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Thursday 7th March 2019 | No. 816
Visual Arts looks at combatting racism in the art industry
We hear from Durham alumni for International Women’s Day
Anger over pay cap for Modern Languages academics
Naomi Clarke Deputy News Editor Staff in the Modern Languages department have expressed their anger over how their pay is capped by the University. Grade 6 Staff in the Modern Language and Cultures department (MLAC) and The Centre for Foreign Language Study (CFLS)
have their pay capped at £32,236, which is £7,170 below a secondary school classroom teacher’s upper wage in England. Top Grade 6 University staff thus earn the equivalent to a mid-level experienced classroom teacher. MLAC and CFLS Grade 6 academics are called ‘Assistant Teaching Fellows’. They told Palatinate that despite the job title, they had
never ‘assisted’ during their time in Durham. Their job involves coordinating credit-bearing modules, developing the curriculum and setting examinations. These staff are all mostly fulltime and permanent. Grade 6 is used elsewhere within Durham University to classify laboratory technicians and assistants. A CFLS teacher explained to Palatinate that when they arrived
five years ago, the distinction between a Grade 6 and 7 in job description was clearer. It distinguished a Grade 6 would deliver lessons and feedback and Grade 7 would set examination and develop material. This distinction has become blurred as the requirements for Grade 6 have now come to encompass these extra roles without a revaluation of the role or
Durham freshers declaring mental illness up 94%
Poor food hygiene at popular Durham restaurants
The figures soar above the national average of 74% over 4 years Jack Taylor News Editor The number of Durham freshers declaring mental illnesses has risen by 94% over the past four years. Figures obtained by The Times show a national 74% rise between 2014-15 and 2017-18 in students stating they had conditions such as depression or anxiety prior to starting their course. 7,345 students declared they were coming to university with mental health illnesses in 201415, up to 12,773 in 2017-18. Declaring a mental illness prior to arriving at university can help put structures in place before the student moves to Durham. This has the potential to minimise the difficulty of obtaining support in a new city. Pro-Vice Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience), Owen Adams, said: “The wellbeing and mental health of our students and staff are hugely important to us and we invest significantly in their pastoral care. In 2018/19, we will finalise an over arching institution-wide strategy for supporting student mental health – which will systematically organise the extensive support systems already in place at different levels across the
University. “Prospective students who have completed a UCAS application form with reference to mental illness are contacted by our Mental Health Advisors in the period before their arrival in Durham. We send information on internal and external support services, and the Mental Health advisors offer guidance on the transfer of care to local NHS services, if required.” The University recently approved two additional Mental Health Advisor posts. These are trained nurses with NHS experience, who can offer consultations and support to students with mental health issues. The new post-holders will be in place before the start of the 2019/20 academic year. The news comes after a report by Palatinate in 2017 which found that the University had reduced its number of full-time equivalent counsellors from 6.2 to 5.4, leaving it short of the recommended counsellor-student ratio. According to the British Association for Counselling and Therapy (BACP), a university should have a minimum provision of one counsellor per 3,000 students.
pay scale in a “take it or leave it approach”. Durham University champions a ‘philosophy to encourage language learning as widely as possible’ and pride their ‘world class teaching’, but the staff have stated the University is failing to acknowledge this increase in responsibility. The CFLS teacher told Palatinate they were “disappointed with... Continued on page 7
Alex Leggatt & Anna Tatham News Team
▲ The first side of scaffolding was removed last week (Mark Norton)
Popular Durham food outlets Urban Oven, Subway and Mr. Shawarma have Food Hygiene Ratings below 3 out of 5, indicating “some improvement is necessary” with regards to their standards of food hygiene. Mr. Shawarma, a kebab takeaway on North Road, was given rating of 0, indicating “urgent improvement is required,” in September 2018. The ratings, which range from 5 (the highest rating) to 0 (the lowest rating), are described by the Food Standards Agency as “a snapshot of the standards of food hygiene found at the time of inspection.” The inspection includes an appraisal of three elements: how hygienically the food is handled, the physical condition of the business, and the methods by which food is kept safe. Food hygiene inspections are carried out according to the Environment, Health and Consumer Protection (EHCP) enforcement policy. Urban Oven, a pizza delivery located on Claypath, was given a rating of 1 indicating “major improvement is necessary” on 15 August 2018... Continued on page 4
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Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
Editorial
Happy International Women’s Day
T
o mark International Women’s Day 2019, Palatinate spoke to some female alumni about their time at Durham. We asked them where they are now and how their experiences at Durham had helped them get there. I am extremely pleased that for my last ever edition of Palatinate, I got to speak to so many inspiring women who have passed through this University. It was both humbling and inspiring to hear their stories and how Durham has had such an impact on their lives. I hope you enjoy reading about their triumphs and celebrating in their success.
It was both humbling and inspiring to hear their stories IWD is also an opportunity to look at how, even in 2019, women are still disadvantaged across the world – and Durham is no exception. For a few weeks now we have been focusing on the plight of the Assistant Teaching Fellows (ATFs) in the Modern Languages department. In this edition, we spoke to several anonymous academics who are angry about their treatment by the University. 92% of ATFs at Durham are women, and they told us that they feel left behind in their career progressions. The alumni feature also made me think about what my experience at Durham has given me. As a finalist, I don’t have long left in the Durham bubble. Right now, my university life involves trying to pull 12,000 words of a dissertation out of thin air and hastily applying for grad schemes. It has also involved battling with some outdated institutions
and traditions which were a shock to the system when I arrived three years ago. Klute has ruined more pairs of shoes than I would like to admit and I have definitely spent more time in the college bars than I should have done. So, asides from £50,000 worth of debt and some hangovers, what do we actually gain from the ‘Durham experience’? To echo many of the women I spoke to for the alumni piece, Durham is where I found my confidence. From arriving in Durham as the one too shy to speak up in a classroom, to leaving it having been Editor of the student paper, I will be forever grateful to Durham for instilling in me a sense of self worth and determination. The highlight of these three years has been, without a doubt, my time at the paper. I wrote my first article in Michaelmas 2016 and in summer I’ll be moving down to London to start my career in journalism. It has been a joy to work alongside such dedicated student journalists and cover stories ranging from Matthew Hedges’ imprisonment in UAE to revealing Durham’s plans to introduce 8am lectures.
good luck! I hope you enjoy it all as much as I have. I look forward to seeing what you produce next term.
Durham is where I found my confidence
Julia Atherley
Asides from £50,000 worth of debt and a hangover, what has Durham given us? In this week’s edition, News delve into the world of student housing – mould and all. Our cover story looks at how the number of freshers declaring mental illnesses before arriving at Durham has increased by a staggering 94% in the last four years. Profile speak to comedian Ed Gamble about his Durham years and Comment have a debate on whether cutting back on your spending is really worth it. In Indigo, Food and Drink have a piece on food to get you through summative stress and Features look at the history of the Cathedral tower. I hope you enjoy reading this edition if, like me, you are putting off writing your dissertation. At the very least, it should provide some relief from the horrors of referencing and bibliographies.
Inside 816 News pages 4-7 Comment pages 8-10 Profile page 11 SciTech pages 12-13 Politics pages 14-16 Sport pages 18-20
indigo
Editorial page 2 Visual Arts page 3 Fashion pages 4-5 Books page 6 Music page 7 Creative Writing 8-9 Film and TV page 10 Food and Drink page 11 Features pages 12-13 Stage page 14 Travel page 15 Interview page 16
Want to write for us? Email editor@palatinate.org.uk to let us know what you’re interested in writing about
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I would like to thank my first co-Editor Cameron for showing me the ropes and keeping calm throughout it all. To the rest of the editorial board – thank you for putting up with me and working so hard to put together this paper every fortnight. It couldn’t happen without all of you, so thank you. To Anna and your next co-Editor:
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The bestwww.palatinate.org.uk of Palatinate Online
CREATIVE WRITING: Cat scratch
COMMENT: De-growth: the environmental solution
FASHION: Grey College Fashion Show 2019: Highlights
MUSIC: Preserving our rich choral tradition
On Eating Disorders Awareness Week, this poem regards a troubled relationship with one’s own body.
You probably haven’t even heard of it.
Fashion’s Frankie Reffell enjoys an evening showcasing the best of Grey’s creative energies.
Oscar Elmon interviews some of the students at the forefront of choral singing in Durham.
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 Julia Atherley & Anna Tatham editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Millie Fender & Oscar Elmon deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Jack Taylor & Alex Leggatt news@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Melissa Tutesigensi, Lydia Blundell & Naomi Clarke deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Investigations Editor Anna Marshall investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Tom Davidson & Hannah Anson comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Jacob Whitehead, Emily Kilner & Jamima Westermann Profile Editor Ella Catherall profile@palatinate.org.uk Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones & Charlie Hetherington scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Alice Lassman & Sarina Rivlin-Sanders politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editor Matthew Spivey, Katie Fraser & Tom Loring Sport Editor James Smith sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Ed Lord, Alana Ker Mercer, Tim Sigsworth & Finlay Smart Indigo Editor Shauna Lewis indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Carys Frost Features Editor Kleopatra Olympiou features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Imogen Usherwood deputy.features@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Piers Eaton & Philippa Murrison food@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Anna Gibbs fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editor Ana Hamilton & Frankie Reffell Film & Television Editor Hugh Johnson film@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Film & Television Editor Josh Sagoo Deputy Stage Editor Martha Wrench Music Editors Tom Watling & Francesca Howard music@palatinate.org.uk Creative Writing Editor Rhiannon Morris creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Creative Writing Editor Susie Bradley Books Editors Freya Neason & Shauna Lewis books@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Stella Botes visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Visual Arts Editor Jo Chandler Travel Editor Abir Mishra Deputy Travel Editor Alex Bicknell-Cummings Interview Editors Zue Leong and Nathan Kelly Chief Sub-Editor Daisy Robinson Sub-Editors Heather Craddock, Ines Pandzic, Isabella Beaumont, Constance Castle, Namrata Menon & Freya Ellingsen Photography Editor Madeleine Flisher photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editor Mark Norton Illustrations Editor Nayva Lobo illustration@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Illustrations Editor Elena Onwochei-Garcia Website Administrator Bilal Mohd Advertising Officer Harriet Willis advertising@palatinate.org.uk Social Media Officers Connie Castle & Shoaib Ahmed
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
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International Women’s Day 2019
Celebrating Durham’s women Palatinate spoke to alumni about life after Durham and what they gained from their time here Louise Hulland St Chad’s, Criminology TV Journalist
M
y time at St Chad’s, Durham was one of the happiest of my life. It wasn’t all plain sailing of course, socially I found it quite a change considering I came from a state school in Lancashire! From a professional point of view, studying Criminology has certainly shaped my career as a TV reporter and journalist. I’ve made / presented countless documentaries / TV reports on organised crime, gangs, sexual assualt in mincabs – plus I’ve worked undercover with the police, particularly around sexual violence against women. I’m currently writing a book on human trafficking and modern slavery in Britain.
My time at St Chad’s, Durham was one of the happiest of my life But the most important thing I gained from my time at Durham are the friends I made there. My closest female friends are all Chadsians, and our friendships have only grown stonger. We’ve been bridesmaids at each others weddings, become godparents to our children - and sadly supported each other through divorces, serious illness, and devastating bereavements. We lift each other up professionally and personally – especially when life has tried to knock us down, and I’m confident those bonds will last forever. Sadly one of my dear Chad’s friends is no longer with us – the brilliant Anna Roots (nee Townsend) – and I try and keep her legacy with me every day.
prior interest in the region, I fell in love with a module called “The Politics of The Middle East’s Oil Monarchies”.
My time in Durham shaped my career in a way I wasn’t expecting I went on to study for an MA in International Political Economy at the University of Manchester. Upon graduation, I joined a London PR agency to help the Government of Bahrain develop its economy. It was a perfect fit – from researching strategy to applying it in real life. Over the past five years I’ve worked for numerous clients across the tourism, infrastructure, FDI and government sectors. I’ve travelled to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Belgium, Moldova, Switzerland and Ukraine. I utterly adore my line of work and intend to continue consulting. Giving back to the university that afforded me this opportunity is very important to me. I currently act as an alumni mentor through the Durham Women in Business Society and view the network of successful female graduates as one of our University’s greatest strengths.
Shirin Gerami St Chad’s, PPE
Iran’s first female triathlete
D
urham’s biggest impact on me were its people: students, staff and residents alike. The understanding that there is a different wisdom and beauty present in all individuals, no matter how different they may seem at first or second glance.
Felicity Hall Castle, Politics
I hope to be able to share some of the opportunities I have been fortunate enough to have
y time in Durham shaped my career in a way I wasn’t expecting. Despite having little
Connecting with people on a human level served (and still serves) as a challenge to break stereotypes I might hold against others,
Corporate Communications Consultant
M
consciously, unconsciously or subconsciously. It also brings under question my own beliefs, values and conduct, helping me understand the barriers constructed within myself and the attempt to break them. Since graduating, I have roamed the streets of London as a Rickshaw rider, worked in international charities, and for now experimented with being a triathlete. Each experience has connected me with more people and brought a deeper appreciation of the richness in diversity and individuality.
