Palatinate 838

Palatinate

Durham’s student newspaper since 1948

Thursday 4th March 2021 | No. 838

SciTech detail Durham academics’ groundbreaking Alzheimer’s discovery

www.palatinate.org.uk | FREE

Books showcase pioneering female authors for International Women’s Day

Counselling demand increased by 40% in 2019-20 Martha McHardy and Tash Mosheim News Editor and Editor-in-Chief Durham University’s counselling service experienced a 39% increase in the number of appointments attended in 2019-20, according to statistics published by the University In 2019-20, 9,400 counselling service appointments were

attended by Durham students, compared to 6,754 the previous year. Between 201718 and 2019-20 there was a 17% increase in the number of appointments attended.

The statistics include appointments and consultations undertaken by both the Counselling and Psychological Wellbeing team and the Mental Health Team.

Durham University told

Palatinate that demand for the Counselling Service, which offers up to six counselling sessions per year to each student has “increased as a result of Covid-19”.

A previous investigation by Palatinate revealed that as a result of lockdown, Durham students reported feeling “isolated”, “abandoned” and “alone”.

The University has added “additional staffing resources as a consequence”

of

the increased demand.

Since September 2019, the University has hired two Mental Health advisers, one psychological wellbeing practitioner, and one counsellor.

The number of students known to the service increased by five per cent in 2019-20.

10.1% of students are known to the University Counselling Service, increasing from 1,862 students in the previous year

(2018-19) to 1,954 students.

Over the last five years, nearly two thirds of students who sought counselling were female. 1,297 female students accessed the service in 201920, which amounts to 12.4% of female students at the University compared to 7.3% of the population of male students.

The number of male students Continued on page 6

Religious groups and BP among University’s top donors Luke Payne Investigations Editor

▲ Under the lockdown roadmap revealed last week, Durham’s pubs and restaurants may re-open to customers outdoors from 12th April (Adeline Zhao)

University vows to clamp down on racism and sexual misconduct Tim Sigsworth and Max Kendix Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor Durham University has vowed to crack down on racism and sexual assault following the recent expulsion of three students.

The University announced last week that one student had been expelled for sexual violence and misconduct, while another has

received a fixed-term suspension for breaching the University’s non-academic misconduct policy.

This follows the expulsion in October 2020 of two students for sexual misconduct and racist social media comments respectively.

Two former police officers have been hired as permanent investigators of misconduct, one

of whom has particular experience in handling sexual violence cases.

This will make Durham the first UK university to have two and one of only three - alongside Bath and Bristol - which has any at all.

In an exclusive interview with Palatinate, Jeremy Cook OBE, the University’s Pro-ViceChancellor for Colleges and Student Experience, said that

tackling sexual violence was a key priority for the University’s Executive Committee (UEC).

“One area that we looked at as well in the University is looking at trying to speed up the process, because justice delayed is justice denied to some extent.

“The University is working really hard to increase the Continued on page 7

The University has received at least £40m from donors over the past six years, according to data on donations of £10,000 or more obtained by Palatinate.

Based on the most recent three years of donations, 37% (£4.8m) of donations from organisations came from religious, predominantly Christian, trusts and charities.

Most notably, this included a £3.4m donation for St John’s College from the Templeton Religion Trust in 2019.

Other top donors in this three-year period include The Wolfson Foundation (£874k), The Laidlaw Foundation (£760k), The Congregation of La Retraite in England and Ireland (£410k) and Santander UK plc (£325k).

Oil and gas giant BP also features as a significant donor.

It donated funds to Durham in 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.

BP funds scholarships, awards and research opportunities with Durham University’s Faculty of Science.

The controversial oil and gas company was found responsible for the largest marine oil spill in history and was reported to have Continued on page 4

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

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Editorial

Inside 838 News pages 3-7 Comment pages 8-10 Profile pages 11-12 SciTech pages 13-14 Politics pages 15-17 Puzzles page 18 PalatiDates page 18 Sport pages 19-22

indigo

(Samantha Fulton)

Here’s to Palatinate

E

xposing sexual assault, investigating declining student mental health, and reporting on Covid-19 measures with a live newsfeed, Palatinate has published the stories you need to keep informed in Durham.

10 months ago, when asked by the Editors and SU where I’d like to see the paper in five years, I told them I’d hope Palatinate would stay an intrinsic part of Durham student culture.

Regardless of whether they were aspiring journalists, I’d hope students would feel it was vitally necessary to pick up our paper.

Based on our coverage and battle with the SU to remain in print this year, I hope for this now more so than ever before.

Our news exclusives, comments on the student experience, PalatiDates, puzzles and satirical pieces highlighting the mistakes, missteps and misjudged decisions of the bodies that run Durham, are unrivalled – you will not find the compelling content elsewhere. And I still, along with everyone who signed our open letter in September to #keepprintingPalatinate, want to prove to those who believe print is dead, that there is an appetite for physical newspapers.

We know – just by looking at the news desert wasteland in the US – that if you don’t have local papers, you don’t have trust in the media. Palatinate has shown how crucial journalism is. We notify students about key decisions the University has made on their academic and social lives.

We offer levity and fun in our

interviews, reviews, cartoons, and illustrations. We get our sources verified and we always make sure to hold those in power to account.

Yes, it is unquestionably true that digitisation means many of the stories Palatinate publishes can be accessed online. In fact, because there are not enough students in Durham due to the lockdown and commandment to remain home “wherever possible”, we chose not to print this term – and thus you will be reading our 838th edition in a purely digitised form.

But we shouldn’t let Covid-19 be an excuse to cut our paper.

Students do not always like voluntarily reading from a screen, we spend too long on them anyway. We don’t want a newspaper to be at the mercy of digital obliteration just from one mistaken push of a button. We want to read a selection of stories that a team of editors consciously put together for us, rather than solely searching on a website and then stumbling across them. We want to be connected to Durham’s history, something you can’t satisfactorily feel when quickly downloading a paper onto your device.

We shouldn’t let Covid-19 be an excuse to cut our paper

This is my final editorial, and perhaps you will think I have wasted my opportunity to write about a problem that has yet fully been covered, with an issue I’ve

already argued for. But this issue – of enabling the freedoms of the press to prevail – has defined my two terms as Editor. When I look back on the job, I will remember the legal threats, the frantic stress of trying to source the £9,000 needed to print 11 editions a year, and the constant thought that I’d be remembered for losing Palatinate its printed papers.

I can’t imagine I’ll miss averaging nine hours a day on my phone, having to prove to the SU that print is inherently valuable and that taking away our print edition when they may have the funds to pay for it, is harming their reputation more than it will harm us – for we will always find a way to pull through. But forgive me for harking on.

Without a doubt though, my memories of Palatinate will not be tainted by Covid-19 or bureaucracy. For after all, I fell in love here, with the paper and the people. I will fondly recall the months of late night Zoom meetings, socials and laying up sessions Palatinate gave me. I joined in my second year because I loved writing and I wanted to make new friends. Maybe in tagging along to the Swan before actually joining the Editorial Board I broke some rules, but I’ll always be grateful to the Music and Profile Editors who encouraged my keenness and introduced me to the paper.

I would never have known how to make anything closely resembling a newspaper if it wasn’t for Tim, Toby, Max, Imogen, Tom, Jack, Faye, Millie and Hugo. I’m confident I would

Editorial page 2 Fashion page 3 Features pages 4-5 Creative Writing page 6 Visual Arts page 7 Books pages 8-9 Food & Drink page 10 Interview page 11 Film & TV pages 12-13 Music page 14 Stage page 15 Travel page 16

Letters to the Editor

Disagree with something we’ve published? Send us a letter at editor@palatinate.org.uk and we will publish it in the next edition.

Clarification

A previous version of our front page stated that the Swan would reopen on 12th April. This was incorrect, and the Swan is yet to confirm when it will reopen.

not have made it through the last 10 months without Tim and Imogen especially, my fellow Editors-in-Chief.

They are meticulous, adept and their work ethic is unequalled. Thank you to them, the entire editorial board – working with you has been a privilege – and you, our readers, on whom our whole operation depends.

And so with that I leave in the hope that if Palatinate is asked to show its worth as a printed paper, editors, journalists and students will rally together to prove print is not dead. To my successor, if you ever need one more voice to add to your fight, you know which side I’ll be on.

Tash Mosheim Editor-in-Chief

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

Palatinate Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Tash Mosheim & Tim Sigsworth editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Toby Donegan-Cross & Max Kendix deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Martha McHardy, Patrick Stephens & Theo Burman news@palatinate.org.uk News Reporters Kiara Davies, Keziah Smith, Richard Waters, Poppy Askham, Orlando Bell, Isabel C. Davis, Josh Hurn, Jess Jones, Abigail Brierley & Cristina Coellen Investigations Editors Luke Payne, Heather Rydings & Katie Tobin investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editors Cerys Edwards & Harrison Newsham comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editors Ellie Fitzgerald-Tesh & Honor Douglas Profile Editors 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 Puzzles Editors Harry Jenkins & Thomas Simpson puzzles@palatinate.org.uk 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 Editor Jemima Gurney creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editors Charlie Barnett & Issy Flower 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 & Erin Waks 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 & Alex Rigotti 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 Podcast Editor Milly Minter podcast@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub Editors Ishita Srivastava & Naomi RescorlaBrown chief.sub@palatinate.org.uk Sub Editors Chloe Waugh, Isobel Tighe, Mikey Canty, RJ Batkhuu & Susie Bradley Photography Editor Mark Norton photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Beatrice Law, James Tillotson & Adeline Zhao Illustration Editors Amber Conway, Verity Laycock & Samantha Fulton illustration@palatinate.org.uk Social Media Officers Зоя Антонова & Nicole Wu social.media@palatinate.org.uk Finance Officer Sophie Garnett finance@palatinate.org.uk Advertising Officers Alex Cowan, Amana Moore & Kate Pesenti advertising@palatinate.org.uk

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PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

News

Charity in memory of Durham student Olivia Burt donates £26,000 to school pupils Poppy Askham News Reporter

Seun Twins

Durham Students’ Union President

So, elections are over (thank God) and I am still here as your SU president – YAY! Running and winning in an election as an incumbent is always interesting because students are voting not just for your manifesto but on your competency.

It is cool to have been given an extra 12 months and I thank everyone who has voted for me.

What is even more special is that students are investing back into SU democracy, en masse. It is great to see that the SU presidency was so contested; that discussions around our SU democracy were vibrant and thoughtful; that an officer team was successfully elected in transparent elections, whilst respecting the ongoing work of the incumbent officers.

A successful election period does not mean all is well and good in SU democratic processes, but it is a big step in a great direction.

This successful election period should be a sign that dissent, discourse and debate are not lost in our SU. I am still here as your SU president and your current team are still working in the interest of Durham Students.

Stay Safe, Seun

Olivia Inspires, a charity founded in remembrance of Durham University first-year student Olivia Burt, has donated £26,000 to support young people in the New Forest area.

Olivia’s parents founded Olivia Inspires in 2019 with the goal of allowing “Olivia’s spirit to live on by helping young people in the New Forest to realise their potential”. The charity awards grants to 11-18-year-olds in the New Forest District Council area whose families are facing financial difficulties in order to support their development in STEM subjects, the arts and sports.

The 20-year-old Natural Sciences student at University College died in a tragic accident in Durham in 2018 when a metal barrier collapsed outside Missoula nightclub, now the Slug and Lettuce.

Earlier this year, a coroner agreed to adjourn the inquest into Olivia’s death and in September 2020 the Crown Prosecution confirmed that no individual or organisation would be prosecuted in relation to the case.

Every secondary school in the New Forest District Council area received funding from the charity during the first national Covid-19 lockdown. More than £15,000 was donated to purchase laptops for disadvantaged students.

Other initiatives have included funding for a two-year wood management course for seven local year-ten pupils and a £4,000 grant to provide students at Hounsdown School, Totton with online maths tutoring.

Castle Community Action, a committee at Olivia’s college, recently donated £2,350 to the charity.

In a statement on its website, the team behind Olivia Inspires expressed their gratitude: “The students fundraised during what has been an incredibly difficult and uncertain year and our thanks go out to

for the duration of their studies, will not offer any compensation to its members.

Saskia Wotton-Cane, Chair of the JCR Presidents’ Committee, and St Cuthbert’s Society JCR President, spoke to Palatinate on behalf of all colleges who charged full levies: “We have all faced mass uncertainty this year. JCRs have been no different.

“I am confident that students

will overall get their money’s worth from their levies. JCR levies are payments for your whole degree, not just one year.

“What is lost this year will be made up for in cheaper events, sports and societies, and bigger budgets next year, though this will vary from Common Room to Common Room.

“We also hope to invite finalists back for events, particularly

(Olivia Inspires) everyone involved”.

Members of University College and the Durham University Sailing Club, of which Olivia was a member, are also set to run 500km from Durham to Lymington to raise funds for the organisation.

Chloe Swetenham, Commodore of Durham University Sailing, told Palatinate: “Supporting Olivia Inspires is so important

to Durham University Sailing Club to ensure Liv’s memory and her passion reaches and lifts up as many people as she did with us. We have used lockdown as an opportunity to fundraise via Strava challenges, which has been a great success and have loved seeing the money supporting other talented individuals.”

A friend of Olivia’s from DUSC said: “Liv’s bravery, her optimism and her kindness is something that remains with me – an ability to bring people together that her friends will forever remember, and that Olivia Inspires aims to continue.”

around rescheduled graduations, where again value for money will be prioritised.”

However, Joseph Cheadle, SRC President at the College of St Hild and St Bede, told Palatinate that they would be reviewing the situation.

“We have responded to concerns by proposing a review of events and value for money over this past academic year

with the potential for partial refunds or subsidies as deemed appropriate”.

The Graduate Common Room at Ustinov College, Durham’s only fully postgraduate college, created a new tiered system this year in response to changing circumstances wrought by the pandemic, ranging from a £1 digital-only membership to a £35 in-person event membership.

Durham University Sailing Club are running 500km to raise money

Colleges keep JCR levies despite lack of events Kiara Davies News Reporter Almost every college Junior Common Room (JCR) levy has remained unchanged despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on student life.

A drastic fall in the number of in-person events this year has prompted calls for refunds for the fees, which are used to subsidise events, maintain the physical JCR space, and fund college societies.

Only St. Chad’s college have lowered their fees, from £30 to £15 a year.

Ellie Fitzgerald-Tesh, a firstyear undergraduate at St John’s College, said the lack of action was “frustrating”. “[I have] only been in Durham for four weeks this year due to the pandemic”, she explained, “with limited online-only events and no JCR-based societies that I’ve signed up to running.”

Hatfield College, whose JCR charges students £240 upfront

(Beatrice Law)

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Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

News

Donations worth £4.3m channelled through American alumni organisation Continued from front been a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions due to its business activities. Durham University openly advertises careers with BP on their website.

A number of major law firms

also frequently donate money to the University including Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Baker McKenzie, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Forsters LLP, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Hogan Lovells LLP and Clyde & Co LLP. £4.3m of donations have been channelled through DunelmUSA,

a US-based charity that pools donations from benefactors in the United States to Durham University.

Where the origin of donations is known, a large proportion were awarded to scholarships and research grants. The large number of donations from (Amana Moore)

religious organisations and law firms may be influenced by Durham Theology department’s standing in the world rankings, who have maintained a top 5 place over the past four years according to QS World Rankings.

