Palatinate 837

Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

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Editorial

Inside 836 News pages 3-6 Satire page 6 Comment pages 7-9 Profile pages 10-11 SciTech pages 12-13 Politics pages 15-17 Puzzles page 18 PalatiDates page 18 Sport pages 19-22

indigo

(Anna Kuptsova)

Look out for one another

O

n the day I wrote this, for the umpteenth time in a row, I got out of bed at 8.30am, went downstairs to make a coffee, and returned to my room, opening the laptop at my desk. Binka, our cat, jumps onto my lap as I take my first sip, narrowly avoiding a scolding spillage for both he and I. After a few hours of dissertation or seminar reading – tasks which have become as repetitive as the Microsoft Authenticator app is infuriating – our dog, Dyl, has meandered to my room and sits by my feet expectantly, waiting for the signal that we’re about to go for a walk: the shutting of the laptop lid.

Inevitably, when plastic meets plastic with an audible click, he leaps to attention and does a couple of spins. Downstairs, jacket on, keys in pocket, lead on collar.

Out we go, usually to the beach.

There are other dogs there, and for half an hour I’m pulled hither and thither by Dyl in his attempts to befriend as many of them as possible.

Off the beach, back home, back on the laptop. Hours pass; it’s dark now. Dinner. Write this editorial, put together this edition’s pages.

Bed, eventually.

Hours pass; it’s dark now.

With some minor variation, that is pretty much how my life has been since last term ended and I returned to the run-down, post-industrial North Yorkshire town which I call home.

On a good day, calls with family and friends, or job applications and interviews, will add a bit of much-needed variety, but I’ll happily admit that I haven’t been inundated with either!

I guess what I’m trying to say in as eloquent and self-deprecating a way that I can is this: the past nine weeks have blurred into one cold, two month-long mush of memorial monotony.

Most of us are in a similar position, stuck at home with pixels on a screen as our only form of non-familial social contact.

With housemates and daily walks with friends, those in Durham have it better – though not by much in a city where everything but supermarkets and takeaways are shut. Sweaty nights in Jimmy’s belong to a bygone age, as does any semblance of a normal social life.

Frankly, it’s no wonder that mental health suffers.

Like many blokes, I don’t like talking about my emotions.

Conversations with mates about the way we feel have, at best, only ever skimmed the surface, acknowledging the importance of managing thoughts without ever really knowing how to do it.

I’ve always struggled to express my emotions coherently and concisely, and it feels embarrassing not to be able to do so. That’s why it’s so much easier to bottle things up, to push cowardly on while a cacophony of ignored emotion simmers away inside, waiting for the day when it inevitably boils over.

Spending most of my days with Binka and Dyl has helped

a lot, not just because they give me fur to stroke and a reason to get outside. The importance of physical, non-digital company cannot be denied, and neither can being around humans you love, like my mum.

Conversations with mates about the way we feel have, at best, only ever skimmed the surface, acknowledging the importance of managing thoughts without ever really knowing how to do it.

Another important thing has been Palatinate. Always having something to do and people to speak with keeps my brain active and the endorphins flowing – whether that’s also true for those on the other end of conversations with me is another matter!

But what has really kept me going is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel: the faint yet ever-growing hope of a somewhat normal final term.

It’s difficult to put into words how genuinely awful it would be for Easter term to end, just like it did last year, without making the most of this wonderful city and the many people I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know here one last time.

Reminiscing with mates recently – about nights out at Lloyd’s, pints and pool up at college, slogging it out in the Billy B, playing football in glorious summer weather and being called “handsome” by barbers keen for our business – has only

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fortified those hopes.

Durham has given me the most incredible two-and-a-half years so far. The people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had, the doors which have opened – nothing I’ve ever done before comes close.

But that tuft of relative paradise which lies distant on the horizon has not been reached yet, and might never be at all.

Between now and then is going to be a tough old slog, especially for those of us who struggle with our mental health.

Reach out to your friends, we’re all in the same boat.

Tim Sigsworth Editor-in-Chief

Palatinate is published by Durham Students’ Union on a fortnightly basis during term and is editorially independent. All contributors and editors are full-time students at Durham University. Send letters to: Editor, Palatinate, Durham Students’ Union, Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN. Alternatively, send an e-mail to editor@palatinate.org.uk

Palatinate Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Tash Mosheim & Tim Sigsworth editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Toby Donegan-Cross & Max Kendix deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editors Martha McHardy, Patrick Stephens & Theo Burman news@palatinate.org.uk News Reporters Kiara Davies, Keziah Smith, Richard Waters, Poppy Askham, Orlando Bell, Isabel C. Davis, Josh Hurn, Jess Jones, Abigail Brierley & Cristina Coellen Investigations Editors Luke Payne, Heather Rydings & Katie Tobin investigations@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editors Cerys Edwards & Harrison Newsham comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editor Ellie Fitzgerald-Tesh Profile Editors Isabella Green & Izzy Harris profile@palatinate.org.uk Science & Technology Editors Ewan Jones, Faye Saulsbury & Elise Garcon scitech@palatinate.org.uk Politics Editors Sophie Farmer & Aisha Sembhi politics@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Politics Editors Anna Shepherd & Lilith Foster-Collins Puzzles Editors Harry Jenkins & Thomas Simpson puzzles@palatinate.org.uk Sport Editors Matt Styles & Luke Power sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Ben Fleming & James Reid Indigo Editors Hugo Millard & Millicent Machell indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editors Elle Woods-Marshall, Immy Higgins & Aadira Parakkat features@palatinate.org.uk Creative Writing Editor Jemima Gurney creative.writing@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editors Charlie Barnett & Issy Flower stage@palatinate.org.uk Visual Arts Editors Emma Tucker & Carys Stallard visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk Books Editors Sol Noya & Millie Vickerstaff books@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editors Emily Potts & Erin Waks fashion@palatinate.org.uk Food & Drink Editors Meghna Amin & Constance Lam food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editors Gracie Linthwaite & Emma Johnson travel@palatinate.org.uk Film & TV Editor Madeleine Rosie Strom & Alex Rigotti film@palatinate.org.uk Music Editors Katherine Pittalis & Martha Lily Dean music@palatinate.org.uk Interview Editors Claudia Jacob & Aimee Dickinson indigo.interview@palatinate.org.uk Podcast Editor Milly Minter podcast@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub Editors Ishita Srivastava & Naomi RescorlaBrown chief.sub@palatinate.org.uk Sub Editors Chloe Waugh, Isobel Tighe, Mikey Canty, RJ Batkhuu & Susie Bradley Photography Editor Mark Norton photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Beatrice Law, James Tillotson & Adeline Zhao Illustration Editors Amber Conway, Verity Laycock & Samantha Fulton illustration@palatinate.org.uk Indigo Social Media Officer Зоя Антонова social.media@palatinate.org.uk Finance Officer Sophie Garnett finance@palatinate.org.uk Advertising Officers Alex Cowan, Amana Moore & Kate Pesenti advertising@palatinate.org.uk

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PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

News

“Love for the socialist motherland” Continued from front

Seun Twins

Durham Students’ Union President

Just a little candid moment from me.

