Palatinate 793

Palatinate www.palatinate.org.uk | FREE

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | No. 793

1984 = 2017

£231k per year?

Comment asks whether the Vice-Chancellor’s salary is justified

Books on how 1984 was always 2017

Campaign group raise concerns over college “Bed Tax” Reece Moore Deputy News Editor

Sport interviews veteran Sky Sports broadcaster, Geoff Shreeves

Photograph: Sky Sports

Durham University and Students’ Union “hostile to free speech,” report finds spiked magazine ranks Durham alongside 63.5 per cent of universities that have “banned and actively censored ideas on campus” Eugene Smith Deputy News Editor A survey of British universities undertaken by spiked magazine claims that Durham University and its Students’ Union “collectively create an environment that is hostile to free speech.”

In the online magazine’s third annual Free Speech University Rankings, spiked categorises 115 UK universities into a traffic-light system, whereby higher education institutions are ranked Red, Amber, or Green according to their policies

relating to freedom of expression.

Durham University was given Amber ratings in the previous two surveys, but has now been assigned a Red ranking, which denotes an institution that “has banned and actively censored ideas on campus.”

The magazine criticizes the Students’ Union in particular for its “outright ban on homophobic and transphobic speech,” alongside the campus-wide discouragement of initiation ceremonies and the 2015 cancellation of a debate invitation to former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson.

In receiving a Red ranking, Durham is graded alongside 63.5 per

cent of the universities surveyed; of the remainder, 30.5 per cent are ranked as Amber, which describes a campus that “has chilled free speech through intervention,” and 6 per cent as Green, the grading reserved for universities that have “a handsoff approach to free speech”.

When asked for comment, a University spokesperson said: “The University is committed to freedom of expression within the law and we encourage freedom of expression and debate amongst staff, students and visitors. The University has a Code of Practice relating to freedom of expression in relation to meetings or other activities.

“This [Code of Practice] states that the University will seek to uphold its commitment to freedom of expression within the law, and will only impose conditions where legitimate concerns regarding the legality of the event and/or the safety of participants are justified.

“The University’s duty to secure freedom of expression within the law extends to the Students’ Union premises and for this reason the Code of Practice applies to activities that take place there.”

Wider reaction to the spiked survey has been diverse.

In a blog for the Huffington Post UK, Continued on page three

Durham for Accessible Education (DfAE) have started a new campaign this week, raising concerns regarding with what they call the ‘Bed Tax’.

This so-called “Bed Tax” is a yet-to-be disclosed extra charge for students who will have college rooms with double or threequarter beds from the 2017-2018 academic year.

The campaign aims to highlight what DfAE feels are strong issues with this supposed “Bed Tax”. The “Bed Tax” is yet to be mentioned to students in an official capacity, and is set to be done on a random basis in colleges, with no opportunity for a student to opt-in or optout.

In response to the University’s new policy, DfAE have drafted a “Bed Tax” petition letter.

Furthermore, DfAE are concerned that there has been no suggestion that this charge will be waived for disabled students who require larger beds. This highlights a parallel with the national issue of the “Bedroom Tax,” which also disproportionately affected disabled people.

The DfAE petition letter is addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, and calls for “the immediate cancellation of Durham’s ‘Bed Tax’ which is being unfairly imposed on unknowing students.”

Within the letter, DfAE highlight an email sent to all students by the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Tim Burt, which drew “attention to discounts for lacking amenities and support for students of a parental income between £25,000 £26,500” but failed to mention the £228 levy for three-quarter and double beds which will be added to accommodation fees in the upcoming year.

Continued on page three

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Editorial While it isn’t perfect, our Union has our best interests at heart Words written about student apathy in student elections are not alien to this column. And with good reason.

Over the years, expressions of disenchantment with Durham Students’ Union and its student leadership have become normative.

We have grown somewhat used to an environment where progress made by the Union is viewed and celebrated by the minority, rather than the majority.

Some might offer good reasons for that, too.

Rightly or wrongly, the Union is, in many peoples’ eyes, unrepresentative of student views on certain issues; that it is passive, rather than active, on the issues that it campaigns for; or even that it is irrelevant as a body in a University where college JCRs and their accompanying organisations are arguably the mainstay of student governance and democracy.

Yet the progress made this academic year by the incumbent student leadership of the Union has (or will) affected us all, and it is only right that it should be reiterated here for all to read.

Inthis year’s elections,theUnionhas introduced the post of Postgraduate Academic Officer whose job it will be to represent specifically the views and interests of postgraduate students across the university. Academic representation for postgraduates has been consistently poor; issues like postgraduate pay, supervisor support, and crucially mental health were being brushed under the rug. With the introduction of a new Postgraduate Academic Officer, the concerns of postgraduates will now be brought together with those of undergraduate

students to make the student voice more unified.

The ratification of the People of Colour Association was a crucial step forward in raising awareness of Durham’s overt lack of diversity.

Students now have a place to come together, share their experiences, and bring to light issues that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

More recently, the work done by the Student Officer team has helped to change the tone of discussion surrounding sexual violence and misconduct at this University, with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, working with the President, Alice Dee, to put on open consultation meetings.

Other changes are perhaps less significant, but Lisa Whiting’s campaign for more adequate eating space in the Bill Bryson Library is something we will likely all benefit from. The pilot, which began this week, demonstrates the will of the Officers to fight for issues that they know students care about. The Union is not just about politics and policy; believe it or not, the Officer team passionately cares about making a wholesome difference to our student experience.

Perhaps these successes partly explain why the feeling on the ground in this year’s Student Officer elections feels markedly different. While Palatinate as a student newspaper doesn’t take a stance on student politics, since impartiality is key to our mission, Harry Cross’s campaign for President has me optimistic for what lies ahead.

While the result will already have

been decided by the time many of you read this, Harry Cross has demonstrated time and time again his commitment to the big issues— and I write this without any pledged allegiance to any running candidate.

Over the years, Harry’s voice has been unwavering in the campaign for fairer accommodation fee rises and increased accessibility for current and prospective students. I have no doubt that, if elected, Harry will do his utmost to represent us all.

Aside from our profiling of the eleven great candidates standing in this year’s Student Officer elections, News reports on the latest spiked free speech rankings for 2017, where Durham’s ranking has moved from ‘Amber’ to ‘Red.’ Comment asks whether Professor Stuart Corbridge’s salary is justified in light of the wider importance of the University being a Living Wage employer, and Politics interview MP for Durham City, Roberta BlackmanWoods.

As always, we hope you enjoy this edition of Palatinate. If you feel like your interests aren’t being heard or represented, we’re always listening.

Write to us at editor@palatinate.org. uk, and we might print your views in the next edition.

Ryan Gould

Thursday 23rd Feburary 2017 | PALATINATE

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PROFILE: So you want to make it as a broadcast journalist?

SPORT English cricket in twelve months – a prediction

STAGE: Five Kinds of Silence preview: ‘blunt’

FILM & TV: Review: Lion

Profile interview Nisha Joshi on her varied and dynamic experiences as a broadcast journalist.

Will Jennings discusses how England cricket will look in a years’ time.

Martha Bozic reviews Fourth Wall Theatre’s Five Kinds of Silence

Ábel Bede reviews Golden Globe winner ‘Lion’ for Film & TV

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Too often student representation is viewed by Universities, Students’ Union and student reps as end in itself. Student reps are told that merely shouting loudly and sitting on the appropriate committee is enough. However the true purpose of student representation – and where its power lies – is securing educational and social change.

The role of student representation (Students’ Unions, SU Officers and academic reps) has become even more important in light of the Government’s whole-sale changes to higher education. By committing to having market competition as the operating model for universities, the Government is putting the quality of our student’s education at risk.

Forcing universities to measure teaching quality in terms of ‘value for money’ and metrics such as National Student Survey, graduate employment and learning environment, is actually shifting the focus away from conversations about quality, good teaching and transformative educational experiences.

This means that the brilliant work of our academic reps at departmental and faculty level has never been more important and it is imperative that reps, Officers and the SU continue to raise questions about what our students are being taught, how they are being taught, academic timetables, experiences of postgrads who teach, etc.

Student representation is also important in the context of the University’s new strategy. Now, in a post Brexit Trumpian world, the University’s new strategy seems inconsequential.

However, the sheer pace and extent of the changes being proposed makes it a big deal.

Colleges are being relocated, student numbers will grow dramatically, and the University is committed to ‘internationalisation’. Student representation and consultation is therefore fundamental to ensuring that Durham student experiences, needs and views are at the heart of the University’s strategic decisions. This means telling the University what we think of their plans, but also telling them what we want!

A blast from the past: Palatinate No. 353, 25th February 1982

Bouattia: Claims “could not be further from the truth” Continued from front page Malia Bouattia, the President of the National Union of Students (NUS), was sceptical of the report, claiming that it generates a narrative on university safe spaces and no-platform policies that “could not be further from the truth.”

Ms Bouattia also criticised the evidence upon which the report is based, arguing that “it takes no more than a simple anti-bul-

lying policy to be declared an existential threat to the freedom of the individual.”

Meanwhile, Tom Harwood, a Durham NUS delegate whose election campaign late last year won the attention of the national media for its irreverent satire of Ms Bouattia’s organisation, commented: “This demotion for Durham is very worrying at a time when it is more crucial than ever to uphold a free and open ex-

change of ideas.”

Mr Harwood also blamed the Students’ Union’s Red ranking on “their censoring NUS-like tendencies”.

The spiked report, which is based on an aggregated analysis of University and Students’ Union policies over a three-year period, coincidentally comes within days of controversy at the Durham Union Society over the Chinese Embassy’s request for

one of the speakers, the human rights advocate Anastasia Lin, to be barred from addressing a debate.

It was also reported that over 500 people had signed an online petition similarly asking for Ms Lin, an actress and former Miss World contestant who has been declared a persona non grata by the Chinese authorities, to be silenced.

Lack of “public information” is “most worrying” Continued from front page Moreover, DfAE feel that this extra charge will have a damaging effect on the financial accessibility of Durham, especially for those from lower income families.

The letter claims that a “standard catered room with a double bed will now cost £7,399, an unacceptable 4.8% increase.” If this is true, then this would stretch even the highest maintenance loans, and would leave many students in need of further financial support

from non-government sources.

Additionally, DfAE find it particularly worrying that “students have not been informed adequately of this levy.” This could leave a lot of students in financially uncomfortable situations which they did not know would occur.

The situation would be worse in colleges that have more double beds than others. The random allocation and lack of ability to optin or out of this “Bed Tax” means that is it “not merely an extra cost

for those who can afford it, rather a punitive tax.”

Disabled students may be effected the most severely. The letter describes the lack of “public information” as “most worrying”, as there has been no indication of whether disabled students’ “needs can be met without incurring this charge.” DfAE therefore “demand a concrete commitment from the University that no disabled student will have to pay this charge when a larger bed is needed to

meet their needs.”

The letter finishes with a clear message to the University that “until a fair, thought-out policy… [is] introduced, we call for the immediate cancellation of this tax.”

They feel that the ‘tax’ is “damaging, wrong, and casts Durham in a light that negates its reputation as a welcoming, accepting place.”

DfAE will be releasing this letter to the public to collect signatures and apply pressure on the executives of Durham University.

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Durham SU Officer Elections

Meet the candidates a

Megan Croll (President) Why do you want to be elected as President?

