Palatinate Officially the UK’s Best Student Publication, 2018
Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | No. 808
With freshers’ week in full swing, Features take an in-depth look at friendship at university
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Profile speak to Durham alumnus Nish Kumar about the inspiration for his comedy, “spicy” Brexit and Klute
Over half of Durham academics on insecure contracts Anna Tatham News Editor
▲ Thousands of freshers arrived in Durham on Sunday for the beginning of the 2018/19 academic year (Maddie Flisher)
Durham fourth worst university for social inclusion despite improvement • Durham University ranked 130th out of 133 institutions in The Sunday Times’ social inclusion rankings • Just 6.4% of students are from the UK’s most deprived areas, whereas 37.1% attended private schools Clara Gaspar News Editor Durham is the fourth worst University for social inclusion in the UK, new statistics have revealed. In a comprehensive study produced by The Sunday Times’ Good University Guide, which measures participation by underrepresented groups at British universities, Durham is ranked 130th out of 133 institutions. Oxford University was shown to be the least socially inclusive, and is followed by St Andrews, Cambridge, Durham and Bristol. Last year, Durham had the sixth lowest state school intake in the UK,
at 62.9% percent in 2016/17, and 60.5% in 2015/16. The national average of state school entrants to UK universities in 2016/17 was 90%. Further breakdown of results showed that, as of the academic year 2016/2017, only 46.4% of students came from non-grammar state schools. In response to the findings, Labour MP David Lammy stated that the results provided “evidence that Britain’s finest universities remain gated communities for the privileged”. However, despite these statistics, Durham University’s 2018 intake contains its highest-ever
number of state-educated students. In a message to staff Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, said: “Huge kudos to everybody that worked on this… For the first time in Durham’s history, 65% of our incoming undergraduates this year are from state schools”. He added: “we’ve exceeded our targets for students coming to us from Acorn 45 or low-participation neighbourhood backgrounds.” Figures released earlier this year by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), showed that Durham has seen progression in its social mobility. The percentage of young fulltime first degree students from
low participation neighbourhoods at the University increased from 5.1% in 2015/16 to 5.2% in 2016/17, while the number of mature degree students from low participation neighbourhoods almost doubled, from 9.2% in 2015/16 to 18% in 2016/17. Latika Rodway-Anand, a fourth-year student at St Aidan’s College, expressed concerns about social inclusion at Durham. “I remember feeling in first year as if everyone already knew each other, because, so many people did, because they went to the same school, their school rowed with this school... Continued on page 4
Over half of Durham academic staff are employed on insecure contracts, UCU figures have revealed. 53.7% of the University’s 2,495 staff are employed on either fixedterm (545) or atypical contracts (795), according to data from the HESA Staff Record 2016/17. The data shows that 0% of senior management staff, such as Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge, are on fixed-term contracts. The results place Durham 55th on the insecurity ranking among 164 other UK universities listed in the data. Insecure contracts are much less common for Non-academic staff: 110 (10.6%) are on fixedterm contracts, while 920 nonacademic staff are employed on open-ended or permanent contracts. UCU says its data shows that staff on fixed-term contracts are usually in the early to mid-career range, meaning most, if not all, senior members of staff are on open-ended or permanent contracts. Fixed-term contracts have a particular end date, often lasting for one year, however a UCU survey found that around a third of contract researchers use 25% of their funded time working towards finding their next contract. “Staff employed on these contracts don’t know what the next year will bring and need to spend a lot of their time seeking the next contract,” the UCU says. Durham University scrapped nine-month contracts in May after a campaign orchestrated by ‘Durham Casuals’, as previously reported by Palatinate. The University henceforth employs Teaching Fellows for a minimum contract period of twelve months. Durham Casuals’, a group which aims to work with the University to improve working conditions, said: “Although we welcome the move to scrap 9 month contracts... Continued on page 4
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
Editorial
Written for Durham students, by Durham students. Our commitment to the big issues W elcome to Durham and to your student newspaper. As we approach the half-way mark of the week, you have probably become an expert in your college rivalries, consumed more varieties of potato than you previously knew existed, heard the fire alarm more times than you’ve uttered the question ‘What do you study?’, and been awoken at unholy hours by boundlessly energetic freps armed with kitchen utensils. At least, that was my experience this time two years ago. But everyone’s university experience is unique. Freshers’ week is just one of around 90 you will spend in this city. It does not define the rest of your time at university and it is not necessarily the best week of your life. My advice would be not to stress too much about making immediate lifelong friendships and signing for a house within weeks of arriving. Meet new people, embrace the endless opportunities on offer, try all the things you have harboured some faint interest in, and above all else, have fun! As it is the beginning of a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the values of this newspaper. We are made up of hundreds of student volunteers and our aim is to represent the student body; to celebrate its many successes, but also to scrutinise the biggest issues. 1) Holding the University to account We are fortunate to attend such a prestigious institution ranked among Britain’s higher education elite. Our colleges offer unrivalled networks of support, our campus is located in a stunning cathedral city and we are taught by some of
the most dedicated academics in the country. However, as my former co-editor so aptly worded it, Durham can be guilty of being “two faced”. The extortionate fees charged for college accommodation present barriers that can prove insurmountable for those least well-off in society, as today’s woeful statistics on Durham’s social inclusivity lay bare. The unrelenting pursuit of university expansion remains a contentious issue unlikely to subside anytime soon. It has undoubtedly exacerbated pre-existing tensions between students and residents, while exerting considerable strain on resources available to a student body facing a squeeze on library places, a Darwinian rush for accommodation and unbearable overcrowding in nightclubs. Student journalism can make a difference. The University’s decision to introduce 8am lectures was exclusively revealed by this newspaper in June. The near unanimous condemnation of this awful policy moved the University to reconsider, and eventually cancel the proposals. A case-in-point illustrating the importance of keeping students well-informed. 2) A platform for free expression We exist to ensure student voices are heard. Therefore we remain committed to offering a platform to all Durham students, regardless of their political beliefs. Over the summer two Durham publications succumbed to what the Universities Minister described as the “creeping culture of censorship” in the higher education sector.
A student editor was fired for holding opinions deemed unpalatable by fellow editors. Such a dangerous precedent should serve as a warning to those of us who value the freedom to hold opinions and express them without fear of mob retribution. This newspaper will continue to champion free debate. 3) Exploring the very best of Durham Sport, music, culture, arts...you name it, Durham has it. That’s why we have over 20 sections dedicated to showcasing the very best of what this city, and University, have to offer. Our coverage is aimed at celebrating the achievements of students, whether that be Durham’s continued sporting success at the national level or local artists producing work that deserves greater recognition. Our arts and lifestyle magazine, Indigo, serves as a window into all cultural aspects of Durham life. On page 11 of this edition, Profile feature an insightful interview with Durham alumnus Nish Kumar in which he urges us to “try everything you have some sort of longstanding ambition for...the point of university is to experiment and push yourself.” On pages 14-15, Politics take a look at the important issue of free speech and the contentious debate surrounding its meaning. Have a great week and we hope you enjoy our latest edition. Cameron McIntosh
Inside 808 News pages 4-7 Comment pages 8-10 Profile page 11 Politics pages 13-15 SciTech page 16 Sport pages 18-20
indigo
Editorial page 2 Features page 3 Fashion page 4 Creative Writing page 5 Visual Arts pages 6-7 Stage page 8 Music page 9 Food & Drink page 10 Film & TV pages 11 Books pages 12-13 Travel pages 14-15 Interview page 16
Current vacancies We are currently advertising for the following positions • Illustrations Editor • Deputy Sport Editor • Deputy Features Editor Email editor@palatinate.org.uk for more information.
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The bestwww.palatinate.org.uk of Palatinate Online
NEWS: Hatfield bar reveals newly refurbished bar and facilities
COMMENT: In praise of not having opinions
FEATURES How to get through freshers’, from someone who nearly didn’t
Hatfield College has announced the completion of its £5million project, which includes a newly refurbished college bar and 60 new student rooms.
Kleopatra Olympiou discusses the trend towards hyperpartisanship and argues it is not a crime to admit you simply don’t know.
POLITICS Disadvantaged students access to elite universities: Is the system fair for all?
Kate McIntosh discusses her mixed experiences during freshers’ week and offers advice to students arriving in Durham this year
In corroboration with Durham Working Class Students’ Association, Politics analyse the widening participation initiatives at elite universities.
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 Cameron McIntosh & Julia Atherley editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Millie Fender & Oscar Elmon deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Clara Gaspar & Anna Tatham news@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Madeleine Horton, Melissa Tutesigensi, Lydia Blundell & Naomi Clarke deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Investigations Editor Joe Banfield investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Madeleine Cater comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Holly Adams & Jacob Whitehead Profile Editor Ella Catherall profile@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Profile Editor Jamima Westermann Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones & Charlie Hetherington scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Alice Lassman & Sarina Rivlin-Sanders politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editors Jack Taylor & Matthew Spivey Sport Editor James Smith sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Ed Lord & Finlay Smart Indigo Editor Adele Cooke indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Alex Leggatt deputy.indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Kleopatra Olympiou features@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Rebecca Russell & Piers Eaton food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor Patrick Noren travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Anna Gibbs fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editor Ana Hamilton Film & Television Editor Hugh Johnson film@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Film & Television Editor Alexander Priston Stage Editor Kishore Thiagarajan stage@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Stage Editor Martha Wrench Music Editors Tom Watling & Francesca Howard music@palatinate.org.uk Creative Writing Editor Rhiannon Morris creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Creative Writing Editor Susie Bradley Books Editors Freya Neason & Shauna Lewis books@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Stella Botes visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Visual Arts Editor Jo Chandler Chief Sub-Editor Daisy Robinson Sub-Editors Heather Craddock, Ines Pandzic, Isabella Beaumont, Constance Castle & Freya Ellingsen Photography Editor Madeleine Flisher photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Claire Cortese and Yangjia Lin Illustrations Editor Vacant illustration@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Illustrations Editors Charlotte Way, Akansha Naraindas & Holly Murphy Website Administrator Mohammad Chaudhry web.admin@palatinate.org.uk Advertising Officer Harriet Willis
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PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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Freshers’ week 2018
Welcome to Durham: Freshers’ Sunday inpictures A new cohort of students are welcomed by hundreds of freps as they arrive in Durham ahead of freshers’ week
I’m George Walker, your 201819 Durham Students’ Union President and on behalf of all the team at Durham SU I’d like to say congratulations and welcome to Durham! You are joining a University with many fantastic student communities, within your Colleges and throughout the University and local community. Freshers’ is a great chance to find out about the opportunities you can be involved in, and I’d encourage you not to be afraid to try something new. At Durham SU our role is to champion all of the great things that Durham students do. As a student at Durham you are automatically a member of Durham SU and can access the many benefits we offer. You can join any of our over 250 student groups, be supported by our independent advice service, use our facilities at Dunelm House and have a say in the direction of your Union. Just as starting at Durham will mark a new chapter for many of you, Durham SU is also moving forwards, having launched our new-look branding over the summer and setting out our vision for the future. We undertook these changes after extensive consultation with students and we want to continue to work with you to understand how we can play a role in improving your student experience. As President of the SU, I lead the team of five Officers who are responsible for representing your views to the University and wider community. This year we’ll be working hard on issues you have told us are important, including the quality of your education, the cost of the Durham student experience and building stronger student communities. Durham SU is ultimately a student rights organisation that exists to benefit you: our members. If there is a change you would like to make happen, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at su.president@ durham.ac.uk or any of the other SU Officer team. George Walker
Photographs: Maddie Flisher and Alex Leggatt
Over 4,500 freshers descended upon Durham last weekend for the beginning of freshers’ week 2018. Greeting them upon arrival at their new homes were armies of freps dressed in college stash. Our photographer was on the scene to catch some shots of ‘Freshers’ Sunday’ in action. If you are interested in getting involved in student journalism,
then the event below may be of interest to you. Palatinate are on the lookout for new writers. Whether you are are into anything from sports, music, art, politics or science, and you want to write about it, Palatinate is the place for you. Our Welcome Drinks will be next Thursday at 7.30pm in The Library Bar. We hope to see many of you there!
