Palatinate Thursday 30th November 2017 | No. 801
www.palatinate.org.uk | FREE
Bright lights of Lumiere dazzle
Cutting the ribbon
News and Visual Arts reflect on the Durham arts festival attended by over 200,000 people
Sport watch Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez unveil brand-new Collingwood Bar and Crumb
President of LGBT+ Assoc. quits ‘overpoliticised’ role Tania Chakraborti News Editor
“Nazi scum, off our streets”: a small crowd of 40 far-right marchers were met with a 300-strong anti-racism demonstration on Saturday. More images of the march are on p3 (Maddie Fisher)
University to cut jobs in £15 million streamlining • Support staff morale is “absolutely horrendous” as hundreds fear redundancy • Officials commit to limiting involuntary dismissals but say “change is inevitable”
Eugene Smith Editor-in-Chief Durham University plans to lay off many of its administrative support staff within the next three years, leaving hundreds of employees fearing for their livelihoods, Palatinate has learned. The cutbacks come as the University aims to reduce operating costs by “at least £15m” to allow for investment in new facilities, including developments at Maiden Castle and a new Centre for Teach-
ing and Learning. Professional support staff, who are distinct from the University’s academics, include such personnel as cleaners, caterers, porters and administrators. The University made some of these employees redundant as part of a ‘Voluntary Severance Scheme’ in July 2017, but has since briefed staff to prepare for further streamlining. A second roll-out of the scheme, which involves workers volunteering for redundancy and receiving twelve months’ gross pay, is now slated
for Spring 2018. Though the University’s Durham DOES ‘People Transition Plan’ stresses a commitment to “minimising the need for compulsory redundancies wherever possible,” there has been no guarantee that involuntary dismissals will not take place. Under the sub-heading of avoiding compulsory redundancies, the same plan makes clear that “change is inevitable”. When asked to confirm the number of staff likely to lose their jobs, a University spokesperson told Palatinate: “There are no numbers
at this stage of the programme.” However, one senior source, who wished to remain anonymous, alleges the University has informally briefed staff it is likely to cut “around 480” of the roughly 2,800-strong workforce. The proposals have left many staff dispirited, with the same source telling Palatinate morale is “absolutely horrendous”. Questions have also been raised as to whether the reduction in staff will negatively affect service levels for students, an issue made more pressing following the UniContinued on page 4
LGBT+ Association President Jess Frieze has announced her resignation, citing the politicised nature of the Students’ Union as her primary reason for leaving the post. Her resignation was initially announced via the Association’s official Facebook page on the 17th November. Frieze said: “It’s with a heavy heart that I have to announce that I am stepping down as President. “I have thought long and hard about this decision and it has not been an easy one, but I feel it is the best thing for me and for the Association. “Until an EGM is called, Alexandra Thomas will be Acting President, and I wish her and the exec every success during the rest of the year.” In an interview with Purple Radio’s Caitlin Allard a few days later, Frieze elaborated on her reasons for stepping down. She cited how her aims for the Association did not comply with her view of the nature of the Students’ Union as being inherently political: “I’ve come to realise that the aims I went in with probably aren’t feasible and I’m probably not the best person to lead the Association. “The Association is political because it is an SU organisation and SU politics, student politics, is always going to be like that, which is I don’t think I realised when I ran for the role. “I feel that for some people being involved with the very political side, is great, the Association probably makes a massive difference to them.” When asked what she thought the Society could offer to those who did not feel politically involved with the movement, Frieze stated: “That’s where I’m unsure. I know that for LGBT+ people it can feel that your every move is politicised, and what I wanted to offer, Continued on page 5
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Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
Editorial
Anxiety, Shakespeare and me After a particularly long Palatinate soliloquy, one of my friends innocently enquired: “Adam, do you think you’ll have anything to talk about once you’ve finished with the paper?” And now that time has come. I can only hope therefore that these are not the last significant words I will ever speak. I want to take my final editorial to talk about the issue of mental health, in light of Profile’s interview with RT Projects, a mental health charity working in Durham (p.11). In the interview, Beano Flude and Emma Beattie, the charity’s founders, discuss how mental health disorders can still be stigmatised today. I know this all too well. In the summer, I volunteered at the Juliet Club in Verona. This involved responding to letters from all over the world, counselling the broken-hearted on how to move on from lost loves, or confess their undying feelings to another. We even got a number of letters asking about the crucial ingredients for a successful relationship (please write in). But anyway, I digress. We received a large number of letters from people struggling with their mental health. I am glad that Juliet was there for them; it’s very important that everyone has someone to talk to. But in another sense, I found the situation deeply troubling. Responses often take around six months; if someone is contemplating suicide, they cannot wait.
They need someone to speak to now. It is a tragedy that people feel they cannot talk to people they know, but instead turn to someone essentially pretending to be a Shakespearean character. Something is clearly still going wrong with mental health. A key aim of RT Projects is to improve male mental health. Robert Webb speaks movingly of ‘the trick’ in the promotion for his recent book ‘How Not To Be A Boy.’ ‘The trick’ is his daughter’s mispronunciation of the word patriarchy: hence “the trick that makes men sad and women get rubbish jobs”. As toxic conceptions of masculinity still convince men to repress their feelings, it is no surprise that suicide is still the leading cause of death for men under fifty. I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on my own struggles with mental well-being in the past. Hopefully this can do something to encourage students of all genders to talk to someone if they’re feeling shit. “Get help, don’t do it by yourself”. Around a year ago, I found myself consumed by anxiety. I was doing a lot of stressful things at the time – I was then Comment Editor at Palatinate – but I could not really explain why. I was especially concerned that this anxiety seemed to come on when I was meant to be relaxing. I found the biggest struggle the things that should have been the most simple. I would get really anxious just
walking to the shops, or just sitting watching the TV with some friends. Volunteering at a mental health charity, I knew what people meant when they talked about struggling to leave the house in the morning. My aunty recommended buying some rescue drops from Boots. I spent an awkward moment convincing the cashier that I was not looking for diarrhoea medication (I think she had extrapolated from the name). “What do you have to be anxious about,” she chided me. I was told that I just needed to snap out of this morass that I found myself in. I’m doing a lot better now. I talked to my friends about it, spoke to a counsellor and started meditating again, all of which helped. There are lots of people at Durham, however, who aren’t. Some of them will be seeking help and some won’t. It is so, so difficult to talk to someone about mental health. I know that. But therein lies the road to recovery. We must be ready to support our friends, and know they will be there for us. Adam Cunnane
Inside 801 News pages 3-7 Comment pages 8-10 Profile page 11 Politics pages 12-14 SciTech page 15 Sport pages 17-20
indigo Editorial page 2 Features page 3 Visual Arts pages 4-5 Film and TV page 6 Food and Drink page 7 Music pages 8-9 Creative Writing page 10 Fashion page 11 Travel pages 12-13 Books page 14 Stage pages 15
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NEWS: University rakes in £64,000 from library fines, 2016-17
STAGE: The Bacchae Review: “distinct and entertaining”
COMMENT: A period piece: destigmatising menstrual blood
And I’m sure at least some of it didn’t come from me. In comparison, library fines at Oxford stretched to £168,000.
Greek tragedy is perhaps not classic Saturday night fare. Despite a few probems, Harry Twining praises the show.
“As I write this, I am bleeding”. Hana Kapetanovic argues the period taboo can have serious implications.
Correction
An article on page 4 of Palatinate no. 800 contained a factual inaccuracy. The report, headlined “’Senior Man’ title remains, three years on from referendum”, falsely asserted that the most recent Hatfield JCR vote on the Senior Man title took place three years ago. In fact, a vote was held two years ago, which was the third such referendum in as many years. The Hatfield JCR determined at this time the matter would only be revisited after the length of the average Durham degree, meaning another vote would not be held for at least three years hence. It is also appropriate to note that over the last six years, the position of Hatfield Senior Man has been held equally by both men and women, and that six out of ten of the college’s current JCR Exec are female. We apologise for this error.
Palatinate is published by Durham Students’ Union on a fortnightly basis during term and is editorially independent. All contributors and editors are full-time students at Durham University. Send letters to: Editor, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN. Alternatively, send an e-mail to editor@palatinate.org.uk
Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Adam Cunnane & Eugene Smith editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Anna Tatham & Caitlin Allard deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Sophie Gregory & Tania Chakraborti news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Ben Sladden news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Jack Reed, Clara Gaspar, Tasha Livingstone & Tom Mitchell deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Zoe Boothby comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Hana Kapetanovic and Danny Walker Profile Editor Isabelle Ardron profile@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Profile Editor Holly Adams Science and Technology Editors Martha Bozic & Jack Eardley scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Eloise Carey & Cameron McIntosh politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editors Rhodri Sheldrake Davies & Jack Parker Sport Editor Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors James Martland, Ollie Godden, Will Jennings & Ella Jerman Indigo Editor Tamsin Bracher indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Adele Cooke deputy.indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Divya Shastri features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Katie Anderson Food & Drink Editor Emma Taylor food@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Food & Drink Editor Sapphire Demirsoz Travel Editor Harriet Willis travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Anna Gibbs fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editor Emma Denison Film & Television Editor Imogen Kaufman film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editor Helena Snider stage@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Stage Editor Helen Chatterton Music Editor Tom Watling music@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Music Editor Ashleigh Goodall Creative Writing Editor Chloe Scaling creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Creative Writing Editor Kleopatra Olympiou Books Editor Julia Atherley books@palatinate.org.uk Deput Books Editor Tanvi Pahwa Visual Arts Editor Madeleine Cater visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Visual Arts Editor Anna Thomas Chief Sub-Editor Yongchang Chin Sub-Editors Inka Karna, Aoife Clements, Mint Parabatra, Zuzanna Gwadera & Angelos Sofocleous Photography Editor Max Luan photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor Faye Chua illustration@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Illustrations Editors Charlotte Way, Katie Butler & Akansha Naraindas Digital Team Craig Bateman (Digital Coordinator) Helen Paton (Social Media Officer) Alex Stuckey (Website Administrator)
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
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News
“There are many, many more of us than you”
One of the privileges and responsibilities of being Durham SU President is asking the University tough questions about things that matter to students. At Senate on Tuesday I will be asking: “Does the Vice-Chancellor agree that the need to tackle historic harmful cultures, demonstrate zero tolerance to sexual violence, and ensure seamless transitions and consistent standards between College discipline and University discipline procedures, is of critical importance, and will he commit to bringing a report to Senate as soon as possible in this academic year confirming that this is the case?” I felt I needed to ask this because I am nervous that we are not always backing up the zero tolerance rhetoric with actions. I think zero tolerance means that we can all trust that the disciplinary processes are demonstrably fair – trust comes from consistency and transparency. We need to know that any report of an incident will be taken seriously. People who report should not be subjected to a ‘postcode lottery’, we should expect the same standard of support and respect across the University. I don’t in any way think that every report will or should lead to an exclusion, but I do believe that it means that no matter which College, department, or sports team you are in, everyone should be held to the same standards. Senate, as the highest academic body in the University, has a responsibility to acknowledge existing inconsistencies and tackle them. If we’re not talking about the real challenges in tackling sexual violence and cultural change at this level, then we can’t make them happen elsewhere. An understanding of where there are inconsistencies – and a recognition of this at the highest levels – demonstrates that all parts of the University will be held to the same standard in tackling sexual violence. I am pleased that the University has recognised that there needs to be change in order to address inconsistencies in discipline, but we need actions, not words. We all need to critically review how we shape and contribute to the culture in Durham. Megan Croll
Up to 300 anti-racism campaigners drown out small crowd of far-right marchers Sophie Gregory & Ben Sladden News Editor and News Features Editor Far-right protestors were met with chants of “Nazi scum, off our streets” as they arrived to a counter-demonstration in Durham on Saturday. In response to the anti-refugee march of the North East Infidels (NEI) and Bishop Auckland Against Islam (BAAI), the County Durham Anti-Racist Coalition and Unite Against Fascism North East organised a counter-protest. The counter-protestors met at 12:45 in Millenium Square, prior to the North East Infidels and Bishop Auckland Against Islam marchers, who arrived in Durham at 13:00. Approximately 40 marchers were met by a group of counter protestors comprised of around 300 individuals.
When asked for comment, the North East Infidels said: “F*** off lefty t*** and don’t contact us agaim [sic]” The initial demonstration was organised by the NEI and BAAI in retaliation against Syrian refugee families being allocated housing provisions within County Durham. The posters used to advertise their event contained lines such as “no more terrorism, no more refugees”. Both sides of the protest held signs and the counter-demonstrators chanted throughout. Such chants included “Say it loud, say it clear: refugees are welcome here”, “Whose streets? Our streets” and “There are many, many more of us than you”. Shariah Rahman, who addressed the counter protestors, made a speech in which she said: “The importance of counter demonstrating should never be understated.” After the protest, she told Palatinate: “It’s so important for us to show we are the majority and they are the minority – join the movement.” Emails sent through colleges warned students: “Previous demonstrations have shown that these groups can be verbally hostile to Muslim people and others who they identify as ‘foreigners’. However, the Police will be closely monitoring the demonstration and have a detailed operational plan in place in response to it.” Durham People of Colour Association (DPOCA) voiced similar
concerns about safety. In a statement on their Facebook page, DPOCA stated: “They are extremists, and we advise students of colour (particularly Muslim students) to be cautious if you do decide to attend the static counter-protest.” A police presence was also necessary due to the threat of violence breaking out. Both protests were static and the different sides were separated in Millenium Square by a number of police. Police Liaison Officers were also present on either side of the protest.