I genuinely care about issues in Durham and I want to make change for the students and represent their views. I have enough grit to be able to stand up to the University and say when there are issues and they have not listened to us. Of all the issues we are consulted on, our feelings never come into fruition in any kind of plan.

I can’t waste the experience and knowledge that I have, and the opportunity to make a difference.

There are a lot of new University staff coming in and I feel that I am the one to make them see the student perspective from the get-go.

The staff run things in a big machine and they need to start taking

into account what we have said.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

We lobby for change but the SU doesn’t make that much of an impact at the moment. It is really moving forward and the new strategy of the SU is really going to help with this. But I would stop preparing all these different options and accepting that the University is not going to take on board what we say the first time. We need to do something to make them wake up and realise. I can be diplomatic but I also feel that I would need to be slightly more hardline and not make excuses for the University.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I would like to be remembered for being the President that welcomed Queen’s Campus to Durham, because that is massive, and the one that was there when the first scaffolding went up. I want to be able to say that I stood up and had a voice on your behalf. I would like to be remembered for being the one that can make sure we have enough student input on the way the city as a whole is going to change over the next ten years.

What’s your favourite music album?

Queen’s Greatest Hits.

Harry Cross (President) Why do you want to be elected as President?

This is a make or break moment for Durham. Spiralling student numbers proposed by the University are threatening to put pressure on lecture spaces, counselling services, and student housing. This will push up rent in the city and timetabling demands are already threatening to lengthen term dates, shorten holidays, and end free Wednesday afternoons.

I want to be President to oppose rent hikes, fight for cost of living, and to keep Wednesday afternoons free.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

I think the Students’ Union could

do more to engage students with the issues that matter to them. I want to prioritise cost of living, and I want a Union that links up with student campaigns and, why not, initiate them?

What do you think is it about your past experience that makes you particularly well-suited to the role?

I have experience both being a student organiser and campaigner as well as a student representative.

I organised the largest student protests in Durham since tuition fee protests on college rent which were successful in lowering the rate of increase, and due to that campaign students are now paying less to live in Durham, which I am very proud of. I also have ex-

perience as a student representative, I have been a college rep to the Students’ Union assembly, and open rep on the assembly. I have sat on my college council; I have been a course rep in two different departments, a Durham NUS delegate; and I am currently the faculty rep for arts and humanities. I chair a sub-group of the Students’ Union Academic Affairs Committee, and I sit on the University Research Council.

What’s your favourite music album?

A Different Kind of Love Song – Dick Gaughan.

Adam Jarvis (President) Why do you want to be elected as President?

I like working here and making changes that actually affect students. There are things I have loved about my job and want to continue, but there are also things that I haven’t enjoyed so much and want to change both within the Union and around the University. I want to keep making changes for students that actually matter and make a difference.

What do you think is it about your past experience that makes you particularly well-suited to the role?

I would come into the role with

a knowledge of how the Union works, which means that I wouldn’t have to spend six months getting used to it and will be able to jump straight into the role. I will be able to support the other officers within the Union and start making a difference a lot faster. As a student I have taken part in a number of sports teams. I was Welfare Officer for my college, and I try to get involved in as many different ways as I can.

What role do you think the DSU should play in national student campaigns such as ones headed by the NUS? Our first focus should just be on

Durham students, however, there are certain things you need a national perspective on. One of the things I would like to look into is Tier 4 visas for international students and the restrictions they have on volunteering work. This is something that needs to be changed on a national level but can also affect Durham students.

What’s your favourite music album?

Back to Bedlam – James Blunt.

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Durham SU Officer Elections

asking for your votes Shiv Nadkarni (President)

Why do you want to be elected as President?

I believe the current condition of the Durham Students’ Union is not so good. I would like to bring in the necessary changes and make sure that all the students get equal opportunities not only in respect to academics, but also in respect to sports. I have three main agendas: first is to do with inclusivity, second is to do with welfare, and third is to do with sports and societies.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

I am a firm believer in inclusivity.

Maintaining and promoting welfare is essential. I will be creating a code of conduct sheet for students to look to that. I have a plan to create a sports federation and this

federation would not only look after traditional sports such as cricket, rugby and football, but it will also look at some non-traditional sports.

With respect to societies, I have a short-term plan and a long-term strategy. Under the short-term plan, I plan to create a student alumni network. Students will be able to communicate with alumni of Durham University, and if they have any doubts, concerns, fears then they can discuss this with the alumni and get themselves sorted. Under the long-term strategy, I am planning to create a network of students from different colleges so they can communicate with one another.

What role do you think the DSU should play in national student

campaigns such as ones headed by the NUS? I believe that if you really want to run the Students’ Union efficiently, it will not work if you just focus on the University itself.

It is also very important to act as a liaison between the Union and different unions such as the NUS. I want to accomplish my ultimate aim which is to benefit students.

What’s your favourite music album?

Anything Inna.

Rosa Tallack (Welfare and Liberation Officer) Why do you want to be elected?

I have been quite involved with student welfare at Durham. I am director of Nightline and Chair of WEDCOM, and I have been on college welfare for two years. So I think I would really enjoy the opportunity to continue working to improve welfare and liberation at Durham, but on a different scale and probably with a more policyfocused approach. I am excited by the prospect of the Union being stronger and being able to influence students’ lives in quite a tangible way.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

My priority would definitely be

mental health in the sense that one in five students say that they have a mental health problem at a university.

I would like to focus on that quite heavily by running a University-wide campaign, as well as developing mental health first aid training to roll out mostly to student leaders and welfare teams, but also to anyone who is interested. There are so many different layers of student support at Durham, but I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of equipping students with the skills to support one another at a basic level.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I would love any student who is wanting to access help, to get help.

At the moment our waiting lists for the Counselling and Disability services are really long, and I would like to increase capacity by conducting research because my work with the University already has shown me that they respond well to an evidence-based approach.

When you present them with evidence that they can’t ignore, they are like “we really need to change this.”

What’s your favourite music album?

The La La Land Soundtrack.

Molly Smith (Welfare and Liberation Officer) Why do you want to be elected?

I definitely feel that there are problems within the University in terms of providing people with the support that they need; people with mental health problems and then obviously the other side of it, representing the minorities in our community. I think that the University should be doing more than they already are, especially considering the fact that Durham is not a very diverse place and there are a lot of accessibility issues that a lot of people are aware of . We’re not really doing as much as we can to change that.

If elected, what would you like to

do differently (to your predecessor)?

I want to focus on making mental health support more accessible.

Secondly, to make the support more specific so that if people are going to the Counselling Service with a certain problem, they can access help which is related to the problem that they are having. On the liberation side, I have been on the LGBT+ Exec for two years, so I am very integrated into the Association world, and have found out that the issues that they have in regards to how the associations are run are the same to those in our own association. I think

News

setting up something similar to the Societies Forum for the Associations groups would be a really good idea, but also a Liberation Forum.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Actually doing something that has made a difference to someone. The most rewarding thing is when someone turns round to you and says what you’ve done has made a huge difference to me personally, and for me that’s why I’m doing the job.

What’s your favourite music album?

Bat Out of Hell – Meatloaf.

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Audrey Allas (Postgraduate Academic Officer) What do you think it is about your past experience that makes you particularly well-suited to the role?

I have a lot of effective experience leading. I am currently the PGR Faculty Rep for Social Sciences and Health where I sit on a variety of educational committees. I think I have access to actually making reform in issues such as PG teaching training and pay contracts. I am also an international student so I know a lot of the complexities around visa issues, feeling like you are being ripped off by

the University and that you are being used for your tuition fees. Making sure the international community feels welcome and that they are getting their money’s worth out of everything is really important. I am the only candidate who has teaching experience. Outside the University I worked at big, national non-profit organisations, and so I have a lot of outside transferable skills that I can bring in.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

Sabrina Seel (Postgraduate Academic Officer) Why do you want to be elected?

I am a postgraduate myself, I am doing a PHD in Psychology, and I’ve been MCR President at St Mary’s for two years, and I also was a course rep in the Psychology department for two years.

I feel like I have the right experience for the role and know how things work. I really care about how the Union represents

the students. I think it is fantastic that we’ve finally got a role for just postgraduates because everything has been very undergraduatefocused.

This is a first step in the right direction.

What do you think it is about your past experience that makes you particularly wellsuited to the role?

Time management is definitely Why do you want to be elected?

It is a real opportunity to define this role. I want to make it much more externally focused, I want to make it much more about talking to the colleges, the students and the University to improve the opportunities that people have access to, within the Students Union but also in the whole Durham bubble.

What do you think it is about your past experience that makes you particularly well-suited to the role?

Why do you want to be elected?

This year I have been Van Mildert JCR President, and it has been one of the toughest years but also the best. I have met so many incredible people, and been able to help the people who I come across. I want to have the opportunity to help more people at Durham, and this new officer position was the way in which I thought I could best use my skills. I want to be able to put the knowledge I have gained this year to the test and help more people than I can in one college.

What do you think it is about your past experience that makes you

particularly well-suited to the role?

I don’t want to make myself out as just the experience candidate because I think I can offer more than that.

But as a JCR President, you have a unique insight into everything. You take on so many views and have to be knowledgeable about the Estates Strategy, and about the latest student welfare concerns. You need to sit in meetings with high-level University staff who often don’t have time for the angry student archetype that you can find anywhere. Because these are oneyear positions, it is easy to find that you can be blocked off and shut down Why do you want to be elected?

I want to be elected because this year as Chair of DUCK I have liaised a lot with the Union and have got to know how it works really well.

I would like to be here next year to just make it even better than it already is. Also, there are lots of big changes coming up with the Queen’s Campus relocation and the Estates Masterplan and I’d love to be involved in shaping that so that it’s best for the whole student body.

If elected, what would you

a big thing given all the things I do at the same time, but mainly leadership. As President (of the MCR) I have had to make sure that everything works and be on top of things and also try and get my exec to make it the best year we’ve ever had at St Mary’s.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Because it’s the first time we have had this position, it is an exciting

I am currently working with Lisa on a committee to try to reform Postgraduate pay contracts and I would continue that work. That is important to me as a postgraduate teacher as well. I think the difference is that I have been a postgraduate, been a mature student, been an international student, and I understand a lot more of the complexities that come with that sort of background. I want to reach out more to international, part time, and mature students, and the students that aren’t a part of college or University life.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I think it is about providing effective opportunities. There are so many ‘training opportunities’ that we see advertised to us, but a lot really isn’t very effective. I am talking about training opportunities such as interdisciplinary conferences, publications, and being able to have more opportunities to teach. It is really about providing transferable skills and opportunities for making us competitive in the job market. That is what I want to be remembered for.

What’s your favourite music album?

Mer de Noms – A Perfect Circle.

opportunity to actually shape the new role.

I think it comes with a lot of responsibility at the same time, but given my previous experience I think I can make it the best it can be. And I want to make sure that we all work together; just because I am running for a postgraduate position doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t want to work with the undergraduate officer.

What’s your favourite music album?

Anything - Blink 182.