Durham’s biggest impact on me were its people In terms of achievement, first, I hope to become a worthy human being. Second, I hope to be able to share some of the opportunities I have been privileged to have with others – and right now, that is defined as attempting to share the physical, psychological and social benefits of sports/triathlons with a more diverse group of women worldwide.
Magdalena Garzon Fonseca Ustinov PhD student
D
urham University was a great place for me in all senses. Coming from a different country and culture, I always felt at home in Durham. The collegiate system provides huge emotional support and a welcoming community for international students; I was, and still consider myself a Ustinovian. At Ustinov I always felt included and supported by other fellow students and staff. Moreover, I could say that I never felt discriminated for being a woman neither for my nationality. In my opinion, men and women are treated equally at the University. However, I do think there was a lack of academic support for international students in my department. Coming from a different educational system make things challenging, and finding your way
through could sometimes be difficult, therefore more academic support would be of great help.
Coming from a different culture, I always felt at home in Durham Durham shaped me in many ways. Thanks to Durham and to Ustinov I could say I consider myself a global citizen, someone that could appreciate and learn from diversity. Durham brings the opportunity of having a complete education, the huge variety of events, clubs and societies help people to discover and exploit hidden skills and talents, as I did with the Ustinov choir and live events. Thanks to Durham I was able to identify a career path that suits me. I met great people with whom I am still in touch with, including my partner.
Katie Falkingham Grey, Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity Journalist at BBC Sport
M
y time at Durham completely shaped me into the person I am today, giving me the confidence and desire to achieve whatever I put my mind to. Prior to university, I was incredibly shy and lacking in self-confidence 18-year-old Katie would never have imagined where I would be almost seven years later.
Durham gave me the confidence to and desire to achieve whatever I put my mind to It was through my degree that I decided to become a sports journalist, something I had always considered but never thought would happen. Almost four years post-graduation, I work for BBC Sport in Manchester, having previously trained and worked in London and been named NCTJ Sports Journalist of the Year in 2017. My next goal is to travel
worldwide with my job, covering Olympic Games, World Championships and any other opportunities. I always found Durham a very equal place to be as a woman - opportunities were not lacking and it was a place where everyone could be who they wanted to be. Perhaps to be expected given the nature of my degree, men outnumbered women in lecture halls and classrooms but that was never something I perceived as a negative. If anything, it drove my female classmates and I on!
Rosa Tallack St. John’s, Geography Social worker
I
t was all of the best things about Durham that gave me the confidence to run in an SU officer election: the opportunities it gave me to get involved in student support, the communities I was a part of and an exciting course in which I got to think about feminism and gender. Yet, a year later, sitting in University meetings, I often felt easily patronised or belittled, and as though the issues I was trying to fight for that I knew mattered deeply to women were all too easily dismissed.
I often felt easily patronised or belittled I spent time raising these experiences with the University Executive, and, speaking to others, I quickly found that I wasn’t alone. In September, I started in a child protection team, training to be a social worker with Frontline. Through its best and worst, Durham gave me the opportunities and, less brilliantly, the need - to fight for the things I believe in. I wish it didn’t have to be that way, but I’m grateful to have the chance to now do that for the families that I work with.
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Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
News
Master of University College David Held dies aged 68 Lydia Blundell Deputy News Editor Professor David Held, a Professor of Political Science at Durham University and Master of University College, passed away aged 68 on Saturday 2nd March. In an email to students, ViceChancellor Stuart Corbridge said: “It is with great sadness that I am writing to inform you of the death of Professor David Held, Master of University College, Durham.” Professor Held joined Durham in 2012, having previously served as Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at
(Penyuan via Flickr)
the London School of Economics. He was also a Visiting Professor at LUISS University in Rome. He was an active scholar, having written or edited over sixty books and an extensive number of academic articles. His most recent publication was Beyond Gridlock, published in 2018 with Tom Hale. His first book was published in 1980. Professor Held made valuable contributions to cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan democracy and globalisation. He was joint Editorin-Chief of the academic journal Global Policy up until his death. Held was on research leave from his post as Master at Univer-
sity College. Dr. Richard Lawrie, who was covering his leave, will continue his post. Oakleigh Welply tweeted: “Very saddened to hear of the death of Professor David Held. A brilliant mind with whom I enjoyed many engaging conversations around Global Citizenship. A great loss to the academic community.” Stuart Corbridge told students, “Castle staff and students have been informed and are being offered support. The flag at Castle will be flown at half-mast in tribute.” Details of a memorial service to commemorate Professor David Held are expected to follow.
Russell Group urge government to rule out funding drop Alex Leggatt News Editor Leading research universities have told the government that fewer places will be offered if tuition fees are cut by the government. The Russell Group, along with seven other charities, are urging government ministers to rule out a drop in funding from tuition fees, arguing that certain courses will be forced to close if this funding is not replaced by taxpayers. Students currently pay £9,250 per year in tuition fees to fund teaching costs, and currently constitute the largest source of funding for universities.
Certain courses will be forced to close if this funding is not replaced by taxpayers Professor Stuart Corbridge, Vice-Chancellor, said: “We share the concerns of the Russell Group in relation to potential cuts to higher education funding and the damaging implications these could have. “We support the Russell Group in their opposition to a cap on
student numbers. Among other universities, we are actively lobbying the Government to ensure our voice is heard.
The number of disadvantaged students is now being recorded “All that said, the outcomes of the Augar Review are still unknown and there is continuing uncertainty on what the proposals will be. We will comment further when we have the appropriate details. “More generally, the University Strategy continues to provide a strong foundation for Durham’s success and long-term sustainability and we remain entirely committed to developing a more diverse, inclusive and international student body. “Our global reputation for excellence, combined with high demand from exceptional students, will continue to underpin our future growth and development as a world-leading University.” Concerns have been raised regarding a lack of government funding for courses in humanities subjects such as English or His-
tory, which are by comparison less expensive to teach than subjects such as Engineering and Medicine. These latter subjects already receive ‘top up’ funding from the government, which is expected to continue. In a statement backed by seven charities which seek to help low income students attend university, the Russell Group argued that a reduction of overall student places could result in fewer students from low income backgrounds getting a place at university. In response to this statement, the government have said that it will now recording the numbers of disadvantaged students at university and will publish this report next month in an attempt to remove barriers to higher education that these students face.
SU’s Postgraduate Academic Officer David Evans expressed his concerned that “this would lead to cuts to ‘unprofitable’ courses, more so than cuts to undergraduate student places, with some research and other activity currently subsided by tuition fees also at risk.
The University may be encouraged to cut courses David described how the University cut courses which were not making enough money “in favour
of putting effort into growing ‘low teaching cost’ subjects like Maths, English and History as it currently targets. “In all this, with the currently massive (c. £300m) in financial reserves the University has, my hope would be that rather than student places being cut immediately, this would instead put the brakes on the University’s aggressive pace of expansion whilst it looks at what student demographic it needs to recruit to fund itself. (Maddie Flisher)
The government has ruled out any cap on total university numbers The Department for Education said: “We need the access and participation work done by universities to ensure all parts of society have fair access.” Speaking to Palatinate, Durham
“Most of the issues were structural” says Urban Oven
Continued from front page
... The investigation gave the outlet an “improvement necessary” rating for the handling and cleanliness of facilities and building, and “major improvement necessary” for the management of food safety. The current manager Anas Alazen told Palatinate that there had been a “change of ownership” recently, and the issues were present when they took over from the pre-
vious owners. Mr. Alazen also said that “most of the issues were structural,” including “floor coming off in the kitchen” and issues relating to the suspended ceiling. Mr. Alazen added that on the day of the inspection the Safer Food, Better Business pack, which provides information for small business regarding food hygiene, was not present. This was identified as a “major” point of concern, and Mr. Alazen believes that this
was one of the main causes of the lower score. “Inspections are usually carried out every 18 months, but we hope to get an inspection sooner due to the change of ownership. We are confident that we have resolved all of the issues that were here when we took over Urban Oven,” Alazen said. Other takeaways such as the sandwich shop Subway, located on North Road, were given a rating of 2 in June last year, indicating “im-
provement necessary.” Restaurants such as the burger chain Fat Hippo (located on Saddler Street) has been given a rating of 3 out of 5, indicating “generally satisfactory” hygiene standards. The restaurant is currently waiting for a suitable time for a revisit from the environmental health. A spokesperson for Fat Hippo said said the grading was “due to some minor mismanagement from the previous head chef and a couple
of outstanding maintenance issues not being reported. “After having the kitchen floor repaired and a damaged filter replaced, I am confident we will regain the 5 star rating we had held for the previous two years.” Mr. Shawarma and Subway have been contacted for comment.
HEARD ANYTHING NEWSWORTHY? Get in touch with us at news@palatinate.org.uk
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
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News Feature
Students “belittled, patronised and exploited” by landlords Lydia Blundell Deputy News Editor Students have spoken to Palatinate about their unfortunate experiences with letting agents in Durham, including complaints about mould, rubbish and unpleasant service. One group of tenants, wishing to remain anonymous, arrived to a house which was full of black mould. They also say they found bins full of mould, piles of rubbish and toenail clippings. Their agency told them that broken furniture, in place before the tenants moved in, had been blocking the corridors and prevented cleaners’ access.
A damp inspector was also requested, along with the council, to inspect the house. The letting agency was forced to remove the mould, however the repairs left the house ‘like a construction site’ and is yet to be fully finished.
“We have had an abundance of issues with them and they have not made our tenancy easy” One of the tenants said of their agency: “We have had an abundance of issues with them and they have not made our tenancy easy”. Palatinate was informed by another group of tenants that
when they moved in to a property let by Bradley Hall, a number of expensive items left there over the summer for safekeeping had been stolen. Bradley Hall reportedly told the residents that they had been ‘skipped’ and the tenants received a £200 compensation fee. Bradley Hall told Palatinate that a tenant left some items at the property ‘at their own risk’ whilst builders were refurbishing the house, at a cost of £60,000 to the landlord. They said that, under no instruction from Bradley Hall, the builders disposed of items that had not been itemised or insured by the tenant. The landlord also offered compensation that was settled in full in August 2018.
A student was reduced to tears by their landlord Another group of students told Palatinate that they had also moved into a property full of mould. When they complained to their estate agent, accompanied by a parent, they were ‘reduced to tears’ by the rude and aggressive treatment that they received. This reportedly continued when the tenants received a phone call from the estate agent the following day and were passed on to the
landlord who threatened them against involving anyone who wasn’t included in the contract agreement, referring to the parent that had complained.
Tenants were labelled as ‘childish’ and told to ‘grow up’ The tenants told Palatinate they were labelled as ‘childish,’ and told they ought to ‘grow up.’ In addition, the same tenants were told they were obliged to stay on the same tariffs, despite not having their bills included. This meant they were forced to pay higher prices than necessary. Upon contacting Citizens Advice, they were told that this was in fact illegal. “We were belittled and patronised, and exploited because we were students. The estate agent and landlords were no more than bullies, and I feel angry that they benefit every year from the Durham housing crisis,” the tenant said. Another group of tenants told Palatinate that the first they heard of their house being put up for sale was a prospective buyer hammering on their downstairs bedroom window at 9am and shouting through the letterbox. Our source described their let-
ting agent as ‘deeply unhelpful,’ with the sudden inundation of unannounced visitors to the house. Other tenants have reported a wasp infestation followed by a fly infestation in their student home, and claim that their letting agent telling them that it was not their problem. Six students told Palatinate that they were left without any hot water or heating in November, with phone calls to their letting agent leaving them at a dead end each time. If you’ve experienced issues with your landlord, the Durham Students’ Union Advice Service is available to provide individual support.
Is Durham accommodation pricing out its students? Anna Marshall Investigations Editor In a student-dominated city like Durham, one may assume the University would wield substantial power to negotiate with landlords. But so far, neither the Students’ Union nor the University has established any accreditation bodies to regulate landlords, whilst the rising costs of college accommodation discourages many from returning to college. Lizzie is one student who has subsequently fallen victim to a poor quality tenancy this year. She told Palatinate: “We’ve had two different inspections from the council so far and both times the house has failed to be deemed fit for multiple occupancy. We’ve told anyone that came to view the house... but someone’s still signed it for next year”. Durham Students’ Union has been continually focused on accommodation and private housing, but issues are still yet to be conquered. The Student Union’s new President Elect, Kate McIntosh, has a manifesto that is resiliently similar to her predecessor’s in promising to “expand and refocus the Ripped Off Campaign, to
include direct action when appropriate” and “deliver accountability for rogue landlords and letting agents”. The housing situation in Durham is not unique. At University College London, rent strikes began in 2015 under the ‘Cut the Rent’ Campaign and have continued alongside UCL Student Union’s efforts, resulting in successful negotiations with their University on rent prices.