“These groups are vile, they peddle hate and lies” In a statement to Palatinate, Simon Mulligan on behalf of County Durham Anti-Racist Coalition said: “We have received wide
spread support on social media. It’s really important that we all as a community stand up to hate, division and racism. We are shocked and saddened that Durham Police have allowed this racist hate demo to be held in Durham.” When asked about what motivated the counter protest, Mulligan stated: “We believe if you tolerate such a demonstration of racism, hate and division, groups such as this will continue to attempt to intimidate, blame and condemn any group of people that does not fit with their narrow hate-filled view of the world. Together we are stronger.” Mulligan also spoke to Palatinate about the presence of groups such as these in the North East. He said: “These groups are vile, they [peddle] hate and lies about the problems that face us all. How does this protest make you feel as an organisation, for example? We
Clockwise from top: a flare is let off near Framwellgate Bridge; the marchers carried banners saying “Refugees not welcome”; a police officer apprehends a protestor (Ben Sladden); (inset) anti-racism protestor Shariah Rahman leads the chants of the counter-demonstrators (Maddie Fisher)
feel angry that after all the appalling events of the last century that people still push racism and fascism. Hope must conquer hate.” When contacted for comment, NEI said: “We don’t talk to the press and our promotion video says it all now f*** off lefty t*** and don’t contact us agaim [sic]”.
A Durham Police presence was necessary due to the threat of violence In addition to the signs held by the counter-protestors, a Scottish Defence League flag was also present. Signs held by the NEI and BAAI read ‘no more mosques’ and a large banner was unfurled that featured claims about Muhammad. Another sign read ‘rapefugees’. One student, Jazmine Bourke, said of this sign: “It’s really interesting that these people only care about rape and women when it’s useful to them. They are misogynists. They use the guise of women to make their racism more palatable.” The far-right groups left at 13:50. There were subsequent isolated scuffles on Silver Street.
Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
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News
Lumiere lights up Durham again
Clara Gaspar Deputy News Editor Returning to Durham for the fifth time, it is estimated that Lumiere 2017 attracted a record of 240,000 people over a four-day period. The biennial festival has seen its audience grow with each presentation. In 2015 visitor numbers reached around 200,000. This is a 14% increase compared to 2013 (175,000) and demonstrates a continued increase from 150,000 in 2011 and 75,000 in 2009.
“I’m an avid star gazer so wasn’t a big fan of the light pollution,” says one student Lumiere was broadly popular with students as well as with the local community. Pierre Davies, a second year student at Durham University stated: “It was an amazing event. It was incredible seeing so many people around Durham and the city in a new light, pun intended.” Lumiere, however, did not please everyone. Matt Lavelle, a second year Biology student, said: “I’m an avid star gazer so wasn’t a big fan of the light pollution.” The light festival was coordinat-
ed by events company Artichoke and commissioned by Durham County Council, Arts Council England and Durham University. It featured 29 artworks by international artists, such as Finland’s Kari Kola and Canadians Rami Bebawi and Daniel Iregui. Works by more local artists were also on display. British artist Hannah Fox projected her work ‘Our Moon’ onto Durham Castle, while Cumbria-based Emma Boyes celebrated Northern heritage with her paper cut-outs of NorthEastern Landmarks at Durham Railway Station. In addition, the work of Durham University’s own History PhD student, Finola Finn, was displayed at The Count’s House. The suspended red heart drew on 17th century imagery in order to explore our sense of self, placed beneath the ancient proverb ‘Know Thyself’. Helen Marriage, Director of Artichoke, producer of Lumiere for Durham County Council, expressed her satisfaction with this year’s festival: “I think this has been my favourite Lumiere festival so far. “Part of the joy of programming this festival is thinking about ways to keep it fresh and new each time, and I think we really have achieved that.
“Of course, some pieces appealed to some more than others, but with 29 separate installations, I think Lumiere offered something for everyone. “At the same time we continued to push the boundaries of what is possible, including creating Pablo Valbuena’s once-in-a-lifetime work at Durham Cathedral, an extraordinary technical feat of synchronicity involving 60 bell-ringers triggering lights and exploring this iconic building as an artwork in its own right. “As always, the support we have had from our commissioner, Durham County Council, has been exceptional, and the involvement of local people at every level, from participating in artworks to the 315 who volunteered as festivalmakers, has been exemplary.
“We have hosted guests from as far apart as Canada, Switzerland, Senegal and Russia,” say the organisers Meanwhile, Durham councillor Simon Henig highlighted the more tangible effects that Lumiere has brought to Durham: “Together the five editions of Lumiere have seen more than 800,000 people counted through the peninsula entry
Photographs: Sophie Gregory (above), Tania Chakraborti (below left)
points alone and I anticipate that the £21m in economic benefits delivered by the first four festivals will rise significantly once we evaluate the 2017 edition.” He outlined the social benefits and diversity of the festival: “Around 1,300 people have also had the chance to be part of the event, thanks to the community outreach programme which can provide life-changing opportunities. “We have also hosted guests from as far apart as Canada, Switzerland, Senegal and Russia. “This is, without doubt, the most international of the Lumi-
ere events we have hosted and I would like to thank the public, volunteers, staff and, of course, Artichoke for another truly world class event.”
Together, the five editions of Lumiere have attracted more than 800,000 people Before the festival opened on Thursday 16th, Marriage announced that Arts Council England had pledged funding for Lumiere’s sixth and seventh exhibitions, suggesting that Lumiere will indeed be returning to Durham in 2019.
“It is clear that many employees are very worried about their jobs”
Continued from front page versity’s recent 3.5% rise in college accommodation fees.
The ‘People Transition Plan’ was “produced with input from Trade Unions” Roberta Blackman-Woods, the Labour MP for the City of Durham since 2005, told this newspaper in October her support for University expansion was conditional on “a pay-off for the local community,” and in particular the generation of “lots of opportunities for local employment”. Contacted last week for her reaction to the staffing cuts, Dr Blackman-Woods’ office had not responded at the time of going to press. Meanwhile, Dr Richard Lawrie, vice-master of University College and chair of the Durham and Easington Conservative Party, spoke to Palatinate in the latter capacity, saying: “It is clear that there is much concern about job security at the University in the local community. We need to be reassured that any changes occurring in one of the region’s major
employers are done in a carefullyplanned way that protects people’s employment. “Talking to people in Durham, it is clear that many employees of the University are in reality very worried about their jobs, as well as issues such as pay and conditions. We need to make sure the University takes notice of this and acts to protect all its employees, and swiftly ends the current uncertainty on these issues.”
Durham’s MP told Palatinate she’d only support University expansion if it brought “local employment opportunities” Durham University’s Chief Operating Officer, Jane Robinson, said: “The University Strategy, 2017-2027 aims to transform how the University works, to provide better services for students, staff and partners. A three-year change programme is underway to ensure better, more streamlined professional support services and enhanced career development opportunities for staff. “The programme also aims to
reduce operating costs by at least £15m over three years to enable the University to invest in developing and improving key areas such as teaching, research and accommodation facilities. Examples include the Centre for Teaching and Learning, which will be a hub for educational innovation, upgrading our sporting facilities at Maiden Castle and a new building for Maths and Computer Science. “The savings are being managed in a planned and controlled way. As part of this approach, the University anticipates offering a Voluntary Severance Scheme from Spring 2018. The terms will remain the same as those offered to all Durham University staff earlier in 2017, with 12 months’ gross pay. “The People Transition Plan [available online], produced with input from the Trade Unions, sets out the University’s approach, including minimising the need for compulsory redundancies wherever possible. University staff have been consulted on a proposed high level operating model and timescales have been produced in consultation with staff and Trade Unions.”
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
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News
Trevelyan College Rugby Club suspended indefinitely for planning ‘Thatcher vs. Miners’ social “Deplorable” event cancelled after Durham Miners’ Association lodge complaint and national press pick up story Ben Sladden News Features Editor Trevelyan College Rugby Club have been suspended indefinitely amidst widespread controversy following a 1980s miners’ strikethemed social. A statement obtained by Palatinate from the Rugby Club’s Exec to its members, states: “This means that we will not be able to participate in matches or socials for the foreseeable future. “We would like to re-iterate that if anyone contacts you regarding the club or college, even if they don’t claim to be involved with the press, do not engage with them at all.” The now-cancelled social, advertised through a Facebook event, called on members to dress as miners, with “flat caps, filth and a general disregard for personal safety.” “Think pickaxes… think headlamps… think 12% unemployment in 1984,” the event description read. The “backs” were instructed to dress as members of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. The Facebook event said: “You are to elect one member to come
as the Iron Lady herself. We want variety too, so a few working-classbeating-bobbys [sic] wouldn’t go amiss. “Nor would a few Falklands war heroes. You get the gist.” The University has forcefully condemned the event. Owen Adams, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience) at Durham University, said: “Durham University and Trevelyan College utterly deplore this event which is wholly unacceptable.
“Think pickaxes... think headlamps... think 12% unemployment in 1984,” the event description read “Durham University is extremely proud of the positive contribution it makes to Durham City and North East England and our place in the rich heritage of this region,” the University’s statement continues. “We know that most students are active and positive residents of their communities. For example, students undertook more than 14,000 hours of volunteering last year. “We work closely with partners including Durham County Council,
Durham Constabulary and local residents’ groups with the aim of ensuring there is a positive environment for all who live and work in Durham City. “Regrettably, there are occasions where student behaviour falls short of the standards we expect.” The Durham Miners’ Association stated it was “appalled” to hear about the event and pleased the University and college had taken “swift and appropriate action”. “Unfortunately, this episode has caused a great deal of hurt and anger for many in the local community who are rightly very proud of their mining heritage.” President of the Durham Students’ Union, Megan Croll, also released a statement in the days following the event. “I’m angry and disappointed that these men were arrogant and rude, and chose to display their ignorance of working-class people and the story of Durham. Our education and our University needs the richness of different people and histories. “Trev’s Rugby club have made our community appear hostile to people we should welcome, entrenched a stereotype of Durham students that we reject and have
Summer of Experience winners announced
Brooke Owens Aerospace summit in Washington DC (Sasha Warren)
Natasha Livingstone Deputy News Editor The Durham University Careers Centre has announced the winners of its Summer of Experience competition. First place was awarded to Sasha Warren, second place to Helen Willey, and third place to Luke Magarinos. The winner, Sasha Warren, gained a place on the Brooke Owens Fellowship programme in Los Angeles.
The scheme offers undergraduate women paid internships in aerospace and space exploration. Warren told Palatinate: “The best part of the fellowship was meeting thirty-five incredible undergraduate women who loved space.” Regarding the importance of the programme, Sasha said “every single undergraduate that identifies as a woman and is interested in space should apply for the fellowship programme right now.” Palatinate also spoke with Luke Magarinos, who was awarded
third place for volunteering at Colima Volcano in Mexico. He named his entry ‘Monitoring the Beast’. Magarinos told Palatinate: “The best moments were taking a private chartered flight around the crater of the volcano to get thermal images and driving a four-by-four up the volcano in monsoon conditions.
The scheme offers female undergrads paid internships in space exploration “I wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of the Sara Pilkington fund through Collingwood College, as they paid for my flights.” Helen Willey placed second through volunteering in her local community and ‘highly commended’ runner-up Rebecca Makinson participated in an eight-week placement with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. The winners of the competition will be speaking at the Work Experience forum on the 29th November in the Palatine Centre.
▲ Coverage of the event featured on p3 of The Times. It was reported elsewhere by BBC News, the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian been working to change, and distracted students and the University from working together to make our community better for everyone. I hope they are ashamed of themselves. I want to see more than an apology and expect significant coordinated effort to make good the offence they have caused. “Durham SU is proud of our community and will be trying to continue our good work with local representatives, including
the Durham Miners’ Association, to help students appreciate our shared history.” The event has been seen as particularly insensitive given the region’s history of mine closures and violent clashes between the police and striking miners under Thatcher’s tenure in the 1980s. County Durham at its height had tens of thousands of miners working in pits across the area.
Group members and leaders “free to decide” level of political involvement Continued from front page I’m just not sure it was the right context to offer it, it’s kind of very grassroots… I don’t know, I think that’s probably why I chose to resign. “Because I think for that kind of scene, the political get-involved scene, it’s perfect, there are some absolutely wonderful people working with the Association… I am not sure I am the right person to lead the Association in that.” Following Frieze’s resignation, Palatinate spoke to Students’ Union Welfare and Liberation Officer, Rosa Tallack. Tallack said: “Jess has contributed so much, and has put so much hard work into the LBGT+ Association, and I have no doubt that she and her caring nature will be sorely missed.” When asked for a response to Frieze’s belief that the SU is politicized in nature, Tallack responded: “Durham SU’s groups and Associations are all democratically run – and politics in the sense of
elections, transparent leadership and representing the group’s needs, will and should always be an intrinsic part of taking part in them. “Politics in the more external sense – e.g. campaigning on issues and having a position on political matters, is something that the members and leaders of each group are free to decide how much or how little they should be involved with…
“Jess has contributed so much and put so much work into the Association,” says Rosa Tallack “If members or execs feel that they’re not getting this balance correct, or the democratic processes aren’t quite right to support this, then myself or other Officers would certainly use SU’s expertise and support to work with the group on this.
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Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
News
‘I was getting shafted’: student condemns work conditions and ‘useless’ University support on Year Abroad
Tom Mitchell Deputy News Editor A Durham student undertaking a Year Abroad work placement has spoken to Palatinate to warn of maltreatment by employers and “extremely useless” support from the University. Paid employment is one of three suggested options for students spending a year of their degree overseas, alongside British Council Assistantships and Erasmus study placements. Third-year Collingwood student Derron Ankers, who secured a placement in Barcelona with Garment Printing, criticises both his employer and the University for his bad experiences abroad.