Charlie Walker (Opportunities Officer) I have been a society president and a treasurer so I have seen how societies actually work. I have been student trustee in the Union, so I have seen how it works as a business, the risks of certain things and the financial case. I think that this would help me when I am trying to propose things formally as a business case and actually get things done. I would be able to actually work better with the

University, as I have learnt a bit more about the language that is used and the way things are done.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I would like to focus a lot more on training, which is one of my manifesto points. We need to offer students a lot more training in Durham, because if you are not on an Exec or involved in certain things then you don’t necessarily

have access to this. I would like to be remembered for creating a group of really confident students, who are much better trained, so they can use that to change Durham and change their own lives.

What’s your favourite music album?

Origin of Symmetry – Muse.

Simon Povey (Opportunities Officer) immediately. I can use my experience and knowledge of the right channels to explore to work out the best way forward and face the staff down on things. My experience is one thing but I have also learnt how the University works and who to go to.

If elected, what would you like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

You could say that I would try to better the work of two fantastic officers. I would like to move into more careersbased activities, looking at how we can make better the inclusivity and

diversity. Whilst many of our societies are very good, sometimes people can be priced out of them, and sometimes the location is simply inaccessible.

Durham is about to undergo its biggest expansion since the ‘60s, and we are going to have five thousand more students from all walks of life. It is going to be a question of looking at where the priorities lie for this new position.

What’s your favourite music album?

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis.

Bethany Fleming (Opportunities Officer) like to do differently (to your predecessor)?

I’d like to open up opportunities in the local area so that students can gain skills and experience that employers want. There are internships, volunteering programs, outreach programs in Durham that employers really want, but that students don’t necessarily know about and I think it would be really

good to open them up and make them more accessible.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Opening up opportunities in the local area would help to bridge the gap between students and locals.

Obviously, it’s a big gap to bridge but I feel that it would at least start that process. Making students more active in the local community I think

would be a really good thing. Also, I would like to introduce an alumni network to open up mentoring and work opportunities for students and indeed funding for some student groups.

What’s your favourite music album?

Anything Ed Sheeran.

7

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

News Features

www.palatinate.org.uk

Durham second-worst performing university in ratio of independent to state school students Recent data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) highlight Durham University’s as being one of the worst performing UK universities in its ratio of independent to state-school students.

Of Russell Group universities, Durham was shown to be the second worst university with just 60.5 per cent of its total intake of full-time first degree entrants coming from state schools for the 2015/16 admissions cycle—a fall from the previous year.

The University of Cambridge took more state-school students as a proportion of their total cohort, with their intake being 61.9 per cent. Nationally, almost 90 per cent of UK-domiciled young, full-time first degree entrants are from state schools.

Earlier in the month, Pro-ViceChancellor (Education), Professor Alan Houston, responded to the latest figures as being “disap-

“

We encourage the very best and the brightest students, regardless of background, to come to Durham

“

pointing and unusual.”

Reports from the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) report a correlation between areas in which students don’t attend university and deprivation, with many of these areas located in the North East.

In a statement, the University’s stated its commitment “to encouraging the very best and the brightest students, regardless of background, to come to Durham.”

However, Durham accepted just 155 students from areas of low participation in the 2015/16 admissions cycle, according to HESA—5.1 per cent of its intake of undergraduates.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor stat-

ed Durham has invested over £10 million to “help students meet upfront costs and to deliver access, student success, and progression activities” for the 2016/17 academic year.

The University’s Supported Progression scheme was highlighted in the statement, with Professor Houston pointing out how the programme—which provides academically talented students in the North-East, Cumbria, and Yorkshire additional help and support in applying to Durham—has trebled between 2011/12 and 2016/17.

Attention was also drawn to the University’s cooperation with the Sutton Trust, an organisation which seeks to improve social mobility by focusing on opportunities of young people from non-privileged backgrounds.

HESA’s statistics do not, however, reveal if the problem is not enough state-school applicants applying or the application process itself.

However, figures from the 2013/14 admissions cycle do show that students from independent schools were 6% more likely to be given an offer than applicants from state schools.

A study carried out last year

by Durham University academics found that independent school pupils receive an educational boost equivalent to two extra years of schooling over their state-school peers. This translated as an advantage worth twothirds of a GCSE. Recent research, highlighted by the Sutton Trust, has demonstrated white working-class boys’ comparative underachievement in secondary education, as well as low levels of this demographic going onto take AS or A-levels. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has stated that only 10 per cent of young British white men attend universities.

The group Durham for Accessible Education, described as “a campaign group set up to highlight issues relating to financial inequality,” ran a testimonial series on Facebook, with students anonymously sharing their experiences of financial difficulty at Durham, some experiencing social isolation and emotional distress emanating from financial difficulties. Included in the testimonials were prospective Durham students who felt “priced out” of attending the University.

One testimonial reads: “I never expected to struggle as much

Van Mildert College hosts the Sutton Trust Summer School as I have at Durham. I just assumed that with my food given to me in college, I wouldn’t need to spend too much money—but everyone always is and I was just expected to do it too.

“It gets tiring and upsetting continually refusing invitations to formal, or going out.”

“

I never expected to struggle as much as I have at Durham.

I just assumed that with my food given to me in college, I wouldn’t need to spend much money

“

Ben Sladden News Features Editor

Freshers applying will usually may face accommodation costs of £ 7,171 a year for catered accommodation. Many students therefore may have to seek financial support from family, or

work during term-time to attend the University. A recent survey showed that 65% of students have to seek support from their families during times of financial difficulty.

Durham for Accessible Education have claimed that when using the University’s Minimum Expenditure Figures and the cost of a standard, catered room, the minimum expenditure for a basic standard of living amounts to £8,548, which is higher than the maximum maintenance loan.

The Durham University Labour Club states that it “believe[s] Durham University has a longterm issue with access for working class students.” The student group has highlighted Maintenance Grant cuts, hiked tuition fees, and rising accommodation costs as making Durham “a far less appealing destination for many bright, poorer students.”

Durham Young Greens hosted an event earlier this month, under the auspices of a tongue-incheek ‘celebration’, protesting the Vice-Chancellor’s annual salary of £231,000.

An online petition created on Charge.org with 1,152 signators demands a reversal of Durham University’s planned tuition fee increase which will see tuition fees rise to £9,250 for the academic year of 2017/18.

The University Labour Club

Photograph: Durham University

has said that the shortcomings in the admission of state-school pupils may also stem from an “image problem”.

Durham is often branded as “elitist”, together with other traditional institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge.

A 2010 story in The Guardian by a Durham student entitled “Elite universities: a clash of cultures and cutlery” spoke of the archaic traditions of universities like Durham as alienating for students from working-class backgrounds.

Part of the University’s new plans for its strategy for improving access for the 2017/18 year includes plans to make greater use of targeted offers and contextual data to target disadvantaged students.

The ACORN postcode system is a means by which prestigious universities flag up applications from disadvantaged areas.

Durham’s ACORN data for 2014/15 shows only a marginal improvement of 0.5% in its enrolments of students from postcodes classified within the two highest categories of disadvantage.

The University has, however, offered bursaries to students who progress from the Supported Progression scheme, as well as to students whose parental income is below £25,000 per year.

8

Profile Sport

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

www.palatinate.org.uk

Mark Wright: how to succeed in business Winner of The Apprentice 2014 shares how he has made his business a success and what it takes to survive the cut-throat industry of digital marketing young people to understand; commitment and ‘hard graft’ without fear of disappointment, are paramount to success. “I think more often than not, people…underestimate how hard it is to run a business, they don’t take risks and as a result they often fail.”

He desires more young people to ‘take the plunge and dive in head first’. Age means very little in business; “if you have the genuine drive and passion to succeed, whether 18 or 81 you will do it and you will do it well.”

“

Tania Chakraborti

With a business showcasing an impressive net worth of roughly £255,000, it is no surprise that 27-year-old Mark Wright soon plans to expand his company to the far reaches of South Africa, Dubai and Australia.

Climb Online, the UK’s ‘leading SEO and PPC Agency’, has secured profitable success. Wright’s The Apprentice win now seems a distant memory, overshadowed by his current status as a prosperous businessman in his own right. Yet the 2014 winner insists that his time on the show was integral to his success.

He tells Palatinate that The Apprentice “has completely transformed my life for the better.

“Before applying for the show, I took my business plan to several UK banks, but was rejected for a business loan, as I didn’t hold a British passport”. However, today Wright features on ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ list for Media in Europe, proving that entrepreneurial talent from across the globe deserves a chance to grow here.

This is the invaluable opportunity Lord Sugar provided him with when the banks did not. “I have now learnt that it’s not the investment I needed, but rather the support…from a successful businessman. If I had the choice to either take the business investment or take the business mentorship, I would take the mentorship with Lord Sugar every time,

“

Photograph: Climb Online

I think more often than not people underestimate how hard it is to run a business, they don’t take risks and as a result they often fail.

winner was me. I had an excellent business plan, and promised Lord Sugar…that we would turn over a million in the first year. I have exceeded this goal and couldn’t be more proud.”

Indeed, Climb Online now looks set to turn over a sizeable 5 million by the conclusion of its second year. There is no doubt that a drive to do well is a significant contributing factor towards Wright’s achievements.

This is something he urges

Age means very little in business.

If you have the genuine drive and passion to succeed, whether 18 or 81 you will do it and you will do well.

”

hands down.” Much like when Lord Sugar supplied the important advice in the early stages of his company, he too encourages “every young entrepreneur to secure [a business mentor] when thinking about starting a business.”

So what qualities are key to ensuring success? Simply the conviction to be successful in such a cut-throat industry as digital marketing has been as vital as the company concept and investment itself. Wright confesses “I knew from a very, very young age that I wanted to succeed in business…

I worked very hard to ensure the

Wright with his team at Climb Online

”

It is no secret that the political changes of Brexit in Europe threaten to destabilise the status quo of the business world. However, Wright insists that he doubts it will, and should not deter young entrepreneurs from taking necessary ventures. “Right now, young…business start-ups need to remember that Brexit hasn’t officially happened yet, so there is no point in waiting around to see what unfolds. We can’t predict the future, but we can regret not taking the risk”.

In an increasingly digitalised world where ‘starting a business is a lot easier than it was before’, as Wright states, it is no wonder that very few companies succeed past the timeline of a mere few years. However, with such fierce competition within an ever expanding sector, there is no doubt as to why Wright has achieved what very few have managed to do. Unlike numerous failed startups, his business is powered by ambition, commitment and calculated risk taking. For chiefly that reason, he is fast becoming one of the key faces of his industry.

Would you like to work for Mark Wright? Email jobs@ climb-online.co.uk for internship opportunities with Climb Online.

If you are interested in writing for the Profile section, check out our Facebook page or email profile.editor@palatinate.org. uk

Photograph: Climb Online

9

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

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Do you really need £231k a year, ViceChancellor Corbridge?

We should not passively accept the salary of our Vice-Chancellor

Jazmine Bourke This is probably going to sound really weird, but last term I feel like Stuart Corbridge personally offended me.

I’ve never even seen our ViceChancellor in person, let alone come anywhere close to being in conversation with him, yet I’m finding it increasingly difficult to separate his name or position from a tiny spike of annoyance in the back of my brain.

It sits there and festers, like old bread, or milk that should have been chucked out weeks ago. Either way, it settled itself comfortably in my head around December and has refused to move since.

I probably seem spectacularly petty. If you need a moment to judge me, please take your time. But afterwards, allow me to explain: towards the end of last term, whacking out my final formative in the library, I came across a copy of Palatinate.

