Palatinate Officially the UK’s Best Student Publication, 2018
Thursday 9h May 2019 | No. 817
Those who made me: indigo explores identity pride and confidence
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Strictly Speaking: Profile interviews Anton Du Beke about his writing debut
Durham th ranked 6 best university in the UK Lydia Blundell Deputy News Editor Durham University has been ranked sixth in the country in The Complete University Guide 2020, for the second consecutive year. This marks the twelfth year in a row that Durham has been listed in the top 10 of the league table. Cambridge and Oxford maintained their respective positionings as first and second in the country, whilst St Andrew’s, London School of Economics and Imperial College London made up the rest of the top five. 90% of subjects taught at Durham were ranked in the top ten in the UK, with English and Music ranked number one. In an email sent to students, Professor Stuart Corbridge stated: “To achieve this, and our other league table successes, during what continues to be a challenging time for the UK Higher Education Sector, is extremely rewarding. “We are proud to be known globally as a centre of teaching and research excellence. Our continuing high standing is a wonderful testimony to the quality of everyone associated with the University: thank you all.” The Complete University Guide is compiled according to numerous factors, including student satisfaction, graduate prospects and investment in facilities. Durham scored 206 for entry standards, 82.0/100.0 for graduate prospects, and 4.13/5.00 for student satisfaction. The ranking follows Durham’s recent success in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2020, in which 18 subjects were included in the world top 100, whilst 3 maintained their places in the world top 10. Changes to the rankings also saw St. Andrews move up to third place, overtaking both the London School of Economics (LSE) and Imperial College London.
▲ Extinction Rebellion North East staged a “funeral march” over Kingsgate Bridge last week. See page 5 for the full story. (Mark Norton)
University “has badly under-estimated” the impact of staff changes on students • Senior member of University administration staff calls claims of low-impact “nonsense” • Palatinate learns that Philosophy academics are providing mental health support for students Jack Taylor News Editor A senior member of University administration has expressed concerns to Palatinate over the University’s planned changes to department administrative staff. Set to be in place for the 2019/20 academic year, the proposed changes will affect administrative staff across all faculties, with the aim to establish a more “equitable level of administration” within the University. The University told Palatinate that these proposals were aimed at
improving the administrative and business processes within departments to ensure they are operating at their optimum. When asked what benefit students would experience from these proposals, part of Phase 2 of the Faculty and Department Review, Professor Antony Long, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, said: “Our professional services staff are key to the delivery of teaching and research activities. Although students may not have regular contact with these staff, making our ways of working more efficient will be to the ultimate benefit of students.” The senior member of the University administration who exclu-
sively spoke with Palatinate has warned otherwise: “the University has badly under-estimated the impact of Phase 2 on students; to claim that students will benefit or that their learning experience will be enhanced by cutting back front-line staff who support them is nonsense.” There is concern amongst members of academic staff about their ability to continue providing teaching and conducting research to their current level. An Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department told Palatinate that already a large number of administrative duties are having to be performed
by faculty, such as conference and speaker organisation. They said: “It’s time taken that is taken away from both my teaching and supervision obligations, as well as my own research. The department is already understaffed.” The news brings greater uncertainty to academic departments. The Assistant Professor commented that their department has already suffered negatively from administrative restructuring and the loss of valuable staff over the past year. Continued on page 3
Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
Editorial
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Changes are on the horizon
elcome back to Durham, and, at risk of starting on a negative note, to what is often the most stressful time of the year. With exams and final summatives looming, or for many, already underway, it can often seem like there’s no time to relax. Although late nights in the Palatinate office haven’t quite alleviated this pressure, it remains true that my involvement with student journalism over the past year has provided a much-needed respite to the stress of academic deadlines.
My involvement with student journalism has provided a respite Speaking of journalism, on the weekend of the 5th April, the Palatinate Editorial Board attended the Student Publication Association (SPA) National Conference at the University of York. The weekend provided invaluable careers advice, with speakers from across the journalism world including Owen Jones, columnist and author, Jim Waterson, Media Editor at The Guardian, and Jess Brammar, Head of News at the Huffington Post. The talks provided an insight to a whole range of topics, including the changing nature of journalism in the digital age, what to expect from journalism following graduation, and how to write impactful comment pieces. Fittingly, then, for my first edition as Editor-in-Chief, Palatinate’s own Comment section debates whether or not journalism is accessible for all to enjoy as much
as I have, looking at the field both at university and beyond.
Palatinate received 12 notminations and two Highly Commended awards The University of York campus also played host to the spectacular ‘SPA Awards’ evening on the Saturday night, where Palatinate received 12 nominations, with former Editor-in-Chief Julia Atherley receiving two Highly Commended awards for Best Human Rights Journalist and Best Reporter. In recent news, with the college operations review already sparking concern, the subsequent announcement that faculties will also be subject to staff reviews suggests that change is on the horizon for Durham. In this edition of Palatinate, we give voice to the academics who are frustrated with the proposal of faculty restructuring, many of whom are already swamped with administrative work on top of their research and teaching duties.
Day, it also highlighted how far we still have to come. Whilst the gender pay gap at Durham has decreased by nearly two percent in the past year, this news casts a shadow of doubt on the proposal of further staff restructuring, as the University will need to assess whether or not potential role changes could lead to the widening of a gender pay gap.
It’s crucial not to lose sight of what makes Durham such a unique place to study Amidst uncertainty and change, it’s crucial not to lose sight of what does make Durham such a unique place to study. My time at university has been shaped in such a positive way by the people I’ve met. While Durham certainly has many hurdles to overcome, in this week’s edition, Indigo celebrates themes of identity, pride and confidence, bringing with it the message that there’s more to life than the stress of exam season that we’re all feeling at the moment. Oscar Elmon
The news that many in ‘scope’ for faculty changes are female casts doubt on proposed changes
Inside 817 News pages 3-5 Comment pages 6-8 Profile page 9 Politics pages 11-13 SciTech page 14 Sport pages 15-16
indigo Editorial page 2 Visual Arts page 3 Features pages 4-5 Books page 6 Creative Writing page 7 Fashion pages 8-9 Music page 10 Stage page 11 Interview page 12
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A recent tweet by George Walker has also outlined that the University admit that progress in tackling the gender imbalance in senior positions has been too slow. Whilst the previous edition of Palatinate did much to celebrate International Women’s
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NEWS: Departmental administration staff face redundancies
BOOKS: Unheard Voices: Zelda Fitzgerald
The proposals will affect administrative staff across all departments within the University.
Imogen Usherwood pays tribute to the overlooked writer Zelda Fitzgerald.
COMMENT: Scru’d Over: Why the sacking of Roger Scruton is a Tory mistake Dominic Dixey argues that Roger Scruton’s recent comments have been taken out of context.
VISUAL ARTS: Diane Arbus at the Hayward Gallery; ‘a lesson in quietude’ The Hayward Gallery’s exhibition ‘truly allows her work to breath, to signal quietly to the spectator, to engage without adornment.’
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 Anna Tatham & Oscar Elmon editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Millie Fender & Tom Mitchell deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Jack Taylor & Alex Leggatt news@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Melissa Tutesigensi, Lydia Blundell, Joshua Hurn & Naomi Clarke deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Investigations Editor Anna Marshall investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Tom Davidson & Hannah Anson comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Jacob Whitehead, Emily Kilner & Jamima Westermann Profile Editors Ella Catherall & Alexandra Beste profile@palatinate.org.uk Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones & Charlie Hetherington scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Matthew Spivey & Alice Lassman politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editor Katie Fraser, Tom Loring & Alisa Anwar Sport Editor James Smith sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Alana Ker Mercer, Tim Sigsworth, Finlay Smart & Hector Pearce Indigo Editor Shauna Lewis indigo@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Indigo Editor Carys Frost Features Editor Kleopatra Olympiou features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editor Mary Bradshaw deputy.features@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Piers Eaton & Philippa Murrison food@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Anna Gibbs fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editors Ana Hamilton & Frankie Reffell Film & Television Editor Hugh Johnson film@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Film & Television Editor Josh Sagoo Deputy Stage Editor Martha Wrench Music Editors Theo Golden & Matthew Prudham music@palatinate.org.uk Creative Writing Editor Rhiannon Morris creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Creative Writing Editor Susie Bradley Books Editors Lotte Hall & Imogen Usherwood books@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editor Stella Botes visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Visual Arts Editor Jo Chandler Travel Editor Abir Mishra travel@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Travel Editor Alex Bicknell-Cummings Interview Editors Zue Leong and Nathan Kelly Chief Sub-Editor Daisy Robinson Sub-Editors Heather Craddock, Ines Pandzic, Isabella Beaumont, Constance Castle, Namrata Menon & Freya Ellingsen Photography Editors Madeleine Flisher & Mark Norton photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor Nayva Lobo illustration@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Illustrations Editor Elena Onwochei-Garcia, Olivia Amura & Kaitlyn Cranston Website Administrator Bilal Mohd Advertising Officer Harriet Willis advertising@palatinate.org.uk Social Media Officers Connie Castle & Shoaib Ahmed
PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
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Academics provide mental health support in research time
Welcome back to Durham after what I hope was a refreshing Easter break! Best of luck to all those currently submitting assignments and revising hard for your exams, remember to look after yourselves and also to check out our study spaces and wellbeing maps if you’re struggling to find space around the University or need any support. Over Easter, I led Durham’s delegation to the annual National Union of Students Conference in Glasgow. The 2019 Conference was of particular importance as it decided the future of NUS. Delegates were being asked to vote on a reform motion, which proposed changes to make NUS sustainable, and secure its future as a national voice for students in Durham and across the UK. I was delighted that delegates voted overwhelmingly to pass the necessary reforms, as well as vital amendments to the original proposals. These amendments protect NUS’ liberation work and restore funding for the NUS Trans Campaign, ensuring that our National Union is supporting the most marginalised students on our campuses. A massive thank you and well done to our fantastic Durham delegates, who proposed crucial amendments to the reform proposals and passed policies mandating NUS Officers to campaign on issues important to students in Durham. Congratulations also to our Opportunities Officer, Charlie, who was elected as an NUS student director! Our Welfare and Liberation Officer, Meg, has produced a brilliant report on student housing in Durham. The report gives us an incredibly useful insight Durham students’ experience of housing in the city and will be key to helping us move forward to make sure that all students are able to live in a good home. We’re committed to continuing to work to tackle the problem of poor-quality and overpriced accommodation. With the Government still unable to negotiate a Brexit deal, the European Elections on 23rd May are fast approaching. In the elections, 12 regions across the UK will be electing Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from party ‘lists’, with the North East region electing three MEPs. Both home and EU students can vote in the elections, and in order to be able to vote you must have registered by Tuesday 7th May. To help you find out more about the elections, we’re hosting a hustings event on Tuesday 21st May in ER201 from 6.30-8.30pm, where you’ll be able to hear from the candidates and about the platforms they are standing on. These elections will be crucial in shaping debates around the UK’s future relationship with the EU and the future of UK Higher Education, so its vital that Durham students and young people across the North East have their voice heard!