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
News
Lectures to be held in Durham Students’ Union
Lydia Blundell Deputy News Editor Lectures are to be held in the Fonteyn Room, located on the lowest level of Durham Students’ Union, in the upcoming academic year. From October, students in the departments of English, History, Sociology, Philosophy and Maths can expect the new venue to appear on their lecture timetables for 2018/19. This includes compulsory Second Year English Literature modules: Shakespeare and Theory And Practice of Literary Criticism. The decision comes as one of a number of structural changes announced by the University to accommodate their ongoing 20172027 expansion plan. It aims to ease pressure on Elvet Riverside, as student numbers increase due to the expansion of the University. The DSU currently hosts many students in an academic capacity, with many students choosing to work in the café, as well as designated study spaces.
ular basis. Durham Students’ Union Opportunities Officer, Charlie Walker told Palatinate: “After an extensive renovation the Fonteyn Ballroom in Dunelm House now has the facilities to be used as a lecture theatre. “A lot of work has gone into fully-equipping and refurbishing the room for these additional uses, and it will remain a multi-use venue for the foreseeable future. “I’m excited for students to see the room’s new features, which will be used for departmental lectures during the day, and student group activities out of teaching hours. “The facilities we have gained are all available to student groups, meaning students now have the capacity to host film nights or
guest lectures within the Students’ Union building itself in a space with improved accessibility, giving students even more ownership over their events.
“I’m excited for students to see the room’s new features” “The seating can also be folded away to allow the room to be used for large-scale activities. I’m looking forward to seeing what events student groups will put on with these improved facilities!” The decision to use the DSU as a lecture space is one of several measures taken to increase the University’s capacity as Queens campus students are integrated into the Durham City campus. Con-
The decision comes as one of a number of structural changes to accommodate expansion plans Now, however, it will also become one of the numerous lecture destinations spread throughout Durham, which will mean a significantly higher volume of students passing through the DSU on a reg-
troversial proposals to introduce 8am lectures earlier in the year due to a shortage of lecture space have since been retracted following a backlash from students. The Twitter account run by the Save Dunelm House campaign criticised the positioning of the lecture theatre. ‘Something Concrete’ tweeted: “Called in to Dunelm House today to see the University has installed a retractable lecture theatre in the most inaccessible part of the building over the summer.”
This new facility gives students “even more ownership over their events” However Charlie Walker said: “The Students’ Union building can be a difficult building space to work with, but it’s our home and it’s a big space that we want to make the most of. “I believe that the increased footfall in the building will help our student groups and associations to raise awareness of their activities.” He continued: “It also means we can more effectively lobby the University for improvements to Dunelm House, including making the different levels of the building more accessible. “I would encourage students to come and check out the changes because the improvements are really impressive.”
▲The new lecture theatre in the Fonteyn Ballroom in Dunelm House (Julia Atherley)
DSU introduces pronoun badges Anna Tatham News Editor Durham Students’ Union will offer pronoun badges during freshers’ week. She/her, he/him, they/them and blank pronoun badges are now available to students. The blank badges are for individuals to write on the pronouns they identify with. Meg Haskins, Welfare and Liberation Officer, has said the move will “normalise the sharing of pronouns so that everyone can be correctly referred to without “othering” trans and non-binary people. “We are doing this to show our solidarity with, and support of, our trans and non-binary siblings and to raise awareness about what people can all do to be more inclusive.” Haskins described the support for the badges as “amazing” and “super positive”. “We want Durham SU to be as inclusive and safe a place as possible.” There will be an additional limited supply of badges available for each college post-fresher’s week.
Meg Haskins via Twitter
Only 46.4% students from non-grammar state schools Academics seen as “disposable labour” ...Continued from front page “Especially in subjects such as history, I often feel at a disadvantage because I didn’t go to private school. As accommodation costs continue to go up in price, I can see Durham becoming even less socially diverse” However, in a bid to boost social inclusivity, Durham University have committed to an Access Agreement for 2018/19 which commits the University to an investment of £11.5 million in outreach, student success, progression and evaluation activities The agreement includes using contextual admissions to enable students with the academic potential to attend Durham, including altering entry grade requirements to take account of social disadvantage.
“I can see Durham becoming even less socially diverse” University officials also plan to expand the Supported Progres-
sion scheme and create a centre for academic development.
“We do recognise that we still have considerable distance to travel” Durham University has also hosted two summer schools to help talented students from under-represented backgrounds reach university, and over 300 young people took part in one of two week-long Durham University Sutton Trust summer schools in August of this year. The scheme aided students in the process of applying to University, and students undertook university-style work in a chosen academic department while experiencing life living in a Durham University college. The University offered students who completed the scheme a qualification equivalent to 16 to 32 UCAS tariff points and a guaranteed, conditional offer to those that applied to Durham University. The University has pledged to increase the size of the student
body to 21,500 by 2027. In response to the rankings, Professor Alan Houston, ProVice-Chancellor (Education), told Palatinate: “As a globally prominent, highly selective institution, we do recognise that there are a number of barriers for some under-represented groups in accessing our degree programmes.
Durham University has committed £11.5 million to outreach programmes “Whilst we are disappointed by this ranking, we do take heart from this year’s admissions process, which shows measurable gains in student diversity. “We do also recognise that we still have a considerable distance to travel in making this an equal playing field. This is a journey we are undertaking with rigour and determination.”
...Continued from front page in favour of 12 month ones, they are still temporary contracts.” The group told Palatinate that they are “not surprised” by the UCU figures, and suggested “many of these temporary contracts abuse the insecurity of the sector at large to save money. “Universities—including Durham—are increasingly coming to rely on temporary teaching contracts instead of—or as an interim to—hiring permanent staff. “The recent surge in new temporary posts suggests that the University increased its student numbers before hiring more permanent staff.” Durham University’s student ratio is currently 14.9 staff per student, which has fallen from last year, according to The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019. “The University should regard its early career academics and teaching staff as investments for the future, rather than as sources of disposable labour.” UCU has accused UCEA, the na-
tional employes’ representative to have “actively created obscurity and confusion” surrounding the issue of casualised contracts.
“The University should regard its teaching staff as investments” It has estimated that at least 54% of all academic staff across UK universities are on insecure contracts, although suggests its figures “underestimate insecure working significantly”. Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Professor Antony Long, said: “The University has been awarded the ‘HR in Excellence’ award to recognise our proactive approach to recognising the career prospects of our research staff. “Any large organisation requires a flexible workforce to support work at peak times. “We review fixed term contracts on an annual basis and, where appropriate, we will consider moving these to a non-fixed term status.”
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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News
Put student mental health first, universities urged Melissa Tutesigensi Deputy News Editor University heads nationwide have been urged to prioritise ‘nonnegotiable’ student mental health. The Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Sam Gyimah, has stated that universities must start to prioritise student mental health. In his letter to University ViceChancellors, the minister stresses the need for “leadership from the top.” Gyimah’s comments come as mental health at universities in the UK has become an increasing concern. It has been revealed that at some UK institutions, one in four students are seeking help from counselling services. In response to this growing demand for mental health support, Gyimah has announced a ‘University Mental Health Charter’ which will be drawn up with the help of mental health charities and university partners in order to promote mental health at universities nationwide.
A ‘University Mental Health Charter’ will be produced for the higher education sector In his letter to university heads, Gyimah also proposed changes that could be made to help students. He suggested an opportunity for students to elect a friend or family member to be alerted in case of a mental health crisis.
The minister emphasised the responsibility of Universities to look beyond academia towards the pastoral care, stating: “There are some Vice-Chancellors who think that university is about training the mind and all of these things are extra that they don’t have to deal with. “They can’t do that, they’ve got to get behind this programme. It can’t be something that belongs to the wellbeing department of the university. This requires sustained and serious leadership from the top.”
“Student wellbeing should not be a separate ‘welfare issue’ or afterthought” Recent statistics on higher education suicide rates collected by The Office for National Statistics have revealed that between July 2016 and July 2017, there were 95 recorded university suicides. They also showed that the rate of male suicide is higher than female suicide. In response, Assistant Director of Policy at Universities UK, John de Pury, has maintained that: “There is no room for complacency here. This remains an urgent challenge for universities and society.” This nationwide mental health crisis, combined with the imminent expansion of Durham University, poses a challenge to Durham University’s mental health support system. Welfare and Liberation Officer, Meg Haskins said: “We know
▲Universities Minister Sam Gyimah has urged universities to priortise mental health (British High Comission, New Dehli via Flickr) that the NHS and our University support services are both overstretched resources, but there needs to be some give in the provision of resources and care when it comes to the mental health of students if we are to make it a mentally healthier place.
“This remains an urgent challenge for universities and society” “By this I don’t just mean an increase in reactive resources such as counselling sessions or reducing NHS waiting list times, but rather that the University need to be proactive in recognising the need for a holistic approach to
the wellbeing of students. Student wellbeing should not be a separate ‘welfare issue’ or afterthought, but rather it should be embedded in everything that this University does.” Haskins highlights a number of facilities open to Durham students for support, including financial awareness sessions, meditation and yoga classes, ‘Calm to the Core’ sessions from the counselling services and online workbooks. The University Health centre, Nightline and College welfare services are also available for students to use. Pro-Vice Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience), Owen Adams, said: “The wellbeing and mental health of our students and
staff are hugely important to us and we invest significantly in their pastoral care.
“The University need to be proactive in recognising the need for a holistic approach” “Whether by reviewing best practice in the sector, listening to student feedback in our consulting rooms and offices, or speaking with student leaders and staff from our colleges, we are constantly thinking of ways in which we can better our support services for students and ensure they work effectively for those who need them most.”
Low-cost private school opens in Durham city centre has stated that he intends to reverse the long-held negative reputation of private schools in this country as “elite, exclusive and far too expensive.”
Madeleine Horton Deputy News Editor A new, low-cost independent primary school has opened in Durham City centre. The Independent Grammar School, situated in a refurbished church on Claypath, will educate a cohort of 65 pupils aged four to nine. Fees at the new school are just £52 per week, totalling £2,700 per year. This is significantly less than the average annual cost of £14,102 per pupil for a place at traditional private schools in the UK. The school cuts costs by operating on a ‘no-frills’ basis; it does not offer many of the usual facilities available at other private institutions, such as sports facilities and swimming pools, or the smaller class sizes common of private schools, and has minimalist, pared-back interiors. The school is the brainchild of James Tooley, a Newcastle University professor of Education, who
Fees at the new school are just £52 a week, totalling £2,700 per year
▲The Independent Grammar School (Reading Tom via Flickr)
Tooley is the co-founder and chairman of Omega Schools Franchise Ltd, and has also helped develop similar schools in Sierra Leone, India and Nigeria. The school will offer an “unashamedly traditional approach” in its curriculum, which includes, from Year 2, classes in French and Classics, and Latin before Year 6. History will be taught chronologically, with a particular focus on British history and British values. The new school enrols children non-selectively, with no admissions test for prospective pupils. The school hopes to instil qualities of “courage, respect, excellence,
achievement, transparency and enjoyment” in its pupils, according to the website. However, the opening of the school has been met with considerable controversy, particularly from those in the education sector, who argue that at the annual amount of £4,900 per year to educate a state-school child, it is impossible to offer children a quality education at such a low cost. Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said that he fears the school will fail as the Durham Free School did before it. “I’m really not confident that it will work,” he said, “It’s unbelievable to me that you can run a school on £52 a week per child. ”The school’s opening has been twice delayed due to a delay in approval from the Department of Education, according to Headmaster Chris Gray, and concerns from Ofsted inspectors about the toilet facilities within the premises.
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
News
Library café closed until Epiphany term 2019 The latest development follows a string of expansion plans the University has set out as part of the Estate Masterplan 2017-2027
Clara Gaspar News Editor The Bill Bryson Library’s eDen and café will be closed until Epiphany term 2019, due to “extensive remodelling” work on the site. The changes in the library are part of the University’s Estate Masterplan 2017-2027, which includes wider Queen’s campus relocation process and will consequently see a significant increase in students using the library. The University has said that the work will mean that “students and Library users will benefit from an improved Library space and catering provision.”