On the front cover was Professor Corbridge, amiable grin and all, with the headline Durham offers “very good value for money,” ViceChancellor tells the Palatinate.

I have been involved in student

“

Counselling Service to see there is a gross misjudgment in the way the University spends its money.

I could fill the entirety of the Bill Bryson myself with reasons as to why Corbridge’s statement was offensive, condescending, and ultimately wrong.

But the one thing that really got me was this: our Vice-Chancellor wanted to lecture us on the

“

Corbridge can justify himself almost double the annual salary of our Prime Minister

”

‘value’ of money. On a £268k salary a year, does he remember what the value of money actually is?

Last week, on the 8th February, Durham Young Greens organised VC Day. It was a march which started on Palace Green and ended outside the Palatine Centre, with drums, whistles, and a card signed by multiple University societies with the intention of being handed to Professor Corbridge.

Why? On that day, amongst an entangled mass of zero-hour contracts, minimum wage and job insecurity, the Vice-Chancellor had already earned the same amount as the average Durham employee earned in the year.

Starting from 1st January, it only took him 39 days to surpass the mean annual earnings of his work force—even less to eclipse those within Durham University who are continually refused a living wage.

I would happily take a lesson in the value of money from these people. I don’t claim to be a queen of economic efficiency myself. Like most, I will bemoan the

cost of Granny Smith’s in Tesco whilst simultaneously dropping

“

Does he remember what the value of money actually is?

”

a tenner on cider. But here at Durham, there are members of staff who don’t necessarily know when their next shift will be.

They don’t know how many hours the university is going to give them in the months to come, or whether it’s going to be enough to live on comfortably. There are

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...entirely out of touch with the very people he runs the University for

”

Corbridge’s statement was offensive, condescending, and ultimately wrong

So, you’ll excuse me if I say when it comes to our Vice-Chancellor, I’m not the biggest fan. I don’t view him as a whip-cracking, tyrannical overlord, but I do view him as a man almost entirely out of touch with the very people he runs the University for—staff and students alike.

I could, of course, be entirely wrong, and would love to be proven otherwise. So if Professor Corbridge does genuinely grasp the value of money, next time I would like him to acknowledge his own extortionate pay check.

I would entreat him to reevaluate his own bank account and increase the earnings of those who make his job possible, so they can enjoy even a fraction of the financial security he does. Then, and only then, would I like to see his face on the front of Palatinate again.

”

protests and campaigning for a while now. I can tell you that our college accommodation fees have risen by 20% (2012-2015), or how each rent hike is mimicked by the costs of the private sector.

I can tell you about Durham’s continued refusal to divest from fossil fuel companies despite the multitude of universities leading the way.

You only need look at the Picasso in the Palatine Centre and compare it with the overwhelmed

junior lecturers who take on additional night shifts in bars to cover insufficient pay. The very people who mark our essays and take our tutorials scrabble for summer jobs, knowing the University will fire them over the holiday period to ‘save money.’

In an anonymous testimony, sent to, and verified by, Durham Greens, one academic wrote “there is no mechanism on a zero hours contract to allow for career progression…My domestic situation is such that I can live this way at the moment. But it is clearly not sustainable in the long-term. There is no pension.”

Amongst all this, Corbridge can justify himself almost double the annual salary of our Prime Minister. He can look at students who’ve lost their Durham Grants, lecturers regularly balancing multiple jobs, and smile for the camera as he explains the value of money to us.

Illustration by Charlotte Way

10

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

Comment

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Dunelm House: Should it stay or should it go?

Danny Walker

Dunelm House, the building housing Durham Students’ Union, has a poor reputation amongst students and locals alike. Its moribund, grey appearance is a typical example of the now frequently panned 1960s architectural style.

Few people regard the DSU as the most significant of institutions.

Yet now that Dunelm House faces demolition, public support seems to have amassed behind it.

A 38 Degrees petition opposing Durham University’s decision to destroy the 51-year-old building has attracted 2,647 signatures at time of writing.

Obviously, it is difficult to establish the authenticity of and motivation behind signatures. Yet the proposed changes and public reaction, even if small-scale, call for a reassessment of the value of the DSU building to our University.

There is no reason to ‘fix’ what is not broken. Dunelm House meets the requirements of a students’ union for Durham University, and a new construction to ‘raise Durham’s profile’ is unnecessary and

expensive.

There are, perhaps surprisingly, positive arguments in favour of retaining Dunelm House. The structure is symbolic of 1960s architecture: engineered by Ove Arup, it was designed by the Architects’ Co-Partnership in 1966.

Dunelm House is intertwined with the adjacent Kingsgate Bridge (itself Grade I-listed) and forms part of the iconic heritage of its era.

Concomitantly, it pays tribute to our local area – Arup was himself a Geordie native – just as Durham Cathedral immortalises the AngloSaxon and Norman eras.

Even if this comparison is a little exaggerated, I would argue that the trend of ‘erasing’ periods of history because they do not suit contemporary tastes, even in the field of architecture, sets a dangerous precedent.

Perhaps we should refurbish, and then celebrate or critique ‘unpopular’ 20th-century architecture, as has occurred in other successful, award-winning developments such as Park Hill in Sheffield.

This argument may appear conservative but it is essential that history is recognised; that includes

recognising historical ‘mistakes’, in order to avoid emulating them.

1960s architecture may well be a prime example of the above.

The maxim ‘if something’s not broken, don’t fix it’ certainly holds true in this situation.

Too often, as a society and as individuals, we strive for the latest product or innovation, which might well be an improvement,

“

Proposed changes and public reaction.... call for a reassessment of the value of the DSU building.

”

but it scarcely justifies the costs.

Durham University’s latest Estates Masterplan argues that Dunelm House cannot “accommodate new uses.”

The University should certainly seek to anticipate future problems and create strategies to remedy them.

Consequently, one might argue that a larger Students’ Union is necessary to accommodate for planned increases to the student population.

Nevertheless, surely practical modifications to the existing structure would be a less disruptive solution than full-scale demolition and reconstruction?

Perhaps the DSU’s functions could be distributed across Durham; this separation would certainly increase its accessibility for students.

Above all, with our financial futures already threatened by rising tuition fees, as the student body we should look to curtail unnecessary spending by the University wherever it occurs.

The University cannot justify this year’s tuition fee rise to £9,250 if it continually invests in new academic and sports buildings, such as the £11.5m Ogden Center and Maiden Castle redevelopments.

Why replace facilities which already have a profound international reputation?

Rather than expensively pursuing perfection, we should accept and make the most of our current set-up, focusing on raising engagement with the DSU. Before I conclude, it is necessary to consider the finer details of the demolition process.

The University has at least considered the possibility of building modifications, but argues that these measures would cost £14.7 million and are themselves too expensive.

Yet surely the financial costs of demolition, complicated by topographical and accessibility considerations as well as landfill disposal, would be greater?

We must also consider the negative social consequence of a dislocated or absent DSU, and the unsustainability of simply ‘dumping’ demolished waste in a landfill site.

Refurbishment works, such as those on the leaking roof, an inevitable consequence of age, could be gradually costed to reduce their impact on financial solvency.

Dunelm House has intrinsic architectural value, but if one takes the view that Durham Students’ Union is extrinsically insignificant (college JCRs perform many of the welfare and social

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It is essential that history is recognised; that includes... historical ‘mistakes.’

”

Dunelm House Photograph: Rob Hardyman

functions which SUs conduct at non-collegiate universities) then it is hard to justify any expenses incurred by improving DSU facilities, whether by amendment or demolition.

There are cases for and against making improvements, but rather than viewing the building as a problem requiring a grand solution, the University should perceive the structure as an end in itself, so that we can continue to feel stoically proud.

11

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

Comment

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Durham is crushing our free speech

James Colville

Recently, Spiked magazine has changed Durham University’s free speech rating from amber to red, according to their Free Speech University Rankings system. This means that Durham is now considered by the campaigners as an institution that is hostile to free speech and freedom of expression.

An article published in The Independent described in depth the curtailment of free expression in nine out of ten British universities, citing the banning of controversial speakers on campus and the withdrawal of red-top newspapers for sale on university premises.

Worryingly, the censorships are four times more likely to be imposed by student unions than by the universities themselves.

Unlike some despotic regime where oppressive censorship policies gag the voices of dissent, we are not having our rights to say and hear taken violently

away from us. We’re giving them away for free.

The freedom to speak and be heard, to challenge the ideolo-

“

Durham is now considered... hostile to free speech.

”

gies of yourself and others, to be exposed to different opinions and to have opinions of your own; this is what free speech is.

It is the very lifeblood of a liberal, civilised society and it should be to the abject horror of anyone who values such a community that it is under threat now more than ever.

If there is one place where freedom of speech should abound, with beliefs regularly challenged, it is in the institutions of learning where ideas of every kind are subject to criticism, evaluation and discussion by the leaders of tomorrow.

The fact that these are the very places where the exact opposite is happening is not just an offense to their existence, it is downright dangerous.

I normally hate to invoke the slippery slope argument, but in this case, it is valid. It is completely illogical and unrealistic to expect that silencing of speakers, banning of newspapers, policing of language and enforcing dress codes stop where they currently are. Maybe the Koran will be the next to be banned if some people perceive it to be misogynistic. This was the justification for the banning of The Sun on some university campuses.

This is the problem with limiting the right to free speech with the intention of protecting others from offense or discomfort.

Where do you draw the line? And who gets to draw it?

Perhaps these questions should be put to the vote? But then the vote might not go the way that you want it, and then

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If you prevent ideas from being heard in the broad light of day, you do not banish them.

”

what? Do we keep having votes until everybody is so divided we have a world full of tiny little echo-chambers, where nobody discusses anything with anybody, except people they are sure will agree with them? No. Everybody draws their own line and decides for themselves what is acceptable and what is

not, and if they feel their line has been crossed, they engage, debate and challenge the people that crossed it. That is what an education is, and that is why a university is the best place to get one. Or at least it should be.

If you prevent ideas from being heard in the broad light of day, you do not banish them completely. Instead they are driven underground where the lack of sunlight allows them to grow septic and poisonous.

Eventually they become a monster strong enough to once again break the surface and before you know it you have a certain Mr Donald J. Trump leading the free world.

It’s a horrible cliché but it would be dishonest of me not to acknowledge the countless people who died face-down in the mud fighting for these rights, and they are not up for debate.

Or are they? Maybe you think differently. Did I miss something? What have I not considered? It’s your right to disagree, and tell me why I’m wrong. I’m open to all ideas.

Social media warps our versions of the truth Will Penn It comes as no surprise to some of us that the toxic political climate in which we find ourselves now has come from the phenomena of clickbait and trolling.

Whilst it might nauseate some to have another white, heterosexual, middle-class man patronising others with his lofty opinions, this is the ultimate reality of the Internet; it does not matter who I am as long as I have a voice.

It seems that a majority of people see their social networks and technologies as a tool to mirror the world around them. Many accounts have detailed the way in which the Internet and social media have united individuals across the world and have ultimately fostered a global community.

Yet, as Charlie Brooker’s aptlytitled Black Mirror describes, the right of everyone to an opinion that is linked to their “freedom of speech” has twisted the tangible

world around us into a dark and warped reflection.

Let me give you an example. I’m sure you will have seen memes such as the “I identify as a…and I find this offensive”.