“My employer frequently undermined me, and embarrassed me in front of my colleagues for my political beliefs” Ankers, who studies in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC), claims he was obliged to take on too large a workload and was not paid a fair wage for his work. The student’s official remit was
to “support with graphic design work… my job was supporting with content writing, translation and ecommerce. I also would work with social media every now and then”. Though Ankers admits that during the first month “the atmosphere in the office was great,” he notes his troubles began after the resignation of a co-worker. After the colleague in question rejected the offer of a managerial job without a pay rise, Ankers claims the atmosphere changed within the workplace, with the General Manager stating: “We should be writing eight articles of a thousand words a week, with over twenty social media posts a week, amongst improving all landing pages”. According to Ankers, it was his manager’s failure to “realise how much work we all actually did” that led to the resignation of his co-worker. As a consequence of the resignation, Ankers was obliged to take on an extra workload, “for a measly €200 per month for a 40 hour per week job”. The staffing change also required Ankers to take a series of digital marketing training courses in addition to his office hours. Ankers told Palatinate: “I was getting shafted, working 50-plus
▲Photograph by Tania Chakraborti hours a week and in the end he didn’t pay me. [My employer] constantly undermined me, embarrassed me in front of colleagues for my political beliefs, threatened me when he was [drunk].” Ankers believes he is not the only one to have struggled with employment difficulties on his Year Abroad, saying: “I am just one of many stories”.
The University “wouldn’t even know if you were in England all year” He condemns in particular the University’s response to his diffi-
culties, branding its Year Abroad support “extremely useless,” before adding: “They wouldn’t even know if you were in England all year”. The University’s Year Abroad Handbook does not set out a commitment to support students with employment arrangements. The document states: “We must emphasise that if you choose [the paid employment] option, then the onus is on you to find suitable employment, and you should not underestimate the amount of time and effort you will have to put into this task.” While the University supplies a list of suitable companies, it
makes clear it “cannot fully guarantee their reliability”. This can leave students with a sense of being stranded as they look for paid employment. Maddy Wattles, a second-year student at Van Mildert, agrees with Ankers’ assessment of University support. Wattles said: “Aside from a handful of talks and some sporadic emails, the modern languages department has offered no real support for second years organising work placements for their year abroad. “I can speak for a lot of us when I say that we feel completely in the dark, and have no idea where to start.” Professor David Cowling, ProVice-Chancellor (Arts and Humanities), said in a statement: “Many students from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC) complete a work placement as part of the Year Abroad. “They are responsible for organising their own placements, ensuring they research and select an employer who best suits their career development aspirations. School academic and administrative staff provide support for students before and during their Year Abroad. “The School actively seeks feedback from all Year Abroad students on their experience to see if any improvements can be made.”
Colleges warn students about alcohol-fuelled misconduct Tania Chakraborti News Editor Durham University students have come under scrutiny following a series of alcohol-related misconducts. In the past two weeks, students across a range of Durham colleges have received warnings from senior members of College staff regarding lewd and inappropriate behaviour on various societies’ socials across the University.
The police have told the University they are to start taking a stricter line with students This has prompted the University to urge College staff across campus to send out college-wide e-mails outlining the severity of misconduct during socials. In an e-mail sent to University College on 14th November, ViceMaster Richard Lawrie said to students: “I think it’s worth flagging-up that the police are getting increasingly concerned over re-
ports of student misbehaviour in town. Whilst the vast majority of these reports have not been linked to Castle, I should like to let all of you know that the Police have told the University that they are going to start taking a stricter line with students. “Packs of students using offensive language, wearing inappropriate fancy dress, acts of nakedness or lewd behaviour as well as unacceptable house parties will be dealt with more robustly going forward.” Students are warned in the email: “Please don’t let yourself be caught up in any of this. “It can be easy to forget that Durham is a small place and that the students are actually in the minority in the community, but nobody wants to be the person who ends up with a criminal record or thrown out of University for something that they thought was just a bit of harmless fun.” Similarly, Assistant-Principal of Collingwood College Grant Slater, wrote to students warning “of the consequences that having a Police record can have on future employment and other opportunities.
“Offences of a sexual nature and that includes stripping and exposure of any kind, could also result in being registered on the sex offenders list. You really do not want this to happen I assure you.
“Offences of a sexual nature... could also result in being on the sex offenders list” “The University’s disciplinary regulations also allow for expulsion for any incidents which can be classed as ‘major’ offences. Any behaviour that is deemed illegal, is a major offence. “The majority of these incidents of course have alcohol as a driving factor. You must understand that this will not be seen as mitigation – quite the opposite, it will be seen as an aggravating factor that you are responsible for alone.” Vice Principal of St Hild and St Bede, Laura Todd sent out a similar e-mail that same week, stating: “Ultimately as members of a community we are all responsible, to some extent, for what is done in our name-it is up to the majority to make clear to the minority what
“
Offensive language, inappropriate fancy dress, acts of nakedness and lewd behaviour, and unacceptable house parties will be dealt with more robustly going forward
”
is and what is not acceptable.” This identical e-mail format sent by college staff across the University is believed to have been prompted by the multiple transgressions made by students within the last month, such as Castle AFC’s notable misconduct of late October, which saw the entire 35 members of the club banned from all inter-collegiate competition for the rest of the academic year. An ongoing investigation is also taking place into Durham University Ski and Snowboard Club’s (DUSCC) recent social, which has seen the University directly involved in proceedings. President of DUSCC told Palatinate: “Unfortunately it would be inappropriate for me to divulge any details concerning the incident as the investigation has not yet reached its full conclusion. “All I can offer is that all members involved, and indeed the entire club, recognise the change of culture that is happening, and can only apologise for any offence caused.
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
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News Features
Rethink University drug policy, says new student group
‘Students for a Sensible Drug Policy’ aim to bring Durham in line with other institutions moving towards health-based policies Ben Sladden News Features Editor With its winding cobbled streets, Cathedral, and “tame” 2a.m. nightclub closing time, Durham feels far removed from the bright lights of cities such as Manchester and Leeds.
The University’s drug policy is unambiguous in its zero tolerance approach to illegal substances “Dulham” is how Vice pejoratively labelled the University a few years ago. Nevertheless, Estia Ryan, a second-year St Mary’s student heading the newly ratified Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), spoke to Palatinate about how she sees things changing. Speaking about the drug scene in Durham, she said: “It’s exploded; it’s always in my face. I think that drugs are everywhere. “You can see that it can quickly become an issue for a lot of people here.” Advocating for the safe use of drugs is clearly a deeply personal issue for Estia. She spoke of growing up in London and witnessing close friends overdosing on drugs. SSDP is an American organisation but has “chapters” across the world. It advocates for a focus on reforming policy, and education around drugs. According to a nationwide survey of 11,000 people by The Tab, 77% of Durham students have taken some form of illegal drug. The University’s drug policy, however, is unambiguous about its zero tolerance approach to illegal substances. Tucked away in the University’s Codes of Practice is their position: “The University will not tolerate the use of, or dealing in, controlled drugs on its property. “Any students found to be using or in possession of any controlled drug, including cannabis, on University premises will be subject to its disciplinary procedures and the police will be informed.” Estia claims, however, that she has been in discussion with representatives of the University who are seeking to re-draft their drug policy this academic year, with the planned input of student focus groups. Other British universities have also taken steps in reforming their
drug policies. Newcastle has softened its zero-tolerance approach following campaigns by the SSDP chapter there, which called on the university to prioritise welfare and medical concerns over deterrence. Similarly, the University of Manchester has introduced a healthbased policy. These two universities, as well as Sussex University, have lent their ear to the arguments of those arguing for “harm reduction”, and have allowed the distribution of drug-testing kits through their students’ unions. These kits allow drug samples to be tested for their contents. However, critics have pointed out these relatively cheap test kits only identify the predominant substance, and do not flag up the presence of smaller quantities of adulterants. Numerous recent teenage drug deaths have been linked to the presence of adulterants, such as PMA – a dangerous, cheaper substitute for the MDMA found in Ecstasy pills. SSDP-Durham is currently seeking grants in order to be able to bulk buy drug-testing kits for distribution to students.
The Durham drug scene has “exploded” in recent years However, Estia concedes that negotiations with the University to allow for the distribution of these kits through the Students’ Union is “going to be really hard to sell”. More fundamentally, what Estia and SSDP-Durham plan to do is provide better education around drug use. Estia suggested that this could make up for the lack of information around drugs in Durham. The Students’ Union currently provides no information on illegal drugs on their website. Clara Senior, Head of Welfare for St Cuthbert’s Society, said that although Freps and Welfare Officers are given training in dealing with drug abuse, this is reactive: the training is put in place so that “when people do talk to us we can provide them with the resources they want in a non-judgemental way”. “We don’t really have much information given out to Freshers specifically about drugs,” she stated. This was echoed by Karl Wilkinson, Welfare Officer at St John’s, who said “there hasn’t been much”
regarding drug education beyond an alcohol and drug awareness session usually run in Epiphany term. Fiona Measham is Professor of Criminology at Durham and a national expert on harm reduction. She spoke to Palatinate about the need for universities to do more regarding the use of drugs.
Freps and Welfare Officers are given training in dealing with drug abuse, but this is “reactive” “To address this, I would like to see a greater focus on alcohol and other drug (AOD) harm reduction both during freshers’ week and also across the academic year.” She spoke of her desire to “introduce staff drugs awareness and harm reduction training, and also periodic pop-up labs to raise awareness of variations in drug markets”. As part of her work as Director of The Loop, a charity advocating for drug safety and harm reduction, drug-testing stalls were introduced in a handful of UK music festivals this summer. The scientific tests that were carried out allowed festival punters to ascertain the strength of their drugs, alongside the presence of adulterants and contaminants. The Loop’s campaigners claimed this often helped pre-empt possible dangers by flagging up any dangerous batches. This has been seen as paramount in a year in which news headlines have featured stories on fluctuations in the strength of drugs, with “super-strength” Dutch MDMA pills flooding the British market. The attitudes in Durham, more widely, however, seem to be changing. Those championing harm reduction have not been limited to the academic community. Durham’s Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner, Ron Hogg, is a keen advocate for reform, promoting what he calls “evidence-based policing”. His police force has hit headlines in recent months with its revolutionary approach to the problem of heroin use. It was announced earlier this year that Durham Constabulary would be the first English police force to provide designated “shooting galleries”, where heroin users would be provided with diamor-
▲Photograph by Satoru kobayashi via Flickr and Creative Commons
phine – pharmaceutical heroin. This follows an approach that is used in Switzerland and other European countries. Hogg recently penned a radical policy document for County Durham, ‘Towards a Safer Drug Policy’. Humanising the role of policing, Hogg peppers his 54-page report with emotional stories of his experience of what he sees an ineffective policy of prohibition.
Durham Constabulary will be the first English police force to provide designated “shooting-galleries”
“
We don’t really have much information given out to Freshers specifically about drugs
”
“I have spoken to too many grieving families who lost their children to drug addiction, and I have attended the scenes of too many drug overdoses during my policing career”, he writes. “I am passionate about my objective to influence Government to implement informed policies which will reduce the harm within our communities, and the harm to individuals,” he maintains. “The time has come to review current drug policy in the UK, to ask questions of its effectiveness at reducing harm, and to see what measures we could take to achieve better outcomes. It’s time for a safer drug policy.”
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Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
Advertising and elitism at university Page 10
Comment
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Durham’s housing Hunger Games: time for it to end? Helen Paton It’s that time of the year again. Michaelmas term in Durham, when everyone starts rushing into housing madness. Every year, in early November, landlords and estate agents start putting up huge colourful signs across the whole city. This year, however, they instead commenced in late October. It seems that every year this housing rush arrives earlier than it did the year before. It is a very particular thing to Durham, which is one of the only universities in the country that has 60% of the houses let by early January. For most other UK universities, this is when the housing rush is merely beginning.
It seems the housing rush gets earlier every year When I arrived in Durham last year, I was shocked by the fact that I needed to get a house with people I had known for barely three weeks. There are so many variables to consider when deciding where to live, particularly regarding
housemates and the area.
Housing is one of the primary concerns raised within university welfare groups Though there are many different areas to live in Durham, a large percentage of the student population lives in the Viaduct. It is a tough business that always requires a project manager – as Lord Sugar would say – since there’s always someone that takes the time to organise different viewings. Housing is one of the most stressful things that you have to deal with as a student, however most of this stress is caused not by choosing the area that you live in, but by choosing the people you live with. They are so many issues raised in welfare groups every year regarding this draining process, which impacts on academic attainment as well as student wellbeing. These issues always arise later on in the year, since many people that sign early are no longer close to whom they will be living with in second year, which can be extremely challenging. As a fresher, it is tough to look ahead as
you’ve just moved away from home and are trying to figure out how further education works. How can we expect freshers to sign a house in the third week of term when they haven’t even had a tutorial yet? The University should provide a system that empowers students and provides them with all the information on offer regarding housing and contracts. It is an essential part of university life as more than 80% of non-freshers live out of college. But is the University trying to give students more options?
How can we expect freshers to sign a house when they haven’t even had a tutorial yet? The rise in college accommodation is out of hand, leaving a lot of students out of pocket and concerned about their financial sustainability in the future. The year-on-year rise of college accommodation costs has also impacted the student housing market, as it has facilitated similar rises for student lets. The University must also provide more information about what is acceptable and what
is not: some houses in Durham are in terrible condition whilst others look like family homes in comparison.
