Palatinate Issue 739

Fashion blogs: do it yourself indigo, pages 8&9

No. 739

www.palatinate.org.uk

The ‘Workfare’ scheme examined Business, pages 10&11

Palatinate Durham’s student newspaper since 1948

Tuesday 13th March 2012 | FREE

Food: Easter recipes, Italian style

522 University staff are paid less than the ‘living wage’, something a new campaign hopes to change Photo: Quin Murray

Fair wage campaign launches Mei Leng Yew

More than one in every eight members of University staff are being paid less than the recommended living wage, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

The figures taken from the November 2011 payroll shows that 522 of the 4009 people directly employed by the University earn less than £7.20 per hour. This amounts to 13% of total University employees.

83 of the 92 staff contracted out by the University earn less than £7.20.

These workers are not employees at the University but provide certain services, as cleaners or security staff.

Meanwhile, 39 members of University staff earned over £50 per hour last year, with one earning over £100: the Vice-Chancellor, whose annual salary package for 2011 totalled £244,000, including a £33,000 pension contribution.

The living wage is annually determined by an independent body,

and calculated according to the basic cost of providing for a family and avoiding the effects of poverty, such as ill-health and lower levels of child development. The figure currently stands at £8.30 per hour in London and £7.20 outside of the capital.

When questioned on the issue, Mr Jack Boyd, Director of Human Resources, responded: “The University is party to a national pay structure which is agreed with all trade unions representing staff in the Higher Education sector. Currently the minimum hourly pay rate, which is agreed at a national level, is £6.94 and is above the National Minimum Wage”.

However, staff employed for shortterm casual work are only paid the minimum wage, which is £6.08 for workers over 21 years of age.

As full-time staff are required to work between 35 and 37 hours a week, someone earning the University’s minimum hourly rate of £6.94 would receive between £12,630 and £13,353 per year.

However, if they were paid the

living wage, this would become £13,104 and £13,853, an annual difference of £500, a significant sum for lower-income earners.

However, the living wage is £14,976, as it is calculated on the assumption that an employee works a 40-hour week.

£14,976 The living wage, which 522 University employees do not receive

It is because of this discrepancy that “the DSU council has been sufficiently encouraged to pass a motion requiring the Students’ Union to campaign for the University to pay all staff the living wage” said Tobias Thomas, Durham University Labour Club’s (DULC) Secretary.

This issue has led to the foundation of the Living Wage Campaign Committee, which is, stressed Oliver

Gratton, DULC Chairman, “a politically neutral effort to bring about a fair wage for Durham University employees”.

It is an appropriate time for a campaign to be launched because, as Jack Boyd points out, “the national pay structure is negotiated annually and is effective from August. Negotiations […] have yet to begin for this year”.

Roberta Blackman-Woods, MP for the City of Durham said: “I am particularly pleased that Durham University students have chosen to support a campaign that will have great resonance with local people”.

Students at Manchester University have already been successful in winning a living wage for all full-time campus staff, while Cambridge students have recently launched a similar campaign.

In Durham, the Living Wage Campaign Committee is still in its planning stages but is open to all students and interested parties. Contact campaigns@dulc.org.uk for further information.

News Features: The Durham experience for postgrads

Film&TV: Oscars round-up and Hollywood’s newest stars

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Editorial

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Fair pay: it’s much closer to home than you think The issue raised in our front page story is about the University as a local employer, but also refers to a wider problem being discussed across the country: work, pay, and fairness.

It’s an issue that may not affect all of us yet, but it certainly will.

In this edition, you’ll see quite a bit of discussion regarding this topic. In the Business section, you’ll find a story covering the Workfare program, an initiative in which work-seekers on welfare are given jobs... and aren’t paid for them.

In the Comment section, the big debate revolves around whether interns should be paid. Our front-page story shows that even an institution as close to home as Durham University doesn’t pay all of its employees enough to live on.

This issue is clearly at the forefront of student attention, and consequently is at the forefront of our minds. Both of us have applied for master’s degrees for next year, and will need a great deal of work experience - probably unpaid - to obtain jobs in our fields.

We’re sure we’re not the only ones in this situation, and this makes it all the more vital for us to increase awareness of the importance of fair pay, whether it’s for interns or the local community.

We, along with all students, have a duty as members of the University to

be vigilant about the effects of livingwage pay on the community.

If we care about the universal problem of fair pay, then we should do what we can to see it implemented by the institution which we are members of.

Just as the University and the city of Durham provide a service to us as students, we’d like to think we at Palatinate provide a service to students.

The editors discuss fair pay, the future and getting involved And, in the same way students contribute to the local economy and to the University as a living, thriving centre of academia, students contribute to this, their paper.

We depend entirely on students and members of the University community to help make Palatinate what it is.

We receive a few e-mails asking us to cover or publicise an event ior game, or to promote a society. However, we receive far more comments asking why we didn’t include something. The answer to this is usually fairly simple: we didn’t know about it.

DSU Debate A summary of the DSU panel debate from Thursday 1st March. The panel discuss student politics, student journalism, the role of the DSU and how societies function within it.

A. C. Grayling An interview with philosopher A.C.Grayling following his address at the Union Society.

The team hit the streets to find out people’s experiences from their DUCK blind dates.

This week takes a look at the project ‘Written by Britain,’ which aims to connect 20,000 people through 20 words.

Delaney Chambers and Hannah Shaddock

13.03.2012 No.739

Contents Palatinate News pages 3-7 News Features page 8-9 Business pages 10-11 Politics pages 12-13

Comment pages 14-16 Sport pages 17-20

indigo

Edtorial page 2

Books page 3

Features pages 4-5

Food & Drink pages 6-7 Fashion pages 8-9 Film & TV pages 10-11 Music page 12

Stage page 13 Travel pages 14-15 Back page page 16

Palatinate vacancies

Indigo Editor

News Editor

In charge of the dynamic arts and lifestyle section of the newspaper, the Indigo Editor is responsible for coordinating content, managing editors, and having the final say on Indigo’s 16 pages.

Previous experience in Palatinate is desirable.

E-mail editor@palatinate.org.uk if you have any questions or would like to apply for the role.

Responsible for gathering, investigating and assigning each piece of relevant student news, the News Editor is responsible for the newspaper’s largest and most dynamic section.

Previous experience in Palatinate is desirable.

E-mail editor@palatinate.org.uk if you have any questions or would like to apply for the role.

If you see business opportunities and advertising ventures everywhere, are enthusiastic about networking, and are interested in helping Palatinate expand its readership and body of writers, Publicity Officer is a job for you.

E-mail editor@palatinate.org.uk if you have any questions or would like to apply for the role.

Palatinate’s most popular section needs a new editor. As Comment Editor, you’ll be responsible for gathering content and deciding on hot topics for each debate.

Previous journalism experience is preferable.

E-mail editor@palatinate.org.uk if you have any questions or would like to apply for the role.

Publicity Officer

Blurred Vision Ep.6

Hot Topic

Although our News team and our section editors do their best, our editorial board is made up of just fiftyodd students attempting to represent 15,000.

Inevitably there are areas of the student body that we are not a part of and activities that we are not involved in in and will not know about, unless we are told.

If you think you’ve heard of a vital story that needs covering, or would simply like us to report on a successful event organised by your society, there is no easier way to get it published than to tell us.

And, if you think you can do a better job at representing an active and diverse student body, take a look at the vacancies advertised below, and keep an eye out for more coming over the holidays.

We can’t recommend getting involved enough; we’ve enjoyed our time at Palatinate a great deal, and as sad as we are that this is our last issue, we are very much looking forward to seeing what our successors have in store.

Representing you has been a privilege, and we’ve done our best to make sure the newspaper fulfils its purpose: representing student needs and raising awareness of issues within the student body and the University.

Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

Comment Editor

More vacancies will be advertised on www.palatinate.org.uk over the holidays, so keeping checking back.

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. Send letters to: Editor, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN. Alternatively, send an e-mail to editor@palatinate.org.uk

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Delaney Chambers Hannah Shaddock editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Alexandra Bottomer & Flo Snead deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Alexander Bond & Nathan Noerr news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Chris Murphy news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Matt Lee, Katie Pavid & Tim Perry deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Business Editor Jon Zhu business@palatinate.org.uk Careers Editor Charlotte Seager careers@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editor Hugh Westlake politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editor Francis Still deputy.politics@palatinate.org.uk Profile Editor Jessica Waite profile@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editors Olivia Rudgard & Charlie Taverner comment@palatinate.org.uk Sport Editors Spencer Brown & William Warr sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Kate Houghton & Hugh McDowell deputy.sport@palatinate.org.uk Indigo Editor Larry Bartleet indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Sarah Murray feature@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editors Catherine Bradfield & Ellie Ross Food and Drink Editor Molly Fowler food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor Alexandra Groom travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editor Olivia Swash fashion@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Fashion Editors Sophia Chan & Ella Cole Film and Television Editor Ed Owen film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editors Anna Bailey & Sarah Johnson stage@palatinate.org.uk Music Editors William Clement & Jess Denham music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editors Izzie Bengoechea & Justina Crabtree books@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub-Editor Kelsey Tollady sub-editing@palatinate.org.uk Section Sub-Editors Alice Melton, Rebecca Lee, Rebecca Paul, Malik Al-Mahrouky & Gemma Neale Web Editors Dori Beeler & Rhiannon Mehta web.editor@palatinate.org.uk Online Editor Mei Leng Yew online.editor@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Nicoletta Asciuto photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Arthur Dimsdale & Katherine Merchant deputy.photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor David Drysdale illustration@palatinate.org.uk Palatinate TV Editors Livia Carron & Caleb Pike ptv@palatinate.org.uk Blogs Editor Julie Fisher blogs@palatinate.org.uk Publicity Officer Charlie Taverner publicity@palatinate.org.uk

News News Editors: Alexander Bond Nathan Noerr news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor: Chris Murphy news.features@palatinate. org.uk

@PalatinateUK Palatinate

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

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News

Library attracts over 500,000 visits a year The facility adopts new strategies to cope with the high demand Matt Lee

With exams looming the pressure on library space and resources will be stretched to the limit.

Recently, the library has responded to the obligatory exams season scramble with an announcement that it will open 24/7 during the last week of Epiphany term and the first five weeks of Easter term.

Both the Durham and Queen’s campus sites will operate these hours.

Extensive coverage has also surrounded the construction of a new East Wing which will offer an extra 500 study spaces.

The multi-million pound development is expected to be open for the Easter term. Furthermore, it appears that this investment of time and money is fully justified.

The most recent library usage figures reinforce the centrality of library resources, especially the main library, to university life.

From 2010-2011 library books were checked out nearly 480,000 times across the whole of the University, with 77% of issues made in the main library.

This term alone has seen books returned at an average of 10,000 per week. Equally, the flow of books has matched the flow of students with people scanning their campus cards into the libraries 670,000 times last year.

A breakdown of the usage per term shows numbers holding steady around 240,000 during the Michael and Epiphany terms. Although Easter term numbers are noticeably lower, the traffic is concentrated in the five weeks of exam season.

So far this term the peak times for library usage have been between

11.30am and 3.30pm.