This simple archetypal characterisation of so-called millennials as “generation snowflake” has served to ratify the anti-political correctness camp of Farage and Trump. Yet, if you actually search for the origins of this meme, it would seem that it had no unique source; it had no inspiration except for the perceptions of LGBT +a activists, environmentalists and the oppressed.

I am sure, at this point, some amongst you will be turning your noses up at my opinions. The more reasoned amongst you might say that it is just a joke and doesn’t actually seek to oppress.

It is worth bearing in mind, however, that an increasing number of people get their news from social media.

Equally, a meme itself is a scientific phenomenon detailed by Richard Dawkins and not just the

irritating minions that clog up your timelines.

A meme is a unit of cultural information that is transferred between generations and/or in-

“

The caricatures of my generation...engross us beyond belief.

”

dividuals.

If one considers both of these points, the fact that the “I identify as a…and I find this offensive” meme has no real origins should frighten you.

What does snowflake even

mean? It is a confusing mash of gender politics, acceptance and globalism that serves to belittle and de-legitimise any notion of reality. It has become easier to dismiss someone’s argument than engage with it constructively.

We are, as such, no longer debating anything tangible but arguing what we believe someone has said. We argue in a strange alternative reality where facts do not really matter and distract from genuine struggles.

The caricatures of my generation as perpetually offended, grossly idealistic and awfully entitled, engross us beyond belief. So engrossing, in fact, that the reality between the few inches of plastic, metal and glass in our fingers offer a reflection that is far easier to accept.

As such, reality is cast to the side-line. The reduction of opportunities to the young, the refusal to engage with the politics of gender, and the rejection of internationalism are all a result of the toxic climate that has been created by the imagined community of social me-

dia. As the number of social media users increase day-by-day, social politics have been outsourced from reality to the illusory realm of the internet.

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Be careful of what you read and hear online.

”

Be careful of what you read and hear online. Ultimately, I do not find the general disregard for truth offensive. I find it incredibly sad and unfair. Its offensiveness lies in that it is profoundly and absolutely untrue.

12

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

Comment

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Why feminism shouldn’t be about equality We should embrace intersectional feminism and focus on justice So no, my feminism isn’t about this equality. And yours shouldn’t be either. When I think of an equal society – my mind goes to those who suffer injustices from their sex, race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, and all of the intersections with one another – and what I can do, as a person with a reasonable amount of privilege, to combat these injustices and uphold the voices of people who need it.

White feminists – sometimes it is best just to step back. Just because you don’t have male privi-

Heather Pearson

Feminism shouldn’t be about equality.

That’s right – you read that correctly. And yes, I’m a feminist – an unapologetically passionate one at that. So hear me out.

What is the definition of ‘feminism’? I know that most of my feminist friends, without skipping a beat, will immediately proclaim that feminism is “equality between the sexes.”

Which is not a lie, of course – that’s the end goal. But when we say ‘equality’ – what are we really thinking about?

For me, and hopefully for most people – equality is the concept of people living equally in society.

There isn’t much else to say about that.

Striving for equality is striving for a system where everyone, regardless of sex, gender, sexuality, race, ability, class, and otherwise – is integrated without discrimination (now wouldn’t that be a grand reality!).

However, our society has a problem. With equality, yes, that much seems obvious – but our feminism that seeks this equality has a problem. Buzzword time – White Feminism. Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift – these are some classic offenders.

You’ve probably heard this term, and these names, floating about the Internet the past year or so, and for good reason.

So what is white feminism? And why shouldn’t we strive for equality?

White feminism is ‘colour blind.’

White feminism doesn’t – or refuses – to understand differences in racial privilege.

It excludes race as an important factor during our navigation of women’s issues. It presumes the experiences of white women are a catch-all for every woman. And it is wrong.

White feminists (and by this I mean women who practice ‘white feminism’) centre their feminism around equality. Intersectional feminists centre their feminism

“

Before you say ‘we’re all in this together — we aren’t really unfortunately

Photograph: Laura Forest via Flickr and Creative Commons around justice. There is a very clear distinction between these two. And it is the latter I urge you to follow.

Whilst white feminists instigate policies to integrate into the existing societal system, it is intersectional feminists who recognise the fundamental flaws within the system, rejects them completely, and seeks its complete transformation.

This is what our feminism needs to do – without this, it is only a few people getting saved.

White feminists’ equality is striving for equal pay. Intersectional feminists’ justice is realising that whilst white women may only earn 79¢ to a man’s dollar – black women only earn 60¢, and

“

White feminism is ‘colour blind’

”

Hispanic women earn 55¢ – and it accurately upholds the interests of women of colour above white women because, well, we need it.

White feminists’ equality is celebrating women’s suffrage.

Intersectional feminists’ justice is realising that history has been whitewashed – our ‘feminist heroes’ like Susan B. Anthony had no qualms in stepping over the rights of people of colour in order to further their goals. Women of colour didn’t actually get their right to vote until decades later.

White feminists’ equality is using an extremely privileged spokesperson, the epitome of Eurocentric beauty, as a pretty, packaged invitation for men to join the feminist movement.

Intersectional feminists’ justice is realising that yes, men benefit from and should support feminism – but it refrains from using the common, pleading tropes such as ‘men can’t express their emotions!’.

This is because we are too busy focusing our attention on the women whose very identity leads to their emotions being stifled.

Take, for example, the angry black woman stereotype, that demonises black women’s emotions as hysterical and irrational, and the

submissive, docile expectations thrust onto Asian women – to name a few.

White feminists’ equality is writing a cutesy, catchy banner and traipsing around a policeprotected area at the women’s march a few weeks ago.

Intersectional feminists’ justice is shouting till your voice is hoarse at a black lives matter rally, voicing your objections at an anti-wall ban protest, and supporting your marginalised sisters at every opportunity – not just at the one that benefits you the most.

“

White feminists’ equality is using an extremely privileged spokesperson, as a pretty, packaged invitation for men

”

”

lege, doesn’t mean you can proudly ignore all your other privileges and speak over the experiences of women with different marginalisations.

And before you say ‘we’re all in this together’ – we aren’t really, unfortunately. White women will never know what it’s like to be discriminated against for the colour of their skin, just like a heterosexual person will never know what it’s like to be discriminated against who they love.

We are in this fight together, but don’t lump our experiences as one – we are different, and we need different things for equality – for justice. If you call yourself a feminist, then please join us, help us, support us – but please don’t ignore us.

So the next time someone asks you why you’re a feminist – before you talk about equality, maybe think about justice first.

Have a different opinion to share?

Email comment@ palatinate.org.uk

13

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

Politics

www.palatinate.org.uk

The Durham Bubble: Politics News in Brief Blair meddles again

Sexist and racist abuse

Nuttall on the back foot

Cameron McIntosh

Housing white paper letdown

Trump to redraft travel ban

Carolina Maberry

Nathan Cinnamond

Mason Boycott-Owen, Politics Editor

Tom Walsh

The former lead singer of 70s rock band, Ugly Rumours, is the latest celebrity to try and derail Brexit.

Tony, 63, called on people from all across the political spectrum to ‘rise up’ against Brexit. He also attacked his former party, Labour, of which he was a prominent member in the late 90s and 2000s, saying “The debilitation of the Labour party is the facilitator of Brexit.”

Such good turn of phrase is what has made him such an in-demand after-dinner speaker – maybe he should stick to that. Blair risks confusing Labour’s post-Brexit message directly before two byelections. Perhaps he should consider a career in politics with the Lib Dems.

It is remarkable how one comment can be so enlightening.

David Davis, when asked if he would try to kiss Dianne Abbott, declined as he was ‘not blind’. It’s not even a statement. Two words have managed to undo the work the Conservatives have done to make the image of Brexit palatable. Of course, there is outrage at Dianne Abbott’s conveniently timed illness but the abuse she’s received is absolutely lowest common denominator. If she refused to abstain from voting due to perceiving Brexit as fundamentally against minority rights, the abuse she’s received certainly doesn’t help in quashing that viewpoint.

Paul Nuttall has admitted that he did not lose a “close personal friend” during the horrors of Hillsborough in 1989. The mother of one of the 96 victims described the admission as “appalling” and many were quick to condemn the Stoke-on-Central by-election candidate. Amid the controversy, Nuttall maintains that he was present at the tragic semi-final fixture. His press officer, Lynda Roughley, resigned over the issue, but this will seem inconsequential in comparison to the severe damage inflicted upon his reputation. Nuttall remains confident of challenging Labour in its heartlands, and this byelection will be a defining moment for UKIP in its post-Farage era.

The DCLG released a white paper on the 7th of February entitled “Fixing our broken housing market”. Its ominous title suggests what many students already know: housing prices have gone up and home ownership looks out of the question for a long time. The white paper has been praised on some issues, like moving ahead with previously considered plans to ban letting agent fees for tenants. Critics, however, say the proposals don’t go nearly far enough in addressing the crisis and its urgency. John Healey, MP called it a “white flag” for its ambiguousness and lack of substance. The paper is unlikely to affect especially the student sphere for some time.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 imposes on the President the “broad authority to bar or impose conditions upon the entry of aliens”. District Court rulings go further in designating this power away from the legislative branch, but that it is “inherent in the executive power”. A pause on immigration is simply required to ensure the improvement of the vetting process, which guarantees the safety of the American people.

There seems to me to be something sinister about the opposition of such a procedure with good intentions. For all its faults, there is certainly no legal basis on which President Trump’s Travel Ban can be outlawed.

Photograph: Garry Knight via Flickr

Photograph: Paul Nuttal MEP via Flickr

Photograph: Paul Flannery via Flickr

Photograph: Angela N via Flickr

Photograph: World Trvael and Tourism Council via Flickr

Corbyn leadership undermined by MPs that Mr Lewis has been vying the leadership since as early as the party’s annual conference, when he reportedly punched a wall after his speech on Trident was altered by

Cecilia Wang

“

He reportedly punched a wall after his speech on trident was altered

Clive Lewis has again been linked with a bid for Labour leader

triggering of Article 50”.

In some left-wing circles, Mr Lewis has been spoken of as a potential successor. For example, the shadow Chancellor, a staunch ally of Mr Corbyn, has previously hailed him as a potential future leader.

There was speculation following the resignation as it was reported that Mr Lewis had begun sounding out MPs for support.

Owen Jones, a prominent leftwing commentator with a wide appeal to Labour leader’s grassroots

Photograph: Rwendland via Wkikpedia

supporters, is reported to have contacted MPs about Mr Lewis’ potential chances. However, he dismissed reports that he has made calls on Mr Lewis’ behalf.

The resignation came at an opportune time as some speculate

“

Clive Lewis, a former ally of Jeremy Corbyn, resigned from the Shadow Cabinet on 8th February after Labour imposed a three-line whip on the Government’s Brexit bill. This is in line with the parliamentary rule that any shadow minister who fails to obey such a whip cannot remain on the frontbench.

Mr Lewis told his Norwich constituents, on the evening of the preceding Friday, that he was prepared to quit his position as shadow business secretary if Labour’s amendments in the Commons fall flat. None of the proposed amendments managed to rally enough support to pass.

In an emotive resignation letter, Mr Lewis declares that he could not “in good conscience vote for something [he] believe[s] will ultimately harm the city”.

The resignation was accepted by the Labour leader. Mr Corbyn praised Mr Lewis as “an assent” and attempted to tone down the incident as “not a disaster”. He voiced sympathies for “MPs representing constituencies which voted Remain”, whilst re-affirming Labour’s commitment to “not frustrate the

Mr Corbyn’s aids at the last minute.