College accommodation increases have also made student lets more expensive Colleges, in general, try to deal with the situation and advise their students on the matter with the help of livers-out representatives and JCR presidents, but as students interact with people from other colleges who have signed houses already, the stress is nevertheless passed on. So how can we create an environment that doesn’t pressure students into signing for houses earlier than they should? It is very tough to regulate the housing market, as the signing process is well-established in Durham, and landlords also coordinate their monopolisation of the local market. In years prior, the Students’ Union, the council, and the University united over the cause and agreed with the landlords to regulate the process to make it more bearable for incoming freshers. This year I’ve seen from the liver-
out’s perspective how the University and the council don’t do anything to regulate the market and how, as a result of this, students face an incredibly early rush for housing. Furthermore, the Students’ Union does not address the rush at the right time: the housing fair will take place in December, when over 40% of the houses will have already been signed.
The University must do more for the wellbeing of its students The University should take responsibility for the wellbeing of every student and make sure this rush is delayed: it is outrageous to expect incoming students to commit to living with people they have known for barely 20 days. The University must provide further support as well as various alternatives for those who wish to live outside college accommodation. To deal with the problem, there must be a delay in the housing rush to preserve peace and student wellbeing, especially for first years who are still getting settled into Durham life.
What do other Durham students think? Harriet Cunningham The impact of the pressure placed upon students to sign for houses by estate agents cannot be overstated. It is clear that letting agencies often push inexperienced students into signing without allowing them sufficient time to reflect upon this legally-binding decision. This pressed signing process is often instigated through use of the all-too-familiar claim that there will soon be a lack of houses available. This is quite frankly untrue and merely a sales technique. Thus signing for a student house can often (wrongly) feel like a rather passive experience. Durham Students’ Union provides a plethora of guidance on student housing, including budgeting advice, a viewing checklist, and a bank of useful contacts. The Union’s ‘Stop. Think. Sign.’ campaign is helpful in this regard, providing solid advice for those considering signing for a student house, as well as a contract-
checking service. Students must be made aware of these provisions well before the pressure to sign arises. Thus it is imperative that this scheme is highlighted to students very early on in order to counter this important issue. Jess Lord November has arrived, and with it has come ‘Signing Season’. It’s a cold, unforgiving, and brutal time of year, as the race to sign begins. The sight of Bill Free Homes cars whizzing across Durham, weary freshers trudging through the Viaduct, and a queue at the DSU for the contract-checking service is characteristic of this time of year. However, it is all so unnecessary. Estate agents love to perpetuate the myth that Durham will ‘run out’ of student properties, creating the panic that causes students to make rash, uninformed, emotional decisions. Second year is assumed to be the year of ‘bad housing’, a
reality which stems from signing far too quickly for a house with people that you’ve known for little over a month! The University needs to crack down on lies perpetuated by estate agents and tackle this absurd myth. It needs to build a secure online database, accessible only by Durham students, whereby students can rate and review their student properties. Poor landlord? Dodgy boiler? Mould? We need to know, because they aren’t going to tell us. Danielle Cuaycong As a fresher juggling meeting a multitude of new people, managing my academic commitments, and signing up for societies, student housing was undoubtedly the last thing that crossed my mind when I embarked on university life, until murmurs of ‘Viaduct’ and ‘Claypath’ intensified after only a few weeks. The fundamental issue is the pressure in the first two months to ‘keep up with everyone else’,
by finding a friendship group and a house with the best location and price tag to boot. Whilst the ideal choice would always be to live in a house with your closest friends, it is impossible to anticipate the possibility of finding new social groups or of established friendship ties fraying. Additionally, this process may be especially arduous for those who haven’t found settling into university an easy feat, leaving them panicking and feeling alone. Therefore the University should be doing more to ensure students feel secure in their housing situations by implementing lessons in colleges to educate them on the housing process. Samuel Betley Finding a handful of people who want to live with you is undoubtedly one of the most daunting tasks facing any fresher. There are a lot of horror stories out there. But I am here to assure you that it’s not all doom and gloom. Believe
it or not, house-hunting and its consequences can be immensely rewarding. Early on in first year, my initial tentative group of potential housemates soon went our separate ways. Immediately, I resolved to put together another group as soon as possible. I was immensely lucky to find three blokes on my corridor who were genuinely good people and – more importantly – didn’t recoil in horror at the thought of living with me. We signed for a house in early December 2015. Fast forward two years, and you will still find the same four guys in the same house. We’ve had our fair share of maintenance emergencies, and the occasional towering pile of washing up. But the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. We are probably closer now than we have ever been, a fact which is made even sweeter by my housemate’s legendary Rocky Road. Illustration by: Katie Butler
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PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
Comment
Channel political apathy into community championing Sophie Gregory Party politics is not working. The number of 18-25 year olds currently turning out to vote for some abstract manifesto, which may or may not be fulfilled, is (unsurprisingly) consistently low. With ‘First Past The Post’ leaving millions of people feeling unrepresented, the entrenched two(sometimes three-) party system means that choice is limited. The constant mendacity of political conduct means that it is easy to sympathise with those who state, ‘I just don’t care anymore’. This is a nationwide issue – a recent Demos and British Council report, Next Generation, reported, in fact, that 54% of young people do not believe that British politics today reflects issues that are important to them. Many also reported feeling that national political action is simply ineffective. However, the apathy and disillusionment that we are so quick to condemn should actually be something we use to propel a change in our political system and our attitudes towards it. It’s time, I think, to stop and
reconsider our party political approach. A divisive politics – of blame, spin, electioneering, and manipulation – can’t act as the foundation for the development of a unified nation. It just doesn’t seem feasible to me, or to swathes of disillusioned youth, that the corruption of this political climate can give rise to something positive for a society that is increasingly divided.
We can use apathy to propel a change in our political system I would go as far as to suggest that attempting to increase the numbers of people turning out to vote in a political system denounced as being unresponsive is a means of treating the symptom rather than the cause of the issue. It’s clear, then, that after years of being misled, and with trust in politicians ailing, we cannot expect people to gladly vote every five years and feel as though they have contributed to the improvement of their society. True engagement, I think, is making it our duty to actively pursue and work towards the kind of society we want – which I hope we can all universally agree will be tolerant, equitable, and unified.
True engagement is working towards the tolerant and equitable society we want In order to give not only young people, but all people, a feeling of empowerment back, we need to understand that work at a local level can be taken up at a national one. Meaningful change, day-to-day enfranchisement, must be rooted in the work we do within our local communities. It’s time to think internationally, but act locally. This has already begun to happen. People, rather than politicians, have looked to start foodbanks, to engage in collective social action, to respond to the needs of their communities. (Mark Ramsay via Flickr)
Directing our efforts into things we can change, rather than arguing about things that we can’t, will make a positive difference. To bring about tangible change, then, we must begin by understanding the needs of our neighbours, whilst building cohesion and community spirit. This is, in my opinion, the way to combat the disillusionment and apathy of an alienated generation. It’s time to recognise that generous, dedicated and consistent work to improve relations within the community can do more to create a harmonious and united society than a vote in a ballot box – in real terms. If our politics becomes more localised, and individuals can see how their efforts, opinions and needs are being met and responded to, the indifference and alienation that seems to have seeped into national politics can be truly countered.
We must understand our neighbours’ needs and build community spirit I think that a local politics that does not rely on flashy campaigns at a national level but rather the praiseworthy character and trustworthy reputation of local
candidates would be more attractive to people who feel like our current political system does nothing to improve their lives or the lives of those around them.
Our focus on national politics has left many feeling powerless Votes, then, cast in the belief that they will directly make a difference to the local community and, as a consequence, to the wider national community, are surely more ‘democratic’ and engaged than votes cast strategically in the hope of making a difference at the national level. Inevitably, there are systemic issues that need to be addressed and for that the machinery of government is necessary, but in order to ensure that this machinery works well, we need the community level to be at the foundation of our politics. The issue is not that people are apathetic, but that our focus on national politics has left those with enthusiasm feeling powerless. Look to your community, and you may be able to make the meaningful change that casting your vote never quite seemed to achieve.
Meal deals don’t stop people buying houses Madeline Horton A few days ago, estate agent Strutt & Parker argued that millennials would be in a much better position to get their foot on that first tricky step of the property ladder if they would only cut back on their lunch-time splurges – by that they mean buying those overpriced sandwiches and meal deals, which always seem to be a much more attractive option than preparing your own Tupperware luncheon. It is a bold claim. After doing the maths, they concluded that resisting this daily expense could save the average young person a whopping £2,576 a year, which would then be subsidised by saving in other small ways. The average deposit for a house in Britain – all legal expenses included – currently stands at around £22,000. Yet apparently, with enough scrimping and saving, enough sacrificing of our little luxuries, it is possible to save enough for a deposit in as little as five years – if you play
your debit cards right. Naturally, the claim was met with backlash online from those targeted: surely the answer to our housing woes is not as simple as cutting back on sarnies.
Living within your means is part of being an adult I am an advocate of frugality, despite the occasional Topshop splurge and the unavoidable expense when choosing a university education. Being savvy and ‘looking after the pennies’ is good practice, and not akin to ‘cutting corners’. Living within your means, and not descending regularly into the darkest depths of your overdraft, is surely part of being an adult and being able to manage the money you have responsibly. However, while it’s necessary to make little cut-backs (such as snooping around the ‘reduced’ section for those prized yellow stickers), cutting back during the prime of your life to such a radical extent that you become a frugal hermit is not fun or advisable at all.
In addition to cutting back on sandwiches, which is sensible, common sense knows that a homemade butty can be prepared for a fraction of the cost – the estate agent in question also advised cutting back on other ‘luxuries’ such as mobile phone upgrades, going out with friends and annual short city breaks. If you’re outgoing, social, and want to live your life to the fullest, cutting back on maintaining a social life and taking inexpensive trips is a rather hefty sacrifice to make. Life can’t be ‘all work and no play’. Though planning for the future, as much as is possible, is always a good move, sacrificing so much that there’s no enjoyment to be had is not productive or healthy at all. There has to be some leeway in your spending, though it’s a difficult balance to achieve: enjoying yourself occasionally whilst also saving incrementally.
Life can’t be ‘all work and no play’ The issue is much larger than little luxuries. British culture is moving
increasingly forward towards an Italian-style status-quo where it is increasingly acceptable to continue living at home with parents longterm until financially stable enough to fly the nest. This might be considered a small comfort.
Living with parents seems preferable to falling into the ‘rent trap’
(Brenda Annerl via Flickr)
Though many strive for independence, we have almost come to accept that the current housing market is sharply against our favour. Living with parents and hopefully scrimping enough for that big deposit seems preferable to falling into the ‘rent trap’, where we find ourselves paying high rents on sub-par housing. This only feeds the wallets of the property developer types to be seen on Homes Under the Hammer, and older folks who have chosen to invest their money in a housing portfolio – buying up properties en-masse and further narrowing the market for first-time buyers. Naturally, there are government
schemes such as ‘Help to Buy’ which aim to ease the pressure for those starting out, offering decent rates on ISAs – but these are sadly not taken advantage of enough by many youngsters. It’s a difficult environment for starting out, there’s no two ways about it. Though there is some small truth in this estate agent firm’s advice that little cut-backs go a long way in preserving your bank balance, their words should definitely be taken with a pinch of (Tesco Everyday Value) salt. It’s not the magic answer – saving for a house deposit is going to take a considerable amount of time, and is not going to be easy in the slightest.
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
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Comment
More must be done to tackle educational elitism Anna Tatham
In 2017, one in three young people in England will go to university, meaning young people in this country are more likely to be in higher education than ever before. Much has been achieved regarding accessibility to university as a whole, however the inequality of opportunity is still endemic within higher education systems, and not enough is being done by the universities themselves in order to alleviate it. Data sourced by David Lammy MP in October 2017 demonstrated that the number of students going to Oxford from the top two social classes actually increased as a whole between 2010 and 2015. Both Oxford and Cambridge are vastly unrepresentative of the UK as a whole, with the majority of students being privileged and/or Southern.
Inequality of opportunity is still endemic within higher education Yet, there has been some progress: this year : 90% of the students admitted by Mansfield College, Oxford,
came from state schools.
Mansfield College’s achievements highlight the apathy of other institutions This is a momentous victory for an institution periodically rife with social inequality. But it’s one college out of 38. Mansfield College’s ability to realistically reflect the UK population in its student body highlights the apathy amongst other institutions about the issue. Mansfield has proven that increasing accessibility is possible, whilst concurrently mocking its sibling colleges for remaining complicit in their entrenched elitism. With more Oxbridge offers made to Eton students than students on free school meals across the country, Mansfield College’s impressive nine in ten state school demographic is a statistical anomaly. Some of the brightest, the most creatively driven, and the most apt to lead and negotiate are being lost in the application process for the other 37 Oxford colleges. The myth of Oxbridge being inaccessible has not yet been completely dispelled. Having spent some of the best
times of my life at a state school I, naturally, fiercely protect it. I had (mostly) fantastic teachers, and managed to excel in ways I could have never imagined – such as being one of a handful in my year applying to Oxford University, then going on to interview. Whilst staying in Oxford for my interviews, I found an acute state/ private school divide, even as a naive seventeen-year-old whose primary concerns didn’t span much further than how to get alcohol without ID. “I can’t believe I’m actually here, at Oxford University”, I remember saying to a group of applicants I was sat with at dinner, as I admired the stupendous portraits in St Peter’s dining hall. This marked a stark moment for me: no one shared my disbelief. One guy laughed and said he always knew he’d make it here. I decided to stop going to the free college meals after that.