The Library café is set to be relocated and expanded in the eDen, with more furniture to host a larger number of students. While the café is closed, students have been advised to use catering facilities in the Lower Mountjoy area, including the Calman Café, Palatine Café and Chemistry Café. The University has also stated that an additional coffee cart will be placed outside the Library during weekdays. In April, the library was equipped with 100 new study spaces in order to accommodate a growing number of students. The University now plans to add a a further 100 study spaces to be
added in the West Wing of Level 1 as well as 4 new accessible study rooms with improved disability support study space on Level 1. The rest of the library will undergo reorganisation in order to increase the number of study desks. Further space will be created by the relocation of book collections and the transfer of low use books to an off-site store. The IT service desk will also be moved to the existing Library café space.
HEARD ANYTHING NEWSWORTHY? Email news@palatinate.org.uk
▲ Bill Bryson Library (right) is undergoing refurbishments to its facilities, which includes the relocation of the café (left) to cater for the increased number of students on Durham campus (Durham University and Maddie Flisher)
Students launch first University Movember campaign Naomi Clarke Deputy News Editor Two Durham students are planning to launch the first Universitywide ‘Movember’ campaign. Movember is the leading global men’s health charity, raising money to fund various projects. The charity aims to tackle mental health, testicular and prostate cancer, and suicide prevention.
“[the] campaign is about encouraging men to have conversations about their health” The campaign is being led by ambassadors Thomas Carr and Ed O’Callaghan who plan to encourage friendly rivalry between colleges and sports teams to raise
funds on behalf of Durham University. Durham itself will then be in competition with universities nationwide in the ‘Big Moustache On Campus Challenge’ to raise as much money for the charity as possible. Carr notes the competitive nature of the campaign will take advantage of Durham’s competitive spirit “between teams to stoke some really powerful and engaging campaigns which hopefully encourage even more conversations and more donations.” Carr and O’Callaghan plan to be holding a number of events throughout Michaelmas term. On the 31st October will be the ‘Great Durham Shave-Off’, where Students and staff are invited to come kickstart Movember by shaving off the stubble to start growing their moustaches.
The 30th November will see a 12-hour rowing marathon for fundraising teams and individuals to compete for a surprise reward for whoever can row the furthest.
The Movember Foundation aims to reduce premature male deaths by 25% by 2030 Following this, the pair aim for the month to round off with a uni-wide celebration with cocktail nights throughout college bars to celebrate their mo-growing achievements and for one final last push at fundraising for this important cause. The charity promotes a growing movement and message to male students to be more aware about their general wellbeing, and especially mental health. Carr told Palatinate how the
“campaign is about encouraging men to have conversations about their health and as Movember put it – ‘be a man of more words’.” Recent statistics show men in the UK typically die four years younger than women, and six years younger globally. Alarmingly, predictions believe prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. 10th September marked World Suicide Prevention Day. Recent reports show that 75% of suicides are men. Unfortunately, poor mental health leads to 500,000 taking their own life every year, around one every minute. The Movember Foundation are actively trying to tackle these statistics through funding programmes and leading experts around the world to collaborate on solutions and directly engaging with men. Their aim is to reduce the number of men dying prema-
turely by 25% by 2030. The Foundation is currently funding 1,200 projects worldwide, with their UK base running 46 campaigns all with the similar mindset to directly engage and address men’s mental and physical health. Durham’s Campaign hopes to bring awareness of this inspiring charity and the issues it addresses to Durham’s male students, whilst raising funds for the Foundation and its programmes. Carr states to stay tuned @DurhamUniversityMovember on Facebook and @movemberdurham on Instagram to stay updated on more events throughout November and for important material and facts on men’s health.
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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News
News in brief: The biggest Durham stories of the summer 8am lectures cancelled
Ieuan Jenkins via Flickr
Plans to introduce 8am lectures at Durham University have been cancelled, amid a backlash from students. The University has withdrawn controversial proposals to lengthen the teaching timetable with 8am lectures, following a consultation with staff, students and departments. In June, Palatinate exclusively revealed that students in the Law and Business schools would have 8am lectures scheduled beginning Michaelmas 2018, to deal with oversubscribed course numbers. The proposals were set to affect four modules in these departments. However, the plans have since been scrapped and the University has sought alternative arrangements to accommodate the increase in student numbers.
Staff claim big on expenses
Queen’s campus move complete
Editor fired in transphobia row
Student satisfaction falls 5%
sebix67 via Flickr
Tony Roberts via Twitter
Maddie Flisher
Maddie Flisher
Two members of Durham University academic staff spent £2,614 at Caesar’s Palace Casino during a work trip to Las Vegas, a freedom of information request has revealed. An investigation by The Sun revealed that staff at universities nationwide used taxpayer-funded credit cards to spend £204 million. This included expenditure on lapdance clubs, high-end nightclubs and trips to football matches. Over a period of 20 months, Durham University expenses totalled £17 million, including a £2,614 bill from Las Vegas Casino, Caesar’s Palace. Denise McConnell, Interim Chief Financial Officer at Durham University, told Palatinate: “Expenditure on all cards is regularly checked to ensure staff adhere to the University’s policies and procedures.”
The scheduled relocation of Departments and Colleges to Durham City from Queen’s Campus has been completed. Psychology, the School of Education and Durham University Business School have successfully relocated to Upper Mountjoy, Leazes Road and Mill Hill Lane, respectively. John Snow and Stephenson Colleges have completed their relocation to the Howlands site. The transfer of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health to Newcastle University has been concluded; and the Sleep Lab has moved to Hilton Cottage. The University has said “there is important work still to do” in order to fulfil its anticipated improvements in education, research and student experience that provided the basis for its expansion strategy.
The assistant editor of Durham’s Philosophy Society journal was fired for comments related to a retweet on his personal twitter account which was deemed “transphobic”. Angelos Sofocleous, the recently appointed assistant editor of Critique, was removed from his position after posting: “RT (retweet) if women don’t have penises” in response to an article published in the The Spectator. The Durham University student was subsequently sent an email from the President of the Philosophy society notifying him that he had been removed from his position following a vote. Chair of LGBT Humanists society Chris Ward labelled the tweet as “horrific” and “transphobic”.
This year’s National Student Survey (NSS) has revealed a 5% drop in student satisfaction at Durham University, as well as an overall dissatisfaction with Durham Students’ Union. The University received a score of 85% for student satisfaction in the 2018 survey, which is 5% lower than in 2017 (90%). Durham’s student satisfaction still remains above the UK average, which stands at 83%. In the 2018 higher education table, Durham fell to 51st place for student satisfaction, whereas in 2017 it stood at 19th Saul Cahill, Durham’s Undergraduate Academic Officer, said: “We need to ensure that the University’s expansion does not come at the expense of student needs.”
Durham falls out of the top five in Good University Guide Clara Gaspar News Editor Durham University has been ranked as the UK’s seventh best university, according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019. Taking into consideration all social, financial and academic criteria, the guide rated Durham as 7th in the UK university league tables, falling two places from last year and having been overtaken by Loughborough University and Lancaster University. Durham is the university with
Two of Durham University’s subjects, Geography and Music, were ranked 1st of all universities in the UK. Meanwhile, sixteen of the Uni-
versity’s subjects were ranked in the UK’s top five and every subject fell within the top 20. This year’s statistics saw a drop in the standard of teaching from 82% to 78.8%. This figure comes from the proportion of positive responses from students to statements in the 2018 National Student Survey (NSS). The guide also saw Durham improve in areas such as graduate prospects rating and student completion rates. However, of the guide’s top 11 universities in the overall institution ranking, Durham’s student to
which offer bespoke, original essays for a fee (dependent on essay subject, length and deadline), and cannot be easily detected by antiplagiarism software. Such services are “deeply unethical”, according to Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of the Office for Students. Durham University tweeted: “We’re proud to say our ViceChancellor is a signatory, as we stand with other universities who call for ban on essay-writing companies.” The Vice-Chancellors want to make the services illegal to there-
fore stop them operating out of the UK and remove them from online search engine findings. Up to one in seven recent graduates may have cheated by using essay mills during the last four years, according to a recent study. Durham University’s Guidance on Procedures says any student found plagiarising may be classed as dishonest practice and may lead to expulsion from the University. The Universities minister, Sam Gyimah said: “I expect universities to be educating students about these services and highlight the
the 3rd highest rate of top degrees in the country after Oxford and Cambridge, with 90.8 of all degrees being first and upper second class honours.
“We are never complacent and will be working with our staff and students to secure improvements”
staff ratio is the poorest.
Geography and music were ranked 1st in the UK Durham University was also rated 97th for student satisfaction. Professor Stuart Corbridge, Durham Vice-Chancellor and Warden, told Palatinate: “Durham University continues to be ranked as a top ten UK university, and our students benefit from a world-class education and student experience which benefits them when they graduate. “The slight fall in our ranking in this league table is due to a
small drop in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) scores. We are never complacent and will be working with our staff and students to secure improvements.”
(Jyll and Tom Skinner via Flickr)
Vice-Chancellor calls for tougher action against “essay mills” Anna Tatham News Editor Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge is among 46 university chiefs who have called for a ban on “essay mills”, amid concerns they are undermining the integrity of degree courses. In a letter written to Education Secretary Damian Hinds, ViceChancellors have called for new laws against those who provide commercial essay-writing services, rather than the students who use them. “Essay mills” are companies
stiff, and possibly life-changing, penalties they face. “I also want the sector to do more to grip the problem, for example by tackling advertising of these services in their institutions and finally blocking these services (Durham University)
from sending an alarming number of emails to the inboxes of university students and staff. “I have been working with organisations across the higher education sector to bear down on this problem and this has already resulted in the likes of YouTube removing adverts for these essay mills, but legislative options are not off the table.” YouTube videos promoting essay-writing service EduBirdie were removed in May after a BBC investigation. It is not illegal for a company to offer a commercial essay-writing service in the UK.
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
Is the future of work fewer hours? Page 10
Comment
►
Durham Rewind: The biggest stories of the past year
Comment compiles the top three ‘need to know’ debates Palatinate covered last year that any fresher, or even returner, ought to brush up on
Lecturers’ strikes brought teaching to a halt
Madeleine Cater Probably the biggest event to rock Durham University (and the University sector more generally) over the 2017/18 academic year was the UCU industrial strike action. Academics were on strike for a month during Durham’s dreaded ‘summative season’ (a term that if you don’t know now, you will do soon…) over proposed changes to their pensions which could have led to individual losses of £10,000 a year in retirement income. At Durham, 88% of UCU members voted for strike action and as such our University was
one of over 60 institutions that were involved.
Some students joined the picket lines in solidarity with their lecturers Some students joined the picket lines in solidarity with their lecturers, whilst others battled through the leaflets and placards to make it to their lectures. The strikes divided students with the cost of the lost lectures being a prime focus of discussion. With annual fees of £9250, many felt that students deserved financial compensation for the hours of learning lost, especially
as the strikes were caused by factors totally outside of Durham students’ control. While great for our Comment section, the strikes were not so great for degrees, with many finalists being unable to contact their dissertation supervisors only days before their work was due to be handed in.
provided. These rushed amendments could even have been the cause of further confusion during the exam period; some Engineering papers became literally unanswerable as changes were made mid-exam. The strikes were eventually suspended in April, to everyone’s
relief, when the UCU voted to accept proposals put forward to solve the pension dispute. Yet with both sides having to significantly compromise to reach this deal, many wonder if this will be the last we hear of industrial strike action…
Many felt that students deserved compensation for the hours of learning lost Weeks of missed content resulted in some exams having to be rewritten, as many papers would have become impossible to answer with the lack of teaching
Illustration: Katie Butler
Culture of socials under more scrutiny than ever
Societies are unquestionably an important part of college and university life in Durham, and with societies inevitably come socials. This year has seen behaviour during these socials called into question with teams from Castle and Trevs being banned as a result of their actions. During the Castle football initiations last year, incidences of public nudity and inappropriate behaviour led to all three teams
being banned for the academic year.