Mr Lewis’ resignation prompted a reshuffle of the shadow cabinet, with Rebecca Long-Bailey elevated to fill his shoes. She is one of the four MPs from the 2015 intake promoted to the shadow cabinet.

Mr Corbyn sacked Mr Trickett, the party’s election co-ordinator, reportedly after the Tories took a record lead over Labour in a series of disastrous polls. The decision came about on the eve of two critical by-elections, indicating the Labour leader’s desire for electoral success.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Corbyn acknowledged that “there was a difference of opinion with some…colleagues”, but insisted that the party remains united.

14

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

Politics

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Palatinate Politics interviews Roberta Blackman-Woods MP are we going to get and how we’re going to ensure that regions like the North East don’t lose out.”

Despite making the NHS a priority in 2015 as well as these elec-

Mason Boycott-Owen Politics Editor

“

There isn’t a vacancy for the leader of the Labour Party.

“

The next few months are criticyal for the Labour Party, as it seems it is nearly every month. With byelections in Copeland in the North East as well as in Stoke on 23rd February, many feel these will be make or break for both Labour and the Corbyn leadership. Last week we spoke to Roberta Blackman-Woods, the MP for Durham City, about how Labour is coping.

The Labour Party has a fight on its hands in the North East.

Copeland and the local elections in May see Labour battling on two fronts against an anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats and pro-Brexit UKIP. Dr Blackman-Woods did not talk down Labour’s challenge. Responding to whether there were real concerns that Labour would lose seats she said: “Yes. Because I think unless we get out there and explain the negatives with the Lib Dems […] they’ll do and say whatever is going to get them votes […] there’s a whole negative back story there. […] As there is for UKIP. Labour has to have that very distinct message which is going to take some

Dr Blackman-Woods resigned from Corbyn’s front bench in 2016

explaining on the doorstep.”

This comes after the North East voted 58% in favour of leaving the European Union in June, with towns such as Hartlepool voting for Brexit by more than two to one.

Labour’s biggest test post-Brexit

Photograph: Policy Exchange via Flickr

so far will be the by-elections in Stoke and Copeland next week but Dr Blackman-Woods remained upbeat about Labour’s chances: “People say it’s been very very positive on the doorsteps […] the organisers seem

very upbeat.”

The Durham City MP however doesn’t think Brexit will be the most important issue for the electorate, commenting: “I think that people’s attention is now moving beyond Brexit to what sort of deal

tions, Labour did not win in 2015.

Roberta was clear she didn’t think this was down to policies: “No matter how good your policies are, if the public don’t have confidence in senior Labour figures to run the country then it doesn’t matter.”

When asked if she felt this confidence extended to Jeremy Corbyn, the Durham MP did not think that it has been tested enough.

Yet as reported by the Sunday Times, a secret poll indicated Rebecca Long-Bailey was mooted as a Corbyn successor, with Angela Rayner seen as “a bit charity shop-looking”. Yet Dr BlackmanWoods was clear that “there isn’t a vacancy for the Leader of the Labour Party.”

Healthcare tourism on NHS Bercow lays down the Parliamentary law Earlier this month, Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, announced a law that would legally bind NHS hospitals in England to charge overseas patients for non-urgent treatments in advance if they are ineligible for free medical care.

The law, which is to be enacted from April, will also require patients to prove their identity before receiving care by producing two forms of identification, such as a passport and a utility bill with a UK address. Furthermore, immigrants from outside the European Economic Area who are paying immigration health surcharge will also lose the free NHS fertility treatment they are currently entitled to.

Although nobody will be denied emergency treatment, doctors have raised serious concerns about the plan, with Doctors of the World representative Shyamantha Asokan voicing their fear of the very plausible possibility that identity checks will discourage the most vulnerable people from seeking treatment. These undocumented migrants, homeless people, and victims of human trafficking would be disinclined to seek care due to their fear of being asked to prove their identity. Many doctors are protesting on the grounds that

Although nobody will be denied emergency treatment, doctors have eaised serious conerns about the plan.

Simon Green

“

“

would make them into border guards.

This new law comes in the wake of Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt raising the issue of healthcare tourism, referring to the phenomenon that people travel to Britain specifically to obtain medical treatment.

He stated that with the new legislation, up to £500 million a year can be recovered and reinvested in patient care.

Yet, healthcare tourism only accounts for 0.3% of the annual NHS budget, and thus the Health Secretary’s concern and the media coverage appear disproportionate to its actual impact. Many feel that by overemphasising a problem of relatively negligible consequence, Jeremy Hunt aims to draw attention from the much deeper, structural crisis of the National Health Service.

Despite opposition to President Trump’s state visit later this year being something many share, it seems the Speaker John Bercow has gone a step too far for some MPs. In an address to the House of Commons, Bercow commented that “After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.”

Why is this such a controversial statement? Some argue that many would agree with the Speaker’s comments, such as the 163 MPs who had just signed a

John Bercow is the Speaker in the Commons

petition in a similar vein.

Tory MPs have seized upon this to denounce Bercow and call for a vote of no confidence in the Speaker. Some MPs see Mr Ber-

“

Tory MPs have seized upon this to denounce Bercow.

cow as going beyond the remit of the Speaker, who must retain neutrality and preside over debates in the Commons, not contribute opinions to them. This feeling seems to have been exacerbated

by Bercow addressing a group of students on 3rd February, telling

Photograph: Julian Mason via Flickr

them that he had voted to stay in the EU in the recent referendum.

While Bercow has been a rather controversial and unconventional Speaker, it may be thought that this is just Tory MPs playing politics and trying to oust an outspoken figure. Supporters of the Speaker’s comments, who include Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, say that Mr Bercow was merely sharing what the 1.8 million people who signed a petition to block

“

Many would agree with the Speaker’s comments.

“

such legislation

“

Hannah Folsz

Trump’s visit to the UK completely believe.

There has been no official motion for a vote of no confidence by MPs as of yet, with some critics such as UKIP’s Douglas Carswell disagreeing with Mr Bercow but feeling such a vote would be an extreme reaction. Vladimir Putin, of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and of countless other authoritarian leaders for whom the truth is of but minor importance. Alternative facts are not facts at all; let us hope the American people remember that.

15

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

Politics

www.palatinate.org.uk

Burning money and modern Conservativism modern Conservatism is still very much in pursuit of this paternalis-

“For those to whom much is given, of them much is expected,” said my former Head of Sixth-Form on Leaver’s Day, words that are typical of ‘old’ Conservatism – that is the paternalism of Edmund Burke and Disraeli, the great author and Tory Prime Minister.

Thus, when Mr Coyne of Cambridge decided to burn cash in front of a homeless man, he became the embodiment of Disraeli’s complaint of our society being “two nations between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy.”

Indeed, the modern equivalents of this Disraelian ideal, such as Cameron’s ‘Big Society’, show that

“

Mr Coyne so burnt the mantle of the modern Conservative Party.

“

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

sists comes from a ‘normal family’, trying to create an artificial image of himself.

Nonetheless, although damaging, what is important is that the Party still very much considers

his ethos the antithesis of Conservatism: for in the words of Burke – “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Ronald Coyne was a member of Cambridge University Conservative Association

Photograph: Mario Sanchex Prada

lies at present, the image of the Conservatives being the Etonian enemy of the poor still exists – and has been reinforced by the careless, drunken and despicable actions of a boy whose mother in-

“

Tohid Ismail

tic goal; one seeking to help the homeless with all the kindness one could offer, not to demean them in the most humiliating of fashions.

Some however would disagree with this, arguing that this gentleman represented the other strand of ‘modern’ Conservatism – that of Lady Thatcher. Yet her ‘NO, NO, NO’ would be emphatic, doing all that this shopkeeper’s daughter stood for: the ability of all in society, including this homeless man, through hard work and talent, to climb the financial ladder.

Mr Coyne so burnt the mantel of the modern Conservative Party, in both its paternalistic and Thatcherite forms. For, regardless of where between the two the party

“

Crossword:TestyourUKpoliticsknowledge

Across 3. Brexit Secretary who David Cameron beat in the 2005 conservative leadership election (5,5) 4. Current number of Liberal Democrat MPs (5) 7. Tony Blair’s former constituency (9) 8. Current youngest MP (SNP) (6,5) 9. Organisation formerly run by Shami Chakrabarti (7) 12. Labour MP credited for creation of the NHS (3,5) 15. The Labour MP who got 4.5% of the vote in the 2015 leadership election (3,7) 17. Female MP, twice acting leader of the Labour Party (7, 6) 18. Regular pundit on BBC This Week who lost seat in the 1997 election (8) 20. Location of the 2016 Conservative Party Conference (10) 21. Term given to the female MPs that came in under Labour in 1997 (5,5) 22. Centre party formed by Labour ‘gang of four’ (3) 23. Tory Donor responsible for ‘piggate’ (9) 25. Formula which decides public spending in Scotland (7) 26. Former Lib Dem MP married to half of the Cheeky Girls (6,4) 27. Newspaper which claims ‘wot won’ the 1992 General Election (3) 28. Material of PM’s trousers which caused some outrage (7) 29. Number of General Elections won by Thatcher (5) 30. What does Brexit mean? (6) 31. Adjective describing Parliament with no overall majority (4)

Down

1. Former Chancellor and Father of famous TV chef (5,6) 2. Former Editor of the Mirror, who Jeremy Clarkson punched (5,6) 4. What number house does the Chancellor live? (6) 5. Snake-hipped husband of Yvette Cooper MP (2,5) 6. First and only Shadow Minister for Mental Health (7,6) 9. Name of the inquiry into phone hacking (7) 10. Leader of the opposition 1983 – 1992 (4,7) 11. Labour rebrand fronted by Tony Blair (3,6) 13. Former UKIP MEP who referred to his female audience as sluts (7,5) 14. The paper which Alastair Campbell edited before joining the Labour team (6) 16. What was Jeremy Corbyn making during the ‘train-gate’ debacle (3) 19. The only Tory MP to vote against triggering Article 50 (3,6) 22. Role in the Commons held by John Bercow (7) 24. The city where the Greens have their only MP (8) 26. Bernie Sanders’ brother who ran in the Witney by-election (5) 27. Number of leaders of the Conservative Party in the last 20 years (3)

Tweet your completed copy to @palatinatepoli1 to be in with a chance to win a FREE copy of Palatinate.

16

SciTech Molecules Served Cold Jack Eardley Imagine yourself stood at a train station with instructions to count the number of people on the trains that pass. The trains that stop at the station allow you to achieve this; the non-stopping trains however present a near impossible task. The issue is time.

As with any observation, a greater amount of time allows a more precise measurement.

This simple analogy is what drives the fast growing field of cold molecules.

A molecule becomes ‘cold’ when its temperature descends below 1 Kelvin, and is classed as ‘ultra-cold’ when it gets to a thousandth of 1 Kelvin. At these temperatures molecules start to move so slowly that they can be observed for unprecedented lengths of time with incredible precision.

As well as this, strange quantum-mechanical phenomena start to dictate the molecules behaviour and interactions.

Many different methods exist to bring molecules to these low speeds and temperatures.

Returning to the trainspotting analogy, using a very steep hill or a bombardment of millions of tennis balls could bring the train to rest.