Despite the warranted focus on the exam period, it is clear that there is little respite across the whole of the year.

A History student from Van Mildert agreed, commenting “I spend a lot of time in the library and it’s consistently busy, especially in the short loan section where I often have to sit on the floor to read a book from the hold shelf”.

One 2nd-year geographer added: “I was in the library just the other day and all the floors were full. Sometimes it feels like a busy parking lot;

if you loiter long enough you might catch someone leaving”.

10,000

The average number of books returned each week

The increased usage over the last few weeks is the expected result of impending dissertation deadlines.

It is hoped that the extension of

the main library will alleviate the pressure, but with the growing number of compulsory dissertations, it is likely that the library will become even busier.

University Librarian Jon Purcell summed up the figures, saying “I am delighted that the University library continues to be used extensively.

I have always regarded it as the heart of the academic community”.

With future plans for computer room upgrades and heavy investment in e-resources it is clear the library will continue to react to student usage.

The library is a vital resource for students completing work Photograph: Durham University

New strategy: 24/7 opening for last week of term Ruth McElhone

out what >> Find Grey College is doing in the community page 4

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For more, visit palatinate.org. uk

The Main Library is extending its twenty-four hour opening policy for a trial period between the 12th and 18th March.

Many students are hoping this new policy will help them meet end of term deadlines.

There have always been concerns with library congestion in periods preceding hand-in deadlines or exams but this year the library has struggled to cope.

A third year from St Aidan’s said: “You see a lot of people walking around the library trying to find a study space, if you are looking for a power socket as well this can be almost impossible”.

“There is definitely a noticeable decline in available spaces compared to last year”.

However, University Librarian Jon Purcell, in a letter to Palatinate earlier this term, asserts that “all peripheral walls in the Main Library have electrical sockets and all study places in the new extension will also have access to power and data points. This shortage in sockets may be resolved with the opening of the East Wing extension”.

The congestion has been exacerbated by the construction work which has limited study spaces as tables are stacked on top of each other; a particular problem on level 3.

Since its initiation in 2010, twenty-four hour opening of the Main Library and Queen’s Campus Library during the exam period has become

rooted as an expected feature on the library’s calendar.

“Twenty-four hour opening means not feeling pressurised to finish work if it requires more time” A Collingwood student

Accessing a computer in the library is also notoriously difficult; however, one student believes that this could be overcome if students who knew their work did not require consultation of books used the other CIS computers instead.

As a method for easing congestion, the twenty-four hour opening this

term has been greeted with mixed views.

Some students believe congestion will decrease as use of the library is spread over a longer period.

However, others argue that congestion during the day will be unchanged and that extended hours will just allow those already working to stay longer.

A Collingwood student commented: “The relief about twenty-four hour opening is not feeling pressurised to finish work by 12am if it requires more time”.

Some students believe 24/7 opening is unnecessary, and that the money should instead be used to allow longer opening hours on a more regular basis. One student commented “opening at 10am on Saturday is too late”.

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Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

Grey College strengthens ties with community

Charitable college society GITC gets off to a successful start in its inaugural year Chris Blois-Brooke

This year saw the launch of ‘Grey in the Community’ (GITC), a society bridging the college with the local community through volunteering and service projects.

The group was the brainchild of JCR President Josh Turner and second year Modern Languages student Hannah Langton. The group has proven to be instantly popular among the student body drawing interest from experienced volunteers and newcomers alike.

The group visit St Michael’s Primary School and run prison visits to Holme House Prison near Queen’s Campus in Stockton.

This term the society has expanded with Grey College Cheerleaders leading a project in local schools and tea parties being offered to ederly residents at Hallgarth Care Centre.

Fifteen students, led by Jemma Drake, worked in collaboration with Experience Durham and Durham County Council’s Disability Commission to organise the first of what is hoped will be many ‘Grey in the Community Sports Days’ which will take place on the 29th February.

Thirty-six disabled people came from around Durham to join the volunteer team for an action-packed day.

Activities ranged from rowing to circus skills. Grey College hosted lunch, music and afternoon activities. It was remarked that is was “fantastic to see the participants getting as involved as possible, meeting new people, and helping each other”.

The day finished with the Mayor of Durham, Les Thomson awarding and certificates to all those involved.

The event seemed to be enjoyed by all the participants involved and some seemed upset to leave and others proclaimed it was “the best day of their lives”.

Josh Turner was pleased with the group’s succes, remarking “Grey in the Community is a very exciting project, and one which demonstrates a fresh commitment to building and maintaining links between Grey College and the local community.

“The team deserve a lot of credit for the hard work they have put into making so much happen in such a short space of time. Last week Grey saw 50 volunteers working in 5 projects across County Durham. This is exactly the kind of activity Grey is looking to pursue in the future”.

Grey in the Community are eager to expand, so if you would like to get involved, know of any opportunities or think you could point us in the right direction please get in touch with Chris Blois-Brooke at c.j.bloisbrooke@durham.ac.uk.

Members of Grey College’s new charitable society with awards Photograph: Grey College

Durham adopts new access policies Larry Bartleet

Eton College could be one of the many independent schools to suffer discrimination Photograph: S. Rhys

Durham University is to raise the number of places given to state school applicants as part of its access agreement with the Government’s Office of Fair Access (OFFA), causing fears of discrimination against students from fee-paying schools.

The agreement follows the controversial appointment of Professor Les Ebdon as future director of OFFA earlier this year. He threatened sanctions which would enable OFFA to fine universities £500,000 or prevent them from charging more than £6,000 tuition fees.

As well as increasing the percentage of state school and college entrants to 62% by the 2015/16 academic year, the University is also aiming to increase the number of entrants from lower socio-economic backgrounds to 15%, a figure which would be only 3% lower than the sector average.

Since 2002, numbers of entrants from independent schools has steadily risen from 32.1% to 36.63%, while privately-educated students make up nearly 80% of entrants into Classics and Ancient History this academic year.

The University allocates students

via the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC), but this information cannot be provided

by UCAS in advance, causing problems with enforcing its fair access policy.

The new agreement shows that the University has decided to implement a new geodemographic profiling dataset, ACORN, “to assist in the identification of disadvantage”.

62%

The percentage of state school and college entrants Durham hopes to admit in 2015 Several other higher universities, including Cambridge, Exeter and Warwick, have joined Durham in promising to take more state-educated students, with UCL planning a 10% rise in state admissions. However, independent school leaders hit back at the agreements, calling them “generic discrimination”.

Tim Hands, master of Magdalen College School, Oxford, said, “Universities don’t see why tertiary education should be forced to compensate for problems which government

incompetence over secondary education has created in the first place”.

There is a worry that disadvantaged students receiving bursaries and scholarships at independent schools may face discrimination, while some well-off state students may be at an unfair advantage.

The Director of the Russell Group, Wendy Piatt, spoke against the imposition of targets, suggesting that state schools’ grades be improved and application numbers increased.

“By encouraging more qualified students from state schools to apply to us through outreach and access schemes, our universities will have a wider pool of applicants from which to select the brightest and the best”.

As part of its aim to increase applications by students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, Durham already has such a project in place, called the Supported Progression Scheme.

It helps to remove financial, academic and admissions barriers for disadvantaged local students. The University acknowledges that although “there are significant disparities in prior attainment across school type ... academic achievement remains the most important factor in determining which applicants receive an offer of a place”.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

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“Put it on my bill” DUCK blind date raises £1,300 for charity Harriet Line

280 students were longing to be wooed this week as the Durham University Charities Kommittee (DUCK) hosted a week of Blind Dates, raising £1,300 for good causes.

Enticed by the promising advertising videos on YouTube, those on the prowl paid five pounds each to spend the evening with an unknown partner at one of Durham’s restaurants.

Desirous dates with a particular person in mind were able to bribe their DUCK college representative to pair certain people, for a premium.

Upon arrival at Varsity, the singletons were presented with their date’s application form, detailing their best chat up lines, stories about ‘one time at Band Camp…’ and, controversially, whether they expected their partner

to pay. Dinner commenced once the couples had found each other, although for some, it was not quite the evening they had in mind.

“It was probably the most bizarre date that I have ever been on”

One couple described the event as, “incredibly awkward”, stating that, after spending the previous evening in Klute together, “it was rather surprising” to learn that their date had bribed DUCK to set them up.

Many others remarked that the system created fluidity between the

colleges.

Event organisation, however, was challenging as a disproportionate number of girls applied, leading to the application process being reopened for boys only to improve the ratio.

The money raised from the event will be distributed between over 200 local, national and international charities, along with other money raised by the committee.

A first year student from Collingwood College remarked that “It wasn’t exactly love that I found… but hilarity.

“It was probably the most bizarre date that I have ever been on.

“Instead of the most romantic evening that I had expected, she was just really weird. But I am glad that I did it and it was a really fun experience”.

Participants meet their matches Photograph: Greyloch

DSU President’s Column: the importance of community Scott Parker Education & Welfare Officer

As Mike made his grand exit from Durham for his annual family Skiing holiday I was left with a mountain of emails that he kindly passed on for my response as well as a request to write his Presidential Column in the Palatinate.

For a man who is a mere Education & Welfare Officer among a sabbatical team now made up of a President and his President Elect, I found this to be a great honour.

Since the night of election results the levels of arrogance and power have been unbearable as I struggle to boost my ego to the height of that of the two Presidents.

I sat and pondered for a short time about exactly what I should discuss at the heart of my column as I am very much aware the Mike always likes to have a focus on a specific topic when addressing his people. I firstly thought about discussing Education, and even Welfare.

I nearly wrote about the library. I even considered humiliating Archie by writing about his best-kept secrets from this year.

Eventually I decided to discuss the concept of community. Stick with it please, it’s better than it sounds.

Two weeks ago I was struck by what a sense of community the Durham College fosters.

After taking advantage of the college system for three years it was humbling to be back in this environment as I moved into the small welfare office in Collingwood for a week.

I felt proud to be a part of a community that looks out for all of its members.

The college community is fundamental to the experience that you receive in Durham and I was overwhelmed watching students pull together at a time when things were difficult.

To finish, all that I want to say is: don’t take advantage of your college community.

“I nearly wrote about the library.

I considered humiliating Archie by writing about his best-kept secrets ”

Whether you are a liver-in or liverout, always remember that you are part of a community which is much greater than yourself.

You will get out of this community exactly what you put into it.

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Tuesday 13h March 2012 | PALATINATE

Josephine Butler first to sign historic sports equality pledge Louise McGolpin On 12 March, Josephine Butler College became the first of Durham’s colleges to sign a sports charter to combat homophobia and transphobia in sport.

The government-led charter currently has so far been signed by 3,000 people, including sportspeople like Ben Cohen and Martina Navratilova, and sporting bodies such as the Rugby Football Union, the Lawn Tennis Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics Games.

BBC sports journalist Mark Chapman observed that “Sportsmen are used to getting stick from fans”, referring to the reluctance of fans to encourage openness about sexuality.

But Clarke Carlisle, chairman of the Players Football Association suggests that most fans would not have a problem with a player being gay as priorities centre around performance on the pitch.

However, with no openly gay players amongst the 5,000 members of the PFA, sporting authorities have struggled to counteract prevailing homophobic sentiment amongst a variety of sporting professionals and sponsors.