It is likely that socials will continue to come under fire Occurring early in the first term, Castle’s ban served as a warning to other clubs that behaviour on socials would be under scrutiny. This scrutiny was amplified after the proposed Trevs rugby social which entirely overshadowed the Castle initiation even making national news. The club was suspended
indefinitely in November after it transpired they were planning to hold a 1980s miners’ strikethemed social. For a university in the North-East of England, with a strong mining heritage, this idea was, quite rightly, condemned by both the University, surrounding residents and many students.
It is through socials like this that the ‘town vs. gown’ divide will only ever increase There is often discussion about the ‘town vs. gown’ debate and it is through socials like this that this
divide will only ever increase. My experiences of being on socials has been entirely positive, and most pass uneventfully, but with events like those of last year it is likely that socials will continue to come under fire. With impending initiations and ‘welcome drinks’ it is so important to remember that us students are only a small part of Durham, and within our own community there are many that can feel intimated by what may happen on a social. My advice would be to have fun, do only what your comfortable with, but remember you are not invincible!
▲ Palatinate 799: ‘Castle football club
banned for entire season over initiation misconduct’ Illustration: Melissa Frateantonio
The University is expanding amid community tensions Durham is growing. Since the unveiling of the University’s ten year Estate Masterplan between 2017-2027, building sites have begun to pop up everywhere. Over the summer, construction began on an £80 million project to develop a brand-new college and student facilities, as well as relocate
John Snow College. This follows on from the redevelopment of our sports facilities at Maiden Castle and the building work taking place on the Lower Mountjoy site opposite the Science Site. In addition, Palatinate reported in September that building work has been approved for a new £40 million Mathematical
Photograph: Durham University
and Computer Science building – I’ll pause a moment to catch my breath! In the Estate Masterplan, Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge explains that the purpose of all this development is to ensure Durham continues to deliver and improve upon its “world-leading and world- changing research” and offer “a student experience to rival the best in the world.” As such, the development and refurbishment of our facilities is definitely a priority, and with the growth and improvements of its structures comes a greater number of students attracted to Durham. The enlargement of the student
body is where a lot of argument against the expansion lies, especially as the university has said it wishes to increase the student population to 21,500 by 2027.
What can be forgotton is how small the city of Durham is What can be forgotten is how small the city of Durham is. While the University’s estate can develop around it, the historic city centre cannot be expanded, and it is the increased pressure on this centre and its services that has raised concerns amongst residents and students.
Worries over crowded nightclubs, overstretched local services and increasing social tensions between locals and students means these expansion plans are a popular debate in our section. For those just starting their first year at Durham, this topic is not one which is likely to go away. By the end of your three- or four-year degrees, the ‘Estates Masterplan’ will only be roughly halfway through its ten- year projection. The landscape of the university is changing. It will be exciting to see what new developments are proposed and, from an editorial perspective, what debates those developments will provoke.
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PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
Comment
New year, new you? The art of making resolutions Will Bloor The feeling and want of a new start is one that touches all of us time and time again. From school through to university, the end of summer and start of a new academic year has always signalled an unrivalled blank canvas upon which lies the chance to change for the better. But does this expectation of reinvention as the summer comes to a close actually motivate us to improve, or does it merely make disappointment inevitable? At school, the ‘new start’ mantra was often developed for us. Teachers would bombard us with the new theme for the academic year, “excellence in everything you do” or “forming effective habits”, and try and set the tone from the top down. What makes university more challenging, but in many ways more personally fulfilling, is that these mantras and goals have got to come from the bottom up. They have to come from us. Not from the university, not from friends, not from family, from us. Just as most of those in the working world will sit down over Christmas and formulate a
resolution for the New Year, many students will be doing the same at this time, the weird intermediary stage between the summer and the new academic year. Although these come at two very different times in the year, a lot of the lessons about personal change apply to both. A BUPA poll at the end of 2017 asked 2000 adults whether they thought they would stick to their 2018 goals, but only half said they were confident that they would. Indeed, most people have broken their New Year’s resolutions by mid-January.
A new academic year has always signalled an unrivalled blank canvas If New Year resolutions are this futile, are new term resolutions destined to fail and lead to disappointment? Not necessarily so. A BBC Reality Check investigation into New Year’s resolutions revealed some telling signs as to why the majority fail. Fundamentally and, perhaps difficult to believe for most students, willpower is not enough. We have grown up to believe that this burning desire to power
through obstacles to change will see us through, and in many ways this will. But it’s got to go into more depth than a simple, vague commitment or goal.
This desire to change has got to extend into meticulous planning, and unfortunately, admin Yes, positive, comprehensive change is easy to envisage when we’re sat on the train to Durham, comfortable and at ease. But when the time comes to wake up at 6am so you can make the gym before your full day of lectures, this drive for self-improvement will, undeniably, not be as strong. This doesn’t mean willpower is futile, far from it. But crucially, this desire to change has got to extend into meticulous planning and, unfortunately, admin. First and foremost, research shows that you are more likely to keep more detailed resolutions. In other words, instead of “I’ll procrastinate less on my summatives”, try “I’ll set myself a deadline of a week before the real deadline”. Also, tying goals to specific cues can help. If you want to keep more
in touch with friends from home, schedule in a call every Tuesday morning when you’re walking to that 9am, and set a reminder on your phone to confirm it with them the night before.
A bit of forward planning and integration of goals into your schedule can go a long way As mad as student life can be, a bit of forward planning and integration of goals into your schedule can go a long way. There are many other ways in which to stick to this ‘new start’ we all envision, but fundamentally, it’s a lot more boring in practice than we might think. Nonetheless, the benefits of sticking to a plan, as mundane as that might be, do outweigh the negatives of remaining stuck in bad habits. Perhaps the message of this
Photograph: Nana B Agyei via Flickr
piece, then, is not to discourage anyone from changing their life in parallel with the new year. Far from it. We do place a lot of emphasis and pressure on this new start and this can lead to disappointment if approached at too vaguely and idealistically. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Smaller, pre-planned changes, changes you can stick to and gradually integrate into your life, are the way forward.
The idea of a new start is certainly not unreachable The idea of a new start is certainly not unreachable and can serve as a ‘kick-starter’ for motivation and action. But for ideas to work, you must do so too.
The student consciousness, in defence of opinion sections Anna Ley Comment sections catalyse controversy, conversation and often conflict. It is for this reason that they are often criticised. The Guardian’s Tauriq Moosa branded them “poison’” suggesting that if they are not “handled with care” they should not be used at all.
This type of journalism holds powerful lessons against blind conformity Yet, it is exactly this cautious, ‘careful’ handling of one’s individual ideas and personal passions that opinion sections in our media can help to erode. Putting your perspective to paper, comment can encourage a vital self-confidence to give voice to one’s own beliefs. Comment pieces are about much more than the column or article; their real significance lies in the shockwaves of discussion that the explosive pieces send out to its readers. Stirring debate,
opinion pieces become a gateway to conversation and criticism and therefore crucially ensure that we are engaging with the content we are reading. Without them, we are encouraged to merely absorb news; with them we actively reflect, reason and react to the affairs we are reading about. Breaking down the passive intake of important events, opinion pieces promote personal response, a skill that we studentsconstantly told to be independent thinkers and source our own line of argument- can really benefit from having in our media.
It is a freedom, a fearlessness and a confidence that contagiously spreads to readers Concerns over ‘fake news’ have fostered a fear of opinion-sections in today’s media, attacking their un-factual and irrelevant role to the newspaper’s purpose of providing ‘news’. Where objective reporting is, though often necessary, robotic and lacking in feeling, opinion pieces are fiery and fervent. Rife
tongue. As such, this type of journalism holds powerful lessons against blind conformity.
The megaphone to the people’s voice, comment is an indispensable part of the media Photograph: Jeffrey Smith via Flickr
with personal feeling, comment articles cause ricochets of reaction that pose difficult and undesirable questions. Yet they are vital questions to be asked none the less. Comment therefore provides a platform for paramount issues to be presented and picked apart by everyone. The ‘dangerous’ and potentially ‘poisonous’ discussion and disagreement they create are, in many ways, the foundations of a true democracy; inviting the thoughts and opinions of every individual. In being able to voice your personal response to the affairs the paper objectively reports, comment sections breed a confidence to beat the buffer; an important refusal to bite your
Comment advocates a confidence and a boldness to say what you’re passionate about and breaks down the buffer that society can impose on our voices. It is a buffer that the drone- like objective reporting of a white, male dominated press house can sometimes unfortunately reinforce. Providing a place for the silenced to speak, it is an especially important space for us students, a group wildly neglected in the current political landscape, to have our say. It is a freedom, a fearlessness and a confidence that contagiously spreads to readers who see articles and form opinion of their own. The cradle of the outspoken, comment advocates an individual voice; a vital lesson to be told to all. In an era in which the media is
attacked as the people’s ‘enemy’, it is more important now than ever for comment sections to survive. Opening up conversations and inviting perspectives beyond the publishing house, comment IS the people. Opinion pieces are a platform for the personal issues and frustrations that nibble at each of us as individuals, not as a population.
It is a particularly important platform for us students, a group often forgotten about and underrepresented The megaphone to the people’s voice, comment is an indispensable part of the media. It is a powerful tool to teach all of us to not be afraid to speak up and shout out. Yet it is a particularly important platform for us students, a group often forgotten about and underrepresented, as a powerful voice for change. HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION?
Tell us what you think by emailing us at comment@ palatinate.org.uk
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
10
Comment
Level playing fields: Investing in grassroots sport Jacob Whitehead
I once won an egg and spoon race. Hold the applause, I’d like to thank my team, the coaching staff, and the fans. Quite embarrassingly my celebration was probably pretty reminiscent of Kieran Trippier’s when things were looking oh-so-rosy against Croatia. Arms wide, knee slide, feeling on top of the world for a glorious hour or so, before it all came crashing down. For him, losing the chance to play in a World Cup Final, for me, falling over in the sack race. That’s some parallel for you.
Grassroots sport is so important because of how it makes us feel The point is, grassroots sport, even at its most basic, is so important because of how it makes us feel. Lost in a moment, we can be just as excited as a professional, or even equally despondent. This aside, it can have equally important health benefits. So, when I read Sebastian Coe’s recent comments in the Evening Standard, arguing that UK Sport should con-
centrate on funding elite sport over grassroots, I thought back to my egg and spoon race. If we have learnt one thing from eight years of austerity it is that funding is a balancing act. Fundamentally, there should be funding at both the grassroots level and at the very highest end of the spectrum. The two have a symbiotic relationship; elite athletes don’t appear fully formed, ready to sing the national anthem on the top step of the podium, similarly young children may take up sport without the inspiration these heroes provide. It’s effectively an athletic formulation of the chicken and the egg paradox. Yet for me, choosing which of the two to prioritise is hugely revealing about us as a nation. What should sport be to us? For Sebastian Coe, sport seems to be priPhotograph: rawdonfox via Flickr
marily an entertainment business, as he evokes a nostalgic gaze back to Super Sunday in 2012, before warning us, in an Orphean manner, not to look behind, but surge forward to greater triumph. Sporting success can be measured only at the very highest end, gold medals and gleaming trophies are the indicators of sporting success.
Choosing which of the two to prioritise is hugely revealing about us as a nation Is this really what we should prioritise? Was the 1996 Summer Olympics, with its paltry return of only one gold medal really a national embarrassment? It could be argued that the UK should find that adult obesity rates have quadrupled in the last 25 years far more shameful. Or that only 36% of UK children currently play sport outside of school. Maybe that 70% of 5-10 year olds said that the 2012 Olympics played no part in encouraging them to play sport (that one’s on you Lord Coe).
Only 36% of UK children currently play sport outside of school
Rather than take our pride from a select group of our most talented athletes and a healthy dose of banal nationalism, shouldn’t we prioritise the other benefits of sports, and bask in their healthy glow? Couldn’t we be gratified by having low obesity statistics, high participation rates, and be rubber stamped by any consequent elite success? Is this enough to demonstrate we’re a sporting nation, rather than celebrate the triumph of a few with a ticker-tape parade every few years? Undoubtedly, at both a national and university level, we need to fund both grassroots and elite sport. One simply cannot do without the other. Yet when it comes
Photograph: mac morrison via Flickr
to a matter of prioritisation, the tough calls seem to exclusively favour the thinner end of the wedge rather than the fatter.