However, high-level data indicates that roughly half of donations, some £18m, in the fiveyear period between 2014/15 and 2018/19 were directed to capital projects. The vast majority of these came from individuals rather than organisations.

59% of funds donated from individuals were directed towards capital projects (£12.3m) compared with only 32% of donated funds from trusts, companies, and other organisations (£5.8m).

The records show four £1m+ donations from individuals towards capital projects in this period.

Durham University was reluctant to hand over the names of its major donors, believing that doing so would violate the Data Protection Act. Previous Palatinate investigations have also been rebuffed, as the University claimed it would “suffer commercial detriment” if the data was revealed. However, following a complaint made to the Information Commissioner’s

Office, the University agreed to reveal the names of organisations that have donated over £10,000 over the past three years.

A number of donations to the University in the past have resulted in controversy, including donations from British American Tobacco, the Iranian government and the US State Department.

Professor Stuart Corbridge, Vice-Chancellor, told Palatinate: “We are proud that philanthropic giving to Durham University has increased substantially in recent years.

“This is a tangible sign of the levels of affection and engagement our global network of alumni and benefactors has with our University, and their shared belief in our mission and values.”

“Almost all of our philanthropic support is directed towards providing direct financial support to our students, pursuing transformative research, and nurturing an inspiring environment for our staff, students, and our community partners.

“We have rigorous policies in place to support our approach, including our Gift Acceptance Policy, which is publicly available and reviewed regularly.”

Seun Twins elected for second term Theo Burman News Editor Seun Twins, this year’s SU President, has been elected for a second term after the most contested presidential election in four years.

Twins ran on a platform that built on her work combatting the adverse effects of Covid-19 and Durham’s culture, which she pledged to address in the continuation of her flagship policy, the Culture Commission.

Jonah Graham was elected as Welfare and Liberation Officer, Declan Merrington as Postgraduate Academic Officer, Jack Ballingham as Opportunities Officer and Charlie Procter as Undergraduate Academic Officer.

Additionally, Ola Wojciechowska, Meg Wishart, Robert Smith, and Kathryn Ellison were elected as SU Trustees, and Bianca Drujescu.

Aditya Lathar, Akansha Agrawal, and Alexandra Nita were elected as NUS delegates.

St Chad’s College had the highest turnout with just over 36%, and is set to win the SU’s

prize of an address from Jackie Weaver who found fame last month after a virtual meeting of Handforth Parish Council went viral.

The election had a 14.16% turnout

Twins ran against Joe Simmons, Aditya Lathar, and James Burton for the position, with RON also an option.

However, no student applied to run an official RON campaign, despite changes in the SU election rules allowing for this.

Last year, 58% of students voted for the RON option, which was subsequently eliminated, citing campaign rules violations.

The election had a 14.16% turnout, with undergraduates having the highest at 17.61%.

Seun led in every round in the SU’s transferable vote system, with the final round coming down to her and James Burton, the St Chad’s JCR President.

In the first round, RON was eliminated. In the second and third, Joe Simmons and Aditya Lathar were eliminated.

(Amana Moore)

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

5

News

28.5% more first-class degrees awarded in 2019-20 than previous academic year Toby Donegan-Cross Deputy Editor Durham University awarded 28.5% more first-class degrees at the end of the 2019-20 academic year compared to the previous year, statistics on the University website reveal.

41% of those graduating last year received a first-class classification, compared to 31.9% in 2018-19. In raw numbers, this works out to 1,742 first class degrees awarded in 2019-20 and 1,370 in 2018-19.

Since more students received first-class classifications, proportionally fewer received upper-second class degrees (2:1s) – 50.4% in 2019-20, compared to 54% the previous year. Lower-second class (2:2s) were also reduced from 295 students in 2018-19 to 182 in 2019-20, representing a 36.8% decrease.

The increase in first-class degrees is likely to partly owe to the adoption of the ‘safety net’ policy in April 2020 which sought to mitigate against the adverse effects of the pandemic on student learning outcomes.

41% of those graduating last year received a first-class classification

The policy, which was announced after a petition calling for its adoption accrued 3,500 signatures, stipulated that upon completing their final

exams, students would receive two separate marks – one which factored in their assessments completed during the pandemic, and one which did not. Students were awarded their degree based on the higher value. As a consequence, assessments which were affected by the pandemic could only raise overall degree classification.

Other measures included the majority adoption of 48hour exams, and as such, these were mostly open-book. One requirement was that students pass their exam in order to gain their degree.

“Our awards reflect the quality of our students”

Professor Alan Houston, ViceProvost (Education), Durham University, said: “Our awards reflect the quality of our students and the research-led education they receive at Durham. We admit exceptional students and enable each and every one of them to achieve their best throughout their time with us.

“External examiners consistently commend the rigour of our degrees. We are committed to maintaining this, including during these challenging times, and are scrupulous in decisions made regarding our degree classifications.

“Our students are fully deserving of the high grades which they work hard for and last year our external examiners consistently praised the high

quality of student work.

“Our graduates are also some of the most sought-after nationally, demonstrating that employers and postgraduate recruiters place high value in a Durham degree classification.

“We fully recognise the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This is why we have introduced a range of measures for 2021, drawing upon our experience last year and working in collaboration with Durham Students’ Union, to provide an academic safety net for students while upholding the integrity of their degrees.”

Last month, like last year, the University announced the adoption of a series of measures to mitigate against the effects of the pandemic.

“I personally don’t think we should worry about grade inflation”

These include students being able to submit an academic impact statement for dissertations, major projects, or other key assessments if they have been adversely affected by academic factors.

It also means that students will not be required to provide evidence when requesting a seven-day extension for submitting summative coursework. Additionally, if a student’s average mark is five or more points below the previous year, their record will be scrutinised for Covid-19 effects.

Prof. Houston went on to say that the measures have been amended to “support students fairly while upholding the integrity of their degrees,” while also recognising “individual circumstances, including the mental and physical barriers to study, faced by many.”

The increase represents the most significant grade inflation since at least 2003-4, which is as far back as public records go, and some have shared concerns that the rise in so-called ‘good’ degrees (a 2:1 or first) devalues Durham degrees.

“Grade inflation students”

hurts

One student told Palatinate, “Grade inflation hurts students.

Now a 2:1 is expected from you.

Employers in the job market won’t take a 2:1 seriously unless you have the accompanying extracurricular work experience and personality to fit the company. So unless students kill themselves going the extra mile to help them stand out, your average grade is simply not good enough anymore.

(Durham University)

“And it’s not only affecting our job applications, but of course this impacts our mental health.

When everyone is getting the higher grades, you obviously need to work harder to compete with them, else you see yourself and are seen as a failure.”

Nailah Haque, Durham Students’ Union’s Undergraduate Academic Officer, told Palatinate: “I personally don’t think we should worry about grade inflation, especially if it’s at the expense of students.

“I do think the increase in firsts that we saw last year was because students were able to perform better in online exams for whatever reason – not being in pressurised environments like an exam hall, having more time to prep or just knowing you have more time than say two to three hours to complete the assessment.

“I think last year’s measures definitely provided some sort of reassurance to students that exam boards and the University were considering how students had been impacted by Covid-19 and how this could have implicated their grades.”

Durham students launch campaign against public sexual harassment on campus Keziah Smith News Reporter Two Durham University students, Honor Douglas and Matilda Hubble, have launched a campaign against public sexual harassment (PSH) within Durham city.

The campaign, named ‘Our Durham Streets Now’, branches from the national grassroot organisation ‘Our Streets Now’, a movement with the objective of making PSH a criminal offence.

The two students are pushing for a harassment-free education, and propose working with the University to make Durham’s streets and campus areas a safer place for all students.

Honor and Matilda launched ‘Our Durham Streets Now’ after a friend experienced sexual harassment on the streets of Durham. In fact, a survey carried out by ONS has revealed that 84% of students are subjected to some kind of harassment over the course of their university experience.

“It makes me scared”

The survey went on to reveal that 49% have been harassed travelling to or around the university.

‘Our Durham Streets Now’ responded to these statistics by saying, “We’re going to be working hard with the University and around Durham to change

this devastating reality.”

Matilda comments: “I’ve never felt 100% safe on my own, especially in somewhere I don’t know. It makes me scared, but it’s not something that’s going to stop me fighting against it.”

Although the group acknowledge that Durham Students’ Union (DSU) has set up ‘Pincident’, a platform where victims can anonymously report episodes of sexual harassment or abuse, Matilda fears that many students don’t know about this, especially first-years.

She further warns that some students don’t report incidents as PSH is not a criminal offence in its own right.

When talking exclusively to Palatinate, the campaign group

explains: “PSH is often shrugged off as a minor incident, or even as a ‘compliment’. However, each experience contributes to a perception of sexual violence, which can affect people for years to come.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is our first priority”

“In Durham, PSH is a perennial problem, and recent reporting on Durham’s sexist culture has highlighted the fact that this problem is still endemic at our university and will continue to be so unless we increase awareness and demand both institutional and cultural change.”

‘Our Durham Streets Now’ also proposes working with authorities and transport providers to reduce occurrences of PSH, and are pushing to appoint a full time sexual assault and harassment advisor at Durham.

Professor Graham Towl, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience), commented: “The safety and wellbeing of our students is our first priority, both on campus and in the city, and we utterly condemn sexual violence, misconduct and harassment.

“We would really welcome seeing further details of this survey so we can, together with Durham Students’ Union and partners in Durham City, fully consider the concerns identified.”

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Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

News

Around five times more third year students than first years sought counselling in 2019-20 Continued from front accessing the Counselling service decreased from 672 in 2018-19 to 646 in 2019-20, with 11 students who accessed the service not identifying as male or female.

Among undergraduates, the number of third year students who seek counselling from the University is around five times higher than first year students.

811 of the undergraduate students who used the service in 2019-20 were third years, compared to 160 first year students and 456 second year students. 162 of the undergraduates who accessed the service were fourth or fifth year students.

Students can self-refer to the University Counselling Service, or they can be referred by a staff member or a third party.

“We recognise that this year has placed additional academic pressure on students.”

The University offers a range of mental health services to students, including a Psychological Wellbeing Service which offers “information and guidance” on self-help resources. Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) offer 15 or 30 minute sessions.

Durham students can also access psychoeducational programmes via SilverCloud without a referral to the Counselling Service.

As part of Durham University’s £50 million Digital Strategy, students have access to Miindset, an AI platform for “students who seek to improve their mental wellbeing”.

The University’s Mental Health Advice Team is also accessible to students who may need support to access local NHS services, information on mental health conditions, or who need a mental health assessment.

Mental Health Advisors offer “advice and guidance” to students with diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health difficulties, but cannot provide treatment.

“The service must ensure that demand is being appropriately met”

The University told Palatinate that there has been “a notable and increasing number of support meetings that our Mental Health Advisors attend.” The University is also recruiting “additional Mental Health Advisor support

with a focus on Mental Health training”. This follows the approval of the University’s first Health and Wellbeing strategy which “identifies student mental health as a key priority area”.

In 2019-20, there was a 127% increase in the total number of consultations and administrative actions carried out by University Mental Health Advisors, from 1,950 in 2018-18 to 4,417 in 2019-20.

A spokesperson for the Durham branch of the University and College Union (UCU) was critical of the University approach to mental health support, telling Palatinate, “when we say that the university needs to provide for mental health support, for both staff and students, we don’t mean the provision of another well-being app. We need actual trained people with expertise and experience in providing this kind of support.”

They continued: “Some members of staff are given access to resources and information that they can direct students to. Other members (such as GTAs) are simply told to direct students to their college welfare team.

“The vast majority of members of staff do not have any training or formal qualifications in providing mental health support.

We are not trained counsellors or psychologists. We are not trained suicide support professionals, or trained in supporting students in mental health crises. That we do so provides another layer of challenge.”

“We need actual trained people with expertise and experience in providing this kind of support”

When asked if they feel able to help students who are struggling with mental health issues, Dr. Sara L. Uckelman, assistant professor in Philosophy, said: “No. I am not an expert in this. I have no formal training or qualifications in mental health support. I have no knowledge of what is useful or what is not.

“I also know that if I point my students towards the resources that are available, these are often inadequate or inaccessible. It’s a horrible position to be in.

“As someone who is not formally trained in any of these things, you know that if a student is coming to you for help, it’s because they’re not getting what they need elsewhere, and it’s awful to know that there’s little you can provide as well.”

The University touched on the

(Tash Mosheim)

steps it has taken to alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on student mental health, saying: “The University Counselling service are now a bigger team and able to support more students whilst ensuring that all appointments and consultations are recorded to reflect the full range of work that is being undertaken by our dedicated staff. In doing so, we are able to accurately reflect their workload and the support being provided to our students.

“The University expanded the capacity of its counselling service between 2018-19 and 2019-20 as well as undergoing a temporary expansion to help support students during the lockdown and pandemic when there has been the greatest demand for mental health support.

“The University’s Counselling Service’s staffing ratio mirrors that recommended by The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy with whom we are accredited.”

Durham SU Welfare and Liberation Officer, Ewan Swift told Palatinate that whilst it is “positive” that increased demand for the Counselling service is being met with an increase in staff capacity, “the service must ensure that demand is being appropriately met, and I have been in regular contact with the service throughout the pandemic to ensure that.

“We must continue to have open dialogue with Welfare Officers on the ground to understand the diversity of issues students are facing and keep in contact with the Counselling Service to understand demand

and capacity. Further, I will continue to fight for students by putting pressure on the University to do the right thing in addressing pressing student issues before they manifest into mental health stressors.

“Durham University must listen to its student body and the student leaders who are presenting the issues they see every day. The Student Support Review will go a long way to improve how the University reactively support students with their mental health, but ensuring that they proactively address student concerns with haste will mitigate against the negative impacts these issues are having on student mental health.”

“Normal student coping mechanisms aren’t available in lockdown”

A University spokesperson said: “Normal student coping mechanisms aren’t available in lockdown and have been limited during the wider Covid-19 pandemic. This includes meeting with friends, playing sport, enjoying live music etc.

“As such, we are finding an increasing need from students who wish to reach out to our Counselling Service and we have taken action to ensure that we have the capacity to deal with all of them.

“Like all other student support services across the University and its Colleges, the Counselling Service has moved its provision online, so our services have remained accessible to students

wherever they are geographically.

“Additionally, the Service has set up Zoom support groups with Counsellors to work with various groups of students in addressing the change in needs that have arisen from the student body as a result of the pandemic. The team continue to be as responsive as possible and continue to consult with a variety of student groups to determine how to best meet their needs.

“We recognise that this year has placed additional academic pressure on students.

In response, we have introduced the Academic Safety Net, an integrated set of policies and practices aiming to ensure that no student’s educational attainment is worsened as a result of the pandemic.

As part of Durham University’s £50 million Digital Strategy, students have access to Miindset

“As part of the Academic Safety Net, all work will be assessed in a way which takes account of the challenging conditions in which our students are preparing for and taking their assessments, and we will consider mitigating circumstances for all students affected by Covid-19 as a matter of course (i.e. without requiring students to submit individual SACs due to Covid-19) for every assessment.

“Students can request coursework extensions of up to a week if needed and can defer one or more examinations to the summer reassessment period.”

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

7

News

“This isn’t just a University problem, it’s about changing all of us” Continued from front agility and the speed of our conduct processes.”