Tackling transgender issues is more difficult because of the strong suggestion of genetic advantage in male to female trans people.

3,000

The number of people who have so far signed the pledge

However Dr. Jean Wilson, editor of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine comments that “people are not equal in athletic prowess in regard to height, weight, coordination, or any other parameters”.

It does not follow that these athletes should be denied access to

sport on the basis of their genetic make-up.

The proliferation of the charter is a promising sign. Sports transcend race, culture and socio-economic categories, and athletes are signing up in their droves.

It marks a movement towards eradicating arcane attitudes to sexuality. The weight of change in attitudes has the power to push back transphobia and homophobia in wider society.

Butler College have adopted the charter because their teams live by these values and they support equality, and recognise that it is demoralising for athletes to be valued on the basis of their sexuality and not their sporting abilities.

The charter is an opportunity to be clear about the zero tolerance policy that modern athletes take to such attitudes.

This historic charter is a significant move in sports history and thanks to Durham’s newest college, the University is placed at the forefront of the sporting community’s campaign for equality.

Josephine Butler College fight discrimination with a new sports pledge Photograph: Durham University

Shorter lets more expensive and more limited Katie Pavid

The University has arrived at a compromise on the on-going, controversial issue of 38 week lets.

Over the last academic year Palatinate has reported on various protests, walkouts and debates which have reflected continued student anger over the University’s policy to introduce compulsory 38 week lets, in which students pay to remain in college over the Easter vacation.

However, for the time being a compromise has been reached whereby a choice remains in most colleges, as either 33 or 38 week lets are still available.

“Our students get a college experience at student accommodation pricing” Professor Graham Towl, Deputy Warden of Durham University

Trevalyan College will only offer 38 week lets from October Photograph: Durham University

For instance, in University College, the residence charge for 2012-2013 is £5,673 for the ‘standard week’ let (38 weeks, applicable to all rooms outside the Castle walls), and £5,476 for the term-time only let (applicable to rooms in the Castle).

The Hatfield College website states that charges for first years will be £5,082 for the shorter let (A & B stairs only) and £5,505 for the longer option. The St Mary’s College website states that charges are yet to be confirmed.

Trevelyan College states: “From October accommodation in college for all students will be on a 38 week let basis, charges to be confirmed in due course”.

This lack of continuity and of clear and useful communication from the University means that the issue over lets is still causing confusion within the student body.

Professor Graham Towl, Deputy Warden of Durham University, said: “Standard pricing lets are not compulsory at Durham University and the availability of both standard and short lets will differ by College”.

“The pricing of student accommodation in our Colleges was arrived at after consideration of a combination of our costs, competitor prices, rising utility costs and value for money. Our students get a college experience at student accommodation pricing.”

Although students still appear to have a choice over which let to sign, in the case of University College, the system means that returning students sign a Licence Agreement where they select which let to purchase before choosing the room they would like to occupy.

However, half of the rooms in college cost more money than others.

Consequently, anyone who signs the Licence Agreement for a specific let, and subsequently finds that their selection comes under a different let will automatically be transferred to the pricier let.

This means that for the first time in University College, price may now be a factor in room selection for students, as the more democratic system where every student pays the same, regardless of room, has been lost.

£5,673

The cost of a 38-week let in Castle in 2012-13

Where possible the University has introduced longer lets as standard, and have kept shorter lets in rooms which are totally unfeasible to have students occupy over the Easter vacation.

While this may look like ‘student choice’, a Bailey third-year has said: “I don’t see why compulsory longer lets are necessary in any college.

“Students have the option of staying over Easter if they want to, and the University’s continuing to force the issue has done nothing for their popularity or reputation amongst undergraduates”.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

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Changes to grant scheme Recipients of grants must live in for two years

Jess Denham

It may be one of the top universities in the country, but Durham University’s financial support team insist that “you do not have to be rich to come here”.

The Durham Grant Scheme offers financial support to full-time undergraduates from low income families in addition to government loans.

This money often contributes towards accommodation costs, allowing all students access to life in college, widely considered an integral part of the Durham experience.

International students, however, including those from the European Union, are not eligible for the grant.

There are no limits on the number of grants available, with all home students entitled to support regardless of degree course, provided that they reveal information regarding their household income upon application.

However, changes to the scheme for 2012 entrance mean that to qualify for the grant, those with a family income below £25,000 per annum must live in college for both their first year and their final year.

These students will receive £3,000

a year either as a cash bursary or as a discount from college expenses, while those with family incomes between £25,000 and £42,600 must live in only for their first year. The latter will receive £1,000 a year.

While an increase in financial support is obviously welcomed, students have contested the obligation to return to college accommodation for their final year.

“If I’d [known I’d be studying at] a boarding school I’d never have applied” One angry applicant on website The Student Room

Some colleges, like Hatfield for example, encourage students to return to living-in accommodation and see a vast majority of students choosing this option. At other colleges however, it is a less popular move.

Mature students face the difficulty of being unable to live with families if forced by the grant scheme to remain in college, yet it is likely that exceptions would be made in such cases.

Students have expressed concern

at the enforced living-in during final year, with one anonymous undergraduate on popular student website The Student Room, ranting “If I [had known I would be studying] at what is essentially a boarding school I’d never have bothered applying”.

In response, Professor Anthony Forster, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, released the following statement to Palatinate: “The University offers bursaries through a combination of the National Scholarships Programme and the Durham Grant Scheme.

“Government restrictions on the use of NSP funding mean we have to use it, and matched NSP funding provided by the University, for College accommodation subsidies”.

“We have recognised in our Access Agreement that this condition will need to be relaxed for some students, specifically those studying at Queen’s Campus, where College accommodation is more limited.

If a qualifying student is not in College accommodation, the financial support will be in the form of a bursary from the Durham Grant Scheme”.

The University will assess exceptional circumstances on a case-bycase basis.

News

University in breach of data protection laws Matt Lee

Durham University has breached data protection laws, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office, but has escaped serious punishment.

The ICO’s findings concern screenshots that were used to demonstrate the operation of certain university systems in an online training manual.

In these screenshots the personal details of 177 former students and staff were visible, as the data was mistakenly not made anonymous.

Moreover, the disclosure of the details, which included names, addresses and date of births, was not discovered until five months after the publication of the training manual on the University website.

The ICO also criticised the training structure designed by Durham University to ensure compliance with data protection laws.

In its data protection pledge the University promises to provide specialist training for a member of each department, as well as “general data protection awareness training” for other staff members.

However, the ICO investigation found that only 20% of staff had ac-

cessed the online training material.

Furthermore, the University expected the handful of trained staff to disseminate the relevant knowledge amongst colleagues but had no method to ensure this circulation.

Steve Eckersley, Head of Enforcement at the ICO, commented “all documents should be checked for personal information before being made available on a website.

This case also highlights the importance of organisations having comprehensive data protection training in place for all staff”.

The University has since promised to be more watchful and to implement a better training policy.

A Durham University spokesman claimed that “the University takes its responsibilities as a data controller very seriously”.

He also challenged the ICO’s statement, stating “the initial statement issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office contained some serious factual inaccuracies regarding our training provision which have now been corrected following representations by the University”.

Despite its recent willingness to issue fines against public bodies, there is no indication that Durham University will receive a financial penalty.

8

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Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

Charity hitch-hike goes formal transport used: they bribed someone for a bike and rode in a trolley.

The winners of Formally Lost were Hannah Blackburn and James Camden, team ‘Alone and Vulnerable’ who made it back at 11.10 before the coach even got back.

Other teams weren’t that far behind though with team ‘Catch Us if You Can’ exhibiting their hitchhiking skills gained during November Jailbreak arriving at 11.15.

£3000

Amount raised by the ‘Formally Lost’ event

Two of the participants in the challenge stranded in the middle of the countryside Photograph: Krystina Warrington Krystina Warrington

I

f anyone had been awake at 4.30am on the 29th February then you would have seen what looked like the aftermath of a very good ball.

However, the 55 students dressed up in black tie had only just woken up and could not wait to take part in the brand new DUCK event ‘Formally Lost’.

The participants were driven to an undisclosed location in the UK and dropped off in pairs along a

rural road, only to race back to the DUCK office as quickly as possible, whilst doing various challenges and picking up items along the way.

The first five teams back won seats at a St. Cuthbert’s Society Formal that night.

So at five o’clock in the morning, everyone was bundled into either the coach or minibus, blindfolded and driven away After around three hours of driving the teams of two were dropped off, still blindfolded, in the middle of nowhere.

To ensure that no one cheated and set off before time, a chalk cross

was drawn on the pavement and, once the coach was empty, Quin Murray (the tracker) sent a group text describing a position that one of each pair had to be in on the cross: the crab.

Hitching, as always, results in some interesting experiences. Team ‘Norfolk Mutants’, for example, managed to hitch in a lorry which was then pulled over on the hard shoulder to be inspected by the police.

An hour later the driver had been given a prohibition, but at least they were on the road again.

The Norfolk Mutants also won the prize for the most different forms of

“After around three hours of driving the teams were dropped off, blindfolded, in the middle of nowhere”

worldwide took part in the challenge and raised over £1 million for charity.

Participants included high profile celebrities, most famously the Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who said in a promotional video: “This is a simple way to get people’s attention and more importantly get them to sympathize with the situation of the world”.

The Durham campaign is a preview of the Global Poverty Project’s ‘Live Below the Line’ challenge which will run this year from the 7th to the 11th May in the UK, Australia and the USA. Involvement in the Durham campaign is not limited to Durham ActionAid members, and fourteen participants signed up to the Durham team, including DSU Education and Welfare Officer Scott Parker.

Funds raised will go to their cho-

sen charity Malaria No More UK, which is working to eradicate malaria in Africa. Malaria claims the life of a child every minute, and it is a disease which it is claimed can cost a family up to 25% of their annual income.

so much to be the quantity of food consumed, but rather undergoing the challenge in the context of Durham student life. Hatfielder Lucy Bune said: “Lots of people are going out each night, and I want to join, but neither sober Klute nor sober Loveshack are appealing thoughts. For me, I wouldn’t say it’s the lack of food that’s the problem. It’s the temptations”.

The Durham campaign comes in the midst of recent debate amongst the Durham student population on the efficacy of ‘trying to do charity’ (sparked off by James Murray and Catherine Glew’s respective ‘Dear Durham’ articles for Palatinate Comment), with the main issue being whether student charity initiatives raise awareness or serve to undermine important issues through trivialisation.

All participants had to be in black tie due to the prize of the formal that night: this worked in their favour as at least one couple got picked up by a young man who thought he was helping a couple of elopers on their way to Gretna Green.

Team ‘Drag me Back’ took it to the extreme, dressing in drag.

The challenges set along the hitch involved climbing a tree, balancing the ‘full’ bottle of wine somewhere amusing, as well as bringing back something yellow and something weighing over ten pounds.

One team brought back a tenpound bag of decomposing food into the DSU. Also, as DUCK Officer Archie Dallas commented, no matter how professional and upstanding you try and make an event, someone will always walk into the DUCK office wearing a yellow traffic cone.

All in all, Formally Lost was a very successful event, raising over £3000 for charity.