We need to fund both grassroots and elite sport. One simply cannot do one without the other Elite victory is glorious for the few, and for the supporters, a brief boon. But I’d sooner give every child the chance to win their own egg and spoon race.
The six hour day: Is the future of work fewer hours? Rowena Blythe “NO more student lie-ins” screamed the Daily Express as other media outlets piled in to intone that students can’t be bothered to get out of their beds for eight o’clock lectures. Although Durham University has since decided not to proceed with 8am lectures for the upcoming year, the sorry charade has unmasked the primordial need for the university to consult its students. Many students describe feeling “isolated” and “stressed” due to the “overambitious aims to expand the university”. Universities all over Britain are reporting similar timetabling issues due to their expansion plans, placing unnecessary worry on the student body, studies report. Indeed, since 2008 student demand for counselling has risen by a third within the UK and universities seek solutions to growing mental health concerns. The question is: how to foster student satisfaction?
Over the past decade, many universities have turned higher education into money-making schemes. The University of East Anglia and Brunel University London already run lectures until 8pm, which has led to much protest.
The sorry charade has unmasked the primordial need for the university to consult its students A growing body of research and corporate case studies suggest that a transition to a shorter work day will lead to increased productivity, improved health, and higher employee-retention rates in the world of work. But is this the case? “Working time, perhaps second only to wages, is the working condition that has the most direct impact on the day-to-day lives of workers”, claims the International Labour Organisation. In a bid to increase employee wellbeing, Sweden embarked on an experiment about the future of work: they introduced the ‘sixhour work day’.
The experiment took place in several smaller companies within the Gothenburg conurbation and it lasted a year. It was concluded that a shorter work day results in employees working more efficiently, being happier and being far less likely to call in sick. “We’ve had 40 years of a 40 hour work week, and now we’re looking at a society with higher sick leaves and early retirement. We want a new discussion in Sweden about how work life should be to maintain a good welfare state for the next 40 years” said Daniel Bernmar, the man behind the trial.
A shorter work day will lead to increased productivity, improved health and higher employee-retention rates Bertrand Russell, the famous British philosopher, did not enjoy working. He would have condoned the “six hour work day” trial and pushed for it to be even shorter. He believed that if society were better organised the average person would only have to work four
hours a day. The remainder of the day would be dedicated to science, painting and writing. Charles Darwin worked for two 90-minute segments each morning, followed by an hour later on. Henri Poincaré worked from 1012 then 5- 7pm. Similar routines feature in the daily lives of such people as Thomas Jefferson, Alice Munro and John le Carré to name but a few. Predictions for the future? Alex Pang, author of ‘Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less’, says that the relic of the 9-to-5 workday is no longer relevant in today’s modern society. His an-
swer to the age-old question of how many hours of concentrated work we should do: 4.
Perhaps it’s now time to listen to Nobel-prize winner Bertrand Russell Ultimately, shorter days produce much happier people. They grant both employees and students with much-needed breathing space and prevent the fast-pace of our society today from engulfing the stressed. Perhaps it’s time now to listen to Nobel-prize winner Bertrand Russell. Photograph: sean808080 via Flickr
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October
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Profile
Nish Kumar: From Klute queues to centre stage Profile meets comedian Nish Kumar to discuss how his time at Durham shaped his successful comedy career, his Simpsons inspiration and jokes about Brexit
Jamima Westermann Deputy Profile Editor Kumar is killing the comedy scene. From sold out nationwide tours to taking over TV with his very own ‘The Mash Report’, almost nothing is left untouched by Kumar, not even Klute. “I can’t believe Klute is still standing”, he begins, “one year there was a mumps outbreak and the university advised us not to go to Klute,” fondly remembering it almost like a “weird petri dish that just incubated disease.” While Nish Kumar might not be reliant on the Durham Degree on his CV in the same way most graduates are, Durham provided Kumar with the springboard to launch his successful career into comedy: “it completely hounded out a career for me.” Kumar was involved in comedy throughout his time at Durham, performing gigs solo as well as a part of the Durham Revue comedy troupe and his double act ‘Gentlemen of Leisure’ with fellow Grey student Tom Neenan.
“I can’t believe Klute is still standing...a weird petri dish that just incubated disease” On the Revue, Kumar fondly recalls he doesn’t know how he “would have got into comedy without it” adding that “even the impetus to do my first gig” came from fellow members Ed Gamble and Tom Damon, who “set up a stand-up night at Fish Tank and sort of forced me to perform.” It wasn’t just understanding of the “infrastructure” of comedy that Nish developed at Durham, but the freedom to explore comedy as a
career too. “One of the biggest things I’d say about uni” Kumar begins: “is just try everything you have some sort of long-standing ambition for, try it, and if you’re bad no one cares.” More than just delivering opportunities, therefore, Kumar stresses that the “point of university is to learn and experiment and push yourself.”
It wasn’t just the “infrastructure” of comedy that Nish developed at Durham, but the freedom to explore comedy as a career too Kumar’s interest in making people laugh, however, started much younger. Going into comedy, he says, was no surprise, coming “from a family where your sense of humour is prized above everything else”, his cousin summarising his choice to go into comedy as a career as having “simply monetised a personality defect.” Indeed, his satire and comedic take on the world around him was something he’s carried through life, saying he’s “always used my sense of humour to interpret the world around me.” It’s here that Kumar notes another strong inspiration and one that influenced his own comedic style: The Simpsons.
His cousin jokes his choice to go into comedy has “simply monetised a personality defect” “I’m from a generation that was completely influenced by The
A former student of Grey College Durham, Kumar began his comedy career with the Durham Revue alongside his college friend Tom Neenan. They performed the double act “Gentlemen of Leisure”
Simpsons” to such an extent, he adds, that he doesn’t really have “a version of life without it.” Kumar seemed to take a lot more from The Simpsons than most of us, as it gave inspiration for the kind of comedy he wanted to write and perform. His goal, to create comedy “that interrogated issues and was able to be really funny but that’s not underplaying the seriousness of what’s going on.” While the constant political turmoil and the resulting abundance of news may seem ideal for a comedian such as Kumar, he highlights that it’s actually “a really tricky time to be doing comedy about the news” because really a lot of what is going on it is “absolutely appalling.”
Inspired by The Simpsons, his goal was to create comedy that “interrogated issues and was able to be really funny” Kumar takes Trump as an apt example. It is all too easy to take jibes at the President as a “ridiculous figure”, but Kumar stresses it’s important to write comedy that doesn’t “consolidate problems” or “prop up the status quo.” For Kumar, comedy is about interrogation, about striking a balance between the common “he said something silly!” while “remembering that this is an incredibly powerful man doing some genuinely awful things.” Kumar is equally passionate about his “old friend” Brexit, a topic he’s keenly interrogated, seeing it plainly as “a terrible idea.” Discussing the “spicy situation” that is leaving the EU, Kumar doesn’t believe anything will change any time soon and isn’t set to get any milder: “I think we’ll be chopping green chili to add to the jalfrezi as we speak.” Kumar’s main criticism of Brexit is aimed at those delivering it: none of them “seem to have any clue what it involves,” Kumar begins, adding that the “ideologues behind it have absconded from any responsibility and are sitting on the back benches writing daily telegraph articles and presenting stupid LBC shows.”
On his “old friend” Brexit: “I think we’ll be chopping green chilli to add to the jalfrezi as we speak” The “two years of stasis”
From sold out nationwide tours to his own TV show ‘The Mash Report’, Kumar is at the forefront of the British comedy scene and it all began in Durham
following the result has, Kumar argues, delivered little other than confusion, and the main issue is “we’re still lacking clarity.” He attributes this to the fact that the people tasked with delivering Brexit simply “don’t care.”
Brexit “was always just about a weird consolidation of an imperial British wet dream” “It was never about Brexit,” Kumar states. “It was always just about a weird consolidation of an imperial British wet dream.” To see more Palatinate Profile interviews, including Youtuber Jack Edwards, visit: palatinate.org.uk/category/ profile
“
One of the biggest things I’d say about uni is just try everything you have some sort of long-standing ambition for
”
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
13
Politics
Labour and Anti-Semitism: A fatal divide? While these votes do not directly lead to any formal action, the fact they were even called highlights the toxic atmosphere of distrust in the party between MPs and some hard-left party members.
Anna Gray Over the summer, the media coverage of the Labour Party has been dominated by accusations of antiSemitism. As a result, Labour has been left increasingly divided as the gulf between the leadership and its MPs has widened.
The Labour Party is failing to effectively oppose the government’s Brexit plan
There is a toxic atmosphere of distrust between MPs and some hard left party members Despite the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition, the row has continued as critics have questioned the addition of an extra statement proclaiming the definition should not restrict freedom of speech over Israel. As a result, the party is struggling to move on from the row. Corbyn has continued to be criticised by a number of MPs, who have become increasingly vocal. After announcing his resignation from the Labour whip, respected veteran MP Frank Field
Gary Knight via Flickr
said the leadership was fast becoming “a force for Anti-Semitism in British politics”.
Corbyn’s leadership has been fundamentally undermined Chuka Umunna MP, who made an abortive bid for the party leadership in 2015, was similarly critical, agreeing when Sky News asked if Labour was “institutionally racist’” He also criticised Corbyn in a speech at the BAME Voices for
Progress Conference asking him to “call off the dogs” from moderate MPs fearing deselection. The issue of deselection has been closely linked to the AntiSemitism row, as many moderate MPs who have criticised Mr Corbyn over the summer have been faced with calls from local party members to resign. Joan Ryan, the chair of Labour Friends of Israel, recently lost a vote of no confidence in her Enfield North constituency, whilst Chris Leslie and Gavin Shuker also faced similar ballots.
As Parliament reconvened, Mr Corbyn addressed a meeting of Labour MPs asking that they shift their focus from internal divisions to attacking the Conservative’s Brexit and spending plans, clearly indicating his desire to shift media attention. However, Corbyn has struggled to change this narrative. At the same meeting he was confronted with calls to assist the Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield facing a vote of censure. He responded saying he would respect the result of the vote. This prompted heckles from MPs, indicating the growing gulf between the party leadership and MPs. At PMQs, Mr Corbyn’s criticisms of the government’s failure to combat social injustices were
rebuffed by Theresa May who contrasted the establishment of the racial disparity unit when she was Home Secretary to Labour’s AntiSemitism row. This demonstrates how Corbyn’s leadership has been fundamentally undermined by the crisis as he struggles to control the narrative of the Party. However, whilst Corbyn’s leadership appears to have been weakened, it is unclear if this crisis will result in his removal or significantly change the workings of the party.
Moderate MPs who have critiscied the leadership have faced calls to resign If no significant action is taken, the Labour party will remain weak and divided, ultimately failing to effectively oppose the government’s Brexit plan.
Reality Check? For sources on this and all our articles please see our online editions at www.palatinate.org.uk
Echoes of a frosty past: Russia strikes back may be distracting us from a disturbing convergence between these two mighty players.
Amy Stokes The days of icy tensions between the Iron Curtain and the Iron Lady may seem long behind us, but the emergence of Salisbury – a cathedral city nestled in the southern English countryside – as the supposed new target for Russian interference would suggest quite the opposite.
The UK is the political ‘piggyin-the-middle’ of these two mighty powers
Was their paper-thin alibi a show of defiance by Moscow? The two men identified as suspects in the March nerve agent attack coined it as a “wonderful” English city, but the resulting interview threw up suspicions among sceptical Kremlin-watchers wondering whether their paper-thin alibi was a show of defiance by Moscow, a rush-job by Russian intelligence, or a tactical distraction from grumblings of a Cold War renaissance. The post-cold war realignment has now lasted almost as long as the confrontation itself. The Berlin Wall has been down for almost as long as it was up, and Stalin’s communist legacy has been swapped for a new regime of illiberal nationalist authoritarianism – an ideology slowly but surely creep-
Photograph: Number 10 via Flickr
ing its way across the global forum.
