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Thursday 19th November 2020 | No. 833
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Sport speaks to author Harry Pearson about football in the North East
Music talks to Durham’s student record label, DH1 Records
Durham in UK top 10 for staff on over £100k Martha McHardy News Editor Durham University has been named in the UK top 10 for universities with the most staff on salaries of over £100,000. A Freedom of Information Request submitted by the Taxpayer’s Alliance revealed that Durham ranked ninth in the UK in
2019-20 for the number of staff receiving salaries over £100,000, and eighth in the UK for the number of staff receiving salaries over £150,000. Durham ranked jointly with the Open University for staff on over £100,000, and above the Open University and St George’s, University of London for staff on over £150,000. The Open University has al-
most ten times as many students as Durham. The London School of Economics ranked the highest amongst the universities with the most staff on over £100,000 and £150,000, with 306 staff members on over £100,000 and 109 staff members on over £150,000. The figures include salary, performance related pay in the form of bonuses, pension-related pay-
ments and ‘all other payments’. No other universities in the North-East are included in the top 10 list, however Newcastle University was not included in the list. A Freedom of Information Request submitted by Palatinate revealed that in 2019-20, the University’s Faculty of Business had the highest percentage of staff on over £100,000 of any
Durham faculty. 17 of 423 staff members receive over £100,000, amounting to roughly 4% of its staff. This is compared to the University’s three other academic faculties, which all ranged between 0.6%-1.3% of their staff members receiving salaries of over £100,000. Continued on Page 5
University emphasises student safety amid reports of street harassment Max Kendix, Toby DoneganCross and Rose Kohen News Editor, Deputy Editor and Contributor Durham University has urged all students to prioritise safety amid a number of reports of harassment late at night in the city of Durham. Since the beginning of term, Palatinate has received numerous reports of harassment, including cases of students being followed by cars and public accostment. One student told Palatinate about an incident in the north of the city, recounting that “The street I was walking down […] was poorly lit. A car passed at the bottom of the street, the driver noticed me, turned around, and started to follow me. “I hid behind some hedges, and the car stopped in front of where I was. They rolled the window down, and the men inside the car shined a torch out of the window, waiting for me to pass. Continued on page 3
▲ Durham Castle was illuminated for Diwali over the weekend (Mark Norton)
DPOCA launches campaign for “a racism free Durham” Patrick Stephens News Editor
Durham People of Colour Association have sent 17 letters to the leadership of Durham University, which one letter referred to as a “call to action”. The first letter was sent from DPOCA itself, while the other 16 are signed by the People Of Col-
our Representatives of each college. Several JCR Presidents also signed the letters for their respective colleges. One letter, from Stephenson POC rep Vinayak Trivedi and signed also by Stephenson College JCR, referenced a series of bigoted screenshots from members of the former Durham University Conservative Association and Durham Free Market Asso-
ciation. The letter claimed that “the exposed issues are just the tip of the iceberg to the issues at Durham”. In reference to procedures for dealing with racist hate speech, the letter claims “there is a massive flaw within the university’s hate crime complaint proceedings. “Those victims of ‘less’ serious hate incidents are instruct-
ed to write a letter to their perpetuator. We at DPOCA cannot believe that in order for victims to get justice at this university, they must relive their trauma and explain themselves to their perpetrator. “This is distasteful and this needs to change.” Continued on page 4
Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
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Editorial
Musings of a virtual student
S
ome things never change. Despite having full knowledge this editorial needed writing, I still left it until hours before Palatinate went to print. Simply reading this may stress you (and I haven’t even told you my heart rate right now), but I have yet to write a university essay where the threat of the deadline — always one more snooze on the alarm and it will be missed — does not spur me to put words on the page. Call it procrastination, efficiency or a desire so strong for perfectionism that it stymies you, but it certainly is one way to kickstart your adrenaline for the day. Especially in today’s crazy, corona world, this is surely one of the least harmful methods of enjoying living life on the edge and not playing it safe. This is not a philosophy I’m very consistent with, though. In terms of Covid-19, I might possibly be one of the most neurotic students you’ll come across. However, you won’t actually come across me this year — I am, in fact, a virtual student. I only exist on campus as a face on Zoom, or if I pop up on email, messenger or the phone. Unless we ‘attend’ classes together, or we share a love of a Palatinate social, I’ll sadly have more of a chance of being lost in the Zoom void that is the space between a breakout room and the main seminar, than I will the pleasure of bumping into you.
I am, in fact, a virtual student. I only exist on campus as a face on Zoom For a student who spends a worrying amount of time locked away in their bedroom, I probably
should be more enthusiastic than I am about the developments of the vaccine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited about an eventual return to normal that I’ve asked my Palatinate Secret Santa for a ‘F*ck it, Bucket or Done it’ list; I’m anticipating a time where I’ll be able to schedule in more reckless adventures, hopefully those that only involve one eventual and ultimate deadline. But now I can’t use the vaccine as an excuse for why I’m not going out — and specifically not going out dating. Whenever someone’s asked me “How’s your love life going?” since March, I thought I could cleverly avoid the nosy prying by shutting them down with, “I’m not dating till there’s a vaccine”. Alas, no more.
I’m not dating till there’s a vaccine Nevertheless, it has greatly entertained me, hearing how friends have tried to continue to date during lockdown. Of course, you have those who will Netflix Party with their partner, will go on not-so socially distanced walks, or even those who will find any loophole they can to see the current loves of their lives. One confessed to me they were going to hire their boyfriend as a cleaner for the day, and thus their relationship became essential, and they could enter each other’s houses. I’m not convinced this was in the spirit of the law, but surely neither is killing the turkey at Christmas so that you can have your 30 family members with you at the funeral. At this point, you may be thinking that I’ve put my life on hold and am only living vicariously
through others. You may have a point. Perhaps I should feel worse about it than I do. After all, I am at home whilst most others my age are in Durham, experiencing their final year in as normal a way as possible. Whilst it may be typical for a student household to live like night owls, only going to bed after 3am and rising when half the day is gone, in my house, it’s just completely unacceptable. How I envy all your abilities to have breakfast in your pyjamas at 1pm. So why have I not yet (knowingly) gone stir-crazy? Quite possibly because I only need to realise that, though all my friendships are long distance and require constant Zoom calls, currently this is the only way everyone can socialise. I only need to realise that being locked down in my bedroom does not equal imprisonment, just that working from home now means living at work. And it only takes a second for me to realise that the ‘work’ I do is exclusively for Palatinate (RIP my degree), which is not work for me but a way of life, something that brings me great joy and makes my time really worthwhile.
Working from home now means living at work Yes, I might become the first Editor-in-Chief to complete their two terms in office without setting foot in the Palatinate office or even in Durham. But, with the editors now laying up the paper from our own laptops, it means that I can do my job in just the same way as any previous editor. Granted, and obviously most depressingly, I can’t go to the Swan with the team after a long shift
Inside 833 News pages 3-6 Comment pages 7-9 Profile pages 10-11 SciTech pages 12-14 Politics pages 15-17 Sport pages 18-20
indigo
Editorial page 2 Fashion page 3 Features pages 4-5 Food & Drink page 6 Film & TV page 7 Books pages 8-9 Visual Arts page 10 Interview page 11 Music pages 12-13 Stage page 14 Creative Writing page 15 Travel page 16 laying up. Yet I still can get the paper ready for print, still send emails to the SU, and still write up articles that hold the University to account. I may be a virtual student, but it does not mean I am an invisible one. Tash Mosheim
Palatinate Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Imogen Usherwood & Tash Mosheim editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Toby Donegan-Cross & Tim Sigsworth deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Martha McHardy, Patrick Stephens & Max Kendix news@palatinate.org.uk News Reporters Richard Waters, Keziah Smith, Kiara Davies, Sophie Garnett, Saniya Saraf & Ella Bicknell Investigations Editor Luke Payne investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editors Cerys Edwards & Harrison Newsham comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Abigail Brierley & Ellie Fitzgerald-Tesh Profile Editors Will Entwistle, Isabella Green & Izzy Harris profile@palatinate.org.uk Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones, Faye Saulsbury & Elise Garcon scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Sophie Farmer & Aisha Sembhi politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editors Anna Shepherd & Lilith Foster-Collins Sport Editors Matt Styles & Luke Power sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Ben Fleming & James Reid Indigo Editors Hugo Millard & Millicent Machell indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editors Elle Woods-Marshall, Immy Higgins & Aadira Parakkat features@palatinate.org.uk Creative Writing Editors Meadbh Ni Mhorain & Jemima Guerney creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editor Isabel C. Davis stage@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editors Emma Tucker & Carys Stallard visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Books Editors Sol Noya & Millie Vickerstaff books@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editors Emily Potts & Abbie Cooper Davis fashion@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Meghna Amin & Constance Lam food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editors Gracie Linthwaite & Emma Johnson travel@palatinate.org.uk Film & TV Editor Madeleine Rosie Strom film@palatinate.org.uk Music Editors Katherine Pittalis & Martha Lily Dean music@palatinate.org.uk Interview Editors Claudia Jacob & Aimee Dickinson indigo.interview@palatinate.org.uk Sub Editors Chloe Waugh & Naomi RescorlaBrown sub.editors@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Mark Norton photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Beatrice Law & Amana Moore Illustration Editors Amber Conway, Verity Laycock & Samantha Fulton illustration@palatinate.org.uk Social Media Officers Sophie Dove & Theo Burman social.media@palatinate.org.uk
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
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PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
News
“The safety of our students is of the utmost importance” Continued from front
Seun Twins
Durham Students’ Union President
As we mark the halfway point of the second national lockdown, the University has announced a mass asymptomatic testing scheme for students to get a test for Covid-19. In order to make sure that student departure this December can be as safe as possible, not only just for students but for staff, the local community and the communities they are returning to, the University has ensured that all students will have tests available to them. I strongly urge everyone to participate in the University’s mass testing initiative. The easiest way to make sure that we mitigate the spread of Covid-19 is to get a test. These self-administered tests give you results in under 30 minutes and it is a great way to ensure peace of mind with travelling. In short: Get a test! Get a test! Get a test! In SU news, the DSU democracy review is being finalised and the survey has launched! The Democracy Review survey is available on the DSU website and on all DSU social media platforms. Also, you all have a chance of winning a £5 Greggs voucher if you fill in the survey. It will take approximately 10 minutes so get involved in shaping the future of your democracy and fill in the survey. It is common knowledge now that 10 core commissioners, including an independent commissioner, have launched the Culture Commission 20/21. This report and its recommendations must be shaped by the student impression of its own culture. This is why student engagement is fundamental to the success of the Culture Commission, so I encourage everyone to get involved in the back-to-back contribution sessions this November or look to the feedback form if you prefer to anonymously contribute. More about the research and the process behind the Culture Commission is on the DSU website, including my launch article and the commissioners’ profiles. Also, we will be announcing the open place commissioner very soon as well as the independent commissioner. Let’s all make the Culture Commission as great as it can be by getting involved. We want to hear from anyone and everyone. Take care and get a test, Seun
“The men didn’t try to communicate with me. There were two of them, middle aged, between 40 and 50. One of them was wearing a neon vest, and one of them had stubble, I’m pretty sure. It was dark.” Another remarked: “It seems to me that there’s a lot more sexual harassment nowadays. Me and my friends get catcalled by people in cars a lot.” The same student recounted how, at the end of October, they “saw this white car go past really slowly, like crawling. “It was these two men, both white and middle-aged; they veered towards me and slowed down more. They both looked at me really intently; their whole necks were turned to
face me. They never stopped to talk to me and drove away.” Two students recounted a similar experience just days later, in the street next to the aforementioned case. “We saw them in the street before we were about to leave our house, so decided to use the back gate to avoid being harassed as we’d already heard from others that they were targeting students without real reason.
“As a girl and a survivor this was incredibly frightening” “We decided to take the alleyways behind [redacted] instead of the main street. As we walked behind the houses, the… car followed along [redacted] parallel to us, revving its engine. “As a girl and a survivor this was incredibly frightening.” Another incident reported to
Palatinate took place in early November. The student said: “I had just got past the bus station, when two men in a dark coloured car pulled into the road, slowed down to a crawl and ended up passing me. “I thought nothing of it, until I heard the car rev its engine, and turn around by using the bus lane. “I noticed over my shoulder that they were slowly following me and looking at me. They stopped, and I heard the passenger get out of the car. I sped up to get to the roundabout, assuming they wouldn’t be brave – or stupid – enough to try anything in the brightly lit roundabout. “The passenger was a slim but tall man, wearing a dark hoodie. I managed to make it to the [redacted] accommodation, at which point he turned off towards [redacted]”. In response to Palatinate’s
findings, a University spokesperson said: “The safety of our students is of the utmost importance to us. Durham is a safe place to live, work and study and we are committed to making it safer still. “That’s why we’re part of key partnerships such as Durham City Safety Group, why we work closely with Durham Constabulary’s Police University Liaison and why we contribute to the costs of a term time police presence. “Our key advice on staying safe is: if you choose to drink alcohol, please do so responsibly; always plan how you will get home before going out; take safe routes home avoiding the river; and look after your friends and stick together when walking home. “If students have any safety concerns, they can contact their College or the Police University Liaison Team via the non-emergency number, 101.”
University will not reinstate key worker allowance through lockdown
Martha McHardy News Editor Durham University will not reinstate the key worker allowance for staff working on campus during lockdown. The University told the Durham branch of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) that it is unable to reinstate the key worker allowance for “financial reasons”. In response, Durham UCU stated that they are “extremely disappointed” by the decision. During the spring lockdown, which ran through Easter term, staff in grades one to eight who continued to deliver face to face teaching on campus for at least 3.5 hours every week received a flat rate of £75 per week.
The University has doubled the annual emergency leave provision to help staff Durham UCU delivered a series of letters to the University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, asking that all face to face teaching be suspended until it is deemed safe by scientific advisory bodies. Durham UCU also requested that all staff across the University and colleges who are delivering in-person support and teaching are provided with a key worker allowance. The University told Durham UCU that the contribution of staff who are working to support students and essential in-person activities on campus is
being recognised in “other ways”. Joanne Race, Director of Human Resources & Organisation Development, told Palatinate: “During the first national lockdown, the University remained open but was operated by a much reduced skeleton staff on site. In accordance with Government Guidance at the time, these colleagues were considered to be key workers and were paid a special allowance for a short period to recognise the exceptional circumstances at the early stages of the pandemic. “The University is now working much more normally, with many more students and colleagues on site. The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be with us for some time and we expect this to be our normal operating practice for the foreseeable future. Colleagues whose role requires them to be on site are therefore operating under their (new) normal working conditions and so, in line with many other universities, key worker payments are no longer applicable.” Mrs Race said the University had recognised the contribution of staff in a number of ways, including by encouraging nominations for the University’s Merit and Discretionary Awards. The University has also added two extra closure days to the Easter break, and three extra days to the upcoming Christmas break. Any staff member who may need to work on these days can take additional leave at another time, with many also receiving premium rate payments. Staff members are also allowed to
(Beatrice Law) carry forward some of their annual leave to 2021. Mrs Race also told Palatinate that the University has doubled the annual emergency leave provision to help staff to juggle caring and personal responsibilities.
“We have regularly raised issues of stress and anxiety that come from... working in a pandemic” However, some staff members have not felt adequately supported by the University throughout the pandemic. Durham UCU told Palatinate: “Members of staff across the University, especially those in Colleges providing front-line care and support for students, are working under extremely difficult and stressful circumstances, and without their presence ‘on the ground’ the uni-
versity would not be able to function. “We asked the management to reinstate the key worker allowance from spring in recognition of the central and integral role that these workers are playing in the present crisis, and the added stress and burden that it causes. “We have regularly raised issues of stress and anxiety that come from not only living and working in a pandemic, but also due to the added workload that blended learning and online teaching necessarily generate, and requested the University management for an institution-wide response to the stress caused by Covid-19, including a thorough stress risk assessment for all employees. “Durham was happy to recognise the key worker status of this subset of its employees in spring and there is no reason for them not to recognise it now.”