How low can you go? Students live on £1 a day for charity Nicole Chang Students from Durham University’s ActionAid society attempted to live on £1 a day as part of a campaign to raise awareness for people who are currently living in extreme poverty around the world.

For five days from the 5th to the 7th March, students limited their spending on food and drink to just £1, the spending value equivalent in GBP of the extreme poverty line, below which roughly 1.4 billion people around the world are living.

The ‘Live Below the Line’ challenge is the brainchild of Rich Fleming from the Global Poverty Project and Nick Allardice from the Oaktree Foundation, and originated in 2009.

In 2011, over 10,000 people

1.4 billion Number of people in the world living on less than £1 per day

Physics student Victoria Grigson, who is taking the challenge a step further by extending it over the 40 days of Lent, said: “I am lucky in that I don’t have to choose between food and medical care”.

Common trials faced seemed not

Durham ActionAid President Tom Stevenette acknowledged the issue, and conceded: “The idea isn’t to replicate the conditions of extreme poverty – it would be absolutely farcical to do so.

“Some of us might have lived amongst people in extreme poverty but we can never know that sense of insecurity and anxiety which comes with actually living in extreme poverty”.

However, the 20 year old Castleman remains confident that the ‘Live Below the Line’ challenge is an effective way of raising both awareness as well as monetary donations.

So far, the Durham team have collectively raised over £1000 in sponsorship money for Malaria No More UK, putting them nationally at the top of the official ‘Live Below the Line’ UK fundraising leaderboard.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

Third best?

Not for postgraduates Christopher Murphy investigates how the postgraduate experience at Durham compares to the undergraduate majority

A

re you having a good time at Durham University? If you are an undergraduate student, it seems you will be far more likely that you will say yes than if you are a postgraduate student.

Your accommodation might be as far as two miles from town, or twoand-a-half from your lectures at the science site. You might be thrown into a flat with little or no connection to the college community to which you are supposed to belong.

You might find yourself totally isolated from the way that an education at Durham University is supposed to be.

Postgraduate students make up 20% of the overall number of students at Durham, and yet they do not have a full time sabbatical officer to support them in the DSU. Greg Carter, the President of University College MCR says that he sees the DSU as: “a disparate body, with no real connection to the postgraduate community”.

He continued to say that: “The running of the DSU is too informal; we find ourselves needing to lend a casual ‘jab in the ribs’ far too often.

“The University has the right tools but needs to use them in a much more efficient way”.

Recent voting figures have shown that not all undergraduate students vote in University elections, but numbers among postgraduate students are even lower.

The fact that there is no sabbatical DSU officer to vote for means that many postgraduate students see no reason to engage themselves in the discussion.

Furthermore, there is no permanent representative for international students or postgraduate students at Queen’s Campus.

In the postgraduate student survey last year, only one postgraduate student at Trevelyan College even

bothered to fill it out.

Certain colleges have vibrant postgraduate communities. However, others tend not to support their incoming postgraduate students as much as they should, or at least as much as they support undergraduates.

An anonymous Cuth’s postgraduate student commented: “We really were left to fend for ourselves. We didn’t have any special events put on for us, and felt very disconnected from the university as a whole”.

20%

Of Durham students are postgraduates

And whilst students who have already completed an undergraduate course at Durham will at least know the ins and outs of being a Durham student, the same cannot be said of international students spending only a year in Durham.

James Radke, an international Masters student from the United States, and postgraduate representative to the DSU for University College said that the whole set-up for postgraduate students at Durham was poor, and not as good as those in America.

James’s accommodation is at Brackenbury, a building to which Durham University signed a 30-year lease to in 2005. However, it can take him around 40 minutes to reach the library, whilst for Ustinov students staying there it can take an hour to reach their college.

“I knew where Brackenbury was,” James told Palatinate. “But when I got there there were plenty of international students who did not realise quite how far out of town they

9

News Features

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Brackenbury accommodation, located far from the city centre and library Photo: Durham University

were going to be located.

“The bandwidth of the Internet is so bad up there that Skype doesn’t work properly. This is particularly bad for international students who want to Skype home.

“These students are not going to recommend Durham to their friends back home, meaning that the University alienates potential high achievers because of an issue that can easily be solved”, James continued.

The porters are a fifteen minute drive away, whilst the accommodation costs students over £100 a week, self-catered.

Of course, the vast majority of postgraduate students take courses lasting only a year. Therefore, much more needs to be done to improve their situation quickly, argues Greg Carter. But what is it that needs to be changed?

“With regards to Brackenbury, the University should just reduce the price, give more information and sell it for what it is. This would avoid the issue of international students feeling they have been mis-sold their accommodation, and instead people who want to be there would be happy with it”, Carter offered.

The fact that the Durham accommodation market is so different to any other city in the world is also a problem for postgraduate students.

The whole house-hunting season is tailored around the undergraduate calendar, and whilst it is claimed that there is a surplus of student housing this does not apply to postgraduate students.

Ian Williamson, a postgraduate student who is now in his eighth year at Durham, said: “In any other city in the world you could rock up for a couple of days and find yourself

a place to live. “Not in Durham. You have to find somewhere well in advance”.

Furthermore, the surrounding areas of Durham are potentially not suitable for postgraduate students.

One anonymous postgraduate said of a property in Bowburn, that the estate agent said: “You’ll be fine here, as long as you keep the curtains closed”.

The main issue seems to be the lack of a forum through which postgraduate students can express their concerns.

“The bandwitdth at Brackenbury is so bad that international students can’t Skype home” James Radke, Castle postgraduate rep for the DSU

No sabbatical DSU postgraduate officer means that students are often left complaining to other students, rather than someone who can dedicate the required time and effort to resolving their problems.

The Education and Welfare Officer, Scott Parker, has postgraduate students under his remit but also has every other student at the University to care for as well. Commendably, he did stay in Durham for the international students’ Christmas dinner on

Christmas Day. Greg Carter suggested that not much effort was needed in order to change things for postgraduates for the better. More events out of term time, a better connection with international students and a streamlining of DSU policy were some of the suggestions.

In terms of relations with college JCRs, it appears that there has been nothing but unwavering support for the postgraduate community. And they also see it returned.

“We support the JCRs against 38week lets because it is an issue that interests us, even though it clearly doesn’t affect us as postgraduate students in Durham for 52 weeks of the year”, added James Radke.

The provisions in terms of academic study for postgraduate students in Durham is not in question.

The problem lies in making the whole university experience better tailored to the needs of a postgraduate.

Nicholas Hoggard, a resident law tutor at Hild Bede College who is also still a postgraduate student, is unimpressed with the way that the University groups undergraduate and postgraduate students together.

He said: “For the most part the University and colleges alike are content to view postgraduates and undergraduates as one indivisible body of students.

“One must condsider that many postgraduates are involved in teaching and assessment of undergraduates, or mentoring of undergraduates, and that the postgraduate body is, on the whole, considerably older and their social and welfare needs cannot be met by the simple JCR model”.

10

Business

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Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

How fair exactly is ‘Workfare’?

The return of slave labour, or valuable work experience?

business@palatinate.org.uk

@PalatinateUK Palatinate Ministers claim 34,000 people have found jobs through this scheme Photo: Trucknroll Justin Cash Comment

D P

Tom McNally

Durham Business School (DBS) has often been compared in mystery and secrecy to a covert mountainbased nuclear-enrichment facility.

While it may well share the architectural aesthetic and remote location, DBS is producing warheads of a more academic variety. The MBA, or ‘Master of Business Administration’, is something we’ve all heard our cousin is doing but what exactly is it?

The 12-month masters course is seen as a very scientific approach to management, aimed at those with at least three years of managerial work experience. It can be studied as a full time, part-time or virtual course with fees around £20K depending on where you’re from (and how good you really are). Generally 75 students are admitted each year with an average age of 31 and 10 years of work experience.

“The Business Week survey found that the majority of CEOs under 50 held MBAs”

Business Editor: Jon Zhu

For more, visit palatinate.org. uk

The MBA Magic

ebates concerning the welfare system seem couched in hyperbole. Introduced in January 2011, the coalition’s welfare-to-work program (‘workfare’) is a voluntary employment scheme for young people who have been unemployed for over three months.

Participants are offered placements with sizeable firms, but are not paid an actual wage. Instead, they simply receive job seekers’ allowance whilst gaining potentially valuable work experience.

Hardly sounds like the work of the devil. In principle, there is nothing wrong with encouraging those on benefits to work for the monies society gives them.

Workfare is hardly ‘slave labour’ either, but this has become the historical inaccuracy of choice for radical left wing critics of the scheme.

For a start, it is unlikely that the program would be oversubscribed if this were so. The scheme is not enforced upon the unemployed, and applicants do have the option to quit

in their first week.

Regrettably, the use of language like ‘slave labour’ only obfuscates the situation. This is why commentators have failed to pick up on the major economic faults of workfare.

Why on earth would Tesco, Burger King, Argos, Superdrug, or any other company that has been involved in the scheme pay for people to do the jobs that welfare claimants are now doing for free? Workfare removes much of the incentive to take on new staff.

22

The number of applicants per job in parts of the UK The government, and therefore the taxpayer, is subsidizing a proportion of the workforce for these corporate giants. Given that companies like Tesco are making millions of pounds in profit each day, even during a recession, this seems unfair.

Why should other smaller companies not be able to benefit from this free labour as well? The skills our

unemployed youth would gain are surely of equal if not greater value in, say, the manufacturing as opposed to the retail sector.

While there are twenty-two people currently chasing every job advertised in parts of the UK, the obvious solution is not to flood the market for unskilled labour, but to create some more vacancies.

The government should be investing more time into setting up social projects or funding apprenticeships which do not interfere with the operation of the full time workforce and teach more useful skills than can be learned through routine shop work.

But this is not the reason most people seem to find workfare objectionable. Poundland is amongst a group of companies that has already withdrawn its involvement for fear its reputation might be tarnished by employing youth at zero cost.

But what’s far more important are the economic consequences and fairness of the workfare agenda, and not simply that the government is letting people work without a wage.

In this regard, the coalitions’ welfare reforms are sadly lacking.

There is also a high degree of networking, bringing together students internationally and it is common for business ventures to emerge post graduation.Students also have the opportunity to network with senior business people at high profile events and meet guest speakers that have in the past ranged from explorers such as Monty Halls to commentators such as Martin Wolf CBE of the Financial Times. There are also boardroom simulations and international business projects, while simultaneously learning a new language is mandatory.

In 2010, Business Week undertook a survey of 1100 CEOs. One third of which had MBAs. On average, CEOs without MBAs had shareholder return on their tenure of 83% whilst CEOs with MBAs had returns of 93%. The majority of CEOs under the age of 50 were also found to hold, you guessed it, MBAs. The survey also reported typically three years after graduation, MBAs’ salaries increased by 100% - not a bad investment.

The truth is that MBA is a corporate differentiator. Not only do graduates leave with better skills and a better CV, they depart with a contacts list as colourful and varied as DBS’ carpets. Whatever the MBA magic is, it’s a powerful tool to have in your arsenal, and it could be worth returning to college for. Even now at college dining, you might be sat next to the next Jeff Skilling.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

11

Business

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More than 100 tents were taken down at St Paul’s after Occupy London protestors lost their legal battle Photo: DG Jones

Can we fix it?