The Cold War never ended in the first place Russia’s response to the GRU agents’ arrest was not the first instance of obfuscation and lies – Vladimir Putin took to the stage with a mighty roar following the Yeltsin years in the 1990s, and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 became the worst instance of EastWest relations since the reign of the USSR. Some news sources even suggest there has been as many as 14 deaths in the UK that can be connected to Russia since 2006.
Prior to the Crimea occupation, analysts routinely denied what is now almost commonplace thought, that the cold war came back with Putin’s more aggressive foreign policy. Now it is worth taking one further step: the cold war never ended in the first place. We’re seeing a resurgence of McCarthy-era criticism which ruined many lives and chilled public discourse for years, demonising the Kremlin and its supporters as “Putin apologists” – the pawn now, of course, being the president of the United States himself. But if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them; and the hacking crisis of the US elections
The virus of Russian imperialist Duganism is now fizzing away in the bloodstream of the American “alt-right”, where Trump’s own campaign chairman has been countlessly accused of covert relations with the Kremlin. The ideological split of the 20th century has been turned on its head in favour of a potentially despotic rule between previously hostile nations in a joint crusade
to carve up the planet between them. And so maybe what we’re seeing is, in fact, not the start of a new cold war; perhaps the first one never ended. We might look back on the Yeltsin years as a short period of détente, a shift in the poles from one ice age to the next. Although the future of western relations with Russia are somewhat uncertain, whether they’re keeping their friends close but their enemies closer, one thing is for sure – the UK, with its imminent departure from the safety blanket of the European Union, is the political ‘piggy-in-the-middle’ of these two mighty powers. Photograph: Christian M. M. Brady via Flickr
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
Politics
Earlier this year, in conversation
with ABC News, Jordan Peterson stated that “important speech about important issues, especially contentious issues, is instantly offensive”. This fits in with a narrative which has dominated this year. From Donald Trump to Durham, free speech is an ever-important issue in an increasingly complex and opinionated political society. A rise in the prevalence of social media in the modern world has led to the creation of a readily-availa-
ble platform for all personal opinions to be shared, with very few guidelines as to what is and what is not acceptable. Meanwhile, the marginalised groups, which had been previously oppressed and silenced, now have a platform from which they can share their views and their plight in their search for equality. Political polarisation and the rise in fringe ideologies makes for a more inclusive, but also more politically charged society where every voice has the opportunity
to offend. In a political landscape where debate and positive intellectual culture are held as vital to the upholding of democratic values, free speech becomes paramount in the expression of opinions, but we must ask to what extent extreme opinions should be validated. This edition explores the parameters of free speech across different mediums, focussing on topics as extensive as social media, protests, resistance and limitations of free speech.
to be offensive or inappropriate towards marginalised group be silenced, or is this a breach of an individual’s right to free speech? The backlash against Sofocleous brings to light the sensitivity of modern debate. This shouldn’t necessarily be considered a negative; having a consideration for the plight of marginalised groups only enhances healthy modern debate. Their voices are heard and identities not devalued by those who do not represent or speak for them. Current Editor-in-Chief of Critique, Sebastián Sánchez-Schilling has acknowledged that there is a larger debate surrounding free speech by which the platform an individual occupies must be considered within the debate: “Anyone is free to say what they want, but freedom of speech does not entail that you’re entitled to
any platform you want, or that people have to continue associating with you regardless of your views. Freedom of speech requires that everyone feel safe in order to be able to speak freely. If we are to include those who reject and undermine the basis of people’s identity then this will be violated, and we would cease to have free speech. This is because the capacity for some to speak freely would be lessened and thereby so would freedom of speech.”
- The Politics Team
FEATURE FREE SPEECH
Limiting freedom of speech: who draws the line?
Matt Spivey and Jack Taylor Deputy Politics Editors Durham has recently been immersed in a heated debate tackling the murky realm of free speech. Following the firing of Angelos Sofocleous from the role of Assistant Editor at Critique (Durham Philosophy Society’s journal) and General Editor at The Bubble, a call for the drawing of a line where free speech becomes offensive - and whether there should be a line at all – has been fiercely debated.
“Freedom of speech requires that everyone feel safe to be able to speak freely” The events at Critique this summer sparked a much larger issue at play; should opinions deemed
Whistle-blowing the White House: Internal resistance Perry Gresham Four weeks ago the New York Times published an Op-Ed, claiming to be written by an unnamed senior official inside Trump’s White House. Supposedly, officials inside the administration are attempting to undermine the President. From observing press releases, the discrepancy between the President and the official line is clear, most notably where it comes to foreign relations. It appears that the resistance comes from an establishment Republican standpoint. The aim is to “preserve our democratic institutions”, but there is a certain irony in unelected officials protecting democracy by subverting a democratically elected president. John Haslam via Flickr
If American democracy is under threat from Trump, the core of this issue is actually a classic paradox – what happens if the populace vote for representatives who obstruct democracy? And would preventing this be more or less democratic?
There is irony in unelected officials protecting democracy from a democratically elected President It’s implied that the president is not of sound mind and unfit to lead, but in that case the only legal solution is to invoke the 25th Amendment, to remove him from office. Instead, we have an underground resistance holding the reins of power.
The discrepancy between the President and the official line is clear Free from democratic control, unaccountable officials could do anything they please in the future, and this is a much greater threat to democracy than Donald Trump.
A consideration of marginalised groups enhances healthy modern debate Free speech is a valued and important part of debate, if we limit the extent to which someone can share their opinions; are we not
just censoring their views? We should however look at how those in positions of power use their platforms. If someone shares their personal opinion via their platform (personal opinions that are perfectly reasonable to have), but that are detrimental to a marginalised group, we should consider them as the inconsiderate comments they are. They are not the expressions of someone taking part in healthy debate that
Pete Souza via Wikipedia Commons
is being inclusive of all. This leaves us at the point where this issue culminates: a modern debate concerned with sensitivity forces us to ask if it is better to have one singular voice removed from a public platform to enable inclusivity in debate, or whether this becomes a deliberate censoring of opinions and so a damaging imposed limitation upon ‘free’ speech.
Student culture of non-platforming Josh Preston Non-platforming exists within a wider student culture involving safe-spaces, trigger-warnings, and microaggressions, that, according to proponents, protect students. Since 2014, Universities have experienced significant increases in student-led demands for administrations to disinvite speakers who hold contrary, almost always right-wing, opinions. ‘Offence’ isn’t the charge against speakers, but ‘harm’. Students contend ‘harmful’ ideas are in fact ‘violence’ that threaten student ‘safety’ and mental health. “We have the right to feel comfortable,” was the cry against Brendan O’Neill when Cambridge students cancelled his abortion Gage Skidmore via Flickr
debate in 2014. However, these views are not only misleading, but harmful themselves. Activists’ discourse deliberately conflates harm with violence, as if mutually dependent. Violence implies an attacker, fabricating an us-versus-them mentality, building walls around institutions established to encourage viewpoint diversity and access. More importantly, in ‘The Coddling of the American Mind’, Lukianoff and Haidt demonstrate how students’ attitudes contradict clinical and ancient wisdom.
University is the ideal place to discuss issues that people find traumatic In behavioural therapy, patients engage with their traumatic stimulus in a safe environment. University is the ideal place to discuss issues that people find traumatic with the knowledge such events won’t materialise. Trigger warnings and no-platforming instead allow students to evade and perpetuate their mental health issues. If cognitive behavioural therapy seeks ‘to minimize distorted thinking,’ campus culture is a symptom
of, and contributing to, the mental health crisis. The case to declare a mental health catastrophe amongst teenagers is now stronger than ever, as assessed in Dr. Gene Twenge’s book iGen. Within the last decade, depression, anxiety and suicidal emotions have risen by 25% and 70% in teenage boys and girls respectively. During this period emerged the smartphone and social media, now a feature of every teenager’s pocket. Meanwhile, anti-free speech attitudes on campus began in 2014; the same timeline. As the iGeneration grew up and went to University, so emerged the new campus culture formed around anxiety. Recent events on campuses are not political. There are symptomatic of the mental health catastrophe engulfing young people raised exclusively in the digital age. We are unique in our lifelong exposure to social media, yet the results are worrying: self-censorship. The claims of ‘protection’ and ‘safety’ that no-platforming arguments rest upon are at best false, at worst dangerous to our generation’s health. To solve this issue requires de-politicisation, and an assessment on the internet and young people’s exposure to it.
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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It’s a right - not an excuse Rhodri Sheldrake-Davies Recently, the UK Independence Party launched a new manifesto to become a “radical, populist party” in contrast to what they termed the “politically-correct thought police”. UKIP’s realignment is merely the tip of the iceberg of a resurgent debate in Britain on the limits of freedom of expression.
So, has freedom of speech become too controversial for British politics? In recent months, the invocation of ‘Free Speech’ to justify otherwise objectionable actions and words has become commonplace in British politics: from Boris Johnson’s divisive comments on the Burqa, and the backlash against them, to the now infamous ‘Trump and Khan Balloons’, condemnation of Labour’s position on Israel and censorship at Universities. Where do the limits of free speech lie in the UK now, and has Britain rejected it as UKIP claims? Consider the case of Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. The Conservative
MP has continuously succeeded in pushing the limits of publishable Free Speech, seemingly jumping from controversy to controversy over the last few weeks. An ex-journalist, Mr. Johnson is all too aware of the viability of using provocative ideological standpoints to grab coverage and getting support by reasserting his right to freedom of expression. A similar tactic has been employed by the ‘free Tommy’ movement playing off victim narratives and converting their leader into a ‘Free Speech martyr’. Free speech despite its cultural value, is instead being used for political gain, to justify provocative notions that would otherwise simply garner condemnation. Jeremy Corbyn’s standpoint on Israel, for example, has been deBackBoris 2012 campaign via Flickr
fended as ‘freedom of speech’, despite being strongly criticised as highly insensitive, even amounting to “a ‘right to be racist’ in certain circumstances”.
Free speech is instead being used for political gain, to justify provocative notions So, has freedom of speech become too controversial for British politics? It seems so, although this has more to do with its usage as a term than the concept of it. Despite being treated by most as a cultural touchstone, freedom of speech is being employed by some over-powerful voices in the British political sphere as a final catch-all justification for everything from dog-whistle racism to flaunting court orders. In order to remain both a tolerant and open society, it is vital to reclaim the original concept of Free Speech, using the term not in reference to stand-alone ideology or political ploys, but instead in forums of debate: places where substantive ideas can be put forward, and more importantly, challenged.
Politics Disagree? Here’s how to say so... Do you want to exercise your freedom of speech? If you would like to get published in Palatinate Politics, then please join our Facebook group to keep up to date with our content calls. We’d love you to get involved! Dates for your Diaries Friday 6th October 8pm- Our next content call for the print edition on our facebook group. Also keep Saturday 20th October in your heads, as Palatinate Politics will be coming out from behind the laptop for a bar crawl like… well, like your standard Durham bar crawl. It’ll give us a chance to meet you all, put a face to the email address, have a chat – bringing Poli-
tics up whenever we can. Hope to see you there. “Politics is a highly relevant discipline that shouldn’t be confined to those studying it. Politics affects all of us. Palatinate compelled me as a medium for exposing as many different types of people to new ideas and perspectives that they otherwise wouldn’t have recognised before. I want to help make university the place where students form their own political identity.”– Alice Lassman, Politics Editor Find us at: Facebook: Palatinate Politics Twitter: @palatinatePoli1 Photograph: Tom Heinze via Flickr
Social media: New power, old crackdown Rebecca Mingard Peaceful protest constitutes an important part of the democratic political landscape, and with the rise of social technologies, it has become easier than ever before to organise and attend movements. But does it actually have the power to create political change? Or is it merely a short-term release for frustrated citizens?