It is election season and whilst we read the manifestos; attend the hustings; and hold our future SU sabbatical officers to account, I implore Durham students to do one thing. Be respectful.

There is an art to disagreement, discourse and dissent that was missing from our community in recent times, but we are slowly getting back. It is very easy for any of us to be sucked into the online outrage economy and say things that we would not ordinarily say offline. Last year, we saw that happen en masse and marginalized/minority students were collateral in the unsolicited culture wars that defined the election period, myself included.

This time, the Durham community will have no tolerance for abusive or abhorrent online behaviour from anyone, about anyone. The sheer amount of racist/misogynistic abuse that I personally received is something I have never explicitly addressed.

Being called the n-word, a monkey and a bitch online was just the tip of the iceberg and I am still battling with the PTSD today.

Nonetheless, whilst my mental health was in crisis, I decided to put all my energy in mending broken relationships with Common Room presidents; securing students’ academic outcomes via the safety net policy, and dismantling the toxic culture via the Culture Commission. It has been my job to privilege the wellbeing of the student body over my own and in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it seemed like the right decision.

Nonetheless, my threshold for unwarranted racial/sexist/ classist abuse and character assassinations is lower than it has ever been. We should all have hard-line boundaries during this election period.

When marginalised students stand up for themselves, we should commend them for their bravery in hostile environments rather than tearing them down. I took the abuse last year, gracefully.

But since witnessing one of the most visible social justice movements of our lifetimes in 2020 and surviving in this global pandemic, I am confident that the Durham community will take a bolder stance against abhorrent online abuse.

Stay safe, Seun

It is home to China’s only national defence laboratory for helicopter technology and its students are barred from entering the United States after alleged theft of American aerospace technology.

CCS, which Durham’s website claims has “designed and developed” state-of-the-art technologies for 5G propagation, hosted seven Chinese academics through its scholarship scheme between 2013 and 2016. Four of these came from two universities named in the Civitas report: Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an and Beijing Jiaotong University (BJU).

A “high-level delegation” from BJU also visited CCS in 2014-15.

Four of the universities Palatinate has identified are allegedly linked to nuclear weapons research, and each of these are year abroad partners of Durham University.

Durham’s Law School claims to have “extensive links” with Jilin University, an institution designated “very high risk” by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) – a think tank founded by the Australian government – due to its work on secret state research projects.

Durham’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global) Prof. Claire O’Malley visited the University in 2019 to discuss a postgraduate articulation agreement – a form of student exchange – in archaeology.

Shandong University, an academic and student exchange partner which signed

a “cooperation agreement on scientific research” with Durham in 2010, has a number of defence laboratories linked to China’s nuclear weapons programme.

Both Jilin and Shandong work with the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics, China’s national development facility for nuclear warheads.

In 2016 the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stuart Corbridge (right), visited another year abroad partner with links to nuclear research, Peking University (PKU). According to ASPI, the Chinese state has designated three research areas integral to its nuclear weapons programme to PKU: nuclear physics, nuclear technology, and nuclear chemical and fuel engineering.

Civitas states that Zhejiang University also participates in China’s nuclear weapons programmes, and the University is also accused of cyber and industrial espionage in the US. Applicants for its year abroad programmes are required to demonstrate “a love for the socialist motherland”.

Another four universities identified by Palatinate are connected to China’s military, the PLA. These include the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) and Fudan University.

Controlled by the PLA’s Central Military Commission, Durham academics gave talks on the CANARY and CHOUGH telescope projects at NUDT in 2017, while Fudan is home to one of Durham’s international DBA Business School programmes. ASPI states that Fudan “appears to engage in high levels of work for the

military on materials science, including stealth technology”.

Furthermore, ASPI also notes that Dalian University of Technology and Shanghai Jiao Tong University both collaborate with the PLA’s navy and are subordinate to the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry (SASTIND), a body which sits within the national State Council.

Durham has an articulation agreement in physics with the former and, in 2019, three Durham academics spoke at a conference hosted by the latter.

There is no evidence to suggest that any Durham academics have passed research secrets to China, or that the research which has been undertaken has compromised national security.

Concerns about research links with China, however, have become increasingly relevant in recent weeks.

The Mail on Sunday last week claimed that an investigation into academics sharing technology with China had been commenced

by MI6 officers seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It did not name the academics “on the grounds of national security”.

Meanwhile, last Monday’s Times reported that the British government is “preparing to send enforcement notices to up to 200 UK citizens” at British universities. If found to have breached the 2008 Export Control Order on highly sensitive intellectual property, individuals could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

When presented with Palatinate’s research, a spokesperson for Durham University said: “Like many leading and globally facing universities, we recruit staff and students internationally, including scholars from China.

“We also have research, teaching and exchange links with a number of Chinese establishments.

These are subject to a robust and standard institutional assessment process and are regularly reviewed.”

lecturers have adopted Gradescope, a marking tool which has been named a “gamechanger.”

Hemingway stressed that feedback from academics showed it improved their marking efficiency, noting that this is one example of why “some of the benefits of online [learning] should obviously be retained,” another being online access to lecture archives.

“In a previous role, we put in place some online resources for students and we found that the greatest use of these resources were late in the evening,” after the lecture had already been attended. As part of this, the University is trialling 20 ‘owl devices’ which will provide 360 degree microphones and cameras for lecture capture.

Hemingway and his colleagues, moreover, are currently working to migrate all teaching to Blackboard Ultra by September in an effort to accelerate students’

online learning experiences.

Within the first version of Durham’s Digital Strategy, announced in April 2020, it was assumed that the University did not have the capability to move entirely online. However, the pandemic provided an urgency to adjust and re-evaluate previous plans. Over the past year, Durham has prioritised the roll-out of Zoom, Teams and Office 365 beyond its initial expectations in order to facilitate online learning.

Despite this, Hemingway offered assurance that in-person teaching will not be discarded, saying “you will always have that face-to-face delivery because that’s what Durham’s about.