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Thursday 19th November 2020| PALATINATE
News
GoFundMe launched for severely injured student
Ella Bicknell News Reporter Friends and family of Tom Lazarides have launched a fundraising page for the third-year business and management student, who suffered life changing injuries after a swimming pool accident in June 2020. Tom was visiting a friend’s swimming pool during the summer holiday. When diving into the pool, he fractured his neck in two places and sustained a serious spinal cord injury. The Durham student was airlifted to an intensive care bed King’s College Hospital in London. For many weeks he could breathe only with the assistance of a ventilator. During the summer, Tom contracted rhabdomy-
olysis, a condition where skeletal muscles break down, which slowed his recovery. The Hild Bede student has been described as a popular young man who loved to play sports. He played county-level cricket, rugby, and was a valued member of Durham University’s golf team. Speaking to Kent Online, his mother, Bridget Lazarides, said “I am incredibly grateful that he is alive and incredibly lucky that he is starting to recover”.
Tom’s friends aimed to raise £30,000 over the summer, climbing mountains and completing swim challenges in freezing waters Tom is now able to breathe unaided and no longer needs to
wear a neck brace. According to fundraising pages set up to aid Tom’s recovery, “he now faces the very realistic possibility of being discharged to a care home, with no realistic path to recovery on the NHS, and limited access to physiotherapy”. The family is now looking to move him from Stoke Mandeville hospital, which can only offer four 45-minute physiotherapy sessions a week, which will enable Tom to fulfil his potential. The GoFundMe page, “A Ton for Tom”, aims to raise £100,000 to fund what is needed to start his recovery. It is projected that a bed at the rehab hospital will cost £10,000 a week and ongoing physiotherapy will cost £3,700 a week. Tom is determined to finish his degree and is planning his long-term future, however, treatment has been dramatically cut due to Covid-19.
Tom’s friends raised over £30,000 during the summer, climbing mountains and completing swim challenges in freezing waters. Since 9th November, the GoFundMe has raised over £8,500 from 100 donations, ranging from £5 to £5,000. One donor commented, “I don’t know the man but I felt like I had to help. Hopefully everything starts looking up for him. Stay strong!” Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah sent a video to offer his support: “I know you’re fighting right now, a tough battle but believe in yourself, I know you can win it.” Cricket players including England Captain Joe Root, a variety of Premiership rugby players and Liverpool’s Joe Gomez have all sent Tom video messages. As well as the GoFundMe Page, Tom’s school and university friends set up “Tom’s Fight” with
a series of fundraising challenges aimed to raise £30,000 over the summer. Their first swim challenge took them from Bradfordon-Avon to Bristol, swimming 36km over two days and raising £19,000. Their second challenge involved climbing Ben Nevis followed by a swim from Fort William to Fort Augustus, through the Caledonian Canal and Lochs, covering over 26 miles through freezing waters. They then returned by canoe and climbed the summit of Nevis again. One of Tom’s best friends, Will Bryant, is also running a marathon in Florida in March to fundraise for Tom’s recovery, and has so far raised £2,230 out of his £3,800 target. Tom’s supporters have created an Instagram account to update followers on the developments in his recovery and fundraising.
DPOCA: “Performative actions mean nothing”
Continued from front The University Executive, in response, told Palatinate: “The Respect At Study procedure covers all forms of potential bullying and harassment. In some less serious cases, speaking to, or writing to, the person concerned to let them know that their behaviour is unacceptable can be sufficient to remedy the situation. For serious allegations of racist behaviour this approach would not be appropriate. The Respect At Study policy is currently subject to review, including consultation with students.” DPOCA’s letter also claims, in reference to a cultural survey conducted following the signing of the Race Equality Charter: “The findings of this survey expose how the university fails to acknowledge significant issues like the low BAME representation amongst staff. The composition of the senate discipline commit-
tee, for example, is worrying as there are only three BAME members out of nineteen.” The University executive argued that signing up to the Race Equality Charter was “an important reflection of our desire to address racial inequalities as part of the University’s wide-ranging commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion. The framework will help us to identify what we can do to support the representation and achievement of our minority ethnic staff and students across our whole University community.” Another major theme of the letters was a perceived lack of transparency in terms of incidents of racism. DPOCA said: “The University does not provide publicly the statistics on the number of reported incidents, open investigations and outcomes of racist incidents. This means that the true extent of racist incidents that occur at this University are not known. We relaunched our
(Beatrice Law) ‘Recognise, Report, and Resist’ form recently and in three days we have had almost 20% of reports that the total reports that the Report and Support tool had over the last year. We ask that the university increases transparency and make these statistics be available to the public.” Several of the letters also cite statistics that 62% of students do not think anything will happen if they report a hate crime. The University Executive pointed to its new “online Report and Support tool through which staff, students and visitors can report unwanted behaviours and seek support: reportandsupport. durham.ac.uk.” The letter claimed that DPOCA had provided its college POC representatives with Anti-racism training, and criticised the University for not doing so itself. “If the university were to provide POC Reps with adequate support, it would make tackling racism at the college level so much easier. If
the university really cared about making Durham a safe space, they wouldn’t leave it up to students to do all the groundwork. This is your responsibility.” The University told Palatinate: “When the College People of Colour (POC) representative structure was introduced in August 2020, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit worked with the Durham People of Colour Association (DPOCA) and provided funding to support training for the POC representatives. We continue to work closely with DPOCA and look forward to doing so in future, including through our work on respect and tackling racial inequalities.”
“Performative actions mean nothing if you refuse to address and work on the racist issues within the university” The main letter from DPOCA acknowledged recent statements made by the University, such as that by Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Anthony Long, that “Racism has no place at Durham University”. Similarly, following the death of George Floyd, the University stated that it is united in tackling ‘ignorance, intolerance and hatred.’ The University continued: “We condemn all racism and hate crime in the strongest possible terms. Racism has no place at Durham University. “We are working to build a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. We acknowledge we have more to do to make this a reality for everyone, but we are working hard to achieve this. “Having signed the Race Equality Charter in March 2019, we are working to understand any insti-
tutional or cultural barriers that may stand in the way of BAME staff and students, and to improve the representation, progression and success of BAME staff and students within our University community. “Professor Jacqui Ramagge, our Executive Dean for Science, and a representative from the BAME Staff Network, currently chair a Black Lives Matter round-table discussion for University staff, which has been meeting with University Executive representatives to discuss relevant issues and identify opportunities to address structural inequalities from a race perspective. “Also Professor Simon Forrest, Principal of the College of St Hild and St Bede, has chaired a roundtable discussion involving students and senior University staff including Executive members. This has led to the University providing financial support to a student-led project aimed at supporting access to higher education by people of colour. “We have made it a University priority to take forward the recommendations of the Durham Commission on Respect, Values and Behaviour. We are currently seeking nominations to a Respect Oversight Group, which will oversee their delivery and report on progress to the University Executive. For more information on getting involved or making a nomination, please visit the Durham University website. “The vast majority of our community embrace our shared goal of creating an environment that is respectful and inclusive. However, where behaviour falls below the standards we would expect, we will take swift and decisive action.”
News Online
PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
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News
Durham lead in mass testing helps students return for Christmas Max Kendix News Editor Most departments are to move to online teaching from 7th December, as the University continues to trial the new Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) in several colleges. The online teaching and tests will enable students to travel home in a national “student travel window” from 3rd to 9th December. The Bill Bryson Library and the Sports and Wellbeing Park will remain open for most of the winter holidays, as will access to catering for students. The form of catering will vary by college situation, but will at least include a pantry or selfcatered kitchen, and potentially a central catering facility to buy meals. Durham is still the only university in the UK distributing LFTs widely and on a self-administered basis, with those living in Stephenson, Van Mildert and University College being the first to sign up to the pilot scheme. LFTs aim to identify asymptomatic students, with results available in less than half an hour. Michelle Donelan, Minister for Universities, told Vice-Chancel-
lors that free self-administered Covid-19 tests would be provided to facilitate mass testing in the week before the travel window. English universities were told to move all teaching online by 10th December to allow student to travel then study at home for the end of term. At Durham, certain face-to-face teaching will continue until that date, including laboratory-based teaching and practicals. The University’s current plan is to resume in Epiphany term with a “blended model of face to face teaching and online learning”.
“We are aware that many of our students will very much want to travel home for Christmas ... All of our students will have our full support”
lege Union (UCU) branch threatened strike action at the end of October if face-to-face teaching was not suspended. Vice-Chancellor Stuart Corbridge, however, said that the University has seen “no evidence of transmission in classroom settings”, and are “continuing with prioritised face to face teaching, as well as with a wide range of in person student enrichment activities”. He continued: “We welcome the Government’s guidance on how students at English universities can travel home safely for Christmas.
“We are aware that many of our students will very much want to travel home for Christmas, while others will choose to, or have to, remain in Durham. All of our students will have our full support. “We are reminding our students that under current national restrictions, in place until Wednesday 2nd December, travel home is not permitted. “Following that date, we want to support our students to make informed decisions regarding their travel and will be providing information, advice and support in [the] coming weeks.”
The news comes as Covid-19 cases dwindle in Durham, with daily cases now in single figures. Cases have decreased significantly at most universities since the first few weeks of term, and Durham still leads nationally in terms of cases as a proportion of the total student and staff population. Durham’s University and Col-
(Amana Moore)
University defends high salaries continued from front
In the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, six of its 1060 staff members were on salaries of over £100,000, amounting to around 0.6% of the Faculty. This was the lowest number and percentage of staff on over £100,000 across the University’s academic faculties. The Freedom of Information Request also revealed that the University has hired seven members of staff in 2020 on salaries of over £100,000. Commenting on the TaxPayer’s Alliance findings, the University told local newspaper, The Northern Echo, “Durham University is a world top 100 institution with around 20,000 students, over 4,000 staff and an annual turnover of around £360m. “Competitive salary packages are essential to attract and retain outstanding individuals in a global market for higher education leadership talent. “Our Remuneration Committee considers a number of criteria in its deliberations, which include extensive benchmarking across the higher education sector, as well as performance in role. The Committee regularly reviews these criteria.”
Lumiere to return in 2021 Cathedral granted
Kiara Davies News Reporter Lumiere, the UK’s largest and most successful light festival, will return to County Durham in 2021, showcasing works by local, national, and international artists. Last year’s Lumiere boosted the local economy by £11.5 million, and, despite the extreme weather conditions affecting attendance numbers, turnout remained high with around 165,000 visitors.
More than 10,000 local residents have benefited from the festival’s learning and participation programmes Cllr Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “This year has been incredibly difficult for people in County Durham and across the world. “The impact of coronavirus on our communities has been profound and I think we are all in need of something to look forward to at the moment. “By announcing Lumiere’s re-
turn next year, we hope to spread a message of hope and show there is light at the end of the tunnel in these difficult times. “As the evaluation of last year’s festival demonstrates, Lumiere also provides a significant boost to our economy, as well as supporting artists and creative businesses from the UK and beyond. “The most complete recent figures show creative industries contributed more than £11 billion to the UK economy in 2018 and we expect the arts will play a crucial role in our region’s recovery from the pandemic. “Lumiere will be a major part of that and I’m delighted to announce its return.”
Community outreach is also an important part of Lumiere. Since 2009, more than 10,000 local residents, including thousands of schoolchildren, have benefited from the festival’s learning and participation programmes, as well as the many volunteering opportunities the event creates. The event has been planned to take place from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21st November 2021, with the art’s charity and Lumiere organiser, Artichoke, making sure that appropriate measures are in place to keep attendants safe in accordance with the current coronavirus guidelines. (Naomi Clarke/Paul Norris)
£2 million lifeline
Kiara Davies News Reporter Durham Cathedral has received lottery funding worth almost £2 million to maintain it during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Culture, confirmed the grant for the Cathedral, which is one of 162 heritage sites across England to share the £14 million. These grants for historic sites aim to meet the ongoing costs and support the reopening and restarting activity when it is possible to safely do so. Other northeastern historic sites that have received funding include the Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (£35,000) and Trinity Church in Gosforth (£30,000). Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive, said: “Historic places across the country, from Durham Cathedral, embodying more than a thousand years of history, to the Crystal Palace di-
nosaurs, much loved by children and grown ups alike, are being supported by the Government’s latest round of grants awarded under the Culture Recovery Fund. “This funding is a lifeline which is kick-starting essential repairs and maintenance at many of our most precious historic sites, so they can begin to recover from the damaging effects of Covid-19. “It is also providing employment for skilled craft workers who help to keep historic places alive and the wheels of the heritage sector turning. Our shared heritage is an anchor for us all in these challenging times and this funding will help to ensure it remains part of our collective future.” Durham Cathedral is currently shut to visitors but remains open for private prayer and quiet reflection. Worships continues online, with live-streamed services on the Cathedral’s Facebook page. HEARD ANYTHING NEWSWORTHY? Email news@palatinate.org.uk
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
News
Durham SolidariTee launches Christmas sales drive Toby Donegan-Cross Deputy Editor The Durham branch of SolidariTee is encouraging students to buy their t-shirts in the run up to Christmas. SolidariTee is the largest run student charity in the UK that fights for change in the refugee crisis, in particular through legal aid. They argue that in the short term, legal aid minimises the risk of an individual who has a legitimate claim to asylum from being deported unjustly and brings family members, scattered across Europe, back together again. This makes it the most sustainable and empowering form of aid. The fundraising model of SolidariTee is simple. Student volunteers sell and deliver t-shirts around university towns, cutting out middle-man costs since the teams work remotely. They also run events in order to raise awareness, and use infographics to challenge false narratives
about refugees. The idea was conceived by Cambridge student Tiara Sahar Ataii in early 2017 as a form of “silent protest”. Those wearing the t-shirts could see the wide range of support, while also making a tangible difference. Since its conception, the charity has set up bases across over 40 universities in the UK, US, and Europe.
The 2020 t-shirt designs are based on a collaborative artwork produced by refugees and asylum seekers The 2020 t-shirt designs are based on a collaborative artwork produced by refugees and asylum seekers from northern Greece. They are produced ethically and sustainably, using organic cotton and water-based inks. Costing £12, the charity guarantees that more than £8.10 of each sale goes directly towards
NGOs who provide legal aid. Proceeds from one t-shirt is enough to fund a day’s worth of food and accommodation for two translators.
“The one thing I’d say is not to be naive about the refugee crisis” Durham’s branch of SolidariTee is led by Harry Gadsby, a fourth year chemistry student from St Cuthbert’s Society, and Nikita Kumar, a second year law student from Van Mildert College. They lead a team of 25 volunteers. Asked how and why they got involved with the charity, Gadsby told Palatinate: “Over lockdown I was looking into ways in which I could get more involved in student-life in, whilst investing my time into something meaningful and worthwhile. “I was aware of the work that SolidariTee does, having had friends who were involved last year. This meant when I saw a
Facebook post about getting involved, I thought why not and was lucky enough to get the role of Head Rep alongside Nikita.” Kumar said: “I have always volunteered with various groups and been interested in the refugee crisis, so being Head Rep gave me the opportunity to bring both those sides together into one cohesive role. And the best part is that we have a team who love to do the same, and I get to support them with that.” Kumar encouraged students to get involved with the charity, saying: “We have so many exciting events coming up, including collaborations with other societies as we really want to establish a name for SolidariTee on campus. Our next event is on 19th November and will be a panel discussion on the refugee crisis and other humanitarian issues.” The importance of the charity’s mission was reiterated by Gadsby, who said: “The one thing I’d say is not to be naive about the refugee crisis.