George Walker
flow of information, due to a loss of institutional and administrative staff: “I used to go to the admin staff to get my practical questions answered, and now I often have admin staff coming to me to get practical questions answered.” The same Assistant Professor also raised concerns about the level of students coming to staff with mental health issues whilst administrative requirements are increasing.
(Tim Green via Flickr) Continued from front page They have noticed a shift in the
“I often have admin staff coming to me to get practical questions answered” “Two weeks ago I had an afternoon blocked out specifically for research purposes, to work on an
overdue paper. Instead, I ended up meeting with two students, an hour a piece, to walk them through their options for May/ August exams and filling out SAC forms. “I will prioritise that sort of work over pretty much everything else, and do not begrudge the time my students at all, but that sort of work is exceptionally draining and after the meetings were over I got very little of ‘my’ work done.” Professor Antony Long told Palatinate: “Alongside the Review, we have identified a significant number of opportunities to modernise, streamline and improve support for students and their well-being through Faculty and departmental processes. For
example, this will include the way we deal with concessions and Academic Progress Notices (APNs). Over the next 18 months, through a sequence of projects, we hope to progress these changes. Further information will be available in the coming weeks.
“I will prioritise that sort of work over pretty much everything else” “We have met with DSU representatives and shared the proposals for Phase 2 of the Review, inviting them to play an integral part in shaping the final proposal. We will also be meeting with Faculty Reps shortly to seek their views on the proposals.”
Matthew Hedges “dependent” on captivity drugs Anna Marshall Investigations Editor Matthew Hedges has disclosed new details about his capture in UAE, stating he still relies on the drugs he was force-fed during captivity. Hedges endured seven months in “just a room, no light, no natural air”, lit only by “dentist lights” after being accused and arrested by the UAE of spying on behalf of the British government. He eventually received a presidential pardon and returned home, after campaigning efforts by
his wife Daniela Tejada and help from the Foreign Office. However since returning home Hedges has been struggling with the treatment he received from his captors. He was forced to take a cocktail of drugs, including Xanax, Valium and Ritalin. He recently told The Sunday Telegraph he was given “up to ten times too much of these drugs on a daily basis.” Hedges states that he is still “dependent but not addicted” to the drugs and struggles with lighting and crowds alongside various other reminders of his emotional trauma. “I’ve seen two psychiatrists, and I’m going to have con-
tinual medical assistance for the foreseeable future.” The couple have lodged a legal complaint against the Foreign Office and are demanding that they do more to quash his initial conviction. Daniela Tejada commented that they want to Foreign Office to “support Matt in clearing his name” and that “He’s been accused of being a British spy. So it’s an issue pertaining to the British government as much as it pertains to Matt.” Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, told the BBC that the Foreign Office had been very effective but
acknowledged sometimes “we don’t always get things right” He added: “I’ve asked for someone inside the Foreign Office to look independently at what happened to see whether we did do everything we could in that case as quickly as we could.” “The important thing is that we got Matthew out. There was an injustice, we made an intervention, we were prepared to put our relationship with the UAE, which is an ally of the UK, on the line, because we said a British citizen has not been fairly treated. And we got him home.”
DSU to support student events in light of Review Alex Leggatt News Editor DSU president George Walker announced via Twitter that he had attended the University Executive Committee (UEC) meeting, which “received revised proposals following the formal staff consultation process and consultation with student leaders.” Mr Walker made clear the “importance of ensuring that largescale college events can be supported” and that the “unique needs and identities of college communities are respected” in order for student leaders to “carry out common room activities.”
Mr Walker made clear the “importance of ensuring that large-scale college events can be supported” In a statement to Palatinate, Mr Walker continued: “Our response highlighted concerns about support for student-led events in Col-
leges, Support for student leaders and potential impact on student development opportunities. “We are awaiting the outcome of the meeting and I hope that the University executive will have taken on board the views of students and staff when making their decisions.”
Students have already expressed concerns that the plans will adversely impact unique collegespecific events The purpose of the University’s College and Operations review is to improve “efficiency and effectiveness” and “enhance the overall student experience.” In a statement from the University, Professor Martyn Evans, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience) said: “The purpose of the review is to ensure that our residential student experience services are operating as well as possible and are resilient for the future.”
(Maddie Flisher) The proposed reduction of operations and services coordinators within college may result in a new operations supervisor position, which combines multiple roles and may function on a lower pay grade. Students from various Junior Common Rooms have already expressed concerns that the University’s plans will adversely affect
the organisation of unique collegespecific events and place too much pressure on student volunteers. The University has affirmed that they will seek to avoid Durham becoming a quasi-collegiate university, akin to structures found at York and Lancaster, with Evans stating: “The collegiate system is, and will remain, an integral part of our university identity.”
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Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
News
Exam pressure can be “icing on the cake” for stressed students
Melissa Tutesigensi Deputy News Editor Palatinate spoke to Noel McDermott, a health and social care professional, about how students can protect themselves and support others during stressful periods. This follows a recent article by Palatinate which found reports of mental illness amongst Durham freshers had risen by 94%. Mr McDermott has worked for over 25 years supporting clients and families struggling with depression, addiction, trauma, eating disorders. He noted that university students are particularly at risk of developing mental health issues, especially during their exam times. Although he admitted that young people have an improved engagement to healthy living than
his own generation, Mr McDermott recognises that there are added pressures that young people face today. He explained that students should learn to develop healthy stress management systems as opposed to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Students should learn to develop healthy stress management systems He said: “The key to prevention of problems is learning great stress management and also getting good knowledge on signs and symptoms of mental illness. The sooner you get help the better.” Mr McDermott said that universities could help students during exam time by providing informa-
tion on where to get advice to promote mentally healthy exam and study practice. Examples may include encouraging regular breaks, promoting sleep, enabling students to study in groups, discouraging the use of performance enhancing drugs, reducing the intake of caffeine and alcohol and eating and exercising regularly. The biggest piece of advice Mr McDermott offers to students is to “learn mindful meditation and learn to share your troubles.” He went on to explain ways in which students can support one another. For instance, a ‘mental health first aider’ is a person who is trained in assessing signs of mental illness or distress and is knowledgeable and skilled in getting someone professional help.
Even if students are not trained as a ‘mental health first aider’, they can still spot potential signs of someone suffering from mental health issues. The biggest signs to look out for are “significant changes in personality, mood, eating or sleeping habits”, “increased use of drink or drugs”, and “blowing things out of proportion and becoming easily agitated.”
“Learn mindful meditation and learn to share your troubles” Ultimately, Mr McDermott advises a non-judgemental approach that encourages the individual to seek professional help for people seeking to support their friends who may be suffering. He said: “Be clear with your
friend that you care for them but are not qualified to help. Get hold of leaflets from your college about mental health help and read them with your friend.”
“Be clear with your friend that you care for them but are not qualified to help” In the wake of the coroner’s report on the suicide of Ben Murray, the former Bristol University student, universities are under increased pressure to pay attention to the mental wellbeing of their students and to destigmatise mental health problems.
HEARD ANYTHING NEWSWORTHY? Email news@palatinate.org.uk
Cathedral tower set to reopen in June Jack Taylor News Editor Visitors will be able to access Durham Cathedral’s central tower from Saturday 1st June 2019, as over three years of restoration work comes to an end. The reopening, sponsored by Baldwins Accountants, will mean that visitors will once again be able to attempt the 325 step climb and take in the unrivalled views of Durham and beyond. The 15th Century landmark has been under vital conservation works worth £1.9 million since November 2015, in order to protect the stonework that forms the central tower. Being constructed from sandstone, the
Cathedral is highly susceptible to erosion and weathering. Iron work from a previous restoration in the 1850s had also rusted and expanded, causing stones to crack. Repairs have also been made to roof-coverings and the rainwater system.
Visitors can once again climb the 325 steps Scott Richardson, Clerk of Works at Durham Cathedral said: ‘I am thrilled that the belfry project is nearing completion. Not only have the upper levels undergone significant renovation to ensure they are structurally sound for continued public use, but the skillset of the cathedral’s in-house masonry team has been
dramatically expanded due to the demanding nature of the work.” The removal of scaffolding is almost complete, a process that began back in December. However, the hoist lift will remain in place a for some time longer, allowing finishing touches to roofing work and the construction of a new viewing platform. Lee Boyles, of Wood Group Scaffolding said: “The scaffolding has in itself became a recognisably feature in the city because of how long the work has been ongoing. “It is dawning on me that I will soon be leaving Durham Cathedral behind and saying goodbye to a project which has been a career highlight for me.” (Chapter of Durham Cathedral)
Bow Trust Museum opens its doors for summer Alex Leggatt News Editor A museum located on the Bailey between Hatfield and St. Chad’s colleges has reopened for the summer this Easter. The award-winning independent museum, managed by the Bow Trust, is run entirely by volunteers, and has been supported by a range of student volunteers, who work alongside other permanent staff. Located within the Listed Grade 1 former parish church of St Maryle-Bow, the museum still contains 17th century woodwork and fittings, and is designed to record and display the social history of Durham City. Past exhibits have ranged from
Durham’s medieval past to the 19th century. Displays have included an introduction to Durham as a medieval city, which contained a scaled model of the castle and cathedral, and explained as well as the roles of bishops and chancery courts.
Past exhibits have ranged from Durham’s medieval past to the 19th century Other exhibits displayed features of Durham in the 18th century, as well as a reconstructed prison cell of the North Gate gaol. Speaking to Palatinate, Dr Grenville Holland (Emeritus in the Department of Earth Sciences at Durham University) said: “this is an independent charitable Trust that
relies entirely on the endeavours of its loyal and devoted members. “Over the years the students at Durham University have provided invaluable help and support in the management of this museum.” Dr Holland went on to urge students to volunteer for the museum, as he believes they “contribute to the welfare of the museum.” Student volunteers such as Anh Nguyen, a student from St Aidan’s College who is also studying for an MSc in Sustainability, Culture and Development help at the museum. She said that the “experience has provided a rare exposure to Durham’s local culture and its lovely people, especially for an international student like me and it also teaches me important museum receptionist and administrative skills.”
Ms. Nguyen recognises that “welcoming and providing guidance for visitors also helps improve my English communication, and creates chances to meet new people from all over UK”, and finds that “the working environment is extremely friendly and pleasant as well, thanks to my lovely supervisor Dennis and my co-staffs. I truly couldn’t ask for a nicer volunteering experience.”
The museum has a lot to show about Durham’s social history Selin Tuzlan, a University College student studying for an MSc in Sustainability, Culture and Development, said that they had “always wanted to work at a mu-
seum/gallery, and when I saw this volunteering opportunity I knew I had to apply,” adding that “the museum is very well-curated and beautiful, and it has a lot to show about Durham’s social history.”