Social media gathers random people from a wide area The 2017 Women’s March, triggered by the misogynistic rhetoric from Trump, brought together an estimated seven million people across the US and the world, to advocate change around issues including, but not limited to, gender equality. Attended by women and men of all ages and races, families and pensioners alike, this protest relied largely on social media for its huge popularity. And yet, despite the seemingly monumental nature of the march, the Trump administration returned to office on Monday and continued the same path they had set the previous week. So why, after such a widely attended protest, did so little evident change occur? In part, this can be attributed to the changing organisation of protest, which has been exacerbated by the technologies which enable it.
Social media allows the gathering of random people across a wide area, raising the numbers which attend protests, but also allowing for the trivialisation of protested issues and short-term interest or commitment. It does not necessarily provide support for organisations and networks, who are the groups more likely to continue long-term advocacy for change.
Without long term advocacy they may struggle to make major change With this in mind, it remains to be seen what effect the proposed protest against Trump’s visit to Ireland will have. While the protest is lead by major political leaders of the Irish government, it’s public supporter base may struggle to maintain long-term advocacy against Trump past the extent of his visit, and hence struggle to create any major political change.
Photograph: Larissa Puro via Flickr
Elizabeth Mohr The birth of the internet and social media came with a seemingly unbreakable contract - a promise that it would enable freedom of speech. Think of movements like #MeToo or Black Lives Matter that have used social media platforms to promote the voices of those often ignored in society. Nowadays anyone can make an account on Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else where they are free to post what they want, within certain restrictions. Posts are shared, reacted to, and commented upon, sparking online conversations and controversial debates. Would these subjects be discussed and these voices heard if not for social media? Yet in recent times, new fears have sprung up, questioning just how free our speech online really is or will be in the future. Consider Facebook, one of the behemoths created by the internet. Although
Facebook allows anyone over the age of thirteen to make an account, not everything they post goes uncensored. A number of cases have created a media furore for example when a controversial anti-migrant video by the Hungarian government was removed from Facebook in March 2018. While many would agree with the removal of this video, it raises the question of who decides what stays and what goes on what has arguably become one of the most important public forums. What other content is being removed from Facebook? Is this information important to the public? Is this censorship actually restricting free speech?
People engulf themselves in their own carefully tailored bubble of information People are increasingly informing themselves through social media instead of newspapers. This trend even poses a threat to current journalism. People, with the help of algorithms, tend to engulf themselves in their own carefully tailored bubble of information where those who disagree with their opinions are blocked or reported. Censoring what is shared on these sites only fuels an extremely filtered worldview and endangers people’s free speech. We live in a time when it is easier than ever before for people to
voice their opinions on a variety of issues. Social media has played a major role in this - creating an open outlet where people are encouraged to express themselves and connect with others. But the fears about social media’s effect on free speech are legitimate. Free speech is undergoing massive, unpredictable changes on social media. We should remain vigilant of the increasing power that social media giants have to shape our public discourses and affect our right to free speech.
Elena Onwochei-Garcia
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Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
SciTech
The ‘Drunken Monkey Hypothesis’ and what it means for your freshers’ week Indraji Wanigaratne If the most exciting thing you’re looking forward to regarding freshers’ week is the massive amount of alcohol you’re planning to consume, don’t feel guilty - you’re not the first! We and our ape ancestors have been getting drunk (and making exceptionally bad decisions while drunk) for tens of millions of years. Why am I claiming this? Because of the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, of course.
Is it time to replace the VKs with that orange kindly left by last year’s tenants? The Drunken Monkey Hypothesis was first proposed by Dr. Robert Dudley, of the University of California, Berkeley. It states that our love of alcohol comes from our fondness for sugar. The excessively sugar-rich conditions found in ripe fruit means yeast can afford to use ethanol to poi-
son any competition, even though the process of fermentation isn’t quite as metabolically efficient. Ethanol’s distinctive smell acted as a guide to this valuable food, and so a behavioural association of ethanol with fruit arose. This begs the question: is it time to replace the VKs with that orange kindly left by last year’s tenants ?
even more complex. Drinking, and particularly drinking to excess, is now a part of many cultures. With the negative health effects of even moderate alcohol consumption and the potential for addiction increasingly in the public eye, we are questioning our age-old relationship with this ancient chemical more and more .
Drinking, and particularly drinking to excess is now a part of many cultures
It is thanks to this one ancestor that we now have the ability to drink and absorb alcohol
Sadly, the answer is no. Even though some animals can eat up to 10% of their body weight per day in ripe fruit, the alcohol concentration in fruit pulp only ranges from 0.5-3 % - no matter how much an animal eats, it’s unlikely to ever get ‘leathered’. Perhaps a good thing though, if you’re a bird or a fast predator whose next meal depends on not drunkenly crashing into trees. The real turning point however came around 10 million years
ago, when a lucky ape ancestor underwent a single-point mutation. This increased his ability to metabolise alcohol by a factor of 20, meaning that he could absorb more energy from the alcoholrich fruits he was eating. This unsurprisingly proved to be extremely beneficial, resulting in said ape having quite a lot of luck with the lady apes. It is thanks to this one ancestor that we now have the ability to drink and absorb alcohol, whether for better or worse. Alcohol, and our relationship
Photograph: Erick Killby via Flickr with it, has significantly changed from our early days on the savannah. We definitely don’t have to settle for 3% fruit juice anymore - walk into any corner store and you’ll see a staggering variety of alcohol.
Walk into any corner store and you’ll see a staggering variety of alcohol And if our alcohol choices have exploded in variety, then our relationship with alcohol has become
Meet Durham’s student science societies
Palatinate SciTech caught up with three of Durham’s Science societies to find out what they’re all about Benton Walters AstroSoc
Oli Powell PhysSoc
Ross Knapman PhysSoc
Courtney Lancaster BioSoc
What does being a member of your society entail?
meet with course members from all years which is a great way to get help and advice throughout your degree.
our exec is up on there. Last, but certainly not least, stop by one of our Saturday meetings!
my hobbies outside of my degree. As an Archaeologist the Physics department isn’t my usual domain, but with AstroSoc I get to continue to learn about, and be involved with, a hobby and a passion I’ve had since I first used a telescope.
Benton: We’re a rather relaxed society focused on astronomy. We have weekly meetings to observe the stars and planets using the society’s different telescopes, as well as talks from speakers. We offer training on how to use our equipment so you can use our telescopes on observation nights. You can be part of as many or as few events as you want. We’ve got several social events planned for the year thanks to our Social Secretary, Aidan. Courtney: Biosoc is a society for anyone interested in any aspect of Biology. We have plenty of socials: the biology bake off, chilled bar crawls, and a biology ball to name but a few! You can choose which events you go to as you please - we’re a fun and laid back society. It also allows you to
Ross & Oli: We hold frequent talks from professional physicists, which are generally at a level that could be understood by the interested non-physicist – students of all subjects are welcome! We also run socials, the first of which will be a joint social with the Astronomical Society in the first week of term, see our Facebook group (Durham University Physics Society) or Twitter (@DUPhysSoc) for more information. How can a new student get involved in your society? Benton: We have a Facebook account at Durham University Astronomical Society and a website that’s currently being updated by our webmaster, Joseph. All of our equipment and a little bit on all of
Courtney: The easiest way to keep up to date with our events is through our Facebook pages: BioSoc Welfare and Durham University Bioscience ‘Your Year’. All of our amazing events are advertised here so you won’t miss any! We‘re also on Twitter (@ DurhamBioSoc) and have an Instagram account (DurhamBioSoc) to keep you in the biology loop. Ross & Oli: Feel free to come along to one of our talks or socials – you can keep up-to-date on our activities through our Facebook group and Twitter account, and by subscribing to our mailing list. What do you enjoy most about being a member of a Durham science society? Benton: I enjoy being part of a science society because it allows me to interact directly with one of
But on a lighter note, do enjoy Freshers’ Week, and I hope you keep this article in mind. If a monkey on the savannah gets too tipsy on ripe fruit, they run the risk of falling into the jaws of a hungry hyena. Eventhough there are hopefully no hyenas in Durham, take care, and as always, drink responsibly.
Courtney: It’s a great opportunity to get involved in social events and to share my experiences with other like-minded people. I feel the society allows us to connect as a student science group and it helps me not to lose touch with how amazing Biology is, despite the pressure of a heavy content degree. It also helps me to de-stress and to find a good balance between studying and enjoying some much deserved down time! Ross & Oli: I enjoy being able to appreciate my subject in a nonacademic context, through listening to light and engaging talks, as well as being able to socialise with fellow physicists and students of other subjects alike.
Reader’s Scigest Charlie Hetherington Research by Durham’s Paleopathology department has challenged the view that Napoleonic era soldiers had unusually healthier upbringings. Analysis of remains from a battle near Vienna revealed that many suffered from defects, such as decayed teeth and weakened bones, that showed similarly poor childhood health as ordinary people. Durham Psychologists have found that maternal mental health affects foetal brain development. Foetuses belonging to mothers reporting mental disorders were stimulated and the amount they blinked measured; anxiety caused more blinking, depression less. As blinking is a key indicator of neurological development, it raises questions over long-term effects. The possibility of sabotage in Space was raised when an air leak, caused by a drilled hole, was detected on the International Space Station. Russia suggested deliberate interference “by a disgruntled cosmonaut” though experts think this may be cover for faulty manufacturing. Luckily, the solution was at hand for mankind’s greatest engineering achievement: duct tape!
Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
18
Sport
“Try playing without a pint and see if that helps”
Sport speak to two-time darts World Champion Gary Anderson about his career to date, his sobering advice for student players and the growth of darts into a truly global game
whether he would be slowing down his schedule: “I don’t think I’ll be slowing down, but I will be more selective. I’ve told the office I don’t want to do anything I don’t have to when it’s school holidays.”
James Smith Sport Editor Players Championship Winner, Double Premier League Winner, two-time World Champion; the darts career of Gary Anderson seems closer to fantasy than reality. And yet despite this he has gone even further this year, to win the 2018 UK Open, the 2018 US Darts Masters, and then to go 21-19 against Mensur Suljovic to lift the World Matchplay trophy at last. The Matchplay completes his ‘triple crown’, alongside the World Championship and the Premier League in his long list of accolades. This last victory was, however, not an easy road for Gary who said: “It was always a tournament I struggled at”. Having been knocked out in the second round in both 2015 and 2017, making the semi’s inbetween, it had histroically been a frustrating competition for Gary.
“Just take a deep breath and smile- it’s like a rollercoaster highs and lows and then it’s over” Aside from lifting the title, one of Anderson’s highlights from the tournament was the nine-dart finish he hit against Joe Cullen, in only the fourth leg of the match. This was the first nine-darter in the World Matchplay since 2014. As Anderson’s third televised nine-dart finish, when speaking to Palatinate he was asked which stood out the most for him, but was surprisingly non-committal; “Would you believe me if I said I forget as soon as the darts go in?”. In fact, he said he would probably choose the Matchplay “but maybe that’s just because it’s the most recent.” Whilst this may seem surprising to many fans, to whom watching a nine-dart finish is something which stays in the memory for (PDC/Lawrence Lustig)
“They really have made darts global”
▲ Winning the World Matchplay trophy completed the ‘triple crown’ for ‘The Flying Scotsman’ (PDC/Lawrence Lustig) years to come, Gary’s thoughts on the crowds he plays in front of said something very similar: “I think when you get on the stage you’re not really all that aware of the size of the crowd, adrenalin is pumping and you’re there to do your job” Again, this may appear an odd answer, but what really came across in Gary’s replies was his professionalism, his attention to detail, and his immense focus, which have all clearly contributed to his success. With this in mind, Gary gave some advice for those wanting to impress on the college darts oche: “I still get really nervous going on stage- but I think everyone is the same. Just take a deep breath and smile- it’s like a rollercoasterhighs and lows and then it’s over.”