“Even though the vast amount of money SolidariTee raises goes towards camps in Greece, the refugee crisis is something that hits far closer to home than this. Look at our Prime Minister and Home Secretary’s recent statement on asylum seekers trying to cross the channel.
“A global change in perspective, and law, is needed” “Did you know that the UK is the only country in Europe to indefinitely detain asylum seekers? A global change in perspective, and law, is needed to ensure that moral justice prevails.” Students can get involved in the charity in a number of different ways, including by following the charity’s social media pages, buying a t-shirt, attending events across campus, and becoming a rep.
researchers DPOCA launch christmas gift Durham model Covid-19 spread fundraiser for local children in refugee camps
Max Kendix News Editor The Durham People of Colour Association (DPOCA) have launched a campaign to buy Christmas gifts for children in the local community. The campaign, called Operation Christmas Joy 2020, aims to fundraise £2,020 in 20 days to buy the gifts from local businesses and distribute them to families. Local charities, including Dur-
ham City of Sanctuary, Durham Area Action Partnership and Laurel Avenue Foodbank have partnered with DPOCA to reach out to those in difficulty and deliver the gifts over Christmas. A fundraising page has already been set up, and will be open for donations between Thursday 19th November and 9th December. The campaign will also ask all colleges to choose three gifts from a list, and to then fundraise the cost of 20 of each gift.
(Beatrice Law)
The campaign will come into force in a year where Durham’s Christmas Festival was cancelled. The festival would have included a marquee on Palace Green, markets in Durham Cathedral’s cloisters, Market Place and Town Hall, as well as festive music and special seasonal events. “2020 has been a difficult year for us all, filled with a lot of negativity and hate”, said Dan Takyi, President of DPOCA. “Given the amount of misfortune and hardships that we’ve all experienced over the course of this year, we as the Durham People of Colour Association believe that it is only right to try and end it on a high note with some positivity, kindness and celebration.
“2020 has been a difficult year for us all, filled with a lot of negativity and hate” “In order to try and spread some holiday spirit, we have decided that the best way to do this would be to provide some Christmas cheer to children in the North East. This will go towards helping the families as well as supporting the charities themselves as they recover from Covid-19.”
Richard Waters News Reporter Durham University physics and cosmology students are working with a team of UN experts to model the spread of the Covid-19. Through using computergenerated scenarios, the effectiveness of different potential public health responses can be compared. Recently this group has applied their modelling to the Kutupalong-Batukhali Expansion Site region of the Cox’s Bazar refugee operation in Bangladesh. With a densely-packed population of over 600,000 Rohingya refugees, conventional measures such as social distancing or isolation are not always possible.
This modelling was able to simulate normal routines, as well as hot-spots for gatherings such as water pumps and aid distribution centres. It also highlighted the importance of face masks within certain settings in the camp, and has been implemented by those working on the ground. The team are now designing a website to allow aid organisations and policy-makers to access their scenario modelling in an accessible way. Durham’s team is led by Joseph Bullock, a PhD researcher in the Institute for Data Science and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology. He was joined by researchers Carolina Cuesta-Lazaro and Arnau Quera-Bofarull. (Mark Norton)
PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
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Comment
Town and gown: old stereotypes revisited? Charlotte Austin Newspapers love to produce stories about town and gown conflict. There’s something about the caricatures of over-privileged students clashing with the stuckin-their-ways locals that tabloids can’t resist. However, as a County Durham local, I’ve grown up with this conflict and I can see it from both sides now that I’m a student here. Especially in the time of Covid-19, students are unfairly getting the blame for the actions of their university and government. Communications from the University have stressed the importance of social responsibility to protect the wider Durham community. However, there is only so much students can do to prevent transmission when they are living in households of ten or more, and are still expected to attend faceto-face teaching. A financial and political decision was made by universities and the government to encourage students to return to campus. The result of that calculation was always that cases were going to shoot up, no matter how careful we all were. The rise in cases in Durham has caused fear in the community. Manifesting that fear into asking questions of those in power is crucial but the student-bashing I’ve seen in Durham is pure scapegoating.
Back in May, the Parish Council wrote a letter to the University complaining about students returning to their houses for exam season, suggesting they were only coming back for house parties. Elected officials are meant to represent their constituents, not designate one group as a problem. The suspicion of students runs deep in the community. Take one scroll through the Facebook group ‘Gripe & Grumble & News’ and you’ll see Durham students being blamed every time there is a large group of people on the streets – local young people exist too! Locals are not immune from criticism and I’ve seen them flout guidelines too. When I see a big group of older men sitting at the same table in a pub I think – wow, they must be lonely, I can understand why they wanted to break the rules. For freshers living with complete strangers, the social isolation is even more intense. What happened to the solidarity of earlier this year and why have we started blaming each other? The recent outbreak of student-local tension does not exist in a vacuum. Whenever I speak to locals about Durham University students, I get all of the predictable responses: ‘posh,’ ‘stuck up,’ and ‘entitled,’ which they then qualify with ‘not you, Charlotte!’ Part of me wants to agree with them after reports of discrimina-
tion against northern students at the University. Although it is not true of most Durham students, the reason why antagonism is so high owes a lot to the University management. Expansion in student numbers is going beyond what is feasible for a city the size of Durham. 4,000 have been added in the last decade and the University masterplan proposes another 4,000 before 2027. This, in addition to £8k per year college rents, has exploded the private rental market in Durham, pricing local people out.
pick up asymptomatic cases,” targeting “areas with highest R rates, highest infection rates and most vulnerable students”. Despite the potential problems of this staggered return, such as end-of-term deadlines and booking advance train and plane tickets (and ignoring the frankly comical BBC headline: “Students to go home in evacuation-style operation”), it bodes well that central government are already enacting a secure exit-strategy for universities nationwide. Even more impressive is the promise of lateral flow tests (LFTs): rapid Covid-19 tests that return results in under an hour. Durham University are already at the forefront of LFT trials amongst UK universities, first piloted in Stephenson, Van Mildert and University Colleges. The plans to roll this one-hour testing out across all Durham colleges are even more encouraging. The logic of mass-testing is simple. The earlier a Covid-19 carrier
is identified, the quicker they can isolate, and the fewer people they will transmit the virus to. It’s recognised that nearly half of Covid-19 infections are transmitted by asymptomatic carriers. Mass-testing amongst students is thus particularly important as the 18-25 age group is most likely to present only very mild symptoms, or none at all. In general, the speed and efficiency of testing centres in Durham this term has been impressive: testslots available within the hour, and results returned in under 24 hours. Access to testing has been vital in allowing positive cases to isolate rapidly, and allowing negative cases to return to face-to-face teaching as soon as possible. I only hope this speaks to the national picture. In early September, Matt Hancock inadvertently blamed the public for the shortages of coronavirus tests, telling BBC Breakfast that only 75% of people getting tests were symptomatic, and that he wanted to keep tests available
Growing up in County Durham, the University had a more positive reputation in the community. I was on the Supported Progression scheme, which offered disadvantaged local students improved access to Durham University. This has since been axed. Scheduled cuts to support staff under BPR2 proposals would damage one of the main ways that the university contributes to the community through employment opportunities. The social contract between the city and its University is being stretched to a breaking point. The second lock-
down means that the importance of being good neighbours has never been greater. Both students and locals are guinea pigs in the experiment of in-person teaching during a pandemic. The decision to attempt a ‘new normal’ was taken over the heads of both groups and it is they who must suffer the consequences. It is now even more important that we lobby our University to be responsible in the community, both during Covidtime and beyond. (Amber Conway)
Mass testing gives students a shot in the arm Emma King
For the first time in this Covidworld we’re living in, I feel able to praise a government policy regarding university students. The recently-announced plans for mass-testing of students at the end of term come as a much-needed demonstration of proper leadership and advance planning. In contrast to Matt Hancock’s previous claim that he could not guarantee students’ return home for Christmas, this feels like a real act of humanity. The government have just announced the week-long “travel window” after national lockdown lifts on 2nd December, during which students can return home safely. The Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan, tweeted that tests will “complement” this staggered departure from universities “with mass testing, using rapid tests that
just for those with actual Covid-19 symptoms. He was quickly rebuked for this statement; it is, of course, those asymptomatic cases of the virus that pose the greatest threat of widespread transmission.
This feels like a refreshing and reassuring leap forward from the chaotic start of term we all experienced
It beggars belief that hundreds of thousands of students were allowed to travel back to university in September without any kind of widespread testing. This could have prevented the huge spikes amongst student populations across the country, catching the asymptomatic cases early before transmitting it to their new households. The resources for mass-testing were just clearly not in place, but the strategy for the end of this term paints a more hopeful picture for the future. The government website ex-
plains how mass-testing of students “will provide additional assurances that where tests are negative, there is a reduced risk in students travelling home, and a reduced risk of transmission to their family and home community”. The key word here is “assurances”. Mass-testing is not simply a case of catching positive cases, but allowing the largely negative population to continue with their daily lives “assured” of their safety. Durham University is yet to announce exactly how and when mass-testing will be carried out here, but the government’s announcement feels like a refreshing and reassuring leap forward from the chaotic start of term we all experienced. Mass-testing in universities, schools, hospitals, and offices is the best way to mitigate the spread and impact of the virus whilst we wait for a vaccine. I’m proud that Durham is leading the way for other universities on this front.
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
Comment
Mental health awareness is not enough Paul Ray
You’ll probably have seen a lot of your male friends growing horrible little moustaches recently as part of Movember. One of the main purposes of Movember is to raise awareness of men’s health issues, especially men’s mental health. This cause is unimpeachably worthy, with suicide being the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Why are we so mentally unwell, particularly (but not only) men? Is it because there’s a stigma around men’s mental health, that we’re too repressed to talk about our feelings and find it embarrassing to seek professional help for mental health crises? That’s the predominant narrative, the narrative favoured by the “awareness” approach, but my recent experience of mental ill-health suggests to me that this narrative is flawed. The hellish experience of a mental health crisis in the UK isn’t primarily due to individuals suffering in silence, it’s caused by a chronic lack of NHS resources. Think about it. You’re a man, you’re experiencing a sharp decline in your mental health. Maybe you’re depressed, or you’re experiencing mysterious daily panic attacks. Due to mental health awareness campaigns you realise that there’s a problem and you need to do something to change your situation. You can candidly talk to your family and friends about what you’re going through, they can offer you
their emotional support and make accommodations, fantastic. That doesn’t cure you, though, so what do you do next? You might see your GP. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all mental health appointments take place over telephone. They usually last about five minutes, and end with a doctor telling you to self-refer to the local mental health service for some talking therapy. In Durham, the mental health service is called Talking Changes. The “first level” of their cognitive behavioural therapy is entirely self-guided. It’s online self-help. Every week you log onto a website, watch some videos, and read some tips about dealing with stress, each online module ending with a relaxing meditation video. Once a week someone from the service will log in and check your progress and leave some notes about which module you should work through next. You never have a live conversation with a mental health expert.
So, let’s say you’re plunged into a full-blown mental health crisis, klaxons blaring, feeling like you’re losing your mind. You might have reacted badly to medication (Sertraline side effects can be brutal) or maybe your health has just deteriorated through lack of quality professional support. You might ring the NHS’s emergency mental crisis line. It’s staffed by a volunteer without medical training who tells you to do some ironing to take your mind off it. It doesn’t cut it. You can’t take it. You go to A&E. You wait three hours and finally get seen in person by a specialist mental health team.
For me, this is where the story finally takes a positive turn. They suggested more appropriate medication, and soon afterwards I started at Durham University, whose mental health counselling service is excellent. We are deeply privileged to be able to access this mental health support offered by Durham: most people going through mental health crises aren’t students at elite universities, and don’t have access to what is essentially a private form of mental healthcare. The mental health crisis in the UK is fundamentally not one of awareness or stigma. This is especially true of students, who are probably
the generation most comfortable talking about mental health in human history. The problem is that there is very little the NHS can do for you. They all want to help, you can hear the empathy in their voices and see the concern on their faces, but they can’t put you to the top of the waiting list, they can’t put you in front of an experienced psychotherapist, they can’t give you a personalised diagnostic session to find the right medication for you. Until they can do those things and do them efficiently, mental health awareness will not help people suffering mental health crises.
There is very little the NHS can do for you
What if this doesn’t help you, and you keep getting worse? You have two options. You can either ring up Talking Changes (or its local equivalent) and ask to be “stepped up” to the next level of CBT, weekly thirty-minute telephone consultations. The waiting list for this was six weeks in September – a Talking Changes administrator told me that at the start of the pandemic it was six months. You can either wait or beg your GP for medication.
(Anna Kuptsova)
Did the eased lockdown prioritise men? Katie Tobin
After a few months of indefinite uncertainty, June saw the introduction of an eased lockdown. Many of the former restrictions were uplifted and life began to return to a strange but welcomed version of normality. However, many of the new, relaxed lockdown rules were critiqued for the limitations that were still being imposed on women and the LGBTQ+ community. This begs the question: with a male-dominated cabinet, has the easing of lockdown prioritised men? Caroline Nokes, chair of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, condemned the government for making decisions that were “driven by men, for men, ignoring the voices of women”. The initial relaxing of lockdown in summer prioritised the reopening of pubs, and the cur-
rent circuit-breaker ensures that Premier League and elite sports are allowed to continue. When football audiences are typically over two-thirds male, the decision to prohibit yoga and Pilates studios seemed undeniably poised in favour of men. Nokes writes that “these [yoga and Pilates] are female-led businesses, employing women, supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of women, and still they are given no clue as to when the end of lockdown will be in sight.” Similarly, beauty salons and female-oriented small businesses have faced numerous restrictions, and unlike the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme for eateries, there has been no government initiative in place to help these industries. Nokes also noted that if the PM “needed to sort the childcare, get his nails done and his legs waxed,” then the lift on lockdown restrictions in June may have looked significantly different. The continued restrictions on childcare were one of the biggest
challenges that parents faced in summer. It seemed laughable when mothers were being urged to return to work when there was no guarantee of secured childcare and schools had long been closed. “I cannot help but feel this relaxation has forgotten we exist,” Nokes wrote, “or just assumed that women will be happy to stay home and do the childcare and home schooling, because the sectors they work in are last to be let out of lockdown”.
The government need to readdress their approach
The closure of public toilets has also created new problems for those who menstruate. Although on 31st October, Robert Jenrick announced that a review would be launched to help women be assured of the necessary provision of toilets, this also created new issues for trans and non-binary individuals. The review placed emphasised the “need” for separate-sexed toi-
lets, stating that they intend to “maintain safeguards that protect women and the proper provision of separate toilets, which has long been a regulatory requirement, should be retained and improved.” On 31st October, Keith Farnish tweeted that the policy was an “utterly shameless attack on non-binary people and also nonsense in terms of legislation”. When asked about the new measures, a non-binary student told Palatinate: “I was assigned female at birth and still have my period once a month, but I present more masculine and I’m often mistaken for a man. I don’t want to have to declare my sex or the fact that I’m menstruating to justify being let into a particular cubicle.” Despite the government’s insistence that this new toilet review would be in the interest of safeguarding women, domestic violence and sexual abuse has risen exponentially in the last year with minimal government intervention to tackle this. The Wom-
en’s Aid Survivor Survey shows that abusers are using Covid-19 to perpetuate abuse, and the abuse is escalating. In the survey, 67% of survivors who are currently experiencing abuse said it has got worse since Covid-19, and 72% said their abuser had more control over their life. When domestic abuse support groups and one-on-one therapy sessions are currently prohibited, yet the Premier League may continue, it seems that Boris and his cabinet have sorely neglected to address the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community during the pandemic. The prioritising of pubs and barbers opening before beauty salons and yoga studios reads as clear gender bias on behalf of the predominantly male MPs creating new legislation. With the dire need for increased domestic abuse intervention and ease of access to public toilets, the government need to radically readdress their approach in easing the current restrictions after lockdown 2.0 ends.
PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
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Comment
Don’t promise climate aid, pay climate debt Charlie Clark The solidarity of the Black Lives Matter movement globally is bringing much-needed attention to issues of police brutality and systematic racism. However, there remains a contentious area of chronic racial injustice, frequently sidelined in the debate: climate change. Links between racial injustice and climate change have never been more prevalent. Reductionist portrayals almost always created by white, European academics neglect concerns over social justice. Climate change affects us all globally but doesn’t affect us all proportionately. Until we critically accept that vulnerability to climate change is not a natural phenomenon but a product of social power relations, past and present, we cannot start to combat the issue effectively.
Neo-colonial politics and power dominate climate politics
As a collective, we are living through the so-called “Anthropocene”: an era of human dominance characterised by capitalist political economy, outlandish resource extraction, untenable rates of spe-
cies extinction, destruction of biosphere integrity, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, nitrogen fixing at astronomic levels, land-system change, and unprecedented green-house gas pollution (the list goes on...). But who suffers? And more importantly, how do we stop the suffering? While global industrialisation lifted billions from relative poverty, producing technological feats previously resigned to science fiction, the cost was seemingly crippling and disparate. The UK contributed more to temperature change (per capita) than any other nation in human history, finding itself as one of the richest economies on the planet. The UK also happens to be one of the least vulnerable nations to the risks and hazards associated with climate change. Conversely, of the ten most vulnerable nations, eight were governed by European colonial empires, and subsequently find themselves amongst the most impoverished and environmentally damaged countries globally. So, surely, it is self-evident that the western powers should pay “a climate debt” or reparation
for damage inflicted? Seemingly a strategy of minimal aid in the case of absolute disaster has been the adopted policy. Claims in 2009 of $100 billon in affordable grants to nations vulnerable to climate change (all of which were ruled under colonial powers) have been pitifully enacted, and a policy of loans and finance adopted. Nations environmentally and socially decimated by
ing of federal programmes based on “race-based” theories, tweeting desires to stop indoctrination with “divisive and harmful sex- and race-based ideologies”, essentially, for organisations to cease suggesting that whiteness is advantageous.
our country”. These actions point to growing attempts by Conservative leadership to perpetuate ideas of a “radicalising” left, pointing to sporadic violent incidents related to BLM. It negates realities that the movement gained support not through intense organisation but thousands of British people voicing anguish at racism within society. Badenoch proclaimed in her speech that Conservatives “do not want to see teachers teaching white pupils about white privilege and inherited racial guilt”. Badenoch, or her party utilising her as a mouthpiece, conflated contested and accepted concepts. Whilst racial guilt and police defunding are topics of debate, white privilege is not. By deeming this issue political, and threatening teachers relaying it as fact, conversations around systemic racism are erased. This is particularly concerning considering Runnymede Trust’s recent finding that teachers feel poorly-equipped to teach about racism. What we need now is reform – not blockades to progress. Structural racism in this country is indisputable, inequality courses through national institutions’ veins. This denouncement points, at best, to the Conservatives’ fundamental misunderstanding of white privi-
western colonialism and now, climate change, are expected to pay interest on loans to repair and prepare for the vulnerability that this climate change is causing. We are now seeing a continuation of this policy of effective neglect. Disaster aid over climate reparations (never providing postcolonial states with the ability to prepare and mitigate risk of climate disaster) will increasingly have disastrous consequences, including endemic drought in sub-Saharan Africa, crippling wildfires throughout the Brazilian Amazon, annual systematic decimation in the Caribbean by cyclones, displacement fatality and destruction of life in India’s lowlands, to give only a few examples. The threat to post-colonial nations in unending the climate reparations paid is minimal. Sea-level rise in the previously Britishruled Kiribati is threatening inhabitants to such an extent that the islands have purchased 5,000 acres from neighbouring Fiji for inevitable relocation. The small Caribbean island of
Haiti provides an example of the racial climate injustice ever present among the Global North. Crippling environmental degradation, exacerbated with each epidemic, drought and hurricane season goes back to French imperial rule. Indigenous peoples were enslaved and the nation’s lands left infertile. Surely then, France is paying reparations? Quite the opposite. Despite a non-exhaustive list of cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical storms, torrential rains and floods (not to mention being the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere), Haiti is still paying France back a $21 billion indemnity reparation. Yes. Haiti pays France reparations. And whilst nations jump to promise climate aid in the rare event that disaster does strike, this sidesteps the fundamental issues that caused the crises in the first place. Neo-colonial power dominates climate politics. It is critical not to allow the broader science to mask underlying racial injustices. The western powers that caused the anthropogenic climate crises must accept responsibility. Climate change affects us all globally but not proportionally, so lets accept responsibility, abandon paternalistic neo-colonialism and pay our climate debt.
lege, or, at worst, wilful deflection of its existence. Discussions of white privilege are often moved by Conservatives towards white working-class boys’ situations, who statistically suffer educationally. It suggests discomfort recognising inequality beyond class boundaries, intersectionality ignored, along with realities that racial discrimination persists regardless of wealth. Privilege in this context does not connote ease and luxury, as right-wing commentators keenly suggest, but rather that skin colour creates no additional barrier to white people’s progress. It seems ironic that white working-class children are deflections for Conservative MPs, who recently voted to cease school meal funding making this emphatic defence of deprived white people ring untrue. Whilst poor children are useful pawns in dismissing white privilege, when it comes to effecting real change for them, the party casually casts them aside. The fact that the Minister for Equalities – who consistently votes against laws promoting equality and human rights – is prepared to stand “unequivocally against critical race theory,” is a worrying statement. The need for the UK to lead with institutional reform is press-
ing. Combatting racism does not translate to empty statements, but to decisive change, to tearing down and restructuring of institutions founded on white supremacist ideals, facilitated by abuse of black people. If simply acknowledging white people’s privilege is deemed oppressive and limiting by the government, how far can we really go in achieving racial equality in this country?
(Markus Spiske via Unsplash)
Critical race theory and why you should care Freya Reynolds
When Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Equalities, recently denounced “critical race theory”, it was the first time the phrase had ever been used in Parliament. The theory, developed by black academics in the 70s, is more commonly applied in legal practice, resting on ideas that racism is not a phenomenon of the past but one deep-rooted in our society. In the USA, it has become synonymous with belief in white people’s structural advantages, in short, critical race theory confirms white privilege’s existence. Rather than utilising this in current discussions of inequality though, the theory was dismissed. Badenoch’s opposition to “teaching of contested political ideas, as (…) accepted fact,” seems simple enough, but hints at more sinister trends of Conservative action. Following calls to dismantle structural racism, the use of this term in dismissing white privilege, relatively unknown beyond academia, appears calculated. Discussion of the theory has likely emanated from American vilification. This September, Trump ordered the defund-
Combatting racism does not translate to empty statements, but to descisive change
Now, the Conservative government is following suit. Whilst May and June were littered with commitments against racism — when it comes to application, action has halted. In fact, there has been a turn away from efforts to tackle discrimination, and towards denouncement of movements’ radicalism. This follows recent Department for Education guidance that “extreme political stances” should be removed from schools, threatening to stifle teaching around groups advocating racial equality through structural change. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden recently proposed cutting funding for museums removing exhibits in response to protests, unsurprising given Johnson’s denouncement of Labour’s desire to “pull statues down, to rewrite the history of
“
Structural racism in this country is indisputable
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
Profile
“The joy of natural history is that it travels the world” Profile talks to Alastair Fothergill, producer of nature documentaries including Planet Earth
Will Entwistle Profile Editor Documenting the natural world presents phenomena usually seen by few to many. Our ability to be astonished by nature is proof enough of its power; the images often speak for themselves. Alastair Fothergill is responsible for capturing the natural world’s power. He is a wildlife filmmaker, known best for his role as series producer of Blue Planet and Planet Earth, then later as the executive producer of The Hunt, Our Planet and, most recently the film David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. A Life On Our Planet differs from Fothergill’s previous work. In particular, it is a personalised account of the natural world’s vulnerability seen against the backdrop of Sir David Attenborough’s life – as Attenborough describes it, in his accompanying book, “the most extraordinary life. It is only now that I appreciate how extraordinary”. The film mirrors Attenborough’s description; it is retrospective but also profoundly contemporary, and rightly so. “We sat down with David [Attenborough] and said, ‘Look, this is your film’”, Fothergill says, adding, “He describes it as his witness statement”. Fothergill is a lifelong devotee of the natural world; his enthusiasm for wildlife began in childhood. He harks back fondly to birdwatching on the Norfolk coast: “an amazing place for birds”, he says. Fascination is often nurtured by education. Fothergill personifies this sentiment, recalling “an amazing teacher at school who was very inspirational”, adding, “he used to take us around the country bird-watching”. Later, Fothergill read Zoology at Durham, where he began filmmaking. “I always knew that I wanted to be a zoologist… and while I was there, the BBC ran a competition called the Mick Burke Award”. The award commemorated Mick Burke, the mountaineer and cameraman who never returned from the British expedition of Everest’s south-west face in 1975. The BBC chose six university expeditions – one of which included Fothergill – and equipped each with cameras. He went to the Okavango swamps in Botswana, later completing his inaugural film, On the Okavango. “I made a rather bad film, to be honest,” he confesses. Fothergill was not deterred; his experience reaffirmed his love for the natural
world. “I then thought, hang on – this is an amazing way to be with animals and friends!” Fothergill is, perhaps indirectly, in a position of immense power; he presents the state of the natural world to millions of viewers. “The joy of natural history is that it travels the world – everybody loves it”, he says, “so you do have the power to move the dial if you get it right.” “When I left the BBC in 2011,” says Fothergill, “I realised that the time had come for a mass audience, bums-on-seats, globally successful series that tries to deal with the challenges faced by our natural world.” Our Planet was the manifestation of that aim. Each film must entice an audience to effect sustainable change. “The way you engage with the issues is through the power of the natural world, the beauty of the images”, says Fothergill. He recognises, however, that viewing film is ordinarily a passive process. As he puts it, “People come home from work and don’t watch television to be told what to do – they watch it to relax!” He offers an example to explain the difficulty of inspiring action: “Most of the world’s population is urban, so it’s very difficult for someone living in the middle of Singapore to care about an animal in Africa that they may never see.” How, then, does Fothergill inspire action among viewers? To understand what needs to be done, the film must communicate the extent of the damage inflicted upon the natural world. “The film has a very hard message”, Fothergill admits, then suggests that it is delivered responsibly because it is contextualised. He suggests, “We’ve got to be careful…we must make sure there is not too much bad news.” A Life On Our Planet invites us to consider our current unsustainability by delivering Attenborough’s testimony, afterwards encouraging us to adapt. This encouragement is mostly optimistic; it demonstrates that we can effect sustainable change, instead of overlooking the damage already inflicted. “A show of 50 minutes with 45 minutes of beauty and five minutes of saying, ‘by the way, it’s all going’, is just dishonest.” Wildlife films can only inspire action if distributed widely. Fothergill’s production company (Silverback Films, established with Keith Scholey in 2012) partnered with Netflix to stream Our Planet. “It was early days with Netflix, we did the deal in 2014 when it had just 50 million subscribers,” he recalls. “Now, they nearly have 200 million.” It
was an auspicious partnership as Netflix maximised the series’ reach and longevity. Fothergill agrees: “Netflix was the perfect partner because last year, Our Planet went out in 190 countries and, importantly, it stays on Netflix for some time – it’s still there!”
“I’ve been working with David for 40 years and I’ve always thought of his amazing story; the timing of his life is extraordinary” Supplementary content was deployed to enrich the episodes. Fothergill mentions that Netflix facilitated this: “one of the reasons we wanted to work with Netflix, and not the BBC, was that we wanted to work with the World Wildlife Fund UK to make an enormous amount of online content around the series.” The content surrounding Our Planet – called the “halo” – helps reach an audience beyond the Netflix subscribership, while also serving as an educational resource without being didactic. “We’ve had 700 million downloads of that content; we wanted to show there are bigger stories to tell… but very importantly, it gave people solutions.” A Life On Our Planet offers solutions to our sustainability crisis, especially during its latter stages. “It is very, very important that you show people what they can do in their own lives to turn things around”, emphasises Fothergill. He recognises that attitudes towards sustainability differ between older and younger demographics, afterwards admitting that the younger may treat it with greater urgency. He suggests, “people of your generation realise they’ve inherited a damaged planet and that they really care about it,” adding “but if you don’t give people solutions, they stick their head in the sand, and will say ‘I can do nothing about this, it may terrify me, but I can’t do anything’.” These solutions, then, endow viewers with one ingredient for change; another being unity, which is forged through a collective appreciation of the facts. “It was a very important feature [of the film]”, answers Fothergill, when asked why Attenborough was presented so intimately. “I’ve been working with David for 40 years and I’ve always thought of his amazing story; the timing of his life is extraordinary.” A Life On Our Planet traces Attenborough’s life-long devotion to the natural
world alongside markers of human development. Fothergill summarises the significance of Attenborough’s life to the film: “He began travelling when the world was pristine, at the same time international air travel became possible. He’s seen more of the natural world than anyone on the planet.” By contrast, “It took Darwin five years to go to the Galápagos and back.” The film represents the relationship between nature and humanity as one of divergence; as Attenborough laments, “We moved from being a part of nature to being apart from nature.” A Life On Our Planet is personalised with Attenborough’s experience to resensitise us; in other words, human concerns must include environmental concerns. “David is a traditional Englishman”, insists Fothergill, “he doesn’t bare his soul, he’s never been a celebrity.” Fothergill overcame Attenborough’s personal reticence by using a particular lens during filming. He refers to a mirror rig which, he explains, “is a lens with a mirror inserted. So, David looks into the lens and sees the director reflected in it, which means that he feels as if he is talking to you or me – somebody is talking to him. That was important for revealing the personal side of David.” Fothergill’s use of the Mirror Rig captures the person behind the customary voice. During filming, he, amongst others, interviewed Attenborough, who answered each question unscripted. “Some of the responses were the most important moments in the film”, urges Fothergill. He mentions Attenborough’s despondence midway through the film, saying, after bowing his head in resignation, “Human beings have overrun the world”. We are now in a liminal stage of environmental consciousness, realising that our existence, too, is part of environmental concerns. Our subordination of nature has altered it, shifting us to a different time: the “Anthropocene, the time of humans”, writes Attenborough. Though our time remains contingent on nature’s health, indicating that we are, ultimately, part of it. “Now, we’re not just talking about the survival of a n i m a l s ”, suggests
Fothergill, “we’re now talking about the survival of humankind.” Environmental consciousness present at Durham today marks an improvement from Fothergill’s time here, with the inception of student-led groups dedicated to addressing unsustainability across various industries. But this awareness, in Durham and beyond, has developed out of necessity and tragically remains contentious. Fothergill notes the scepticism and apathy surrounding environmental damage, but nonetheless urges us to understand the facts. “Get real – just don’t be stupid. Your lives are going to be affected, it is going to actually threaten the lives of your children, so you cannot be apathetic.” Despite this, Fothergill remains optimistic that humanity will respond appropriately: “the fact that the whole world has put support into finding a vaccine shows that humankind – most of it, anyway – has the ability to cooperate. That, to me, is exciting.” Our reception of the facts, though, remains central to the planet’s recovery. Fothergill urges us to “take time to understand the facts. If you bother to take the time to understand them, all the rest will follow.” He lauds Greta Thunberg for stressing the value of fact: “I did an interview between David and Greta”, as he recalls her plea: “Get your facts right”. While change is necessary, Fothergill’s attachment to the natural world remains constant. “I have an absolute passion for the natural; my life’s passion is sharing it with others – it’s not changed at all.”