Yes we can!

Sahib Maker DU Economics Journal

Making sense of common sense Why bank bashing ought to be taken more seriously: there’s a point to be made

William Webb Nicholas Goedeking

B

ank bashing, the practice of blaming investment banks for society’s woes, has been increasingly scrutinized in recent months, with more moderate voices taking over the now less emotional debate about the power financial institutions yield in the economy. In Durham, however, ‘bank bashing’ appears to have never really been an issue at all.

When confronted, students often either adopt a very balanced view saying things like “you cannot really say that the crisis was solely the banks’ fault,” or they start a neoclassical rant about how the Walrusian equilibrium will always prevails.

Ideological debates aside, we believe there are four points to be made, and all students, especially those aspiring to work in the financial industry, should be made aware of them.

First, banks are not the most important aspect of an economy. It is shocking how reluctantly this point is often accepted (if at all). Many don’t even seem to be conscientious of it, which probably has to do with the role financial institutions play in the UK’s economy.

But anyone who ever took a basic undergraduate economics course should know this. Banks do not gen-

erate any wealth per se. In a crude sense, all they are providing is a service within the monetary cycle to convert savings into investments.

It is this investment into labour, capital, R&D, infrastructure, technology, etc. which then generates growth (different models will emphasize different factors). Banks aren’t unimportant, but they are by no means the economy’s vanguard.

Second, realizing that financial institutions only play one part within the economy, it may strike some as odd how much influence these institutions and particularly financial markets yield within the real economy.

Creating public ownership in form of stocks was undoubtedly an ingenious invention, linking financial with real markets.

But this does not justify why, speaking in a broader economic context, maximising share-holder value held against quarterly benchmarks has come to dominate corporate objectives instead of sustainable long term growth.

That many large US corporations are reporting record breaking profit margins despite the US economy’s turmoil is indicative of this, as is, on a larger scale, our severe continuing reliance on ecological exploitation.

Third, on a more theoretical level, one does not have to be an expert on an issue to legitimately criticize that issue.

We may be generalizing here, but economics students, when confronted with a debate about the financial crisis, tend to say things like “It’s more complicated than that. You wouldn’t understand”. But this line of argument is flawed: I am perfectly entitled to criticize ends, even if I do not understand the means.

“Banks aren’t unimportant, but they are by no means the economy’s vanguard”

When Goldman Sachs sets aside $15.38 billion in 2010 and $12.22 billion in 2011 to pay compensation and benefits to its employees, while the US unemployment rate is somewhere around 9-10% for that same period (up from around 3-4% before the crisis), I do not have to understand why these bankers get so much money in order to criticize that decision.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the procedure (which is often a slippery-slope argument of the “It’s complicated” kind), if the results are unfair, they are unfair.

Put in a slightly more drastic and polemic way: I don’t need a Ph.D. in nuclear physics to be legitimized to condone the downsides of a nuclear holocaust.

Fourth, assuming (a) something is going wrong in the financial sector and (b) that I have a legitimate criticism of what I believe is fundamentally going wrong in the financial sector, the question becomes, how should I express my criticism?

The adequate ‘tone of voice’ will depend on what is at stake and how much attention I get.

If, for sake of argument, the world economy is at stake and nobody is really paying any attention to a fundamental problem – that private vices may not yield public benefits after all, for example – the logical consequence is to be loud; in fact, very loud.

The following analogy may help.

Imagine a group of unsupervised children playing with fire in a back yard. Imagine furthermore that you are justified to believe the situation could get out of control.

Do you go up to the group of children and say “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice you are possibly allowing something bad to happen.

Could you please do me a favour and stop playing with the fire? Please.” or will you say in plain English “Stop playing with the fire!”? We believe the latter is simply commonsensical.

Society needs to stop pointing fingers and ‘bashing’ financial services for the state of the economy. We need to be debating how the financial services sector can be reformed so that we can prevent another crisis occurring.

Crises in the financial services sector are inevitable, but we need to make sure that they don’t become calamities and spill over into the wider economy. In order to do this, we need to ensure that banks hold more cash as a safety buffer so that if some of their investments go wrong, they don’t go bankrupt and need bailing out. As to exactly what proportion of their total capital they should save as a cash buffer is a question requiring much more research and experimentation over the next few years by both European and American regulators.

Furthermore, we need to ensure that investment bankers are not being ‘rewarded for failure’. When investment banks start paying out six or seven figure bonuses to their employees in a year when their company is making a loss overall, alarm bells should be ringing. For example, RBS paid out over £500 million to its investment bankers last year despite revealing £2 billion loss. If investment bankers continue to get rewarded for poor performance, they will continue to take on unnecessary risks which will in turn lead to financial crises.

In addition, the financial services sector needs to be regulated more effectively. Investment banks have a tendency to create new financial products that they sell to investors, advertising the extraordinary returns. However, more often than not, the risk associated with these products is misunderstood, even by the people who created them.

£500mil RBS investors’ salary

The problem arises when these products become systemic and everyone has a stake in how well they are managed. Therefore, investment bankers need to have a greater understanding of these products that they are creating and selling on, and regulators need to be more vigilant and raise the red flag before these products become widely-spread.

The financial service sector is vital to every economy and it is an area which Great Britain has a comparative advantage in. It is Britain’s biggest export, tax-payer and provider of well-paid jobs. Thus we need to start talking about how we can reform this sector to make it better, rather than trying to get rid of it.

Politics

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PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

The Chancellor is facing pressure to drop the tax in the budget Photograph: HM Treasury

Sarah Holmes

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Deputy Politics Editor: Francis Still

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@PalatinateUK Palatinate

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2012 - A Reality Check

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DUS ‘Question Time’ evaluated

50p tax under attack Jamie Sherman

T

he 50p tax rate introduced by Gordon Brown has been subjected to fresh scrutiny as 500 business leaders urge the Chancellor scrap it on release of next month’s budget.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the entrepreneurs explain the damaging effects of the top tax rate, claiming it stunts wealth creation and incentivises tax avoidance.

It is imposed on the 350,000 people earning over £150,000 a year, raising around £2bn extra revenue in the last financial year.

Despite this, since the rate was increased in 2009, independent economists have predicted that the negative effects will be significant and long-lasting.

2009

The year the 50p tax rate was introduced by Gordon Brown Tax avoidance is likely to increase significantly, in addition to the damaging effect on Cameron’s hopes for the image of Britain as ‘Open for Business’.

The influence of tax avoidance is huge and the rate of tax levied on

income in the UK is far from the actual percentage of taxation paid by wealthy entrepreneurs.

The Treasury warn that the increase to 50% may lead to tax avoidance as people contribute more to a pension, convert income into capital gains or set themselves up as a company.

According to a survey of effective tax rates in 93 countries published by KPMG, a person earning $100,000 in the UK pays 23% income tax which, while far higher than in Hong Kong or UAE, does not reflect well the rates set out by government.

Although tax avoidance, unlike tax evasion is legal, the coalition claims it stands firmly against it, in a populist move against figures such as Phillip Green who was last year publicly protested against in to his use of multiple tax avoidance schemes.

In January, the Prime Minister pledged a “tougher approach” towards large companies employing “fancy corporate lawyers” to keep down their tax bills. Nick Clegg has stood long opposed to this issue The Chancellor is expected to introduce Britain’s first “general anti-avoidance rule” in this month’s budget.

The fear amongst many is that increasing taxation for high earners damages Britain’s business image.

High earners and banks are increasingly considering where to be

based in accordance with consequent tax liability; HSBC carries out a review of its domicile every three years.

£2 billion

The amount raised through the top rate of tax Fiona Sheffield of Ernst & Young said that most of the 250 hedge fund managers they provide services for are talking about the pros and cons of leaving the UK for Switzerland.

The reason why politicians feel reticent to hold a strict stance on banks is the fear that they will leave.

This is a serious consideration given that 10% of the UK economy is in finance and insurance, which support the finance-dependent industry consisting of law firms, accountancy companies and other high-income businesses.

The removal of the 50p tax rate, it is argued, would improve Britain’s business-friendly image. Independent economists have in recent years shown their support for this notion, and George Osborne has agreed that it is counter-productive, but he doesn’t feel he can remove it just yet.

Any move to reduce the taxation of the rich remains politically unpopular.

It was standing room only in 24s on 28th February when four of the biggest names in Durham politics came together for a ‘question time’ debate.

The first of its kind at the university.

Andrew Lloyd of the Conservative Society distinguished himself as the one-to-beat: confident, assured and meticulously well-researched.

His casual, slightly smug style proved popular with the audience hardly surprising as they were largely on his side to begin with.

The snickering support of Mr. Lloyd soon gave way to laddish bullying and chants of “commie” at other panellists in a caricature of “typical nasty Tories”.

The Green President Eric Bateson was quietly impressive, unassuming and understated, whereas Liberal Democrat Joe Donnelly’s air of having come out for “a few pints with the lads” underplayed a systematic and thorough mind. Mr Bateson’s details and arguments demonstrated a scrupulous knowledge of UK-EU politics and he displayed a broad approach to the questions.

“The Green President was quietly impressive, unassuming and understated” If common opinion is that the Labour party are incoherent, badly organised and overwhelmed, not much comfort could be gained from Labour exec Dale Bihari. His overblown rhetoric on rising British starvation and comparing Greece to Syria was at best absurd; at worst, ignorant.

One might forgive Bihari if he gave a clear position on a contemporary issue. However, admitting Labour are unsure what they would do if in power made it difficult to see how anyone could chant “commie” so vehemently at the Labour representative. This left arguably very little for Labour to stand up to the Conservative representative, Mr Lloyd.

I only wish Lloyd has more dignity in his future glories, and less “supporters”.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

Fierce opposition to NHS reforms Charlotte Hook

T

he controversial NHS reforms in the Health and Social Care Bill would be the biggest shake up of the institution since its foundation in 1946.

No longer will the NHS have a management structure; instead, GPs will be put in charge of most of the NHS budget and will be able to purchase patient care themselves from a range of public and- crucially- private owned providers.

The existing 151 Primary Care Trusts in England will be abolished and an NHS Commissioning Board set up which will dispense the budget to GPs and hold them to account.

As the largest employer in the country and, facing ever increasing demands, it is clear that some kind of reform is needed to secure its future.

However, there has been much

opposition to the reforms in the Bill, which the British Medical Association describes as “complex, incoherent and not fit for purpose”.

It has been suggested that NHS reform could become Cameron’s “poll tax”.

The main fear is that the reforms will open the backdoor for the privatisation of the NHS, through GPs preferring to pay private companies for health services.

However, the government has been keen to stress that the reforms are only an expansion of competition and are not the ‘marketisation’ of the NHS as Lib Dem opponents have suggested.

Limited competition in the NHS is already in place, having been introduced in 2006 by the Labour government.

Unsurprisingly, Nick Clegg has joined in with the criticism of certain proposals, suggesting they pave the way for ‘American-style’ privatisa-

13

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Labour have said NHS reforms could be this government’s ‘Poll Tax’ Photograph: NHSE tion of the NHS and has demanded that the government limits the role of the private firms.