“It’s about being demonstrable,” Cook went on to say. “The students tell me, ‘That’s great Jeremy, but we want to see more of that, we want to see you doing things and taking action and showing us that you mean what you say’. And for me that’s really, really important.

“I’ve also added in my time – where students who are found to have conducted misconduct in what’s called Level Two cases, which is the Senate Misconduct and Senate Disciplinary Committee level – their cases are published on the University web pages.

“That is now a case of saying to our community, ‘Look, we don’t just say this, we do this – this is important to us. We value this.’”

For legal reasons, the University is unable to publish the names of students who are found to have committed sexual violence, and the impact of similar constraints on the University’s ability to act was a common theme of the interview.

Cook recognised that not publishing many details of a case can leave a community in the dark, and pledged to work hard on revealing as much as the University legally could: “I want to push a little bit harder on saying a bit more, because if I’m going to restore the faith in our BAME community that we’ve got to be strong on racism, I want to say [...] this person has been suspended or expelled for racism.

I want to be a bit bolder in my risk envelope.

“I’d rather get the compliments of the community and be on the side of the right than always trying to defend, but it’s a very hard balance, because of course legally if there’s any sense we’ve given away soft indication of who they are, we could have to face challenge and legal compensation. I push the lawyers as hard as I can, is my honest line.”

“Look, we don’t just say this, we do this – this is important to us”

On sexual assault, Cook explained the disciplinary approach: “The University doesn’t have a zero-tolerance policy.

Zero-tolerance is an idealistic position. It’s in theory great, but of course in practice, there may be factors, mental health issues

that an individual has, that may have contributed.

That said, Cook emphasised that crossing the line with University values has clear consequences: “It’d be rare that anybody who had conducted a tangible, clear, deliberate sexual assault would remain in this University, in my opinion.”

Speaking on the second case announced last week, Cook acknowledged that a fixed-term exclusion during a pandemic may appear an insufficient punishment, but again he stressed the importance of due process.

“In this case, there is a fair system in place for what they’ve done to be sanctioned and it’s based on the timeframe of when it happened,” he explained. “We have to have fair systems that are fair to both sides, and that is the process.

“If it appears unfortunate to some people that they have almost got away from the year with Covid-19, I can’t help that.”

“We have to have fair systems that are fair to both sides”

Similarly challenging is the University’s inability to discipline individuals once they have graduated, let alone take punitive action against them. Palatinate understands that numerous individuals have been reported to the University in recent years, only for no action to be taken against them because they have graduated.

Cook is pushing for that system to change: “This a pan-sector issue. When a student leaves the University, the administrative process stops. So if you’re a third year leaving this University, effectively there is a cliff edge in our ability to take sanction against you.”

He explained that if a third year committed an offence in June that the police could not take to court due to a lack of evidence – something Cook says is “very common, sadly” – then the University could start an investigation, with its lower bar for action.

But, “if you leave the University on the 31st July, the clock stops, and that’s crazy... Justice wouldn’t happen, so I’m looking to get that policy changed to a maybe two or three-year period of time where if something comes to light, we can after, even in absentia if you’ve left, take action against you.”

The punishment may be small,

but Cook insists it would be meaningful. “You won’t be able to apply the sanction against them, but you could do the process and then potentially disbar them as alumni for example and take action.

“Even if it’s just telling the victim that you took the right action and sending the right message, that you can’t just escape in a statute of limitations.”

In the summer of 2020, the University’s Respect Commission delivered a 53-page report which called for it to “do better” in challenging “rude, unacceptable and disrespectful behaviour”. The University has now started to implement some of its findings, and Cook said that the majority of them would be implemented by the summer.

Durham’s People of Colour Association (DPOCA) criticised the two years it took the Commission to produce its report as well as a delay in publication due to Covid-19. The SU, meanwhile, established its own Culture Commission in November 2020 with a mandate to focus more on students’ experiences.

Cook disagrees with this criticism of the Respect Commission’s work. “I don’t feel that it doesn’t sufficiently represent students, but, of course, we respect anybody’s opinion and their right to go further.

“We felt it was a wide-ranging review of the entire University community and it was done by an independent organisation with the freedom to go across the staff and student community.

“We respect anybody’s opinion and their right to go further”

“The Respect Commission mustn’t really be seen as one thing,” he continued. “It was a really good chance to peel back the lid and look at what’s underneath. I don’t think many other universities have done that and I think we’ve been very brave.

“As a relatively new member of UEC [the University’s Executive Committee], I can honestly say that I feel my colleagues and I are pushing the respect agenda really hard. It’s been supported financially and action has been taken.”

Cook spoke enthusiastically about the changes he believes the University has made since he joined from the British Army in September 2019.

“I’m quite excited. Just in my time here we’ve seen a lot of real

(Durham University)

change and real commitment to change. When I first arrived here, people were saying to me, ‘Jeremy, where’s the proof, where’s the staff, where’s the recruitment, where’s the decisive action. Are you kicking people out?’ So we’re starting to respond to that and I think we’re doing really well, in my view.

“We’re doing a lot of work in the discipline area since I arrived, and I’d done a lot of training in my previous career, to say ‘why is it loose here’, ‘why is it fluffy there’: let’s be clear.

“You’ve got to do this,” he went on to say. “You don’t make this change unless people believe you are committed to it. I’m 100% committed to driving this change so let’s get behind this together.

This isn’t just a University problem, it’s about changing all of us.

“I’m 100% committed to driving this change so let’s get behind this together”

“The vast, vast majority of our students are brilliant. A vast, vast amount of our staff are brilliant.

It’s a small amount of people

who behave poorly, whether it’s privileged or racist, and it creates a sense that our University is not a respectful place.

“We’ve got to get those pockets and send a message that people who do act in this way have no place here.”

Looking ahead, the Pro-ViceChancellor sees clear plans for progress that students could even see during their time at university: “My vision would be every single student at the University, and member of staff, has done the bystander training.

“It’s that really that evidence tells us is going to make a change.

It’s a disruptor. It creates an ability for people to really call out inappropriate comments and behaviour and stopping it at source rather than just education.

“Studies tell us that people who perpetrate sexual violence know they’re breaking consent – they don’t not know what consent is. It’s very rare that sexual violence occurs where there is a lack of understanding of consent. I mean morally, even without consent training, most people at university age would be struggling to comprehend that as even vaguely appropriate.”

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Comment

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

Master of mess: Williamson strikes again George Simms In 2005, Gavin Williamson was in the news. At the time, he was the managing director of Aynsley China, a Staffordshire-based pottery firm. People had been physically fighting on shop floors for their plates commemorating Charles and Camilla’s wedding, which seemed destined to become a collectible. They were unlike any other commemorative plate for the event – because every single one was embossed with the wrong date.

This was the job Williamson had taken up after he resigned from another firm following an affair with a colleague. In 2019, he was sacked from his role as Defence Secretary after a massive document leak. This is ignoring any events from his current stint as Education Secretary. Now, I don’t want to just lay out an ad hominem attack against Williamson, but it can’t be ignored that his track record for gross incompetence isn’t exactly squeaky clean.

For most students today, our experiences of university are the occasional Zoom lecture and seminars from our childhood bedrooms. We’re paying £9,250 a year for the privilege, with most students still paying an average of £547 a month for rent on top of that, for houses and accommodation they’ve been forbidden from living in. This all contributes to less than 40% of students believing they’re currently getting value for their money. However, for

funny anecdotes and ridiculous questions, have become an outlet for desperate students who believe they have nowhere else to turn, or simply need to feel heard.

According to mental health charity Mind, 73% of students reported that the lockdowns have seriously damaged their mental health.

The introduction of more free speech regulations in the midst of all this is a demonstration of how little this government understands, or cares about,

that the government are ignoring students. According to a YouGov poll, just 21% of 18 to 24-yearolds voted for the Tories in the 2019 election. If we won’t vote for them, why should they help us? As ridiculous as it may sound, they know they can be this petty.

The next election is unlikely to take place until 2024.

Whilst many of our Conservative-voting parents may be furious at how we’re being treated now, three more years of water under the bridge and tax

Gavin Williamson has told us that defending free speech should be our highest priority.

This blatant and callous lack of care for students may go unpunished at the ballot box

When the students of today vote for anyone but the Tories in 2024, their politicians will simply rue the damage done by our time in our left-wing, ‘woke’ echo chambers. Their

University confession pages have become an outlet for desperate students

Recently, Gavin Williamson has been back in the news. In his role as Education Secretary, his astute political nous has deduced that defending free speech on Britain’s university campuses is the best use of his time and energy. That’s free speech on campuses that the students can’t attend, thanks to the policies he appears to have forgotten he implemented.

He’s appointed a ‘Free Speech Champion’ to marshal our empty universities and make sure that all voices and opinions can be heard from guest speakers.

In a university environment currently characterised by anger and despair over mental health and rent crises, good ol’ Gav has appointed a ‘Protector of the Zoom Guest Lecture’.

Of course free speech is an important issue on university campuses, but he’s chosen to target it at a time when students need, and care about, it the least.

Personally, I was quite pleased to hear Williamson discussing the issue, because I was starting to worry that he’d forgotten Britain’s 2.38 million university students actually existed.

(Adeline Zhao)

someone who seems remarkably concerned with speaking freely, Gavin Williamson has been impressively quiet regarding calls for financial support for the students still wasting large amounts of money on rent.

The rent crisis is just one of many contributing factors to the wider mental health crisis plaguing the student population.

In the first lockdown alone, universities reported ten student suicides, with the BBC reporting another 17 on top of that between March and December 2020. University confession pages, normally awash with

the student population. In introducing these free speech measures, they are serving only to benefit their own interests.

In both Conservative Party and conservative circles, universities are seen as a breeding ground for left-wing, ‘woke’ echo chambers.

For the most part, the speakers losing their platforms are right/ far-right leaning and these are the voices government policies are aiming to amplify. This government cares more about influencing students’ political leanings than supporting their mental health.

This is part of the wider reason

breaks may leave this a distant memory. Just adding to the general state of hopelessness, the government’s blatant and callous lack of care for students may well go unpunished at the ballot box.

Being a student during the pandemic presents a unique problem. By definition, undergraduates only have three or four years on campus while postgraduate students are paying extortionate prices for one or two.

Students are watching precious time and money evaporate before their eyes, the years sold as ‘the best of their lives’. We are tired, lost and hopeless, yet

‘Free Speech Champion’ tried to save us from ourselves.

Students are crippled by anxiety and depression, committing suicide at an alarming rate and feeling a lot like they’re burning thousands of pounds to do so. But the government will claim there was nothing else they could have done. Gavin Williamson, master of the catastrophic mess, has struck again.

DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR AN OPINION PIECE? Send your thoughts to comment@palatinate.org.uk

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

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Anti-racism movements must include Asians Vivienne Shaw The fight against racism has been a very popular topic of discussion, especially within the past year. While this is undeniably encouraging, there seems to be a lack of awareness regarding racism towards the Asian community. This is highly problematic, especially considering how the blame for the pandemic has been forced upon Asians.

Since the pandemic, anti- Asian hate-crimes have seen an increase of 1,900% across the United States according to the New York Police Department. Whether it’s an 84-year-old Thai man attacked to death in broad daylight in San Francisco on 28th January, or an Asian store owner being shot four times on 19th February, the Asian community has been targeted cruelly, and relentlessly.

Being Hong Kong-Chinese, it’s been terrifying to hear about these crimes and demoralising

to have them ignored in the media. I feel like my anxieties are unjustified and unworthy of attention or change. The media is a powerful tool, so when it chooses to ignore something like this, it sends us a blunt message: nobody cares about our race.

Last year, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement reached fever pitch, stimulating conversation regarding the importance of anti-racism. I was excited that this movement was gaining its long-deserved momentum – I did, however, feel slightly conflicted. What the world learnt of anti-racism applies to racism of any form, so I had hoped for a domino effect on all kinds of racial discrimination.

In saying so, I am not taking away from BLM – it is a movement in its own right. I just felt conflicted to see the world finally understand the importance of everything BLM stands for, while the number of racial attacks toward the Asian community were – to nobody’s knowledge or attention – persistently rising.

Although it seems obvious that the anti-racism movement should

be a fight against discrimination in all of its forms, it proves to be forgotten time and time again.

Take Netflix’s Bridgerton, for example. I, like many others, enjoyed watching Netflix’s new release, but not for the reasons I had hoped. The storyline itself was entertaining, but I was disappointed by the lack of Asian representation in a show that presents its setting as an alternate historical universe where race is no object. When asked about the message he wanted the show to convey, creator Chris Van Dusen mentioned that he wanted to “explore real topics like ... race”.

It was unsettling to see how the few Asian and Latinx actors were always lurking in the background – almost decorative, giving the impression that they were simply stuffed into the shot to exhibit diversity. I am not naive – I know the primary focus of a show like Bridgerton would be the integration of black characters rather than of Asians, but I was hoping to see at least one character like me with a speaking line in the show’s so-called “racially integrated society”.

Racism is prevalent in all societies, and this includes the UK. I can list a multitude of disgusting anti-Asian hate crimes in the UK, but perhaps most recent and reflective of the UK’s pervading anti-Asian sentiment is the British publics’ reaction to Boris Johnson’s video wishing people a “Happy Lunar New Year”. One of my favourites, out of the overwhelmingly negative response, was the comparison of the celebration of Chinese New Year to the celebration of Hitler’s birthday.

most vulnerable. They pretend to help, but they are dangerous to the higher education system, individual universities, and students themselves.

In Australia, Ireland and New Zealand it is currently a crime to run essay mills. Skidmore is attempting to replicate this in the UK parliament: his ‘Essay Mills Prohibition Bill’ is still awaiting a second reading. However, it is as yet unclear whether this legislation will tackle the problem or just drive the industry deeper into the ‘black web’.

Whilst Google supposedly prevents essay mills from showing on their search engines in the UK, essay mill sites have clearly circumnavigated this.

One type into Google flashes hundreds of results. Essay mill comparison sites demonstrate how the situation has got out of hand. Those in the industry are highly successful at penetrating universities by recruiting oncampus influencers and by directly targeting vulnerable students. Exploitation is rife; there are reports of companies blackmailing students into buying their services, while cash-strapped students often sell essays for a tenner, after which companies sell them on for hundreds.

Skidmore profusely advocates, however, that corporations rather than the students should

be prosecuted. I share the same sentiment: essay mills dominate students, not the other way round.

Students are not their customers – they are held hostage by these poison chalice corporations.

The idea that students with money can buy their degree does not help to combat the elitism circling the UK’s higher education system. Concern must be raised about whether this bill will drive these “ruthless” companies further underground, thus making them more threatening to students. Will essay mills be the

next perversion of the internet made unintentionally worse by government intervention?

Whilst coronavirus has exacerbated the number of essay mills, they have been plaguing the student population long before this. The simple transaction of one student selling a younger student an essay cannot be as easily regulated by legislation.

Yet Australia’s ban has been successful, with companies like Essay Sharks now stating that service is no longer available in that country. It is time for the UK

Racism towards the Asian community has always existed

An easy conclusion to jump to is that racism towards Asians started because of the coronavirus. This is wholly untrue. Racism towards the Asian community has always existed – it’s just always ignored by the press. While it is one thing to blame the Chinese government for their lack of action in the virus’ early stages, it is another to

hold the entirety of the Chinese population responsible. Even worse, to hold the entirety of the Asian population responsible.