The housing situation in Durham is not unique JCR President of St Aidan’s College, Clara Ohayon sees how any pan-college student unity could falter without proper JCR support. “A lot of JCR presidents see their role as apolitical, and I think this is why the protests have had so little turn out”, she told Palatinate. At St Aidan’s, there is a strong tradition of a politically active JCR, leading to the prominent St Aidan’s Ripped Off Campaign. Palatinate met with the Campaign’s executive committee, to discuss how the student population could be mobilised into forcing the changes that have been achieved at other universities.
“The question is what kind of Durham you want to have”, argues Beth Molloy, the Campaign’s President. “The University has an obligation to the area, to the local people.
“Durham is deliberately pricing people out of university” “Durham is deliberately pricing people out of university and having no problem with being the fourth worst university for social inclusion”. Once all the costs of the services and facilities the college provides have been subtracted, #RippedOff calculated that 47% of the accommodation price remained unaccounted for. Meg Haskins, Student Wellbeing and Support Officer, said: “We recognise a gap in provision currently in that there is no way for students to effectively hold their landlord/ agent to account for unfair practice in Durham. Following a survey I carried out earlier this year, we are scoping the possibility of hosting a ‘Rate My Landlord’ scheme, similar to Leeds Students’ Union.” Durham ACORN, a national Tenants’ Union, held their first meet-
(Mark Norton) ing in February 2018, then hosted a training session in May, but this was their last publicised activity.
“The University’s running costs increase each year” Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, told Palatinate: “Like any other enterprise, the University’s running costs increase each year. College fees are set to reflect rising staff, utility, and building costs. “We know some of our students
face real financial pressures. We offer a bursary scheme, known as the Durham Grant Scheme. This is available to undergraduates – throughout their course – who are Home Students, studying their first degree, and who have a household income of less than £25,000 a year.” The Durham Students’ Union Advice Service is available to provide individual advice and advocacy for students on everything housing-related.
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Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
News
DSU election turnout increases slightly from last year Alex Leggatt News Editor Student turnout for the recent Durham Student Union elections was only slightly higher than last year. The elections, which took place from Monday 19th February 2018, 8:00am, till Thursday 22nd February 2018, 5:00pm, had a turnout of 3101 voters, or 16.58% of 18,707 total eligible voters. This turnout is a slight increase from last year’s elections, where 3205 votes were cast out of a possible 21139, making the overall turnout 15.2%.
The elections had a turnout of 3101 voters, or 16.58% of 18,707 total eligible voters
Previous years have seen a much larger proportion of Durham students voting in SU elections. I(j 2011 and 2012, turnout was 29% and 30% respectively. In more recent years, turnout has remained around 16-18%, with a slight peak in 2017 (20.8% turnout). There were confusions surrounding the exact proportion of voter turnout, with discrepancies between the DSU’s election announcement and the University’s Devote system. In a statement on their website, Durham Student
Union explained that the different percentages were due to “inaccuracies in the University’s data (additional student types, students who haven’t been expired etc.)” Current SU President, George Walker, told Palatinate: “The turnout of 17% in our elections is around the national average for Students’ Unions, but this is clearly not where we would like to be and our 2018-2022 strategy sets out an ambition of raising turnout to at least 25% of student members. “Whilst turnout is one measure of engagement, we also value having candidates standing on relevant and well-informed manifestos, holding quality conversations with students about how they want to shape the future of Durham University. “I’m pleased that due to the hard work of all the candidates who stood and our staff team who helped to ensure the smooth running of the elections, we were able to help many students engage in important debates about the issues that affect their student experience.
“The turnout of 17% in our elections is around the national average for Students’ Unions” “During the rest of my term I’m keen to work with student leaders
▲ Durham Student’s Union elected their new officers on Thursday 21st February across Durham to think about how we can boost engagement with our student organisations, by making better use of more innovative and accessible forms of e-democracy and supporting conversations across campus about how we respond as a student body to the major challenges facing both Durham and the Higher Education sector.” The election also featured a referendum on changes to the DSU’s Articles of Association, which sought the “removal of unnecessary gendered language”, to introduce “the Chair of DUCK to our Board of Trustees” and remove the requirement for an automatic referendum in future amendments to the Articles. 2221 people voted in this referendum with only 990 voting ‘yes’ (44.5%), meaning that there were not enough votes in favour for the referendum to pass. The DSU announced on its website: “There has been no call from the Board of Trustees, Assembly or a student petition to hold a further referen-
dum on this at this time.”
2:00am. Ms. Harrison told the court: “He claimed he lived there and was pursued from the house by the student.” She also said that Kay took a bottle of vodka and 50p, which was returned after being chased and apprehended by police. The burglaries did not involve violence according to Helen Towers, mitigating for Kay. Towers explained to the court that Kay suffered from alcohol dependency, and had admitted himself to hospital in order to drink
the alcohol sanitizer. Towers stated that: “Fortunately, despite the confrontations, on neither occasion were there threats or violence, even when he was pursued by one of the residents.
There were not enough ‘yes’ votes for the referendum on changes to the DSU’s Articles of Association to pass Kate McIntosh, DSU presidentelect, told Palatinate: “I expected turnout to fall significantly from last year but instead, despite there only being one candidate for President, only about 100 votes fewer were cast. That’s testament to the hard work put in by all candidates across the week. “Turnout in these elections was bang on the national average of 17%. But engagement in elections within Common Rooms and the SU has been falling, and we face some big challenges going forward to make sure our democracy is as transparent and accessible as possible.” During this year’s DSU elections, there were campaigns to
increase voter turnout. Speaking to Palatinate, Nat Kunin, Trevelyan College SU Rep and Chair of the SU Rep Committee said: “The SU’s main approach was to encourage and support college voting stations as well as encourage voters on the science site and in the Students’ Union. “They provided information booklets about the candidates and offered small prizes for voting. As well as that, there was obviously the competition involving the alpaca visit to the college with the highest turnout. “I think this year it didn’t help that there was only one presidential candidate. Uncontested elections mean fewer people feel the need to vote. “In general I think low turnout is because people’s lives are more often than not centred around colleges - if they’re not going to get involved in JCR elections then they’re even less likely to get involved in SU ones.”
Viaduct burglar faces prison sentence after stealing coats Melissa Tutesigensi Deputy News Editor Dale Kay is facing a prison sentence of two years and 255 days for a series of burglaries in Durham City. Kay, a 26 year old formerly from Stanley, was apprehended by the police twice in a 10 day period after breaking into two student accommodations in November 2018. A student, living in May Street, was woken by Kay at 4:15am on
November 19. Prosecutor Louise Harrison told Durham Crown Court that Kay had claimed to be returning shoes, but was later found with coats and tops taken from the house.
“He claimed he lived there and was pursued from the house by the student”
Another student found Kay in his bedroom 10 days later when returning from a night out at
The burglaries did not involve violence
“The coats were recovered from the first burglary, in which there was limited disturbance, and from
the other, the 50p taken was returned.” Towers added that, while in custody, Kay sought help and assistance for his alcohol dependency and mental health available to inmates. Kay’s previous convictions involve two house burglaries. He received a 16-month prison sentences in 2015. Judge Jonathan Carroll noted that Kay should seek support in the prison system to help him before his sentence is over.
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
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News
“We just want to be paid at our value” Continued from front page ...Durham University as claim they want to be top, but they are not doing what they preach.” The CFLS teacher regarded how in their previous position at a comprehensive school they received a significantly greater salary but moved to Durham University for academic progression, which had initially not appeared as an issue when they transferred.
“We are here for the students”
These Grade 6 are highly qualified, most having a Bachelors degrees, Masters and a certified teaching qualification. Many also have awards and are contributing extra to their departments through PhD research and per-
sonal scholarship. Alongside the pay cap, Grade 6 staff are not included in the Academic Progression Scheme: a programme aimed to help academic staff to progress in their careers if they should so wish.
Alongside the pay cap, Grade 6 staff are excluded from the Academic Progression Scheme
According to those who spoke to Palatinate, this exclusion has instilled “demotivation to go the extra length to engage in scholarship.” “We are here for the students” a CFLS teacher told Palatinate, “we work for them, through them, giving feedback and updating the curriculum every year or two to keep it relevant and interesting”
but within the department the “ambiance is different, people don’t have hope” since this plan was implemented two years ago. They reiterated how they just wished to “be paid at their value”. Ideally, they would like their status of Grade 6 to be reconsidered but stated inclusion in the Academic Progression scheme would be “a good first step”.
Inclusion in the Academic Progression scheme would be “a good first step”
The group of staff have now sent a letter on behalf of all Assistant Teaching Fellows to UCU to further elevate the gravity of this issue within the department. Antony Long, Deputy ViceChancellor and Provost, said: “We evaluate all professional services
(Twitter) staff roles, between grades 1 and 9, using a role evaluation tool used across the higher education sector. “This tool sets the top rate of pay for a grade six role at £32,236. “Outstanding members of staff can be awarded extra ‘contribution points’, potentially increasing their salary to £35,210. “We can also award one-off bonus payments to teams or individuals who make an excellent contribution to their department’s work.
“Finally, grade six staff can also apply for grade seven roles, as and when these become available.” Durham Casuals is a group of anonymous academics who campaign against unfair working conditions in the University. They said: “Many colleagues on grade 6 are already fulfilling responsibilities that would normally come within the remit of grade 7 anyway.
“Many colleagues on grade 6 are fulfilling responsibilities that would come within the remit of grade 7”
“MLAC students will appreciate the quality of language teaching they receive from affected staff, and we urge them to write to the Vice Chancellor to show their support for their lecturers.”
Modern Languages staff feel “singled-out” by the University
Julia Atherley Editor-in-Chief Languages staff have expressed how a lack of support from the University has left them feeling frustrated with their working conditions. Some told Palatinate they are “the only ones facing the problem”, and feel “singled-out” by the University.
“We are the only ones facing this problem”
Out of the 25 such members of staff at Durham University, 23 are women. This has led some to accuse the University of “excluding female staff” from further scholarly advancement. One academic added: “the higher up you go in the department, the more men you see.” A CFLS
teacher told Palatinate how this “doesn’t reflect their ethos if they claim they want women to evolve. We work hard and Durham University doesn’t respect that.” Assistant Teaching Fellows in the Modern Languages and Culture department (MLAC) design and lead modules, teach classes, and set examination papers.
Out of the 25 such members of staff, 23 are women
As previously reported by Palatinate, the group of staff are excluded from the Academic Progression Scheme. Many have expressed their frustration at finding themselves in a “dead-end” in terms of career prospects. The University previously told Palatinate that they were considering including the Grade 6 staff under the ‘Job Families Framework’. This is the same career sup-
port network used for admin staff. Speaking to the paper, staff said that this would only be a “quick fix” to the problem, as “the University are indifferent and ignorant to what their staff really do”. One member of staff told us how the exclusion from the scheme left them with “no motivation to go the extra length” with teaching and their own scholarship. When asked what they would do next, MLAC and CFLS teachers told Palatinate they were
considering moving to other institutions. Within other universities their job descriptions would categorise them
as Grade 7 members of staff. There are those within this predicament who have families settled in the North East and relocating is not an option leaving them feeling “trapped”. Antony Long, Deputy ViceChancellor and Provost, said: “We evaluate all professional services staff roles, between grades 1 and 9, using a role evaluation tool used across the higher education sector.” The University
stressed that staff are sometimes rewarded with one-off bonus payments and can apply for Grade 7 jobs. Durham Casuals told Pa-
latinate: “In practical terms, the majority of staff in grade 6 in MLAC are women. That’s a pretty big glass ceiling that’s just been dumped on a large cohort of experienced and valued colleagues who deserve better from the institution.”
“
The higher up in the department you go, the more men you see
”
Business School development planned for disused swimming pool
Melissa Tutesigensi Deputy News Editor Durham University has revealed plans to develop old and disused Elvet Waterside Swimming Pool for the relocation of the University’s Business School. The purpose-built Business school is planned to be relocated from its current location at Mill Hill Lane. The £70 billion development is part of a wider strategy to improve the University’s infrastructure. The University hopes the new building will create a “world-class learning experience for students,” “support cutting-edge research
and enable business events and conferences to take place.”
“A world-class learning experience for students”
A public consultation on the plans will take on Wednesday 6 March, from 1-7pm at Durham Town Hall, where residents, businesses and other members of the public can view the University’s plans and provide feedback. Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge, said: “The proposed development will fully regenerate a derelict brownfield riverside area and provide access to landscaped open spaces. “This exciting development pro-
posal will enable us to enhance our contribution to the local economy, and to deliver on the economic and academic growth priorities set out in the University’s 2017 -2027 strategy.”
“The development will fully regenerate a derelict brownfield riverside area”
Professor Susan Hart, Dean of Durham University’s Business School, said: “The proposed state-of-the-art building will provide exceptional facilities not only for our students but also for the local community and business.
“The school is already a centre of entrepreneurship and innovation and this investment will enable us to further drive collaboration and business connectivity for the region and beyond.
“Elvet Waterside will create more capacity for us to continue to inspire globally-focused, ethicallyminded business leaders of the future.”