“What we’ve talked about is that the face-to-face element of our provision is really important and students place a lot of value on this – it is important for peer experience, dialogue, discussion, shared learning”.

The University hopes that

students will get involved in the project and it has already had students working as ambassadors and advisors.

More recently, a couple of students presented an idea for a learning support solution which is now being taken to prototype.

If it goes into full development, it may even have commercial potential.

Prof. Claire O’Malley, Pro-ViceChancellor (Global) states that the Digital Strategy “can showcase what Durham has to offer, and even make the world feel smaller as we connect with others both nationally and internationally.

“The Digital Strategy can increase Durham University’s standing in the world and highlight the very best about who we are and what we achieve together.”

The project has been headed so far by Hemingway and Dr. Simon Brownsell, Director of Strategy and Change.

(PKU)

Elements of online learning may stay

Keziah Smith News Reporter As part of the University’s new £50 million Digital Strategy, students will be asked whether they wish to retain any elements of the online learning experience after the pandemic.

John Hemingway, Durham’s Chief Information Officer, suggests that many formative and some summative assessments will continue to be carried out entirely online post-pandemic.

Speaking exclusively to Palatinate, he emphasised the necessity of choice, underlining that whilst some assessments will always be delivered in person, this is no longer necessary for all. “[Online software] are part of a solution but if we don’t have those things in place, then academics don’t have a choice in how they support students.”

Maths, Physics and Chemistry

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Thursday 18th February 2021| PALATINATE

News

SU Presidential Elections: meet the candidates

Theo Burman, Patrick Stephens, Martha McHardy and Kiara Davies News Editors and News Reporter In the lead up to what will be the most contested SU presidency for

four years, we sat down with all the presidential candidates, as well as students running for the officer roles that will also be elected next week.

Voting opens on 22nd February, and closes on the

Aditya Lathar

“The president has a duty to secure the social welfare of all the students.

I promise to do my best and never take a rest.”

Reflecting on his role at St Chad’s JCR President, Burton said he is running for DSU President because he is “passionate about making the SU more financially accountable to its students.

My experience working in the common room is that I’ve met so many people who have so little interest in the SU or feel so detached from it.” He added: “Serious change needs to occur.”

Burton also spoke about the conversations he’s had with students about the DSU, saying: “They don’t know what the SU does or how their money is being

spent; they know the SU has a lot of money and staff, and they don’t know where it’s going and whether it’s used effectively and that brings a lot of apathy and distaste towards the SU.” “The SU strategy is coming up for renewal this year, and with most students saying they feel more at home in their common rooms, it’s time the SU really listens to that.”

When it came to the Democracy Review, Burton was very clear: “certain students are always involved in those debates and a lot of students do not feel part of

Joe Simmons

“We need someone with a clear vision. The problems facing Durham this year are huge, and we need to get them right.”

Explaining her decision to rerun, current SU President Seun said: “Arguably this year we have been somewhat formidable and we’ve survived in a global pandemic which should not be understated at all. We’ve done so much in the face of the worst times, so I felt like to lose that momentum would be a waste.”

Twins was proud of what she has achieved so far. “It’s two thirds that I’ve already achieved from my manifesto last year, despite Covid-19”.

With regards to the Culture Commission: “I have a very clear plan. I want the implementation of the commission to be accountable to students, but financed by the University. They should be responsible for making Durham more inclusive and more compassionate.”

She strongly emphasised the importance of her experience.

“Ultimately, I have knowledge of this role. I would not be dazzled by a new Vice-Chancellor, I would set the agenda in the name of

25th. All elections will be held via the SU site, accessible via DUO under the “student elections” tab.

A few candidates declined the chance for an interview.

Additionally, there are 11 candidates running for the four

Current President of Indian Society, Lathar emphasised his motivation for running. “The SU President should work for the welfare of students: they have a duty to secure the social welfare of all the students. It should not be about getting a paid job or the free accommodation, but working for and serving the students, making their voices heard.”

“Normally, SU and elected students just do their job for the paid salary. Most people running are running for a paid job or to boost their CV.” Lathar was especially critical of

that discussion. I would want to bring in these voices and make them feel like there’s a freedom to debate, a freedom to criticise the SU. It is a union, it should not be like a firm or come with its own institutional interests.”

He also talked about how to increase awareness of how the SU works and start a debate around it.

“Go to the science site, set up stalls outside the SU. Go to people and tell them what the SU does.

We can go from there and see what changes need to be made.”

When asked why he decided to run for the role, Joe Simmons, who is a third year Economics student at Josephine Butler, said: “Durham’s in crisis, there’s no doubt about that.”

“The pandemic has devastated the student experience, the DSU is perceived as undemocratic, unrepresentative and poor value for money, and Durham isn’t really working in the interests of students.”

Simmons noted that he hasn’t had much involvement in the DSU. He said: “I’m an outsider candidate, and I believe only an outsider can solve the problems students.”

Twins finished by stressing that Durham still needs to change. “I’ve literally given my heart and soul to Durham. All this momentum… all of that cannot be lost, because then we’ll be in a cyclical rhythm of “Durham needs to be better, this is what we need to do to be better, Durham needs to be better etc”. The issues are the same. We should have solved the old problems. That takes time, that’s basically what I’m asking for: more time.”

SU trustee positions, whose interviews will be posted online.

RON will be an option in every election, with the oppourtunity for students to apply to lead an offical RON campaign specific to each race. Even if a student does

the way the Culture Commission has been conducted. “It is a great initiative, and I appreciate the work that has gone into it.

However, I might be wrong, but it seems to me the people in this Culture Commission were in the current SU president’s campaign team last year. I want people apart from my team to be part of that initiative, because there should be diversity within it, so that people might have different views.”

He similarly criticised SU democracy. “I think the SU should work in a more transparent and

James Burton

not run the RON campaign, the option will remain on the ballot.

The last time four candidates ran for President was in 2017. If a RON campaign were to emerge, it would be the most contested presidential election on record.

democratic manner.”

Lathar promised to be available for students to discuss any issues.

“If anyone has any doubts those can be cleared up by myself or I can raise that in front of the SU team or the Vice-Chancellor” He highlighted some of his key policies. “I want to fight against the rise of fees for international students, and against higher accommodation fees. I would work with DPOCA to combat racism and discrimination. I would also like to create a cultural festival for people to enjoy.”

