two years at Durham were one long party, due in part to Botham’s influence...”

Photograph: Cricket United

Don’t look: it’s the first Test…

Maddy Sears

Watching the England cricket team can be difficult at the best of times; for much of the 1990s fans watched Atherton et al. with baited breath, often from safely behind the sofa.

Despite England having won the previous three Ashes series, a feat that should let us finally watch in comfort, the first Test still remains difficult viewing.

Example 1: 2009, Cardiff… England were 20-2 on the start of day five, 219 runs behind and needing to bat out the day to secure a draw.

As Simon Kerrigan found out, on his day, Watson is arguably cricket’s most box-office attraction. Brutal on anything short and deadly powerful on anything over-pitched, Watson could be the difference between the sides. If England can stop him from making big runs, they’ll go a long way to retaining the urn.

For all of Watson’s ability, he has never quite fulfilled his potential.

By planting his front foot, he makes himself a huge lbw candidate.

Similarly, his hard hands mean that catchers are always in play. His running between the wickets is nigh on diabolical. Most worrying though is a troublesome hamstring which may stop him from bowling and in doing so, damage the side’s balance.

Mitchell Johnson

When he’s on it, he’s on it. There are no half-measures with Mitchell Johnson. Bowling at 90mph regularly and getting the ball swinging late into the right-hander, if he can find consistency as he did in the ODI series in England in September, Australia may have a not-so-secret weapon. When he’s off it, he’s off it. He’s never shown himself to be the toughest, mentally. The Barmy Army will lay into him and much will depend on his reaction. If he starts hurling 90mph wides down the leg-side, his selection is futile.

Alastair Cook

The man’s a machine. He scored 766 runs and broke all sorts of records the last time England were here. A calm head as captain, his role seems to have improved his batting further. He’s due a big series after, by his standards, a poor return in the summer Ashes. Harsh on anything short, the bouncy Aussie pitches seem to suit him.

The Australian bowlers did a good job on Cook in England and there is suspicion around the world that left-arm seamers are a weakness of his - an area that Mitchell Johnson could exploit. Shane Warne’s outspoken view is that Cook is a rubbish captain – a winning one but still a rubbish and negative one.

Whether Warne’s trash-talk gets to him will have a huge impact on the outcome of the series.

Stuart Broad

Broad is an impact bowler – someone who’ll be ineffective for a while but in 20 minutes can change a game. His batting is similar. He has a huge psychological advantage over Clarke and ripped the Aussies apart in the fourth test. Broad’s record in Australia stands at 2 tests and 2 wickets. He must do better than that if England are to retain the urn this time. Couple this pressure with the undoubted abuse that he’ll receive on the back of the walking incident at Trent Bridge, Broad will be in for one hell of a ride. Much will depend on how he copes with his role as pantomime villain.

18

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Men’s basketball round up New boys Chad’s give Ustinov A a tough encounter Samuel Ross After three matches this season, St. Mary’s have cemented their position on the top of the Premiership with a 3-0 record and a very favourable point difference.

However, unbeaten Ustinov A remain in second whilst their B team are in third.

At the other end of the table, Grey have climbed out of the relegation zone with their victory, but Collingwood having lost to Hild Bede have slipped into bottom with a third successive defeat.

Most of the eleven teams competing for glory in this year’s Premiership campaign are known commodities; including Ustinov College who hope to defend their championship season from last year.

Ustinov kicked off their defense in convincing fashion, beating St. Cuthbert’s 71-22. Next on the schedule was a duel with league unknowns, St. Chad’s. After having an undefeated Division 1 campaign last season Chad’s achieved promo-

tion and were keen to carry on this upward trend. Indeed, they certainly entered the Premiership with a bang, defeating Collingwood 38-36 and giving them momentum and confidence going into the battle with perennial powerhouse, Ustinov.

In a classic David versus Goliath type match with two teams expecting victory, the stage was set for a thriller. With adrenaline flowing, Chad’s managed to take an early lead against their foes.

However, this slight lead was quickly erased by Ustinov and the game became tightly contested and extremely physical.

The teams matched each other shot for shot and, when Ustinov were eventually able to open up a third quarter lead, Chad’s fought back to tie the game up.

Four quarters proved not long enough to decide a victor as the score was tied 33-33 at the end of regulation time. Chad’s were able to keep Ustinov to a season-low 33 points after four quarters thanks to scrappy, physical defense that forced Ustinov into taking jump-shots instead of getting the ball in the post, where they had a considerable size advantage.