This, more than anything, demonstrates the pre-existent prejudices against the Asian community.

Really, it has nothing to do with coronavirus – people have just been given the excuse to use Asians as a convenient scapegoat, allowing them to exercise microaggressions.

Simply put, it makes no sense to blame and attack a Filipino for a “Chinese Virus” unless a desire to project racial prejudice is already in place.

This ever-rising violence against the Asian community should act as an urgent reminder that the fight for antiracism should be a fight to end discrimination against everyone.

The message is simple: include, support and fight for the Asian community (and all other ethnic minority groups) in the antiracism movement.

No form of racism should remain overlooked.

The spectre of essay mills should be exorcised Olivia BothamleyDakin

Whilst the notion of essay mills is an ‘urban myth’ to most students, recent research suggests otherwise. A study from the University of Swansea in 2019 suggested that one in seven students around the world may be cheating in this way.

This figure can only have increased amidst a sudden rise in essay mills during these current times of increased isolation and uncertainty for students. This is threatening universities’ integrity, sparking Chris Skidmore, former Universities Minister, to embark on a new campaign to “outlaw essay firms exploiting students.”

Essay mills are businesses that incite students by advertising that they will write their essays for them. They are a winsome and seemingly easy get-out option for students struggling with work, particularly during a pandemic.

Yet, like cutting into a mouldy potato, these corporations are rotten from the inside. Trapping students with glossy advert slogans such as “to help you fight these tough conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak, we have reduced the price of our services by up to 50 per cent – grab the offer now!”, these corporations are preying on students at their

to follow in their footsteps.

The rise of essay mills also sadly reveals how desperate students are, using essay mills as an alternative to asking for help.

This sheds light on the negligence of student welfare during the pandemic. Nevertheless, Skidmore’s bill proposal is a welcome addition to the student community and one that will hopefully restore integrity to higher education by stamping out some of the cheating and unfairness.

(Adeline Zhao)

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Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

Comment

Aussie Rules: containing Frankenstein Facebook Samuel Rackind It reeked of an overly-powerful, arrogant and bullying Mark Zuckerberg. Want to make us pay? No problem, we’ll just take it away.

The Australian government took a very brave step in trying to get tough on tech companies.

Their proposed law seeks to address the imbalance identified by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) between news companies and Facebook, the latter receiving all the advertising revenue generated by posts from the former. In protest, Facebook stopped all news outlets from using its platform in Australia.

This attempt by Facebook to undermine the Australian government so blatantly showed us all the might and power they have amassed, and it is quite terrifying.

Left unchecked, Facebook has been allowed to grow to such an extent where it can mould public opinion and direct the world’s attention however it pleases, with the ease of a cat toying with its dying prey.

Its aggressive proliferation across the world has given the digital platform economic strength and public influence of a nature only known to states.

Much to Zuckerberg’s chagrin, he and his team in Silicon Valley

may be catalysts of a social phenomenon, but they are not state actors in charge of millions of people. For too long they have been able to evade capture by any tax reforms and have been in denial of the social responsibility they have, flying closer and closer to immortality, untouchable to all.

Now, the Australian government and Facebook have come to an agreement to ensure that news companies (who have been struggling financially in comparison with Facebook) will be given their fair share of the advertising revenue they generate.

Unlike Microsoft, who publicly supported the law, Facebook fought with the government, only choosing to cooperate at a later date. Why the sudden U-turn?

show us? That they don’t have as much bargaining power as we may have imagined. All of Facebook’s power and influence comes from the people that use it. Without us, they are nothing, for they rely on people – on us. If they remained stubborn as a mule with Australia, then Australians would find other news sources.

This is the internet, after all.

Information is never in shortage.

Consequently, Facebook would

lose power, money, and influence from their removal of news in Australia. And then what if other countries decided to do the same? If Facebook chose to remove services, they would just become weaker and weaker. The sooner this happens, the faster Facebook realises they have nowhere to run. We can just use Twitter, or Google, or we can just create other services.

It’s about time we removed

immortality status from Big Tech companies. They are subject to laws just as the rest of us are, and no amount of bullying can change that. We should not fear a life without their services, should they choose to leverage them. We were fine before them, and we’d be fine without them. If anything, we should all be weaned off of Facebook.

(Samantha Fulton)

It’s about time we removed immortality status from Big Tech companies

It seems that Zuckerberg may have flown too close to the sun. He sparked outrage across the world with his brash retaliation. State leaders caught a glimpse of what’s to come if they do nothing, and they didn’t like it. If Facebook can do it to Australia, why shouldn’t it be able to do it to us? Here’s why: Facebook is completely replaceable. It may be that it has become incredibly powerful, but what did their game of chicken with the Australian government

Leicester’s decolonisation is an avoidance tactic Imogen Marchant

The University of Leicester has recently announced a decision to remove Medieval Studies from its English Literature department, replacing these modules with ones that focus on ethnicity, sexuality and diversity.

On the surface, this decision to ‘decolonise the curriculum’ seems progressive; an active movement towards the change that so many campaigned for last summer. I campaigned for it: I signed numerous petitions, wrote letters to my old school and my friends, after identifying the gaps in our own university curriculum, started a Black Lives Matter shared library, where we exchanged books that amplified black voices and encouraged us to engage actively in the project of decolonisation.

The problem, however, is that Leicester’s decision does not actually decolonise the curriculum. It just changes it,

excluding a hugely important part of the decolonisation educational enterprise – understanding the psychology of the colonial process involved. By removing any pre1600 literature, you remove the possibility of engaging with - from both a literary and a sociological perspective – the antecedents of present-day attitudes.

So much literature that can be called post-colonial is in direct dialogue with colonial work; Derek Walcott’s poetry, for example, is hugely rich in allegory from all periods of literary history.

Without an understanding of pre-modern literature, so much of the power of his work is lost. In removing medieval and early modern literature from a syllabus, you don’t expand the conversation.

You limit it, forcing it into a symptomatic discussion that can’t engage with the deeper rooted elements of a text. Additionally, you disadvantage your students.

You stop them from becoming proficient students of literature and limit their capacity to analyse texts right from the root of the

discipline.

The removal of Medieval Studies is concerning not just because it elides a vital part of the decolonisation project, but because pre-modern literature is incredibly rich in and of itself.

It is too often dismissed as being far less complex than the more recent texts on my syllabus. I thought this, until I studied it. But unfortunately for my housemates, who can attest to my somewhat ridiculous desire to wax lyrically about Chaucer’s prosody and the conceptions of gender in 13th century devotional literature, I fell entirely in love.

This stereotype is not just wrong – it’s dangerous. It demonstrates an attitude to history and to the past more broadly that is concerning. If we rip the foundations of our disciplines from the institutions that are supposed to protect them, we enter a dangerous narrative of exorcising the material that we no longer agree with.

This decision also reconfigures English Literature – and humanities degrees more

widely – as something that must always be put to marketable, purposeful use. They must allow you to participate in the current conversation, and with very immediate benefit, and while this is (for obvious reasons – both employability and, you know, existing in the real world) important, studying literature is wonderful because it is enriching for reasons beyond this. Largely (last week’s essay crisis aside), it’s incredibly enjoyable, and not only because it exposes you, crucially, to a range of voices from the past and present. It forces you to critically analyse and assess your own thinking.

Leicester is symptomatic of a wider complex; pretending the history didn’t happen doesn’t erode it Indeed, Durham’s English Department launched a ‘Postcolonial and World Literatures Module’, with an expansive reading list covering all corners of the globe, and every

side of the debate. However, this is not at the loss of its breadth; it is still served with pre-modern modules that expand – rather than reduce – the conversation.

The two complement each other, and crucially, prove that the conversations around colonisation and amplification of marginalised voices are not new. Just take a look at the way Hildegaard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich or Margery Kempe negotiate authority.

Leceister’s decision, while well-meaning, is symptomatic of a wider complex; pretending that the history did not happen does not erode it. It echoes, concerningly, of the worrying distaste for anything that might upset others; of a narrative that it is easier to just not talk about these things than to confront them head-on.

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Profile

Professor Long: “We want to diversify our student body” Deputy Vice-Chancellor Antony Long outlines Durham’s accessibility goals but rules out tuition fee refunds

cost of college and private accommodation in Durham, something which has been made clear by students continuing to pay for unoccupied private accommodation in recent months. This is not yet a concern of the Student Journey project, however.

Tash Mosheim and Tim Sigsworth Editors-in-Chief Professor Antony Long, Durham’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, sat down for an interview with our Editors-in-Chief, Tash Mosheim and Tim Sigsworth, about the University’s newly announced Student Journey endeavour.

“We need to look at the mechanisms which we have to make sure they are fit for purpose”

“The colleges are absolutely essential; they have been, they will be” The project aims to build a better awareness of students’ experiences before, throughout and after their time at Durham in order to inform the University’s decision-making processes.

One of its principal aims is to recognise and build upon Durham’s pre-existing strengths and, undoubtedly, one of these is the collegiate system. When asked, Prof. Long made it clear that the University shares this view.

“An easy one to answer – it lies right at the heart of the University. This year has shown, perhaps more than ever, the huge importance of our colleges as places where our students come to enjoy and develop as young adults throughout their time at Durham.

“We know that some students from the North East find Durham a difficult place to be”

“The colleges are absolutely essential; they have been, they will be,” he continued. “They are quite distinct from other universities and we are proud of that distinction. We are a proudly collegiate university.”

Prof. Long’s views in this regard are no doubt informed by the six years he spent at Durham for his B.A. and PhD, both of which were in the Geography Department, which he would also go on to head twice later in his career.

“My biggest claim to fame was as captain of my college rugby team. I had an unrivalled 100% record in all the games I captained: we lost every one of them, but we had fun doing it!”

While colleges do offer unrivalled opportunities for students to grow and enjoy themselves, issues of access and participation remain.

The proportion of students at Durham who attended state schools decreased in 2019/20 for the third year in a row, and Palatinate has been at the forefront of investigating ongoing discrimination against workingclass, northern and minority ethnic students.

“We should be open and inclusive to students regardless of where they come from”

“We have an access and participation plan which we have agreed with our regulator,” Prof.

Long stressed when questioned

about what the University is doing to make Durham more accessible for students from historically underrepresented groups. “It has in it targets for how we want to diversify our student body.

“We look at the ratio of ‘quintile one’ to ‘quintile five’ students.

That basically means the number of students who come from areas of the country which are more and less likely to come to university.

“We’re trying to increase the number of students from areas of the country which are less likely to come to university, and we’re making significant improvements in the ratios between those two student groups.”

Yet ensuring broad access at Durham is about far more than just admissions. Just as the Student Journey project looks at the “life cycle” of a Durham student from application to alumni, accessibility for all requires effort at every stage of a student’s time at Durham.

When we asked Prof. Long what – in addition to admissions – needed to be changed to ensure

(Durham University) all Durham students are made to feel welcome, it was the only time throughout the interview that he couldn’t answer immediately.

“A lot of that relates to our culture, what it means to be a student at Durham University and what you actually experience,” he said.

“We’re trying to increase the number of students from areas of the country which are less likely to come to university”

“We know, for example, that some students from the North East find Durham a difficult place to be because in some situations they can feel alienated from the student body.

“That shouldn’t be the case.

We should be open and inclusive to students regardless of where they come from and particularly if they are from the North East.”

A major inhibiting factor for students from lower income backgrounds is the high

“The work which we’re doing at the moment is part of a scoping phase. We’re trying to get at what our ‘as is’ model is and what we want our ‘to be’ model to be.

“What I expect that we will do is identify a broad map of the Student Journey and a series of projects below that, one of which might well be student accommodation. It might be timetabling. It might be student welfare and support.

“This year has shown the huge importance of our colleges as places where our students come to enjoy and develop as young adults”

“We need to look at the mechanisms which we have to make sure they are fit for purpose for what our students need,” Prof.

Long continued. “We are looking at the University through the eyes of students and that’s why your voices are going to be really crucial.”

Neither can students expect to receive refunds for tuition fees, in spite of the sub-standard learning experience which has come with online teaching.

“The Government has made it clear that the expectation is that the University will deliver against the learning outcomes for the degree programmes which students are registered on.

“We are absolutely committed to trying to do that in every possible way that we can.

“On tuition fees, no. That’s not the position of us, nor of the sector more broadly.“

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Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

Profile

“I don’t know anyone whose plans didn’t change” Profile speaks with three language students, reflecting on their experiences halfway through their years abroad

surprisingly her other highlight was lockdown.

Erin explained that she had no flat mates during lockdown in Paris for the whole month of November so she threw herself into her work and being ‘Parisian’, which involved taking up painting, drawing and reading. Bob’s highlight was “just being here and using French everyday”. He also cited a trip to Berlin (before the tightening of restrictions and closing of borders) but did note the slight irony with a highlight of his year not being in France. Liv joked that her highlight may have been the University College Boat Club Zoom quizzes but went on to say “I was able to spend time in Durham last term and see people which I didn’t think I’d be able to do, but its just not a year abroad.”

“It’s worked out well for me” Izzy Harris

Profile Editor Having just passed the halfway point in the academic year, Profile has been checking in with three students currently on their years abroad. Erin, a French and Arabic student, is currently working in a marketing firm in Paris. Bob, who studies the same course, is working as a language assistant in a school in the Alps and is planning to study at a language school in Jordan over summer. Liv is a Liberal Arts student studying Chinese, Spanish and History of Art. Students of Chinese are expected to spend their whole year abroad in China studying the language; however, Liv is currently taking online classes at Zhejiang University from her family home in Essex.

Erin described her current situation in France as being similar to the Netflix series Emily in Paris. Like the title character of the show, she is working in an advertising agency, although a notable difference is that Erin can actually speak French and claims to get on well with her coworkers. Erin’s original plan for the year was to spend time in Morocco and to do an Arabic placement but she is now living in Paris indefinitely.

Bob and Liv also had to shift their plans to fit with Covid-19 restrictions. Bob stated, “I don’t know anyone whose plans didn’t change” and explained that he was supposed to spend four months at a language school in Jordan from the beginning from September but, on the advice of the Arabic department last March he has delayed this until the coming summer. He still

(Erin Waks) plans to go to Jordan and study with the school, and if this is not possible, he will take the course online. Bob applied for his current placement in July 2020 and has found himself working with children between the ages of 10 and 18. French schools have remained open for the duration of the pandemic so Bob has been teaching throughout, always wearing a mask. He reflected on this and said “it’s worked out well for me” and that if he is able to spend four months studying in Jordan alongside his seven months of work in France, it will have been a year well spent.

In Liv’s case, her year abroad plans were derailed more dramatically and she has been spending her year in China very much not in China. As a holder of a Chinese Government Scholarship for international students, she has been taking online classes with Zhejiang University but was keen to make clear that those who do not hold a scholarship have not been offered this same opportunity.

“I am only maintaining my ability, not improving my content and knowledge”

Liv explained that she had planned to travel to China in June 2020 to spend time gaining a greater understanding of the culture, which is key when studying Chinese at a higher education level. At home, she has attempted to replicate some aspects of this by cooking Chinese meals and cultural research but this is a far cry from a year spent in the country.

Instead, she started online classes in September, studying 13

(Bob Howat) hours a week in Mandarin which she has found interesting. She praised her teachers but stated “I am only maintaining my ability, not improving my content and knowledge”. Liv explained that at this point on a year abroad, her language ability and grasp of Chinese culture should be skyrocketing; however, this has not been the case despite her efforts both in studying at the university and working for Engage with China, a charity that aims to build curiosity in China and ‘China literacy’ in UK primary and secondary schools.