“I want to make the SU more financially viable and accountable to its students. We should start a frank debate about how our finances work.” facing the DSU.” He also talked about his book publishing business, saying: “the key skills you learn from there are that you need to communicate with your customers, and that’s something the DSU really needs to get right is knowing how to communicate with its students.”

Talking about the Democracy Review, Simmons commented that the Review “tells the DSU what everyone has been saying for the past couple of years: that it is undemocratic, unrepresentative, and the DSU is also poor value for money.”

Simmons also commented

Seun Twins

“We’ve done so much in the face of the worst times. To lose that momentum would be a waste.”

that the DSU “needs to cut down on bureaucracy facing student societies who face significant obstacles in getting started and also in running.”

His manifesto focuses on three areas: Tackling Covid-19, providing academic reform, and builidng a better Durham.

He ended the interview stressing the importance of mental health support at the University. “I’ve spoken to a lot of welfare teams, they’re very keen to get in touch with you if you’re struggling”.

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

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News

Welfare and Liberation Officer

Jonah Graham Graham, who is President of the Durham LGBT Association, said he is running for the role of Welfare and Liberation Officer because “2021 is a call to action”.

He praised the work of current Welfare and Liberation Officer, Ewan Swift, particularly his focus on housing matters. Although, he admitted that he wants to have a different focus to Swift, making mental health a “priority”.

However, he explained that he would like to continue Swift’s

Jack Ballingham

work in making private landlords give references to students who are signing houses, to make sure they’re not going to be “ripped off”.

Graham outlined the steps he would take to support student mental health. These included expanding Nightline training, monthly check-ins with college welfare teams, and implementing a system where every student does active bystander training.

He also highlighted areas of the University counselling service that could be improved. He spoke about the need for the service to hire “minority specialists”, noting students’ dissatisfaction with the service.

“I really want minorities to be heard in Durham. It’s their space too”

In addition, Graham spoke about his plans to raise minority voices at Durham, including monthly meetings with SU

Merrington is an Education Studies postgraduate at Hild Bede, having done his undergraduate degree at Hatfield. He hopes to bring his student experience to

Caitlin Conmy

Opportunities Officer Jack Ballingham is a third year International Relations student at St Aidan’s. Running on a platform of making the SU more democratic, more transparent and more efficient, he hopes to bring the perspective of a student group leader to the sabbatical role.

“I’m the Co-Chair of the Labour Club and have been on the exec for a few years now,” he said.

On the subject of the recently conducted Democracy Review, Ballingham was encouraged by the initiative but highlighted

Postgraduate Academic

Declan Merrington

Association Presidents.

When asked about how he sees the SU going into next year, Graham talked about a “disconnect” between students and the SU. He argued the SU “is a platform for every student to see the change that they want in Durham”, but that “the role of the SU will change depending on who the officers are”.

the role, focusing on what he calls “The Pandemic University”.

Merrington cited his time at Durham as his most significant qualification for this position.

“Since doing my undergraduate here I’ve developed such a strong personal relationship with the student body. I have what it takes to really look out for the postgraduate community, being a member myself.”

Merrington was very complimentary of Sarah McAllister’s record this year, noting her ability to maintain networking oppourtunities during the pandemic. He suggested building on her work of including postgradutes in the Durham community through cocurriculars.

On the funded extensions for PhD students, Merrington supported the idea but didn’t

the lack of engagement with the SU as a sign that further reform was needed. “Student groups have to deal with a lot of vague bureaucracy.”

“Being involved with student group execs has given me insight into the way the SU deals with societies”

“I’ve noticed that the way that societies are handled can feel arbitrary. There’s not a lot of

think it went far enough. “We need to learn a lot more from the pandemic university.”

“PhD students are seen as too studenty to be staff and too staff to be studenty. We need to listen to what they demand and what they need.”

“Postgraduates are often seen by the University as a reserve army of academic labour” When asked why students should vote for him, Merrington highlighted his local credentials and committment to the community.

“I’m from Durham so I’ve always had a relationship with the university. Ultimately I want to improve the situation for all students but especially the postgrads who are overlooked.”

When asked why she decided to run for the role, Conmy, who is a first year Criminology student at Van Mildert College, explained: “I can see some quite blatant issues that I really want to address within the SU and within the University as a whole”. Conmy expanded on these “blatant issues”, describing a “toxic culture” at Durham University where students experience “racism” and “misogyny”. Conmy said she had not seen many resources or anywhere she would go to talk about these issues.

Conmy also talked about her experience which would prepare her for the role as a both a department and household representative as well as her experience as part of the Talk and Support team at Van Mildert College.

When asked what she would do differently to current Welfare and Liberation Officer, Ewan Swift, Conmy said she would “make communication between the SU and students more clear”

clarity on what student groups are supposed to do.”

The SU Assembly, is the subject of one of Ballingham’s main policies. “Something I want to work on is reforming the Assembly, because it’s meant to be our main way of influencing decision-making in the SU.” “Over a quarter of the positions on Assembly aren’t directly elected by the student body, so I think some reform is needed there.”

Ballingham also felt that the Student Group Agreement, which outlines the relationship between the SU and societies, was too “arbitrary”. Drawing on his

and that she would make the SU “more approachable”.

“At the moment it feels very much like the SU is detached from the student body”

Conmy proposed forming “discussion groups” to “bring everybody together across the Uni” and holding meetings between different college welfare teams twice a term.

She also said she wants to make resources “more accessible” to students.

Conmy spoke about her desire for a change to “what is acceptable” within the University.

She said “its not clear that jokes that make people uncomfortable” or that “victim blaming” are unacceptable.

She said she would work on “implementing courses” to teach people about why certain behaviours are unacceptable in order to “denormalise being toxic”. experience as DULC Co-Chair and long-term exec member, he wants to replace it with a new document created through student group consultation, to give clearer guidance to groups in the future.

“There’s got to be as little bureaucracy involved as possible. We need a clear, easy to use process”

Ballingham’s other priority, transparency, includes more accountability for Governance and Grants and more openness about the SU’s financial decisions.

Undergraduate Academic

Charlie Procter A History student at Trevelyan College, Procter reflected on how being Head Frep this year gave him the necessary peopleskills needed for the role. His Internship in the College within the enrichment and welfare programme meant he had previous experience improving the academic lives of the students at a college-level.

Procter gave, as his reason for running, that his “frank” nature could be used to improve the “negative image” that the SU currently has and help to make it “more relevant to us as a student body”.

Procter’s main polices focus on ensuring “lecturers are actually trained to use technology” as well as opening up a conversation about removing group summative work. He is enthusiastic about creating a “general culture of networking between students and lecturers” by creating events for them to socialise.