However, in overtime Ustinov

proved a little too much for Chad’s, who eventually lost 46-39. With the win, Ustinov moved to second in the league table, but the most interesting story to come out of the match is the potential of this St. Chad’s team.

This is a confident squad that starts three freshers in their rotation and does not appear intimidated by any challenge.

Look for Chad’s to make some noise in the Premiership this season.

Their next challenge is against John Snow College who currently shares a similar 1-1 record. It should reveal even more about this promising Chad’s squad. Meanwhile, Ustinov A next plays Ustinov B in an exciting collegiate “civil war” tie.

Grey clinch close battle against Mildert Justin Cheuk Perhaps the most enthralling basktetball game of the weekend was Grey’s duel with Van Mildert which ended in a 38-34 victory for Grey.

With both teams boasting numerous shooters in their ranks, a shootout was eagerly anticipated.

Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE Grey opened the game with strong performances from their forwards.

Exploiting Mildert’s lack of size on the low block with an efficient low post offense; they jumped into an early lead.

While Mildert could not offer a similar scoring threat in the painted area against Grey’s stout interior defense; their accuracy from midrange and beyond kept the game close at halftime.

In the third quarter, Grey executed their half-court offense to lethal perfection.

With a smooth and effective passing game from the high post, they linked their dominant low post display with successive uncontested three-pointers.

Mildert could only manage to stop the three-point barrage with an overly-vigorous perimeter defense; the inevitable gaps in the paint this strategy brought provided Grey with easier interior shots to take a commanding lead.

As fatigue creeped in, lapses in concentration and sloppy ball handling from the Grey playmakers gave Mildert breakout layups, threepointers and hopes of orchestrating a comeback.

Nevertheless, Grey had done enough as they promptly extinguished Mildert hopes by slowing the pace to close out the game.

Women’s Premiership Hockey

Hild Bede dominate St. Mary’s with impressive performance Emily Beech

Hild Bede A looked like a well practised outfit as they brought home a 3-1 victory over St. Mary’s A in this year’s wide open Premiership league.

Hild Bede were quick to gain a firm grasp on the game; forcing a short corner in the opening minutes of play. However, it was put wide by the the Hild Bede injector arriving at the post.

This was the tale of much of the first half as chance after chance went begging for Hild Bede. It took Mary’s a whole seven minutes before they even ventured out of their own half as Hild Bede continued to dominate, especially down the right wing.

When Mary’s finally did manage to construct an offensive drive it was ineffective. The Mary’s striker beat her defender to find herself in plenty of space in the D. Perhaps it was the sudden surprise at a chance on goal that meant the reverse flick could not be directed to either side of the keeper.

Hild Bede soon resumed their dominant position by narrowly missing a few more chances; one of which from another short corner smashed at the top of the D. Finally Hild Bede got the break -through, starting with a good pass cross-pitch to the right. It initially

looked like the next pass into the D could have been delivered earlier but nevertheless the ball found its way to the back post where an excellently positioned Letitia Bailey fired it home.

Mary’s responded straight away by launching a dangerous counter attack to put the ball in the back of the goal. However, the equaliser was disallowed as the umpire saw the ball hit a Mary’s foot on the way through.

No sooner had the onlookers gathered the goal did not stand that Hild Bede had made their way to the opposite end for Christina Witter to score.

Hild Bede, now taking every chance on offer made it 3-0 soon after when a Mary’s 16 yard hit out was intercepted. It was central midfielder Alice Gallop who scored off a strong sweeping shot at the edge of

Photograph: Emily Beech the D. Gallop’s goal was thoroughly deserved having played superbly throughout the first half.

The second half started in a similar vein with Mary’s struggling to keep possession in midfield. However, against the run of play Mary’s managed to pull one back. This was largely due to the impressive pace exhibited by right winger Katie Pickering, who should have been utilised far more than she was in the match.

The ball was crossed in front of goal for a Laura Seddon tap in.

Mary’s couldn’t build on this momentum as Hild Bede continued to threaten till the final whistle. Short corners came thick and fast forcing the Mary’s keeper to make three consecutive saves. Other chances went begging with air shots and a lack of

consistency at the post.