“Since everything was online, two brands let me watch the live streams of their fashion shows!”

Liv went on to describe the experience of other students of Chinese who do not have the same scholarship as her, saying “They have no course”. After the Chinese border closed, some students attempted to travel to Taiwan to speak the language there, although a different set of written characters is used. She said most didn’t make it as the border also shut. Given that so many students’ plans were cancelled, the Chinese department have offered a ‘Durham year abroad’ which has consisted of two hours a week of language online in first term which has now been upped to four hours in second term.

Liv explained that there was no specific contact made with students of Chinese until 21st November 2020 about their years aboard and stated that she feels bad for her fellow students who have been left without

(Olivia Farr) arrangements for the year. She also went on to explain that her cohort will all be in very different places with their knowledge of Chinese language and that standardisation will be incredibly difficult for their last year of study.

“I was able to spend time in Durham last term and see people which I didn’t think I’d be able to do, but it’s just not a year abroad” The issue with standardisation was something that Bob also mentioned, saying that year abroad students in the 2019-2020 cohort had the same problem, with some spending minimal time in their country of study. He explained that this had a huge impact on their opportunity to develop their language ability.

In Liv’s case, she believes that this will significantly devalue her degree and that she will have to spend time in China after graduation to get to the necessary level of language ability.

After hearing all of this I felt slightly sheepish asking for any highlights of the year abroad; however, all three students responded positively. Erin said “The first one has got to be Paris Fashion Week; I became Fashion editor for Palatinate whilst on my year abroad because everything being online in Durham meant that I could fit it in. I used my Palatinate Fashion Editor email to contact all the designers and their press contacts for Paris Fashion Week. Since everything was online, two brands let me watch the live streams of their fashion shows!” She then said that

Reflecting on the future and the next half of her year, Erin is optimistic and planning on taking an Arabic language course, stating “Whilst this is not what I expected, I’ve had a good time.”

She feels that she’s made the most out of the circumstances and despite only spending four days in a physical office she has pushed herself in her work and has been able to enjoy living in Paris, especially the boulangeries which have remained open throughout the pandemic.

Bob’s reflection was similar: he said that he feels that he’s done well using his language skills and that, although he was unable to travel more widely within Europe and the Middle East as he originally planned, the language was always his key focus. Liv described the remaining months of her year abroad saying, “Its just me staying at home waiting and hoping for the borders to open which I don’t think they will.” She also said that she is hoping to go to Barcelona to stay with a friend in the summer to use and work on her Spanish language although, since she will be focusing her study on Chinese, it will not be a part of her degree in her final year.

“It’s just me staying at home waiting and hoping for the borders to open which I don’t think they will”

At the end of our discussion, Bob added some further forethought, saying that following his year abroad he is looking forward to coming back to Durham for what he hopes will be a more normal final year at the University.

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

13

Science and Technology

Promising Alzheimer’s discovery made by Durham psychologists Phoebe Abruzzese Durham University psychologists have discovered a new variety of GPS-like brain cells, which further our understanding of spatial memory.

The newly discovered vector trace cells store distance and direction data in memory, forming a map of our environment and storing it away to use when necessary. These vector trace cells may also be implicated in the progression of some types of dementia, like Alzheimer’s, as damage to them could cause memory loss regarding the locations of items.

I sat down for a chat about their research with Dr Steven Poulter and Dr Colin Lever of Durham’s Department of Psychology.

“We’ve been interested in an understudied area of the brain called the subiculum, which is part of the hippocampal formation network, and may be the first to depreciate with the onset of Alzheimer’s,” Dr Poulter explained. “Looking at this area in rodents, we found cells that seem to code for where objects were.

“Using electrodes in the brains of rodents, we looked for voltage changes in single cells,” he continued. “Thus, we can identify what certain cells code for, using this to establish which part of the brain make memory schemas the relative location of objects within an environment.”

Dr Lever went on to say that one of the first signs of the onset of Alzheimer’s is the inability to remember where objects are located. This may materialise in losing everyday items, forgetting where your glasses are, or where you set your cup of tea down.

Dr Lever added, “the subiculum

(Amber Conway)

does show normal ageing, as does every region in the hippocampus.

The hippocampus reaches peak volume at 14, but then declines from there, getting smaller as you get older. However, in Alzheimer’s, cells seem to degenerate there at a faster rate, compared with normal ageing.”

Specifically, the normal ageing process is sped up in Alzheimer’s by the presence of beta-amyloid plaques. These are balls of built-up protein that disrupt normal cell function, so if they’re present in the newly discovered vector trace cells, retrieval of information regarding objects, locations and landmarks may be disrupted.

Despite this particular study focusing on the subiculum of rodents, Dr Poulter reassured me that this brain region is preserved across many species – from bats and rats to humans – with similar physiological make up, meaning it is highly likely that vector trace cells will be found in our brains as well. This itself lends credence to the idea that damage to vector trace cells is responsible for faulty memory, and memory disorders, found in the elderly.

Whilst discussing the impacts their discovery could have on the medical and psychiatric fields, Dr Lever explained that “specific spatial memory tests could be developed based on this finding. Looking at remembering locations of objects through virtual reality, which may take only 20 minutes in a GP office, would make it an accessible and easy first step in dementia diagnosis for people across the UK, before more expensive brain imaging and memory testing.

This might be available in doctors surgeries within ten years.

Dr Poulter and Dr Lever are Assistant and Associate Prof. at the Department of Psychology, respectively (Anna Pycock)

“Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is more about trying to find early markers, like the degradation of vector trace cells, so doctors can then focus on preventing further damage and degradation,” adds Dr Poulter. “The current method of Alzheimer’s diagnosis is rather coarse, mainly revolving around autobiographical questions like

‘what did you have for breakfast?’, so observing these cells might provide a way to diagnose Alzheimer’s in patients who are in the early stages of the disease, and still only displaying subtle symptomology.”

Not only did this discovery cause ripples in healthcare and psychology, but also excited GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! SciTech is looking for writers!

We reject the idea that science equates to numbers and equations.

This year, we have expanded our coverage to include climate change, health, and psychology.

We also aim to shine a spotlight on notable women scientists within the Durham community.

The quality and range of writing produced by this section meant we were last year nominated for “Best

scientists interested in artificial intelligence. As Dr Poulter says, their aim is to replicate the brain, so knowing a little bit more about its neuronal make-up, such as the presence of vector trace cells and how they work, allows them to more accurately formulate spatial information into memories and store these schemas.

Science Publication or Section” by the SPA, the UK’s largest student media association.

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We want to hear from you, whether you have written for us before or not; whether you know one of the editors or not; whether you think you’re a writer or not.

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Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

14

SciTech

The centuries-long fight for gender equality in maths Caitlin Painter Maths is an inherently maledominated subject. Hundreds of years of discrimination means there are considerably fewer notable female mathematicians in history than male, and explains why we are still seeing fewer women involved in maths at a high level even now.

Two years of a maths degree has taught me almost nothing about female mathematicians.

Out of the hundreds of theorems and results I have used so far, only one has been named after a woman: Noether’s Theorem. I was so excited about this that I put a picture of Emmy Noether into my lecture notes. She is, however, a rarity in the world of maths.

Two years of a maths degree has taught me almost nothing about female mathematicians The majority of content taught at an undergraduate level is well over a century old, and most of the names I come across daily belong to white male mathematicians from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. This is a feat almost unique to maths.

Year upon year, a new cohort

Emmy Noether (Wiki Commons)

of students are taught the same material necessary to have a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics, most of which was discovered by men. Diversifying the curriculum to include the work of more female mathematicians is not straightforward, as the majority of the maths they are noted for is beyond the scope of an undergraduate degree.

But why were the fundamentals of mathematics predominantly discovered by men? Europe was the centre of mathematical research for hundreds of years, with countless important results originating there from the 17th century onwards.

However,

Europe at this time was steeped in sexism, particularly regarding the education of women. Many institutions discouraged or even banned women outright, resulting in the few female mathematicians we know today having to go to extraordinary lengths to learn and research mathematics.

Sophie Germain (1776-1831) assumed the identity of a former male student to study at the École Polytechnique in Paris, an institution that did not admit women until 1972, almost 200 years after Germain studied there. Germain revolutionised the study of Fermat’s Last Theorem and adopted the same male pseudonym to write to Gauss about her findings. She revealed her true identity after years of correspondence, stating she feared the “ridicule attached to a female scientist”.

It is only through wider reading and research that I have discovered the names and important legacies of these women. Emmy Noether’s famous theorem describes the conservation of physical quantities for actions with symmetry, and is often cited as the most beautiful result in mathematical physics. Whilst Noether was able to procure a degree in mathematics in her own name, she was denied an official lectureship at the

University of Göttingen on the grounds of her sex. Instead, she taught unofficially for no pay by advertising her courses under the name of a male colleague.

27% of undergraduates and 21% of postgraduate researchers in the Durham maths department are women

The lack of exposure to female role models in maths, both historic and current, must surely impact the number of women who choose to pursue it further.

In 2014, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first and only female recipient of the Fields Medal, the highest award in mathematics.

Whilst her accolade is groundbreaking, the fact that the 59 other recipients are men highlights the modern-day gender disparity in maths. What does this mean for the current generation of aspiring female mathematicians?

The decrease in women’s participation in maths is alarmingly high. With insufficient inspiration, encouragement and advice, the gender imbalance becomes larger at each stage of progression.

Females accounted for 29% of A-Level Further Maths students, and for the current academic year, 27% of undergraduates and

21% of postgraduate research students are women in Durham University’s maths department.

Furthermore, the HESA reports that 22% of maths academic staff in the UK are female.

Contrary to these figures, there is no biological reason for men to be better at maths, yet they have flourished whilst women have been left in the minority. Whilst the percentage of girls who pass GCSE maths is higher, research undertaken by the OECD found they have a lower maths selfconcept than boys of the same ability. The reasons for this are largely unknown but could stem from negative gender stereotypes imposed from a young age.

Mathematics’ rich history means the social barriers in place for females hundreds of years ago are still having repercussions now, despite discrimination being far less explicit. How much talent has been lost over this time by limiting mathematical research to only a fraction of the population? Breaking such a deep-rooted system is difficult, and I too am still witnessing these repercussions.

Transitioning from a very inclusive school to the predominantly male world of university mathematics highlighted this to me. It seems as though we are in a cycle that has yet to be fully broken by each generation.

What does newly discovered Antarctic life tell us?

Cameron McAllister Immobile life has been found on a boulder embedded in the sea floor beneath 900 metres of Antarctic ice shelf, challenging our ideas of life in this harshest of environments.

The life, including stalked sponges, non-stalked sponges and other unidentified creatures, was found accidentally when scientists sunk a borehole through the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf hoping to obtain a sediment core sample from the seabed. Instead, they crashed into a boulder around the size of a washing machine. When they sent their GoPro down the hole to investigate, they encountered an alien-like world that has shocked scientists.

Prior to this finding, scientists had theorised about what life may live under Antarctic ice shelves based on just eight boreholes drilled for geological and glaciological studies, giving a combined observed area comparable to a tennis court. This is despite the fact that almost a third of Antarctica’s immense five million km2 continental area is sea floor beneath ice shelves.

Working with this limited

data, mainly just from two of Antarctica’s many ice shelves, scientists had assumed that the diversity of sea life decreased when travelling from the open sea to further beneath the ice shelf, mainly because of the nutrient decrease caused by life under the ice shelf being unable to photosynthesise. Far from the ice shelf front, it was predicted that only the occasional mobile organism, scavengers and predators would be found.

This discovery could teach us lots about possible life elsewhere in the universe

Analysis of the GoPro footage

by Huw Griffiths of the British Antarctic Survey, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, suggests otherwise. Over 260km from the nearest open water, the organisms identified in the footage are immobile and feed on organic matter suspended in the cold, dark water.

This is even more astounding when ocean currents are taken into account; the strong currents in the region mean their food, possibly dead plankton, must travel between 625km and 1500km before being eaten.

The boulder organisms could be formed from larvae which have travelled with ocean currents deep under the ice shelf or, more interestingly, specialist life could have evolved to exploit this specific ecological niche.

Given the huge extent of this strange habitat, the latter is very much possible.

Boulders become lodged in the ice shelf during its formation when ice from Antarctica’s interior flows over the land before settling on the sea to form a shelf. Boulders are lodged in the base of the ice before eventually falling down to the seafloor.

These dropstones are eventually covered in sediment, raising the prospect that these organisms may ‘island hop’ from stone to stone, like the hydrothermal vent communities that ‘hop’ between active vents.

Next, researchers need to find out more about the dropstone organisms and their frequency beneath the ice shelves. Future studies might exploit the relatively new technique of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling (previously covered in Palatinate), which collects DNA that has been shed by organisms into the environment, providing a telltale sign of their presence.

Alien? (Dr Huw Griffiths/British Antarctic Survey)

This could help researchers work out whether or not the species are newly discovered specialist organisms or known organisms that have strayed much further than expected.

Some sub-ice shelf life is believed to perform chemosynthesis, and such life could be another source of nutrients beneath the ice sheet.

Chemosynthesis is, like it sounds, similar to photosynthesis, but with a vital difference: it uses the oxidation of inorganic compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, as a source of energy rather than sunlight.

Chemosynthetic bacteria are common in cold seeps, regions of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other fluids

seep out of fissures in the seafloor caused by tectonic activity.

Chemosynthesis has been proposed as a possible basis for life on other planets, but some chemosynthetic organisms already seem very alien. Tubeworms that grow near hydrothermal vents lack a digestive system but contain – in an organ called a trophosome – chemosynthetic bacteria.

These bacteria produce amino acids – the building blocks of proteins – and release them to the tubeworm. If chemosynthesis is playing a role in the ecosystem of the dropstone then this sub-ice shelf habitat could teach us lots about how life elsewhere in the universe, devoid of sunlight and even oxygen, might function.

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

15

Politics

PM's plan for easing lockdown:

More caution needed...

Charlotte Grimwade When Boris Johnson announced during Monday night’s briefing that Britain was on “a one-way road to freedom”, many were naturally dubious. It seems like only yesterday that plans to unite families over Christmas were cancelled, all whilst schools and universities were unable to let students return for the new term.

The prospect of finally being released from a third lockdown is exciting and thoroughly welcomed. However, caution is also key.

The country has been dealing

From the Editors

Aisha Sembhi Politics Editor It is far too easy to fall into the habit of accepting a pessimistic view of politics, one in which bad news is an uncompromisable expectation and the orthodox status quo. Current diplomatic and legislative developments certainly fail to encourage a hopeful outlook – yet, the past two weeks have provoked an unusual and illustrative faith in our political systems.

Domestically, we’ve been presented with an overdue plan out of national lockdown.

While views on the likelihood of success here are diverse and complex, the hope that the potential of social freedom creates has the public intrigued.

Durham University itself has overseen what the populace views as progression, with the 2021 SU race. Incumbent Seun Twins winning an all-important second term provides a basis for the promise of the delivery of cultural change.

For the first time in a long time, we are faced with the invaluable prospect of hope.

This edition of Palatinate sees contributors explore this notion, coupled with the fears, frustrations, and realities that come alongside it.