However, the Health Minister, Simon Burns, has given assurance that the NHS will always be free at the point of need.

This issue is proving to be a mat-

ter of high contention in the Coalition, with Clegg encouraging Lib Dem peers to join forces with Labour and force through amendments to the Bill in the Lords.

Clegg’s actions are seen by some to be a face-saving exercise after initially refusing to heed advice to drop

the Bill, contrasting with David Cameron’s declaration that he “doesn’t care” if the Bill is unpopular.

Despite the opposition to the reforms by the Coalition government, the Bill sadly seems likely to go through, albeit with some amendments.

erally consider the City too crucial to the UK economy to oppose it and its interests.

Little so far has been done to make bonuses more closely related to longterm performance. David Cameron’s recent opposition to the Tobin Tax, proposed by the EU, was clearly in the interests of the City, but not necessarily of the UK.

being a positive feature, creates several problems.

By being so reliant on the financial sector for the success of the economy, the UK places itself to some extent at the mercy of unpredictable financial markets. Consequently, the UK has found itself unable to generate growth whilst the global financial markets remain uncertain.

Given all of this it may be time for us to start thinking about reducing the size of the financial sector in the UK. It leaves us with an unbalanced economy, and has greatly contributed to widening inequality in the UK in the past 20 years; it gives a small sector of society undue influence at the expense of others.

The UK is currently too dependent on the financial services sector, and its sudden loss would of course negatively affect the UK, particularly in the short-term. However, whilst the financial sector will continue to have a role to play in the UK economy it is time that the government looked at diversifying the economy by taxing the financial sector more heavily and reinvesting this in other emerging industries.

Such a policy could give the UK a more stable economic outlook in the future and a more inclusive society.

Is the UK over-reliant on the financial sector?

Ben Robinson Durham University Economic Journal

Should we rely on the city as much as we do? Photograph: Sean

MacEntee NHSE

The City of London represents the world’s biggest foreign exchange market, accounting for 36.7% of global forex trade turnover and the financial services industry as a whole accounts for 9.5% of UK GDP. Whilst this sector undoubtedly contributes significantly to creating jobs, wealth, and taxes in the UK, it has been accused of utilizing its size to influence politicians, and exploit the labour force and the nation as a whole.

Despite representing 9.5% of GDP the sector only employs just over 1 million people, which constitutes just 3.7% of the Labour Force.

This has contributed to greater inequality in the UK as the financial sector has been accused of only benefitting the few rather than the many.

Those involved have earned salaries and bonuses significantly more than in other sectors. This is leading to the formation of an elite class, who are beginning to dictate the nature of British society.

In representing such a high proportion of GDP, political parties gen-

9.5%

The percentage of GDP the City of London makes up The British attitude towards banking is perhaps typified by graduates entering the job market.

Careers fairs at universities around the country are dominated by financial services firms, often making it seem like the only credible career option. The industry certainly seems to come with a certain degree of prestige and respectability, which seems astonishing given the profession has recently been largely associated with irresponsibility and excess in recent times.

Even setting aside the equity arguments we can still argue that the size of the financial sector, rather than a

14

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Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

The Debate Should all interns be paid?

Are unpaid interns lucky trainees with a shot at their perfect career or middle-class slave labour?

YES: Sally Wardle

T

he dreaded internship seems to dominate student life. Internships have become the norm, with many students applying for such schemes. As the workplace becomes an approaching reality, it is not hard to understand why. When applying for a job, you are unlikely to stand out above the average 2:1 student without some form of work experience.

Internships are imperative to success in the recruitment process, demonstrating a commitment to, and knowledge of, that chosen career path. The benefits of internships are undeniable, yet it is worrying to note that the majority of such schemes remain unpaid, a fact which has significant repercussions.

Lack of financial support limits access to such internships. The most notable companies operate their placements in cities, putting interns at the heart of the action, but causing a dent in their bank balance.

Evidently, candidates from some social backgrounds may be unable to support themselves whilst completing a placement, preventing them from even applying for such schemes. It seems unjust that such valuable experience should be reserved for those who are more financially secure: without financial renumeration, the internship programme is in danger of becoming elitist.

It is actually to the benefit of the employer to offer interns some form of pay. A business can also gain from such programmes, recruiting talented interns for later work. Provision of the minimum wage would improve access to internships, and as a consequence, widen the pool of

prospective candidates. Improving access to internships with financial support ensures the most gifted graduates can benefit from this experience.

For the graduate, internships are not just something to whack on a job application, but an important insight into their future career. The success of a placement rests upon structure, and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the intern gains the most they possibly can from their experience.

Paying interns would be an investment in their future, and would proved greater incentive for a wellorganised programme – no more photocopying or making cups of tea, but real responsibility in a designated role.

Lack of pay can even be frustrating in otherwise successful schemes.

For those entrusted with an important role during an internship, it can seem unfair that the business is profiting from their labour. Whilst a graduate can barely afford to live during a placement, a business (often of a huge net worth) is benefiting from a source of free labour.

It is undoubtedly important to the value of internships that graduates are given responsibility but it seems reasonable that businesses offer some sort of pay, particularly to reward significant contributions.

For many businesses offering placements, paying interns would not even make a dent in their profit.

There are some who argue that by enforcing payment of interns, businesses would have no choice but to limit the scale of their internship programmes and the number of placements available.

If this was the case, it would increase the percentage of unsuccessful candidates, but at the same time, it would transform internships from the norm to a truly exceptional piece of experience. I consider it more important to have high quality internships which are accessible to a

Many internships are located the City of London, but does the diverse body of graduates, than continue to attract the same old middleclass graduates to these schemes.

Internships should not be considered as an endeavour of the wealthy. Offering pay to interns, even at minimum wage, would open up the experience to a diverse range of graduates. By undertaking a work experience placement, a candidate from a deprived background has greater access to well-paid employment, which they would otherwise not have had.

“

The internship programme is in danger of becoming elitist

”

It may seem hyperbolic, but I truly believe it is small steps like this which aid social mobility within our society. By making internships paid, employers are re-emphasising the importance of skill and talent over financial security.

NO: Alex Mason

W

hen considering the ethics of unpaid internships, it is important to recognise the complex landscape of the types of placements and their purpose - be it to train new workers, give a taste of a possible career, gain experience and credibility in a CV, or build a network of contacts.

Only kidding, interns deserve nothing. Not only do I think they should never get paid, I’m willing to claim paying them will directly contribute to the fall of capitalist society and the rise of the communist industrial complex.

The argument in favour of pay presupposes what interns do has monetary value, and dues are somehow owned.

This shows complete ignorance of the fact that interns, on the whole, suck. They screw up, they have no idea what they’re doing, and it usually takes full time care from another employee just to make sure they don’t blow anything up. Yes, even office interns are combustion hazards.

But more than that, they’re burdens.

I know what you’re thinking (mostly because you’re a straw man I just invented). You’re thinking “Wait! I have some friends who were

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Comment

Dear Durham...

Harriet Endersby bemoans the steepness of Durham’s many inclines

Dear Durham,

expense exclude graduates from less privileged backgrounds? Photo: Olivia Rudgard interns and were incredibly competent and contributed greatly to their workplaces and and...”. You’re missing the point. Interns should necessarily be burdensome. If they’re not then their ruinous selfishness deserves scorn.

What is an internship? My incredibly biased and carefully selected dictionary definition defines it as: “any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession”. The goal isn’t to add benefit; it’s purely about providing experience.

The logic is that businesses have no onus to hire inexperienced workers (except adult modelling agencies), so to get hired you need experience. Only you can’t get that experience without being hired: a classic catch-22.

However, economically we need people to work - everyone has to start somewhere, and as the experienced retire they need to be replaced. It’s in a business’s best interest to ensure experienced workers are available, so a compromise is formed.

Businesses take on and train and offer experience and guidance to workers they’d ordinarily overlook.

In exchange they get to safeguard their own future and enjoy the value-added labour provided by those workers.

If you demand they be paid, then it just becomes a job. You’re then suggesting a business should for no good reason give their precious jobs

to the worst possible candidates.

How could you think that? HOW. Sort yourself out.

Internships are being represented as a slavery based foot-in-the-door scheme, where people unable to find a job take on one and get worked to the bone in return for some vague promise of an actual full-time paying place at the end of it all. That’s pretty despicable, but it’s really our own fault.

“

Businesses exist primarily to make money

”

Businesses exist primarily to make money and if you’re willing to help fuel the carnivorous corporate regime with your able body on the mere hope of a career, then they’d be fools not to welcome you with open fangs.

This reverse Faustian bargain was never the intention; you expect

businesses to do what’s in their best interest, but workers complicity in trying to selfishly score a job makes them just as bad.

I can see it in your eyes, invented straw man, you’re mumbling something about it being impossible to get a job and internships being a last resort blah blah. You’re intolerable. If there are no jobs, then internships don’t factor into it. They’re not there to help with t = =hat, and we shouldn’t expect businesses to chip in and pay as some sort of sellotape solution to an ailing job market.

If what you want is a job, and you have the necessary skill and experience, then you should be able to get one. If you can’t, due to there not being any, that’s understandable; internships are not, nor should they be, a solution. If you can’t, and there are jobs, then evidently you’re the problem. The solution might be more experience, in which case why exactly should you be paid to make up your own deficiency?

Did we all have a sudden moment of clarity and realise socialism is the way forward? If there’s no good reason to pay interns, why should we?

Do it on a grand scale and they’ll be handing out hammers and sickles to all new interns before you can say ‘slippery slope’.

P

Don’t get me wrong, I love you.

I indisputably love you. I love your cobbled streets. Your kooky little alleyways fill me with an inexpressible joy. Your abundance of coffee shops leaves me weak at the knees. (I also have so much respect for you now I have found Greggs.) But WHY, dear darling city, do you insist on having so many hills?

As a Hild-Beder I have a tip-top time walking to daily lectures at Elvet Riverside. Excluding the mildly steep bump in the pedestrian bridge, I encounter no form of sweat-inducing incline. One can waltz up and down the tow-path with an entire library of delicious English literature and not feel nauseous with over-exercise. It’s flat. It’s leisurely. And on a sunny day, it’s just a little piece of heaven. As you tread further into the city however, things become worryingly mountainous.

I have a certain amount of respect for tourists visiting Durham.

They wander off the train in anticipation of an easy amble down cobblestoned, historical paths, instead finding themselves at the foot of a heinous hillock in order to even take a peek at the botanical gardens.

Similarly, the walk up to the cathedral from any direction in most cases requires on an inhaler, or preferably a Segway. Even Greggs seems to be perched on a medium-sized summit, so that you really have to work for that coveted jumbo sausage roll.

And the hills prove treacherous in every season. In winter, in order to survive you must be equipped with spiked boots and a pick-axe to avoid accidently tobogganing down Cardiac Hill. On the rarer warm days, your

toes get squished to the ends of your sweaty sandals as you attempt to casually shimmy down to Flat White (and this can sometimes result in the unfortunate strangulation of a toe, if you are wearing flip-flops.)

However, I would like to argue that it is in fact autumn’s stodgy leaves which can be the hills’ most hazardous climate of all.