Alternatively, some well-placed dynamite on a coupling between carriages could blow the train apart and force half of the train to rest, hopefully without damaging any of the passengers.

In fact all of these methods are currently being developed at Durham University to bring new insights into our understanding of nature. In windowless rooms filled with lasers, stainless steel and endless lengths of wire, molecules are being cooled on a daily basis.

Quite recently the most accurate measurement of the energy needed to break a chemical bond was made in Durham and many more exciting discoveries are on the horizon here and around the world in the field of cold molecules.

Photograph: Jack Eardley

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Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

UNESCO Women in Science Day Paige Panter The 11th February saw the second International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The day was created in 2015 as part of the UNESCO 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to recognise the significant role of female scientists and encourage more women to pursue a career in science.

This may all seem a little old hat, but the reality is that women are still widely underrepresented in STEM careers.

They make up only 28.4% of the world’s researchers (UNESCO Science Report, Towards 2030), in en-

gineering, technology and computer sciences they make up just 15% of UK graduates in 2016 (HESA January 2017).

In her message to mark the occasion of Women in Science day, Director-general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, wrote that “humanity cannot afford to ignore half of its creative genius”, which considering the precipice that science is standing on after recent events, couldn’t be a more important message.

Durham University itself is usually a great ambassador for creating awareness of these days, but decided not to celebrate. Instead, it makes a big hoo-har on ‘International Wom-

en’s Day’, 8th March. This is always a high profile occasion. Departmental and university wide seminars will be taking place throughout the week in celebration of women and their achievements.

Alongside this commitment, Durham also engages in encouraging young people into science, with the School’s Science Festival in March, Celebrate Science in October, and Science into Schools programmes running throughout the year.

Durham University has also gained the Athena SWAN Bronze award as a whole. Achieving this recognises, in the University’s words, “good practice on recruiting, retain-

ing, and promoting women in higher education”.

Though ideals about a woman’s role in life have changed rapidly in recent decades, there is still a stigma attached to the sacrifices a woman often has to make in order to have a successful career in science. As a university, we have an obligation to readdress this stigma and the gender inequality that is so apparent. In a time where it couldn’t be more important to recognise and encourage women in science, we can only hope that next year, the importance of this message will be much clearer. To quote Irina Bokova, “the world needs science, and science needs women”.

tures.

Cell behaviour in general is guided by the complex 3D microenvironment in which they reside. Dispersal of cell-cell interactions and architectural contacts across the surface of the cell are essential in regulating gene expression, the genetic mechanism by which cells change their character and behaviour. Recreation of this microenvironment in the laboratory is essential to studying physiologically relevant behaviour, and the differentiation process by which cells form new cell types.

Alvetex is a micro-engineered 3D polystyrene scaffold into which cells can be impregnated for cultivation.

Cells grow within a 200 micron thick membrane of the 3D material bathed in culture medium. The micronenvironment enables cells to form 3D contacts with neighbouring cells, recreating the more natural interactions found in real tissues. Overall, this effects the structure and function of the cells, enabling them to behave more like their native counterparts, which in turn improves the predictive accuracy when working with advanced cell culture models.

Stefan Przyborski, is Professor of Cell Technology at Durham University and founder of Reinnervate. He gave us an insight to his technology’s applications; “We can take progenitor cells from the skin of donors and produce a full-thickness stratified human skin model (see image insert). We can take cell lines from the intestine and reproduce the absorptive lining of the intestine. We can take neural progenitors and recapitulate 3D neural networks to simulate aspects of nervous system function. Each of these models can be used to advance

basic research, and extend our understanding of tissue development, and simulate aspects of disease.

“Such technology is underpinned by well established fundamental principles such as how cellular structure is related to function, which hails way back to Da Vinci himself. It is well known that if you get the structure and the anatomy correct then the physiology will start to follow” Alvetex technology has already been used in research that has led the publication of over 60 research papers in the field of tissue engineering and cancer biology. One particular group used the technology to successfully test drugs to prevent glioblastoma dispersal, an innovative application in brain oncology. Another has developed a 3D skin model to better study the development of metastatic melanoma, a persistently incurable invasive tumor of the skin.

US scientists have used Alvetex on the International Space Station to study the formation of bone tissue in microgravity conditions.

The technology promises to be a costeffective and ethical solution to current obstacles in cell culturing methods, producing better quality data relevant to man and reducing the need for animal models. Alvetex technology has offered a generational contribution to the process of tissue engineering research, yet the founder has higher ambitions; “What I would like to see in the next few decades is the increased complexity of the tissues that stem cells can be used to generate. If you consider the structure of an organ, the complexity, arrangement and structural organisation of those cell populations, it is far from where we are today. Advances in technology at the interface between disciplines leads to new innovative ide-

as to solve problems and open up new opportunities.”

The development of stem cell research is an incremental process. We have to remain cautious given the potential of stem cell therapy to cause tumor formation, highlighting the need for more stringent models and controls.

However, the clinical transplantation of cultured stem cells in bone and cornea repair demonstrates their enormous potential. Laboratory experiments have also demonstrated the potential of stem cells to produce kidney, pancreatic, liver, cardiac and muscle cells. It is hoped that continued research using more physiologically relevant technologies will increase the complexity of these tissues in the lab, and the diversity of their application.

Innovative technological advances play an important role in the progress of biomedical science. Scientists at Durham are instrumental in the development of such new technologies that enable the process of new discoveries.

DurhamScientistsPioneerInnovativeStemCellResearch

Jacob Dykes

In Durham, a pioneering technology has been developed which is providing a solution to fundamental problems in tissue engineering and stem cell biology. The development of new innovative technology enables the advancement of the research and discovery process, and scientific thinking as a whole.

For example, it’s hard to conceive of a biomedical sphere untouched by the blessing of PCR or DNA sequencing.

Technological advancements not only offer solutions to existing obstacles, they open up new avenues of research into previously inconceivable areas.

With the current levels of excitement in the research of stem cell biology, you could be forgiven for envisaging a utopian medical scenario where a process akin to science-fiction allows us to generate complex tissues in the Petri-dish, ready for transplantation into the damaged organism. The scientific community has speculated that the nature of stem cells, in their ability to self renew and produce cell types of any lineage will eventually provide medical solutions to some of our most vilified tissue diseases.

Transitioning speculation to reality requires time, basic research and technology development. A novel product, known as Alvetex, has been developed

by Reinnervate, a Durham University spin-out company, which enables a new routine approach to study stem cells and their ability to form tissues in the laboratory. The product unlocks the potential of stem cell differentiation by mimicking the natural three dimensional (3D) microenvironment cells encounter in the body, enabling the formation of 3D tissue-like struc-

Photograph: Durham University

18

Sport Sport

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Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

S h re eve s : l i f e b e h i n d t h e m i c ro p h o n e Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero Deputy Sport Editor

Shreeves is in his twenty-fifth year at Sky Sports

and five percent are not so generous of spirit, but it’s the five percent that attract the most publicity.”

The subject turns to Raheem Sterling, a player who probably falls into the eighty percent of “normal people” but is so often preyed upon by the British tabloids as if he were part of that dreaded five percent.

Shreeves is staunch in his defence of young players like the 22-year old Manchester City and England for-

“

In my experience 80% of players are absolutely normal people in the way they behave. 15% are phenomenal people who have a spark of personality and are great fun to be around, and 5% are not so generous of spirit

“

ward, who he describes as a “smashing kid” who “cares about football and living his life right.”

“Think of all the things students

do at university. If their families found out about some of them they’d probably have a word, and in most cases they’d support them and agree it’s part of growing up.”

“The difference is when you’re in the public eye those misdemeanours are reported, a lot of the time grossly exaggerated and actively sought out by sections of the media that go seeking big stories. These are young people, and young people make mistakes sometimes.”

As Shreeves acknowledges, he too can scarcely afford to slip up, as shown by that post-match interview with Branislav Ivanovic.

It is impossible not to bring up the infamous incident with the then-Chelsea defender, when Shreeves informed Ivanovic that he would be missing the 2012 Champions League final after picking up one yellow card too many. The Serb looked distraught, and social media seized upon the moment to label Shreeves a bully.

Among the titles of the clip on YouTube are ‘Geoff Shreeves attempts to make Ivanovic cry’, ‘Geoff Shreeves crushes Chelsea’s Ivanovic’ and ‘The moment Geoff Shreeves destroyed Ivanovic’s soul’, but the reporter says the reality was rather different.

“Most people don’t know the full story behind it, and it was nowhere near as heartless or cruel as it appeared – it never was my intention for it to be that way.”

“Branislav and I spoke about it afterwards and there was no problem at all.

“When he scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the Europa League final [a year later] I texted him saying ‘Well done Branna, fantastic. Delighted for you, at least

now you’ll remember Chelsea for that goal and not for that f*cking interview’, and he replied saying he appreciated it.”

Of course, Shreeves is not just known for his interviewing style, and many will recognise his voice from his pitch-side updates during big games. He argues this kind of reporting offers something which ordinary pundits and former players and managers in the studio cannot.

“As a touchline reporter you’re the director’s antennae, their eyes and ears because you’re on the ground. You feel the mood and you’re the first point of contact. It’s different through a lens.”The game has changed radically in the 25 years following the arrival of the Premier League, and Shreeves admits as much.

There was once a time when he could call up a club’s training ground directly to speak to a player.

Now there are press officers, liaison officers and far more “layers”, as he puts it.There are also far more cameras. Those who are in the studio can see almost every part of the action on and off the pitch, and can even interview players and managers post-match from the comfort of their armchairs.

Given all this, is there still a need for the touchline reporter? Shreeves certainly seems to think so.

“There’ll always be a need for journalists, because people have to ask questions. Even if we got to the stage where every athlete had the ability of presenting, they could only speak with their own agenda which can’t go unquestioned, so there’ll always be a role for reporters.”

Many football fans, including myself, see Shreeves’ role as the dream job. Although he stresses it is not all

Photograph: Sky Sports

plain sailing, it is clear from his energy that he cannot quite believe his luck.

“There’s more to it than meets the eye – it’s not all laughing and joking with the top players. It’s challenging but I wouldn’t swap it for anything. I still like it as much as I did when I first started.”

“

There’ll always be a need for journalists, because people have to ask questions

“

It is not often that Geoff Shreeves is interviewed.

Usually it is the Sky Sports man asking the questions of managers and players post-match. Rarely is he in the spotlight, even if nowadays his outstretched arm and microphone are two instantly recognisable aspects of Sky’s Premier League coverage. And yet today the interviewer is the interviewee, if only for half an hour.

Shreeves is keen to emphasise that he does not look to be the star.

He does not aim to catch out his interviewees, nor does he want to cosy up to them too much. Curiously, he chooses a cricket analogy to describe his role, likening his job to that of a bowler.

“People say it’s a strength of a touchline reporter that they ask tough questions, but I couldn’t disagree more. Whether it’s radio, newspaper or TV, the most important thing about the question is the answer.”

“It’s not about me, I’m irrelevant.

It’s about getting the best possible answer.”

He is hugely enthusiastic, and with good reason for someone who became a touchline reporter “by accident”, in his words.

He played football at an amateur level and was friends with a few Arsenal players of the George Graham era, but started off in property rather than sports broadcasting.

When the housing crash of the late 1980s arrived, however, he was left at a loose end.