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Send your thoughts to politics@palatinate.org.uk

with coronavirus for nearly a year now, and we must therefore learn from previous government mistakes. Although this supposedly straightforward plan has potential, given the current success of the vaccination programme with over 20 million people having received their first dose, it also comes with a memory of Johnson’s prior empty promises. Many can recall pre-Christmas promises of increases in face-to-face teaching amounting to nothing by early January.

We must remember the motivations behind Johnson’s change of heart

The desire to continue lockdown restrictions for a little longer is completely understandable.

Covid has disproportionally affected disabled people, with six out of 10 of those who have died being disabled. If it means ensuring vulnerable members of our society’s safety, as opposed to a premature relaxation followed by another spike in cases, many will prioritise caution.

Opening schools has been one of the most contentious issues throughout this crisis, but it’s clear that although many parents are keen to see an end to onlinelearning, others are anxious about the safety of their children and the possibility of them bringing Covid-19 home.

Despite government hopes for extensive testing, this will prove challenging to fully achieve in practice.

It’s hard to admit a desire to stay cautious. But it is also crucial to remember the motivations behind Johnson’s change of heart.

We witnessed it with the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, in which policies not only led to a rise in cases, but also in blame being placed on young people who were following the guidance of the time.

Covid-19 has disproportionately affected disabled people

There are obvious reasons to reduce the harshness of Britain’s present lockdown, including bolstering the economy, returning children to school and the

successful rollout of the vaccine.

If the government rushes what will be an incredibly complicated process, another lockdown period may have to be introduced again to prevent a further spike in cases.

It is at least promising that the government is conscious of restrictions having to be lifted gradually, with numerous policy reviews occurring throughout the process. However, Johnson’s prediction of 21st June as the earliest possible date for limits on social interaction to end seems insanely unrealistic. It’s natural to worry that this will act as false hope for many members of the public who have been worst affected by the social and economic implications of the pandemic.

It’s natural to worry that this will act as false hope

It is still possible that another variant of Covid could emerge, as happened in the UK back in January. Though lockdown isn’t a fun experience for anyone, surely it’s better to endure it a bit longer and reduce unnecessary cases and subsequent deaths, instead of rushing a relaxation process that may only risk more lives and intensify the pandemic’s longterm impact?

(Nik Anderson, Creative Commons)

...Or too slow?

Max Minkin I must admit that as I read the news on Monday evening, I did, like many others, breathe a sigh of relief. The Prime Minister has set out his roadmap for easing coronavirus-related restrictions, and it seemed like a light had finally appeared at the end of the tunnel.

The proposed strategy is based on too long of a timeline

I came to the conclusion that the proposed strategy is based on too long a timeline, and while an abundance of caution might be a virtue in other areas of public policy, in this instance, it will come at a very high price.

The restrictions currently in place are doing a lot of damage to our society; the PM himself has acknowledged that they “debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the life chances of our children”. The truth is that if we objectively evaluate whether the ever-declining risk posed by the coronavirus justifies the harm done by these restrictions, we are bound to come to the conclusion that it does not.

We now know that three weeks after receiving one dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca

or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, individuals have very strong protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death. Individuals in the top four priority groups account for 88% of coronavirus-related deaths. By 8th March these individuals will be protected against Covid-19, and the disease’s death rate will, roughly speaking, be reduced from one per cent to 0.12%. This is a death rate comparable to that of the flu, and never in the history of this country has that disease led to economic shutdowns or limits on social contact.

Opponents will object that the Sars-Cov-2 virus is far more contagious than the influenza virus, allowing infections to rise before the over-50s are vaccinated, a situation that could still overwhelm the NHS. However, with transmission reduced, critical-care capacity increasing, and the current wave declining, this looks like an unlikely scenario.

The top four priority groups account for 88% of deaths

Another objection is that if we allow infections to rise, it is possible that the virus will mutate and produce vaccine-resistant variants, which will jeopardise the entire vaccination effort.

The reality is that vaccine manufacturers are well prepared for this scenario, with BioNTech stating in December 2020 that a new vaccine could be developed within six weeks against the UK variant. Even if this were not the case, the truth is that there is no way for us to hide from variants forever – eventually, international travel will have to resume, and these variants can just as well come in from abroad if they do not originate here.

Vaccine manufacturers are well prepared

Our choice, therefore, is quite clear: to live with damaging restrictions on the basis of largely unjustified fears or to face up to the facts and be free at last. I know which side I fall on, and while I commend the Prime Minister for setting out an exit roadmap, I urge him to reflect on his comments regarding the restrictions in place and be much, much bolder in his approach.

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

16

Politics

Reconstructing the “420 unfriendly” narrative Delia He Peici When asked about easing the UK’s cannabis policy, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was not hesitant to reveal that he opposed the liberalisation of drug laws. He stated: “When I was director of public prosecutions, I prosecuted many, many cases involving drugs and drug gangs and the criminality that sits behind. And it causes huge issues to vulnerable people across the country.”

When asked about the possibility of decriminalision, he says: “I’ve never gone down that route…I have supported schemes where you’re not arrested for [cannabis possession], you’re not prosecuted for it. And I believe in that.”

His comments indicate a drastic shift away from the previously expressed sentiments of the Labour leadership. In a 2020 report published by the Labour Campaign for Drug Policy Reform (LCDPR), the group called for a “progressive approach to drugs”. It further recommends a regulation of the cannabis market with appropriate controls on access, safety and potency.

Currently, cannabis is designated as a Class B drug in

the strategy toward controlling supply.

Decriminalisation, therefore, should prioritise harm reduction. Drug-checking directly reduces drug-related harm by offering transparent information of chemical components in the drugs, which can be strictly regulated by medical experts.

A comprehensive support infrastructure can also be implemented for drug users seeking treatment without fearing stigmatisation or criminal charges.

If the conversation is spotlighted on protecting the community, then all evidence points toward decriminalisation.

Organised criminal groups are gaining increasing control of the drug market in the UK, occupying a large percentage of the annual £9 billion profit.

Meanwhile, the cost of policing drugs remains upwards of £100 million annually, in addition to the 1.5 million hours spent by the police working on cannabisrelated cases. Surely, it is fair to say that the ‘war on drugs’ has an emerging victor.

Focusing on a cost-benefit

analysis of the drug trade, however, seems to be adopting an extremely narrow perspective.

Saying of the war on drugs that ‘the benefits far outweigh the costs!’ insinuates a highly desensitised view to the lives lost in the process. Drug-related deaths are at a high in the UK, with 5,546 fatalities in 2018 observing an overall increase of 52% in the past decade, notwithstanding the exploitation of some 4,000 children in London alone as drug mules.

Organised crime networks involved in the drugs trade profit off the addiction and exploitation of communities throughout the country, with low-income persons and ethnic minorities disproportionately affected. It remains that they should be duly punished by the justice system. It must be emphasised that judicial legitimacy will in no way be undermined by decriminalisation policies.

Rather, cannabis legislation should aim to transfer control away from unethical and unregulated criminal organisations into that of the government.

The truth is that drugs will always be in demand. If policies to curb drug-usage have proven to be of diminishing efficiency, perhaps it is time to consider shifting

in over a decade, with mass power outages and temperatures of -18°C (-0.4°F), the Texan Senator decided to book a lastminute trip with his wife and two children to Cancun, Mexico.

Cancun is a popular destination for many American spring breakers, with temperatures as high as 29°C at

this time of year. The move had created an uproar amongst many politicians and Texans alike, with the name ‘flying Ted’ dubbed on many news outlets, a name that was even trending on Twitter.

After the initial news reports, the Republican senator returned just ten hours after landing in Mexico, stating that in hindsight

he “wouldn’t have done it”. Cruz also justified the trip, saying that his daughters had persuaded him to go and that he was “trying to be a dad.” The defence was criticised by many, with the Texas Democratic Party calling on Cruz’s resignation.

the UK, and possession of the drug can be punished by up to five years in prison. Medical cannabis can be legally prescribed to some patients.

Starmer’s views regarding the decriminalisation of cannabis primarily concern criminal activities and violence implicating vulnerable persons.

While coming from a place of good intentions, this view is one that, I believe, fails to distinguish between the nuances of the drug trade and drug use.

The truth is that drugs will always be in demand

The fundamental tenet of decriminalisation is to humanise drug users

The fundamental tenet of decriminalisation is to humanise drug users. It is a grave mistake to associate crime with drug use. A call to decriminalise cannabis is not one that pardons drug dealers and manufacturers who consciously choose to harm the community at large, but rather, a policy that extends fairness and compassion to drug users.

Decriminalisation would not downplay the drug’s negative effects, but much rather

the contrary: it emphasises the proven medical conditions that either cause or are caused by cannabis-usage and can offer a targeted treatment plan, if necessary. Studies have revealed that circumstances of trauma, socio-economic status, mental health and even genetics result in heightened susceptibility to drug addiction. In viewing drug use as a chronic illness, addicts can be offered rehabilitative harm-reduction programmes, a much more humane and efficient alternative, compared to the prosecution of over 15,000 people annually for cannabis possession. (dannybirchall, Creative Commons)

‘Flyin’ Ted’ and the Texan weather crisis Richard Herbert Since the 6th January uprising at the Capitol, Ted Cruz has been making a new name for himself with another spell of “incompetence”, according to a former aide. As Texas was facing one of the worst snow blizzards

(Gage Skidmore,Creative Commons)

Texaswasfacingmasspower outages and temperatures of -18°C

The backlash did not stop there, as protesters gathered outside the senator’s $2 million home demanding that “Cancun Cruz must resign”. Despite heavy criticism from both sides of the political spectrum the senator showed no intent on resigning.

Many analysts believe the repercussions are unlikely to be felt for a long time, if at all, given that the Republican would not be up for re-election until 2024.

Millions of Texans have been without any safe water and around 28,000 have no electricity.

To make things worse, Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, decided to make the crisis a political issue, claiming that this “shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States”.

His comments came after reports that frozen wind turbines had contributed to grid power loss despite wind shutdowns had only accounted for 13% of the outages and the loss of power from frozen coal-fired and natural gas plants was six times larger.

President Biden declared Texas a major disaster, potentially unlocking aid to tackle the problem of 78,000 homes still without power. The declaration has so far been a start for the lone star state, granting temporary housing, home repairs and lowcost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

Cruz also justified the trip, saying that his daughters had persuaded him to go

However, the provisions have only been made available to individuals in 77 of the 254 counties. Many politicians have called on all counties to be provided with funds during this dark time. It seems that in order to prevent more deaths and the crisis worsening, funding from the Federal Government would be paramount.

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

17

Politics

SU elections show student (dis)satisfaction Matthew Lambert As a fresher, I am yet to have any interaction with Durham’s Students’ Union. The SU has played no significant role thus far in my student experience, or, to my knowledge, in the experience of any of my fellow freshers.

This is not a feeling held only by first-years. With turnout at just 14% in the 2021 election, the overwhelming majority of the student populace is clearly apathetic to whoever holds the

role of SU President. Yet, whilst the context of Covid-19 may make the results of this year’s elections irrelevant to student life, the real test of democracy at Durham will come in 2022.

The majority of the student populace is clearly apathetic

This year, the student experience has been very poor.

This could be a result on the extent to which Covid-19 has damaged student life, something

that, regardless of who was in charge, would have minimised contact with the SU for everyone.

Undoubtedly, it seems difficult to suggest that the University itself has managed to provide a fulfilling student experience during these times, or that the government has put the welfare and experience of students at the forefront of their Covid-19 strategy. The SU would have always been fighting an uphill battle, regardless of who the sabbatical officers are.

To this end, to say that SU elections will have any impact

(Pete Reed, Creative Commons)

upon student life depends upon which direction you approach them. If focusing specifically on this year’s election cycle, it seems inevitable that Seun Twins, who won her second term, will spend most of her tenure tied up with returning student life to a state of relative normality. Yes, there will have been slight variations in how each of the candidates sought to do this, but the end goal, and the experience that students will face, will be effectively identical.

Twins will not go down in the annals as one who has brought about significant reforms, but rather one that has had to focus on Covid-19 recovery.

However, in a wider context, should the pandemic be the sole contributor to a lack of student experience this year, then whilst 2021’s elections will end up not severely impacting student experience, one can say with conviction that there is no reason that 2022’s should as well. It would be premature to suggest that just because this year’s elections will not impact student experience that the importance of the SU, and the election of its officers, has waned.

Another year of poor student experience could no longer be blamed merely on Covid-19, and questions would have to be asked

of the entire institution, and its inability to adapt.

The argument that no one else would have done a better job cannot be allowed to cut it, and the next set of officers must realise their predecessors’ impact on student life has been minimal.

This will admittedly be difficult under a President who oversaw that, and who will naturally want to defend her record, but there must be an improvement in student experience going forward, and the responsibility for that rests, in part, with the SU.

If you are still unsatisfied, voting is the way to change that

This, fundamentally, is why students should continue to vote in the SU elections. Yes, this year’s vote was somewhat irrelevant in determining the short-term future of student experience, which will be more a consequence of the UK government’s policy surrounding lifting restrictions.

But come the next election cycle, the responsibility for the quality of our student life will rest squarely on the SU. If, in a year’s time, you are still unsatisfied with your Durham experience, then voting is the way to change that.

Myanmar protestors persist peacefully Olivia Bothamley-Dakin Myanmar’s slow democratisation has been halted following a military coup on 1st February. The military’s overthrowing of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government over alleged rigged elections back in November 2020 has sparked civil resistance. Peaceful protest resulting in police and military brutality aims to restore former leadership and calls for more international action.

There are reports of at least two people killed in Mandalay

As tensions increase, violence escalates. There are reports of at least two people killed in Mandalay, the nation’s second largest city, and 748 people arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Footage of police using tear gas and live ammunition on crowds shows the Junta’s willingness to adopt terror tactics. Most recently, reports have emerged of overnight raids in the capital, Naypyidaw, and the military’s illicit weapon handling.

With no side looking to concede,

further suffering is inevitable.

Protesters against the Junta have so far been peaceful. A civil disobedience movement, including a mass strike of healthcare workers and 750,000 civil servants, continues to attempt to undermine the military government by grinding the nation to a halt. Yet the commercial empire of the army dominates Myanmar’s natural’s resources, like jade and rubies, making the opposition difficult to protest in this way.

The self-declared “revolution” of the people threatens Myanmar economically. The government response of internet and social media blackouts, as well as shortage of staff and container pileups, have forced bank closures and endanger businesses. Myanmar’s status as a cash-based society means “the everyday people, mostly people on the street” will be the ones to suffer, as one Burmese executive wrote.

The protest is described by Nandar, a feminist activist, as not having a “specific group of leaders”. Youth and women stand alongside men in advocating for democracy. The protest has extended into rural towns too.

From Myitkyina in the north to Dawei in the south, people are angry. Nan New, a member of the psychology department at Yangon University, argues that the “stand is not political” but a “stand up for the justice”.

Protesters have so far been peaceful

Recent protests have gathered around the Myanmar United Nations office, now blocked by police, suggesting protesters desire outside intervention.

UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, has so far called for the Junta to “release the prisoners, end the violence and to respect Human Rights”.

Foreign governments have also announced sanctions against military businesses and leaders. The UK have suspended all promotion of trade with Myanmar and imposed travel sanctions. Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Secretary, has urged that “those responsible for human rights violations will be held to account”. The United States and Canada have imposed similar measures, with the European Union set to follow and “ready to adopt restrictive measures”.