Elsewhere in the Premiership, Hatfield A managed a close 1-0 victory against Castle A whilst Ustinov A defeated St. Cuthbert’s 2-1. Mary’s now sit bottom of the league and look very much like relegation candidates having lost every game thus far.

Hatfield held onto the top spot on goal difference having only lost one game. Close on their heels is Ustinov A – two goals behind on goal difference due to a poorer defensive record.

Meanwhile, in Division 1 the battle for promotion is heating up. It’s Van Mildert who top the table having lost none of their matches thus far.

St. Aidan’s follow closely behind having lost to Mildert a couple of weeks previously. The next meet between these two colleges will be crucial in determining the winner of Division 1.

The last fixture saw Van Mildert take home a 2-1 victory despite long spells of attacking play by Aidan’s in the second half.

Mildert’s left back put in a superb performance to deny Aidan’s best efforts, but with some key players returning to the Aidan’s side for the next fixture, it will certainly be one to watch.

Meanwhile, St. John’s and Hatfield B, both sitting on six points, are certainly not out of the race for promotion just yet.

St. Mary’s on form against Stepheson Justin Cheuk League leaders St. Mary’s travelled to Stockton with hopes of keeping their unbeaten record intact. However, they faced a Stephenson team buoyed by their runaway victory against Grey last fortnight.

Against good competition, Mary’s showcased their championship credentials by racing out into an early lead, with fluid ball movement and accurate outside shooting on full display.

On defense, Mary’s’ aggressive zone proved extremely disruptive and turned most of Stephenson attempts to attack into turnovers and fast-break opportunities.

With the link between their guards and forwards severed; Stephenson resorted to hoisting three-pointers on almost every offensive possession.

While a strong shooting performance in the second quarter from them kept the game interesting, the 53-29 result was never really in doubt and Mary’s were eventually the deserving winners. After the game, the captain of Mary’s was extremely pleased to win away in Stockton and hopes to remain undefeated until at least Christmas.

Novice Cup postponed until further notice Emily Beech This year’s Novice Cup, scheduled to take place on the 23rd and 24th November, has been postponed due to heavy rainfall.

The high water levels have consistently prevented outings on the river this term meaning novice crews have not had ample opportunity to train for the event.

Lizzie Fletcher, one of the Cup’s organisers, apologised for the delay when announcing the news on the event’s Facebook page, saying: “the descision was made purely with regard to safety.”

It is unknown as to when the event will be rescheduled, but it is likely not to take place until next term.

The news certainly comes as no surprise to many, as too often the Novice Cup is moved to a later date, begging the question whether the event should be permenantly moved.

Last year, however, the event proceeded despite heavy snowfall.

Novice Cup is known, even loved, for its dramatic crashes, crab catching and often hopeless rowing, but it seems rowing fans will have to wait just that little while longer for the excellent spectacle which is the Novice Cup.

PALATINATE | Thursday 21st November 2013

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN The Ski and Snowboard Club shone in Edinburgh in the BUCS Dryslope Championships, with Immy Yardley finishing in the top ten, Jojo Carew in the top 25 and the team slalom making the final eight – a big development from last year.

The Martial Arts Club of Ju Jitsu established themselves over the same weekend in the BUCS Atemi competition where two of our novices reached the semi-finals.

A yellow belt narrowly missed a medal in the final and a brown belt won gold in his respective category.

Unfortunately, these outstanding results for the Palatinates were accompanied by some predictable defeats in our Championship and Conference Cup games; for the second week running a number of our teams found the going very tough.

For many of our Premier League teams however, we are now half way through our programme and at this moment in time we have 10 teams sitting clear or joint top of their Premiership.

After a tough start to the season, the Men’s Rugby League 1st team proved their potential, thrashing Hull 2nds 68-0! Both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey 2nd teams secured the top position of North One with the men defeating Leeds 1st 2-1 and the women defeating Northumbria 1st 2-1.

Fencing had a marvellous week.

Our Women’s 1st team achieved a convincing victory over York winning 135-46 and our 2nd team beat Bradford 1st team 131-112.

The Men’s sides were also successful with the 1st team remaining top of their Premiership with a convincing 135-97 win over Manchester whilst the 2nds stayed top of North Two beating Durham 3rd team.

After a disappointing loss last week, Women’s basketball 1st team stormed to the top of the Premiership beating Northumbria 1st team 73-45 and the 2nd team overcame Sunderland 1st team 72-33.