The combination of the inevitable Northerly autumnal drizzle and the seemingly innocent leafy residue, fashions a surface so terrifyingly slippery that the whole of Durham turns into a giant game of human Jenga… but no-one wins.

Many readers will perhaps be rolling their eyes to the heavens in response to my ‘mountain-misery’, but then again, this is Durham - the typical reader will most likely play Lacrosse for England and cycle 18 miles before I’ve had my mid-morning brew.

Spare a thought for the average, unkempt, Dr Marten-wearing English student who reached their physical peak of fitness in Year Six. These hills can be an arduous task, particularly whilst wearing chunky footwear.

With all of this in mind, I would just like to take the opportunity to applaud Durham’s dedicated cyclists.

You guys blow my mind. Generally, as I see you faithfully commit to the slow upward grind to the Science site, I take a while to reflect and admire. You people have the most defined calf-muscles I have ever seen.

Truly, well done.

Yours sincerely,

Harriet Endersby

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Be careful on those hazardous hills Photo: Durham University

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Journalism remains a noble profession

Reporting from dangerous foreign countries requires journalists to show no fear Florence Snead

E

veryone’s been there. You’re making small talk with someone, it’s all going fine until somehow the conversation topic inevitably ends up on ‘The Future’.

No doubt your companion will have a carefully constructed ten year plan already formulated. You on the other hand find yourself trying to come up with something a bit more interesting than “Erm, I’m not quite sure yet”.

Having previously been in this situation more times than I care to admit, my decision to pursue journalism is now somewhat reassuring.

However, recently my chosen direction has been met with a degree of scepticism, sometimes accompanied by jokes such as “Better get your degree in phone-hacking then, eh?!”

It seems unavoidable that journalists are viewed as more untrustworthy than other professional groups: its investigative nature makes this inevitable.

Nonetheless it saddens me to think that the ramifications of the recent phone-hacking scandal may lead increasing numbers of people to believe that there is little remaining

integrity in journalism.

On the contrary, the recent tragic deaths of French photographer Remi Ochlik and the Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin in Syria act as a poignant reminder of journalistic bravery and a dedication to exposing the truth.

“

Colvin’s life is a testament to journalistic integrity

”

No doubt the question most frequently put towards these journalists is why they willingly position themselves in such hazardous circumstances. Is a desire to inform us of conflict really worth the potential risk of death?

For Colvin, the value of such information outweighed the importance of her own safety. She asserted that as a journalist she felt a “moral re-

sponsibility” to those people who have “no voice” in war-torn areas.

Key to her approach was her wish to highlight the effect of war on innocent civilians and she argued “If journalists have a chance to save their lives, they should”.

In light of these dangers, the Committee to Protect Journalists offers up some grim statistics. In 2011 alone, seven journalists worldwide were killed in crossfire / combat (defined as “a killing on a battlefield or in a military context”) and eighteen through dangerous assignment (which is “deaths while covering a demonstration, riot, clashes between rival groups, and mob situations”).

Perhaps some might not consider 25 deaths to be significant on a worldwide scale? Dig a little deeper though and the picture becomes bleaker. In addition, 21 journalists were murdered in 2011 and to this day there are 179 journalists imprisoned internationally.

These shocking figures confront us with the harsh reality faced by journalists in conflict areas. Many of those killed in conflict journalism work freelance; they are at particular risk because they often work alone and have had no training regarding safety in conflict situations.

Colvin’s death therefore highlights the danger faced by these reporters.

Even though she was employed by a major newspaper with plentiful

resources, the fact remains that this did not provide her with any greater guarantee of safety.

Working freelance is one thing, yet simply being female in Middle Eastern countries can increase the threats faced by reporters. Recently there have been increasing cases of female journalists undergoing significant ordeals in the Middle East.

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Journalists currently imprisioned worldiwde

As an example let’s take Iranian journalist Parisa Hafezi, who in 2011 was awarded the Courage in Journalism Award. Despite firm restrictions on both women and the media in Iran, she braved the streets during the 2009 anti-government protests.

This led to her being violently beaten

by Iranian security officials on two separate occasions.

But this is just a drop in the ocean of repeated threats and intimidation that Hafezi has endured because of her career. The bravery shown by Hafezi and Colvin show the great risks that women have taken in maledominated cultures with few laws to protect female journalists.

It might now be necessary for me to point out that the point of this piece is not simply to champion female journalists as braver or better than their male counterparts.

While Hafezi and Colvin pave the way for aspiring female journalists, it is vital that neither women nor men are discouraged from reporting in such areas; changing the gender of a conflict journalist just changes the challenges that will be faced.

Marie Colvin’s death should prompt the public to reassess their view of journalistic principles. How many of us would risk our lives to report on the horrors of war in a country where we do not even live?

It was her dedication to informing the international community of the Syrians’ plight that reminds us of the importance of journalism and freedom of the press.

Colvin’s actions prove that society’s perception of journalism should not be eclipsed by stories of corrupt individuals who regard bribery and phone-hacking as acceptable if it gets them their story.

Far from it: Colvin’s lifetime of achievements is a testament to there still being potential for great integrity in journalism today.

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Faith schools have every right to state funding

If they lose state funding, faith schools also lose necessary government regulation Matt Williams

W

hether religious or secular, everybody has the right to be educated according to

choice.

The problem for parents is whether they send their children to the well funded state school, with its one size fits all ethos, or whether they choose the often underfunded but more tailored faith schools.

This is admittedly a generalisation of the education system as there are many other factors to be considered but it doesn’t change the situation.

The idea of the government saving funds by removing state funding for faith schools is popular, but flawed.

The state must represent the values and interests of all those that it represents. The notion of removing state funding from faith schools surely contradicts this. There are around

7000 faith schools in England alone, and this number is growing, suggesting that a significant number of the population continue to see a religious education as valuable in today’s society.

While secularists will surely argue that we live in a largely non-religious society, they cannot deny that supporting the removal of state funding is akin to discriminating against a minority who are religious.

It is almost certain that the removal of state financial support for the majority of faith schools would result in their closure. This would, of course, leave thousands of pupils without schools and without an education. The education of these pupils would then be entirely the responsibility of the state.

This would certainly cost far more than the current cost of supporting faith schools as they are at the moment.

Where are the faith schools to get the funding if not from the government? It is difficult enough to get investment for businesses let alone

institutions which make no profit.

Secularists and atheists believe that religions of all kinds should no longer have relevance in politics or education today.

Photograph: Doug Lee This neglects the fact that faith schools teach important values such as tolerance and respect. State schools do not provide this and a

look at inner city crime shows our society certainly needs to be taught these values.

Evidence shows the level of bullying in faith schools is considerably less than in state schools. This demonstrates the success of teaching religious values.

Finally, faith schools that receive state funding are regulated by the government and have to meet the required standards of teaching and standards of facilities. This means that these schools cannot simply teach what they want.

Although there is naturally a bias towards the religion of the school, the pupils must also be taught about other religions.

It is non-state funded faith schools that should be feared and be the focus of debate and criticism. The numbers of these schools are growing.

They are not regulated and so teach more or less what they want.

The fear is that they are teaching anti-British values which do not conform to society and hence will result in conflict in the future.

While this is in many cases ridiculous as Britain today is a multiethnic society and British values are no longer set in stone, it cannot be denied that these schools, as unregulated institutions, could easily be teaching dangerous ideas.

On a more practical level the staff at these institutions do not have to be professionally qualified or even police checked as at state funded schools. The dangers of this are obvious and do not need to explained.

That such a situation is allowed in today’s society is worrying considering the amount of crime committed against children which is extensively covered in the media.

State funding for faith schools must be maintained in order to provide choice and to allow children to be taught with the values that their parents want them to have. This is beneficial for society.

It is better that faith schools are regulated through state funding as otherwise parents could feel it necessary to send their children to a nonfunded non-regulated faith schools.

Sport

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2011

17

Twickenham awaits ‘Invincibles’ fight their way to the end again, second team edge thriller 2ND TEAM

The 2nd XV had to endure a 100 minute thriller against Sheffield University 1st XV to claim their place in the final of their cup competition.

It was a game in which momentum oscillated, with both sides seizing the initiative at diferent stages in the match.

Halfway through the first half, the Palatinates found themselves 14-9 up, but by the same stage in the second half, they were 19-14 down.

By the last play of normal time Durham were still 5 points behind, but Durrel broke the line, scoring in the corner.

Following Gwynne’s consistent kicking throughout the game, one might have expected him to win the game there and then, but he couldn’t make this difficult conversion from the touch line.

So it went into extra time and one might have expected this to take its toll on the injury struck Durham squad.

Sport Editors: William Warr Spencer Brown

sport@palatinate.org.uk

@PalatinateUK Palatinate

The rugby club will be looking to repeat their undefeated year Photograph: Elis Wilkins Charlie Taverner Hugh McDowell

Men’s Rugby DURFC 1st XV beat Bath University 18-13 to return to Twickenham for their second BUCS Championship final in as many years.

On the same Wednesday afternoon, the 2nd XV beat Sheffield 1st XV after heading into extra time 29-29, and the 3rd XV beat Bishop Burton College 18-15, meaning both sides reach their respective knockout cup finals.

“@DURFC love

to page 20 >> Turn for a Lacrosse season round up

it!! 20 year anniversary of our trip to Twickenham!!!!”

Will Greenwood, World Cup winner and ex-Palatinate

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Meanwhile the 4th XV beat Leeds Trinity 1st XV 37-5 to round off a perfect afternoon for the University club.

The reactions flooded in on Twit-

ter around 4pm on Wednesday as players, supporters and alumni celebrated the unprecedented success enjoyed by the club.

1st XV captain, Josh Bayford, tweeted after the victory: “Huge day for @ DURFC all 4 teams win, 1s going to twickers again #mountainofglory”.

1ST TEAM

Playing on neutral ground at Moseley RFC, Durham’s 1st XV surged ahead in the first half with England Students’ fly-half Mike Ward slotting a drop goal before number eight Harrison Collins dotted down following a pushover scrum. Ward duly converted to stretch the lead to 10-0.

Soon after, Jack Pattinson, benefiting from strong work by Collins and lock Josh Beaumont, managed to score, extending the lead to 15-0.

Bath finished the first half strongly with numerous attacks resulting in an easy penalty chance, which they took to bring the score to 15-3 at the break.

Not long into the second period, Durham’s lead was extended to 18-3 as a high tackle penalty gave Ward a kickable chance which he gladly accepted.

The South West side were not ready to roll over and embrace defeat, and came back strongly during the rest of the game. A succession of

driving mauls from close range led to Bath’s openside flanker touching down.

Bath’s forwards managed to bring them back into the contest further, as a series of pick and drives led to another try, bringing the score to 18-13.

With the game poised for a tense finish, Durham took the initiative and played with power and precision to ensure that they closed out the game.

Scenes of jubilation ensued, fuelled even further with news of the fantastic results in the rest of club.

“Durham played with power and precision”

The victory means that the 1st XV will now contest the BUCS championship final at Twickenham on 28th March against UWE Hartpury.

Durham are unbeaten in all university competitions for almost two years, stretching to a run of 35 games, and will be hoping to secure their second BUCS championship in two years, after beating UWIC in last year’s final.