Yet, the extent to which “22222 revolution”, echoes the 8888 uprisings of the People’s this will help the cause of the democratic movement against protestors is still uncertain. the Junta in 1988. These protests Neighbouring countries well continued over five months, placed to pressurise the military an indication that current government insist on it being tensions in Myanmar will not an “internal matter”.Placards be terminated soon. Myanmar reading “Myanmar’s military women have adopted the slogan dictatorship is made in China” “you’ve messed with the wrong show the anger at the Chinese generation,” highlighting that this government’s continued silent time the Junta must fight harder response. Yet border stability to turn the tide on democracy. and China’s new position globally suggests that they are cautious about working with the military government.

Facebook has also condemned Myanmar’s military groups.

They have attempted to reverse (Prachatai, Flickr) government spread of disinformation by banning militarycontrolled state and media entities H i s t o r i c a l l y, Myanmar has been turbulent.

Protests which occurred on the 22nd February, dubbed the

18

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

Puzzles

Puzzle Editors Harry Jenkins and Thomas Simpson

For online versions, answers and more puzzles, head to

www.palatinate.org.uk/category/puzzles

Crossword No 2, set by Phlox 8

1

2

3

4

10

26 30 32

6

15 18

27

12

16 19

23

20

21

24

28

7

9

11

14 17

5

13

22 25

29 31

Quick Clues

Down 1 Small celestial body that orbits the Sun (8) 2 City in California (6) 3 Russian monarch (4) 4 ‘Out of __’, meaning ‘not working well’ (6) 5 Most important members of a group (3, 5) 6 Small pile of stones (5) 7 Famous Italian womaniser (8) 13 Prefix meaning ‘all’, as in -potent, -present (4) 15 Cut (3) 16 Small drink (3) 17 Humorous theatre piece featuring music (8) 18 Bird symbolic of peace (4) 19 Synthetic rubber (8) 20 _ Maria, liqueur made from coffee beans (3) 21 Help, assistance (3) 22 Invented language from George Orwell’s 1984 (8) 24 Subtle detail (6) 25 Last King of the UK (6) 27 First animal in space (5) 29 Tell the future, e.g. by looking in a crystal ball (4)

Cryptic Clues

Down 1 Unending Paradise could be filled with love for Jewish people around the world (8) 2 Hit by small vehicle (6) 3 Monster is rising so (4) 4 Graze healed by bishop in capital (6) 5 Misfits with strange rubbish (8) 6 Nervous for new currency (5) 7 Ballsy SU restructures curriculum (8) 13 In the mirror, shaver missing part produces a scream (4) 15 Song on radio in Scottish town (3) 16 Lady chipped off block (3) 17 A bottle breaks the end of cap on surface (8) 18 Iron out with display of violence (4) 19 University produced a gluten from hoofed animal (8) 20 Environmentalist research takes cuts from all sides (3) 21 Hint at solution without resistance (3) 22 Lot dealt, developed and demolished (8) 24 Liable to change (6) 25 Devotion to a sorry mess (6) 27 Boat conveys letter to a king (5) 29 Poem makes one be sad (4)

Across 5 A planned approach (6) 8 Musical term for ‘expressive’ (10) 9 Greek goddess of the rainbow (4) 10 Type of spring that shoots out hot water and steam (6) 11 Vegetable that grows underground, like the potato (5) 12 12pm (4) 14 Follower of an ancient religion (11) 17 Something left over, unwanted piece (7) 20 Female version of 3 Down (7) 23 Term for the relationship between a university and the place it’s located (4, 3 4) 26 Cylinder for storing film (4) 28 Largest artery in the human body (5) 29 Cartoon beagle, featured in Peanuts (6) 30 ‘__ Driver’, 1976 film starring Robert De Niro (4) 31 Inhabitant of the country between Honduras and Costa Rica (10) 32 Covered passageway (6)

Across 5 Small things affect counsel no end (6) 8 Hal trained out in wilderness (10) 9 Mountains in country without river (4) 10 Doctor does up fake (6) 11 Reinforcements in core barracks (5) 12 Ring right around whale (4) 14 Hybrid animal is unlikely? (4, 3, 4) 17 At end of shift worker has strange fit (7) 20 Guards with modified corsets (7) 23 Great goal arranged with me made things come together (11) 26 Game bird (4) 28 Commercial for liberal improvisation (5) 29 Clumsy, troubled, but well built (6) 30 Mug with a mug? (4) 31 Letter muddled with dope to be moved immediately (10) 32 Drunk without end? That’s a problem! (6)

Sudoku 838

5 1 8 5 6 9 1 8 9 6 2 1 3 2 9 3 4 1 3 6 1 8 2 2 5 1 8 6

Maths Maze 1

8

double it

square it

square it

-2

+7

+19

half it

1/5

square root

cube it

x 11

1/8

+2

1/3

1/3

+2

add the digits

square it

?

?

half it

-33

PalatiDates: “Oh God, it’s someone from the Durham Union!”

Luke from Castle and Martha from Grey talk student politics and Welsh land planning on their Zoom blind date.

Luke on Martha

What were your first impressions of your date?

We already kinda knew each other through societies. She was friendly and easy to talk to, and she brought gin, which was great because I didn’t feel like the odd one out for bringing wine!

What did you talk about?

Travel, politics, our societies and hobbies.

If they were a Durham night out, which one would they be?

Something calm and relaxed – maybe Ebony’s or Old Tom’s.

How would they describe you?

Probably talkative, maybe too much so.

How would you describe them?

Friendly, chill, really interesting – I thought her role at Palatinate sounded great!

What was the most surprising thing about them?

That she’d become more laid back about political arguments since working at Palatinate.

Any awkward moments?

Not really, but when we ended the call and I realised maybe I’d been going on too much.

Would you meet up in person?

We already had each other on Facebook. I’d be up for it if she is!

Marks out of 10?

9

Sign up for Palatidates using the form found on our social media!

Martha on Luke

What were your first impressions of your date?

Oh God, it’s someone from the Durham Union! He was first to join the call.

What did you talk about?

The Durham Union, our favourite holiday destinations, and mutual contacts.

If they were a Durham night out, which one would they be?

Night at 24s.

How would they describe you?

Bit too keen to talk about Durham Union drama.

How would you describe them?

Good conversation until he started talking about Welsh land planning.

What was the most surprising thing about them?

His knowledge of European culture.

Any awkward moments?

Not really.

Would you meet up in person?

Yes, but as friends.

Marks out of 10?

7

(Adeline Zhao)

19

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

Sport

“Boxing’s most significant social movement” Durham University Amateur Boxing Club have raised over £3,250 for Boxing is Love, a charity aiming to improve the lives of disadvantaged youths around the globe

Luke Power Sport Editor Sometimes you encounter characters whose stories are so moving and inspirational, personalities who flood so much light into the lives of others, that they have an almost lunar quality to them. Jason Scalzo is one of those people.

Durham University Amateur Boxing Club have launched an incredible fundraiser in support of Scalzo’s charity, Boxing is Love.

Over the past two weekends, participants have run, walked and cycled the 3,334 mile distance between Maiden Castle and Garmu, Liberia, raising over £4,000 in the process. One runner, Sara Ismail-Sutton, clocked up 44 miles across two days, despite being injured.

Boxing is Love is a charity which aspires to give deprived people “the self-belief to break the crippling cycle of dependency and poverty” that they are trapped in. In June 2018, the charity touched down in Liberia, West Africa to teach young people boxing and put a smile on their faces. Liberia is among the world’s most impoverished nations and is still reeling from a civil war which took 250,000 lives.

“Boxing is characterised by inclusion, discipline and structure, and that’s what these young people in Liberia need, now more than ever,” the charity’s director, Jason Scalzo, tells Palatinate. “The war left the adult population decimated; the average age was 17 years old. 17 years old. There were children left unguided all over the country, completely invisible.”

“Boxing has saved more people than it has ever hurt”

So far, Boxing is Love has completed four expeditions to Liberia, reaching over 4,000 young people. The goal is to offer disadvantaged youths a caring community and a beacon of hope, as well as providing a platform for anybody who wants to pursue the sport further in a country that has never held a professional fight.

Plans have been accepted to build a gym in Garmu, which will represent not only a training facility but a sanctuary for children from “broken homes” and a hub for “volunteers from all over the world to gather, share their love, and bridge cultural gaps.” Local workers will be employed to build and maintain it, and food will be provided and

prepared by local producers and cooks.

It is in aid of this mission that Oli Hinds, Captain of DU Amateur Boxing Club, set up the charity challenge. Hinds has worked tirelessly to gather support, and the club have endorsements from names as influential as Chris Eubank and Troy Williamson.

Both he and Scalzo have been uplifted by their own experiences in boxing and are trying to pay that debt forward.

“Boxing gives you so much: confidence, maturity, determination, not to mention the health benefits,” says Oli. “Once you step into the boxing club, all your stress slips away. Almost everyone would be positively impacted by taking up boxing.

“Boxing is Love can be the equivalent of UNICEF. There’s a utility for it in every culture”

“There’s a misconception that boxing is all about the blood you see on the television screen and there’s a negative stereotype associated with it. For that reason, a lot of people dismiss it.

But it doesn’t even have to be a contact sport – you don’t have to fight anyone. At Durham we’ve had a lot of people taking up beginners’ classes who’ve never considered it before, and they’ve loved it.

It’s accessible to anybody.”

Scalzo’s own involvement in boxing has been remarkably therapeutic. He attests to how it has dragged him from dark mental places and helped him focus during a maelstrom of emotions.

“Boxing has saved my life more times than I can tell you.

Boxing got me through extremely challenging times as a kid: the death of my mother, difficult times socially.

I returned to it after an acrimonious divorce, at a time when I was fundamentally unhappy with my career.

“From a mental health standpoint, if you define depression as the constant dwelling on stuff that happened yesterday, and

if you define anxiety based on the worry of tomorrow, then boxing is the perfect remedy, because it’s a sport that forces you to remain in the moment. It gives you a physical reality outside your head.

“When I got back into the ring, I had to focus on the present and saturate myself with that happiness that stems from knowing you’re living in the moment.

“Boxing is the perfect remedy for depression and anxiety because it forces you to remain in the moment”

“I could name lists of people who have been changed by the sport, people who would have otherwise had no focus and, without it, might have ended up dead. There’s this narrative of brutality attached to the sport, but boxing has saved more people than it has ever hurt.”

While their current plans are firmly grounded in Liberia, this is a project with worldwide scalability. Already, a second project is planned for Tijuana,

Mexico, where children have been abandoned and displaced due to drug cartel violence.

In both places, Scalzo has identified a role model. In Liberia, it is boxer Freddy Kiwitt, who had to flee the country due to the civil war and returned years later, a figure Liberian children can relate to and be inspired by.

In Mexico, the role model is legendary fighter Julio César Chávez, whose involvement brings immense commercial promise. It is hoped that the support garnered will propel further projects: Scalzo is looking into working with Larry Ekundayo and Anthony Joshua in Nigeria, where the latter’s parents were raised.

“Almost everyone would be positively impacted by taking up boxing”

To Scalzo, it is a humanitarian necessity which can uplift entire generations, whether that be children surrounded by gang violence in the alleys of Mexico, or, further down the line, affluent parents in America looking

to burn off their career-induced stress. He believes in the mission so much that he resigned from his high-paying job a few years ago and hasn’t yet earned a wage from Boxing is Love.

“At the moment, we’re still in that early stage where every dollar is going directly to the programme, but I see no reason why, in five years’ time, Boxing is Love can’t be the boxing equivalent of UNICEF. There’s a utility for it in every culture.

“It will be the most significant social movement this sport has ever seen by a million miles. I mean that with all my heart. Our mission is to be the reason the world turned to boxing.”

There are still challenges.

Reaching Liberia during Covid-19 is impossible for Scalzo, who usually has to take five flights from South Carolina to get there. But this is a movement which is gathering serious momentum, and it is with the work of promoters like Hinds and the Durham University Amateur Boxing Club which will catapult this project on its way.

Jason wants to give Liberian youths a beacon of hope (Jason Scalzo)

20

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

Sport

The Hundred ready to make its mark

Ben Fleming Deputy Sport Editor Running any type of company over the last year from the confines of your own home is a difficult task for even the most accomplished businessman. Now try imagining that business being the launch of a new, franchise-based, first of its kind, multi-million-pound cricket competition. Doesn’t sound easy, does it?

Rob Hillman, The Hundred’s Head of Operations, smirks as he tries to explain to me the task that has been presented to him over the last year during this pandemic.

“It’s not been an easy ride, I’ll admit. But, like most, we’ve adapted and found a way.”

Rob talks to Palatinate the day after the draft which saw the eight male and female teams finalised for the competition’s debut season. International stars Kagiso Rabada and Nicholas Pooran were drafted to join other high-profile cricketers such as Ben Stokes, David Warner and Kieran Pollard, who already secured their places in last year’s draft.

For Hillman, the draft and “the calibre of player that we’ve been able to attract from all around the

world to play in this competition is a fantastic signal of intent.

“These teams are filled with quality cricketers who have proved it time and again on the domestic and international scene. What you will see is a lot of quality cricket. Good pitches, good weather and so many good cricketers on show.”

The women’s tournament is no different. Australians Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning, two of the world’s premier talents, will be playing for Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers, respectively. Alongside equal prize money for both sides of the tournament, the ECB are keen to use this as a further springboard for the ever-growing female game.

“Cricket is in a great place but we want to carry on building on that”

“It’s [the high-profile women’s players] hugely important and actually the postponement has meant a bit of a rethink for 2021 which, in a sense, only accentuates that comment. Now they [the women’s teams] are going to be playing on the same day in the same ground [as the men]. There will be huge crossover for squads

and in terms of the opportunities for women’s players in this country, it will take it to another level.”

With all this hype slowly bubbling around the tournament, and the years of planning that have gone into building it, the greatest disappointment for Hillman was to not see that all come to fruition last year, with the tournament’s inaugural season abruptly postponed amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

“Looking back, it was obviously a huge shame but the situation that we were all facing dictated that and actually, it was a remarkably straight forward decision.

“When we first understood the impact of Covid-19 and it became apparent we might not even be able to play any international cricket at all, it made it very straightforward to take the decision not to play given all the moving parts that were in place.”

The following lockdowns in November and January represented further stumbling blocks for the ECB. However, as Hillman notes, following the successful end to the summer for cricket, this wasn’t a cause for concern.

“We felt from pretty early on that we would absolutely be

delivering The Hundred in pretty much any circumstance this summer. We have a great public policy team at the ECB that work very closely with DCMS and the government.

“Good pitches, good weather and so many good cricketers”

“We are still planning for lots of different scenarios, whether that is some form of bubbling or hopefully a lot less restrictive and with some form of testing.

We don’t know yet, but we have plans that cater to plenty of scenarios.” Fortunately, with the latest announcements, and the possibility of fans being allowed in stadiums, which Rob sees as a “hugely welcome boost to the game,” The Hundred looks set to take centre stage in the summer cricketing calendar.

What remains to be seen is whether it can deliver on its promise to grow the game amongst audiences where it’s most needed.

“Cricket is in a great place but we want to carry on building on that. Not everybody can afford a day at the Test cricket in terms of pounds out of their pockets or hours out of their day, so it’s really important that we believe

in this competition and that it will do a great job in widening the net of people who follow cricket.”