(Silverback Films)
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PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
Profile
“A slice of cake every day might make you happier than a flat stomach” Illustrator, author, Durham alumna and self-described “sexpert” Flo Perry speaks to Profile
Izzy Harris Profile Editor Flo Perry is an illustrator, author, self-described “sexpert” and graduate of Durham University. She is best known for her 2019 book How to Have Feminist Sex: A Fairly Graphic Guide. She told me about her work, sex advice and her most recent project, Couch Fiction. Perry has spent the last six months illustrating Couch Fiction, a graphic novel written by author and psychotherapist Philipa Perry, who also happens to be her mother. The book gives insight into the power of therapy by telling the story of a client’s year of psychotherapy sessions. I asked Perry about her experience of working during lockdown, a time when many people in the creative and artistic industries have struggled to find work. She explained that, “this was the ideal job for me to do during lockdown. It was a long job with good money so I didn’t have to worry. “It was engaging enough to keep me interested, but I didn’t have to do any writing so I could still daydream, listen to the radio, or chat to my girlfriend at the same time. And even then, I still had two weeks off at the start of the pandemic to cry and stare into space! I am so impressed with anyone who’s got anything done this year.”
“This was the ideal job for me to do during lockdown” Her work illustrating this novel is particularly interesting given the family dynamic that came with working alongside her own mother. I asked if having a psychotherapist for a mother ever impacted the way that Flo has thought about therapy. “I think if you know a therapist personally it demystifies therapy as a miracle solution. “You understand that not all therapists are good for all people, that therapy is about the relationship you have with the therapist as much as anything else. I’ve never felt the need to have therapy, but it’s definitely something I feel like I will have at some point in my life.” She went on to explain how working with her mum affected her in this project: “Luckily we actually hardly had to work
together. I think we sent four emails the entire time. She was very trusting of my abilities.” It’s not surprising that Philipa Perry felt comfortable using her daughter’s work, as she is an experienced illustrator with credits including the books, The Girl’s Guide To Growing Up Great and Remember This When You’re Sad, as well as freelancing and producing comics for BuzzFeed. Many of her comics have gone viral on social media which, Perry notes on her website, means that “literally millions of people have seen my drawings of boobs”.
“Nudes are an art form, be experimental” I asked how she adapted her illustrations for Couch Fiction which discusses mental health, a sensitive and often stigmatised subject which is hard to avoid in a book on psychotherapy. Perry explained, “I suppose I drew James, the client in the book, quite seriously compared to my usual comical style. “A lot of the comedy of the drawing comes through drawing Patricia the therapist, and her cat Kevin”. Comedy is an important aspect of much as Perry’s art and she is known for her humorous style, which she also used in her own book. How to Have Feminist Sex is Perry’s first publication in the dual role of author and illustrator. The “fairly graphic guide” was first published in 2019 and broaches many topics, including consent, kinks and virginity, and why we should talk about sex more. Perry describes feminist sex as “sex that makes a women feel good”. In the book she explains how
patriarchal constructs limit women’s enjoyment of sex. She discusses the issue of negative body image, explaining how it can distract people from feeling “in the moment” when they are too busy thinking about how they look. Perry elaborates on this issue: “It’s definitely something I’ve had to overcome. Challenging our fatphobic idea of beauty is something we all need to do, and if we manage it will make every one of us happy. “Being fat has got to stop being seen as a tragedy, something to be feared. A huge breakthrough for me was realising that it’s not guaranteed you’ll be happier if you’re thinner. A slice of cake everyday might make you happier than a flat stomach would. “Another thing to keep in mind is a flat stomach isn’t everyone’s sexual ideal. Lots of people find lots of different body types attractive. We do know this, we all know there’s every kind of woman imaginable on Pornhub, but still we think that everyone around us must be attracted to mainly slim people. “We should destigmatise having a sexual preference for fat people. Live your life as though this is the
body you’re always going to have, and work on loving it today, instead of changing it for tomorrow. I am the fattest I’ve ever been right now, and definitely the happiest too”. These are ideas that resonate with feminists within the body positivity movement, and in discussions about fat acceptance and pretty privilege. The book keeps up with the times and talks about how to take a ‘feminist nude’, which is a subject that Perry personally gives talks on. Often, nude images of women are shaped by patriarchal ideals of the female body, especially when we see them portrayed in pornography and the media. With this in mind, I asked if it was possible to detach oneself from the misogyny when taking a cheeky picture. “Definitely. You can take nudes that show off your cute round belly, or your womanly leg hair. Nudes are an art form, be experimental.” This advice seems especially topical as we enter our second lockdown and many partners are separated in different homes.
“My Chemistry degree is 99% completely useless in my life” Flo’s current career seems leaps and bounds away from her studies at Durham University, where she gained a degree in chemistry. I was interested to see if her time in Durham had anything to do with this transition from STEM into the arts. “I got to where I am now through student journalism! I was a Tab columnist and I loved it – sorry, but at that time Palatinate was very boring. I hope it’s improved. “It was the funnest thing I’d ever done. And so through that, I got an internship at BuzzFeed straight out of university. And through my BuzzFeed career I got my book deal, and here we are today.” On her degree, she went on to say “my chemistry d e g r e e is 99% completely useless in my life. And there (Flo Perry)
are definitely days where I think ‘why the hell did I do that?’. But it hasn’t held me back, I’m glad I have a piece of paper that shows I can work that hard. “You can learn about a lot of arts subjects by reading a book, but chemistry is far too boring to learn from a book. Doing chemistry was an extended exercise in delayed gratification, and thank fuck it’s over”. Perry is a clear example of someone who transitioned between career paths after university. She is also a feminist and LGBTQ+ advocate who gives talks on the topics of consent, being queer and feminist sex. I asked her if she had anything to say on the criticism that Durham University currently faces about sexism, lad culture, homophobia and racism. She offered a statement of hope for students impacted by these issues, saying that “Durham was a cesspit of all those things while I was there. I hope it’s changed, though with the recent news I don’t think it’s changed enough. “All I want to say is to the students at Durham who are feeling the impact of its sexist, racist, homophobic culture right now, the rest of the world isn’t like that. You will find your people, university doesn’t have to be the time of your life, you have plenty of time to have fun.” Perry calls herself a “sexpert”, a title that she gained through reading books and “some field research”, she explains with a wink. With this in mind, it didn’t seem right to finish the interview without asking for her best piece of sex advice, which she kindly gave.
“Don’t make your sex life something you only talk about with your partner” Perry thinks that the best way to improve your sex life is to “talk about sex. With your friends, but especially with the person you’re having it with. Share your sexual fantasies with your partners. “Stop assuming that what you want is what everyone else wants too. Don’t make your sex life something you only talk about with your partner when it’s going badly. Keep talking about sex, have it as an ongoing conversation in your relationship.” Couch Fiction will be released on 26th November.
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
Science & Technology
“Not cheerleading for science”
A conversation with Dr Robert Sternberg Durham alumnus Dr Robert Sternberg designed the MSc Science Media Production at Imperial College, London. He also teaches the MSc Science Communication, as well as making his own documentaries. Faye Saulsbury speaks to him about documentary-making, the anti-science zeitgeist, and maverick marine biologists. Faye Saulsbury Science & Technology Co-Editor A good documentary In 1998, after a career making educational films, Dr Sternberg joined the Science Communication Unit at Imperial. Just three years after that, he created the MSc Science Media Production. I ask him what makes a good documentary. “Your main responsibility is to tell a gripping story,” he says. “And to know how to make it gripping, you need to know your audience. The facts will be the same regardless, but it’s up to you to choose how to deploy them.” He cautions against being “swept away by enthusiasm.” “The scientific process is not logical. We all have prejudices that affect the decisions we take, even when we are trying to be objective and logical. Scientists are no different. It’s important to depict the scientific process as accurately as possible.”
The facts are the same regardless; it’s up to you to choose how to deploy them
“But you can’t bewilder people, either,” he adds. This difficult balance between portraying the disagreements, U-turns and dead ends inherent to the production of science and creating a gripping storyline is what makes documentarymaking such “a nuanced form of journalism”. According to Sternberg, it is also why “you can’t make films about really new science, because really new science is controversial. Producers like the BBC are scared of that.”
Maverick marine biologists It turns out, however, that the science explored in Dr Sternberg’s most recent documentary is both quite new, and quite controversial. It examines the work of the late Don Williamson. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Sternberg describes Williamson
as a “maverick marine biologist with outlandish ideas about evolution.” Williamson believed that breeding between different animal phyla occurs on a regular basis, and his work was met with a lot of anger and resistance. Williamson’s research was finally published after gaining the support of Lynn Margulis. Margulis was an evolutionary biologist known for her endosymbiotic theory of eukaryotic cell development. Although she ultimately came to be seen as quite the maverick herself, her influence was farreaching. This, says Sternberg, highlights how nepotistic the scientific community is. “Everyone knows everyone, and editors and publishers already have preconceived views on your work.” No journal wants to be the first to publish controversial views, but with a bit of encouragement from a respected name, they might just change their mind. By the time Dr Sternberg met him, Williamson was in his late 80s and wasn’t carrying out his own research. Sternberg made him a deal: he would continue Williamson’s work in the lab, and in return, Williamson would allow him to film it.
A seat of learning Being in research settings has made Sternberg wonder if he should have gone into research himself. “My undergraduate degree at Durham was in zoology and botany – we didn’t have biology in those days. I remember going out to spoil heaps and doing botanical examinations. I had a fantastic time. Durham University was, at the time, doing a lot of work to clean up pollution caused by mining.” Although he has not been back to Durham recently, it is clear his memories of his time here are fond. “Durham is an historical seat of learning. The science was excellent. I loved the town; I loved how you could walk everywhere. I think I even took some photographs for Palatinate. And in 1981, my first year, the
River Wear froze!” But scandalous rent prices, it seems, were as aggravating then as they are now. “Over the duration of my degree, rent increased from £7 per week to £11 per week. We were outraged!” He chuckles. Some things never change. But while he valued his academic studies at Durham, Sternberg eventually chose television after graduating. “As a journalist, I sometimes feel like a parasite. I’m in the room watching, but I’m not creating the knowledge.” Still, Sternberg doesn’t regret his career path. He stresses that “there is a great need for writers and communicators with a scientific background. There are so many scientists now, we need their work to be communicated accurately.”
There is a great need for writers with a scientific background
Reflecting on the scientific process And where better for students with a scientific background to learn than at Imperial? I first heard about the course from an editor at The Lancet, who told me that if I was interested in science communication, Imperial was the place to go. I ask Dr Sternberg what makes Imperial’s course so outstanding. I am surprised when he gives much credit to the students. “A lot of students who come to do the MSc Science C o m m u n i c a t i o n have r e s e a r c h backgrounds – a lot of them have PhDs. But they feel
disenfranchised with the world of research. It’s hard to get funding, and it’s hard to be paid a decent salary. They want to stay attached to science, but they don’t want to continue with research.” He goes on: “although the MSc Science Communication at Imperial is a practical degree, it is not just about learning how to use the technology. Any broadcasting job can teach you that. The course, fundamentally, is about reflecting upon the scientific process, and learning how to represent it. It is about understanding the social impact of science.” When I ask what he thinks about the recent politicisation of science, Sternberg corrects me. “The political debates surrounding climate change and Covid-19 are not novel.” “There have always been sceptics of science. Which ideas get promoted, funded and published – that’s political. The politicisation of science is not new.” That’s why presenting science in a clear, accurate way is so important. Aside from documentarymaking, museum curation, and charity work, Dr Sternberg says, “many Science Communication graduates go on to work in policy – parliament, The Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society. There is
resistance to empirical evidence in policymaking and law.”
Advice for applicants So, what advice can Sternberg give to students applying for MSc Science Communication? “More than anything, you need to prove interest in communication – student newspapers, photography, videos, podcasts. It’s so easy to do any of these things on your phone, there’s no excuse to not include them. It doesn’t have to be about science.”
As a journalist, I sometimes feel like a parasite
I joke that he must see a lot of David Attenborough references; he interrupts. “Don’t mention David Attenborough! Everyone’s watched David Attenborough. Saying you watched David Attenborough when you were a kid is not evidence of your interest!” This leads him to a more serious conclusion. “Science communication is not cheerleading for science,” says Sternberg. “You have to be able and willing to see it how it is. If you idealise science and present it in an unrealistic fashion, you’re in danger of feeding the antiscience zeitgeist.”
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PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
SciTech
Covid-19 vaccine reported to be 90% effective Elise Garcon Science & Technology Co-Editor With the cautious celebration of the first effective Covid-19 vaccine this week, normal life almost seems within reach. Despite remaining questions about it, scientists are generally accepting the new drug with optimism, some suggesting that life could resume some semblance of normality by spring. The announcement comes from New York City-based company Pfizer, and is the first vaccine to go from development to effective in such a short amount of time. Its 90% effectiveness rate is unprecedented; regulators have previously said that a vaccine with an effectiveness of around 50% would be approved, making the Pfizer vaccine all the more compelling. The RNA vaccine is the first of its type to be approved for human
use, and, like others in production, targets the spike proteins on the virus’ surface. The shot holds the messenger RNA which encodes this protein, and causes our own cells to synthesise it.
The vaccine maintains an immunological memory against the virus
Alone, the protein is harmless but trains the human immune system to produce antibodies against it, without causing illness. This maintains an immunological memory that can fight the actual virus. The trials are not yet complete: so far around 43,538 participants have taken part, and 94 cases of Covid-19 have been identified. The trial will continue until 164 Covid-19 cases occur, so there is still a way to go, and questions remain. It is still unclear what level of disease the vaccine can protect
against. If, in the future, severe symptoms are seen in the placebo group, it would suggest that the vaccine can prevent such cases, but none have arisen yet. It is also unknown if the vaccine is transmission-blocking, where it would prevent asymptomatic patients from spreading the virus. If this was so, the end of the pandemic could be even sooner than predicted. However, this is difficult to determine, and would involve testing a larger sample size of patients.
It is still unclear what level of disease the virus can protect against
Government officials have released a priority list of those who will receive the vaccine first, with older care home residents at the top of the list, but efficacy in these and other specific demographic groups, such as
over-65s, is unknown. Pfizer have stated that 42% of participants have “racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds”.
Older care home residents are at the top of the list The lasting protection of the vaccine can only be discovered over time. If the immunity doesn’t last, then it may have to be administered once a year, like the flu jab. Both the US and UK celebrated the news but urged citizens to remain cautious and continue following lockdown restrictions. There are also logistical issues with the vaccine. Low income countries are unlikely to be able to store it without the infrastructure to maintain the -70°C temperature that the vaccine needs to stabilize. This poses problems for storing it at GPs or health centres.
Despite these unanswered questions, we will know soon if the vaccine is approved, as Pfizer is seeking an emergency use authorization from the FDA in the third week of November. The UK government has secured 40 million doses, with 10 million due before the end of the year, if no problems arise.
Both the US and UK urged citizens to remain cautious and continue following lockdown
Although some scientists are optimistic, others cast doubts on the Easter date for normalcy. Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer for England, stressed the uncertainty of the situation, but said he was “Very hopeful of [a transition back to normal life] over time”.