More Oxbridge offers go to Eton students than students on free school meals
dangerously – ingrained.
Durham University has a lower intake of state school students than even Cambridge The discrepancy of opportunity is not just rife at Oxbridge: one can’t forget that Durham has a lower proportion of state school students than that at Cambridge (60.5%). We must not reside in our ivory tower and are by no means objective in this debate. Durham inhibits accessibility with its extortionate price brackets, despite the North East being one of the cheapest places to live in the UK. With college accommodation fees reaching £8,000 in some instances next year, and tumultuous cuts to the Durham Grant and reductions in (Tejvan Pettinger via Flickr)
The belief that Oxbridge exists solely for a privileged minority, which accounts for only 6.5% of students nationally, is a stereotype deeply – and
Supported Progression, Durham is becoming increasingly inaccessible to the working class. The University’s nonchalance towards the situation is even more infuriating, and simply embarrassing. Accessibility to elitist institutions undoubtedly needs to improve, and Mansfield College has shown that this is absolutely possible. However, there’s a poignant paradox. More students from disadvantaged backgrounds need to be encouraged and equipped to apply to Oxbridge and other typically elitist institutions, of course. But what happens when they’re offered a place, to find out the living costs are way beyond the realm of affordability?
Accessibility is further inhibited by extortionate living costs These institutions need to diversify, and grass is green. But in corroboration with this, these institutions need to look at how accessible their academia is beyond application, in terms of living and social costs. An improvement in admissions for the working class requires active awareness and sensibility from universities. Sadly, the latter is abhorrently absent.
False university advertising has real consequences Anna Ley In the past few weeks, six universities have been cautioned against the promotion of misleading claims when marketing their institutions to prospective students. Falmouth University’s claim to be the ‘UK’s number one creative university’ was vetoed, while Leicester can no longer extol its virtues as a ‘top one per cent world university’. The need for growing restraints on marketing underlines a significant development in recent years: that is, the proliferation of rankings and statistics that were once deemed prejudiced and unscientific, but now litter the prospectuses of educational institutions at all levels. But what are the consequences of this increasingly commercialised education system?
Rankings once deemed prejudiced now litter university prospectuses Education has long been marketed off as merchandise alongside the many other commodities of capitalism – but this change is corrosive to students’ learning.
Students become estranged from an education apparatus Baroness Kennedy, the principal of Oxford’s Mansfield College, suggests that students should never be seen as ‘cash cows, delivering something’, and that universities should not ‘spend more time on maximising revenues than we do on bringing students together’. Yet, in universities, as profitability eclipses the quality of education, there remains a dangerous trend of moving away from prioritising the student. Reduced to a mere rank – yet another alienated statistic of cultural capitalism – students easily become estranged from such an education apparatus, and seek a quick scapegoat. ‘Price-tagging’ education could in fact be pivotal to students’ sense of worth. Students begin to feel devalued, believing that they’re being encouraged to do well to improve the school’s stature versus competitors, and not because of a genuine desire for them to personally succeed. This belief can be dangerously demotivating, because it causes individuals to externalise blame for poor performance by attributing it to teachers who just ‘don’t care’ rather than failures within their own efforts.
Even so, the enthusiasm of the most eager of teachers is declining under the intense pressure to meet artificial quotas on student satisfaction or attainment. Surely the raison d’être of teaching is the enlightenment and encouragement of students’ intellectual curiosity? The movement from a student-focused system to one ruled by revenue will therefore continue to alienate both students and teachers alike.
Individuals externalise blame for poor performance, attributing it to teachers Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, opines that there is a ‘touch of the Wild West’ about the current climate of education advertisement. Dense with assertions of ‘number one’ for subjects, student experience and job prospects, this market sees schools and universities stand face to face, fighting for the first draw to pry parental choice. It is right that institutions like the University of West London are slapped down when positing ambiguous or misleading statistics, such as its claim to be ‘London’s top modern university’. These claims constrict the school down to one miniscule descriptor, all
the while giving cause to forget the true reason it exists: the student. Sadly, these criticisms are only too justified in my personal experience as a student at Durham University. Durham: an institution with one of the highest college accommodation charges, and one that views excellent teaching scores under the most recent TEF assessments as simply another opportunity to raise tuition fees. The danger of such continuous rises is that eventually only the wealthiest among us will be able to achieve a place at the most highly regarded teaching institutions, rather than, perhaps, the most deserving. The commodification of tuition will therefore only perpetuate the privilege that already pervades many employment sectors, like the civil service and the justice system.
Universities often forget why they exist: for the student If, like me, you are blessed with superbly supportive parents who would not allow financial concerns to forestall your pursuit of the perfect course, then rather than escaping the currents of capitalism, you are in fact indirectly encouraging an education system that is more exclusive than
(University of Central Arkansas via Flickr)
‘encompassing’. For students whose financial circumstances are less fortunate, there is the danger of falling through the cracks altogether, and missing out on the education that you most desire and would benefit from most. To privatise education is to commodify knowledge. But knowledge is not a right that should be restricted by governments or universities; these institutions should instead encourage everyone in its pursuit. Genuine education is of much greater value than any price tag or statistical claim. The commodification of tuition itself, as well as the hyper-marketing of the university experience, are deeply harmful. Finances should never be a barrier to the pursuit of knowledge.
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PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
Profile
“The problem is having this idea of what is normal – as if we should all be aspiring to normal” Profile meet local mental health charity RT Projects, to discuss destigmatisation, art therapy and sucide prevention Izzy Ardron Profile Editor The North East has the highest suicide rate in England. 76% of UK suicides in 2014 were committed by men. These figures were released by the Office for National Statistics last year. And it is these figures that Durham mental health charity RT Projects is working to change. RT Projects was set up seven years ago by the team of Emma Beattie and Beano Flude. From their art studio in Gilesgate, the pair run various workshops aimed at improving mental health. The charity’s slogan, ‘Using art to save lives’, emphasises their focus on suicide prevention. As part of this work, they often work with those living with mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression. Beano emphasises that “suicide is the result of a long series of events, a downward spiral,” which RT works with in all its stages in order to prevent suicide. Emma and Beano see art as having a number of roles in improving mental health. The workshops provide a community for those experiencing isolation, a common symptom of disorders such as depression and anxiety, which often provokes social withdrawal. The art can also provide a sense of purpose and improve selfesteem, working to “give you a goal in life, an achievable goal”. Beano also stresses that “art is a language... a way of communicating,” and often helps the people they work with to express feelings or experiences they cannot communicate verbally.
that prompted Beano’s eventual recovery. He describes how one morning, he got out of bed and primed a canvas white, timing the 10 minutes it took to perform this task. He recalls how “subconsciously, I knew the next day I had to get out of my sleeping bag and do more than 10 minutes”. Increasing the time spent on his art every day, Beano eventually worked up over the course of months to the “turning point” of completing an eight-hour working day. Having “felt there was something in the art that helped me to get back up,” Beano’s experience eventually inspired the creation of RT Projects.
Improving male mental health is a key aim for RT Part of the charity’s philosophy is based on Emma and Beano’s recognition of “a perceived need for an alternative to pharmaceutical interventions” to combat poor mental health. Whilst drug-based therapies can help alleviate the symptoms of mental health-related disorders, Emma and Beano believe they often fail to tackle the underlying cause. Beano suggests that a drug “isn’t a cure, it’s a mask”.
He maintains that “most of the problems we see are the result often of childhood trauma,” and that “any drugs or chemicals [can’t] impact on that”. Improving male mental health, and the appaling male suicide rate in the North East, is a particular focus for the charity. The ‘Men’s Shed’ workshops give men a community, where they can discuss and process their experiences. This aims to combat a tendency Emma identifies: “Men don’t go out to seek therapeutic experiences’. Compounding this inherent male reticence, the pair believe the loss of traditional working communities in industries such as coal and steel has limited natural social support networks for men. In a recent search of local provision, Beano found “there were fifteen women’s services in one form or another and there wasn’t one male support group” aside from the ‘Men’s Shed’. The pair also discuss wider cultural factors impacting on male mental health nationwide. Emma decries “the expectation on men to behave a certain way and to just put a brave face on”. She identifies that problematic concepts of masculinity are taught to children from an early age, told that ‘big boys don’t cry’. These lessons are then perpetuated into adulthood, epitomised by maxims such as
“There was something in the art that helped me to get back up” Emma and Beano’s belief in the therapeutic link between art and mental health is based on a combination of scientific research and personal experience. Beano recalls how he experienced depression “many, many years ago – I like to describe it as falling out of my tree”. Having withdrawn from society, stopped eating, and “lived in a sleeping bag for months,” it was art
▲ One of RT Projects’ workshops in action (RT Projects )
‘man up’. Student mental health is also a concern addressed by Beano and Emma.
“Society wrongly teaches young people that if you don’t do well, you’re not going to get a job, and... your life will not be worth living” Emma believes that society wrongly teaches young people that “if you don’t do well, you’re not going to get a job and what’s going to happen then, your life will not be worth living,” which results in a “horrendous” pressure for students to perform. When discussing strategies for helping a friend, colleague, or relative experiencing poor mental health, Emma and Beano are clear in their advice. “Get help, don’t do it by yourself,” is their clear message, advising students to seek help from their college and welfare reps, or come to RT themselves. In Beano’s experience, “with suicide the big misconception is that if you think someone’s in a dangerous place or not well that if you... mention the word suicide, they’re going to think oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” whereas, usually, “it’s buried deep inside and all they want is somebody to listen”. However, whilst listening to a
suicidal friend and talking to them is important, Emma advises that you “should make clear that they can’t keep it to themselves”. Emma emphasises that it’s likely the person supporting someone contemplating suicide “will probably also need to be counselled” to help deal with a demanding role. She suggests it is also often vital to disclose the situation to support services for the suicidal person themselves. It is important to “get them to recognise that they are a danger to themselves and that we want to look after your life”. In order to tackle mental health issues effectively going forward, Emma and Beano emphasise destigmatisation. Emma warns against putting mental health disorders “into boxes where some are cool and some aren’t,” calling for a wider recognition and acceptance of the full spectrum of mental health issues.
“Some of the people who read this are going to be struggling. Seek support” Looking to the future, RT Projects would like to extend its existing links with Josephine Butler, St John’s, and Hild Bede colleges throughout the University. They are hoping to provide advice on mental health and wellbeing, and, crucially, pass on suicide intervention training to college welfare teams and individuals. Beano offers one final piece of advice. “Some of the people who read this are going to be struggling. Seek support. Say, and seek help.” If any readers would like to get involved with the work of RT Projects, contact them by email or Facebook. They are looking for any skills, but particularly people able to help with IT and social media. Their ‘Run to the Sun’ fundraiser (a 24 hour relay race to raise funds for the charity) will be on 16th/17th June 2018. See www.rtts.org.uk for more details. RT Projects recommend Papyrus, Samaritans and CALM (aimed at improving male mental health), in addition to themselves, for those seeking help and support.
Thursday 30th November 2017 PALATINATE
12
Politics
Politics News in Brief: What you missed
First female Black Rod
Gerry Adams resigns
Australia backs gay marriage
Megan Dyson
Rhianna Cameron
Rhodri Sheldrake Davies Deputy Politics Editor
Sarah Clarke will be the next Black Rod; the first time a woman has held the position in its 669-year history. Originating from a role created in 1348 to guard the door outside meetings, the Black Rod today is held as a senior official in the House of Lords. Taking the, now largely ceremonial parliamentary position, the former Wimbledon Championships organiser, will be formally known as the Lady Usher of the Black Rod. Lord Fowler says that the Lords has a “great record of women taking on senior political roles”, rendering Clarke’s appointment both a historical moment and a continuation of tradition.
Gerry Adams has announced, at the age of 69, his intention to step down as leader of Sinn Féin. Having been the president for 34 years, Adams is synonymous with the party. It appears that the party is going through a period of modernisation and is hoping to gain a place in government in the Irish Republic. It is also thought that, by Adams cutting his ties with the party, they may be able to form alliances that have previously been unsuccessful due to their chequered past. However, it is thought he will remain a very powerful figure behind the scenes.
On the 15th of November, Australia voted convincingly in favour of same-sex marriage, with some 61% of respondents voting to allow the Marriage Equality Bill to continue to pass through parliament. Campaigners have praised this as a great move forward for LGBT rights in Australia, but warned that more work needs to be done to ensure the passage of the bill. The current coalition government has been deeply divided on the issue – with the Nationals strongly opposed, arguing it threatens religious freedom and the Liberals largely in favour of reform. Hopefully, the future will be bright for many Australian samesex couples.
(UK Parliament via Flickr)
(Sinn Fein via Flickr)
(torbakhopper via Flickr)
Labour choose Leonard
Matthew Spivey The battle for Scottish Labour Leader culminated in the left-wing Richard Leonard defeating his centrist rival with a comfortable 57% of the vote. Leonard will inherit the party’s worst electroal outcome in Holyrood since 1999. The Yorkshireman has been an MSP for Central Scotland as well as being an active member of several Cross-Party groups. In his victory speech he outlined his hope to “bring around real change” and make the Labour Party a “movement for real change” and “real democracy”. Leonard is an experienced, forward-thinking politician and, based on his record, he promises to be an exciting new figure on the UK political landscape.
(Scottish Parliament via Flickr)
‘Take it or leave it’
Tom Cameron David Davies – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union – has been forced to make yet more concessions on Britain’s Brexit strategy. In the face of backlash from the Pro-EU Conservative backbenchers, led by former attorney-general Dominic Grieve, Mr Davies has agreed to “bring forward a specific piece of primary legislation.” This essentially allows any deal brought back from Brussels to be debated in both houses – line by line if required. This is yet another blow to the incoherent Brexit strategy, and once again amplifies the current weaknesses of the government, following the 2017 election.