Procter praised the current incumbent, Nailah Haque, for her work alongside Sarah McAllister in ensuring the academic policies relating to Covid-19 and its impact were successful. From this, he is keen to continue the noevidence extension policy.

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Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

News

80% of international students worry their degrees have suffered due to the pandemic

Continued from front there’s just functionally less time to talk to [students in Durham] and you feel the distance even if you’re connected online”.

This disconnect has left the student concerned that their studies may be “hurt” as the loneliness and stress “keeps [them] from being focussed and motivated.” This anxiety was shared with 80% of survey participants who expressed worries that their academic achievement has suffered as a result of the pandemic.

Though 55% of international students expressed they had not sought any mental health support during the pandemic, nearly one quarter of those surveyed said they had. The remaining proportion admitted that they had or are currently considering reaching out.

Lauren Kupferschmid, a master’s student from the United States, was one of the international students who has reached out to the University’s counselling service for support.

She sought the service after struggling with being away from her family and friends over the winter break.

This experience has left Kupferschmid feeling unsupported by the University:

“I did try to reach out to the counselling centre but never heard back. After that I didn’t bother trying again and decided to reach out elsewhere.”

62.5% of those surveyed did not agree when asked if they felt fully supported by the University during the pandemic. Only 17.5% felt that they were, with another 20% remaining neutral.

One student told Palatinate they felt there had been “close to zero support for international students studying remotely” and that there had been “poor communication” from the University surrounding the realities of online learning.

Additionally, the student noticed the disparity between the situation of UK students and those studying abroad: “if you’re in the UK you can access your lecturer’s full working day, you can get resources mailed to you for free. As an international student you’re paying more but you can’t access a lot of those resources which are often brought up as the justification for having high tuition fees.”

The difficulty of working with a substantial time difference when abroad was also raised: “usually what would have been a 9am seminar in the UK was at 4am here for me. I think it was the worst seminar I’ve ever had.

For seminars you’re supposed to

be really present and have your camera on and talk so it was tougher, it was rough to getting up for 4am.”

“The University usually takes a lot of money from the international students. They advertise their experience as being internationally friendly and they actually take pride in Durham’s international students in a way; they take pride in the fact people choose to go there but then as soon as anything like this happens it feels like you get pushed aside”.

This was confirmed by Palatinate’s survey with only 2.5% of students surveyed believing that their tuition fees had been “worth the money” for the university experience they had received during the pandemic. Despite this, when asked whether they regretted their choice to study abroad, 47.5% did not regret their choice and 45% had mixed feelings on the matter.

This deviates from the findings of the International Student Survey 2020, conducted by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Their survey, which covers 93 different universities, found that “the proportion of prospective international students changing their plans and deferring their entry until next year ha[d] risen exponentially”, with 58% of those

19 on improving access for LPN students, who attend all types of schools.

On this measure, we have made substantial progress in diversifying our student intake and we have reduced the gap between entrants from the most advantaged and most disadvantaged postcodes by 38% since 2018-19.”

“However, we are not complacent and we know, for example, that we can be bolder in our use of contextual information which we are working towards under our Access and Participation Plan. We will continue to make improvements to our admissions and support systems for all students, and especially for those who are under-represented in higher education.”

The 93% Club Durham, who seek to improve the experience of state-school students at the University were “disappointed”

by Palatinate’s findings.

“Whilst the university can be seen to be implementing policies in order to try and increase the number of state school students,

it is clear that even more needs to be done in order to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds applying to Durham.

“It is clear that the ‘Durham culture’ which can make a lot of prospective students as well as current ones feel that they are not welcome at Durham needs to be tackled.”

“State school students deserve to feel confident in their place here and are often deterred by the feeling that they do not comply with the image of the typical Durham student.”

Ewan Swift, Welfare and Liberation Officer at Durham SU, told Palatinate: “With all the talk given by the University around culture and the Respect Commission, there needs to be an acknowledgement of how so many students feel alienated at Durham when they don’t seem themselves in others.

This need for better access and participation goes beyond just state versus non-state entry too, as Durham has a real problem with a lack of ethnic diversity.”

surveyed having had their plans to study abroad affected by the pandemic.

Jeremy Cook, the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Colleges and Student Experience, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing our students, staff and the wider community is always our first priority. We remain extremely mindful of the impact that Covid-19 restrictions, which are necessary to limit the spread of the virus, have on our University community, and we are committed to supporting those affected through it.”

“Students have access to a range of pastoral support through their colleges and central services such as our counselling team, meanwhile Professional Support Services remain accessible to all international students online and are responding to the need to provide support across different time zones. Colleges are open and available to all international students and we regularly communicate with all students, offering opportunities to get involved in their communities and informing them of support available.”

(Beatrice Law)

38% of intake educated privately Satire

Continued from front The proportion of students from fee paying schools is higher in some subjects. 60.2% of those admitted to study English were independently educated and 63.9% in Accounting.

However, the largest proportion of independently educated admissions was in Science subjects: 82.1% in Computer Sciences and 77.3% in both Maths and Earth Sciences.

Professor Alan Houston, the university’s Vice-Provost for education said: “We’re constantly striving to ensure we have a diverse and inclusive student community. We want students from all backgrounds with the merit and potential to succeed at the University.”

“A more accurate indicator of disadvantage than school type is whether a student is from a Low Participation Neighbourhood (LPN), which is why the Office for Students has asked universities to give primary attention to this measure. We have therefore focussed our efforts since 2018-

Blanket mitigation “inappropriate” response to nuclear disaster A new raft of exam mitigation measures has been announced

by Durham University this week in an attempt to combat the effects of the recent nuclear disaster in the city.

The University said it was confident that the measures protected “the integrity of Durham degrees”, but admitted that “the total data loss in The Event has prevented the creation of authentic baseline averages”.

The policies dictate that anyone especially affected by the radioactive dust cloud will be able to submit a Radioactivity Mitigation Form on DUO to apply for an extension, which will then be reviewed by a crossdepartmental Nuclear Disaster Committee.

The fallout from this incident will not lead to a no detriment policy, said the Vice-Chancellor, since it has covered the entire student population.

In a statement, the University assured students the Durham

Difference remained positive.

“The Event has done wonders for our Physics and Chemistry departments, who are excited to gain practical experience with new elements and live reactions.”

Durham Students’ Union has launched a survey where students can rate their experience of the nuclear blast out of ten.

Some mitigation will nevertheless be in place. A sevenday extension may be granted for summative work, with the University reassuring students that a ‘day’ will remain the same even while the ash cloud hangs overhead.

