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PALATINATE | Thursday 3rd December 2020
News
Castle MCR pledges £25k to acquire Palace Green almshouses Luke Payne Investigations Editor
Seun Twins
Durham Students’ Union President
We made it!! We made it to the end of term and we made it to the end of the year. I cannot emphasise enough how much survival is an achievement for each and every student. Sarah (your Postgraduate Academic Officer) always says this to me and every day it becomes more and more true. In my matriculation speech, I said that “2020 is a year of chaos, flux, and existentialism” and upon the review, it looks like I was right. To say it has been a tough year would be an understatement. I wish that everyone would take the time to reflect on this year and lessons learned. On a personal level, I have learned to be patient with myself and that my mental health should come second to none; as a President, I have recognised the sheer toll of Michaelmas Term, not just on students but on student volunteers, marginalised students and other student leaders. As a member of the Durham community, I have seen morale and the excitement that comes with the wider student experience take a real hit. It is true that Durham not only looks but feels a lot different. To be honest about how you are feeling is truly the only way to get through a once in a lifetime crisis like a global pandemic. I believe that we have all come to recognize that we are only as strong as our more vulnerable students and it is up to us to care for us. Students adhering to Covid-19 restrictions, volunteering as Covid-19 stewards, delivering food parcels or even just setting up an online Zoom quiz are truly the students we should be thanking and honouring. Now, I am under no illusions that 2021 will be our wildest dreams but what we can say is that we got through 2020 and it is looking like there may be a light emerging out of this very long and very dark tunnel. I wish everyone a safe and well end to the term and make sure that everyone takes a test before they travel. Stay safe, Seun xx
Castle MCR is planning an ambitious expansion of their existing common room facilities into Bishop Cosin’s Almshouses, also known as Café on the Green. The common room has committed £25,000 to the total cost of the acquisition and all necessary refurbishments required. Despite the significant cost of the proposal, the common room’s ordinary members have yet to be consulted. According to the MCR Treasurer’s most recent report, the common room sees the building as a long-term investment and plans to use it for exclusive additional space for its members. The plans have been in the works for some time. The previous President and Treasurer commenced work on the project. The executive hopes
the acquisition will be finalised early next year. Castle MCR is one of the wealthiest common rooms, but the sum pledged to the building will represent a substantial portion of its finances. Its acquired wealth has recently been the subject of controversy. Last year, Palatinate revealed it had historically profited thousands of pounds from its annual charity balls.
“They are not very transparent with budgets” An ordinary member described the plans as “unfair”, believing they had no say on where their money goes and commented; “They are not very transparent with budgets. We have been asked to pay membership fees this year and received little in return. It feels like our money is being used to refurbish something for future students.”
The refurbishments of the building will likely be extensive and costly, as the building’s roof requires replacement. Reports acquired by Palatinate suggest that the building’s loft space is filled with asbestos, which will require removal by professionals. The Almshouses’ listed status and location on a world heritage site will likely increase these costs. The common room may also face stiff competition from other University departments, as Palatinate understands there are multiple parties interested in acquiring use of the building. The building dates from 1668. Almshouses were buildings that provided accommodation for people who could not afford to pay rent. The Almshouses have, until recently, been the home of Café on the Green, a Universityowned business. When approached for comment with respect to the acqui-
sition, the Castle MCR President said: “The MCR has grown significantly over the last three years, averaging 270 members. The Maurice Tucker Room is currently insufficient to meet the needs of the MCR and so the previous exec decided to investigate options to expand our physical space. After the lease of the Café on the Green ended, the University decided to start exploring other uses for this building and the previous Castle exec and Principal investigated this as a possibility for the new location of the MCR. “Before taking this proposal to the MCR, we first needed to establish that the space was in fact available which, as of today, is still not confirmed. No decisions have been made regarding use of this space since nothing has been confirmed. However, the exec will engage in a broad consultative process should it be decided to proceed with this acquisition.”
Dale, Director of Student Support and Wellbeing, and Joanne Race, Director of Human Resources and Organisation Development. They said, “The health, safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and the wider community is always our first priority. We remain extremely mindful of the impact that Covid-19 restrictions, which are necessary to limit the spread of the virus, have on our University community, and we are committed to supporting those affected through it. All students have full access to a range of pastoral support through their colleges and professional support services such as our counselling team. “To ensure these services are Covid-secure they are currently being delivered predominantly online. Our advisers are also trained to signpost to telephone
or digital services including those used by the NHS. We also have supportive structures and services in place for our staff, ensuring they can raise problems and seek help – be this from their line management, Occupational Health, Health and Safety, the University Counselling Service or HR and Organisation Development. “All staff also have access to our Employee Assistance Programme which provides a wide range of support, including access to telephone counselling. We are developing a Health and Wellbeing Strategy, with the aim of creating a more responsible, attractive and productive place to work and study. We look forward to announcing further initiatives in our whole University approach to health and wellbeing.” (Amana Moore)
10% of students sought counselling in 2019
Continued from front One student mentioned that “in the past, coming back up to Durham could feel overwhelming but I always knew where I stood, whereas now that all the norms we rely on have been uprooted it’s hard to know how to ‘do uni’ in this context.” Another suggested that, in order to help improve students’ mental health, the University “could publicise [access to mental health services] better”, for they “don’t put anything about it in the emails, as far as I know.” However, the majority of the students surveyed by Palatinate said they know how to access University mental health support. Half of the students also said they would feel comfortable talking to welfare services about their mental health. Data by Durham Polling also shows that 53% of students would feel negative if face-to-face teaching was removed completely. Data collected by savethestudent.org showed that two in three students nationwide say their mental health has suffered due to Covid-19, with 49% of students saying they worry about loneliness. 67% of students nationwide want at least some inperson teaching right now. Data published by Durham University reveals that the number of Durham students seeking counselling is increasing each year. In 2019, one in ten students sought counselling. By comparison, in the 2014-15 academic year, 8.7% of the total student population was known to the counselling service, whilst in 2015-16 it was 9.1%. Over the
last five years, nearly two thirds of students who sought counselling were female.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and the wider community is always our first priority” The number of third year students who seek counselling from the University is around seven times higher than first year students. In the 2018-19 academic year, 114 first year students sought counselling, as opposed to the 798 third year students. In 2014-15, there were 81 first years compared to 616 third years. In response to Palatinate’s findings, Durham University issued a statement on behalf of Sam