Is climate change killing Santa’s helpers?
Dasha Scanlan-Oumow Boris Johnson’s second lockdown is making many of us worry about Christmas. Will we be able to see our family? Will Granny and Grandpa be forced to join via Zoom? What if we can’t get to those naff shops we only ever visit the day before Christmas when you’re desperately trying to find anything, anything will do, for your 14 year-old cousins? And whilst our worries seem very relevant, across the sea and towards the Northern Lights, a very different series of worries are going through the minds of Sami reindeer herders as they prepare themselves for yet another winter that may turn out catastrophically.
Sami reindeer herders prepare for yet another winter that may turn out catastrophically
In 2013, 63,000 reindeer on the Russian Yamal peninsula starved to death. The cause? Climate change. Reindeer are expertly adapted for life in the extreme cold, and the Arctic is their perfect playground. Long cold winters with metres of snow coverage barely holds them back from foraging for tasty lichens which can easily sustain the large herds throughout the winter. And yet as our planet slowly warms, permafrost melts just a little more, and sea levels creep up, it seems another victim of this ruthless tirade could end our
fairy-tale stories of Christmas.
In 2013, 63,000 reindeer on the Yamal peninsula starved to death The cause of these deaths are known as ‘rain-on-snow’ events. The result of global temperatures rising and winters warming up, even just a couple days warmer weather results in rain, instead of snow. When this rain falls on the snow cover, it turns to ice. And no matter how well adapted the reindeer are at pushing through snow with their antlers or hooves to get to their food below, they just can’t get through ice. And these once-rare ‘rain-on-snow’ events are only getting more and more frequent. As winter temperatures tiptoe up past 0°C, and venture into the positives, these events will have massive impacts on the ability of these animals to find sufficient grazing in the winter months.
These ‘rain-on-snow’ events are only getting more and more frequent
And yet research is suggesting that reindeer might even be key weapons against climate change. Studies focusing on the effect of grazing suggest land where reindeer have passed through, increases the amount of light reflected off the surface of the Earth, or to put it scientifically, increases the albedo. How does this prevent climate change? Well, reindeer browse back tall
shrubs and dark, bushy grasses, leaving vegetation with a higher reflectivity. Generally, dark surfaces reflect a low amount of solar energy, whereas light surfaces have a high reflection rate. This is hugely important in the maintenance of permafrost throughout the Arctic. The higher the albedo, the more light reflected, and the less solar energy being absorbed by the cold Arctic soils. Cold soils mean a cold permafrost, and a cold permafrost means carbon
(Anna Kuptsova)
stays locked up and doesn’t get released into the atmosphere. All very good things for our planet.
Reindeer might even be key weapons against climate change
And so this paradoxical cycle, of climate change dragging down reindeer numbers and reduced reindeer numbers negatively impacting climate change, continues. So, as a plea going out
to everyone this Christmas. For all those thinking of making New Year’s Resolutions to cut down on your carbon footprint or be slightly more ecologically aware. Spare a thought for our reindeer and our planet, the two go hand in hand. GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Send your thoughts to scitech@palatinate.org.uk
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
SciTech
New findings suggest women hunted alongside men
Phoebe Abruzzese What seemed like an age old image of men going out to hunt woolly mammoth whilst women stay home, look after kids, and forage mushrooms for a prehistoric, mammoth-based Sunday lunch has been used to explain gender relations in everything from why men have historically been the breadwinners of the family, to why far more teenage boys play Call of Duty than girls. However, recent archaeological digs in Peru have unearthed remains showing that women were perhaps closer to the action than The Flintstones will have you believe.
The interdependence of both men and women is key to a successful hunt
The common hypothesis of ‘man the hunter’ was first popularised within the scientific community at an influential 1966 archaeology/ anthropology symposium, and quickly began to influence pop culture and the general public’s conceptions of stone age gender equality. However, even back in 1990, this simplified outlook was beginning to be disputed. In her incredibly named article, ‘I’m not a great hunter but my wife is’, Barbara Bodenhorn calls for less rigidity in the way we think about hunting, stating that it is a complex set of practical and symbolic behaviours; the interdependence of both men and women is key to
a successful hunt. Evidence of this more nuanced look at the sexual division of labour can be found in the Inupiaq Inuit communities, where the women are responsible for attracting the animals, and men are responsible for their subsequent slaughter. Both genders work together in unison, towards the common goal of putting meat on the stone dinner table. However, recent discoveries in the Andes suggest that women sometimes took a more active and violent role in the hunting. Randy Haas and his team from the University of California unearthed the remains of a teenage girl, estimated to have died 9,000 years ago. Remarkably, she had an extensive tool kit buried next to her, including projectile spear points and sharpened flints. Initially, this discovery led the research team to believe that they had found the cadaver of a well respected, male tribe leader and accomplished hunter, but further analysis proved it was a woman.
Between 30 and 50% of hunters may have been women
The manner of burial is also important – the implements were stacked neatly on the thigh of the body. The suggestion is that this individual was well respected within their hunter-gatherer community specifically for their hunting prowess, meaning it wasn’t seen as abnormal or
‘unladylike’, as was once theorised. Upon reexamination of remains found with big-game hunting tools at multiple sites across North and South America, 11 were discovered to be female and 16 male.
The individual was wellrepected within her huntergatherer community
With this in mind, Haas estimated that between 30 and
50% of hunters may have been women, and stated that we need to re-think our perception of the organisational structure of ancient hunter-gatherer groups. Although in many huntergatherer societies, both historic and contemporary (e.g. the Kalahari persistence hunters), the males hunt and the females gather, the rigidity of this view (likely in conjunction with Western sexism about how labour should be divided between the genders) may have meant that archaeological
Girl power (Amber Conway) finds of females with hunting tools have been scientifically neglected. So the next time a man tells me to go to the cave-kitchen and make him a cave-sandwich I will simply hit him with my leather sack full of spear-tips. GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
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“More than just osmosis”: why I study Biology
Chloe Ellison For me, biology was just another school subject until I studied it at Alevel. It was during these two years that I really started to appreciate the broad spectrum of topics that encompasses the subject; it became more than just osmosis. The sciences as a whole mean creative and imaginative lateral thinking to solve ever-arising problems, and in my opinion, are let down by the formulaic research articles that don’t capture the wonder of discovering something new, nor do these articles engage the general public. I find biology particularly engaging due to the real-life applications that are seen every day and the drama that comes along with it. Cells, plants, and animals are dynamic; they often won’t play by the rules or to your hypothesis and so detective caps are needed to solve the underlying mechanisms that are present. Medical ethics, or the lack
thereof, cause devastating effects and disparities amongst populations, so ethics should always be at the forefront of any study. The appalling treatment of participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study during the 20th century and the lack of regulation of drugs such as thalidomide sparked a curiosity in the lack of caring but also the lack of forethought and proper scientific process. Why didn’t the science community intervene? That’s for another day.
Cells, plants, and animals are dynamic and often won’t play by the rules
I first read the book “Friendly Fire” by David Isenberg and John Morrow when I was 16. It details autoimmune diseases and the underlying causes. I discovered this book when chatting to the librarian of my local library who recommended the book; I was glad he did. Autoimmune diseases
interested me because of the drama involved in your own body is attacking its most precious cargo: you. I found type one diabetes (Diabetes mellitus) the most interesting as it is one that is relatively common but is often not taken seriously by the general public. The mass production of insulin using genetic engineering was the first time that this technology was utilised for more than blue-sky thinking. Up until relevantly recently type one diabetics used pig or cow insulin to restore blood glucose levels, but this changed in 1982. It was in this year that the first biosynthetic human insulin was put onto the market. This was where I started becoming really fascinated. Here, the human gene that encodes the insulin protein is inserted into DNA within a bacterium, normally E. coli (Escherichia coli). The bacteria then produce human insulin that can then be collected and used as a medical treatment. This was a much faster process and didn’t
produce the allergic reactions that pig insulin did.
Biology is often life-saving, not just in the medical sector but also in conservation and agriculture
In the last few years, insulin is often in the news when discussing US healthcare systems because pharmaceutical companies have increased the price of insulin, a life-saving drug, by 300% between 2002 and 2013. This intersection of genetics, disease, immunology, and ethics sparked a new interest in 16 year-old me that I now luckily get to experience constantly. I believe biology is important as it’s not just food for thought; it is often life-saving and improves the quality of life. Not just in the medical sectors of biology, but also
in conservation and agriculture. Genetic modification of organisms could be used to increase the yield of corn crop, to increase the nutritional value of rice, or to cure diseases such as cystic fibrosis. The utilisation of these technologies would begin to rectify many of the global inequalities amongst populations which would enrich everyone’s lives, enable growth, and is honestly just quite neat.
(Naotake Murayama via Flickr)
PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
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Politics
How the Biden administration will define Brexit Sophie Mowbray With the Democrats securing a record number of votes in the 2020 presidential election, what will a Joe Biden administration mean for the United Kingdom and Brexit? Under the Trump administration, the ‘special relationship’ between the US and UK appeared to blossom again. Trump liked to think of Prime Minister Boris Johnson as his British counterpart labelling him “Britain Trump” in a 2019 speech. The pair’s friendship was seen on display at the G7 conference and Trump has continued to praise and maintain support for the Prime Minister throughout his time in office. Trump backed the decision to leave the European Union and
has been in talks to negotiate a free trade deal with the UK after Brexit. However, the potential of a Biden-Boris ‘bromance’ looks far less likely. While President-elect Biden may not have a soft spot for Boris Johnson, he does for Ireland. With family ties, Biden has embraced his Irish heritage and spoken in favour of maintaining the Good Friday Agreement which stabilised relations and ended violence within Northern Ireland. Fears have arisen over a hard border being established be-
(Gage Skidmore via Creative Commons)
tween the two which would undermine legalities under the Good Friday Agreement.
Achieving a good Brexit deal will be even more crucial with Biden in office Biden expressed his support for the Good Friday Agreement, tweeting “We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit. Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingency upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period”. Since his victory, President-elect Biden has spoken with the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson about this issue and is something that will dominate UK-US relations under a Biden administration. As with most issues, Trump versus Biden’s stance on Brexit could not be more different. Biden has been a critic of Brexit and maintained his support for the European Union. With the Brexit transition period nearing an end,
the news of Biden’s victory will undoubtedly impact agreements between the UK and EU. A deal must be agreed between the UK and the EU before the end of the year to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Biden’s support for Ireland and the contentious debate Brexit has spiked over the Ireland and Northern Ireland border will make negotiating a trade deal with the EU much more difficult for the UK.
As with most issues, Biden’s stance on Brexit could not be more different to President Trump’s Achieving a good Brexit deal will be even more crucial for the UK with Biden in office. Under the Trump administration, talks took place around securing a free trade deal between the UK and US which would have eased the blow of a no-deal Brexit. However, with Biden as President, a free trade deal may be harder to achieve, especially if Biden is unhappy with the effects of Brexit on Ireland. The Prime Minister is going to
Arrests made following Ivory Coast elections Jonty Head The leader of the opposition in Ivory Coast, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, has been arrested on grounds of sedition, following the re-election of President Alassane Ouattar.
The former Prime Minister faces charges of terrorism and life imprisonment N’Guessan faces charges of terrorism and could face life imprisonment, having jointly set up a rival administration with the other top opposition candidate, Henrie Konan Bedie. “Condemning in the strongest possible terms this act of sedition, the government has called on the prosecutor to bring those responsible to justice”, said a statement issued by the government. On the day that the result of the election was confirmed by the electoral commission, N’Guessan’s house was surrounded by police. His wife, Angeline Kili, confirmed his arrest several days later. “I can confirm that my husband was arrested during the night but I don’t know where he is right now”, she said on 7th November. It is believed that N’Guessan’s arrest took place while he was en route to his hometown of Bongaouanou from the south-eastern town of Akoupe. Public prosecutor
Adou Richard has confirmed that Bedie was “neither under arrest nor house arrest”. His home was, however, surrounded by police in the days after the election, who used tear gas to disperse the journalists and supporters gathered outside. Both N’Guessan, an ex-Prime Minister, and Bedie, a former President, have described President Ouattara’s candicacy for a third term as illegal. The Ivorian constitution states that a Presi-
dent may serve a maximum of two terms, although Ouattara argues that a disputed amendment to the constitution in 2016 allows him to stand again. N’Guessan and Bedie called on their supporters to boycott the election, and have since attempted to set up a transitional government. Ouattara won the popular vote with a 94.27% majority, although voter turnout was just 53.90%. The United Nations, the African
Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have called on the opposition to back down and instead enter a dialogue with the government. There had been widespread fears of unrest prior to the election. Residents in Abidjan, the country’s largest city, were said to be stockpiling basic goods in the days before the vote, while many chose to retreat to rural villages in order to avoid the anticipated violence. More than thirty died in clashes in the build-up to the election, with five further deaths on the day of the vote itself. Since the country took to the polls, protests by opposition supporters in the south central town of M’Batto were met with fierce resistance by those loyal to the President. “The death toll we can provide on these community clashes is three killed by machetes and gunshot wounds and around 34 wounded,” a police source said. While Abidjan has not yet seen such levels of violence, there are concerns that the current situation could lead to widespread and long-lasting instability. More than 3,000 died in the Civil War that resulted from the highly contested result of the 2010 Presidential election, when Ouattara’s predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede. (Zenman via Creative Commons)
have to try to buddy up to Biden if he wants the trade deals spoken about under the Trump administration to come into fruition, and so far he has wasted no time in doing this. Johnson has made it clear his friendship with Donald Trump will not take precedence over building a relationship with President-elect Biden. Johnson congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their victory publicly via Twitter and privately through phone calls. In the House of Commons, Johnson has already referred to Trump as the “previous President” firmly situating his stance on developing a good relationship with the new Presidentelect Biden pushing his loyalties to his old friend Trump aside. While Biden’s stance on Brexit will undoubtedly complicate relations between the UK and the US, common ground will hopefully be found in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. Johnson will, however, have to work hard to win over Biden and put their political difficulties aside to maintain a profitable relationship for both the UK and the US.
From the Editors The world watched, and the United States certainly delivered. The politics of the past fortnight has been defined by the US Presdiential election, which saw success for formerVice Presdient Joe Biden. However, Westminster again dominates the news cycle in the midst of growing content over the current second lockdown. Though, perhaps for the first time, not all Covid-19 related developments are entirely pessimistic, as the the promising results in the creation of a vaccination against the virus provide a semblance of optimism. This week’s contributors provide an insight into future of diplomacy, democracy and justice, exploring how changes international changes in governancehave the potential to steer us towards a politics of progression. Aisha Sembhi Politics Editor GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE?
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
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Politics
UAE honour killing punishments reconsidered
Barney Bolton Honour killings are attacks on women who are believed to have dishonored their families. The attacks take the form of physical abuse and, occasionally, murder. They are carried out for a variety of reasons including suspected pre- or extra-marital sex.