(Google via Creative Commons)
Thursday 7th March 2019| PALATINATE
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The polarisation of American politics Page 10
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Comment
The Independent Group: Something a little special? Lydia Buckroyd It may be an unpopular opinion, but this new Independent Group is unlikely to be successful. Only the most avid followers of politics would recognise any members, and even then they’d likely be hard-pressed to get more than Anna Soubry or Chuka Umunna: but that doesn’t mean that hope is entirely lost. The first thing to note is that we have seen this before, even complete with the EU referendum and far-left Labour leader. Back in the 1980s, it was Michael Foot’s leadership that triggered the Labour split; 4 centrist members breaking away and forming the Social Democratic Party in support of a decentralised state and European integration. So it’s not surprising that this Independent Group is being called ‘the biggest split in politics since the SDP’- that’s precisely what it is. Back then, the SDP gradually faded until their 1990s merge with the Liberals to form the Liberal Democrats- the centrist party that we’ve abandoned. So what can we learn from this? Firstly, splitting up isn’t likely to solve the lefts problems. Yes, the
Zoe Haylock In academic situations do we act as our true selves? This has been a question on my mind recently. After the uproar and intensity of first term, I’ve settled down into university life and have started to question this new situation I find myself in. I’ve started to examine why I sometimes speak differently in academic settings, why I write with words and phrases I would never use in real life and why academic articles are convoluted and pretentious. I have realised that I do not act like my true self in academic settings, but, instead I adopt a persona which has been created to suggest intelligence. When I speak I use slang, my grammar is often incorrect and my accent is different to most of the student population. Yet when I am speaking in seminars or am writing essays I tend to omit these personal quirks because they are not ‘academic’ and so do not show intelligence. They do not show intelligence because it was the
Labour party is currently being led into the far-left by its leader and a strong activist group, but that isn’t enough to overcome the systemic problems that oppose third parties in the UK.
Our long-stagnant party system has finally shifted In the 1980s, even Thatcher’s far-right policies and gradual destruction of Britain’s manufacturing industry wasn’t enough to draw sufficient support to the SDP. The class bonds and party loyalty were simply too strong to break.
Even if we said that Britain’s habit of voting by class had deteriorated since then, class loyalty doesn’t tell the whole story of why the SDP failed. In the 1983 election the party managed to poll at around a quarter of the vote, but only gained around 3.5% of seats. Our First Past the Post system means that parties have to have geographically concentrated support to stand any chance of gaining seats. And for centrist parties like the Liberal Democrats, the SDP, and now the Independent Group, this is almost impossible. They are resigned to widely dispersed support- enough to gain a reasonable proportion of the vote, but never
(UK Parliament via Flickr)
enough to make a formidable opposition. There’s also nothing to suggest that the Independent Group will ever become attractive to a large proportion of voters. They have yet to stake their claim on any cornerstone issues, and so far, have only gone so far as to essentially say that they’d do a better job than May. If their hope is that they can appear as an example of inspiring leadership, it seems to be collapsing slightly under the general cluelessness of their goals. If they want to attract votes, they need to have a defining issue to draw people in. If the electorate wanted an alternative centrist party then they would have voted Liberal Democrat. Yet despite all this, as a coalition of both Conservative and Labour politicians, it shouldn’t be overlooked that the Independent Group has something a little special. For all my bemoaning the repetition of history, this is uncharted territory in peacetime, and that could well be rewarded. With both sides of party memberships represented, voters could forgo traditional party loyalties and choose to converge in this new, mutually representative group. It would still suffer the pitfalls of a centrist party, but it might bring
Be true to your own voice
upper classes who conceptualised intelligence; their very voice has become synonymous with smartness. This is especially hard for students who are from nonacademic backgrounds. We feel distanced from certain areas of our education.
It was the upper classes who conceptualised intelligence But I don’t want to act this way. I want to be myself. I’ve experimented with this recently. I think less before speaking, I sit in my natural slouched way and I write with my own voice. And, it must be said, it feels better; more natural, more me. I feel like I am speaking for myself and engaging in my own thoughts, rather than being focused on the opinions of others. I have learnt how constrained and superficial everyone is in academic settings. We create a secluded world away from reality where no one acts normally. We should be more individualistic, care-free and true to ourselves. I see this behaviour as a symptom of Durham’s elite status. Durham’s student population does not
reflect the wider society, just like the academic voice doesn’t reflect normal speech. Having an elite student population also entrenches this as it is they who naturally speak in this academic style. Our selective student population has meant that the variety of academic speech has reduced, increasing the belief that other dialects are less intelligent. There are two main concerning consequences of this. The first is that it leads to us all sounding the same. Our regional dialects are gone because we fear that if we do not sound like the norm we will not be taken seriously. We subordinate voices on a regular bases. We also write based on the example set by academics, academics who are mostly white middle class men. This again puts power in that elite group without letting other voices come to the fore.
The belief that academia is only for the select few is entrenched The second concern is that it helps increase exclusion. It entrenches the belief that academia
is only for the select few, the elite. To make education more inclusive we all need to show a variety of diverse voices. Durham has a massive problem with inclusion. If it wants to succeed in diversifying the population, students from a variety of backgrounds need to hear their own voice in the student population, in the books they read and in the lecturers they listen to.
The best way to make a change is through schools I would say the best way to make change is through schools.
greater political clout and a greater ability to form a meaningful opposition.
Only the most avid followers of politics would recognise any of the members We’ll have to wait for the next election to see if that happens, but for now we’re seeing politicians taking a genuine stand against the general mess that has characterised Brexit, and the lack of opposition that Labour has provided to that. Even writing this article shows that our long-stagnant party system has finally shifted- we’re seeing a real attempt at change, and that is never pointless. We should take some solace from how the story of the SDP ended. 16 years after their initial formation we welcomed a Labour government that represented almost all of the values that they had worked towards. So even if our political situation seems largely despairing right now, and even if it is unlikely that the Independent Group will have any sizable impact, they still have the potential to represent the politics that will come next.
If teachers empowered the voices or their students and were able to mark work based on individuality and creativity, academia would become a more diverse community. University should also be more open to expanding the definition of academia, instead of remaining in the past. I don’t think there will be a time soon where ‘normal’ voices are truly reflected in academia. But, maybe, more people will feel inspired to share their true self in their work, giving space for their voice to be free. (University of Essex via Flickr)
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PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
Comment
Should millennials be saving more?
In light of findings by Barclays that millenials spend £3,000 a year on ‘treats’, Comment debates our spending habits and whether we should really be putting money aside for home ownership Tabatha Baylis House prices are far above our Starbucks budget It’s old news. Repeated, lamented time and time again: millennials are broke. A cursory Google search will show that a depressing combination of lower wages, the rising cost of living, and a crippling shared national student debthas ensured that millennials do not have that much left over from their paycheck at the end of the month. It’s no wonder that they’re struggling to save. A significant proportion of the average millennial income goes on rent: A recent studyby the Resolution Foundation revealed that millennials in the UK will spend £53,000 on rent by the time they are 30 compared to the £9,000 our parents spent on rent in their twenties.
£3,312.72 spent per year. In light of these figures, the study encourages millennials to make small changes to their lifestyle, such as spending less on takeaways and coffee. It’s not bad to encourage more savings among the younger generations. No one has ever regretted having a savings account for emergencies. However, the study says that these changes, called ‘swaprifices’, should be made so that millennials may, oneday, be able to afford that golden financial goal: a deposit on a house. The predicted savings from Barclays’
finding that an average deposit in London is £114,952, it would therefore take millennials 173 years to be able to afford one (and that’s the figures rounded down).
It would take millennials 173 years to be able to afford a deposit on a house in London Even cutting all spending, including the money spent on things that are generally necessary to a person’s quality of life such as
Millennials in the UK will spend £53,000 on rent by the time they are 30 Owning property has traditionally been a marker of not only status and security, but the feeling of being a ‘real’ adult. With no rent to pay, you have truly settled down, no longer subject to the whims of your landlord. It is the signal to start doing the things generally expected of you, such as building wealth and starting a family. However, these qualities that come with home ownership are completely out of many young people’s reach, especially those who cannot rely on their parents for help. It’s an impossible problem to face, one that up to a third of millennials could be stuck with for their entire life. In such overwhelming odds, it’s obvious that our simple love of Starbucks is not the culprit for our financial woes. The cost of housing is definitely a glaring problem for our generation, but is skimping on £3000 worth of ‘treats’ per year, as the new study by Barclays proposes, really a viable or necessary solution? Barclays’ breakdownon spending shows that millennials spend an average of £904.20 per annum on socialising, £738.96 on new clothing, shoes and accessories, £705.96 on eating out, £522.60 on takeout food, and £441 a on things named as ‘daily treats (coffees etc)’, with a total of
Eleanor Shearwood We should be mindful in our spending It is, of course, reductive of Barclays to suggest that millennial spending on ‘treats’ is both frivolous and the main thing preventing them from having more substantial savings. It is about as true as the idea that all twenty-somethings live as they do on Instagram, meal prepping sweet potato buddha bowls on a Sunday evening and spending every other day out at bottomless brunches. Generalising millennials and their habits, whilst a seemingly popular current trend, is going to cause backlash. It is then unsurprising that Barclays’ patronising suggestion went down about as well as that of Australian real-estate mogul Tim Gurner, who just two years ago argued that the money spent by young people on avocado toast would be better put towards a deposit for a home.
Generalising millennials and their habits is going to cause backlash
Illustration: Rosie Dart
master plan? £662.54 a year. It seems like such a small figure. How could it ever match up to the sky high housing prices of today?
Is skimping on ‘treats’ really a viable or necessary solution? Research by Halifaxbank has revealed that the average deposit in the UK is now £33,127 – up by 71% from £19,364 in 2008. So if we take these figures into account, with your average millennial taking Barclays’ sage advice and saving that £662.54, they’ll have a nice deposit in about 50 years. Depressing? Well here’s another bit of information: with the research
socialising and clothes, and saving the whole £3,312.72, it would still take 34 years (again, rounded down) before a millennial would be able to afford London prices.
It’s easy to wonder if there’s any point sacrificing the weekly coffee spend To the average 20-something year old who has just graduated, that’s a whole lifetime away. And with a figures as large as a deposit facing many millennials, it’s easy to wonder if there’s any point in sacrificing the ‘lavish’ £8.50 per week they spend on coffee.
If you look at the evidence, when considering their economic context, millennials just aren’t spending frivolously – or no more so than previous generations were, anyway. Research conducted by a bank, who is probably unhappy with lower savings rates, was never going to give the whole picture. With the fees of seemingly everything on the rise, be it tuition, travel or house prices, it makes complete sense that millennials are struggling to see the benefits of putting away large segments of their paycheck. Especially when so much of it is already going towards rent and paying off student loans. And with working hard, of course money spent on ‘treats’ is well-deserved. Everyone deserves to splash the cash once in a while, especially when it’s cash that’s been hard-earned. And yet, the logic behind ‘swaprifices’ is undeniable, and perhaps could be beneficial in more ways than financial. Although swapping out on a latte on the commute to work or university may not buy you a house, it’s clear that £5 a day on coffee adds up very quickly. If you were to skip this once a week
you’d be left with roughly £260 at the end of the year, which could be put towards something more sentimentally valuable – concert or plane tickets, for example.
Creating mindful spending habits now might have a positive effect on the economy of the future Swapping doesn’t always have to mean missing out. Barclays highlights eating out as the third spending preference of millennials. But perhaps trading a fancy restaurant for someone’s flat once in a while wouldn’t be such a bad thing and would provide an opportunity to show off those hidden culinary talents.
“
The key lies in being creative which could leave you with money left over
”
Similarly, mindful planning of days out can lead to free entry to events, galleries and museums. So maybe the key really lies in being creative, which would leave you with plenty of money left over at the end of the year to spend. The outcry on Twitter after Barclays published the article is completely understandable; finding a reason to put money away each month is difficult when it seems that the ultimate motivation for saving is most likely nothing more than a pipe-dream. That said, developing savvy spending habits is never going to be detrimental, and whether the savings from this are then put towards a more memorable experience than (forgive me) avocado toast or a future house is completely up to you. And who knows, maybe creating mindful spending habits now will have a positive effect on the economy of the future? We can only hope, but perhaps saying no to the cappuccino next time isn’t a bad place to start.
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Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
Comment
Sanders 2020: The polarisation of American politics Has American politics become too tribal over the past 10 years?
Christopher Page Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) announced his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2020 Presidential Election, hoping to unseat President Donald Trump. Sanders hopes to reignite the momentum of his 2016 campaign, in which he proved a difficult challenge for eventual nominee Hillary Clinton, and pursue his progressive agenda of higher taxation, universal healthcare, and more accessible college education as President of the United States. Senator Sanders’ campaign, and this election season more broadly, comes in a time of increasing, and increasingly vicious, division and polarisation in American society. Over the last few decades, Americans have become more tribal, aligning far more closely with partisan identities than before, much to the detriment of civil discourse in the country. Pew has found, for example, that currently 44% of Democrats and Democratic leaners have a very unfavourable opinion of the Republican Party, and that 45% of Republicans and Republican leaners feel the same about their Democratic counterparts. This is a
significant increase on 1994, when fewer than 20% of individuals identifying with both parties viewed their opponents in this manner.