“Small crowds can be much worse” Having said this, Gary did then go on to say that “small crowds can be much worse.” So it may be that there is more pressure to be found on the oche in Castle bar on a Monday night, in front of fifteen other players, then playing in
front of thousands at the Alexandra Palace? Alongside his coolness under such pressure, Gary has long-since been hailed as one of the most naturally talented darts players of all time, known for his power scoring. However, when asked about his practice regime he revealed he practices less than most other topflight professionals. For those wishing to improve their games he added: “You know yourself if you need more practice to keep improving, especially at the beginning.” Whilst this may seem rather vague, he added: “Everyone is different so they learn and improve by different means- much like degree students- but effort and dedication are what gets you to the top.” His most helpful tip is, however, unlikely to enthuse many, “but you’re all students, so try playing without a pint and see if that helps!” Gary was clear on his opinion that top-level darts should have no connotations with alcohol whatsoever, saying “that’s a great step for the players of the future.” He then went on: “The academies we work with are all kids, and they instil in the kids that booze is bad and not necessary to play. They’re phenomenal players and why would they think booze would help.” Looking forward to the rest of the season Gary was clear to stress the unpredictable nature of darts. When asked who he thought would be a dark horse for the upcoming World Championships he replied: “I wouldn’t have picked Rob last year and there are so
many players who are playing really well this season”. He then pointed to all the upsets at the World Matchplay as proof both of darts competiveness and why he would struggle to pick a single dark horse for this December.
“I don’t think I could ever have imagined that Gary Anderson would be a wellknown man in China” Perhaps most notable of these upsets was the elimination of Mighty Michael Van Gerwen by fellow Dutchman Jeffrey de Zwaan in the first round, showing that MvG is not quite so undefeatable. Back in January 2017 Gary was interviewed by Palatinate and stated then that he enjoyed the challenge set by Van Gerwen, and loved to compete against him. This seems not to have changed as Gary enthused: “I love playing MvG. He’s like me- he just gets on the stage and plays. We match each other for speed and really challenge each other.” Gary also added: “And we both hate losing so it’s always very competitive.” Here we see another of Anderson’s qualities, his competitiveness. Whilst he often remarks that darts is just a hobby to him, this does not mean that he doesn’t care, far from it. This coupled with his natural ability and self-belief means its no surprise he has achieved all that he has. So following Gary’s Matchplay victory, and the fact that his son Tai is to go to school soon, I asked
Gary’s love for his family shone through, although he noted his fortune that: “Next year half of Matchplay will take place when Tai is at school, but school is out for the final.” So hopefully if Gary follows this year’s performance up he will have a full compliment of supporters in Blackpool at the business end of the tournament. Returning back to the form of other players Gary was reticent to put forward who he thinks deserves to be in the Premier League for next year. He responded: “That’s a really hard question and I’m so glad I’m not the one to have to make that decision”. He was, however, clear that the decision was not just made on the immediate form of each individual. Given the tournament lasts sixteen weeks, they clearly need to be able to replicate their form to produce the best tournament possible. When asked about the expansion of the World Series of Darts he simply said: “It’s fantastic to go to new countries and hear fans shout your name. I don’t think I could ever have imagined that Gary Anderson would be a well known man in China.” Whilst anecdotal this shows the impact darts is having across the world, and how it has grown as a sport and a business, thanks to the hard work of the PDC. Gary has been right in the middle of this expansion, for in the ten years since he has joined the PDC the World Series has expanded greatly: “They really have made darts global”. So with World Series Finals, and the World Championship Finals fast approaching, Gary will clearly be hoping that his form continues and that he can once again be crowned World Champion. Perhaps the biggest threat to this, though, is MvG, the current World Number One. Despite this, I’m told “Just because he’s ranked higher than me, doesn’t mean he’s a better player”. So really the only thing left for us to do is to sit back and enjoy.
PALATINATE | Wednesday 3rd October 2018
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Sport
Durham Women FC “challenging for that title” James Smith Sport Editor Despite their home ground, New Ferens Park, being located just a short bus-journey away in Belmont, few Durham students seem to be making the most of their closest professional football club, Durham Women FC. Playing their football in the Women’s Super League Two since their formation in 2014, the ‘Wildcats’ have showcased the talents of both local athletes and Durham students, enjoying increasing success both on and off the field. Manager Lee Sanders has been speaking to Palatinate about the season so far, and the brief yet fruitful history the club has enjoyed to date. Despite having only been playing in WSL2 as Durham Women for four seasons, Mr Sanders stated: “We’ve got to be honest and say that we’ve got to be looking to finish in the top two, and challenging for that title”. He pointed to the first few games of the season as encouragement, having beaten Everton for the first time in the club’s history, and drawing 3-3 against Liverpool in normal time in the group stage of the cup. Even after the loss to Reading, Lee was positive: “We lost, but were really enthused by the performance”. Given how close the match between Durham and Liverpool, a WSL 1 team, was, I asked Lee how close in standards he felt the two divisions are. “It’s the top four or five from WSL 1, where the budgets are so big, its difficult to compete against them”. Aside from this however, he was keen to stress how competitive the remaining teams are: “there is very little evidence in difference between the bottom end of WSL 1 and the Championship” This is something that is often made of in professional men’s Photograph: Durham University
football, how close are the top two divisions? When I asked Lee about the comparison, and women’s football in the media in general, he said: “I think there is a lot of work still to do”. Mr Sanders did remark that “it’s getting better all the time” and that “mainstream media is taking more notice as each season passes”, but women’s football, for the most part, remains an entity discrete and overshadowed by its male counterpart within the media.
“We’ve got to be looking to finish in the top two” Durham Women FC, however, appear to be doing their upmost to buck this trend. They have recently won an FA Matchplay Experience Awards “that was over and above all of the clubs in the top tier”, Lee tells me proudly. He went on to say: “It’s still a family environment, and that is what Women’s football does really well, it encompasses all the family”. Over the past few seasons New Ferens Park has seen increasingly bigger crowds: “More local people are embracing it, they are thinking yeah we’ve got a football club, not just a men’s or a women’s, but a real football club that people in the local area can go along and support, and enjoy a day out that isn’t expensive.” Of this support Mr Sanders was greatly appreciative: “It’s massively important, it just gets better every game we put on.” It seems clear that off the pitch they are continually progressing as a club: “the club has grown a reputation over the past few years, in terms of being a really well run club”. Clearly their Matchplay award stands as testament to that, as well as winning the 2017 FA Women’s Super League 2 Club of
▲ Durham Women FC in action in their highly entertaining 3-3 draw against WSL 1 side Liverpool FC Women (Photograph: George Ledger and Susan Gutteridge via Durham Women FC) the Year prize for their excellent progress. Lee pointed to this as well as the fact that “we have a very low turn over of staff and players” as clear signs of their achievements, adding they are “always a good indicator that you are doing something right.”
“That is what Women’s football does really well, it encompasses all the family” All of this success has come in spite of the fact that Durham Women are one of the only toplevel teams that are not affiliated to a major domestic men’s team, putting their successes into even greater perspective. Lee was clear though that this would not have been possible if it were not for Team Durham; saying they have been “tremendously supportive” since the merging
of South Durham & Cestria Girls and Durham University in 2014. He was also keen to stress the support of the FA with their youth programs. Although the fact that the FA have got involved seems more of a pointer to what a wellrun club the Wildcats are, more than anything. So standing on our doorstep is an excellent, professionally run team, one that would cost a Durham student only two pounds per game to go and watch. In fact, Lee stated: “We would welcome a little bit more input from Durham students for some of the stuff that they would want at the games”, to help expand a club that, lets not forget, is part of our university. Crucially however he was keen to stress that: “it’s good games on offer, very good games, some good football played.” There is also the chance to get involved as a player. The first team
is mostly made of postgraduate students, but for those “players who maybe want to push themselves a little bit further, or a little bit harder”, there are reserve teams and other programs run by the club to get involved in. Most of all Lee pressed me to challenge Durham students to get more involved saying: “If you’ve got any interest in football or women’s football, come along and watch”, and that there are “all sorts of things different people can be involved in, not just being a player”.
domestic leagues. Without sounding too much like a pitch for a university you already attend, Quentin then returned to discuss college sport, acclaiming it to be “our crown jewels, distinctive to our performance program, or any other thing that we do”. This being said experience Durham are keen to make sure that all student wants are met: “If there was an opportunity a student was expecting, and they’ve landed in Durham and it doesn’t exist, we want to hear”. So if you’re reading this thinking
that you would get more involved if it were not for that fact that there is not something that takes your fancy, do not just keep it to yourself. So as we begin the new academic year Quentin would like to challenge students to be as involved in sport at Durham as possible, so that he can “be continuing to say in a years time or five years time” that college sport is still one of the best things you can do at Durham, and, reiterates, “that takes students to take part”.
Durham Women FC’s Next Home Fixtures 21/10 vs Crystal Palace Ladies 04/11 vs Lewes FC Women 24/11 vs Leicester Women FC 09/12 vs Manchester United Women FC
Making the most of Durham sport
Continued from back page
...Perhaps most prominently stands Women’s Football, of which Quentin remarks: “What I think is so brilliant about the women’s football, is that it is a true balance of local footballers, who live and breathe county Durham…and students who we are recruiting from all over the world”. Aside from this you can also go to watch Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball and hopefully this year Water Polo, all in England’s highest
Sport
Wednesday 3rd October 2018 | PALATINATE
Exclusive interview with Gary Anderson Palatinate Sport interview two-time darts world champion and ‘Flying Scotsman’, Gary Anderson (page 18)
The Wildcats “challenging for that title” Durham Women FC’s manager, Lee Sanders, speaks about the team’s lofty ambitions for the new season in the Women’s Super League Two (page 19)
▲ Durham Women FC’s Wildcats celebrate the goal that saw them claim their first victory over Everton Ladies, in a 1-0 cup win at New Ferens Park (Craig McNair via Durham Women FC)
College sport the “crown jewels” of Durham University • Director of Experience Durham speaks to Palatinate about why we should all be making the most of Maiden Castle this year
James Smith Sport Editor As the new year begins, Durham students both new and returning are to be met by a barrage of sporting opportunities for both College and Team Durham, giving a real possibility to fill all of the hours in the day. Palatinate Sport spoke to Experience Durham Director Quentin Sloper about sport in Durham, why we should all be getting involved, and what there is to offer. Quentin, who graduated back in 2005, built upon his sporting experiences in Durham as DU Tennis Captain and Vice President of what has become Team Durham, to develop his career within the
sports framework of Durham University. Despite this Mr Sloper said: “I wish that I had tried a few more things out”, reflecting that he continued with the same sports he had been exposed to as a child, not giving anything else a chance. Whilst he admitted that “there are only so many hours in the day”, he was clear in his recommendation that as students we should be making the most of the hours that we are yet to fill. When pushed for the most important reason to get involved in sport at Durham, Mr Sloper gave two responses; first was the obvious health benefits, and second, “it builds friendships, that I think almost more than any other part of Durham they seem
to last for a lifetime,” a sentiment many returning students can surely resonate with. Whilst it may seem unnecessary to be writing to encourage students to participate in university sport, with participation figures already at seventy-five percent, across five-hundred college teams, Mr Sloper was also keen to encourage as much creativity as possible for the coming season. He stated that Collingwood’s domination of the College League Table since its inaugural season in 2008/09 does not make the league less exciting. Instead he applauded Collingwood’s success and stated that “they have become the benchmark, encouraging other colleges to think, what can they do with their sport?” So despite
the vast array of teams and sports already on offer, he challenges the rest of the student body to be as ambitious as possible with their sport this year, arguing that it only takes the effort of one student to “add to the culture of their college”. This brings up a whole host of other opportunities in terms of sport at Durham University. There are currently over forty local schools and sports clubs in the local area which benefit from the support and volunteering of Durham students to run their activity programs. There is also the opportunity to watch and support friends and college teams throughout the year. Mr Sloper applauded such support stating that: “In truth, if you get heavily involved in your college,
whichever it is, there will, because there is so much going on, be more than one special day for your college”. So even if your prowess isn’t in playing sport, that does not preclude you from getting involved. Aside from this Mr Sloper was keen to point to the Rugby Charity Challenge Match on October 10th as a highlight not just of Michaelmas Term, but of the whole year itself, not just as a celebration of Durham Sporting prowess, but clearly the charitable idea of the fixture pointing to another side of what Team Durham has to offer. For those wishing to watch toplevel athletes, Durham now boasts several top-level sport programs... Continued on page 19