The museum is open every weekend In the Chancel Area of the museum there are also “Special Exhibitions”, where stained-glass windows from Brancepeth Castle are displayed. These windows were donated to the Museum by Durham District Council in 2009, having been originally given to the City by Viscount Boyne. The museum is open every weekend from 11am to 4.30pm until June 1st, when it will be open every day until the end of October.
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An “unfortunate sacrifice” for “long-term gain” Continued from front page Josh Hurn Deputy News Editor Approximately 10 students from Durham took part in the Extinction Rebellion’s London protests, which saw one detained by the police. The non-violent climate campaign group have been the focus of media attention in recent weeks due to continued protests intended to cause disruption across London. The student in question told Palatinate that “if civil disobedience weren’t the most effective method, many of us woudn’t want to take time off of work and revision”, and said that the action was an “unfortunate sacrifice” for “long-term gain.”
Approximately 10 students from Durham took part in the action, and one was detained
Speaking of the arrest, the student also noted that the police were “lovely.” The student was detained for 11 hours before being released, and also encouraged people to join the group’s meeting in Durham on 7th May. After a week of protests, over 1000 activists had been arrested and 500,000 people affected, with the police cost estimated at £7 million as a result of the action.
Over 1,000 activists have been arrested and 500,000 people affected, with police costs at £7 million The largest of the protests saw Waterloo Bridge completely blocked for over a day. Public figures including Margaret Atwood and Emma Thompson support the movement, with Dame Thompson travelling from Los Angeles to join the London protests. The movement also gained the backing of London mayer Sadiq Khan, who called participants his “allies.”
16-year-old Greta Thunberg, perceived by many as the figurehead of the “youth climate movement”, which saw thousands of school children boycott lessons to protest, arrived in London to address the protesters. Miss Thunberg told protesters there was no use for the “beautiful words and promises” of politicians, and that radical action was needed to tackle climate change. She also met with political leaders in the following days, including leader of the oppositio, Jeremy Corbyn and Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas.
ham Facebook page has grown to over 400 members in recent weeks, with the group recently holding a “funeral for our future” event which saw traffic on Saddler Street blocked for several hours. The regional Extinction Rebellion branch also held a ‘week of action’ around the North East from 24th-28th April, and saw protestors stage a mass ‘die-in’ in Newcastle, mirroring a similar protest
in the Museum of Natural History in London.
The group has vowed that now the ‘real work begins’ Although the week of protests have finished, the group has vowed that now the ‘real work begins’ on tacklng climate change in the U.K and across the world.
The movement’s County Durham Facebook page has grown to over 400 members in recent weeks In the past week, both the governments of Scotland and Wales have declared a “climate emergency”, with the group aiming to get the entire U.K government to declare one in the coming weeks. The movement’s County Dur-
(Mark Norton)
DSU Housing Survey results argue for landlord rating scheme Naomi Clarke Deputy News Editor Durham Students Union (DSU) has released the results from their ‘Private Rented Housing Survey’ conducted between November 2018 to January 2019. 62% of the 518 respondents to the DSU housing scheme said that an online rating scheme for landlords would make the accommodation search and renting experience better. Following these findings, Durham hopes to introduce a scheme for 2020/21. The DSU has stated “this will give students a platform to publicly shame rogue landlords and serve to warn prospective tenants away from their properties, whilst
(Mark Norton)
also rewarding good landlords.” The DSU has visited and discussed with other universities which have previously implemented these schemes, Leeds and Hull, and will attempt to build on their structure. The need for stricter regulations on landlords was supported as 21% of students stated that their landlord or agent had entered their property without prior notice. This is a breach of their rights as tenants under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Another 22 respondents said they felt threatened or harassed by their landlord or agent. There were also complains about estate agents, with a student commenting that “dealing with the estate agent has been dif-
ficult”, and they had found them “inflexible” as “they often ignore my emails and requests for issues with the property.” Another student commented that their estate agent had been “rude and treated me as though I was a nuisance.”
Durham hopes to introduce an online rating scheme for landlords by 2020/21 The survey reinforced the pressure on students to sign houses early, with responses including: “sorting housing for next year was extremely stressful. There is a huge amount of pressure to sign a house early.” Their findings support this, as 22% noted they began their search in October, and a further 35.9% started in November. Meanwhile, the national survey conducted by Save the Students (2019) found only 15.8% of students began searching before November. This illuminates the scale of Durham’s early housing hunting issue. Students stated that 41.1% of this pressure to sign early was driven by other students. A large number of other respondents selected “multiple factors, such as other students, uncomfortable marketing techniques and pressure from landlords or agents, as also contributing to this culture of pressure.”
The DSU admitted “this culture of early house hunting and pressure amongst students is contributing to additional, unnecessary stress by creating a panic-fuelled housing rush”, raising concern as the survey discovered 15% of respondents said that “accommodation issues had made them feel mentally unwell (i.e. feelings of low mood, depression, anxiety).”
The need for stricter regulations on landlords was supported by 21% of students To combat this, the DSU stated its plan to “challenge this culture and create change”. The DSU also noted it wishes to “push back when houses are released for signing, so that students have more time to make informed decisions about where they will live and who with.” The cost of student housing was a point for major concern, with 10% of students spending 81100% of their monthly income on rent. This question generated a significant reaction from respondents, with one student asking: “Why does the price increase every single year? […] Can you stop them from exploiting us?” The DSU acknowledged that the rising cost of college accommodation is aiding the increase in costs
across the private renting sector. In response, the DSU confirmed it will “continue to lead and invest in the #RippedOff campaign, to further demonstrate our opposition to rising college costs.”
The DSU acknowledged that the rising cost of college accommodation is aiding the rise of costs The conditions of student housing was examined in the survey. The results showed that the most often-cited issues that students encountered were mould on windows and walls (45%), draughty windows or doors (43.2%), and unwanted items left from previous tenants (40%). Additionally, 16.2% of respondents had experienced a pest or insect infestation. The quality of student housing was stated to be “reflective of the national picture” that the “quality of student housing is poor.” The DSU stated it wants to “reestablish our relationship with ACORN – a tenants union which stands against rising housing costs and unacceptable conditions.” The survey received 518 responses, 85.7% were Undergraduates; 9.1% Postgraduate Research Students; 4.8% were Postgraduate Taught students; and the remaining 0.4% were foundation level students.
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Trump’s state visit Page 8
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Comment Fleabag: Less relatable than Love Island
Tilda Williams ‘The most electrifying, devastating television in years’; ‘a nearperfect work of art’; ‘an absolute masterpiece’: it is fair to say the second season of BBC Three’s Fleabag was universally lauded by critics for its humour, its apparent honesty and its depiction of supposedly realistic millennial life in all its mess and catastrophe. I’ll admit that Fleabag is a well-made, entertaining show, but I am forced to take issue with the hyperbolic lauding of it as some generationdefining masterpiece - because I’m not really sure that it is.
It does not seek to challenge the status-quo of class or diversity
Fleabag is easy to love. It is a polished BBC production written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a privately-educated, upper-class (her grandfathers on both sides were Baronets, with one being a Reverend and MP to boot) London-based, RADA-graduating white woman. It is set exclusively in London and its principle characters are a family of white, upper-class heterosexuals (in the second season I counted two actors of colour). It does not seek
to challenge the status-quo of class or diversity and exists in a bubble of comfortable wealth and privilege that rarely comes into contact with actual challenges, which would of course appeal to those white, well-educated, privileged journalists who make up the majority of mainstream television critics in the UK (it is worth admitting here that I am most certainly a pot calling the kettle white, being myself a privileged white female). Fleabag, which is innately sympathetic and defensive of this demographic, and is of a relatively high standard, is therefore an instant attraction. In Season I, for example, Fleabag’s gerbil-themed café is in jeopardy as Fleabag struggles to make ends meet, and we are supposed to find her financial struggles sympathetic, amusing, or both. Yet despite being broke, Fleabag is still able to live alone in London, and find the time out of running her café to attend numerous events, such as a church fete on a day that surely could have provided a good café trade (maybe by season II, Fleabag’s café is doing so well she can hire multiple staff and pay them a London living wage). Unlike most young people living in London in cramped shared-accommodation, working unrewarding jobs far distant from an envisioned career, Fleabag gets what she wants. She gets to run her café; she gets to
live alone; she gets the loan from the bank to stay afloat. She’s not in financial difficulties – she’s just at the poor end of being rich.
I could be persuaded to suspend my disbelief in Fleabag’s situation if people didn’t keep insisting on how relatable the show is Waller-Bridger grew up in affluent Ealing in West London, and Fleabag never really bothers to go beyond leafy streets of large semi-detached houses. Fleabag’s family, the central cast of the show, all live conveniently close, a situation far removed from the many people in the UK today. Many don’t have the luxury of living near their parents or siblings, by choice or necessity being forced to other towns or cities for university or jobs, and have to construct their own fragile replacements for family structures. I could be persuaded to suspend my disbelief in Fleabag’s situation – the realities of life aren’t very interesting I’ll admit – if people didn’t keep insisting on how relatable the show is. Far more relatable, in my opinion, is that much-trashed ITV reality show Love Island. Its cast, though largely white, is often working or middle-class, and from varied regions of the UK. Love Island
certainly isn’t an honest show, but it is raw in its depiction of young adults: confused, vulnerable, determined and strong, yet fragile, surprisingly easy to hurt, caught up between love and lust and friendship. Georgia Steel insisting on her loyalty or Dani Dyer being tormented by the thought her boyfriend could be cheating on her is a much more real evocation to me of the people surrounding me and how we live than Fleabag’s long-suffering, self-pitying exploits.
“Nobody on Love Island is trying to tell you how to live your life
”
Fleabag may be as selfish, lonely and distraught as any of the Love Island contestants, as prone to making bad decisions as they are. But while Fleabag can have raucous dramatized sex on camera and be lauded for it, when Zara Holland had far less revealing, if real, sex on camera, she was stripped of her Miss GB title and torn apart by the media.
Love Island contestants are often very candid about their difficulties, their confusions, even their selfishness
Not only that, but the Love Island contestants are often very candid about their difficulties, their confusions, even their selfishness. Nobody on Love Island is trying to tell you how to live your life. The finale of Fleabag season II, on the other hand, involves literal preaching, as the Priest, a white male-authority figure, stands up to tell us how ‘Love is awful…Being a romantic takes a hell of a lot of hope.’ I can’t disagree with what the Priest says, but it is somewhat galling to have this so sincerely preached at me by a man, as if young women today are not painfully aware of the realities of love and have to be told by a male-authority figure - a figure actively engaged in toying with their emotions despite clearly being in a relationship, as if a guy who is ghosting you sends an out-of-the blue text explaining that the reason he’s been ignoring you is because love is difficult. Isabelle Adam via Flickr
What the Priest says is not revelatory, anymore than the interchangeable cameos of privileged white actresses Fiona Shaw (as the world’s most unrealistic therapist) telling us, ‘Do you want to fuck the priest or do you want to fuck God?’ or Kristen Scott-Thomas explaining how ‘being a woman is pain.’ These insights are simplistic and superficial; no real effort is made to engage with ideas of religion, or menopause, or pregnancy, or race, or sexuality, or friendship outside of family. Fleabag appears to interrogate these topics but in fact skims over them in a selfimportant, self-conscious way, like Waitrose producing a bland own-brand version of an authentic ethnic dish.