Part of that plan to reach a new audience is the free-to-air element of the tournament, and The Hundred look set to have matches live on BBC as well as Sky. “It’s really important to have that balance with Sky and BBC. Sky are a phenomenal broadcaster and continue to do amazing things for English cricket.

“Crucially, it’s about striking a balance between their [Sky’s] production and quality aligned with a free-to-air plan, and that’s a really strong mix.”

There has been criticism from cricket’s more traditional fans, but Rob and the ECB aren’t keen to let that deter them as they look to forge a new future for English cricket.

“There was a huge opposition to T20 when that came in 18 years ago, and when the Blast started, and there still is opposition to white-ball cricket, but innovation is at the heart of what we are doing.

“Crucially, we believe in it.

We’ve got broadcasters who believe in it and cricketers that believe in it – you can’t ask for more than that.”

Tucker: “We are a genuine footballing story” Continued from back

18 months and a global pandemic later, the 21-year-old has grown the club beyond the novelty of its owner’s youth.

Tucker himself is in charge of media strategy and online output, launching a booming TikTok account.

“That’s been a huge part of the club’s development in the last two years. [On TikTok] we’re the most followed club in England outside of the Premier League and the Championship”.

In building the brand, Tucker is taking non-league into the somewhat unchartered territory of the 21st century, and it centres around the owners themselves.

“We are the brand. People follow because they buy into our journey.”

Despite 60,000 followers on the platform, Tucker wants more.

“The barriers of entry to having a successful online brand have never been lower. With TikTok, you can take that brand to market easily. There’s so much scope for development, and if we’re consistent we can be competing with Premier League teams.”

His optimism is infectious, and the Durham student believes the success of the brand will facilitate

results on the pitch. “It creates a positive feedback loop – one leads into the other”.

However, with the Swans 3rd in the league and looking at promotion in March 2020, COVID and lockdown came, and with it the season was null-and-voided.

With the group’s footballing goals being rocked, the FA’s decision did not go down well.

“There was no thought to the decision. With the amount of work we’d put into the season, to be within 14 days of playing our last game and the season being cancelled was a shock to the system”.

“We would have had backto-back promotions”

Tucker took it upon himself to draft a letter to the FA, condemning their decision and asking for a restart. “I wrote the letter on behalf of an initial 12 clubs. Within a few days it had spiralled to around 200 signatures.” Unfortunately, the complaints fell largely on deaf ears.

Luckily, the Swans have not been as affected as others by the crisis. Their ground is owned by the council, so the owners do not have to pay the fees required for

Walton and Hersham currently play in Step 6 of the English non-league football pyramid (Walton and Hersham FC)

upkeep and staff.

The impact of Covid-19 was most prominent on the owners’ long-term objectives.

“I’m confident we would have had back-to-back promotions, so that’s set us back two years”.

Despite this, Sartej is staying level-headed, and the goals remain the same. “We believe in the long-term model of the club.

We have a phenomenal squad for our level”. Tucker sees this model

ideally pushing for the National League within five years or so.

With these targets, the club’s branding, and, therefore, Sartej himself, lie at the heart of its development. It represents a huge responsibility, so how does the London-based linguist balance studying at Durham with running a football club?

“If you love doing it, you’ll always find a way. It’s not a chore.

If anything, I find it difficult doing

Uni work!”

With seven of them at the helm, there is always someone in Walton to oversee matchdays, crucial for when fans are allowed back in.

Therein lies his second priority.

Key for revenue and recognition are gate receipts, which the owners are looking to boost.

“We want at least 300-400 every game next season. This season we Continued on page 21

21

PALATINATE | Thursday 4th March 2021

Sport

“I’m going to get in there and show them” Sport speaks to Senior Editor of The Athletic, Laura Williamson, about Hatfield, Grimsby, and being a woman in football journalism

James Reid Deputy Sport Editor Laura Williamson is quite literally one of a kind. The Senior Editor of online football publication, The Athletic, Williamson is one of few women in senior editorial positions within football journalism, if not the only one.

“It’s pretty depressing in 2021”, she chuckles, almost in gallows humour. It is not the first time the former Daily Mail Sports News Editor has laughed heartily during our nearly hour-long conversation, and it is certainly nothing to do with Palatinate’s wit, or lack thereof.

Instead, it is perhaps the best representation of the upbeat and ambitious attitude that Williamson brings to a subsection of the industry in which female journalists are a rarity.

“There’s no point whinging about it because I knew that’s what it would be like,” she reflects when asked on what it’s like to be a female journalist within the football industry. Nevertheless, the imposter syndrome was something felt by Williamson in the early days.

“I sort of always likened it to walking in a room and feeling like an alien because I just didn’t look like anybody else that was there.

“I was told quite quickly not to look at the comments on my pieces on the website. I guess you put more pressure on yourself because you think, if I mess up here, if I don’t do my research, if I get something wrong people are going to straight away say ‘well it’s because you’re a woman you don’t know what you’re talking about’.”

She is aware too, of the extra perils faced by young female journalists who often rely on social media, but can also face heavy abuse from fans still resistant to the presence of women within the football media.

Williamson herself uses Twitter sparingly as “a self-preservation thing.”

Throughout our conversation, the topic of women in football – and more precisely in football journalism – is something that keeps coming up. It is clearly something Williamson is passionate about.

“I firmly believe in holding the ladder up for other people to Continued from page 20

averaged around 150”.

Boosting admissions will itself rely on Tucker’s media revolution.

“Online will be central to what we do next year. Non-League hasn’t really been established into the

climb. That’s the only way they’re going to do it.” It is part of the reason Williamson wanted to become an editor, as it gave her the power to make those hiring decisions and to open up the profession.

Such a focus on supporting young female journalists is clearly shaped by the Durham alumna’s own experiences in breaking into the industry.

After 18 months working for HawkEye, Williamson cashed in her Christmas bonus on a journalism course “and never looked back really”, ending up at the Daily Mail graduate scheme.

“I just sort of bludgeoned my way in somehow” she laughs.

Williamson talks about her career in the language of luck and fortune, in particular mentioning former Daily Telegraph writer Sue Mott who acted like a mentor.

Yet once she was in the door, there was no hint of luck about it, rising to Executive Sports News Editor at the Mail, the position she held before taking what she describes as “a heck of a risk” in joining The Athletic.

“I firmly believe in holding the ladder up for other people to climb”

“It was all really exciting,” recalls Williamson as she talks through the events in the summer of 2019 that would eventually lead to the establishment of the subscription-based, online publication that had already taken the US market by storm.

“The pitch was basically… ‘how do you fancy having the opportunity to do things as you want to do them?’ The opportunity to be involved with something at the beginning was too great to turn down.”

It looks to have been a successful one, too, with The Athletic recently having passed one million subscribers globally.

Reports of double your money salary offers were wide off the mark, but The Athletic marked an investment in British sports journalism that had not been seen in years, hoovering up some of the best football writers in the process.

Editorially, it has been different, too. “The main thing is just the benefit of time”. Though Williamson admits missing the mainstream for people our age.

That’s what we’re trying to do.”

In targeting a younger audience, the Old Hamptonian hopes for non-League football to gain some of the recognition it has lacked from the likes of the FA. Rather than recent celebrity

“absolute buzz” of having to fill a newspaper back page, the new rhythm of work has its benefits, with Williamson being able to work more closely with writers for a better finished product.

It also allows her to work with and nurture young writers, something she has always loved doing, and has taken it further at The Athletic with the hiring of a number of young, raw journalists.

When asked what it is that makes young journalists stand out, Williamson is largely unequivocal: personality. She mentions traits such as ambition and drive, and the ability to make her think “readers are going to love you”.

Such investment in young, up and coming journalists is just one part of what looks to be an exciting future for The Athletic, with Williamson playing a major role as Senior Editor. Despite only being around for about 18 months, the online-only publication has shaken up the market with its focus on longerform, high-quality writing.

The future is exciting too, with Williamson describing it as “all on the table” when it comes to what’s next for The Athletic.

“We’re constantly looking at what works and what doesn’t and pushing for what does.”

It is an exciting chapter in a career that Williamson describes as “an absolute blessing”, owing to her love of football, and sport more generally. “My mum and dad are just sports nuts. Sport was a big part of what we did.”

While Williamson admits to being “terrible” at football, she played netball for Durham at university while her sister represented the North of England playing football.

But it is watching the game, and more specifically her support for Grimsby Town, that really makes her face light up.

“We used to go home and away watching Grimsby Town all over the place and I just loved it.

Saturday was stop at Little Chef on the way to wherever, go and watch a rubbish football match, sing some songs and go home.”

“I played a lot of netball and rowed a bit for Hatfield”

This love of sport was combined with a love of newspapers and

takeovers, Tucker believes theirs to be a “genuine footballing story.

It’s not manufactured. We’ve done everything off our own accord.”

Due to graduate next year, Sartej seems fully committed to the project. “We understand how much growth potential there is in

Williamson has risen from trainee to Senior Editor (The Athletic)

the media, leading Williamson to study English Literature at Durham.

She laughs that her degree probably contributed little to her career, but regardless has “very fond memories” of both her degree and her time at Durham in general.

“I had a lovely time. I played a lot of netball, got involved in the uni sport scene and rowed a bit for Hatfield.”

Williamson also wrote the odd piece for Palatinate, including an interview with Des Lynam, as well as getting involved in the Perfect Day Foundation, a charity that uses sport to help deprived children in Zambia.

On her time at Hatfield, Williamson admit she was not overly involved in college apart from rowing and editing The Hatfielder, the college magazine, but “always felt it was there if I wanted it really which was quite

non-league”.

Such an attitude is depressingly rare at non-League level, and two years on the students have gone from “pretty clueless” to having a fully-fledged business plan, prioritising the media off the pitch and a proud group of home-

comforting.”

Williamson does not fit the stereotypical image that many might hold of a Hatfielder but it was the ethos, tradition, and location that drew her in.

“The ‘work hard, play hard’ ethos was something that was very appealing and then logistically just being on the bailey in the middle of the town seemed really good – why would you want to be up that hill?”

“I just thought ‘be the best you can be’, I’m gonna get in there and I’m gonna show them somehow.”

As Senior Editor of The Athletic, following her career at the Daily Mail, Williamson has certainly shown them. It is important not to underestimate still just how rare female football journalists are, particularly on the written side.

Yet with the likes of Williamson at the helm, the future undoubtedly looks a lot brighter.

grown players on it.

If the Durham undergraduate can continue this transformation in a post-coronavirus world, fans and the FA alike will be forced to begin taking notice of nonLeague’s importance to English football.

Thursday 4th March 2021 | PALATINATE

22

Sport

Boxing is Love: Durham boxers raise funds for Liberia

Luke Power speaks to Jason Scalzo about his boxing charity initiative (page 19)

“I just didn’t look like anybody else that was there”

Durham alumna Laura Williamson talks about her career in journalism (page 21)

Durham’s student football club owner Ollie Phillips

The Palatinates are yet to taste victory this season but are optimistc about their future chances (Durham Palatinates)

Palatinates look to reverse fortunes Matt Styles Sport Editor Last February, after a third cup final in 12 months, things were looking highly promising for Durham Palatinates, but fast forward a year and there is far less cause for optimism.

Following the cancellation of the 2019-20 season, the club are finally back playing at the Sports and Wellbeing Park, though joining late to the party has come with a litany of hindrances. At present the Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) table has a strange complexion to it with Newcastle Eagles, just 19 miles down the road, having played double the number of games.

These turbulent times have brought all momentum from last year’s fruitful campaign to a grinding halt. To put it lightly, it has been a stuttering start to the season for the Palatinates, with five losses from five games, despite some promising individual performances.

“We’re having to play our normal eight-month season in basically two months and two weeks. It’s a new team

pretty much, with very little preparation,” reflects head coach Lee Davie.

“The league have done what they can to be as flexible as possible while teams try to fulfil all WBBL Cup, Trophy and League fixtures, but it’s had its ups and downs with the varying regional tiers system across the country.

“The University-based programmes within the WBBL have had added Covid procedures that we have had to factor in.

We then have two teams that are based in Scotland and Wales which are operating within different Government guidelines from the teams in England.

“On top of all that you have over 200 players and staff that all have their own beliefs on what is best for their own personal family health and wellbeing that need to be taken into consideration.”

In this unorthodox and unprecedented reality, senior players have been called upon to ‘manage the load’ and aid with this colossal logistical juggling act. Besides arranging fixtures, one fundamental necessity is monitoring the mental and physical wellbeing of the

players, many being students with academic and social commitments.

Four undergraduate players have had to make the step up to the first team this season, demonstrating the impact that the pandemic has had on recruitment. Though four new recruits have come through the door in the form of Gerda Morkunaite, Ava Patchesa, Goretti Hurtado Barbeito and Lies van Straaten, the club lacks the financial resources that would ordinarily be at their disposal.

“Covid’s only real impact upon recruitment was our lack of budget,” notes Davie. “There was still a high demand from players domestically and overseas that wanted to study and play, but financially we just weren’t in a position to fund the programme as we normally would.”

For all of this, however, Durham’s Head of Basketball remains optimistic and is confident about the club emerging in a ‘better place’ down the line. As a vastly experienced coach at the highest level, Davie relishes the prospect of turning the tide and finding that all-

important winning formula with a young squad in exceptional circumstances.

“It’s early days, but there are a lot of positive signs of the younger players finding their voice within the team and their play is improving week by week.

It’s going to take some time, but we’re going in the right direction.”

Rather than despairing, Davie chooses to focus on the silver linings. The development of a more sophisticated streaming service, he hopes, will attract a broader student fanbase, as will a new deal with Sky Sports to broadcast major finals.

Above all, though, he sees the challenges that the pandemic has caused as a new and exciting opportunity to respond to.

“To be coaching at the highest level professionally in our country is such a great experience, I love the weekly challenge that each opposition team brings and helping to prepare our students to achieve their goals.

“I’m genuinely excited to see the team’s development over the next nine weeks as they come together as a team and things click into place for us.”

“We didn’t even have kit the day before the season started”. Sartej Tucker, a third-year modern languages student at Durham and co-owner of Step 6 club Walton & Hersham FC, is upfront about the challenges that faced him and his six friends at the start of their journey almost two years ago.

“We really had no idea what to expect or what we needed to do.”

When they took over, the club was at a low, something which Tucker was immediately struck by. “It was a shambles. You wouldn’t run a college team like that.”

After 30 years under the same owner, the club were rapidly declining, having been relegated to the Combined Counties Division One, English football’s tenth tier, the season before the boys took over.

“We understand how much growth potential there is”

“There aren’t many people who would be happy to sign away 35 years’ of work to a group of 19 year-olds. This massively historic club had fallen from the sky”.

Coming in, Tucker was well aware of the size of both the club and the task at hand. Winners of the FA Amateur cup at Wembley in 1973, the Castle student describes the Swans as “by far the most historic club at our level.”

The Ballon d’Or Winner Sir Stanley Matthews was once president, and Martin Tyler began his managerial career there in 2005. Did the third-year find this responsibility daunting?

“It was more exciting if anything.

A group of 19-year-olds taking over a football club – how can you have expectations?”

There was a sense of new beginnings. Accordingly, the boys immediately changed the badge, something Tucker felt was key in transforming the image and outlook of the club: “It signified the old club’s done. Welcome to the new one.”

Continued on page 20