The Men’s 1st team recovered from their surprise defeat with an 82-60 win over Northumbria to remain joint top of the Premiership.

Ten Club Captains, Tom Newman, the College Sport Manager and I were welcomed by the Army last weekend for a Leadership Training Forum.

Assault courses, leadership seminars, psychology exercises and a black-tie dinner took place thanks to a new partnership established between Team Durham and the Northumbrian Officers’ Training Corps.

Hannah Lowther

Follow @TeamDurham on Twitter and Facebook

19 www.palatinate.org.uk

Fencing flying high Maddy Sears In terms of impressive form at Maiden Castle of late, you need look no further than the Fencing Club.

The Men’s 1st team continue to dominate the Premier North division, sitting top after four wins out of four. Their latest victory came away winners 135-96 against Manchester.

Indeed, only one side has managed to even break 100 points against the leading Palatinate side this year, let alone defeat them; a good sign considering that they have now played all their rivals once this season.

In the Men’s 2nd camp it is exactly the same situation; four from four, and sitting top of the Northern 2B division. Last week saw the 2nd team take on Durham’s 3rd team, with the

expected result; the 2nd team ran home comfortable winners, 135-64.

In what turned out to be a superb week for the club, the Women’s 1st and 2nd teams also recorded victories; both of which were their first of the season.

The Women’s 1st appear to have

finally settled into life in the Premier North division, after defeating bottom side York 1st 135-46.

It was a much closer affair for the Women’s 2nd, who came through a tough away tie 135-112 against Bradford 1st.

Photograph: Alice Tomkins

DUSSC put on the style Luke Stuart-Smith Lucy Harris Last weekend, forty members of DUSSC travelled to Edinburgh for the annual British University Dry-Slope Championships. BUDS sees 1100 skiers and snowboarders descend on an element-exposed hill outside Edinburgh, in order to compete in a range of disciplines from technical slalom racing to the spectacular big air competition.

Friday morning saw the competition kick off with two BUCS individual events, the Ski Slalom and Snowboard Giant Slalom. In the former, Immy Yardley led the Durham girls down in style and finished in the top 10 and Jojo Carew was placed in the top 25.

In the men’s race, captain, Michael Sills was unfortunate to miss a gate, which resulted in his promising run

being discarded. Luke Stuart-Smith led the Durham boys and finished in 35th in a field of 400 male competitors.

The snowboarders performed well and Tom Heath finished as the highest placed Durham competitor.

Our freestylers put on an excellent show in the slope-style qualifiers throwing back flips and 360 hand drags, however unfortunately, the standard was incredibly high so despite an awe-inspiring display they did not qualify for the final.

Saturday started with the formidable Hill End Giant Slalom, known to strike fear into even the most experienced racer. Starting 450m above Edinburgh with a number of tight turns and steep drops, this course provided a stern challenge for the Durham racers.

Jojo Carew produced the performance of the weekend and finished in

the top 20 in her race. In the Men’s event, the previous evening’s entertainment was perhaps responsible for a number of spectacular falls from Durham’s participants.

The afternoon saw two Durham teams go head-to-head against other universities and battle it out in the team, dual slalom. After racing against some very strong opposition teams including Exeter, the first team was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Loughborough who later went on to claim a bronze medal. Saturday finished with the big air, where despite pulling a huge back flip and almost landing a rodeo 540, (it is as impressive as it sounds) freestyle captain Tom McAlpine, just missed out on qualification.

simply blew Northumbria away, with the game finishing 62-80.

The side now sit joint top of the Northern Premier division, level points with Sheffield Hallam- the only team to beat them so far this season.

A review of the Men’s 2nd team this season makes for very contrasting reading. While their 1st team counterparts are sampling the dizzy heights atop the Premier North, the 1 string side find themselves bottom of the Northern 2B league, without a win in four games.

Last Wednesday night saw the 2nd team on the end of a hefty defeat, Sunderland 1st’s beating them 75-46.

At this stage in the season, it looks as though the Men’s 2nd will have a relegation battle on their hands, taking on fellow strugglers Leeds 1st last night.

The Women’s 1st team, not want-

ing the boys to upstage them, are having a super season of their own.

Their 73-45 victory against nearest rivals Northumbria 1st, means they are also currently sitting at the top of the Women’s Premier Northern Basketball competition after four wins out of a possible five.