The show won’t stand the test of time, because ultimately, the idea of Fleabag is much more rewarding than its realities Love Island reflects the unpleasant, difficult realities of my life back at me – and, make no mistake, I welcome the portrayal of difficult, complicated modern women on our screens. But Fleabag exploits such realities to shock and amuse a privileged middle-aged audience, turning true angst into moralising sympathy-porn. We are offered no new insights; we just feel sorry for Fleabag. The show won’t stand the test of time, because ultimately, the idea of Fleabag is much more rewarding than its realities. For all her fourth-wall breaking, Fleabag – and Phoebe Waller-Bridger – isn’t actually interested in us. She’s only interested in herself.
“For all her
fourth-wall breaking, Fleabag isn’t actually interested in us. She’s only interested in herself
”
PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
7
Comment
Is student journalism elitist?
Comment looks into the stereotypes that surround the journalism industry and debates the roles class and education play at university level Zoe Haylock Journalism invites elitism Journalism invites elitism. To be a journalist, especially a comment journalist, you need to feel confident in your opinions and secure in your voice. You will have been exposed to news commentary and debates, and probably grew up in a household where newspapers were available. It can be argued that those who have experienced a more elite form of education are more likely to have grown up in this atmosphere; these are middle-class traits. Moreover, journalism, especially in prestigious publications, is normally a middle-class profession. Students who are likely to be exposed to journalists and the concept of working in a professional job are from more elite backgrounds. Likewise, access to great journalism can be expensive. Many news sites are not free and newspapers are expensive. To many students, the idea of being interested in journalism is not a ‘normal’ thing to think about. If you look up the editors of leading papers, a large number hold Oxbridge degrees, and thus are likely to be privately educated.
for student papers as I haven’t had much experience and I don’t tend to use complex words and sentences. Yet, for me, this has allowed me to feel like I have a unique voice to share. I have learnt that my voice is just as important and valid because it is different. I was thrilled to know that students can write for publications with no formal application. You can just write. Most of my pieces for Palatinate have been on the subject of equality, class and inclusivity. The fact that I have been able to write this piece
received elite education because it keeps journalism fresh, diverse, and, more importantly, real.
There is no doubt that students from elite schools are more able to fit into this world I love the accessibility of student journalism in Durham, but there is no doubt that students from elite schools are more able to fit into this world. To do more, student
”
What is daunting in student journalism is the feeling that you are not as good as your peers if you have not had journalistic experience. Moreover, some student journalists write on topics that can seem outlandish and elite. For example, although travel articles are important and worthwhile, if they constantly describe expensive trips abroad, students who cannot afford these luxuries may feel isolated. Yet, my experience with student journalism has been largely positive. I felt uncertain whether I could write
Student journalism is enhancing diversity and inclusivity Student journalism is often criticised for harbouring elitism, but arguably it is only so as a symptom of an elitist industry. There is no denying that journalism is inaccessible: the NCTJ, considered a pre-requisite to even attempt to begin a career in journalism, can cost between £4,000 and £6,000, and the route in through a postgraduate degree even more with City’s MA in Newspaper Journalism setting students back £10,200 for a one year course. And for all these, experience in journalism is a necessity which more often than not comes in the form of an unpaid internship from the likes of The Guardian, The Times or The Telegraph. Not only are unpaid internships morally questionable, they are most certainly exclusive and deny opportunity to anyone who is unable to give up paid work for weeks or months while financially supporting themselves in London.
Student journalism allows access to anyone who wants to dip their toes in without taking the plunge
“Some student
journalists write on topics that can seem outlandish and elite
Jamima Westermann
Tom Parnell via Flickr
shows that Durham is engaged with the lack of diversity in student journalism and wants to discuss it. This is especially important in the context of Durham University which is one of the most elitist universities in the UK. I have been crudely asked by students if I would like the opportunity to learn the skills (whatever they may be) gained from a private school education in a summer course before arriving at university to equalise education. Whoever believes this is completely disillusioned. It is not students who should adapt, but the university. Student journalism should utilise the voices of students who have not
editors should make note of this disparity and work to make their journalism more real and accessible rather than snooty and uptight. That would make journalism seem more inclusive for incoming students and reduce the correlation between elite education and journalistic success.
It is not students who should adapt, but the university While I have felt included and valid, it still holds true that students of privilege have it easier in accessing journalism, just like in most sectors in society.
Student journalism can’t fix this, but what it does do is allow people to experience and be involved in journalism who may not otherwise have the means financially. For contributors, it allows access to journalism to anyone who wants to dip their toe in without taking the plunge. In this way then, student journalism is enhancing diversity and inclusivity. Contributing to a paper, like Palatinate, allows anyone to try writing and experience journalism. You don’t have to be a professional, you don’t need qualifications and you don’t even need to have written before, you just need an interest or an opinion and that’s good enough. Without student journalism, the only voices that would be heard and printed would be those who have already made it, sealing off rather than opening up the journalism industry. Student journalism has also often played a role in exposing universities,
particularly in allocation of funding and accommodation prices which plays the part in holding large and often closed off institutions like universities to account in ways they otherwise would never be, contributing to a more open, and hopefully less elitist, environment as a whole.
Student journalism isn’t the dinners, payrolls and swanky London offices of The Times, The Sun or The Mirror In March this year, for example, Trinity College Dublin’s paper The University Times, was threatened with defunding, forcing its closure, after they revealed dangerous hazing initiations from an elite and exclusive invite only society, Knights of the Campanile. In 2014, University of London announced it was going to shut down its student newspaper, London Student, after funding was denied. Importantly, the paper had been outspoken in its criticism for the university, exposing senior management at the university for extravagant trips to luxury spa hotels on their expenses accounts as well as supporting South African students against the apartheid back in the 1950s. Palatinate too has done its fair share, exposing the issue of accommodation fees pricing out students, and criticising the DUCFS for sexist and racist commentary. I think student journalism suffers the elitist label largely because journalism is itself an industry with many problems; but what’s important to remember is that student journalism isn’t the dinners, payrolls and swanky London offices of The Times, The Sun or The Mirror: it’s a group of students, perhaps a little too interested in current affairs and politics, huddled around an old Mac in a dodgy room in the back of the SU waiting for their next trip to the pub. A lot have never written before, many weren’t privately educated and most definitely don’t have media moguls for parents. What they all do have is perhaps a little too much passion for a fortnightly newspaper and it’s that which shines through the pages of student journalism. GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Send your thoughts to comment@palatinate.org.uk
Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
8
Comment
How to taint Trump’s trans-Atlantic trip in June?
After the protests of his last visit, how should the President be received Matt Jolley For many people, the only thought normally conjured up by the idea of a US state visit is Hugh Grant giving an inspiring speech concerning Shakespeare and David Beckham in Love Actually. However, the upcoming visit of Donald Trump to the UK, which this week has been announced for 3-5 June to coincide with D-Day commemorations, has unsurprisingly garnered more attention. The same protesters who last July sent blimps into the skies have again vowed to give vocal opposition to the US president. Yet demonstrating as a way of objecting to Trump’s UK visit strikes me as an unsatisfactory response.
existence of – and is a thoroughly deplorable human being. I am also sceptical of two arguments put forward to support the visit of Trump: that we must respect the office of the president above the incumbent, and that the ‘special’ nature of the UK’s relationship to the US requires protection. Trump himself does not respect the office of the president, shown clearly through his flagrant disregard for the media, and a pattern of hiring and firing people that belongs more on ‘The Apprentice’ rather than in a government (not to mention the numerous lawsuits currently against him).
Trump himself does not respect the office
Trump craves attention, whether positive or negative Obviously, simply welcoming Trump with open arms as we would have welcomed Obama in May 2011 is not an option. He has dangerous views on just about every issue imaginable – just recently London saw huge shutdown from climate change protesters, a problem which Trump himself questions the
The special nature of the relationship is also not sufficient cause for welcome. True, in a postBrexit world a trade deal with the US will be important and buttering up Trump could bring this.
The nature of the relationship is not cause for welcome However, to pander to Trump on the world stage looks embarrassing. The man who has recently called the UK a ‘fire sale’ is now the one we look at to do business? Let us briefly return to Love Actually. Hugh Grant stands up to the US president, claiming that ‘a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend’. Trump is a bully, and so May should be careful whether she wants to call him a friend Having said that, I don’t believe demonstrations are the answer to expressing resistance to Trump. Last July, 250,000 p e o p l e protested his arrival in the UK (and that wasn’t even a state visit), and what
did it change? Approximately nothing. The US president probably didn’t see them, at any rate didn’t care, and continues to lambast anyone who dares challenge him, taking the US in treacherous political directions. Since he originally ran in the Republican primaries, Trump’s opponents have tried to bring him down by criticising his character, and inevitably stooping to his level of mud-slinging and accusations. It doesn’t, and won’t, work.
The way to oppose someone who craves attention is to starve them of it Trump conducts his residential communications by chucking Twitter grenades towards anyone – Democrats, the media, Mueller – who opposes him. This reduces nuanced disagreement to accusatory smears of 140 characters or less. Demonstrations respond in kind, themselves reducing complex arguments to slogans short enough to fit on a placard, and chants rarely loud enough to get beyond an echo chamber. Instead, when we protest Trump’s arrival, I would advocate doing so in a more constructive manner, that works by dialogue not demonstration. Trump craves attention, whether positive or negative,
as either way it gives him ammunition to fire at his enemies.
Refuse to stoop to his level So, the way to oppose someone who craves attention is to starve them of it. Instead of filling the Mall with thousands of angry protesters, leave it entirely empty, completely ignoring Trump, refusing to stoop to his level. Demonstrations are great to start a conversation where one is not taking place: such was the aim of Extinction Rebellion in creating action on climate change. However, with Trump, the only problem we don’t have is having a conversation about him. The difficulty is instead managing to have a conversation with him, entering into meaningful dialogue where his views and policies can be exposed as mistaken.
Demonstrations are great to start a conversation where one is not taking place When Trump meets with May and other ministers, this is their responsibility. Frank discussion that holds no punches could humble the president, showing him to be wrong. I only hope that, trade deal or not, May does this and follows the lead of Hugh Grant in Love Actually by standing up to the bully from across the pond.