Since 2016, the Democratic party has moved solidly to the left What is the cause of this division? Largely, the responsibility rests with ideological polarisation. It is evident that Americans have radicalised towards the left and the right, adopting positions more objectionable to their opponents, and limiting the capacity for cooperation.
In the last decade, this has occurred in two waves. Firstly, in the wake of the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, the Republican Party saw a clear shift to the right with the Tea Party Movement – a more radical embracing of small-government, and individual liberties, as seen in groups like the Freedom Caucus. Since 2010, when the GOP regained the House, the ideology of the party has been rather static, even during the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump, whose policies are closer to the post-Obama Republican Party than commentators may suggest – his views on trade, immigration, government, and the environment
(to name but a few) being well founded in the federal and state ranks of the party. Secondly, during and following the 2016 Presidential Election campaign, the Democratic Party has moved solidly to the left. This returns us to the candidacy of Senator Sanders, whose policies have subsequently become mainstream in the party – a reaction to the shock defeat of the more ‘establishment’ Clinton, and a rejection of the supposedly appealing centre-left platform and character she espoused. Once a fringe character, and indeed not even a member of the Democratic Party prior to 2015 (and again an independent between 2016 and 2019), Senator Sanders’ policies – particularly those pertaining to education and healthcare – have found prominence among leading figures in the Democratic Party, as well as its more radical base.
Sanders’ campaign comes at a time of increasingly vicious division in American society
(Daisy Balmont)
Almost all announced candidates in the 2020 Democratic Primaries support single-payer healthcare systems, and whilst the more moderate figures, such as Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), have not come out in favour of single-payer (similar
to the British NHS), all candidates have endorsed the expansion of state healthcare services. Within Congress, characters like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14), who advocates Medicare for all and the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have found prominence through their antiestablishment character an radical policies – riding the momentum generated by Sanders in 2016.
America is a country divided by politics, by religion and by party As we enter this presidential election cycle, less than a year out from the first primaries, it is clear that America is a country divided – divided by politics, by religion, and by party. The candidacy of Senator Sanders is a result of that polarisation, the pursuit of radical policies being more acceptable than ever before. The middle ground is a narrow one, and with the divisiveness of characters and views on both sides being at an alltime high, it is unlikely to widen any time soon. GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Send your thoughts to comment@palatinate.org.uk
Defending the indefensible? Horse racing in 2019 Josh Gallichan As the British horse racing calendar moves into the peak of the season, the sport once again enters the public consciousness. The overbearing news is the recent outbreaks of equine flu which caused a halt to all UK horse racing in early February, and reignited concerns over animal welfare in the sport.
Nobody wants to see horses suffer, especially those involved in the sport British horse racing finds itself in an increasingly strange position. While the rest of the world is marked by an increasing social consciousness which vilifies the decadent and cruel practices of the world, horse racing seems to continue as it always has. The
sport’s retained place in popular culture seems to stand in odd defiance of contemporary trends. The obvious issue of horse racing is the cruelty associated with the sport. In the first half of 2018, there were 83 horses killed on British racetracks and according to one website, the number of horses killed since March 2007 currently sits at 1,861. Perhaps the steady rise of this number can be slowed, but how many deaths is too many? UK horse racing bodies have cracked down on welfare and drug use in the sport but it has not removed these issues entirely. As a racing fan, this is difficult to grapple with. Nobody wants to see horses suffer, especially those involved in the sport. That is the big paradox of horse racing. Death and cruelty are really not in the best interests of anybody involved and it makes no logical sense that they would want to see it happen. The majority of owners lose money through the costs associated with training a racehorse. It is not a shrewd investment but most do it
due to a love of the sport and of the animals. Trainers and jockeys spend nearly every day with their stable, there is a connection to the animals beyond a purely financial one.
There is an intangible romance to horse racing with its penchant for the underdog story People in the sport do not see it as comparable to something like bull-fighting or hunting because death and cruelty is not what people flock to racetracks for. It is really a case of cognitive dissonance in those involved. They do not want to see horses get hurt but they unfortunately play a part in it. If the British racing tradition is to continue, it seems obvious that more measures should be put in place to further reduce these issues. The current problem is how this should be done and who should enforce it. A big reason why racing will not disappear anytime soon is the sheer
size of the associated industry. A 2006 report showed that horse racing is the UK’s second biggest sport behind football in terms of revenue and attendance. It is also a cornerstone of the British gambling industry which currently employs around 108,000 people. Moreover, the UK thoroughbred breeding industry (admittedly rife with its own issues) contributed £427 million to the British economy in 2017. While these cold hard numbers by no means excuse welfare issues, they do raise questions about the direction of the sport if we are to justify it by its contribution to the economy. Beyond this economic argument, however, there is something much more difficult to quantify or even explain. There is an intangible romance to horse racing with its penchant for the underdog story. Take Colin Tizzard, the dairy farmer turned trainer who won the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup with Native River in 2018. Or the fact that bookmakers predicted an unprecedented 12.9
million would be betting on last year’s Grand National, many of these from people who would not otherwise be found near a bookie.
Horse racing is the second biggest sport behind football There is perhaps something shared between Tizzard’s rise and hapless punters sticking on a hopeful bet. Anybody can become a champion in the socalled ‘sport of kings’ and that is what makes it a compelling spectacle for so many people.
(Mike LeChance via Flickr)
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
11
Profile
Ed Gamble: from Hatfield to Hammersmith Apollo Profile speaks to comedian Ed Gamble about The Durham Revue, eating out with James Acaster, and the funny side of diabetes Ella Catherall Profile Editor Ed Gamble has done pretty well since his Durham days. Although his CV includes Mock The Week, Almost Royal and a UK-wide standup tour, it seems that College stereotypes still don’t die easily in the hearts of Durham alumni. When asked what life was like as a Hatfield student, he is quick to make his thoughts clear. “I don’t know if Hatfield has the same reputation now” he asks, “but I want to stress I did not spend a lot of time within Hatfield engaging in Hatfield life. I spent a lot of time mixing with people from other colleges doing other things.” It was instead in the University’s vibrant comedy scene that Ed felt most at home, and joining Durham’s sketch troupe The Durham Revue helped kickstart his career in stand-up “100%”. “I went to see The Durham Revue in freshers’ week,” he recalls. “I remember enjoying it but also thinking I could probably do better than that, so I went along to auditions.”
“Just know that university is a good time to start doing stuff” Ed considers himself lucky to have started stand-up while at (Photograph: Gemma Poole via Flickr)
Durham, because he admits that “when you start, you’re terrible” but at university “no one from the outside world really sees you so you can make your mistakes and learn to be okay at comedy. Just know that university is a good time to start doing stuff” Ed adds. “Realise what opportunity you have to get good before you go into the wider world and do as much as you can”.
“I tend to find anything within the political sphere either too baffling or too depressing”
University was not Ed’s first taste of writing jokes, however. “I was always into comedy” he explains, “I went to see a lot of live comedy before I went to uni”. While he was at Durham, Ed met fellow comedians Nish Kumar and Tom Neenan, who he still considers some of his best friends today. “We spent all our time together” he says, “we really threw ourselves into comedy, and we still all came out with reasonable degrees.” This dedication to comedy clearly paid off for Ed, and despite how successful he is now, he explains he doesn’t have a system for writing jokes, but instead lets ideas come to him naturally, and then goes on stage to ‘see if there’s anything in it’. “They always come to me in new and surprising ways,
Hatfield alumnus Ed Gamble has been a regular panelist on Mock the Week since 2015 (Photograph via Avalon UK)
which is occasionally petrifying but always works out in the end.”
“More awareness of how what you’re saying can make other people feel is very important”
Ed claims that he draws inspiration for his comedy from his personal life, and when asked what he thinks of the recent
“
I want to stress that I did not spend a lot of time within Hatfield, and engaging in Hatfield life
”
movement in political comedy, admits it is already well covered “by bloody brilliant people with amazing political insights.” “I tend to find anything within the political sphere either too baffling or too depressing” he explains. While his material is more
light-hearted, Ed often talks on stage about Type 1 diabetes, and says raising awareness about the condition is a lucky by-product of writing jokes about it. “Its not a topic that’s completely covered” he explains “so you’re telling people about a thing they might not necessarily know about. You have to make an effort to stand out too” he adds. “Comedy is unfortunately saturated with white middleclass men, and my brand is being blighted by Type 1 diabetes.” Ed believes that increased social awareness within comedy is benefiting the scene, and although he admits there are people who “take it too far”, he says that there are people who “take it too far with everything.
“You have to make an effort to stand out and my brand is being blighted by Type 1 diabetes”
“More awareness of how what you’re saying can make other people feel is very important” he explains. “You need to take responsibility for what you say.” One of Ed’s most recent projects is Off Menu, a food podcast with James Acaster, where guests come on and describe what their dream meal is. “It’s the sort of inane discussion we all have with our friends–utterly universal” Ed explains. “James and I already had a shared love of food. We’re good mates and go out for many meals
together and can discuss them for hours.” While Ed admits the podcast “won’t change the world”, it’s certainly a brilliant listen. “Food is a shared passion by everyone” he explains. When Ed is asked about his dream future career in comedy, it seems he isn’t far off living it at the moment. “I’m already doing a lot of the things I want to do”, he explains. “I always wanted to be able to tour off my own back, and I am now doing that, which is very exciting.”
“I think you take it as it comesyou never know what’s going to come along”
While Ed says he would love to do more acting in the future, he explains that the good thing about stand-up is, when all else fails, “you’ve always got the gig”. It seems much is in the pipeline for Ed, but he doesn’t let it stress him out, and seems excited for the future. “I think you take it as it comes” he explains. “You just never know what’s going to come along.”
To see more Palatinate Profile interviews, including Michael Crick, Lord Adonis & Nish Kumar, visit:
palatinate.org.uk/category/ profile
Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
12
SciTech
Actress by day, inventor by night: the extraordinary life of Hedy Lamarr designed with the help of a Hollywood sex symbol wasn’t taken seriously, and was declined.
Women are still grossly underrepresented in STEM occupations - in 2018 they made up just 14.4% of people working in such roles across the UK. In honour of International Women’s Day this week, and in recognition of the central role women have played in pushing forward the frontiers of human knowledge, SciTech is proud to feature the following article exploring the phenomenal life of the pioneer, Hedy Lamarr.
A secret communications system designed with the help of a Hollywood sex symbol wasn’t taken seriously The impact of spread spectrum technology wasn’t fully understood until decades later. In the ’60s other engineers explored the ideas in frequency hopping and developed a spread spectrum system that the US used during the Cuban Missile Crisis. By then, Lamarr and Antheil’s patent had expired. More recently their work formed the basis of how Bluetooth works, and even the technology used in Wi-Fi networks.
Nabila Juhi Popular actress of the ’40s and often dubbed the most beautiful woman of her time, Hedy Lamarr had a lot going for her. At the age of 19, she starred in the Czech movie Ecstasy (1933), the first known (non-pornographic) film to show sex, nudity and a female orgasm. Tame compared to today’s standards, the film caused uproar in the US, with the state of Pennsylvania banning the film entirely .
Their work formed the basis of Bluetooth and Wifi networks
The film caused uproar in the USA Although famous for her Hollywood acting, Hedy contributed much more than a pretty face to the technology of the modern world. Whilst still acting, she helped develop a radio communications system to aid the allied forces against the Germans in 1941. Little did she know it would be the foundation for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Her radio communications system aided allied forces against the Germans in 1941 Lamarr was born Hedwig Kiesler in Austria, 1914. She starred in her first film at 17 and witnessed international recognition after Ecstasy at 19. Soon after, young Kiesler married Austrian fascist and weapons manufacturer (who later went into business with the Third Reich) Fritz Mandl, who wanted to bring a halt to her acting career by attempting to buy all copies of the film. Mandl was controlling – he listened to her phone calls and ensured she was always watched – essentially keeping her as a trophy wife. She was eventually able to escape her abusive marriage and fled to London, where she
Living a double life (Kristine- Flickr) was recognised by a Hollywood director who signed her onto MGM studios. She had her name changed to Hedy Lamarr in a bid to flee from her past life. Lamarr moved to the US, just before the Anschluss (the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany).
Lamarr used the anatomy of fish and birds to design a faster plane wing shape Perhaps the only good thing to come out of being Mandl’s trophy wife was her familiarity with engineering, silently absorbing information from his dinner guests. In her time in the US she met and formed a relationship with aeronautic pioneer Howard Hughes, who at the time was attempting to make his planes fly faster. Lamarr concluded his wings were too square, and by adapting the anatomy of fast fish and flying birds, she designed a new wing shape, which he then utilised. Inventing was her hobby, a hobby that she wanted to put to good use in WWII. Around the beginning of the war, scientists and engineers were finding new
applications of radio waves. One of these applications was using radio waves to steer the US Navy’s torpedoes. However, as soon as the axis forces found what frequency of radio waves was being used, they could drown out the transmission, rendering the development useless. Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil had an answer to this problem. If the transmitter and receiver constantly and simultaneously hopped from frequency to frequency, it would be impossible for other forces to intercept and block. They developed a model, based on the mechanism that makes player pianos change notes (player pianos were self-playing pianos, popular in the ’20s).