As for the Women’s 2nd, they recorded their second win of the season in the Northern 2B division last week.

The game resulted in Durham giving bottom club Sunderland 1st an absolute drubbing, the final result finishing 72-23.

This result leaves the side in third place in the league behind Hull 1st and Leeds 1st.

All in all, a decent start by the Club makes it look as if it could be a really successful season for Durham, with both Northern Premier titles most definitely still in reach.

To get involved e-mail dusscsnow@ gmail.com or find us on facebook and twitter.

Basketball sides top of the tree Tom DiMaio

At the halfway point of the BUCS league, Durham University Basketball Club find themselves with two teams sitting top of their respective Premier North divisions Last week, the Men’s 1st team travelled to Northumbria on the back of their first defeat of the season, when they went down 79-83 in a tight encounter against Sheffield Hallam at Maiden Castle.

At one point it looked like it could be two losses in a row as the Palatinates fell behind 15-24 after the first quarter.

However, this resulted in the Durham side stepping up their game, winning the next quarter to close the gap to just one point at half time, 3435.

In the second half the Palatinates

Sport Sport in Brief AMERICAN FOOTBALL: The Durham Saints have opened up their season with two wins to sit top of the North Eastern Division. First was a 59-7 hammering of Sunderland, and then a tightly fought 14-12 win over Northumbria.

BADMINTON: The last two weeks have seen the Men’s 1st run out 8-0 winners on two occasions. In the Northern Conference Cup they defeated Northumbria 2nd. The Palatinates also sit top of the Northern 2B division after defeating bottom-side Leeds 2nd last week. The Women’s 1st are still winless this season after defeats to Leeds (1-7) and Leeds Metropolitan (3-5). These results leave them bottom of the Premier North division at the halfway point.

FOOTBALL: The Men’s 1st team lie midtable at the halfway point of the Premier North division. A good win at hom to Sheffield Hallam (2-1) could not be followed up, as the Palatinates went down 1-2 away to Northumbria.

The Women’s 1st continue to dominate the Premier North, their latest win was away to Leeds, 6-1. This followed a 4-0 victory against nearest rivals Nottingham Trent, and stretches their unbeaten run to five games.

HOCKEY: The Men’s 1st took a break last week, having beaten Nottingham 1st in their last game 6-1 to take them three points clear at the top of the Premier North. The Women’s 1st now look set to give up their BUCS title after losing two in a row, fisrt against Birmingham (20) and then at home to Loughborough (1-2).

LACROSSE: The Men’s 1st team continued their winning run, beating Sheffield at home (24-1) and away at Manchester (21-4). The side continue to dominate the Premier North, and now sit six points clear. The Women’s 1st are also sitting pretty on top of the Premier North after two further victories.

At Maiden Castle the Palatinates hammered Nottingham 24-2, while away to Newcastle Durham were run much closer, but still came out 14-2 winners.

RUGBY UNION: The Men’s 1st team maintained their unbeaten run and remain top of the Premier North largely thanks to the boot of Basil Strang, who saw them home to a tight 30-27 win against Northumbria. The Women’s 1st XV posted two strong wins against Nottingham (73-0) and Newcastle (37-7) to move up to second place in the Premier North division.

SQUASH: The Men’s 1st suffered to further losses, ending up 1-4 down against Leeds and Newcastle to lie fourth in the Northern 1A division.

The women’s 1st side have lost just two games this season, winning every league match 4-0 to sit top of the Northern 1A division. The team beat Leeds Metropolitan 2nd and Newcastle 1st most recently.

VOLLEYBALL: A mixed season continues for the Men’s 1st in the Northern 1A after winning at home to Lancaster (3-0) before falling 0-3 against Northumbria. The Women’s 1st lie second in the Northern 1A after beating Sheffield 3-0, but then also losing out against Northumbria.

Sport

Thursday 21st November 2013 | PALATINATE

University sport round-up All the latest news and results p. 19

College sport season so far

Men’s basketball and women’s hockey latest p. 18

Ashes special

Palatinate talks to Simon Hughes p. 17

Durham to take on England in MC Tie Maddy Sears

Team effort: Henry Goode, Barney Hodgkins, Finlay Milner, Peter Kealey of the Men’s 4th team Photograph: Jayne Oswald

Durham closing in on BUCS top spot Maddy Sears

The race for the BUCS title continues as Durham now sit just 17 points behind leaders Loughborough midway through the regular season.