Meanwhile, if a student’s average mark is five or more points below the previous year, their record will be scrutinised for possible radioactive effects.

Despite SU pressure, students living in private accommodation razed to the ground in the inferno which followed the disaster will not receive refunds.

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

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Comment

Time to call out Durham’s art of catcalling Morgan Jack Catcalling could be considered one of the most provocative and historic art forms of our times. This particular art form can be comprised of a variety of techniques, such as following in vans, derogatory comments and unwavering glares, and is held in high regard by some groups of men lingering at night.

Nonetheless, the consensus among women is that this art form is more akin to graffiti found down dark alleys, that they wish to be wiped away. Last term, Palatinate exposed the increasing incidents of catcalling and sexual harassment in Durham. With these phenomena continuing to grow, now is the time to call out and confront catcalling.

All too often catcalling is dismissed as an illegitimate form of sexual harassment.

Consequently, entire social media accounts are dedicated to combatting this mindset, such as ‘catcallsofnyc’, ‘catcallsofoxford’ and ‘catcallsofldn’.

These platforms illuminate harrowing experiences of catcalling through minimalist chalk art on street pavements across the world: a reminder that this occurs on the streets we walk along every day.

The metaphor of contrasting

catcalling, the epitome of thoughtlessness, with art, the height of meaningfulness, is poignant.

Catcalling is undeniably indicative of larger societal contexts of sexism and misogyny, and overlooking it only continues to worsen the problem. During Covid-19, incidents only appear to be increasing. This could be due to the fact that during such uncertain and tumultuous times, harassers use catcalling as a medium to regain control.

Moreover, the anonymity of a facemask can make perpetrators feel invincible. Personally, I was mortified when a man, triple my age, who was standing in the Tesco queue pulled down his facemask, looked me up and down, and proceeded to wolfwhistle at me. He then placed his facemask back on and acted as if nothing had happened.

This is just one of many personal experiences, and I know every female would have similar tales to tell. In fact, when the topic of catcalling arises it can be a unifying force amongst women.

There is a mutual understanding of the objectification, intimidation and fear at the forefront of these situations. The power dynamics within these scenarios is also highlighted, with groups targeting individuals, and older men targeting young girls.

Understandably, there is a

hesitation among women to report such incidents. It is easy for self-doubt to take over: am I overreacting? What did I do to make it occur? What was I wearing? Did I make eye contact?

We are often told ‘we should be flattered by the attention’ and that it’s ‘no big deal’.

The sad reality of this is that these incidents will always occur in spite of any behaviour on the part of the targeted individual.

All of this accumulates to make us

amount of people will know about it. That must be a good thing.

However, I’m under the impression that tweets by Rihanna and Greta Thunberg are empty of any substance. Neither has tweeted about anything related to the actual issue. In Rihanna’s case, she asked her followers “Why aren’t we talking about this?!”. I’m almost certain that in the part of the world where this is happening, it is being talked about. Does Rihanna think that the Indian government blocking the internet for 48 hours isn’t being decried by Indian celebrities or liberals? Or is it ‘not being talked about’ because we, in the West, haven’t talked about it? It seems to me that something only becomes valuable when it reaches our moral western radar.

What about Greta? Like Rihanna, she doesn’t have anything to say about the actual reforms the government are making, nor the impact it

has on farmers’ lives. What she’s more interested in is “standing in solidarity with the #FarmersProtest in India”. The information she provides her 4.9 million followers with lacks balance and deep analysis – something that is ever vacant in social media activism. This suggests her concern isn’t about the confusing, deeply complex, cultural and historical Indian agriculture industry, but more about upholding the value of protesting.

feel that no serious action would be taken anyway, even if we did report our experiences.

Some may ask why should we care about this at Durham when it is a wider, national, even global problem? However, the University has a moral obligation to address the issue of sexual harassment. This is not merely a question of gender, this is an overarching question of student safety. No university student should feel uncomfortable on

their campus and in their town.

The University is aware of sexual misconduct and does have tangible policies and protocols, but they need to implement deterrents and proactive policies before there is even an incident to report, otherwise the perpetrators will always feel they can get away with it. It is time for this particular art to be wiped away from the canvases of our University.

(Jasmine Cash)

Should celebrities stop engaging in politics?

William Costley

I will accept that burning a photograph of Greta Thunberg on a stake because she supports Indian farmers’ rights to peacefully protest is not the best way to go about things. In fact, it is immature for grown men to respond in such a violent manner. However, despite their zealous rejection of her opinion, the overall message from those criticising Western celebrities is this: stay out of our affairs.

Many believe that celebrities are morally obligated to use their platforms for good; that when there is injustice, those with the largest online followings should make all of us aware of it. Surely this make sense. If Rihanna posts a tweet about tens of thousands of farmers protesting against farming reforms, then the same

Western celebrities like to dip in and out of global politics and atrocities

I understand the anger from those in India who tell Western celebrity influencers to keep out of their business. However, I don’t agree that the West, in general, should keep out of other countries’ affairs. Rather, I share

the same sentiment felt by foreign countries towards celebrities and social media stars who tweet or post when they feel like it.

It’s the “pick and choose” aspect of social media activism which makes me cringe. Rihanna tweets about two seemingly morally outrageous events, such as Indian farmers and the coup in Myanmar, but is silent on the police brutality and scare-tactics used on those protesting against the jailing of Alexei Navalny in Russia. I also don’t remember Rihanna, or any Western celebrities, for that matter, condemning the severe restrictions placed on women seeking an abortion in Malta or in Poland? I sense that Western social media activism is more of a reactive-ism towards things going on in the world. Westerners, especially celebrities, like to dip in and out of global politics and atrocities, and only learn about things when they flash across

their screens, instead of actively engaging with a topic.

Imagine a scenario where Bollywood singers tweet out support for Brexit-voting fishermen protesting outside of Parliament, or where Indian influencers post infographics of Brexit votes, condemning the UK government for undemocratically ignoring Scotland and Irish remain voters. The fact that this doesn’t happen amuses me, but also reminds me of the white saviour mentality: a blind-eye towards corruption and injustice at home, yet hollow outrage and condemnation of events in poorer non-white nations.

Should celebrities stop engaging with global affairs? Of course not, they can say whatever they want. Do they actually care about the injustices they tweet about? Arguably, no. It is for this reason that those in India don’t care for what people like Rihanna have to say.

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Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

Comment

Can Dr Alex turn the tide on mental health?

