Palatinate Officially the North’s Best Student Publication, 2017
Thursday 25th January 2018 | No. 802
Fire, fury and fake news Comment and Politics reflect on Trump’s presidency, one year on from his inauguration
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Best Books of 2017
Our writers pick out the stories that shaped their year and how they might resonate with you in 2018
EU admissions to Durham have risen since Brexit vote Cameron McIntosh News Editor The number of EU students enrolling at Durham University has continued to increase despite Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, Palatinate has learned. The most recent census statistics published by the University reveal that 1,354 European Union students call Durham home this year, an increase of 147 since 2015-16. As a result, EU students now comprise 7.5% of Durham’s student population, including over 13% of students enrolled on postgraduate courses. These findings emerge over 18 months since Britain voted to leave the European Union in a landmark referendum held in June 2016. Concerns about the status of EU citizens living and studying in the UK were raised during the referendum campaign and reiterated by the higher education sector in the immediate aftermath of the historic result. It was disclosed by a parliamentary Brexit committee last year that EU applications to British universities had decreased by 7% since the referendum, the first drop in nearly a decade. However, the latest figures seen by Palatinate suggest that Brexit has not had a discernible impact on Durham’s EU admissions. Durham University’s Pro-ViceChancellor for Education, Professor Alan Houston, welcomed the publication of the statistics. He told Palatinate: “Durham is consistently ranked as one of the world’s leading universities. We hope that Durham will continue to be an attractive destination for EU staff and students following the UK’s exit from the European Union. “The number of undergraduate applications from EU students is comparable to this stage last year, so we do not believe Brexit is damaging our recruitment of EU students.” Continued on page 4
Durham students’ Instagrams greatly benefitted from last week’s heavy snowfall, with up to 15cm reported in some areas of the county (Dahyun Kim)
Durham Vice-Chancellor taken off committee that sets his own pay Professor Stuart Corbridge’s £231,000/year salary came under fire last year from students and the national press Tania Chakraborti News Editor Durham University’s Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge has been removed from the committee responsible for setting his own controversial £231,000 annual salary. The decision was formalised on the 19th December at the University Council and made clear this month by Students’ Union President Megan Croll, in an announcement on the Students’ Union website. The decision to remove Pro-
fessor Corbridge from Remuneration Committee, which also decides salaries for the University Executive and professors, comes amid protest last year surrounding his pay. The University’s Terms of Reference outlines the function of the Remuneration Committee as being to “determine the framework or broad policy for the remuneration of the ViceChancellor, of other members of the University Executive, of professors, and of equivalent level senior posts remunerated
within the Grade 10 pay range. “No member of University staff shall be involved in any decisions affecting their own remuneration.” Regarding Vice-Chancellor pay specifically, the Terms of Reference state the “remuneration and terms of conditions of the Vice-Chancellor shall be determined by the other members of the Committee in his absence.” However, this new decision means that the ViceChancellor will no longer participate on the Committee. Speaking exclusively to Palati-
nate, Ms Croll said: “Given the national media attention around Vice-Chancellor’s pay, which rightly highlights the responsibility of Universities, especially as fees rise, to be accountable and thorough with their resources, I raised this issue with our VC, Professor Corbridge, at the very beginning of the academic year. “At that time, he was a member of remuneration committee where his salary was set. “I am told that he chose never to be in the room when his... Continued on page 5