Frequency hopping, (spectrum technology) was patented in 1941 They called it frequency hopping, now more commonly known as spread spectrum technology. They patented their invention in 1941 and offered their services to the US military. A secret communications system
It was only in 1977 that Hedy Lamarr’s scientific talents were recognised. She and Antheil were awarded the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and she also became the first woman to receive the BULBIE™ Gnass Spirit of Achievement Award, an award considered the ‘Oscar for inventors’. When told she was to receive the award, Hedy’s reply was merely “Well, it’s about time”.
She became the first woman to receive the ‘Oscar for inventors’ Hedy Lamarr led a reclusive life up to her death in 2000. She never gained a dime from her invention and time and time again her intelligence was dismissed. She married and divorced six times and had three children, and in the last 35 years of her life she chose to remain alone. Perhaps no one she was involved with romantically could see beyond her pretty face and forced sexualisation post-Ecstasy. Now, her legacy is more than being “the most beautiful woman in the world”; her name appearing in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, she is celebrated for her innovative mind and overlooked intelligence.
Do you have a story about a female Scientist who inspired you and want Durham to hear it ? Contact us at scitech@palatinate.org.uk
Durham Professor appointed chair of EU energy panel Ewan Jones Scitech Editor Dr Douglas Halliday, Associate Professor in the University’s Physics Department, has been announced as the chair of the European Universities Association’s Energy and Environment Platform (EUAEPUE). This panel is the main stakeholder representing the voice of universities in EU energy policy. Representing more than 800 universities, it plays a crucial role in influencing EU higher education policy towards energyand environmental-related programmes. Dr Halliday previously used his expertise in solar energy and energy training to serve as Director of Durham’s Energy Centre for Doctoral Training. “I am delighted to accept the prestigious role of Chair of the EUA-EPUE Platform,” said Dr Halliday. “ This appointment recognises Durham’s broad range of expertise in Energy supported by the Durham Energy Institute. Energy and the Environment are two of the greatest challenges faced by our society today. The platform works to ensure the full contribution of universities to this challenge drawing on the wide-ranging and substantial expertise of academics in European universities. It is my privilege to lead such a platform.” Central to the panel’s 2019 agenda will be the first “Energy & Environmental Clustering Event” hosted by Durham University in September 2019.
“I am delighted to accept the prestigious role” The event will focus on the urgent requirement for new skills and knowledge to aid the energy transition from non-renewables to renewables, a necessary step for humanity’s future. In an official statement, the EUA stated it is “looking forward to working with Dr Halliday on these activities and building on the contributions he has already made to EUA’s work in t h i s area.”
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
13
SciTech
A creepy-crawly catastrophe: Why should you care ? Stanley Lowres Insects are not typically found high up on anyone’s list of favourite animals. With reactions varying from mild disgust to abject fear, it’s no surprise insect conservation efforts are overlooked in favour of cuter, cuddlier animals. Who cares if parasitic wasps go extinct? On the rank of words that don’t go well together, “parasitic wasp” perhaps falls between “exam season” and “sewage canapes”. Plus there’s thousands of them - surely one or two species dying out won’t have much effect?
threatened with extinction. Indeed, it’s estimated that of the Earth’s 5-9 million different animal species, around 40,000 are lost annually.
Up to 37% of the world’s major food crops could be lost to pests Among those most threatened are dung beetles, who play a vital role in almost every ecosystem.
By consuming and removing excrement they help seed dispersal, soil quality and provide fewer breeding grounds for pests such as flies. The removal of dung beetles would be catastrophic for many ecosystems, with large amounts of decomposing faecal matter would quickly begin to pile up. And that’s just a few of the many species of insects under threat of extinction with severe repercussions: pollinators like bees are needed
75% of the world’s food crops; without natural biological controls, up 37% of the world’s major food crops could be lost to pests.
Bees are needed for 75% of crops The main cause of this alarming statistic is habitat loss, a consequence of intensive farming practices. While this is
most notable in countries like Brazil where large swathes of rainforest are cleared and burned to make way for farmland, other nations continue to squeeze every possible bit of farmland from their countryside, destroying natural insect habitats in the process as demand for food continues to rise globally. The use of harmful pesticides also pollutes water systems, causing massive damage to insect species who cannot tolerate higher pollutant levels. Climate change too is a major driving force.
The removal of dung beetles would be catastrophic for many ecosystems
Insect conservation efforts are overlooked in favour of cuter animals Unfortunately, while any species of insect can seem to have a minimal impact on our lives, they often have specialised roles within the ecosystem – tending plants or disposing waste for instance – or are crucial steps in the food chain: without them other species would die out or grow to an unsustainable size. A recent article found over nearly 40% of all invertebrates worldwide are currently Bit of a Buzz Kill (Simon Powell Flickr)
Not all insect species are in decline. The study points out certain species that are more adaptable have evolved higher tolerances to pollution and, as a result, have increased in population size. However, ecological damage aside, it is saddening to see any species go extinct as the loss of biodiversity is permanent. Every type animal lost, be it a tiger or a wasp, makes the planet less vibrant; more should be done to preserve each one, great or small. After all, we’re the ones making this mess.
Nothing but a heatwave? Charlie Hetherington SciTech Editor Last week, for the first time ever, a wintertime temperature of more than 20°C was recorded in the UK when Transgoed, Wales reached 20.6°C. This record stood for less than 24 hours however: Kew Gardens in London reached a balmy 21.2°C the following day. In a heatwave that defeated Climatologist’s models across the country (some branded it a ‘ridiculous ... 1 in 200 year event ’), Durham faced the fearsome fallout: a sea of pallid limbs from shorts and t-shirts galore. There was an grimmer undertone though: we are losing the fight against Climate Change.
The five past years were the five hottest on record
This picture, taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, shows Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and another storm named Oval BA. The Great Red Spot, large enough to contain three Earths, has raged for over 300 years. (NASA)
The five past years were the five hottest on record. The hottest 20 happened within the past 22. The consequences are well known: ecological meltdown (see above); extreme weather; and the climate-induced poverty of the world’s most vulnerable people. Yet even now economic inertia
and vested interests slow down change. Since 2006, Asia has seen its energy consumption rise by around 50%. Coal (a particularly dirty fossil fuel) usage has grown at a rate of 3.1%. Oil, by 2.9%
Last year emissions dropped to levels last seen in the 1860s That is not to say progress has not been made. Last year per capital emissions in the UK dropped to levels last seen in the 1860s, undoing an entire industrial revolution. To persuade countries Iike India to cut too will require more though. The West grew rich guzzling fossil fuels; we must help poorer places both grow greenly and escape poverty. New technologies like CarbonCapture and geo-engineering must be explored. We are the generation that will witness the first truly gruesome consequences of Climate Change. Combatting it will require us to forge unprecedented international agreements and to radically restructure modern society. Nothing less than world civilisation depends on it. Plus, think of all the pasty arms!
Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
14
Politics
North Korea: The limits of the deal
Ellen Leafstedt Despite his year-long efforts to court the North Korean leader, the much anticipated summit between Trump and Kim Jong-Un ended abruptly on Thursday when the two parties failed to come to an agreement over denuclearisation. At a press conference after the summit, Trump said Kim’s proposal to denuclearise some ‘less important’ areas were inappropriate considering his request for removing sanctions against North Korea.
These deals have often been superficial and yet risk American foreign policy
Using his favoured language of ‘deal-making’, Trump continued: ‘At this time we decided not to do any of the options… Sometimes you have to walk.’ Since the beginning of his candidacy, Trump has proclaimed to bring a tough negotiating style, typical of his book “The Art of the Deal”, to the American presidency. As a result, his foreign policy focus has been on achieving so-called “big deals” with other leaders in informal forms of discussion. However, these deals have often been superficial in character while
bearing risks for American foreign policy interests. At the first summit with Kim Jong-Un in Singapore in 2018, optics triumphed over policy, as the main result was a vague promise to ‘work towards’ denuclearisation. Meanwhile, at the Helsinki summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, little progress was made on issues such as Western sanctions against Russia or Syria, but extensive photo ops and press coverage made it a success. Similarly, at the second summit with the North Korean leader, the American president once again emphasized his ‘very strong’ personal relationship with Kim Jong-Un amidst increased expectations for the reunion between the two leaders. But this time, the benchmarks were higher than simply establishing a relationship, which was also likely the reason for its downfall.
Why was the summitt allowed to happen the way it did?
Unlike at the Singapore summit, where Trump’s ability to get Kim Jong-Un to a negotiating table were enough to earn applause, ‘concrete deliverables’ were necessary at Hanoi. Yet according to U.S.
in Kim’s character when he stated he took the North Korean leader “at his word” over the 2017 death of American student Otto Warmbier. While Trump did not live up to his self-proclaimed reputation of a great negotiator, it seems this week that he has learned an important lesson: making deals is not all it takes to make foreign policy great again.
“
(Dan Scavino Jr. via Wikimedia Commons) Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, basics such as agreeing to a simple definition of denuclearisation had not been achieved. Nuclear policy experts noted that keeping such definitions unclear was one way Kim Jong-Un’s predecessors stalled negotiations in the past, and clearly, this will continue to constitute a problem for Trump’s aspirations toward a Nobel Peace Prize for his work toward peace on the Korean Peninsula. On top of this, Kim Jong-Un’s unreasonable request, which North Korea claims was for partial rather
than complete relief, made it impossible to come to an agreement. Given this, walking away from a bad deal was undoubtedly the right course of action for Trump, but it also leads one to wonder why the summit was allowed to happen in the way it did.
A persistent question has been whether these MPs must stand for re-election
to another party; and voters elect the individual they want as their MP, rather than a specific party. Whilst voters can themselves trigger a by-election by calling for a petition to recall their MP, this is only possible in specific circumstances, such as a criminal conviction.
The President once again emphasized his ‘very strong’ personal relationship with Kim Jong-Un
Shortly after the summit, Trump proved he still had misplaced faith
Keeping definitions unclear was one way Kim’s predecssors stalled negotiations
”
REALITY CHECK? For sources on this and all our articles please see our online editions at www.palatinate.org.uk
Independent Group: A fresh face in politics
Anna Gray Recently the UK political system was shaken by the defection of seven Labour and three Tory MPs to form The Independent Group. Whilst not yet registering as a political party these MPs are strongly critical of recent moves towards the extreme left and right in each of the main-stream parties, and favour a more centrist approach. On their website the group calls for a ‘different culture’ in order to fix the broken politics of the current two major political parties, which they see as racist and pulling Britain towards chaos.
Nevertheless, a persistent question has been whether these MPs must stand for re-election. Jeremy Corbyn, in response to the resignations, called on the seven Labour MPs to stand for re-election, saying it was the ‘decent and democratic’ thing to do.
However, it isn’t legally essential since, whilst they have left their political party, they haven’t defected
Standing for re-election would also pose the significant risk of dividing the left-leaning vote, and giving the Tories a better chance of taking the seat. The group themselves argue they should not stand for re-election as the public are sick of the recent spate of votes. Yet this sits rather uneasily with their support of a Second Referendum on the final Brexit deal and has prompted accusations of hypocrisy from their critics.
The group calls for a ‘different culture’ to fix the broken politics of the two major political parties
It remains to be seen in these early days whether the group will have a meaningful effect on British politics, however when looking at the impact of groups with even fewer MPs, such as UKIP, there is certainly potential for them to cause seismic shifts in our political system.
It remains to be seen whether group can have a meaningful effect on British politics
The group market themselves as a challenge to the current political structure (Tim Green via Flickr)
The group markets themselves as challenging the current political culture; however their reluctance to participate in a by-election arguably fits closer the stereotype of a political class alienated from the people and failing to offer a coherent message. Despite this flaw in their message, the Independent Group have started a conversation in British politics about the viability of the two major political parties and the impact of Brexit which has been brewing for a long time. Whether they eventually stand for election or not, the group has already begun to influence the major parties, with Jeremy Corbyn’s recent indication that he could back a second referendum arguably a response to the group’s Brexit stance.
The group has already influenced British politics
It will be interesting to see when and if these MPs stand for re-election; however, as Brexit fast approaches, the public may not appreciate further political disruption.
PALATINATE | Thursday 7th March 2019
15
Politics
Do we have the right to revoke citizenship? Shamima Begum and Hoda Muthana in the fight for citizenship
FOR Revoking Citizenship Katie Fraser Deputy Politics Editor Shamima Begum has recently been denied UK citizenship after leaving the UK to join Islamic State. When she joined ISIS, she made a decision – a decision to abandon the country of her birth and join an organisation that actively seeks the downfall of Western society. When she left she made an active choice to align herself with a terrorist organisation and should be made to realise the reality of her decision.