Sarah Matthews

Influencers have become a strange phenomenon in the past decade. Initially, people who made gaming videos, showed us their clothing hauls, or their family life on sites like YouTube, were seen as normal people – friends who we could understand and empathise with.

But, as ever, the monetisation of these platforms led to paid advertisements, brand deals, and content produced and posted to perfection. Even so, they had managed to maintain their notquite-celebrity status until this year.

During each lockdown, most of us said goodbye to our holiday plans and chose to stay at home for the greater good. However, anyone who’s caught a whiff of an influencer on their social media

will have noticed the suspicious number of trips to Dubai they’ve been taking. Their flaunting of lockdown rules has already been criticised, but it also illustrates the continually widening gulf between influencers and their followers. However, the influencer who stood out from the rest during the pandemic is, of course, Dr Alex George.

The former Love Island star has been working on the front lines fighting coronavirus since the beginning, and the news of his new role as Youth Mental Health Ambassador is certainly one worth celebrating. Some may say that anyone affiliated with Love Island would be unfit for this role, considering that the show has come under fire for promoting unrealistic body and beauty standards. In 2019, research by the Mental Health Foundation found that 24% of people aged 18 to 24 had worries about their body image, in part

caused by reality TV shows like Love Island. However, these recent months have shown Dr Alex’s commitment to mental health. The show had previously allowed him to amass over two million followers across all of his social media platforms, which he has used as a real force for good, even before his new government role.

Speaking of government mental health campaigns, does anyone remember the ‘Every Mind Matters’ campaign from October 2019? Or even when it was re-released in summer last year? I certainly don’t, for reasons which I can only assume include a tight advertising budget, and a lack of media coverage. If we compare this to how frequently we’re seeing the shocking ‘look them in the eyes’ campaign, it seems the Government haven’t prioritised mental health on the same scale. It’s likely that these adverts are doing more harm to

people’s mental health than good.

No doubt ‘Every Mind Matters’ could make a tangible difference, but only with the right amount of government backing. Having Dr Alex in charge of promoting positive mental health campaigns might actually get them the mileage and viewership they need to make a difference. By appointing an influencer who is proficient in the social media industry, they ensure that any information and help pages are shared in the correct way to maximise their audience. This is a far more sensible decision, rather than appointing an out-of-touch boomer to speak to such a young audience.

challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, graduates of these disciplines will surely be amongst the leaders of tomorrow.

It is also worth pointing out that this shift away from the arts, humanities and languages is not merely at university level. Language uptake is also very low at KS3 and KS4 levels, with the government recently pumping £5 million into schools in an attempt to increase student participation. The plight of the performing arts also deserves special mention – more and more schools are struggling to

keep these departments alive as students are moving away from such disciplines at GCSE and A Level. This is unfortunate, since the skills gained specifically from these subjects – namely confidence and communication – are once again necessary in the job market.

The expertise gained from the arts, humanities and languages, particularly at university level but even at school, are invaluable. In light of the current global climate, we require a new generation of leaders with precisely these skills, who can help to shape Britain’s

The pandemic has forced us to rely on social media

Perhaps most importantly though, young people today have grown up in a digital age.

While social media detoxes have

previously been an option for escaping the toxicities of the online world, it is now a necessary evil. The pandemic has forced us all to rely on social media more heavily for social interaction (and for students, even education) and it’s taking a toll on everyone’s mental health. Dr Alex, who has survived the hellscape that is social media after leaving Love Island, is familiar with the trials and tribulations of the online world. This experience, along with his expertise as a medical professional, will allow him to give accurate and personal advice to our generation, in a way that is accessible and non-judgemental.

While I am hesitant to say that this move isn’t politically motivated at all, I do believe it is a wise choice. Although this is a necessary and important role to establish, it is undoubtedly going to be a tough job. However, Dr Alex has the right skillset and platform to make a difference.

Arts degrees shouldn’t be left on the shelf Laetitia Eichinger

A recent article in The Times revealed an intriguing shift in the uptake of subjects at universities in recent years. Proportionally, fewer young people than ever are choosing to study arts, humanities and languages, with an increasing number opting instead for STEM, medicine, law and business degrees. In our continually modernising and increasingly technology-based society, it is certainly vital that there is a good uptake in these subjects, to provide the economy with the necessary skill sets to fill jobs in vital sectors. However, the dramatic decline in uptake of the arts, humanities and languages must not be interpreted merely as a necessary side-effect of a modernising society. In fact, it should be a cause for concern.

In light of Brexit, the low uptake of languages is especially alarming. A lack of vital linguistic skills in the job market should be expected to become severely problematic if this trend continues, since there is already a gap in the market. It cannot be hoped that Britain will attract international investment postBrexit if the necessary linguistic skills are not abundant amongst job seekers. Now more than ever, Britain is in dire need of skilled linguists to help shape its new, post-Brexit persona on the world stage. Britain must find her new place after divorce from the EU; this is simply only

possible through cooperation with foreign powers. Language skills are crucial for international engagements and diplomacy, with vital endeavours, such as trade deals, hanging in the balance. Linguists are vital, and a lack of them warrants concern.

With regards to the arts and humanities, it is not uncommon to hear of students who are interested and passionate in these disciplines, but who have felt pressured into studying something that society now sees as more useful and employable.

Whilst STEM, medicine, law and business graduates are, of course, very important, and whilst it is perfectly valid for somebody to choose to study something which will help to set them on their desired career path, it is simply incorrect to say that degrees in the arts and humanities are not employable or useful.

The skills gained from arts, humanities and languages are invaluable

Vital skills are fostered by these disciplines. It is no surprise that graduates of these subjects are abundant in politics and the civil service. Even outside such sectors, these graduates are incredibly valuable assets in all sorts of employment settings.

The arts and humanities should, therefore, not be looked down on as ‘useless’ degrees, but should instead be respected as valid, and encouraged for the myriad of skills that people gain from them. Particularly in light of new

new place in the world. Those who choose to follow the liberal disciplines at university should not have their degrees labelled as useless or unemployable. Whilst the shift toward STEM, medicine, law and business degrees will certainly bring other vital skills to the job market, the arts should not be considered inferior.

(Anna Kuptsova)

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PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

9

Comment

Debate: Should the SU be able to ban speakers?

For: the SU should have the power to ban those who could cause harm Katie Tobin Durham Students’ Union has announced that student groups will be required to authorise any external speakers at least two weeks prior to the event.

“Controversial or higher risk” speakers will be required to give at least four weeks’ notice.