If time is money, our phones are proving costly Tom Davidson Do you remember the last time you went to the toilet without clutching your phone? The last time you watched a film without googling the cast halfway through? The last time you were left momentarily alone in a pub and decided to just sit there and admire the decor? Me neither.
light directly into their retinas. Now, I wish I could sit on a phone-free pedestal and judge, but we’re all guilty of it. “My phone’s my alarm!” I hear you cry. You’ve tripped at the first hurdle. As soon as you reach for that smashed-screened iPhone 7, you’ve let it dictate your morning. Quick catch-up on the Instagram stories before getting out of bed? Why not. Mindless scroll through Twitter before engaging the brain for the day? Go on then. Three hours later and the blinds are still drawn.
Almost two-thirds of people under 35 check their phone within five minutes of waking up
Young people are using their phones two days a week, or 106 days a year
Last year, UK communications overlords Ofcom revealed that almost two-thirds of people under the age of 35 check their phone within five minutes of waking up. The other third, I assume, are still waiting for a way to inject blue
Digital dependency is indeed on the rise and the youth of today is the most hooked. According to Ofcom, we check our phones every 12 minutes and some young people spend over seven hours a day staring at their device. After punching those numbers into my
calculator app, that works out to two days a week, or 106 days a year. That’s right, us millennials are all crushed avocado-eating, daytime TV-watching, mobile phone junkies.
As soon as you reach for that smashed-screened iPhone 7, you’ve let it dictate your morning So why do we use our phones so much? Well, with a loaded cartridge of knowledge and debate-settling facts in your holster, it’d be foolish not to fire it. Additionally, on a more personal level, our phones relieve us from the fear of boredom and, at least temporarily, give us a fix of our constant craving for entertainment. That’s probably too deep for any of us to care to admit, though. I’m not going to suggest we all ceremoniously lob our phones into the Wear, but we can certainly
take measures to wean ourselves off them. By disabling unnecessary notifications, switching on flightmode overnight, or simply digging out Dad’s old alarm clock, we can start to reclaim some of those precious hours spent gawking at a 5-inch LED screen.
There are apps that give a rundown of smartphone usage and offer time-limiting features, but I daren’t look at them Interestingly, there are also apps that give a detailed run-down of smartphone usage and offer time-limiting features, but I daren’t look at them. I guess Freud would say I am in denial, that I’m refusing to face up to reality and, until I do, I’ll be forever troubled by the inner workings of my psyche. That’s what Siri told me he’d say anyway.
“Us millenials
are all crushed avocado-eating, daytime TVwatching, mobile phone junkies
”
PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
9
Profile
Strictly speaking: Anton Du Beke Profile speaks to British TV icon Anton Du Beke about Strictly Come Dancing, his writing debut, and performing with Bruce Forsyth Millie Fender & Beth Pritchett Preparing for his address, Anton Du Beke seems somewhat bewildered to be in Durham, as though he doesn’t understand the appeal he holds to an audience of university students. And yet, Du Beke has garnered more interest than almost any Durham Union event in recent years. Even with deadlines piling up during summative season, people couldn’t pass up the chance to see the Strictly star. Telling us of his plans for the event, Du Beke makes it clear that he wants the evening to be interactive. “In my experience of these things, which in a university scenario is limited, I find that I’ll start chatting about something and people want to chat about other stuff.”
“Social media has become a bigger part of the show because it’s a bigger part of life” Indeed, knowing where to
start in interviewing Du Beke is a challenge. The only dancer to feature in all 16 seasons, he is most famous for his esteemed career on Strictly Come Dancing, but we worry he might find yet another Strictly-centred interview tiresome. His love for Strictly becomes apparent, however, the second we touch upon it. “The popularity of the show just grows and grows, introducing new audiences” he
remarks, highlighting that we, and everyone at the Union tonight, are too young to remember the first season. When asked what he thinks the secret behind the show’s enduring
“Sometimes someone comes out in a tail suit and you go ‘ooh that’s nice’”
success might be, he tells us that “it’s a great concept…it’s easy. The premise of the show is the show, there is nothing after it, no great big pot to win at the end, no £50,000 prize, no place in a West End show. “It’s not like Love Island where you have continuing fame to try to develop. It’s a bit more like the jungle in I’m A Celebrity. Once it’s done it’s done, and you just enjoy the experience. And that’s how it should be – if there was anything lingering it would take the gloss off it.” Indeed, it’s hard to think of a show more universally loved across the country. Du Beke explains that Strictly’s widespread appeal is a result of its winning format. “You can love it for different reasons […] that’s the joy of the show, that’s the draw of the show […] that’s its charm, and it hasn’t been tampered with really, it’s evolved but it hasn’t been tampered with.” When asked about Strictly’s shift towards featuring social media stars, such as this year’s YouTuber Joe Sugg, Du Beke highlights that “social media has become a bigger part of the show because it’s a
bigger part of life. You can’t ignore it.” But- “the actual integrity of the show remains, and that’s the key.” “It’s still a show about dancing, we still do the dances the right way, although they evolve over the years, introduce new styles, costuming is still traditional. Sometimes someone comes out in a tail suit and you go ‘ooh that’s nice.’” “I think it’s one of these things you have to be the gatekeeper of really, rather than sort of revolutionary about the whole
“
Who knows, maybe I’ll make the final one day!
”
thing, you just look after it.” He laughs when we suggest that, of everyone involved in the show, it is his name that has become synonymous with Strictly. “I am grateful to have been on it in the beginning…I’m very lucky in that sense.” Du Beke’s love for the show shines through when discussing his favourite moments. “A highlight for me always remains the number I did with Brucie on the show. It must have been 8 or 9 years ago. We did a school songand-dance number and it was
(Photograph: REX/Shutterstock)
my favourite thing ever. I’ve done lots of fabulous things but never anything quite as starry as that.” With his upright posture and dazzling smile, Du Beke is truly a performer, and it becomes clear that this is his real passion. Given his level of experience, we ask him what its like to be assigned dance partners who aren’t quite up to par. “They are all so wonderful” he remarks. “I mean they’ve not been much good, but they are incredible women.” He mentions his partner from season two, Dame Esther Rantzen. “She is sort of a pioneer of females, of women in telly. All the ladies in television in an elevated position owe a debt of gratitude to Esther Rantzen.”
On Anne Widdecombe: “I just love spending time with her”
Bruce Forsyth (left) and Anton Du Beke (right) performed a joint song-and-dance number in the sixth series of Strictly: “I’ve done lots of fabulous things but never an thing quite as starry as that” (Photograph: Antondubeke.tv)
Among the many notable women he has danced with, Anne Widdecombe is perhaps the most memorable: “what a fascinating woman, fascinating. I just love spending time with her”. It’s safe to say that his time on Strictly has included many iconic moments of British TV history. Yet Du Beke’s creativity is not just limited to dancing. Alongside his
various performing commitments, he has recently stepped into the world of writing with his debut novel, One Enchanted Evening. “It was a tremendous process” he recalls. Explaining the premise, he’s keen to emphasise that although “we have a lot of dancing in it, it’s not a story about dancing… when you read it, you don’t feel like you are reading a dancing novel, or any kind of cliché at all.”
“You must grow and I want to continue to do that”
He laughs when asked about his plans for the future. “I’m very spontaneous. Forget five year plan, you’d be lucky to get a five minute plan.” However, with a sequel to his book already in the pipeline, and the next season of Strictly in the works, he’s certainly not planning on slowing down any time soon. “I want to continue to push myself, you must grow and I want to continue to do that. And who knows, maybe I’ll make the final one day!”
To see more interviews visit: palatinate.org.uk/category/ profile
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PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
11
Politics
Durham MP Roberta Interview Blackman-Woods Politics speaks to Roberta Blackman-Woods about gendered wealth disparity, library cuts and of course, Brexit Katie Fraser Deputy Politics Editor What do you think the main issues are facing women trying to enter into politics? The first thing I would like to say is that in some ways it has got easier for women to get into politics and, in other ways, more difficult. At the minute we are in a balancing act. When I first got involved in politics the issue was: ‘how did you get women to be taken seriously as public figures’ and ‘how do you break down the often-male structures in order to get a change in culture that is more accepting of women?’
Women have the ability to do these roles as well as men
I think that as the years have moved on, as there are increasing numbers of female MPs, and women in positions where they are decision-makers, that there is now a common acceptance in society that women have the ability to do these roles as well as men. This has all been a very positive cultural change, but it has to be put beside the clear drawbacks of social media for public figures – particularly women who are especially targeted with threats and abuse. Speaking to younger colleagues, it is clear that they see this as such a big issue. I have done a lot of work on tackling domestic violence, tackling sexual abuse, and trying to ensure that victims of rape are treated fairly by the justice system; we now have to add onto this list the issue of tackling abuse online and calling it out as we do any other abuse. Were these issues important for you when you decided to enter into politics? What was it that motivated you to pursue a career in politics?
I was driven by a sense of injustice and wanting to make sure that we had a more equal society. I grew up understanding that some things seemed available for others but not for everybody and that we needed a society that tried to pull everybody up. Amongst this group were women, who I always thought got a very raw deal. They were given a lot of the domestic work, even though they were clearly capable. I spoke to women whilst completing my
dissertation who had to leave the Civil Service once they were married. There is so much inequality but one of the issues that has to be tackled is how we treat women and ensuring that women are able to reach their full potential.
have led a big project across the Commonwealth on tackling modern slavery which I have been involved in. We have also had a lot of work from the government on FGM. As a country we do quite well tackling gender equality issues internationally.
One of the things I think about rural areas is that the poverty is often hidden. People tend to look more at the appearance of towns and villages – and there is a lot of beautiful villages around Durham – but this can mask what the problems are. Access to employment, access to facilities for children, and having transport can all be really difficult for people in rural areas. Even just access to services, if you live in an isolated community or dwelling your ability to get information can be really limited. The internet has really helped with this but I think that everyone needs to be reminded that getting access to information and services in rural areas is difficult which is not helped by bus services being cut left, right, and centre.
However, I think that the government could do more in tackling with the sort of things that Trump says, if it was me I would say that he wasn’t welcome anywhere near here and I am not meeting with you because what you say is unacceptable. I think there could be a challenge to the Trump administration, and I think there could be a greater challenge to Saudi Arabia, I mean I just bury my head when I think about them. The government could have used the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018, and the follow-up debate, to challenge some of the Commonwealth counties much more strongly on their rights for women. It is tricky because in one respect the government is doing all these things, then over in the Foreign Office they are not really doing what they could. We constantly raise these issues in Parliament and we just have to keep doing it.
What do you think are the most important measures that should be put in place to address the gendered wealth disparity in rural communities?