(Garry Knight via Flickr)
Chancellor downgrades UK growth forecasts Cameron McIntosh Politics Editor The Chancellor’s Autumn budget is not exactly the headline-grabbing, impassioned politics we have become accustomed to in recent years, but Philip Hammond’s proposals will have far-reaching impact nationwide. The embattled Chancellor is not short of detractors within the Conservative party and this was an opportunity to establish a semblance of authority for both himself and the faltering cabinet to which he belongs. Controlling the purse strings of Britain’s diverse economy is far from straightforward at the best of times, but with the triumvirate of a
slim parliamentary majority, fruitless Brexit negotiations and Corbyn’s audacious spending plans, it represents a particularly daunting task for the current occupier of number 11 Downing Street.
Triumvirate of a slim parliamentary majority, fruitless Brexit negotiations and Corbyn’s audacious spending plans
The speech was positive in tone, but negative in message. Britain’s fiscal outlook made grim reading, as growth forecasts were downgraded to account for a slump in
productivity levels. Added to the equation was the ever-present Brexit conundrum. The warning signals sounded as the Chancellor earmarked a sizeable £3bn fund for dealing with the Brexit process, on top of the £700m already allocated. Making it abundantly clear that a no-deal ‘cliff-edge’ Brexit remains a very real, and very costly, prospect. Housing was undoubtedly the centrepiece. Addressing the imbalance that has left thousands of young people perilously illequipped to get on the housing ladder, the Chancellor’s headline announcement was the abolition of stamp duty on properties up to £300,000. This will result in an effective reduction of £5,000 for those entering the housing market for the first time.
Housing was undoubtedly the centrepiece
( Foreign and Commonwealth office via Flickr)
Increasing home ownership is a tried-and-tested method for the Conservative party in winning electoral support. As one of the central tenets of Thatcherism in the 1980s, Right to buy schemes have traditionally won Conserva-
tives support among the working class. However, it appears unlikely that such a modest gesture towards alleviating the heavy financial burden carried by first-time buyers will be enough to loosen Labour’s tight hold on today’s youth vote.
Spreadsheet Phil did manage to crack a few Dad jokes to lighten the mood
Humour is not often associated with the Treasury, or indeed Mr Hammond, but Spreadsheet Phil did manage to crack a few Dad jokes to lighten the mood. He disguised his familiar attack lines against the opposition’s spending plans with a cultural reference to Kezia Dugdale’s appearance on reality TV. He joked: “There’ll be plenty of others joining Kezia Dugdale in saying ‘I’m Labour, get me out of here.’” Even Theresa May, in a bid to show her famously evasive human side, managed to get in on the act. Upon the Chancellor’s reference to her spluttering disaster at the party conference, the Prime Minister promptly met her cue with a packet of cough sweets. Gimmicks aside, there were
(BEARTOMCAT via Flickr) a number of other important proposals. Railcards will be extended to those aged between 26 and 30, matching the discount already given to 16 to 25 year olds. Further-
Railcards will be changed to those aged 26-30
more, while duty on white ciders will be increased in line with new legislation, the duty on wine, beers and spirits will be frozen, which will equate to 6p off the average bottle of wine over the Christmas festivities. Finally, additional funding will be granted to the NHS, teachers will receive a £40m training fund and maths will receive a £177m push in secondary schools nationwide.
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Thursday 30th November 2017 PALATINATE
Politics
The end of an era: Mugabe’s tortured legacy Simon Green After a 37-year reign that saw Zimbabwe’s first post-independence leader rise to international infamy, Robert Mugabe left office on 21st November. But how will he be remembered - as a brutal dictator or a freedom fighter? Born in 1926 when the country was under British imperial rule, Mugabe later trained as a teacher. After the white population declared independence from Britain in 1965, Mugabe became a key figure in the ‘freedom fight’ to oust the racist leadership in a brutal guerrilla war in the 1970s.
A frail and ageing man being made to accept his fate
Mugabe rose to power in 1980 after the abolition of the Rhodesian state and then became the country’s second president in 1987. He was able to stay in power for so long due to a mix of his heroic reputation from fighting in the civil war, improvement of the health and education sectors and the suppression of his opponents through
strong military backing. The latter is probably the way in which the majority of the international community will remember the Mugabe ‘dictatorship’: the leader who ruled with an iron fist.
Often seemed to be blasé to his country’s economic plight
This reputation was established particularly after several affiliated militias’ brutal repression of opposition elements in the country, following the loss of a referendum on constitutional reform. Pictures of land seizures and the aftermath of severe violence were streamed across the globe throughout much of the 2000s, and led to Mugabe sealing his grip on executive power in the country. Adding to the violence, the economy suffered immense levels of inflation, reaching 231,000,000% in 2008. While this created huge instability and poverty for his citizens, Mugabe often seemed blasé to his country’s economic plight, blaming it on a Western conspiracy to re-colonise the country or as simply untrue. Such assertions gave him the appearance of a cartoon African dictator rather than a
real politician, according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In latter years, it transpired that the former teacher was softening. In 2008, he was quoted as saying “If you lose an election and are rejected by the people, it is time to leave politics.” Whether this was a ploy to come across as a realistic politician or to garner sympathy with the Zimbabwe public to make
May takes aim at the Kremlin
Anna Gray In her recent foreign policy intervention, Theresa May took the opportunity to attack Russian interference in elections and their role in spreading ‘fake news.’
Potential Russian influence on the Brexit vote
She accused Russia of “weaponising information” in the wake of increasing evidence of their interference in the US 2016 elections and called for a judge-led inquiry into potential Russian influence on the Brexit vote. May’s attack represented an important recognition from the government about the potential threat posed by Russia,
setting the tone for Boris Johnson’s visit to Moscow later this year.
An attempt to distract people from the stagnating Brexit process
However, whilst the evidence against Russia is certainly building, there has been no specific revelation in the last month to prompt May’s attacks, raising the question of why she chose this topic for such an important address? Many expected the Prime Minister’s speech to focus on Brexit. While Mrs May talked about the importance of a good Brexit deal to enable the UK and Europe to stand strong against their enemies, these (Larry Koester via Flickr)
attacks on Russia were perhaps an attempt to distract people from the stagnating Brexit process. Alternatively, May’s firm tone may have been an attempt to reassert her ‘strong and stable’ image, despite the irrevocable damage caused by the June election. May proclaimed in her speech, “we know what you’re doing”. Whilst this sends out a firm message, it is superficial. She did not accompany this with any policy details. Surely the government needs to propose ways of identifying and shutting down Russian “troll factories,” which disseminate fake news on social media sites?
The government needs to commit to an enquiry into possible Russian interference in the UK
Moreover, with Leave.EU, a key campaign group in the Brexit referendum, regularly retweeting Russia Today and the Russian Embassy, the government needs to commit to an inquiry into possible Russian interference ino UK elections. Whilst May’s speech was certainly a firm statement, it was only superficially strong and stable.
them consider the unknown of a post-Mugabe world is uncertain, but earlier this year it really did seem he was manoeuvring for his exit from the political stage. Following the removal of his ally and vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, from office, it was thought that Mugabe was setting his wife up as his successor. This was why the military saw it (dai18 via Flickr)
necessary to step in and remove Mugabe. Although on the face of it, this seemed like the power of the people being exercised and a longterm dictator being ousted, it is not quite as simple of that. In reality, seeing a woman at the head of Zimbabwean politics was just too much for leading military figures to handle.
The overriding image history will remember is a defiant figure
In reality, his legacy will be altered by the images of a frail and aging man being made to accept his fate. For all his minor improvements to and brutal repression of Zimbabwe and his people, at the end his frailty made him almost an object for empathy. Despite the pathetic image he now portrays, the overriding image history will remember is a defiant figure. For all his horrific actions, the people of his home nation will never forget such an image. Whatever your opinions on him, I think few would dispute that.
Merkel’s deal stalls Alex Dickson Just when you thought that Europe was approaching stability again with the election of Macron, a strengthening Euro and a new cross country co-operation in defence, Germany, of all countries, has gone and thrown a spanner in the works.
The biggest political crisis of Merkel’s twelve-year chancellorship
Late on Sunday 19th November, Christian Lindner and his Free Democratic Party (FDP) walked out of coalition negotiations with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Greens, causing arguably the biggest political crisis of Merkel’s twelve-year chancellorship. Naturally, Lindner became the villain of this story in his apparent refusal to compromise, although this continuing episode is symptomatic of Merkel’s diminishing political authority. Now that “Jamaica”, the possible coalition between the CDU/CSU, the Greens and the FDP, seems unlikely, Merkel must consider her options. As the Palatinate went to press, the Social Democratic Party, the second biggest party who were
previously in a “Grand Coalition” with the CDU, had dropped their hard refusal to continue governing with the CDU. President Steinmeier played a big role in getting the SPD back to the negotiating table. Merkel could form a minority government with either the Greens or the FDP although this has never been tried and tested in the postwar era. The more dramatic option would be to call new elections, the method actually preferred by Mrs Merkel, although the polling suggests that voting would not significantly change. Many, including President Steinmeier, worry that new elections would present another opportunity for the AfD, the far-right anti-immigration party, to strengthen amid uncertainty amongst the mainstream parties.
New elections would present another opportunity for the AfD
Whatever happens, this is uncharted territory for Merkel who has been a beacon of German stability throughout her tenure. The widespread respect for the Chancellor means that the political future of Germany will likely involve Merkel at the helm of government. But this may be the beginning of the end of her dominance.
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Thursday 30th November 2017 PALATINATE
Politics
China seeks resolution to Rohingya crisis
Sanya Mathur Precedent for the persecution in 2017 of Rohingya Muslims has been based in the discriminatory practices of the Myanmar government going back to as early as the 1970s. Despite the fact that many Rohingyas can trace their roots back in Myanmar itself, they are considered as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denied citizenship by the Buddhist majority country under the 1982 Myanmar Nationality Law. Recent events, which intensified the repression and the resulting mass exodus, especially from the Rohingya–populated state of Rakhine, has created a refugee crisis in Bangladesh.
Although the crisis itself may come to an end, the international community cannot and should not breathe a sigh of relief According to the estimation made by the UNHCR, between 25 August and 20 November 2017, 621,000 refugees have crossed
overland into Bangladesh and as of 4 October, that puts the number of refugees close to 800,000. Many are living in squalor, lacking basic amenities like water. There are also concerns over the spread of disease as the refugees arrive in poor health; unable to afford treatment upon arrival.
The solution found great favour with the people of both Myanmar and Bangladesh
In a speech at the UN General Assembly debate, the Bangladeshi Prime Minister said “I have come here just after seeing the hungry, distressed and hopeless Rohingya from Myanmar who took shelter in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh [...] This forcibly displaced people of Myanmar are fleeing an ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their own country where they have been living for centuries.” Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s defacto leader claims, per her speech at Amnesty International, in no uncertain terms, that there have been “no conflicts since 5 September and no clearance operations [against the Muslim population]”.
Much to the surprise of the international community, China has offered a three-stage resolution to the refugee crisis in light of its decision to play a greater role in international politics. According to the Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his recent visit to Myanmar, the two countries (Myanmar and Bangladesh) should firstly, call a ceasefire; secondly, engage in bilateral talks to improve the current situation and finally, work towards a long-term conflict resolution. He also called for the rehabilitation of Rakhine aided by the international community and the UN Security Council.
An agreement has been made under pressure
“This is what Republicans do. We cut taxes,” quipped Rep. Mike Simpson as he reflected on the House’s passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He was one of 227 representatives to green-light the passage, and his terse assessment - of the bill that has proved anything but seemed unduly simple - considering the house’s habit to overcomplicate other pieces legislation - as we saw last year in the Healthcare Bill.
Plucked straight from the Republican playbook
Income tax cuts for low and middleclass earners are plucked straight from the Republican playbook. This bill – the largest overhaul of the federal tax code for thirty years – is not just an ideological victory but also a political one. It seems more than fair to say that for the last 7 years the Republicans have ‘occupied’ both Houses of Congress as opposed to ‘controlled’ them thus, any sort of major legislative accomplishment on Trump’s desk before the year’s end would be clear progress. Preliminary steps, you might say.
Indeed, this is a multi-stage process and revisions are expected. The
Not just an ideological victory but also a political one
Senate’s Finance Committee is now in the process of marking up its own version of the bill. Should it inch past the two-seat Republican majority, a conference committee will then be formed for members of both Houses to develop a compromise bill. One wonders about the merits of this direct negotiation versus the UK’s Commons and Lords system. It was even considered at one point that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would include repeal of the Obamacare individual insurance mandate - however, this was rightly characterised as a rather desperate
Myanmar is under pressure from the world to do more in response to the crisis
This may be a pertinent question because although the crisis may itself come to an end, the in-
The solution found great favour with the people of both Myanmar and Bangladesh. Wang also stated that a cessation of hostilities had already begun which now needed to be backed by the two states. This was followed, yesterday, by the signing of an accord between the two countries concerning the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. A communication released by
GOP tax reform bill passes first stage Nathan Cinnamond
the Bangladeshi authorities suggests this would begin within the next two months. Unfortunately, however positive this development may seem, questions have been raised about the conditions to which these displaced people might be sent back into.
reach. Republican leaders fully understand the risk of pairing one top legislative priority with another – the healthcare bill was troubled by republican opposition that a less contentious issue like tax reform would be much less likely receive – and given added incentive by the looming 2018 midterms, the party knows it needs to start making progress. Early forecasts already see the Democrats climbing to a majority in the House and, if this bill goes the way of many other pieces of Ryan-inspired legislation,
Republicans may well see themselves losing their control of congress
the Republicans may well see themselves losing their control of Congress. ( youthguyrob via Flickr)
ternational community cannot and should not breathe a sigh of relief until a safer life can be guaranteed to the Rohingya. It is widely understood that the agreement has been made under pressure: Bangladesh is keen to prove to its people that the Rohingya will not stay forever; Myanmar is under pressure from the world to do more in response. Unfortunately, a resolution of the crisis cannot be accepted until the Buddhist civilian population of Myanmar becomes more accepting and the authorities end the state discrimination of the Rohingya Muslims.