These changes aim to “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance” On Saturday 7th November, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced an alteration of federal laws regarding the penal code of the UAE. These laws changed the historic leniency that had been shown when punishing honour crimes. In previous years, honour crimes carried sentences between three and fifteen years in prison. Following the changes made to the law, those who have been judged to have committed an honour killing will receive punishments of life imprisonment or execution, the same sentence as any murder. In addition to the alterations
regarding abuse, the government has amended laws on the cohabitation of unmarried couples as well as the possession and sale of alcohol for those over the age of 21. The Emirates news agency, WAM, stated that these changes aim to “consolidate the UAE’s principles of tolerance.” These amendments have been made to give a more secular and, to an extent, a more Western impression of the UAE. Former US president, Donald Trump, contributed significantly to the UAE’s previous efforts to alter their image. During his time in office, Trump played a part in the normalisation of relations between the UAE and neighboring Israel. Previously, the two nations had a shaky relationship, with the UAE not recognising Israel until 15th September 2020, when a Trump-driven deal was signed between the two. The deal was most likely signed to encourage the increase in investment from Israel to the UAE. Additionally, by improving relations, the oil-rich UAE stood to benefit from an increase in tourism, a sector which according to The Daily Mail makes up 5% of the nation’s GDP. The changes to laws regarding
honour killings follow in the same vein as the deal signed in September. The lenient punishments for honour criminals gave the UAE an image problem in the West. Potential investors have been put off by the Sharia law that dominates the country. The severity of Shariah law is alien to many Westerners and marked the UAE as fundamentally different from other developed nations. As well as encouraging investment into the UAE, these changes, which move towards a more secular government, have
likely been made to accommodate the number of expatriates living in the UAE. Dubai Online reports that in 2019, over 8.5 million migrants were living in the UAE, making up 87.9% of the total population. What is striking, and telling, in the population statistics of the UAE is the proportion of male to female citizens. Dubai online reports that in 2019 only 31% of the population of the UAE were female. A possible reason for this disparity is the historic mistreatment of women in the UAE, meaning that female
migrants may be deterred by the consequences of Sharia law. The laws aim to make westerners, and particularly women, feel more comfortable with the legal system of the UAE. The significant proportion of migrants, many of whom have come from Western countries, means that pressure has been applied to alter the laws of the country. Foreign business links have always been vital in an area that is driven by money and, by removing laws which disproportionately punish women, the UAE expects immigration and investment to rise. There is no doubt that the UAE is becoming more secular, with the laws moving the courts away from the traditional Islamic laws, but the extent to which the changes in the law have been installed to reassure natives is questionable. The recent alterations have been made predominantly for foreigners who may be uncomfortable with the current penal code. Regardless of the motive behind the changes, the UAE has made a positive step towards the improvement of human rights in the country.
(Chatham House, Flickr)
How did Trump dismantle Obama’s legacy? Jonty Head At the Democratic Conference back in August, Barack Obama said that President Trump had treated the presidency like a “reality show”, that he was only interested in helping “himself and his friends”, and criticised four years of “lies and conspiracy theories”. Tradition dictates that former US Presidents maintain a respectful silence about their successors. But, while Trump and Biden were battling for the presidency, Obama’s legacy was on the line, and he knew it. In the build up to the 2016 vote, Trump made no secret of his desire to reverse key Obamaera policies. Recently, he said that his predecessor was not a great president because ‘much of what he’s done we’ve undone.’ But how effectively has Trump managed to dismantle Obama’s legacy, and will Biden be able to restore it?
Healthcare Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was perhaps Obama’s proudest achievement in (Michael Vadon via Creative Commons)
office. It aimed to ensure that all Americans would have access to affordable health insurance. Key features included offering tax credits to help cover the cost of government-sponsored health insurance plans and regulating the private market to protect those with pre-existing medical conditions from having their applications for health insurance turned down. Despite his frequent criticism of the policy, Trump never managed to repeal the ACA, nor to gain sufficient support for an alternative. While
Biden has resisted pressure from the left of the Democratic party for an NHS-style “Medicare for All”, in the days since winning the election he has pledged to expand the ACA. This will prove tricky while the Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, but shows that he plans to build on Obama’s healthcare legacy rather than rescind it.
Immigration Obama’s only real legacy in terms of immigration was the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. Introduced in 2012, this provided those who had been brought into the US illegally as children with a temporary legal status. Attempts by Trump to end the programme have been largely
frustrated. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that his administration could not repeal DACA immediately, citing a failure to comply with “the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action”. Trump’s presidency has been characterised by antiimmigration policies, including a travel ban that targeted mainly Muslim-majority nations and a (subsequently reversed) move to separate parents and children in families found to be crossing the US-Mexico border illegally. Biden has made clear his commitment to DACA, but addressing the more than 400 policy changes implemented by Trump to restrict immigration will be a lengthy process, and will no doubt be met with resistance by the many who have been stoked by four years of antiimmigration rhetoric.
Climate In 2015, Obama unveiled the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a scheme by which the US could meet its Paris Agreement targets. The aim was to cut carbon emissions by 26-28% relative to 2005 levels, the equivalent
of taking 70% of the nation’s cars off the road. Trump has since replaced the CPP with the less ambitious Affordable Clean Energy rule, which has no targets for cutting emissions, and has also withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement. Trump’s legacy here should be relatively straightforward to undo. Biden has pledged to re-join the Paris Agreement immediately upon taking office, and even to go further than Obama did by bringing in policies to make the US carbon-neutral by 2050.
Iran Under Obama, the US entered the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Iran would drastically reduce uranium enrichment and stockpiling in return for the reduction of economic sanctions. Trump withdrew from this in 2018. Two years later, and despite Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign to cripple the Iranian economy, Iran is yet to agree to begin negotiations for a new deal. Biden has pledged to offer Iran “a credible path back to diplomacy”, promising to re-join the deal if Iran first complies with the agreement’s nuclear restrictions.
PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
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Politics
President-elect’s dedication to the environment Jess Jones President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to re-join the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, just as Trump withdrew the US from it on the day after his own election. Declaring that climate change is “the number one issue facing humanity”, Biden has promised $2 trillion towards implementing renewable energy infrastructure throughout the country. His plans for net zero emissions by the midcentury, with a 2035 deadline for decarbonising the electricity grid, will mean a radical domestic environmental policy and will see the US become a leading example for international climate action and diplomacy. In the aftermath of the election buzz, Biden will inherit a number of hefty issues: from public health and racial justice matters, to huge unemployment and fears of a double-dip recession, the United States of America have never been less united. Perhaps Biden’s greatest challenge, however, is that of the climate crisis. He also faces a tough opposition if the Senate becomes GOP controlled and his
hopes of a sweeping agenda are dashed by political polarisation.
Perhaps Biden’s greatest challenge is the climate crisis Biden’s domestic environmental policy aims, amongst other things, to create more energy efficient homes and buildings, resume electric vehicle tax credit, invest in 50,000 charging stations on highways, phase out fossil fuels, and promote the 2016 Kigali Accord which agreed to limit the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a pervasive greenhouse gas used in refrigerators and aerosols. The main contrast between Trump and Biden, as demonstrated by the final presidential debate, is that Trump believes an aggressive climate policy would forsake jobs and the economy whereas Biden sees a green new deal as an opportunity for millions of new jobs to be created and economic growth. Climate change is also a racial justice issue and these policies need to be carefully constructed in such a way as to represent and support communities of colour, who are often disproportionately
affected by global warming. On an international level, Biden will call for a worldwide ban on fossil fuel subsidies, address global shipping and aviation emissions and put pressure on countries like Australia to cooperate and take their share of responsibility, particularly when it comes to meeting carbon targets. He can use the chance to restore foreign alliances to inspire the largest contributing nations of the world to make ambitious pledges and to follow through with their commitments. Although more directly part of his domestic policy, Biden’s intention of re-joining the Paris Agreement is hugely consequential for international climate action, which explains why it has scored the most headlines recently. With the US, China and EU (who between them produce roughly half of global emissions) all working together, the shared goal of limiting global temperature rises to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels certainly looks more attainable. The main roadblock for Biden is of course the Senate, which, if it becomes Republican-dominated, could render Democratic efforts
redundant. Whilst Biden can easily reinstate old laws, bringing new ones in is somewhat more challenging, and the most progressive strategies might be dismissed immediately. However, the climate crisis was a voting issue this year for the first time in America’s election history, therefore the Senate will perhaps consider working together with the White House rather than forcing every motion to a grinding halt. Critics, some of whom even support him, have labelled Biden’s plans as overly aggressive and unrealistic. By contrast, Greta Thunberg gave a scathing criticism of a
different kind in an interview for the NY Times: “I’m not saying that Joe Biden is good, or his policies are close to being good enough. They are not.” Whilst I believe Thunberg is correct in her assertion that Biden’s policies are not enough to resolve the climate crisis, I also think that it is worth celebrating such a climate victory, not only for America but also for the rest of the world. It is not just in Biden’s hands to ensure a better environmental future; we need to exert continuous democratic pressure on world leaders to act faster and with transparency.
(Biden for Presdient via Creative Commons)
Rashford 1, Johnson 0: A tale of government U-turns Sophie Farmer Politics Editor How to best summarise the undertakings, handling and thus scrutiny of Her Majesty’s Government in recent months? Biting down on my tongue to avoid regurgitating The Thick of It’s “omnishambles” labelling, I’ll instead settle for “indefinite”. Headed by an oxymoron personified (punintended) as the buffoonish-Oxford graduate, Boris Johnson is producing U-turn after U-turn. Knee-deep in a global pandemic and suffering the worst national recession in British history – as well as in any G7 country – policy would understandably face increased backlash and be more challenging to land. While this element of Conservative pragmatism may be respected by some in changing with the socio-political climate, Westminster above all needs unity, clarity, and certainty in its approach to governing, setting aside party politics to prioritise the nation.
and expand on his decisions to deny meal support vouchers to disadvantaged students during the Christmas holidays. Rashford spoke out about his experiences of childhood poverty and the struggles he faced during the holidays in a letter to MPs, while fronting a campaign with these issues at heart. As a result, Johnson is not only backtracking on this policy but has outlined a £170 million grant scheme during the winter for affected families. This is surely good news – but it should not take an influential sportsman bringing the issue into the public eye to defeat food poverty, especially among children. When the Prime Minister yields complacently to a public persona,
Westminster needs unity, clarity, and certainty in its approach to governing Recently, footballer Marcus Rashford landed the Government a second U-turn after urging the Prime Minister to reverse
(Sophie Farmer)
more so than to the government’s opposition, should we not be worried about the legitimacy or thought behind government decree, or are we rather witnessing a gradual rejection of mainstream political institutions? In any case, the fruits of Rashford’s campaign include seeing more than 200 independent and chain restaurants providing free school meals for school children over half term. The government is estimated to have made around 15 U-turns to date. That is 15 times that Johnson has backpedalled on inadequate policy not fit enough to carry through. Leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, labelled this handling as “serial incompetence”. That said, is a
change of heart necessarily a bad thing? The Conservatives adhering to their “pragmatic” principles is not entirely novel; ideologically speaking, the rational decision to go with what works during unprecedented times is more or less warranted and justifiable. Often, Conservative governments will look back to their predecessors at the ‘tried and tested,’ yet amid a period so unforeseen – a pragmatic approach is imperative. More broadly, this brings into question the issue of party politics, in that to-ing and fro-ing between policy is currently being favoured over effective governing. The people need clarity. Among the significant timeline of recent government U-turns is the policy of face masks in schools, which the government stepped down on in August of this year, as well as the scrapping of A-Level and GCSE predictions the same month. A YouGov survey on 17th August expressed the discontent of the nation as 75% of Britons, including 69% of Conservative voters, agreed that the UK government handled student exam results poorly and should be held to account. Johnson similarly went back to the drawing board after spending millions on a Covid-19 contact tracing app – only to succumb to the tech giants’ model instead. As you read this, we are still in the midst of a national lockdown; a second na-
tional lockdown that the Prime Minister repeatedly ruled out in previous addresses. “Let us try to avoid the misery of another national lockdown”, Johnson assured the Commons, “which he [Sir Keir Starmer] would want to impose.”
The Government is estimated to have made around 15 U-turns to date The government has undeniably gone back on their pledges time and time again – much to the disappointment, disarray and confusion of the nation. However, in justifying these withdrawals, so to speak, such decisions are being made in the national interest: a second national lockdown to help circumvent the rising infection rates, revisited exam predictions to favour a system that is more just, free school meals for poverty alleviation among children, etc. The question that remains is why were the government incapable of effecting these decisions on the first attempt? In effect, this can be put down to ill-conceived decision-making and increased public scrutiny at large. Johnson may be acting during a global virus outbreak, but if he continues with this trend, he could well be dealt a red card.
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Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
Sport Sport
“It was a very special time”: Warren Barton on Maiden Castle, ‘The Entertainers’ and the North East Sport speaks to Newcastle legend Warren Barton about his memories playing of playing for the Magpies in the nineties, his time in the USA, and his ambitions for the future. to Keegan’s overzealousness, that pressure to entertain, as he recounts a particular February morning down at Maiden Castle when he ruminated with Peter Beardsley and Les Ferdinand over a cup of tea. “We’d lost a couple of games and United had won, and I said to Les and Peter ‘do you think we need to change a little bit?’ and Pedro goes ‘he won’t, he won’t change’. Keegan would either win it his way or not at all, kind of like what Pep does. “So maybe we didn’t have that winning mentality, but great credit to United. It kills me to say it because they ruined my life.”
Matt Styles and Luke Power Sport Editors When we think of Newcastle and that famous ‘Entertainers’ side of the mid-nineties under Kevin Keegan, the likes of Les Ferdinand, David Ginola and Peter Beardsley automatically spring to mind. It was a team rich in attacking talent, so committed to a high octane and energetic brand of football, that it’s easy to forget about the defenders who facilitated it, particularly when being a full-back wasn’t so fashionable as it is today. “There was a time when fullbacks were full-backs, they just defended and moved the ball on, but I was an athlete,” reflects Warren Barton, who spent the mid-nineties to early noughties marauding down the right flank at St. James’ Park. “Kind of like how Trent and Robertson get forward, me and John Beresford were high, if not higher up the pitch than Keith Gillespie and David Ginola sometimes, and that was all part of the style of football we played.” It was a thrilling golden era for the club, a far cry from the disconnect between owners and fans that has come to characterise the Mike Ashley era. Barton is proud to have been part of it, having arrived as the most expensive English defender in 1995 from Wimbledon’s ‘crazy gang’. You can attribute many things to Newcastle’s success during that period, but one thing that perhaps is overlooked are the open training sessions that would take place down at Maiden Castle – where thousands of fans were welcomed in, hamburgers and coffees would be sold to spectators, and legends of the game shared facilities with university students.