It just so happened that his friend’s brother Mick Luckhurst, the former NFL player, needed a researcher to help American TV stations TNT and CNN cover the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Shreeves jumped at the opportunity, and couldn’t believe “how exciting, how challenging and how much fun” it was.

He networked as much as possible at the tournament, and after a few freelance jobs he has not looked back since. While there have been far bigger names in the Premier League, Shreeves is one of the few people who can claim to have been there from the start of the competition – this August marks 25 years since he became a full-time employee at Sky Sports, the same year as the advent of the league.

With so much experience behind him, it is hardly surprising that Shreeves has encountered every type of player in his interviews.

“Money aside, in my experience 80 percent of players are absolutely normal people in the way they behave. 15 percent are phenomenal people who have a spark of personality and are great fun to be around,

So, what advice would he give to those who aspire to be in his position?

“Every day is a school day – you can learn something new every day.

It’s about being able to set the story and about asking the questions which get the best answers.”

Shreeves may have his critics, but there is no denying his passion for what he does.

Too often pundits and commentators sound uninterested and gloomy, as if they would rather be anywhere else than a Premier League stadium.

Having reporters as eager as Shreeves can therefore only be a good thing for the world of sports broadcasting.

PALATINATE | Thursday 23rd February 2017

19 www.palatinate.org.uk

Turner delighted by senior international call-up

Ollie Godden Deputy Sport Editor

It’s fair to say men’s hockey has gone under the radar in recent times, paling in comparison to the superb achievements of their female counterparts at the Olympics.

Few remember the dismal performances of Barry Middleton’s men, and understandably so, with two draws and a loss causing an early exit.

Months later, a budding future Great Britain international arrived on the hill at Collingwood College.

Ready to represent the 1XI in their national league campaign, Jack Turner arrived with hype and expectation, and he has not disappointed.

On 7th Feburary, Turner learnt that his stellar performances had seen him named in Bobby Crutchley’s senior England squad of 21 that will be heading to South Africa to compete in tests against the hosts and Germany.

Turner started playing aged only

4 years old at Maidenhead Hockey Club, when his dad took him down one weekend to “give it a go.”

As a teenager, he moved to Marlow Hockey Club, close to Bisham Abbey, the home of English hockey, and therefrom his rise was meteoric.

Turner went on to represent England U16 at the tender age of 14. U18 followed, before he made his U21 bow in the summer of 2015 against Germany.

Still only aged 19, Turner has already racked up over 40 junior international caps and has received a plethora of awards in the process, including being named GB U16 player of the year in 2013.

Aged 17, Turner captained Sir William Borlase’s Grammar Schools’ U18 Indoor Hockey team, who were the first state school to become National Champions at U18 level.

His leadership qualities were evident as he shepherded newcomers to the sport with great aplomb.

Progressing onto university, the Woodsman has had the opportunity to represent an aforementioned

successful Durham team currently playing in the National League, with a number of important games just around the corner.

Speaking of this opportunity, he remarked: “Big games don’t come around too often, and they’re a chance to really learn and improve as a player, so to be in a side good enough to reach these I view as important for my development.”

Durham has also allowed Turner to continue his education whilst improving his game, a concept that he has found to be key in his progression in his short time at the institution.

“Durham has been an invaluable facilitator in allowing me to progress with my hockey these past two terms”, he remarked.

“The support networks which have been put in place through Team Durham and my academic departments have allowed me to spend a substantial time away from the university with England U21, whilst ensuring I can cope with all the work demands as well.”

In March, Turner will board a plane headed for Cape Town with the chance of winning his first senior cap.

In a surreal turn of events, he was in his room in Collingwood when he received a personal email from England coach Bobby Crutchley, informing him that he had been selected.

Invariably delighted at this news, Turner told Palatinate: “To even be considered for the senior trip to South Africa was fantastic, but to actually be going is truly honouring.”

His modesty shone through in his dialogue, as he expressed his delight at being picked whilst simultaneously pointing out his honest realisation that no game time is guaranteed.

The moment would, however, be something Turner has worked tirelessly for.

“It being always been a goal of mine to play for the full team”. He commented.

“Although there’s no guarantee of any pitch time over there, to have the opportunity to experience a top level environment, along with the pos-

Sport

sibility of a cap, is something I have worked very hard for.”

Few could argue that Turner doesn’t deserve his chance at the senior level, having been a stand-out performer across the junior international ranks.

Turner spearheads a trio of junior England internationals at Durham, with Rhys Smith and Jack Waller also selected for last December’s Junior World Cup in India.

Durham, alongside Loughborough, had the most club representatives in the squad, and this is a fantastic demonstration of the strength of Durham’s hockey programme led by Gareth Weaver-Tyler.

Turner’s achievements can also act as a catalyst for further triumphs for aspirational hockey players at Durham.

Seeing the 19-year-old succeed will no doubt spur others on to believe they, too, can achieve such feats.

Until then, we doff our hats in acknowledgement of Durham’s finest and one of England Hockey’s brightest new prospects.

England victory reaffirms unprecedented year

Continued from back page It appears that it is this spirit which has helped the side achieve another unbeaten season.

Moreover, not only has the team dominated in its university division, but a 11-9 victory over England in a one-off game further highlights the extreme talent possessed by this group of Lacrosse players.

In fact, given the ease with which the team have walked all over the BUCS division this year, Perry believes that England’s quality may have come as a shock to Durham in the early stages, but once his side settled down, they were the better team and fully in control.

‘Against England, I did think that we might be in for a loss in the initial stages of the game considering we went 4-0 down, but as soon as we got our heads together and adapted to the pace of the game, I knew that we were going to win.’

He acknowledges that this was the best performance of the season, but that it is important not only to look at the performance of the first team on the pitch, but also off it.

‘The first team have helped immensely with the coaching of the newer players and their work at training with the rest of the club is a better indicator of their qualities in

my opinion,’ Perry commented.

This coaching is something which Perry is eager to stress and it is important to acknowledge that it is not only the first team who have had a highly successful season.

Durham’s second team are so far unbeaten in the league as well and according to Perry, almost certain to be promoted.

Perhaps, however, something which is even more impressive - with the help of coaching from players in the first team, alongside the expertise of American post-grads - is the third Lacrosse team. As Perry states, ‘Our third team has reached the semi-finals of the Cup, which is a fantastic feat considering 90% of them only picked up the sport in September.

Our American post-grads have really worked on developing a lot of the new players at the club and their work has been a pleasure to witness.’

Overall, therefore, it has been a highly successful season for Durham Men’s first team, recording another winning unbeaten season in the league, as well as a highly impressive victory against England. It is important, however, to appreciate the success of the university as a whole in Men’s Lacrosse, with fantastic seasons for the 2nd and 3rd team as well.

Photograph: Peter Watson

Sport

Thursday 23rd February 2017 | PALATINATE

Geoff Shreeves Interview Palatinate speaks to Sky Sports’ touchline reporter about his 25-year career (p. 18)

Jack Turner on his international call-up Collingwood student reflects on his recent selection for England Hockey (p.19)

Recordbreaking league season for men’s lacrosse James Martland Deputy Sport Editor

Durham men’s lacrosse celebrate their historic victory over England

Photograph: Peter Watson

College sport teams look forward to York Varsity

George Bond Deputy Sport Editor Durham University’s college sport sides are set to welcome teams from York University on Sunday February 26th for a hotly-anticipated intra-mural varsity event across 16 sports.

Being a single university city, Durham is denied the opportunity for a local, cross-city varsity that the likes of Leeds and Sheffield enjoy.

Instead, Durham utilises its good relations with universities across the country, such as the recent BUCS varsity against Loughborough.

Whilst the Loughborough fixtures allowed Team Durham sides to showcase their abilities, Durham are also eager to emphasise the importance of college sport, being one of the cornerstones of sporting life at the university.

York are one of few other collegiate UK universities, with 9 colleges to Durham’s 16.

This annual event, which has taken place in each of the last three

years, is currently led 2-1 by Durham, although with last year’s event seeing York emerging victorious, there is a keen desire to exact revenge this time around.

The selection criteria for the teams to represent Durham aimed to include the top two sides from each sport, whilst ensuring that each college received fair representation (see right for full list of teams).

Unsurprisingly, given their five consecutive years at the top of the college leaderboard, it is Collingwood who lead the way, sending five teams to represent Durham, followed by St. Cuthbert’s with four.

Events will take place across the Durham campus from 10am to 7pm on the day, beginning with squash, volleyball and women’s football, before rounding off with the darts, a final which will take place at the DSU. This will be followed by the announcing of the day’s results, before a presentation ceremony. Durham students are encouraged to attend throughout the day for much-appreciated support, with York set to bring a party of more than 400 play-

ers and supporters to Durham.

Durham’s best chances of success are likely to come from the nine sides currently holding 100% records in their respective leagues going into the event.

Five of these come from badminton, including St. Cuthbert’s teams in all three formats, as well as Grey’s men and the mixed team from Stephenson.

The other four sides are Van Mildert football, Hatfield and Collingwood rugby and Josephine Butler darts.

Jack Coates, the head of college sport at Durham, commented that “Durham vs. York college varsity is a contest played in good spirits, but always including the competitiveness of top level college sport.

“With 16 sports and 32 teams competing, this is a brilliant showcase of arguably the two finest intramural programmes in the country going head-to-head.

Having lost the trophy last year on York’s home turf, Durham are more than prepared to reclaim the silverware this year.”

Badminton Men’s - Grey, St. Cuthbert’s Women’s - St. Cuthbert’s, John Snow Mixed - St. Cuthbert’s, Stephenson Basketball St. Aidan’s, Stephenson Darts Josephine Butler, St Aidan’s Football Men’s - Van Mildert, Hatfield Women’s - Trevelyan, Collingwood Hockey St. Aidan’s, St. Cuthbert’s Lacrosse Collingwood, St. John’s Netball St. Hild & St. Bede, John Snow Pool Ustinov, St. Hild & St. Bede Rugby Men’s - Collingwood, Hatfield Women’s - Milbut, Chad’s-John’s Squash Collingwood, St. Hild & St. Bede Tennis Collingwood, University Volleyball St. Chad’s, St. John’s

It has often been said that for sportsmen, it is not initial success which is the hardest achievement, but maintaining this over time.

For Durham’s Men’s Lacrosse first team, there has been no such issue. Before this season, the side had won the previous seven BUCS Championships, demonstrating an incredible dominance from Durham in this field.

Nevertheless, despite the continual pressure to succeed and maintain the standards set in previous years, the Men’s team have once again won this season, recording an unbeaten campaign and thus making it eight victories in eight years. This is a truly remarkable feat.

Indeed, it would be wrong to say that at any point this season the first team came close to letting this unbeaten record in the league slip. A five goal victory in the final game away at Loughborough was the smallest margin of victory that the side obtained.

Furthermore, Durham were also able to maintain three cleansheets in the league, with the largest win coming in the opening game of the season where they beat Leeds Beckett 27-0. In fact, the team were able to finish the league campaign with a goal difference of positive 146 from ten games.

Team Captain Harry Perry believes that this incredible record achieved by the team over the last eight years does not provide added pressure, as some might suspect, but instead drives the side to victory when the going gets tough.

‘In those close games the reputation we have gives the first team an arrogance and belief that no matter what the score is, we are always going to come out on top.’

Continued on page 19