( Jordi Payà via Flickr)
Battle for Middle East Emily Jopling The sudden resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, on 4th November, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, was not only unexpected, but has aggravated ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The resignation is rumoured to have been instigated by Saudi Arabia, after Hariri was summoned to Riyadh. Amidst this chaos, Saudi Arabia also intercepted a ballistic missile which was fired towards Riyadh airport. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed to have fired the missile, which Saudi Arabia later declared to be an act of war. Reflecting the tensions which plague the region, both events show how Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to battle for hegemonic status.
Saudi Arabia and Iran continue to battle for hegemonic status
Since the demise of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iran has clung onto centre stage in the Middle East. It has asserted dominance through proxy Shia militant groups, using Lebanon’s Hezbollah to support Assad’s regime in Syria and spearhead its hostility towards Israel.
Now, however, Saudi Arabia seems prepared to take a harder line towards Iran. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is young and eager to assert Saudi authority in the region. He is helped by the stronger stance taken by America since the election of Donald Trump, who has openly criticised Iran and vows to stand with Saudi Arabia.
Reminiscent of the standoff between the US and USSR
What we are witnessing in the Middle East is reminiscent of the standoffs between the US and USSR in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is heavily rooted in historic conflicts between Sunni-Shia ideology, whilst also being shaped by changing geopolitical stakes in the region. For now, the war remains a cold one; but if Saudi Arabia intends to continue vying with Iran for power, it may not be long before it turns hot. As this article goes to press, Hariri has returned to Lebanon and has backtracked on his decision to resign. Chaos in Lebanon continues, and even bigger questions now hang over what Saudi Arabia’s and Iran’s next moves will be.
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Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
Durham Re-f-uses to waste food as a ‘social glue’. She runs a regular primary school project to help children learn about the value of food and where it comes from, as well as allowing them to organise their own pay-as-youfeel food stall. Re-f-use is not a charity but is run with the aim to make profit in the process of doing as much social good as possible and investing in the community.
Half of the food wasted in the USA would end world hunger Jack Eardley SciTech Editor
If just half the food wasted in the USA was put to better use then world hunger would end. Amid growing concerns surrounding how to feed a rapidly growing world population, food waste should surely be given greater consideration. Re-f-use is a Durham based social enterprise designed to
Reader’s Scigest Jack Eardley SciTech Editor
Ketamine is well known for its psychoactive properties, but new work shows it also has potential use for treating depression. A US team in Baltimore have been running a series of swimming pool raves for mice, in order to test how much longer a mouse will swim for if it has taken Ketamine, and found that the drug only had an effect when the experiment was conducted by a man.
A US team have been running a series of swimming pool raves for mice It seems that this was due to a biochemical interaction between Ketamine and a male pheromone and this is fortunately not evidence of institutionalised sexism amongst mice.
highlight the problems of food waste as well as solving them through community lead action. They are part of the Real Junk Food Project and run regular pay-asyou-feel dinners using only food that would otherwise be wasted. They are currently working tirelessly to open a permanent café in Chester-Le-Street, but managed to find time to answer some questions for Palatinate SciTech. Nikki from Re-f-use refers to
The social and environmental impact from food waste is far reaching; if food waste in the UK was eliminated tomorrow, the emissions savings would equate to taking 25% of vehicles off the road. It is well known that hungry school children perform noticeably worse than well fed children in school. Additionally, the water used to produce food that is wasted, would be enough to support the domestic needs of 9 billion people, if there were that many. Nikki says that food waste has gradually decreased in recent
years, thanks partly to a positive impact from campaigns like Love Food Hate Waste. Food waste is a problem that needs to be tackled from a number of directions; Re-fuse is just one part of this. Food surpluses from supermarkets is still a significant problem that is not noticeably improving. Supermarkets are starting to work with charities like Fareshare to try and redirect their waste to those in food poverty; with more public awareness and pressure more will be done.
Re-f-use is working to open a permanent cafe in Chesterle-Street This problem is not just the responsibility of big corporations. Nikki from Re-f-use stresses that there is much Durham students can do. It isn’t necessary to force yourself to eat spoiled food but by filling your freezer and only making use of deals like ‘buy one get one free’ when you need them you can make a real impact. Engaging in food sharing with
SciTech
friends or through specialised apps like OLIO can also reduce food waste in the student community. Making personal changes and redistributing wasted food to those in need is important, but changes to the system of producing and consuming food are needed if food waste is to be eliminated. Food waste charity Feedback is working with governments, businesses and NGOs to promote their vision to end food waste. They want to link all stages of the food cycle together and ensure waste is used not only for charity but for growing new food as fertiliser, or feeding animals. By encouraging use of waste at all stages of production and consumption, they believe food waste can be eliminated. Hopefully, one day, seeing baguettes and pineapples in a landfill will be a thing of the past. (Image from Wikimedia commons)
Durham solar car on the world stage Cambridge University team’s car as it does not fall over in light winds or under turning.
Jack Eardley, Martha Bozic SciTech Editors
Tobias McBride has been busy. The head of business for Durham University Electric Motorsport (DUEM), has just returned from Australia, where his team took part in the World Solar Challenge: a solar powered race across the Australian desert. He has also recently contributed to the signatures on a landmark climate change agreement in Bonn – sustainability is one of DUEM’s key concerns. He took a brief moment out of his scedule to chat with Palatinate SciTech about his work. DUEM is run by a team of Durham students who work to promote sustainable innovation by building and racing their own design of solar car. Unlike other teams they take pride in producing and refining their car without significant third party parts. The team who run DUEM do so in their spare time, and the organisation receives the majority
Their current model can cruise at 70mph, using less power than an electric kettle
of its funding from private sponsorship. Tobias is proud of DUEM’s achievements and claims “we are the UK’s most successful solar car team.”
Unlike the Cambridge University team’s car, Durham’s does not fall over when turning
In the last few months, DUEM successfully completed 1000 km of the 3000 km race across the Australian outback. Setbacks included an unexpected rain storm that was unsurprisingly problematic for a solar car. Weighing in at only 250 kg, their current model can cruise at 70 kmph, using less than the power of an electric kettle. It also has an advantage over the rival
The World Alliance for Efficient Solutions climate change agreement features a range of signatories, including current Fortune 500 companies and DUEM. The agreement focuses on the profitability of green innovation and encourages investment into innovative technology and solutions to the climate change crisis. The vision shared by Al Gore and many climate change solutions advocates is that profitability alone can solve the climate crisis through sustainable innovation and creative destruction, and DUEM is part of this vision. (Durham University Electric Motorsport)
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
17
Sport
College sport: a vital part of the student experience Ollie Godden Deputy Sport Editor As I pulled into the turning circle of Collingwood College as a freshfaced first year over two years ago, Freshers’ reps descended upon my car, whipping out my suitcases along with a plethora of sporting paraphernalia. The rugby boots, the hockey stick, the tennis racquet and the cricket bag were all whisked off to my room by helpful seniors. What I didn’t quite understand was how I would be able to continue to do all these different activities. I was acutely aware the time demands of the extra-curricular hobbies alongside a degree would be a challenging mix and I wasn’t really sure how I would fit it all in. Moreover, friends at other institutions had already failed to get into university teams, so I was afraid many of my sporting interests may have found the end of the line. It didn’t take me long to realise that I was drastically incorrect. Only a couple of days in and
the college’s own freshers’ fair enlightened me to all the opportunities available – a heaving marquee full of manned sports stalls looking for new recruits to bolster their already impressive squads. As one tends to be, I was sucked in by persuasive captains and signed up to an abundance of sports.
My first-year Freshers’ Fair was a heaving marquee of sports stalls looking to bolster their impressive squads Of course, with intramural sports the only comparison from other universities, I was unsure as to what the standard and intensity would be like, having been informed by my apparently omniscient brother that individuals would often show up in chinos and flip-flops at his respective intramural games. How wrong I was though. Rugby was my main sport and something I considered myself to be fairly apt at, but I struggled to break into the A team.
Hockey was a sport I had played a lot of when younger but hadn’t played in a while, and needless to say I struggled. My experiences were not marred, however, and the social aspect only brought me to enjoy my times on the pitches more, regardless of the team I was playing in, such was the balance between high-standard competition and socialising. Fast forward to the present day and I would struggle to be more involved in the college programme, a ‘badger’ for the purists amongst you. As a sports captain, I take great pride in the options that college sport can provide, from the humble beginner to the veteran performer. But of course, all of this participation amounts to one thing; the wider student experience.
As a sports captain, I take great pride in the options college sport can provide College sport, as I have come
Footballers sweep all before them Will Jennings Deputy Sport Editor With the seemingly ubiquitous presence of rugby, hockey and cricket players, you’d be forgiven for assuming that focus on footballing success at Durham remains somewhat limited. But that’s where you’d be wrong. Despite the plethora of sports on offer at the university, football proudly sits amongst those most popular with students. With the advent of the new crumb at Maiden Castle and the recent triumphs of the men’s and women’s university teams, football is on an upward curve. Having played seven games, the women’s team sit unambiguously top of the BUCS Northern Premier League, winning all seven and possessing a game in hand on Northumbria, who currently lie two points behind. In the men’s league, Chris Moore’s progressing side sit second in the male equivalent of the competition, two points behind Nottingham Trent, having won three out of their six games so far. Such success delineates the considerable health the Durham footballing climate currently finds
itself in. The women’s team are seeking to enhance the longevity of their already significant unbeaten run, failing to lose a match in their last twenty games and showing no demonstrable signs of such form abating. Following their 2-2 draw at Birmingham a fortnight ago, the men’s side welcome bottom of the table Loughborough to the northeast on Wednesday with an eye on intensifying the pressure on the East Midlands table-toppers and extending their lead over Northumbria, who lie third.
With the new crumb at MC, Durham football is on an upward curve The success of both teams has not gone unnoticed. Four of the men’s sides have been invited to the British University trials in Manchester, while five of the women’s sides will attend the female equivalent in an attempt to represent their country. Such recognition is testament to how Durham continues to provide promising young talent with a platform to achieve further success. For the men, winger Matty Cornish has been a standout
performer, scoring seven goals in the six games the side have played. Meanwhile, striker James Philpott has contributed a useful three goals, and midfielder Tom Isola – who has recently represented Gibraltar at under-21 level – has chipped in with two. Despite failing to keep a cleansheet in any of their games so far, the side’s goal difference of six remains healthy and the second best in the league. The women’s side have achieved even more marked success, keeping two clean sheets and recently defeating Leeds Beckett and Loughborough 5-1 away from home. Star performers have included Mercy Darkoah and Nicki Gears, the latter of whom netted a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Beckett. Such triumph looks set to continue over the coming weeks. With the men and women both having winnable fixtures scheduled before the Christmas break, the two sides will be seeking to strengthen their assault on the summit of their respective league tables. Given their current form and the invariable confidence both sets of players currently possess, you’d expect nothing other than more success.
to learn, is a vital part of the student experience which cannot be neglected, regardless of your ability. In joining the collegiate system, both here and at the other similar institutions, students are afforded the opportunity to partake in a high level of competition across a range of sports in a relaxed setting, a completely alien concept to some places. I implore anyone who is yet to take up the mantle of a new sport to do so, and congratulate anyone who already has in the early stages of this year. As a Collingwood captain, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want my team
to win a given match, but from a broader perspective, college sport provides an outstanding chance to get involved, regardless of the result. The system is still on the up as new sports continue to be introduced and the college sport officers of years gone by must be congratulated. Durham, and the students within, must now continue to build the our current success. The memories forged on, and off, the fields in the college sport setting will remain with you for years to come. Treasure your opportunity.
Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
18
Sport
“Refereeing means everything to m
George Courtney refereed at two World Cups, the European Championships and the 19 He talks to Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero about his journey to the top, how refere Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero Sport Editor
T
here was one moment where George Courtney let it all sink in. Mexico were playing Paraguay in front of a 115,000-strong crowd at the 1986 World Cup, and Courtney was in charge. He was, however, completely focused on the task at hand. “Standing at the top of the refereeing world, standing at the Azteca at 12 o’clock kick-off, and you’re thinking ‘My god, I’m here, but in the next 90 minutes or so I’ve got to work so hard.’” It is a far cry from Maiden Castle, where the Spennymoorborn referee now takes charge of college games most weekends. Despite having refereed at two World Cups, the European Championships and an FA Cup final, there is still something which draws him to it. “What I love about refereeing at college level is the sheer enthusiasm and joy of most of the players that play, it’s great”, he tells me. “And the way they treat the match referee, I think, is excellent. I’ve got no complaints at all, and if I need to put a sharp voice on I will, if I need to administer a good warning I will, but in the main I look forward to that repartee between students and myself. “I can’t recall a game in the colleges where there’s been any bad feelings… I still look forward to refereeing every Saturday, even at my age.” We meet in a busy pub in Durham, but Courtney kindly turns down a drink. Famed for his fitness as a referee – he thinks he only missed one game in 20 years at the top level – he remains in excellent shape. He is a keen tennis player, golfer and walker. Even a heart attack earlier this year could not stop him; he was given the green light to referee again last month. Some 25 years have passed since Courtney retired from the top level, but he insists that “I’m still in as love with the game as I was 50 years ago”, although he admits “I don’t quite run as quickly as I used to.” That passion for refereeing and football in general is clear throughout our conversation, and Courtney recalls how he used to
▲ Courtney shows no signs of slowing down, but says he will stop refereeing “the first time I embarrass myself” (Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero) play on a Saturday and referee on a Sunday at the start of his career. Off the pitch, he commanded just as much respect as a headmaster in County Durham. Having qualified as a teacher,
“
What I love about refereeing at college level is the sheer enthusiasm of the players
”
he took up his first role in West Cornforth, a village 20 minutes south of Durham, in 1961. As the “youngest and fittest of the teaching staff”, he coached football, and soon found himself refereeing inter-school games. His rise was impressive, qualifying for the Durham FA a year later and alternating between refereeing and running the line throughout the 1960s from local to regional level. It took him nine years to make it to the Football League as a linesman, and a further two as a referee. He was given eight games to
prove himself on a supplementary list, and he emphasises how difficult the competition was. “What readers have got to realise is the amount of work one has to put in to achieve any degree of success. Refereeing is very, very competitive. [It] always has been, always will be, dog-eat-dog, and I was always a competitive animal.” When he made his First Division debut in 1975 after reaching the full list, it was the result of “14 years of hard work” for Courtney. Leeds won 4-0 against Leicester City at Elland Road, and he was given the match ball afterwards. But his big break came at Molineux at the end of the 1975-76 season. Wolves and Liverpool both needed a win for different reasons – Wolves needed three points and a loss from Birmingham City to avoid relegation, Liverpool just one point to win the title. “This young referee from Spennymoor was asked to referee, and I knew if I did well in that game then the whole world would open up. “Wolves scored first in front of 54,000 people, Liverpool equalised through Tommy Smith and they went ahead with Kevin Keegan, John Toshack – famous names in those days. It was one of those games, and it’s true in life,
if you’re in the right place at the right time doing the right thing, things went well.” Courtney was right, and a year later he was made a FIFA referee at 36. These days he warms up in a smart blue tracksuit top with the FIFA initials on the back. He sees himself as a proactive referee who “worked hard to prevent trouble” through body language and talking to players. He laments the fact “the game has lost a huge sense of humour”, and argues that Premier League officials will automatically turn to a yellow card for many incidents. “I used to do all my work off the ball in a preventative manner, it was preventative refereeing. Now it’s much more confrontational, and I regret the fact that the humour’s gone from the game at the very top level, which is such a shame. “You watch Match of the Day or you watch your live Premier League games, there’s no rapport between the match officials and the players.” There are a few Premier League officials he admires, such as Martin Atkinson (“a steady referee”) and Michael Oliver, but, he says, “The best referee we’ve lost, Mark Clattenburg. He’s earning big money in Saudi Arabia
as Director of the Referees. He was outstanding.” He does fear for the future of refereeing in England, however. “I do worry about the quality of the match officials coming through currently, and I’ve got to draw the parallel with the fact that I went into the game because I loved it. Now referees are going into the game because of money and financial reasons, which I can accept to a certain extent. But to me there doesn’t seem to be the
“
The humour’s gone from the game at the top level, which is such a shame
”
level of top-class competition for places at the top table.” In four years of refereeing at college level, he has handed out one yellow card – “And that was for a really bad challenge by a goalkeeper on an opponent where I couldn’t ignore it at all”. He says officials have to work hard to earn players’ respect, but that players
19
PALATINATE | Thursday 30th November 2017
Sport
me”: the story of George Courtney
80 FA Cup final; now he takes charge of college games at Maiden Castle most weekends. eeing styles have changed in English football and how he wants to be remembered must do the same with referees. Even so, he was left with no choice in the 1980 FA Cup final when Arsenal’s Willie Young scythed down Paul Allen as the West Ham striker went through on goal. Courtney brandished a yellow card, in keeping with the laws at the time, but the incident sparked a national debate on the ‘professional foul’. “As Paul Allen’s going through, the big, lumbering centre-half of Arsenal, Willie Young, who I’ve never heard of since, he took Paul out, but the interpretation in those days was a caution, a yellow card. “It initiated a big, big debate on the professional foul, in other words, the denying of an obvious goalscoring opportunity. “It was 37 years ago, and I can still picture it – it’s how far out Paul Allen was from a goalscoring opportunity. But the interpretation then was a yellow card. Now Jimmy Hill, of Match of the Day fame, he started the discussion, and I think a year or two years later, in exactly the same incident, same scenario, that offender would be sent off.” Again, he was in the right place at the right time. By applying the laws of the game, he had inadvertently inscribed his name in the sport’s history. That foul was symptomatic of the rest of the final, which West Ham edged 1-0. “The quality of the game was poor, it really was. It was a very hot May day, and the old Wembley… always had a suffocating
atmosphere, so the players never played to their full potential. West Ham were the underdogs. It was a poor game, mainly because of the high temperatures and the humidity.” But he has fond memories from the day, and of the old Wembley stadium in general, which he calls “the cathedral of refereeing”. “I’ve got a lovely photograph at home of the twin towers, and the framed photograph is signed by my assistants… Wembley was always special to me.” Courtney describes himself as a “people person”, and it is easy to warm to him. Midway through our discussion, a stranger mistakes him for Pat Partridge, another former World Cup referee who died in 2014, but Courtney merely smiles and tells him to take care. Later, he spots his friend and former FA Cup-winning Sunderland midfielder Micky Horswill across the bar and calls him over. They talk about the state of the North East club and whether the newly-appointed Chris Coleman can turn things around. He emphasises the importance of engaging others, particularly his fellow officials. “I always found, when I went to the games, that if I treated people properly, they treated me in return properly. “I always made a little note of [the linesmen’s] names, because they were strangers in a sense. If I was refereeing, say, at Liverpool, I might get a guy from
Wolverhampton who I’d never met, I might get a guy from Lincoln I’d never met. I always made a note of their names and when the next bulletin of appointments came through and they were with me, I’d do my homework, and then when I greeted them… they would die for you.” In 1982, he was told he would go to the World Cup in Spain, only to miss out. He refereed the Euro 1984 semi-final between Spain and Denmark – “Probably the most difficult match I’ve ever refereed in my life” – but he was all
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The way I’d like to die is when I’m blowing the final whistle in the centre circle
”
the more determined to make it to Mexico in 1986. He admits, however, that “I never thought in 1961 I would referee a World Cup game in 1986, it was all about that work that went on.” As he points out, his work was far from over when he made it to the Estadio Azteca. “I remember doing MexicoParaguay, one of the first games at the World Cup in front of
▲ The Spennymoor-born referee took charge of four World Cup games and an FA Cup final (owlstalk.org.uk)
115,000 people, in front of a worldwide audience of something approaching a billion people, and at the anthems you’re aware of that. But once the game starts, you are wrapped up in a total concentration. “At the end of that MexicoParaguay game, I was absolutely exhausted. I think I lost, in 90 minutes, about eight pounds of weight, and it took me about four days to recover.” He remembers the challenges of refereeing with a language barrier and the camaraderie. But he also recalls the Brazilian referee Romualdo Arppi Filho telling him early in the tournament he would not take charge of the final. Filho “happened to referee the final” between West Germany and Argentina. Instead, he got the third-place match between Belgium and France, the “crumbs off the table”. It was Michel Platini’s last game for France, and the French won 4-2 after extra time. He nearly made it to the final four years later in Italy, but he fell short for different reasons this time. “England stopped me then, because I think I might have had a chance of the final. But I always remember, I watched the EnglandBelgium game [in the round of 16], and if Belgium had gone through, I would have stayed in the World Cup. “So I was sat with the Belgian referee [Marcel Van Langenhove], and David Platt got the winning goal, and the next day I was on my way home. It was as brutal as that.” He refereed two European club finals and became the only official to be honoured twice with the appointment of the League Cup final in 1992, but it was his final professional game which perhaps proved to be the most significant. If there is a match which shows Courtney’s career is bound up with history, it is the Division Two play-off final between Blackburn and Leicester at Wembley, with both teams vying for a place in the new Premier League. Courtney awarded the penalty which Mike Newell converted to win Blackburn the game. The Lancashire club went up, and, three years later, they were Premier League champions. He does not boast about his MBE, with the gong “tucked away
COURTNEY’S CAREER 1941 Born in Spennymoor, County Durham 1974 Makes Football League list aged 33 1975 Makes First Division debut: Leeds (4) Leicester (0) 1977 Becomes a FIFA-qualified referee 1980 Referees FA Cup final: Arsenal (0) West Ham (1) 1984 Referees Euro 84 semi-final in Lyon: Spain (6) Denmark (5) on penalties 1986 Referees two games at World Cup in Mexico, including third place match, France (4) Belgium (2) a.e.t. 1990 Referees two games at World Cup in Italy 1992 Referees League Cup final for second time in career: Manchester United (1) Nottingham Forest (0) 1992 Retires after Division Two play-off final: Blackburn (1) Leicester (0) somewhere” with his FA Cup medal, although he says the Queen was “lovely”. So, how would he like to be remembered? “Honest and fair, simple as that… and I think I was. “It’s all part of this respect syndrome with players, whether it’s your Maradonas, or your Gascoignes, or your Peter Beardsleys, or your Kenny Dalglishes; or, your college boys and girls. “The way I’d like to die is when I’m blowing the final whistle in the centre circle. That’s the way I’d like to go.” I ask one last, open-ended question. What does refereeing mean to him? “Everything. It means everything. It’s created a really good and rewarding life for me which continues today, and I still boil my whistle before every game. “It’s meant everything for 15-something years, it still does. But the first time I embarrass myself, I’m finished. Then I’ll concentrate on my golf handicap.”
Sport
Thursday 30th November 2017 | PALATINATE
From Mexico to Maiden Castle Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero speaks to former World Cup referee George Courtney about his remarkable journey (pages 18-19)
Ode to college sport Ollie Godden has his say on the importance of collegiate sports at Durham (page 17)
Benitez unveils Collingwood crumb James Martland Deputy Sport Editor
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez cuts the ribbon at the formal unveiling of the new bar and crumb at Collingwood College (Samuel Kirkman)
First phase of £35m Maiden Castle redevelopment nears completion Ella Jerman Deputy Sport Editor As the Michaelmas term nears its end, the first phase of the £35 million plan to develop Durham University’s sports facilities is almost complete. The new rubber crumb (3G) sports pitch based in the middle of the existing athletics track was handed back to the University on Friday 10th November. The pitch has already been used by over 900 students and 350 community users. Likewise, the first resurfaced hockey pitch was handed back to the University on Thursday 23rd November, although reconstruction work on the second water-based hockey pitch is yet to be completed.
Meanwhile, improvements to the existing car park facilities and pedestrian access into and within the site are due for completion in January 2018. With phase one of the redevelopment almost complete, the next stage of the programme is still subject to a separate planning application and public consultation. The University hopes to obtain planning permission from the local authority to begin work on the indoor facilities by early 2018. This phase will include the construction of an indoor sports hall, a new state of the art cricket facility, indoor tennis and squash courts and a new fitness suite. Further student consultation on the indoor facilities will be undertaken in early 2018.
Students are always highly encouraged to put forward their own ideas on how facilities at the Maiden Castle sports park can be improved. The delivery of new facilities at Maiden Castle is a part of the University’s strategy to improve the wider student experience. However, the University has not only set itself the objective to increase overall student participation rates in sport from 75 to 80 percent, but also to provide additional capacity to cater for the 2,000 residents of north east England who use the existing facilities on a weekly basis. Owen Adams, Pro-ViceChancellor (Colleges and Student Experience) and Project Sponsor, is thrilled with the progress
made so far and believes the redevelopment at Maiden Castle will only continue to enhance the sporting experience of Durham University students, staff and members of the local community alike. He said: “It has been exciting to see some of the plans come to life. The new pitch and resurfaced pitch have already changed the look and feel of Maiden Castle and they provide an insight into the transformative nature of the University’s investment in our sporting facilities.” Team Durham have already celebrated success on the new 3G rubber crumb with victories for DUAFC and DUWAFC. The men won 5-4 and the women 1-0 against Stirling University Continued on page 17
Collingwood students were surprised last week when Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez arrived in Durham to officially open the new and improved Collingwood bar, as well as the crumb, which, although in use since the end of last year, had not been formally unveiled. Benitez cut the ribbon on the Collingwood crumb before doing an interview with Talksport, where he stressed the importance of the facilities in encouraging participation in sport: “I came to the college before and knew about the number of teams they have and the level of the teams. “They told me about the possibility of the pitch and I liked it a lot. It is a good opportunity and hopefully they will enjoy it. “It is really good to see people who are practising sport so I think it is really important for them.” Benitez made an effort to stop for photos and sign items, before posing for a picture alongside the whole football club. He also stayed to chat and take photos with every captain from both the women’s and men’s football teams, perhaps offering some tactical advice along the way. Collingwood’s Sports Captain Ollie Godden was delighted to see Benitez open the new facilities, which he hopes will help the college achieve bigger and better things in sport in the near future. “It’s a great occasion and obviously amazing to have Rafa Benitez down here opening the bar terrace and crumb, the lads loved it. It’s great that we have these facilities for students and the wider community to use, hopefully it can spur us to more success in the future.” Collingwood is home to 65 teams across 17 different sports, all of whom will use the facilities, which have been funded through alumni donations.