In rural areas poverty is often hidden
But the library services are being cut and it will be real problem if the post office is cut. Women will be mostly affected with the withdrawal of transport and services so I have been quite keen to raise these issues. People sometimes ask me ‘why do you talk about rural areas in the city of Durham?’ – it is because you have this rural area around the city. If we move from a community to an international focus – what role do you think that the UK government has in helping further gender equality in other nations?
Being fair, gender issues have been fairly high up on the international government internationally, whatever the party. However, I think some things the government has done has made it harder for women domestically, particularly low-income. Internationally, they have kept us signed up to all the UN conventions that support the furthering of women’s rights, they
Low income women most affected by “some things the government has done”
What domestic issues particularly would you like the UK government to pursue more?
Three things that would help women most is: addressing low pay, changing universal credit, and transport. In terms of universal credit it is not just giving people not enough money, and that’s an issue that effects men and women, but it is particularly women. One of the things that hasn’t been reported very much is that when the government brought in the universal credit system, families had to choose who the money would go to. That was a battle that we all thought had been won in the 1980s where the money would go to either individuals or the woman in the family, all the research showed that if you hand the money to the woman they were much likely to share it out. Despite endless campaigning on the issue, the government is refusing to move on this and so what we are finding out now is that if it is men that are making the claim on behalf on the family
Roberta Blackman-Woods via Facebook
then the money is coming to the men – and that just shouldn’t be the case. The government should never have set up the system like that and we have a big campaign called ‘Splitting the Claim’ where some of money would go to the men and some would go to the women and children. That is a huge issue that the government needs to do more on. In regard to transport, every time public transport gets removed it impacts on women.
Marital financial equality is a battle we thought we won in the 1980s
Also, I think generally the government could do more to break down the stereotypes for employment. They are very good at speaking about engineering and I meet all the engineering professional bodies and the numbers are pathetic – tiny! Housing is another one, they need to build a lot more social housing. To what extent has the Brexit debate overshadowed social problems such as housing and social care? We did understand it, a couple of years ago, that Brexit was going to take up a lot of our time but I’m not sure we understood the paralysis that it was going to bring in.
Areas after area there is just paralysis
Once the government announced the amount of legislation and secondary legislation that was going to have to be put through, I think we all just took a deep breath and thought ‘gosh we aren’t going to be doing anything much apart from Brexit’. Recently,w the government announced, for the fifth time, a delay in the social care green paper.
When Labour left office in 2010 they left in place a mechanism for funding social care which did mean people were going to have to pay something out of their estate. The government decided that they were not going to go ahead with that and since that time there has been nothing, meanwhile the social care system is massively underfunded. That impacts on women in two ways: women live longer so they get a poorer service, and it is women who work in social care so they are on minimum wage. There is no movement on that, they aren’t moving on housing, nothing is happening. Area after area there is just paralysis. You have spoken about a ‘soft’ Brexit approach, what is a ‘soft’ Brexit for you?
I am completely a no-Brexit person, I am absolutely a staunch ‘remainer’. I did not vote to trigger Article 50. The Labour position more generally is that we need a Brexit that fulfils the six tests that cover things such as: ensuring that we sign up to all the environmental protection legislation, we make sure workers’ rights are not diluted, we adhere to the European Court of Justice, we have a Customs Union, and we have something that closely aligns with a single market. We had all these things from the outset and that’s what Labour is going for. During cross-party talks, Labour is saying ‘here are our six tests, where are you going to meet us on these?’ Nowhere is the answer.. But a ‘softer’ Brexit will incorporate those elements.
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Politics Ellen Leafstedt Earlier this year, the Estonian parliamentary elections saw the liberal Reform Party gain several seats. Despite expectations that it would take a place in the leading coalition, on April 30th the incumbent Prime Minister made the choice to retain his leadership by forming an alternate coalition between the conservative Fatherland Party and the far-right Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE). EKRE’s attacks throughout the election period on the European Union, the media, and ethnic minorities have unfortunately become part of a familiar picture in European politics. While still far from the influence of other East European right-wing nationalist parties like Poland’s Law and Justice Party or Viktor Orban’s Fidesz Party in Hungary, EKRE’s place in the majority coalition was seen as a win for the East European far right. Yet despite the unsettling gains
Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
Eastern European Elections for EKRE, the Reform Party is now the most popular party in Estonia, showing that there may be a future for reform movements in Central and Eastern Europe.
Attacks on ethnic minorities have become a familiar picture
Slovakia and Ukraine have shown they are bucking the trend of right-wing populism by offering an alternative message for political change. In the past month both countries have elected outsider candidates who campaigned on promises of reform and unity instead of division and nationalism – perhaps setting an example for their neighbours. In April, a political novice, Zuzana Caputova, was elected as the first female Slovakian president on a platform of transparent governance, equal rights, and pro-Europeanism. Although she was widely insult-
Local elections deal heavy losses
Katie Fraser Deputy Politics Editor Recent local elections have dealt a devastating blow to the Conservative Party who have suffered their worst defeat in English local elections since 1995. The Labour Party, who hoped to increase their seats, lost 82 seats. Brexit has clearly been the dividing issue as the Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned against leaving the European Union, gained 703 seats. Whether this suggests a change in leadership is wanted or, more broadly, that voters have changed their mind and no longer want to leave the EU, is not clear. What it does show is that the two main political parties are clearly out of favour, their continual bickering over Brexit having disenfranchised them to voters.
People are clearly fed up with the amount of Brexit coverage
To suggest that Brexit has had nothing to do with these results is clearly false. Despite 53.4% of voters choosing to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, the recent elections show a severe lack of trust in Theresa May and the Conservatives as they have repeatedly failed to deliver an adequate plan for Brexit. Labour equally have been sullied by the Brexit debate as well as the party’s involvement in anti-Semitic accusations. People are clearly tired and fed-
up of being inundated with updates about Brexit; with little else being reported in the news, Brexit is slowly alienating people from interest in parliamentary affairs. The elections have only galvanised calls for May’s resignation. Speaking at the Welsh Party conference, May was heckled with calls from a party activist saying ‘we don’t want you’, followed by chants of ‘out, out, out!’ Previous backbencher, Michael Fabricant, described her leadership as a cancer that must be ‘excised’ from the party.
Hopefully this will push the leaders into greater collaboration
In response to the party’s losses May said: ‘I think people are saying to us: “ We are sending a strong message, just get on and sort Brexit out, and do it.”’ Corbyn has also said that there is now a ‘huge impetus’ to get the Brexit deal done. Clearly, both party leaders realise the devastating effect that the Brexit debate is having on their popularity. Hopefully this will push them together into greater collaboration. However, Brexit is proving to cause tunnel-vision at the expense of domestic issues such as: social care, health care funding, and housing. Getting the deal done or deciding whether to go to a second referendum is crucial not only to the survival of the Conservative and Labour Party, but also the key infrastructures of the country.
ed by the far right, president-elect Caputova seems to understand voter sympathies for the far right: “People tend to vote for these extremist parties out of frustration. I can empathize with them”. Her decision to run was fuelled by her own disappointment with the status quo, after the journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée were assassinated for his investigation into the government’s links to oligarchs. Ukraine has similarly suffered from corruption and non-transparent governance, worsened by its current conflict with Russia in the Donbas. Amidst this, Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian whose only political experience is playing an ‘everyman’ president on television, emerged as the front-runner against the incumbent Petro Poroshenko. Zelensky’s broad appeal crossed traditional boundaries between languages and regions, leading him to win with over 70% of the vote in the final round of presidential elections on April 21st 2019.
Zelensky’s surprise win was even more remarkable for the fact that Zelensky is a Jewish Russianspeaker in a country which has recently seen a growth of ethnic and linguistic divisions, and the growth of several far-right movements, such as the Azov militia, a volunteer force in the conflict against Russia which is accused of recruiting neo-Nazis. In his victory speech, Zelensky addressed not only Ukraine, but also its neighbours, with a message of hope: “All citizens of post-Soviet countries, look at us! Everything is possible.”
Zelensky wins with over 70% of vote
In a political context where the authoritarian-aligned right has conventionally had a near-monopoly on disaffected voters, Caputova and Zelensky’s politics are radically unconventional. According to political analysts, their successes
have the potential to usher in a counter-wave to right-wing populism, but they will have an uphill battle. For both leaders, the pressure to succeed from both Western and Eastern Europe is enormous, but it remains to be seen how transformative Caputova’s and Zelensky’s presidencies will be. Zelensky, in particular, faces criticism regarding his ties to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, which raise questions over whether his presidency will be a real departure from corrupt politics.
Slavomir Freso via Wikimedia Commons
Anti-Semitism row continues
Tom Mitchell Deputy Editor Labour is “sickeningly, institutionally racist”, and yet “until Jeremy Corbyn became its leader in 2015, [the party] did not have a problem with anti-Jewish racism”. These are the views of Luciana Berger and Joan Ryan, two of the former Labour MPs who were so repulsed by the gutter they believe Labour is inhabiting that they risked their careers and reputations to leave it. Corbyn claims he has been the subject of misunderstanding or some sort of ‘establishment’ stitch-up. However, a poll conducted by the Jewish Chronicle, which found that 85% of a sample of British Jews believe Corbyn to be an anti-Semite, casts doubt on these claims.
Corbyn claims he has been subject to misunderstanding or an ‘establishment’ stitch-up
This week’s revelation that he described a virulently anti-Semitic book as a “great tome” is just the latest in a long line of instances where Corbyn’s actions have been called into question. Behind the visage of a kindly old man trying to forge a “kinder politics” is the snarling face of UKIP-esque bigotry. He publicly supported a mural that depicted hook-nosed figures playing monopoly on the backs of the working-class. He questioned
whether Zionists (a word he has long used euphemistically) could understand “English irony”. He was “present but not involved” at a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of terrorists who murdered 11 Israelis. And now this foreword. Corbyn has put his name to a book that asks “does anyone seriously suppose that a great war could be undertaken by any European state, or a great state loan subscribed, if the house of Rothschild and its connections set their face against it?”. The idea of a cartel of Jewish bankers controlling the world clearly fits into one of the IHRA definitions of anti-Semitism being “the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.” A spokesperson for Corbyn has said that he saw the anti-Semitism in the book but thought it was “reasonable” not to mention it in his foreword.
Gary Knight via Flickr
This is clearly complete nonsense. If Corbyn cared about antiSemitism he would have run a mile from the barest association with the book, let alone write a foreword that praises it so sycophantically and that totally ignores the central, racist element.
Corbyn recasts himself as a victim
Each time Corbyn’s racism is outed he recasts himself as the victim. No amount of bluff and bluster about not tolerating “antiSemitism or any other form of racism for that matter” can disguise this viewpoint from emerging. A vote for Labour is a vote for Corbyn, and a vote for Corbyn is a vote for someone who some British Jews think is a racist. Remember that the next time you’re in the polling booth.