28

th

March, the day of the Twickenham final

However, the Palatinates wall of defence witheld continued spells of pressure from the Sheffield 1st team and, in the second half of extra time, they somehow found sufficient energy to maul their way to victory.

A converted try followed by a successfully placed penalty conversion saw the Palatinates as outright winners.

The final score - 39-29 - certainly did not tell the whole story.

This means that they will accompany the 1st XV in south west London to contest their final in the morning at Richmond RFC before heading across to Twickenham to support their club mates.

The 28th March is set to be a monumental occasion for Durham University Rugby Club.

All sides will continue to train and play hard to conclude successful seasons in their respective BUCS leagues. At this stage the club’s strength in depth will prove crucial if players are to stay as fresh as possible for the climax of their season.

Will Greenwood, the most famous DURFC alumnus and World Cup winner with England in 2003, tweeted his delight after the game: “@DURFC!! 20 year anniversary of our trip to Twickenham!!!!”

18

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Tuesday 13th March 2012 | PALATINATE

Photograph: DUWRFC

Leeds Met meet their match

DUWRC inflict first home defeat on Leeds Metropolitan University for three years with 29-20 win

Kate Houghton

WOMEN’S RUGBY Durham University’s Women’s Rugby and Football Club made sporting history at Durham after beating Leeds Met for the first time, with the final score Leeds Met 20 - 29 Durham University.

Less than a week before this match, Durham had had a frustrating loss against Exeter, which put them out of the final to be played at Twickenham.

3

The number of years Leeds Met were undefeated on home soil

However the squad were very professional in their approach and came to terms with this disappointment quickly.

In the time they had before they were to face Leeds, they followed a

strong training programme set by the Team Durham coaches, which has proven to be one of the key elements contributing to their success this season.

After four days of intense preparation they were ready to face the supposedly ‘undefeatable’ Leeds Met. Durham had high hopes for breaking Leeds’ winning streak.

The women had a solid and exciting start to the game, scoring 5 points in the opening minutes due to an epic dive over the line from Dawn Lui. Leeds Met, however, were quick to strike back, equalling Durham’s 5 points just minutes after.

Durham were going to need something special to dominate this game.

After Leeds Met requested uncontested scrums due to their lack of front row players 24 hours before the match, Durham were surprised to find they had managed to scrape together a full front row and reserves.

But even with a full side, which on average was both taller and heavier, Leeds Met were unable to cope with Durham’s magnificent scrummages, which turned over the ball on numerous occasions.

After some explosive attacking play from Carolyn Wilson, the Leeds Met defence crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in their 22. Captain Kate

Langham took full advantage of this, darting through to place the ball under the posts, giving her team the lead.

Growing in confidence, Durham continued to dictate play, with dynamic ball work between Beth Turner, Claire Hobson, Laura Hind and Ruth Matta.

“Wilson broke her wrist due to her style she plays with passion and hostility”

Turner, however, went it alone to score Durham’s third try, weaving her way effortlessly through Leeds Met defence to cross the try line.

Finally gathering their strength, Leeds Met managed to make an impact before the half time whistle blew.

Now only a few points ahead, it

was crucial for Durham to take their determination and composure into the second half: the toughest 40 minutes of the season.

Emotions were high as the rivals stepped out to begin the second half, but it was Durham who would apply the pressure.

Lil Knight played a perfect ball to Issy Giles at the back of the scrum, who took on the Leeds Met full back, extending Durham’s lead.

Riled, Leeds Met hit back hard tackling Durham with extra force and aggression, but Durham were not phased.

Ellie Tait and Kat Conway continued to take them on, receiving the ball confidently from the fly-half and centres.

Durham’s defence were equally strong, keeping their heads tactically to undermine Leeds Met attacking attempts.

This intelligent play paid off, causing Leeds Met to fumble the ball, followed by a limp kick in order to compensate.

Turner was ready, and pounced on the ball.

Scooping up the ball, she dashed to the try line adding to her teams score for the second time.

With just 10 minutes to go, the Leeds Met experience began to show,

but Durham managed to hold on.

Leeds Met were kicking the ball to gain territory to attack, but ruthless Kelsi Butler, Alex Webster and Carolyn Wilson stood strong.

Playing with such passion and hostility casued Wilson to break her wrist.

2nd

Durham’s position in the BUCS Premiership

In the final minutes of the game, Leeds Met came terrifyingly close to maintaining their flawless record.

However, despite Matta being sinbinned at a vital moment, Durham regained possession when Turner picked a penalty into touch in unison with the final whistle.

Leeds Met, who were unbeaten at home for 3 years, suffered the wrath of Durham Universities finest.

Hungry for second place in their first year of Premiership rugby, there is no stopping the girls now.

After a season of unprecedented wins, they look likely to continue to build on their impressive record against unbeaten teams.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

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Troupe shine in pre-game performance Durham’s elite dance group ‘Troupe’ have performed on Sky Sports and will entertain the Twenty20 cricket crowds this summer. Palatinate met up with the club’s captain, Natsumi Bolton

DUHC eye a momentous BUCS double Louisa Boddy

HOCKEY Durham University Hockey Club have made history with both of their men’s and women’s 1st teams earning a place in the final of the National Universities BUCS competition.

The sides will travel down to Sheffield for the final where the men face Exeter, and the women take-on Birmingham.

5-0

The scoreline in the women’s semi-final win against Exeter

Super Trouper: Troupe before their performance at the BBL game Photographs: Andrew Bennison and George Ledge William Warr

DANCE If you have been to one of the many fashion shows this spring, it is likely that you will have seen ‘Troupe’ – Durham’s elite dance squad – performing.

This term they have done over 20 performances, averaging 2-3 per week, “a huge step on from last year, when we only 3 shows in total,” enthused Natsumi Bolton, Troupe’s team captain.

Becoming apart of troupe is a competitive process. There are only 8 dancers in the group, “which we have to select from up to a hundred people at the beginning of the year,” Bolton said.

20

The number of performance Troupe have done this term.

All 8 members have had a strong and diverse background in dancing.

“I started dancing when I was two and a half,” Bolton said.

But Troupe’s captain clearly enjoys her work.

“The group perform a variety of styles of dance. We can do anything

from ballet to hip-hop to street to jazz…but we usually stick to street and jazz routines at the fashion shows, because people are usually quite drunk and these styles are easier to appreciate when you are merry.”

The group is going from strength to strength and have started to take their talent out of the university circles.

Two weekends ago, they performed at the Durham Wildcats game against the Mersey Tigers, which was filmed by Sky Sports.

Bolton said, “It was the highlight of the year!”

What is more, they have been invited to dance at the 20- 20 cricket later this summer.

However, to achieve such success has required significant commitment. The group have to spend around twenty hours per week rehearsing or performing.

“It has become everyone’s main priority - after their degrees,” Bolton explained.

What makes their commitment all the more impressive is the fact that the group has no coach or choreographer.

“We do all our own performances, and every member of the squad choreographs their own

routine reflective of whatever style of dance they specialise in,” commented Bolton.

“When the au-

dience is cheering, you get a huge rush” Natsumi Bolten Troupe captain Bolton was keen to highlight that it was well worth the effort.

“It is something I look forward to the most in my university life. Whilst it is a lot of work, it really pays off when the audience is cheering, you get a huge rush.”

The squad also has ambitions to get involved with the community.

“We are holding workshops for local schools to help inspire kids that uni is more than just about working for your degree,” said Bolton.

Bolton is still not content with this years success and is aiming for even greater things next year.

“Now that we have established ourselves, we are hoping to do competitions next year.

There are inter-uni ones - but we really want to broaden our horizons, maybe Britain’s Got Talent!”

The Sky’s the limit: The squad performing on Sky Sports

With both opposition squads playing top-level hockey within the prestigious Premiership League at the weekends, the final promises to be a nail-biting affair, in which a determined Durham hope to clinch victory for the North of England.

Such a fantastic achievement has been the result of years of hard work, particularly from Coach Gavin Featherstone.

Women’s captain Steph Elliot said, “Gavin has been instrumental in the success of the Hockey Club, and to get both teams in the final is a credit to his enormous efforts.”

“This is the result of years of hard work”

After convincingly winning the BUCS league which parallels the knockout competition, the road to the final for the women began in December, with Durham cruising through their knockout fixtures.

Then in the semi-finals Durham battled through tough weather conditions to convincingly defeat Exeter in a 5-0 affair. After a similar display of dominance during the knockout rounds, the men drew Birmingham in the semi-finals, where they fought back from 2-0 down to secure a 5-3 win, With the men coming second only to Loughborough in the finals of 2011, and the women losing to an impressive Birmingham side in the previous year, both teams will be hoping to go one better, and do the Durham Double.

Sport

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th March 2012

Club Feature on dance squad: ‘Troupe’ Palatinate caught up with Troupe’s captain to tell us more

Rugby seconds reach final Sheffield defeated in extra-time, p. 17

DUHC eye double triumph Men and women set for BUCS finals p. 19 Photograph: Elis Wilkins

Tickenham beckons: ‘Invincibles’ see off Bath University in the semi-final to earn a place in the BUCS final. Turn to page 17 for full report on the match.

Women’s Lacrosse dominate the North William Rudd

1ST TEAM Durham University Women’s Lacrosse Club have enjoyed a hugely successful year.

They won the Northern Premiership League and every match comfortably except for a bruising, but ultimately decisive, 7-7 draw away at Birmingham on March 1.

Durham beat Birmingham 9-7 in November and needed at least a draw in last week’s return fixture to take league glory for the first time in several years.

Going four goals down early on had the packed Birmingham crowd

excited, but Durham orchastrated a dramatic comeback thanks to finely tuned set plays and mental strength.

“It’s been a great season.

We’ve built a strong team this year”

Tash Bott, 1st team captain The defence had a great game, preventing the Birmingham attack from scoring even though Durham were

two players down at some points in the match.

In spite of the league victory and thrashing Loughborough both home and away, the girls are looking to do even better next year having suffered an unfortunate loss in the quarter-finals of the Championships to Bristol.

Matched goal for goal until the dying seconds, this was a gripping game that disastrously went the wrong way for defending champions Durham with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Tash Bott, 1st team Captain was satisfied with her team’s performance. “It’s been a great season, although we didn’t retain our title we have won the north premiershipleague for the first time in years, this is a credit to the strong team we’ve built over this year.”

Rebecca, Head Coach, echoed Bott’s appraisal of the season, “For me it was exciting to see the girls grow and come together as a team.

5-1

Birmingham’s lead before Durham’s comeback

The Birmingham game was a great example.

To go down 5-1 at one point and be able to fight back takes a massive team effort and that was great to watch.”

2ND & 3rd TEAMS The second team had a great season, though they cruelly lost to Newcastle 1sts in the BUCS finals decider thanks to an agonising golden goal.

They also represented Durham in the National University Championships which were hosted at Maiden Castle for the second year running.

The third team had a successful season, amassing a goal difference of plus 78 as they finished second in their league behind Leeds Met 1sts.

In her summary of the season, club captain Hannah Lowther spoke with pride about their achievements.

“Leading such an accomplished club has been an honour,” she said, “We still remain the team to beat.”