It was a thrilling golden era for the club
Barton laments that this sort of thing doesn’t happen today. He believes it was this interaction with fans and the wider community which led to some “sensational” football on the weekends, and was a key part of the feelgood atmosphere at the club. It externalised that sense of duty to give something back, deflating their celebrity status to a level of humanity and collective endeavour. “I remember leaving Durham
“Expectation from fans is what you want to have and that’s what I miss now, nothing mirrors that pressure”
Barton played for the ‘Entertainers’ side under Keegan (Warren Barton)
City centre where I used to live and drive down to Maiden Castle, and hundreds of cars were being parked and people walked along with their black and white shirts coming to watch us train. “Sometimes we had to be careful with our language, there was kids there and it’s an industrial game, so we had to be a little bit conscious of what we were doing, but that’s what you want to play for, that’s the sign of being in a big club. “Expectation from fans is what you want to have and that’s what I miss now, nothing mirrors that pressure. It could be nerveracking and hard when you get a bad result, but you have to take that on the chin.” This connection is what Barton feels is missing these days, that sense of being accountable and facing the music’ With social media it is so easy for players to switch off the phone and avoid responsibility, but Barton kept returning to the mantra that
actions speak louder than words. He believes that footballers should have that platform to meaningfully interact with fans because, as Marcus Rashford exemplifies, they aren’t all inherently ‘high and mighty’, and do have that urge to get involved in the community. Despite having operated in such a brutal and unforgiving world, Warren is incredibly humane and aware of what it means to be a footballer. For him it was never about the money or the cars, but rather those days at Maiden Castle signing autographs, representing the people who idolised him and developing special relationships with the fans. That’s partly why his biggest regret is not winning the league for them in 1996. He puts it down to an amalgamation of things, not least the exquisiteness of Cantona’s low-driven volley in that pivotal 1-0 defeat at St. James’ Park. He also puts it down
Time went on after that bitter disappointment and Newcastle remain one of the best sides not to have won the Premier League. Barton saw iconic players depart, legendary managers hop on and off the managerial roundabout, and new players such as Aaron Hughes, the one who eventually inched Barton out of the squad, come through. He remained in the North East until 2002 before seeing out his playing days with a stint at Dagenham & Redbridge three years later, satisfied with the three England caps under his belt and a successful on-field career. And so a new era beckoned. After a brief spell doing media work at ITV and Sky in England, he headed off to sunny San Diego in 2008 with his family to begin a new adventure doing punditry at Fox Sports. He still enjoys being a pundit, but it is when talking about coaching that the lights behind his eyes truly begin to flicker – for him there’s nothing quite as fulfilling. Through Brad Friedel he was able to get involved in several training camps, but his main coaching venture was his short spell at San Diego Flash, an amateur side which he funded himself. Though he decided to ‘cut it at a loss’ in 2012, it was a great learning curve for Barton, helping him to immerse himself in an American footballing culture which he believes is steeply on the rise today. This is true of the MLS in particular, with money now being invested into academies and the
South American leagues rather than over-relying on the Zlatans and the Gerrards. Stereotypes surrounding the league still persist, however, and he wishes that people would ‘do their homework’, arguing that ‘just because it’s different a different culture doesn’t mean it’s wrong.’ Barton is still able to maintain a deep-seated interest in the English game despite moving to warmer climes, particularly with Newcastle and their current situation under Steve Bruce and Mike Ashley. “My problem is the style of football, it’s very conservative and we’ve got some talented, talented players, but the system that has been put up is to not lose the game. I know Steve and I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but I just want us to be more positive and adventurous and going forward. That’s how we can we get the best out of this team. “I want my football club to mirror the people in the city, and it doesn’t. They’re not negative, they’re not dour people, they want to have fun, and they’re not having fun at the moment.” That special connection with the North East will never go away, as he replays the sight of St. James’ Park in his mind – the ‘holy grail’ of a city where he plans to have his ashes sprinkled despite being born and bred in London.
“Durham is a beautiful place. It was a very special time in a great part of the world” Maiden Castle was central to shaping this fondness with the region: those training sessions with the fans, sharing the gym with the ‘Durham lads’, watching the Toon Army flock down in their droves, memories of Kevin Keegan sitting on the burger stall having a bacon sandwich while they trained, and rocking up to training in the snow with Tino Asprilla donning a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. “Durham is a beautiful place. It was a very special time in a great part of the world, and a part of the world I call home. I spent seven or eight years in the North East and loved every moment of it.” While Warren misses the lifestyle and culture of being a footballer intensely, he’s just glad to have been such a loyal servant to the club and the region – remembering the great players he met, the faces he brought smiles to, just happy to have entertained.
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PALATINATE | Thursday 19th November 2020
Sport
Harry Pearson: “Non-league is vinyl”
that led to some derision on his part. “Part of my disillusionment with Middlesbrough is just the Riverside Stadium: it’s so terrible. You don’t feel like it’s part of anything at all.” This disappointment with modern football is a recurring theme. Pearson has little time for Newcastle United’s acceptance of mediocrity, the current academy system or kids preferring the Metro Centre to playing football. Indeed, the Metro Centre gets quite the battering in both books, but it is a critique that is largely consistent with Pearson’s outlook on football: a yearning for a former iteration that is almost impossible to go back to. “I am an old football romantic”, admits Pearson. It is probably the one thing that most aptly sums the writer up. Throughout the one hour and 45-minute chat with Palatinate, Pearson flits from anecdote to anecdote. Approximately 50 different clubs are mentioned. For every
topic, there is someone on the committee of a non-league club, a story from a match 40 years ago that fits perfectly, even a photographer’s assistant in Oman who preferred watching games on TV than in real life due to the lack of replays. It is these anecdotes, peppered throughout the books, effortlessly transporting you from Dunston UTS vs. Pontefract Collieries to 1930s Middlesbrough, that really bring them to life. The focus on the characters, sights, smells, and stories perfectly demonstrate how football is far more than just a game. It is about community. This sense of community comes through when talk turns to the future of clubs in the North East. “Everything is gone except the silver band and the football team, so they become much more important”, argues Pearson. While the industries that they had been attached to have gone, the football clubs largely remain. Many are threatened by the
impact of Covid-19, but Pearson is upbeat about the future. “Non-league is vinyl”, Pearson chimes. “Some non-league clubs, in a way they’re sort of vinyl and sourdough clubs.” It is an example of Pearson’s richly descriptive style, this time used to denote the steady increase of fans at non-league games, largely the result of disaffection with the modern game. “People are just disillusioned with it. It’s not just the money, it’s the fact that the clubs have given up. Newcastle United now make no attempt to win anything.” It is largely why Pearson is positive about the future of nonleague. “These are institutions that have lasted a long time that are run by local people and are very competently run and have been for centuries and I think that’s a really uplifting thing.” It is again another example of the obvious affection the Middlesbrough native holds for both the North East and nonleague football. It is this affection that partly lies behind the decision to write a second book. “I sort of felt like I owed the Northern League something. My whole career was built on that book really. Writing a second book I hope is sort of a slight repayment of that.” It could have been very different, however. Despite the success of The Far Corner, Pearson went into it with no prior experience. “I didn’t even know how to write a proposal for a book because I’d never done one and I’d never seen one”, reflects Pearson on what would go on to become a classic of the football genre. It appears in both The Sunday Times’ and The Observer’s lists of the 50 Greatest Sports Books
of Lynden Gooch to whip into the box. The physicality of forward Charlie Wyke and the rest of the side has proved useful, especially against less brawny opposition. In their Papa John’s Trophy match against Aston Villa’s Under 21s, six of Sunderland’s eight goals resulted from crosses. For sure, that game showcased all of Sunderland’s attacking potency, but their method of scoring was symptomatic of the team’s constant reversion to direct tactics. Not enough is being eked out of a quality squad. Will Grigg is minor royalty in the Football League and the most expensive player in League One history, and yet his output at Sunderland has been underwhelming: eight goals in 55 games. This downfall is directly
traceable to Sunderland’s style; Grigg is no titan in the air. He developed a reputation at Wigan for putting teams to bed in a flash because they played to his strengths, prioritising incisive through balls and zipping passes to his feet. At Sunderland, he is forced between struggling for the ball in the air or coming deep to collect it, neither of which suit him. On the bright side, this Sunderland side brims with potential, and Parkinson has them exceptionally well-drilled. Sunderland are relentless, able to outlast teams and strike late on, their record in the second half of games being an impressive 8-1 this season. On their second-half form, they would be second in the league.
This is also a team steeped in the fortitude of leaders, with skipper Max Power supported by Bailey Wright and Grant Leadbitter, previously captains of Bristol City and Middlesbrough respectively. Such organisation shows in their performances. Yet for this Sunderland contingent, time is of the essence. With one of the oldest and most threadbare squads in the league, there may not be many cracks of the whip left until the club needs to reincarnate. League One is a land of sleeping giants, but they are starting to stir. After their collapse at the end of last season, Ipswich have started strongly. Hull, fresh out of the lift from Championship demotion, have hit the ground running despite their summer exodus.
James Reid Deputy Sport Editor “Suddenly I was one of the old blokes I used to look at and wonder how they got there” chuckles Harry Pearson, author of recently released book The Farther Corner. The blokes Pearson refers to are those so vividly depicted in his latest book and its prequel, The Far Corner. These characters that Pearson describes with such wit and sharpness are likely instantly recognisable to anyone who has ever been to a non-league game. The person who shouts the same thing all game, the father intricately detailing the game to his son, the person who thought it was much better in their day. There is an intense fondness for this, evident both in Pearson’s books and in his conversation with Palatinate. His affection for non-league, and the Northern League in particular, is something that shines through. “It was like a lifeline for me” reflects Pearson after he returned to the ninth tier league following large changes in his life. “For a lot of people, football probably is that thing.” It is a fondness that is entrenched in each and every page of both books. Each chapter contributes to a rich tapestry of North East working-class culture and is as much a guide to the region as it is a book about football. The Farther Corner comes 25 years after its critically acclaimed prequel and is particularly wistful about the changes that have occurred within football and wider society in that time frame. The game that Pearson returned to was very different to the one that was depicted all those years ago, a discovery
“I am a football romantic” (Harry Pearson)
of All Time, though Pearson is almost painfully modest. “It was a good time to write a football book because Fever Pitch definitely opened the doors to books about football.” This is just one of the many things that is described as “luck” by the writer who has gone on to write a series of critically acclaimed books as well as writing regularly for The Guardian. Despite his illustrious career, Pearson’s advice for writers is decidedly simpler. “I just say you get a piece of paper and you get a pencil, that’s how you start. The only way to learn to write is by writing. It’s like a child learning to walk.” Pearson’s story is one that is heartening for aspiring writers. His route into writing is unconventional. “I didn’t go to university so I didn’t even know how to structure an essay.” The 2,500 words he sent into publishers for The Far Corner was the longest thing he’d ever written. Yet it is perhaps this unorthodox route that gives the books their distinctive style. The rich depictions of non-league culture are a warm embrace of football at a time when it is missed by so many. Further, the books are an evocative guide to the North East as a region. Despite Pearson’s choice, though well-natured, words for Durham students, it is a fascinating insight into life in a region that has seen so much change in recent years and that has such a rich history. The chances of The Furthest Corner? Slim. “I’ll be 85, I don’t know what state I’ll be in by then!” But for now, Pearson’s books are a glorious celebration of football and the North East.
Charlton, Portsmouth, and Peterborough will all be backing themselves for promotion, while Wigan, with their decimated squad, may take time to rebuild but could be a force in years to come. And like every year, there are lesser-heralded clubs riding the crest of form’s wave. Lincoln and Fleetwood spring to mind. But football rarely thinks about the mitigating circumstances. In stature, Sunderland are this tier’s most prodigious club, and fans are expecting to lead the pack. For some, their stay in League One has already become uncomfortably long. Phil Parkinson has the credentials, the qualities, and the squad. Sunderland need to strike while the iron is hot, before lower-league football swallows them whole.
Sunderland up against other sleeping giants
Luke Power Sport Editor Continued from back page It would help if Sunderland were a bit more creative. Their key problem is that they are not scoring enough goals for a side targeting automatic promotion, and so far this season they’ve relied on penalties and own goalsfountains which will inevitably dry up- more than any other team in the league. Parkinson’s base formation of choice, the 3-5-2, is not renowned for its attacking flair, and places immense pressure on the wingbacks to provide an outlet. Indeed, Sunderland’s attacking motions are often focused on getting the ball wide for the likes
Thursday 19th November 2020 | PALATINATE
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Sport
Maiden Castle memories with Warren Barton
The former Newcastle full-back relives a fruitful career in football (page 18)
Harry Pearson talks football in the North East
James Reid chats to the football writer and author of The Farther Corner (page 19)
Parkinson’s Sunderland approach crossroads Luke Power Sport Editor
Members of Durham University Rugby Football Club sporting their moustaches in aid of the Movember campaign (DURFC)
Movember: clubs raise over £18,000 Ben Fleming Deputy Sport Editor Movember has become something of a regular fixture in Durham’s fundraising calendar over the last few years, with sports teams all over the University growing questionable upper lip hair to raise money for the charity which mainly aims to address the ongoing stigma surrounding men’s mental health. This year’s fundraising efforts have been met with the same fervour and enthusiasm as years gone by from Durham’s sporting outfits. However, this year it undoubtedly carries greater importance at this time of great social isolation, with the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the arrival of a second national lockdown. Mental health is not something that can just go left untreated and uncared for. As students return to or arrive at university this year, with all the challenges that this presents at the best of times, not being able to meet new people or see a familiar face out and about or on the sports pitches
can drastically affect one’s mental health. For these reasons, as fundraising efforts get underway and continue for the entirety of November, college and University sports clubs have been keen to spread the message, more than ever in these difficult times. As a member of Josephine Butler Football Club, who have raised nearly £3,000 already, put it to me, “simply starting a conversation with your friends and family about it can make a great and worthwhile difference” in much the same way as donating can. In terms of donations, Durham University Rugby Club (DURFC) has led the way with their Movember campaign raising more than £5,000 in the first two weeks alone. Speaking to Palatinate, club captain Dan Blackman is extremely proud of the levels of fundraising the club has achieved so far this month. “We’ve put even more effort this year into our online Movember page, which currently has around 50 members and has raised more than £5,000,” he said. “Some of the boys have taken it upon themselves
to complete a set amount of running during November and we also have some plans for the last week of the month which you might see around town.” Normally, DURFC would raise money through their first XV’s home games but, in its absence, Dan and the club are keen to ensure that friendly club ethos is not lost by “encouraging everyone to check in on their mates” during these times. Durham University Cricket Club (DUCC), whose season does not start for several months, have raised more than £1,300, largely through running 230km in the first 13 days between the team. However, their efforts have extended beyond the more traditional fundraising routes and they are keen to ensure they spread the message within the club. They recently held a webinar for the players with Lewis Baxter, a public speaker and founder of mental health advocacy charity, The Blurred Line, to ensure the players are comfortable speaking out about their emotions in this difficult time and beyond.
As one of the more newly established university-wide clubs, Durham University Touch Rugby Club (DUTRC) have managed superbly to raise more than £1,750 during the first two weeks. In conversation with Palatinate, DUTRC said it was “great to see more numbers getting involved with Movember this year.” Furthermore, as one of the few mixed-gender sports in Durham, the club can open a healthy dialogue between men and women when it comes to mental health. “As a mixed team we’re used to breaking down boundaries placed upon us about gender in sport – by having a strong showing from both our MoBros and MoSisters we are presenting our support and taking a stand against ignoring mental health issues as a whole.” The sheer number of clubs taking part, both University and college-based, are too numerous to mention in one article. However, the positive strides being made by each club in cumulatively raising more than £18,000 so far shows that the discourse around men’s mental health is growing, and that can only be a positive sign.
Football managers appointed to save clubs mired in crisis are often dubbed ‘firefighters’: plug-in-andgo folk heroes drafted in to save a crumbling defence from collapse, douse the flames of fan discontent, and impose some order on entropy. If results are acceptable, the firefighter emerges sootyfaced, and everybody breathes a sigh of relief. But there comes a point when the firefighter has to abandon the hose, a point at which merely staving off meltdown is not considered heroic enough. It is perhaps at this juncture that Phil Parkinson has arrived, with Sunderland still in League One a year after his arrival, and not finding the sailing as plain as they might like. Not to paint a picture of despair. Sunderland are having a solid season and Parkinson deserves a lot of credit for that. The Black Cats currently sit sixth in League One and have the division’s jointsecond-best defensive record, with defeats to Portsmouth and MK Dons being their only losses of the league campaign.
There comes a point when the firefighter has to abandon the hose
But Jack Ross was sacked when Sunderland were in the same position, and he had the credit of having led Sunderland to the playoff final the season before. To top that off, Ross had the third-best win percentage of any manager in the club’s history. Parkinson has no such redeeming graces. And even if Sunderland are in reasonably good form, he may be fortunate that the stands are empty. Like any expectant crowd, the Sunderland faithful can be capricious and, like a Roman Emperor, dictate the fate of the entertainers in their Colosseum. Currently, fan opinion is divided.
Continued on page 19
