Palatinate Officially the UK’s Best Student Publication, 2018
Thursday 3rd May 2018 | No. 806
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With exam season set to begin, Features tackle maintaining your mental health
Durham University reveals £50 million project for new science building Clara Gaspar News Editor Durham University has revealed its plans to build a new £41.9 million Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science building, as well its plans for infrastructure development. This will be part of Durham University’s 10-year expansion plan, which aims for an increase in student numbers of around 5,600 by 2027. Building work is expected to begin in September of this year and be completed by September 2020. The intake of Mathematical and Computer Sciences students is set to double over the 10-year period, from 800 to 1,600 students. The new building will accommodate for this increase. Professor Patrick Hussey, ProVice-Chancellor of Maths and Computer Sciences, has said that the new building will be “student centric” with study spaces and an innovation hub for student societies. The developments are also set to double staff numbers by 2027. He told Palatinate that in the past four years applications to Computer Science courses at Durham University have tripled. He said: “At the moment, we turn away so many high-quality Astar students.” Prof. Hussey added that the current building is not suitable for students: “It does not have modern teaching facilities and doesn’t even have areas where students can congregate and study.” He stated that the building will “provide a home for people to come together and talk tech.” Karl Southern, a second-year Computer Sciences student, told Palatinate: “I’m pleased that we now have a new building that will provide room for our rapidly expanding department, with staff numbers now set to increase and I hope that this will allow for us to expand the range of modules that we offer.” The University have also proposed the construction of a new pedestrian walkway to the East of South Road. Continued on page 4
▲ £50 million plans for new Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science building revealed (Durham University)
Team Durham breaches fresher’s confidentiality after “humiliating” initiations experience
Head shaving, nudity and forced consumption of alcohol: Palatinate investigates the drinking culture of Durham University’s sports teams PALATINATE INVESTIGATION Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero and Tania Chakraborti Team Durham breached a student’s anonymity after a welfare complaint was made against a Durham University Sports Club, Palatinate can reveal. The complaint concerned the fresher’s experience of initiations during the preseason period, which involved head shaving, incidents of nudity and the forced consumption of large quantities of alcohol. Feeling “burnt out physically and mentally” by the initiations, the student’s parent made an informal complaint to the Director of Experience Durham, Quentin Sloper. Team Durham subsequently
revealed the fresher’s identity to senior members of the men’s team without his consent, which led to the student feeling isolated from the rest of the squad. Speaking to Palatinate, the anonymous student in question, who played his sport at an international level prior to joining Durham University said: “The events of preseason almost led me to drop out of the University before I had even experienced freshers’ week. “I knew that the environment in the [club] was toxic and that it would not be possible to participate without being subjected to continual bullying and abuse.” In response to the student pursuing the complaint after the breach of anonymity, a review panel was set up to investigate
the club’s ‘non-playing culture’. Disciplinary action was also taken against team members involved, including match bans and community service. The first year student, who has since left the club, outlined the five initiation ‘stations’ that freshers were subjected to during the ‘welcome drinks’ of 20th September 2017. At the first ‘station’, the new players were made to drink a variety of unknown substances, including the forced consumption of alcohol. Vegetable oil was also poured into the student’s eyes by a senior member of the Club’s executive. One ‘station’ involved freshers being forced to dive into a paddling pool filled with unknown items. The student later recalled being taken home, blacking out and vom-
iting in the night. Palatinate was also told about a drinking game that took place on the night of 23rd September 2017 in which one of 10 freshers who lost would have his head shaved. Despite stating in advance that he did not consent to the forfeit, the anonymous student was eventually forced to have his head shaved by senior team members. The fresher told Palatinate: “I felt ill because of the amount of alcohol that I had been forced to consume in the week preceding freshers’ week and I had to go home because there was no emotional support or empathy offered by players or coaches.” Durham University’s Public Interest Disclosure Policy on... Continued on page 3