She chose to align with a terrorist organisation
Begum has said that she does not regret travelling to Syria but now fears for the future of her baby boy, whom she gave birth to in a Syrian refugee camp. Begum and her husband, Riedijik, fled the caliphate when it became clear that the state was destabilising but Riedijik continues to be held in north-eastern Syria while Begum was left in a refugee camp. Begum has said that: ‘I got tricked and I was hoping someone
would have sympathy with me’ and yet she does not regret travelling to Syria and has, during her time in the Middle East, made clear her strong and violent anti-Western statements endorsing terror attacks against British society. If she does not regret her journey to Syria, then how far is the government and the British public meant to believe that she no longer aligns herself with the ideologies of Islamic State? Affiliating herself with a militant organisation poses a very real security threat and allowing her UK citizenship would appear to gloss over this threat. Begum’s father has positioned himself on the side of the government’s decision to revoke citizenship. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday he said: ‘I am on the side of the government […] If she at least admitted she made a mistake then I would feel sorry for her and other people would feel sorry for her. But she does not accept her wrong.’ Begum’s appeal for sympathy seems to be falling on deaf ears even from her family. The British government demonstrates the establishment of a harder line policy towards those returning from Islamic State.
AGAINST Revoking Citizenship Patrick Williamson Hoda Muthana and Shamima Begum want to return to the United States and Britain respectively after leaving their countries to join Islamic State. Although both have affiliated themselves previously with strong anti-Western rhetoric, they are still entitled to their citizenship.
Both women are now stateless
Begum, the daughter of a Bangladeshi, had her citizenship removed under the guise that she might be a citizen of Bangladesh, a country which denies this and which she has never visited. Muthana, daughter of a Yemeni diplomat, had her
(susi.bsu via Flickr)
passport revoked in 2016. She was told her father’s position excluded her from US citizenship, despite him allegedly leaving his post before her birth. Both women are now stateless. Both Britain and the US committed themselves in 1954 to action against statelessness: Britain signed the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Person, and the US Supreme Court declared citizenship deprivation as a punishment illegal. They recognised that citizenship is not just a matter of legal convenience, or a ‘licence which expires based on good behaviour’. It is the foundation of their system. Without citizenship, all other human rights guaranteed by states or the UN are unenforceable. This is why this arbitrary removal by politicians playing to the gallery is so disconcerting. In particular, the ease at which the Home Secretary stripped Shamima Begum of her statehood, using Theresa May’s 2014 Immigration Act, is deeply troubling. The legislation allows for the deprivation of statehood if the individual may be entitled to citizenship elsewhere. But if Begum’s British citizenship can be removed because she might also be Bangla-
deshi, what value does it have and what becomes of other living in Britain with dual citizenship? How can dual citizens possible feel as though their ‘Britishness’ is worth the same as anyone else’s?
deal Brexit and requesting to delay Brexit respectively, are scheduled for the following two days. Calling for these votes was a major concession from the Prime Minister, indicating her lack of authority when it comes to dictating Brexit policy to her MPs.
pay to avoid a no deal scenario that most MPs strongly oppose. With May and Corbyn being willing to sacrifice the unity of their parties, and their previous stands on Brexit policy, the country’s exit of from the European Union seems to have accentuated the uncertain nature of Westminster politics. What is certain, however, is that the political drama of recent months is only going to intensify in the next few weeks.
Put them on trial and take measures if they have committed crimes
Begum’s and Muthana’s experiences have been deeply traumatic. Begum was only fifteen when she was indoctrinated, groomed, and raped and Muthana left the United States when she was twenty, now attempting to return to the US with her eighteen-month year old child. Shamima Begum and Hoda Muthana should be able to return. Put them on trial, and let measures be taken if they have committed crimes. Rehabilitation must not be shunned. Both women display varying degrees of regret and willingness to change. But whatever action is taken must be by Britain and the US. They are not Syria’s problem, or Bangladesh’s. They are citizens of Britain and the US, who must take responsibility.
Brexit, who is in control?
Simon Green By the end of March, it will have been two years since Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. While Mrs May has often insisted that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ and that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on March 29th, events in recent weeks have shown that it
is not going to be that straightforward.
Corbyn announced that Labour may back a public vote on Brexit
The humiliating defeat suffered by the government in January on the Withdrawal Agreement was the first in a string of events that
have made Westminster more unpredictable by the day. The creation of the Independent Group has seen 11 MPs leave both major parties, and so has contributed to a radical change in the positions of the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, as they look to dissuade further Parliamentarians from jumping ship. The Labour leader had previously stated that the result of the 2016 EU referendum should be respected, but announced at Prime Minister’s Question Time last week that Labour “will back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no deal outcome”.
The formation of the Independent Group has contribued to radical change
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Government policy has also had to shift radically in light of pressure from pro-European MPs. On 12th March the Commons will take a final vote on a Withdrawal Agreement tabled by the government. Should that fail, two votes, regarding the possibility of ruling out a no
Alienating the right of the Conservatives is the price to pay to avoid no deal
Hardline Brexiteers are horrified at the prospect of such a delay, with Jacob Rees Mogg saying that “My suspicion is that any delay to Brexit is a plot to stop Brexit.” However, it’s not only the likes of Rees Mogg and Boris Johnson who are seeking to defy the Prime Minister. The resignation of Environment Minister George Eustice, considered a moderate Tory Brexiteer, is a telling sign of how divisive this change of policy is in Mrs May’s party. This resignation will be a concern for a Prime Minister who has always wanted to keep both Leave and Remain Conservatives on side, but with the prospect of another defeat of her Withdrawal Agreement, it seems as though alienating the right of her party is the price to
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Calling for these votes was a major concession, showing the Prime Minister lacks authority over her MPs
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Politics
Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
Mind the gender austerity gap
Lydia Edwards On 8th March, International Women’s Day is celebrating women’s achievement while asking for a more gender balanced world. At the same time, evidence demonstrates how women in the UK are suffering greater than male counterparts due to the continued government implementation of austerity. Austerity has been rolled out across the UK as a response to the 2008 financial crises. It has led to a cut in welfare benefits and public services, alongside the removal of public sector jobs.
Women have higher participation in public sector jobs, so cuts have affected them greater
Since the implementation of austerity, there has been a disproportionate impact on not just women, but also those with disabilities, BME households and other lowincome groups. In the UK, women are more likely to be poorer due to a looser affiliation to the labour market because of traditional fe-
male roles. These factors, alongside the higher likelihood of single parenthood and the gender pay gap, means women are disproportionally impacted, and they are more likely to depend on the public services and benefits to support their income.
Austerity has had a disporportionate impact on women, BME people and people with disabilities
Based on research by the House of Commons Library, the changes in taxes and benefits since 2010 have caused an 86% reduction of government spending on women. The UK Women’s Budget Group has recognised how the shift in the pension age has left a further 23% of single female pensioners in poverty. Simultaneously, lone parents, the majority of whom are women, have been impacted drastically by freezes in child tax credit, alongside the two-child limit. Austerity has also affected women’s medical care access. The Bureau of Investigative Jour-
nalism in 2017 demonstrated how the funding of domestic violence has been cut by nearly a quarter since 2010. The number of incidences of domestic violence reported to the police has increased by a third. Equally, Dr Frances Amery, a researcher at Bath University, believes cuts in spending on sexual and reproductive health have been counterproductive, causing unintended pregnancies and an increase in STIs. The budget cuts to the NHS directly impact women as they make up approximately 77% of NHS staff. The cuts directly make their jobs more difficult and put their jobs at risk.
Reported incidences of domestic violence have increased by a third
As women have higher participation in public-sector work, this indicates the public sector pay cap disproportionately impacts women. The cuts to public sector jobs have led women into more temporary and low-paid positions, and some to unemployment. Increasing financial insecurity
(Roger Blackwell via Flickr) for women continues in the rise of the gig economy, where women are the majority of workers on temporary contracts or 0-hour contracts.
Women are the majority of workers on 0-hour contracts
According to Citizens Advice, these contracts mean individuals have a fluctuation of income, causing problems in obtaining crucial
in-work benefit payments. Overall, women are subjected to further inequality from work, benefits and public services to healthcare in austerity. While it is easy for politicians to claim they are promoting gender equality, the accurate measure of a balanced society is through having governments and budgets and policies which work towards and support closing the gaps for women alongside other minority groups.
Joe Biden the favourite winning one. All of this should be taken with a grain of salt until Biden does actually decide to run, of course. He chose against running in 2016, as he was grieving the loss of his son, and he is getting fairly old now. There’s a chance, albeit slim, that he’s done running campaigns. However, Biden has been active and visible enough in public that most analysts think it’s all but inevitable he’ll throw his name in. He’s been open in his strong words against the current President, and he’s just corrected himself after calling Mike Pence a “decent guy”, apologising to the LGBT community.
Carolina Maberry Despite not having announced a campaign, Joe Biden is the current favourite among pollsters to be the Democratic candidate for President in 2020. He’s known for his moderate positions; including a personal pro-life stance, if not a political one; but perhaps more relevantly he’s seen by the Democratic base as two things: a straight shooter and Obama-adjacent. This puts him on firmer ground than the current second favourite, Bernie Sanders, whose base is undeniably narrower.
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Joe Biden is the current favourite amongst pollsters to be the Democratic presidential candidate
Biden hasn’t always been this strong of a contender; his first Presidential ambition in 1988 was halted by a plagiarism scandal long before it could get anywhere. But between that election and his second attempt 20 years later Biden also picked up the reputation of an experienced political veteran. In combination with his loose cannon personality, Biden made a strong candidate in perhaps the most competitive field in the party’s recent history. Still, he was no match for Clinton or newcomer Obama. But his position as an old
(Marc Nozell via Flick) hand still came in handy. To prove he wasn’t too green, Obama announced Biden as a running mate, and Biden’s eight years as righthand man to the first AfricanAmerican President is perhaps largely responsible for the wave of goodwill he’s coasting now.
He’s got an air of authenticity that few politicians have
Biden’s personal life perhaps makes him an appealing candidate to many Americans. He lived to see his wife and infant die in a car crash
and has now outlived his son Beau who he lost in 2015. He’s shown tremendous dedication in the face of personal tragedy and he’s got an air of authenticity that few politicians who have been around as long as him could have. This is added to by Biden’s more humorous rep as a loose cannon; perhaps especially during the Obama years. Famously, Biden pre-empted Obama’s speech on Obamacare with “This is a big f****** deal,” thinking the mic wasn’t recording. In the current sensationalist climate, the quality which was seen as his biggest detractor may be a
The Democratic base does not want a moderate right now
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This, however, reveals the one chink in Biden’s armour: the Democratic base doesn’t want a moderate right now, and out of everyone in the crowded field so far Biden
would be undeniably the least left-wing major contender. Biden would have to reconcile extremely archaic views and over forty years of policies which the Democratic base wouldn’t be excited about.
Most analysts think it’s all but inevitable he’ll throw his name in
Plus, in the #MeToo era, some of Biden’s odd remarks and behaviours might be shone under a less forgiving light. If anyone can do it, it’s Joe Biden and the amount of goodwill people have for him, but it shouldn’t remain a given that Biden will remain an unchallengeable frontrunner. In terms of competition, Biden is facing a big crowd if he does run. Sanders is second in current opinion polls, and is ideologically fairly similar to Elizabeth Warren. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris are both embracing more race conscious policy, which the other candidates in the field might struggle to match. There is a lot of old and young blood, and Biden may see a repeat of 2008 where despite being a fine candidate he was outdone by the new hotness. It’s still early days, and the strength of any candidate is yet to really be tested. If he’s going to run, Biden will be a strong but flawed contender for the next President of the United States of America.
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The Big Pink team erg challenge: racing for success the same three charities where we have raised almost £100,000 in 6 years.” She also went on to say that “I have family experience with ongoing breast cancer treatment,” and so was exceptionally keen to involve the rowing community of Durham University in such a worthwhile cause. The day was a resounding success having achieved over £3500 already through donations on the day and a Just Giving Page. Speaking after the event, Alex commented: “I am beyond happy with the results, more people bought in than I could’ve dreamed of and people raised phenomenal amounts of money.” This is certainly true, for as well as the individuals taking part sponsors were also very supportive, with Durham Amateur Rowing Club, Talking T’s (Cambridge); Beau Trophies, (West Yorkshire), Batley Bulldogs RLFC, and Fox’s Biscuits all getting involved in the fundraising.
James Smith & Honor Webb On Sunday 24th February, Durham students took part in the Big Pink Team Erg Challenge, at the Durham Amateur Rowing Club.
The day was a resounding success having achieved over £3500 Teams raced to each complete 100km on indoor rowing machines (‘ergs’), the fastest time being an impressive five hours and thirty-nine minutes. All teams, however, did complete the race in under nine hours! With over one-hundred actual participants combined, the teams included representatives of hosts Durham Amateur Rowing Club, St Mary’s Boat Club, DU Women’s Rugby Team, St Cuthbert’s Novice Women and their Senior team, as well as the men’s senior teams from St Aidans, Trevelyan, and Hild Bede.