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PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
Politics
Extinction Rebellion: elaborate but ineffective Henry R.J. Warner Unless you’ve been squirrelled away on Level 4 of the Billy B all holiday then you’ve probably heard of Extinction Rebellion. They’ve been hanging out on Waterloo Bridge and around Marble Arch and making lots of noise with their obnoxiously loud drums. Over a thousand of these so-called ‘rebels’ have been arrested and they’ve royally pissed off everyone. So what do they want and are they realistically going to get it?
They want us to move “beyond politics”
If you check out the well-designed Extinction Rebellion website what you find are three seemingly basic demands. They want everyone (especially governments) to “Tell the truth.” They want us to “Act now” by halting biodiversity loss and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. They want us to move “beyond politics” on climate and ecological issues by creating and empower-
ing a Citizens’ Assembly to make decisions in this area. These are their demands, but what do they actually want? These Extinction Rebellion people are worried, really worried.
They want us to “Act now” by reducing emissions by 2025
As a result of being so incredibly worried they’ve been banding about phrases like “climate emergency.” Essentially their message is, in slightly less ambiguous terms: we’re screwed and it’s our fault. In the eyes of the Extinction Rebel, humanity has, using the evil power of state capitalism, killed Mother Nature and doomed us all to… extinction. If I’m going to be perfectly honest, I’m worried too. This is where the Extinction Rebellion people are right, climate change is a problem and it’s a problem that something ought to be done about. Their solution, if you can call it that, involves a lot of sweeping government reintervention, the outlawing of fun and most nice things (imagine a
world without air travel, lattes and other vital aspects of modernity). They’re looking at the causes of climate change without looking at the bigger picture. Climate change is a problem (well it’s actually a cluster of problems but we’ll get to that later) but it isn’t the only problem. If we are in a “Climate Emergency” then we’re also in a lot of other emergencies. If the best solution to climate change is basically immediately outlawing our species’ main energy source, then we should probably be more worried.
The emergency we are facing is an energy one
These so-called ‘rebels’ have identified a problem (hitherto apparently unknown about) and have suggested pretty much exactly the same solution that has been unsuccessfully tried for global warming’s entire political life-time. Yes, if you cut emissions down to zero and you managed to completely restructure government in a way that lead to perfect climate decisions then Mother Nature would probably be okay. However, this
isn’t going to happen. People need energy, and the cheaper they can get it the better. If you want to solve the problem of climate change you should look for a solution that is viable in the short, medium, and long term. The emergency we are facing is not a climate one. The emergency we are facing is an energy one. If you think that green energy is the answer then stop trying to bubble wrap it. There is regulatory bubble wrap in-and-around the fossil-fuel sector as well as the green energy
Mark Norton
sector. Wars are waged to secure oil reserves, subsidies warp the market creating false signals and allowing poor decisions to go uncorrected, intellectual property keeps the value of good ideas in the hands of the few rather than the many. If you want a greener future where energy is as if not more plentiful then turn your ire away from the reliance on our best energy technology and face it at those who stand in the way of our collective ability to create something better.
Rising impact of internet radicals DUP: A watershed change Piers Eaton 23rd April 2019 marked the oneyear anniversary of the Toronto van attack carried out by Alek Minassian which killed 10 innocent pedestrians less than 20 miles from the house I grew up in. On March 15th 2019, a white-supremacist terrorist killed 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. On April 27th 2019, 1 person was killed by an anti-Semitic attack against Jewish worshippers in a synagogue in Poway, California. These three terrorists do not necessarily share the same ideology, but they have two things in common: they were all radicalised on the internet, and they treated their online presence as a performance.
Internet ‘terrorists’ do not necessarily share the same ideology
Before his attack, Minassian posted to his Facebook profile that he was a member of the ‘incel’ (involuntary-celibate) rebellion and praised Elliot Rodgers, the Isla Vista shooter 2014, as the ‘Supreme Gentleman.’ The Poway shooter attempted to livestream his attack and reportedly invoked the internet meme ‘Subscribe to PewDiePie.’ Worst of all, the Christchurch shooter successfully livestreamed
his violence on Facebook whilst telling viewers to ‘Subscribe to PewDiePie’ too.
They treat their actions as perverse jokes rather than violent acts
These three individuals are part of a worrying trend: bigoted violence being treated as perverse humour on anonymous internet sites. In his manifesto, which seems to have been shaped by and designed for the internet, the shooter could not help himself but attempt to make jokes. He claims that “Spyro the dragon 3 taught me ethno-nationalism’ and “Fortnite trained me to be a killer and to floss on the corpses of my enemies.” He continued this disposition into his court appear1DayReview via Flickr
ance by flashing the OK hand sign, which the Southern Poverty Law Centre says is a symbol of white supremacy.
The very nature of a meme is that it is repeated and re-imagined, so these men are likely to only be the beginning of a new kind of terrorism: internet-radicalised terrorists. They treat their actions as a partly comedic performance, and are not fully able to grasp the gravity of their actions. This is partly because of the fact that on certain internet sites these actions are treated as perverse jokes instead of the horrific violent acts that they really are.
Bigoted violence is being treated as perverse humour on anonymous sites
Matt Spivey Politics Editor Northern Ireland’s recent local elections have resulted in unexpected gains for Alliance and smaller parties, whilst Sinn Fein has had ‘a mixed set of results’. Yet, alongside the announcements for the 462 seats in NI, DUP experienced ‘a watershed change’ by electing their first openly-gay councillor.
First openly gay DUP candidate elected
Alison Bennington was elected in the Antrim and Newtonabbey elections and will become the first openly-gay DUP candidate to be successful in election. She has caused controversy, though, since becoming the first openlygay councillor to represent a party which has been in consistent opposition to the legalisation of samesex marriage. Arlene Foster, the current DUP leader has announced that Alison Bennington’s victory in the election does not necessarily mean that there will be a resultant shift in party policy. The question must be asked, therefore, how Ms Bennigton’s homosexuality will be received within a party which was not consulted before she was selected as the DUP candidate, as Jim Wells argued. He goes on to state that DUP members feel ‘let down
and very concerned’ as they expect the DUP to ‘hold the line of these moral issues’. Though, this seems to be an absurd notion, Ms Bennington’s sexual orientation does not necessarily form her political opinion and is only one element of her identity.
She has been criticised for nothing more than her sexual preference
DUP MP for East Belfast, Gavin Robinson said that “If you believe in our party’s principles, if you stand for our values, if you are prepared to go forward and seek selection and you are selected and elected by the people - then get on and do the job”.
DUP members feel ‘let down and very concerned’ about ‘moral issues’
She has stood for and been elected as a DUP councillor, and so, as far as I’m concerned she has proved her political ability and should be given a chance before she is criticised for nothing more than her sexual preference. The very fact that her electorates have voted her into the position she now holds represents a possible shift in the mindset of the voters for DUP, that sexuality is an insignificant aspect of a politician’s credibility.
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Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
SciTech
To cram or not to cram?
Frances Rigby It would be shocking to find a student who has never crammed before an exam. Perhaps more shocking is the fact that we still do it, despite the numerous studies finding that it is far less effective than spacing our revision. If somehow the night before is your only feasible option, cram away. However, if you have a month, a few weeks, or even a few days, then there is a much better option.
However, if you even just have a few days, then there is a much better option The most robust revision method, found through experimental psychology, is entirely the opposite of cramming and is known as spacing. This is a study technique that uses increasing intervals of time to space out the revision of a concept. During his groundbreaking study on memory in 1885, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus introduced the concept of a “forgetting curve”. He noticed a startling drop-off in his own ability to perform memory recall tests after
lengths of time as short as 20 minutes. Spaced repetition means that you’re less likely to fall victim to this forgetting curve, as highlighted in a 2013 study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. It was found that spaced repetition stored information in the participants’ long-term memory while rapid repetition, which is just over one sitting, failed to form longterm memories. So, that familiar feeling of thinking back to an exam a few days ago and remembering very little of what you learned for it? Thank cramming for that.
then weeks. Of course, it is worth noting that this repeated exposure to the study material should be active, such as doing practice papers, questions and flashcards, and not passively reading notes. Reading does nothing to prompt the strengthening of the neural pathways in the brain that help to retain the information, because no active recall using the pathways are taking place.
Spaced repetition stored information in long-term memory while rapid repetition, which is just over one sitting failed
Not only is cramming the least effective way to retain information, it goes hand-in-hand with a common cause of poor exam performance: sleep deprivation. Sleep is important for determining what happens to the memories we form during the day.
So, how do you implement this? The ideal time to revise something is just before it is going to be forgotten. Since the knowledge and ability to recall it gets stronger each time you use it, the spacing technique says that exponentially longer time should be left between each revision session. For example, minutes, then hours, then days,
The ideal time to revise something is just before it is going to be forgotten
Sleep is important for determining what happens to the memories we form during the day It can refine them, making them easier to retrieve when we need them, and link these new memo-
An all too familiar feeling (Billy Wilson via Flickr)
ries with existing ones. These processes occur due to a communication between the hippocampus, where recent memories are stored, and the cortex, the home of our long-term memories. In this way, newly learned information is consolidated during deep sleep, so the important memories, such as that topic you were revising this morning, become easier to access.
Reading does nothing to retain the information
Cramming the night before an exam can also lead to extra stress, inhibiting your ability to recall information in the morning. This coupled with the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation will make for a less than optimal exam performance. Science says to space it out, revise actively, and make sure to get plenty of sleep. So, when it gets dark the night before your exam and you’re faced with the choice to keep working or to stop and relax, maybe have a chill one.
Scientists capture first images of a black hole the black hole, the part that most amazed me was the sheer scale of human achievement required for such an image. This little picture is the culmination of years of work not only constructing the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) which took the photo, which by the way was a ridiculous feat on its own: connecting eight worldwide telescopes to produce a single “mega-telescope” with such a sensitivity that it would be “[sensitive] enough to read a newspaper in New York from a sidewalk café in Paris”.
Stanley Lowres If you’re like me, when you first heard that they’d got a picture of a black hole, you were a bit confused. I had just assumed we knew that black holes existed and that we couldn’t get a picture because there was nothing to see, what with their tendency to consume everything in their vicinity - including light.
This is big news for the science world But no! It turns out we didn’t even know if black holes existed or not before then. I mean, we had a pretty good hunch that they did, but it’s the equivalent of being out in the wild and seeing lion tracks, hearing roars in the distance and finding half-eaten antelope carcasses: you’re pretty sure a lion is behind this, but there is a small chance that it’s just renowned
(Image via Wikipedia) method actor Christian Bale preparing for his new role as a lion in an upcoming movie.
Black holes consume everything near them - even light Strange analogy aside, this is big
news for the science world by confirming yet another tenet of Einstein’s theory of general relativity (evidence for another was provided a couple of years ago by the discovery of gravitational waves). However, scientific breakthroughs aside, most notably being able to actually measure the mass of
The telescope is sensitive enough to read a newspaper in New York from a sidewalk café in Paris There’s also the immense theoretical background required, the observational work to estimate pretty much exactly where the black hole is, and the interpreting of the images produced by the tel-
escope over years to conclusively prove that this tiny speck millions of light years away is in fact a black hole. The amount of effort required for this project from everyone involved for such an extended duration is a testament to the dedication of humanity to accomplish mind-blowing achievements if we put our hearts and minds into them.