The Palatinates lie well clear of nearest rivals Nottingham, with the gap now stretching to 183 points - a considerable margin in the league format.

Leading the way for the University are the Tennis Club who continue

Durham’s tennis success

- The club is the most successful in the University, holding 216 BUCS points, followed by Hockey on 206.

- 4 out of the club’s 8 teams currently sit top of their respective divisions.

- The women’s 1st team are top of the Premier North

P

for the latest sports news go to www.palatinate. org.uk

to be the most successful Durham sport, racking up 220 points, with four teams currently topping their respective divisions.

The women’s 1st team look like strong contenders for the national title this year, as they maintained their 100 per cent record last week with a 10-2 victory over strugglers Nottingham; the only defeat of the day coming in the number four singles match.

The team, led by number one Anastasia Putilina, face bottom side Leeds at home next week in what should be a comfortable victory.

Fresher Izzy Hearnshaw continues her incredible singles run for the Women’s 2nd team, now going four matches unbeaten.

Her performance was the standout of the side’s 8-4 loss to Loughborough 1st, which was their first defeat of the season in the Premier North.

Hearnshaw also won the latest University Tour event which took place at Leeds Metropolitan University, winning 27 games in a row at one point and confirming her potential to be one of the stars of University sport in the next few years.

The women’s 3rd and 4th teams have also enjoyed success, with the 3rd team winning four out of four,

and looking set to dominate the Northern 2B table.

Meanwhile in the same division, the 4th team recorded two excellent 6-6 draws against second teams from Leeds Metropolitan and Newcastle.

“Durham now sits just 17 points behind leaders Loughborough in BUCS”

The men’s 1st team currently sit second in the Premier North after suffering their first defeat of the season to Stirling 1st.

The Scottish side are undoubtedly a ‘tour de force’ in University tennis, with eight players currently holding World Rankings.

The Palatinates found it difficult to assess their opponents, with many of them only managing to compete during the second set, by which time it was too late.

The solitary win of the day came from the number one doubles pairing of Calin Paar and Jonny Binding who came through 6-2 6-4.

The men’s 2nd team came back from a disappointing loss in the pre-

vious round to record their first win of the season against Leeds Metropolitan.

Number one Henry Parocki, who arguably has one of the toughest roles in the club, had until this point been unlucky not to register a win despite playing well.

He secured his first win of the season after teaming up with Jack Keye to help the Palatinates to a 10-2 victory.

The men’s 3rd and 4th teams both recorded whitewash 12-0 wins in the latest round of fixtures against Sheffield 2nd and Newcastle 2nd, respectively.

The 3rd team will look to go clear at the top after facing nearest rivals Leeds Metropolitan 3rd this week, while the 4th team while also look to consolidate their position at the top of the Northern 3B division when they take on Leeds Metropolitan 4th.

BUCS Standings: Week 6

1. Loughborough 1720 2. Durham 1703 3. Bath 1520 4. Nottingham 1490.5 5. Exeter 1459 *information correct at time of printing

Durham’s finest lacrosse players will have the chance to demonstrate their talent on a national level, as they take on the senior England women’s side at Maiden Castle this Saturday.

The England side, led by Coach Alex Anderson, is being entertained by the Palatinates as part of one of their four annual training camps.

Durham Captain Loulou Rowlands said: “It’s a good opportunity to see where we are compared to and compared against the best of the best.”

This is the first time that the national side have taken on a Durham team, and the Palatinates are in good form; they have now won five out of five BUCS fixtures, and are currently sitting top of the Premier North division.

It will certainly be a challenging fixture for the University side, as several of their top players will be wearing the red and white of England, rather than their usual Palatinate purple.

Head Coach, Anna Sody, told Palatinate: “We are very much looking forward to having this practice weekend here as it shows Team Durham’s on-going support of the development of lacrosse in England.

“We are looking to play the best of the best and at this point we see Team England as a great match.

“My expectation is that we have fun, play our hearts out and keep our composure and play our game despite the fact that we are a few players short of our original squad.

“We need this competition to bring us to the next level and I hope the girls will rise to the challenge. If all our goals are met, we hopefully will win.”

There will be exclusive coverage of the game by Palatinate, with a live twitter feed of the match available on @palatiSPORT on Saturday 23rd November.

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