Teams raced to complete 100km
each
This was, however, not just a day of people sitting in a room rowing on machines. Entertainment was provided by Footnotes A Capella group, and
the Durham University Ceilidh Band. The event was a fundraiser for three breast cancer charities Coppafeel, Breast Cancer Now, and Against Breast Cancer, and was organised by the great impetus of Alexandra Nicholas, a member of the Senior Women’s Squad for St Cuthbert’s Society
Boat club.
“It was a endeavour”
zero-budget
Alex’s motivation for organising the event came from her experiences at home, “I’m involved with a pink weekend at home for
Friends and competitors alike were keen to emphasise the amount of effort Alex put into the event Alex thanked the organisations, saying: “I had the kindest of sponsors who made the entire experience possible since it was a zero-budget endeavour.”
Fun was clearly had by all as second-year Margot MacMahon, said: “It was lovely to see so many people show up and put themselves through so much pain for such a great cause.” Friends and competitors alike were keen to emphasise the amount of effort Alex put into the event.
The day was a clear success for Coppafeel, Breast Cancer Now, and Against Breast Cancer Fourth-year Jemima Lincoln praised: “Alex organised the event really well, and there was a competitive but friendly atmosphere throughout the day. It was super challenging and exhausting but I’d definitely do it again!’ Alex, though, was keen to thank all those who attended, calling for “a special thank you to my friends who became my own little dream pink team, I took on a project which I couldn’t complete alone so I am eternally grateful for their stepping up to the challenge and making it run like clockwork, especially while I was myself erging.” The day was clearly a success for three amazing charities. So it seems fitting to end with congratulations to Alex and all of those who took part!
“England will need to learn to play attacking cricket whilst retaining discipline” Continued from back page How are we to understand England ODI performances in the wider context of their time in the Caribbean? Did England fare better in the in the test series? Well, actually what cost them in their two one-day defeats was arguably also culpable in their two test defeats against the Windies. The test squad had significant overlap with that selected for the one-day series (of the 15 in the one-day squad, 9 had been selected for the tests), and this overlap extended to the style of play.
What is confusing is the huge inconsistency in England’s performances In both of the first two tests, the Windies won by convincing margins: 381 runs in the first test and 10 wickets in the second. They offered more with the ball and England’s batting couldn’t handle their threat.
England’s batting provided cause for concern. In the first test, their first innings mustered only 77 runs. In the second test, they fared slightly better, scoring 319 runs across both innings. Batsmen were frequently out attempting ambitious shots far too early in their innings.
The England line up for the test matches was severely lacking in top order The England line up for the test matches was severely lacking in a top order. Middle-order batsmen, used to coming in later and playing more freely, could not compensate for this and this inability to defend and occupy the crease was telling. Instead, England ploughed on with their ill-disciplined batting, and collapse after collapse followed. This aggressive intent can bring success, as demonstrated by England’s 232 run victory in the
third test. When it works, it works brilliantly.
In both of the first two tests the Windies won by convincing margins However, it also has potentially disastrous consequences when it goes wrong, as should be familiar from the one-day series. The Windies, in the tests, proved able to defend well, alongside playing attacking cricket where appropriate. England, in their search for bold cricket, has forgotten this balance. In a summer that contains a home Ashes series after the OneDay World Cup, England would do well to regain it.
Yet their undoubtedly aggressive style can come undone So, what does this hold for the team going forwards? In the immediate future lies the
England ODI captain Eoin Morgan (Nic Redhead via Flickr) Twenty20 series against the Windies, where this style of attacking cricket is a core part of the way the format is played. Behind this, though, lies the World Cup and the Ashes. By then, England will need to learn how to play attacking cricket whilst retaining discipline, and how to stick to a strategy whilst being able to adapt to the conditions of
the game. If they don’t, the summer of success that supporters will be dreaming of may well remain a fantasy. However, with only two test matches before the Ashes and a handful of ODIs left before the major competition, and many lessons left to learn, England is running out of time.
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Does the media negatively affect football? Transfer merry-go-rounds, sack races, and spy gate: how much influence does the media have? between this constant media attention and the performance of the players on the pitch as well. The messages outlets like the BBC and others get across are ubiquitous and subliminally convince the masses. The lifespan of a football manager becomes ever shorter, because of this promoted tendency to instantly blame the manager. This influence stretches over the players as well; the fact that every little news piece is covered online or on TV means players never escape the spotlight. As soon as the papers begin to call for change, what’s to say the team don’t begin to form their own opinions?
Slavisa Jokanovic was sacked by Fulham after a disastrous start to the Premier League campaign (Alexander Osipov via Wikimedia Commons)
Johnny Tiplady With the January transfer window now a distant memory for clubs and fans alike, that time of the season has come when managers enter choppy waters which determine their team’s course. For many, the transfer window is a time to rejoice, your club has finally improved that problem position; for others, it represents missed opportunities, and an easy wound to pick at when it comes to managerial criticism. There’s nothing the media loves more than a story, and what better way to add fuel to the fire by penning criticisms for the world to see? The date is 4th November, Chelsea have just beaten Crystal Palace 3-1 to go Second in the Premier League. Unbeaten after their first eleven games, the club seemed to be turning a corner, lunging for the title again after a year-long hiatus.
There is an undeniable link between the constant media attention and the performance of the players Yet, a mediocre November and December saw Chelsea not only ousted from the title race, but battling to stay in the top four. All of a sudden, after the optimism of their best start to a season (after eleven games) since the title-winning Mourinho side of 2014-15, hopes came crashing down, and the spotlight fell on
Maurizio Sarri. This past fortnight after crashing out of the FA Cup in a 2-0 defeat to a rejuvenated Manchester United, the BBC published two articles within as many days stating that Sarri was ‘done’ and that ‘the end is near’ for him. The vultures began to circle, the scraps were there to be fed off, and another manager was being made to walk the plank by the press.
The lifespan of a football manager becomes ever shorter This would be the sixth manager to lose their position in the Premier League this season; the fourth to come after a wave of media critique against them, after Slavisa Jokanovic, Mark Hughes and later José Mourinho. An article from the BBC in November noted the bizarreness of the lack of sackings at the time, pressing that, more often than not, a managerial change led to an upturn in fortunes. That can’t be said for either of Southampton or Fulham, with both clubs still languishing among the bottom three. How long before the press begin to call for more managerial upheavals? This article was written prior to the third international break, a period which most fans would happily skip in favour of more league football. This is evident to journalists, as they resort to speculating sack races in a bid to pique public interest. There is an undeniable link
tenure at Old Trafford, now under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he has finally begun to silence those critics. The same group of players, yet a complete change in fortunes. Many pundits blamed this tension between the player and manager for Mourinho’s sacking.
How long before the press begin to call for yet more managerial upheaval?
Yet, it would be unfair to purely blame the BBC for this constant managerial pressure. The battle between Sky and BT over TV rights has been raging for years now, with more and more astronomical fees (until this year’s plateau) Clubs are becoming being thrown around for rights to entrapped within this cycle of the world’s most watched league. spending big This has placed a huge financial stress on simply staying in the The age of media power has Premier League, which in turn given rise to a greater sense of means the transfer window is player power too. It was the case painted as a crucial period to last season when Antonio Conte make or break a season. was sacked, even after winning Clubs are becoming entrapped the FA Cup; relations with certain within this cycle of spending big players had gone sour to tarnish to ensure next season’s budget. what would have been a good Some pundits level seemingly season for most clubs. outraged criticism at managers The same goes for this season; like Mauricio Pochettino for not Paul Pogba was widely criticised spending during the window, only for his attitude during Mourinho’s for him to prove them wrong later in the season. Paul Pogba has been at the heart of media attention this year, both positive and negative (Svetlana Beketova via Wikimedia Commons)
The transfer window is a time when rumours abound as writers search for their next story. Clubs announce each big money signing as if they were another trophy to the collection. The media has become as much an instrument for journalists and pundits as it has for the clubs themselves. It is not uncommon to hear managers asked in press conferences about how they plan to spend their individual kitties, which they use to either tempt other players or draw attention away from the situation as a whole. One of the more recent media sagas to come out of English football is the outrage against Marcelo Bielsa spying on his rivals, dubbed ‘Spygate’. The initial uproar from Frank Lampard spread to rival managers and pundits alike, each publicising their own take, which ultimately ended in a £200,000 fine for Leeds United. Without this platform to vent, the EFL’s final decision may not have been swayed like it was. There could have been more lenience given the frequency of this practice in Bielsa’s homeland. The media is everywhere, not just in sport. It is impossible to escape its ever-widening influence.
The transfer window is a time when rumours are abound Its role is interlinked with a financial reward that is becoming more and more lucrative, so both facets are as easy to blame as the other. These new aspects were always inevitable with the way technology has advanced over the last century, though maybe if we were to use it correctly, the integrity of the beautiful game might flourish once again.
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If done correctly, the integrity of the beautiful game could flourish again
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Thursday 7th March 2019 | PALATINATE
Durham Big Pink Erg Challenge Rowers, both new and experienced came to Durham Amateur Rowing Club on Sunday 24th February to raise over £3500 (page 18)
Transfer merry-go-rounds, sack races and spygate How much influence does the media have on the beautiful game? Johnny Tiplady investigates (page 19)
England collapse in the Caribbean Matt Jolley
▲ St Aidans representing Durham in the Netball against York (Luke Snell Photography, Nouse)
Durham defeat York to reclaim Varsity trophy
• After their 55-73 defeat in 2018, Durham came back to reclaim the much-sought after title • Wins in volleyball, netball, mixed lacrosse and squash consolidated the victory Tim Sigsworth Deputy Sports Editor On Sunday 24th February, Durham triumphed 65-46 over York as sporting representatives from each of our sixteen colleges battled it out in eleven different sports throughout the day. Intercollegiate rivalries were put aside for the day, with victories for A teams being rewarded with five points and victories for B teams with three. A flying start saw Volleyball A, represented by Division One leaders Ustinov, and B, represented by Premiership thirdplace John Snow, secure an initial
8-0 lead for the hosts. Durham then consolidated this with victories for Netball B (St. Cuthbert’s), Women’s Rugby A (Van Mildert) and B (St. Aidan’s) making it 16-6 after the first six matches. The six points having come from Squash B, and Netball B. York having beaten Trevelyan and St Cuthbert’s Society respectively. York certainly weren’t going down without a fight and clawed it back to 16-14 after their Netball A (Derwent) and Men’s Rugby B (James) defeated St. Aidan’s and Grey’s respectively. Defeats for Women’s Football B (St. John’s), and Tennis B (St. Mary’s) were offset by wins for
Squash A (Hild Bede), Mixed Basketball B (Josephine Butler), Mixed Basketball A (Hild Bede) and Women’s Football A (Josephine Butler) as Durham pulled away once again to take a 34-23 lead after the first fourteen matches. So as the rest of the afternoon matches took place, the hosts were in control, looking ahead to reclaiming the trophy. Wins for Lacrosse B (Castle), A (St. Chad’s) and Hockey B (Grey) extended the lead further but a mixed bag of results over the next six games saw York come back into contention. Although Men’s Rugby A (Van Mildert) and Pool B (St. John’s) ran out 27-26 and 7-2
winners respectively, losses for Tennis A (Collingwood), Men’s Football B (Hatfield), Hockey A (Collingwood) and Men’s Football A (Collingwood) meant that a Durham victory was by no means assured. The day was set for a tense finish as, with 56 points required for victory, it was 55-46 to Durham with two matches worth five points each still to play. However, Darts A (Grey) and Pool A (Ustinov) both kept their cool to secure wins and regain the Trophy from York just one year after losing 55-73. Congratulations to all involved. Up the Durham!
Pundits attempting to make something of England’s performance in the One-Day series against the West Indies are faced with a difficult challenge. Across the five-game series (of which one was a washout), the final result was a draw, with each team winning two matches apiece. But was England’s display encouraging, or cause for despair? The question is hard to answer. What is confusing is the huge inconsistency in England’s performances. In the fourth oneday international (ODI), the team showed just what they are capable of, posting a mammoth score of 418-6 off their fifty overs. However, just days later, in the fifth ODI, they were dismissed for just 113. The hosts took only 12.1 overs to knock off the target, in a loss that coach Trevor Bayliss labelled ‘embarrassing’. Bayliss went on to say that ‘the gulf between our good matches in this series and our bad one is huge’, summing up the inconsistency that plagued England during the one-day matches. Those sympathetic towards England will argue that the pitch – with a steep bounce can be characteristic of Caribbean pitches but is unheard of in the UK – was one that the team was not used to. Yet more critical viewers could point to England’s loss to Scotland last summer, proving that such inconsistency is not new. With the World Cup hosted on home ground this summer, looming large within the minds in the England dressing room are thoughts that will naturally be turning to the team’s chances. For many, England are favourites going into the tournament, and definitely have the potential to be the best on their day. Yet their undoubtedly aggressive style can come undone, and tip over into temperamentality. Sometimes it can lead to huge scores of 400+, other times it brings about collapses. How are we to understand England ODI performances in the wider context of their time in the Caribbean? Continued on page 18