The picture confirms yet another tenet of Einstein’s theory of general relativity It’s a true inspiration to see people create and discover incredible things without the promise of fame, money or recognition, only for the betterment of humanity as a whole.
Want to write for us? Send an email to scitech@ palatinate.org.uk
PALATINATE | Thursday 9th May 2019
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Sport
“Valiant efforts produced an outstanding eighty minutes”
Durham ladies have proved their worth at MC and on the big stage this season (DUWRFC)
Continued from back page ...perfect conditions. Lining up to greet the officials, there was a mix of nerves and excitement on display for this momentous occasion. On the whistle, Blacklock kicked off to Exeter. Both teams were quick out the blocks, with Durham defensive pressure forcing Exeter to boot the ball deep. However, nerves on the big day showed with an early knockon from Durham, and Exeter looked to capitalise by attacking the five-metre line. A huge hit and try-saving turnover from flanker Lydia Crossman, Black Fern international and key addition to the Durham team this year, alleviated the pressure momentarily. But heavy carries from the green pack brought Exeter within striking distance, and smart play from scrum-half Caity Mattinson dotting the ball down against the post protector yielded the first try of the match.
It was all to play for as the match opened up An easy conversion for Lagi Tuima, Exeter centre and capped for England, took the score to 7-0 after five minutes. Refusing to let this early setback shake them, Durham hit back from the kick-off with quick defensive line speed, resulting in a turnover. After a series of steady phases into the Exeter half Durham were rewarded with a penalty in the middle of the park. Just inside the ten-metre mark, Blacklock opted to kick for posts, but the kick slid just wide. However, this was a warning sign for Exeter that Durham were here to compete. A few minutes later, Durham
received an early let off as Tuima made a clean break from a slick set-piece move, only to drop the ball over the try line. Good hands out wide from the Exeter backs forced Durham winger Anabel Lee to cut in, just missing the intercept and relying on vice-captain Coreen Grant to make the cover tackle. However, with Durham defence flying up to meet the green attack, Exeter opted to kick to fresher fullback Sophie Shams. Now it was Durham’s turn to make use of the wide open spaces on the vast Twickenham pitch: Shams spotted a mismatch in the defensive line and slid past a prop, before putting on the afterburners and stepping try scorer Mattinson, who was left flat on her back without putting a hand to the fleet-footed fullback. Shams handed off a final defender to score Durham’s first try, and a beautiful conversion from Blacklock brought the score even: Durham had put their stamp on the game, and it was all to play for as the match opened up. With twenty minutes gone, a few handy turnovers from the relentless Durham flanker combination of Crossman and Tania Forichon kept Durham in the game, but a series of unforced errors from purple jerseys and dominant carries from green resulted in a penalty, which Tuima slotted over to take the score to 10-7. As the game continued, looking more positive for Durham, England international Heather Kerr led by example, driving into the green wall with a ferocious pick-and-go, which set the perfect platform for Crossman. The Kiwi gave a dummy to the right, selling the Exeter hooker before driving straight from the base over the top of the ruck to ground the ball over the try line.
The conversion put Durham ahead for the first time: 14-10.
Sophie Shams was deservedly awarded Player of the Match Back to back penalties saw an Exeter lineout on the five-metre line, and the experience of the green pack showed in a textbook driving maul, with Exeter’s patience resulting in their second try. 15-14 was the scoreas the halftime whistle was blown, as Exeter failed to convert. The second half kicked off with cagey opening exchanges, but a searing run from Blacklock at inside centre opened up the game. Despite being tackled by Exeter’s fullback, Blacklock showed
brilliant awareness and handling, managing to offload to Crossman who finished off under the sticks for her second try. Blacklock slotted the conversion through to take the score to 21-15. With ball back in hand, Exeter worked their way gradually up the Durham half to camp on the five-metre line, showing their trademark pragmatism with forward-heavy carries. Durham protected the posts this time and held strong with solid tackles from prop Eszter Pinter, hooker Tilly Kidd and workhorse Roshini Turner. However, after six full minutes of forward battles, Exeter took the advantage of a collapsed scrum to swing it out wide and an excellent finish from the wing scored Exeter’s third try. The conversion from Tuima fell just short, leaving Durham with a one point lead going into the last thirty minutes. The next ten were close, without either side putting a point on the board, but the Durham defense began to flag under tireless Exeter carries, earning Exeter a penalty in front of the posts on the hour mark.
An emotional coach Cameron told the camera that he was very proud In a massive statement of intent, Exeter chose to kick for the corner instead of taking the three points. A clinical lineout secured the ball and a characteristically machinelike driving maul took Exeter over the whitewash to wrestle back the lead. A successful conversion from Tuima this time brought the score to 27-21. Durham would
not surrender. Blacklock attacked the line from a scrum, breaking through again: she was brought down by a cover tackle, but a quick ruck passed the ball out to Shams, who was half-tackled but powered over the line by help of Crossman. The conversion drifted just wide of the posts, leaving the score hanging at 27-26 to Exeter with five minutes on the clock.
Durham rose up for a remarkable performance A critical knock-on from the kick-off gave possession back to Exeter, and despite solid defence from Durham, Exeter refused to give up the ball. The green shirts closed in slowly on the Durham try line, and last ditch defensive efforts earned Turner a yellow card. A penalty in front of the posts in the final minute allowed Tuima to run down the clock before slotting it through the posts: the final whistle blew, finishing the game 30-26 to Exeter. It wasn’t to be for Durham on the day, but valiant efforts had produced an outstanding eighty minutes of rugby between equally matched teams. For their first ever BUCS Final, Durham rose up for a remarkable performance, and importantly a stunning showcase of women’s rugby. Despite being on the losing side, game-changer Sophie Shams was deservedly awarded Player of the Match, and no doubt will play an important role in the club as they look to rebuild. An emotional coach Cameron told the camera that he was very proud of the girls, but ‘that’s sport, we move on, and go for it again’: no doubt Durham will be back at Twickenham.
Durham and Exeter walking onto Twickenham ahead of the match (DUWRFC)
Thursday 9th May 2019 | PALATINATE
Sport
BUCS Championship Final: a showcase for women’s rugby Coreen Grant
▲ DUTRC (Durham University Touch Rugby Club) celebrating their success (Joe Pascoe)
Introducing DUTRC Maddy Wright Team Durham’s newest members, Durham University Touch Rugby Club, are working hard to break into the UK’s touch scene. Ending their first season with two University National Touch Series (UNTS) appearances and some solid wins under the belt shows just how much talent and demand for the sport exists within Durham. Touch Rugby is a non-contact, dynamic game, growing at impressive rates across the UK in recent years. With the Touch World Cup in Malaysia this summer, DUTRC have no doubt that Durham students will be represented during the next one. DUTRC run mixed Touch, offering an even playing field for men and women - something incredibly unique to Touch. Although some DUTRC members have a contact rugby background, most are completely new to any form of rugby let alone Touch. Nevertheless, the
inclusivity and accessibility of the game has seen members pick it up phenomenally quickly. As the standard continues its exponential growth, inclusive Touch will always remain central to their ethos. For their first competitive experience as a team, DUTRC jumped straight into the deep end, joining nineteen other University teams in Loughborough for Round Five of the UNTS. Fearless determination saw Durham propelled in a dominant Bowl semi-final victory against Birmingham, who we had beaten Durham in the very first match. The Bowl final provided a brilliant end to the day, facing Exeter. It was an incredibly fastpaced game, fought until the last when Exeter snuck in a score to make it 3-2 just as the siren sounded. DUTRC were left thirsty for more, and with focussed objectives to target in training. The first weekend of the Easter holidays saw the team assemble at Bath University for the final round of the 2019 UNTS.
The team put out an even tougher fight, with fresh attacking energy and structured defence. More dives, bigger touches and sharper passes. After four pool games, DUTRC faced their most experienced opposition yet: Loughborough. Playing against such a fluid, structured team provided an invaluable experience to bounce from upon return to Durham in May. The day held some fantastic moments; the gold dust of touch that has seen it win the hearts of so many this term. Fiery drives down the centre of the pitch that run like clockwork oiled with Redbull. Diving touches to clip the foot of the opposition with mere fingertips, metres out from the try line. Hard drags, slick dumps and silk lines ran to bait the defence before whipping it out to perfectly positioned wings. Dummy passes cast and caught, taking the opposition off their feet and spectators onto theirs. Watching the Finals confirmed that DUTRC have a way to
go, but the squad’s have the determination, commitment and potential to get there. DUTRC balance focussed, competitive training with relaxed, game-play centred sessions. As a registered O2 Touch centre, two of the three weekly sessions are open to the public. These sessions are largely game play, interspersed with some drills, giving newcomers the opportunity to learn the game by just getting stuck in. Hopefully, as the sport continues to grow in the North East, Saturdays at MC will become a welcoming hub of Touch for Durham students and residents alike. The team played against Durham City RFC’s Touch team earlier in the year, fixtures against the Percy Pirates (2018 winners of the Northern Touch Cup) are booked in for June, and Touch will also feature at Durham’s 2019 Festival of Sport. DUTRC don’t plan on losing momentum anytime soon. Join the Facebook group so you don’t miss out!
It was a long road for Durham University women’s rugby club to reach the BUCS Championship Final at Twickenham Stadium – a 36 year-long road, to be exact. Head coach Cameron Henderson has been at the helm for over three and a half decades, developing DUWRFC into the largest university women’s rugby club in the UK. On April 10th, he finally reaped the rewards of his labour as the girls in palatinate marched onto the hallowed turf to take on reigning champions, Exeter. Both teams spent most of the season blowing away their opposition. Exeter boasted a streak of twenty-four games undefeated, beating Durham in their last encounter at the previous year’s quarter final. The Durham team knew that playing Exeter would be an entirely different ball game to what they had come up against this season: the Exeter club had a wealth of international experience, and were coached by women’s rugby legend, former England captain and England Under 20s coach Jo Yapp. But Durham also had reason to be confident, recording several impressive scorelines across the season. They beat Northern league rivals Northumbria by a staggering forty-one points, and scored thirty-four points against the previous year’s finalists, Hartpury, in their semi-final match. This was the first year that Durham had emerged from their league winning every game, and they were determined to make an impression in their first ever BUCS Final. Captain Beth Blacklock led the Durham side out onto the pitch amidst roars from the crowd, which was full of palatinate-clad alumni, friends, and family who had travelled from far and wide to support the team. The weather could not have been better, with a cloudless sky and minimal wind promising... Continued on page 15