Speakers could be considered as high risk if they are “widely regarded as controversial” or if they have “links to any person or groups connected with controversy.”

This new policy applies to all university-led events, both on and off campus, digitally and in-person. As to be expected, the policy has drawn backlash.

Sarah Kuszynski, former Durham Union Society President, told The Telegraph: “the additional restrictions are indicative of wider issues with overbearing SU bureaucracy, which could prevent students from having meaningful discussions as part of student groups, and therefore have a chilling effect on free speech on campus.”

The university responded, stating that “all students have the right to study in an environment which is free from harassment and our commitment to protecting free speech must be balanced with our safeguarding responsibilities to all students.”

On a surface level, the stifling of one’s free speech seems undeniably troubling. But by conflating the censorship of problematic speech, or even hate speech, as a denial of free speech, we are denying the historicism of marginalised suffering and violence. The new policy poses a question to which there is no finite answer: if we allow all speech under the guise of “free speech”, what becomes of hate speech?

There is no denying that tolerating or upholding problematised views is, in itself, detrimental to marginalised communities. Interweaving these subtle nuances of intolerance has devastating consequences for marginalised communities; from overt hostility and discrimination, to violence, rape, and even murder.

Undoubtedly, it seems that in recent years, the term “free speech” has become a kneejerk reactionary response to problematic rhetoric.

This defence shifts the onus of public villainy from certain individuals to the disparaging public by denying them the right to “exercise their right to freedom of expression”, as posited by the ‘gender critical’ group, Women’s Place UK. The group has faced extensive backlash for how their views have negatively impacted the trans community.

Yet, instead of turning our attention to an extremely

marginalised and vulnerable group, who are at constant threat to violence and discrimination, priority is given to those who claim to be “silenced” in national publications like The Telegraph and The Times. When influential speakers with sizeable platforms are free to make statements that pose risk to the vulnerable, it’s important to consider that not everyone is given the scope or platform to respond. Ultimately, the fight against ‘silencing’ and for ‘free speech’ is not as black and white as it first appears.

In 2019, former Humberside

admirable intentions, should be regarded with a critical eye.

According to the 2019 guide on this issue from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the right to freedom of expression is not absolute and should be balanced with other legal duties.

This means that freedom of speech can be lawfully restricted if necessary, for instance to prevent unlawful discrimination and harassment, or for security concerns. This is where the new policy is valid through its proposed risk mitigation methods, which include the appointment of an independent chair or additional guests at an event to provide a “balance of speakers”.

However, it is important to recognise that, legally, freedom of speech should not be restricted just because people may find the opinions of a particular speaker upsetting or insulting. For the SU to reasonably prohibit an

external speaker, there needs to be a genuine legal concern, such as the incitement of violence.

The policy currently lists eight potential reasons for which an external speaker request may be deemed “high risk”. For the most part, these are vague, subjective and imprecise.

police officer Harry Miller was contacted by the force following complaints about transphobic tweets from his personal account.

His lawyers argued that official police guidance on recording hate incidents against transgender people poses a “substantial chilling effect” on freedom of expression.

It seems almost incredulous that the response to hate incidents is to argue for one’s right to do so, baring no consideration for the consequences of these harmful and potentially violent words and ideas. But this age-

old rhetoric isn’t new; the idea that one’s right to expression and prejudiced ideology, regardless of the impact it has on others, is deeply embedded throughout history.

As SU President Seun Twins stated in an interview with Purple Radio, “freedom of speech is not the freedom to say anything evil”. If speakers are forced to reconsider whether their rhetoric or affiliations pose an intent to harm or incite harm against vulnerable groups, then this reaffirms the vitality of the new SU policy.

By refusing to provide a platform to speakers who pose a threat to the vulnerable and the marginalised, the Students’ Union is setting a clear boundary against intolerance. Not only does it protect students in need, but it sets the precedent that human rights are not up for debate.

In a day and age where anyone is capable of voicing their opinion, there is an unclear boundary between free speech and hate speech. The peaceful and tolerant co-existence of humanity is not something that should be compromised under the guise of freedom of speech. From this, one thing is certain; using carefully coded language to redirect hate speech towards marginalised bodies into a form of personal preference or philosophical debate needs to stop.

(Samantha Fulton)

Against: the new policy is a troubling extension of SU bureaucracy Anonymous Freedom of speech is a complicated term. With cancel culture, political correctness and no-platforming dominating headlines, the concept is constantly embroiled in everyday political discourse. It is against this context that Durham University finds itself (again) in the news, this time concerning the SU’s tighter regulation for external speakers as part of a new Freedom of Speech Policy.

It goes without saying that the right to freedom of speech is an integral part of democracy. Its role in higher education cannot be overstated: students must be able to consider and debate contentious issues, and to be exposed to ways of thinking different from their own. It is for this simple reason that the new policy, despite seemingly

The idea that the SU should set the standard of debate in Durham is laughable

For example, a speaker may be considered “high risk” if they are “widely regarded as controversial”. Here, the meaning of “controversial” is not defined, despite its inherently subjective nature. Similarly, a speaker may be banned if they are “likely to cause harm to specific groups”.

Again, “cause harm” is not defined, despite there being a genuine legal distinction between mere offence and unlawful harassment

or extremism. This lack of precision when considering the relative risk associated with external speakers is crucial.

Greater transparency is needed to prevent the SU from simply silencing the views of those with whom they disagree, without legal justification.

The policy also needs to be applied consistently. Speaking to The Telegraph, a spokesperson for the Free Speech Union raised this concern, stating that “only conservative speakers will have to jump through hoops”. This fear plays into a wider, national, concern about the political agendas of student unions.

A letter to Boris Johnson signed by 21 Tory MPs last month raised the problem of “activist” student unions with “narrow social justice” agendas, arguing that “a tiny minority of leftist activists have imposed their will on the student body.” While I do not claim that such a reductive

description can be extended to Durham, the contents of this letter raise fundamental questions about the role of political motivations within student union policies.

Overall, the idea that the SU should set the standard of democratic debate within Durham is, frankly, laughable, with many viewing the policy as only the latest extension of the SU’s already hulking bureaucracy While some aspects are credible, such as its obvious intention to prevent the unlawful harassment of minorities, the SU must ensure consistency and provide greater clarity on the conditions for which a speaker can be prohibited. The Equality and Human Rights Commission report states that “any decision about speakers and events should seek to promote and protect the right to freedom of expression.”

We must heed this advice and tread carefully.

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Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

Profile

“Objectivity is an impossible pursuit” Nathaniel Barling on the early days of flying between Durham and Stanford in the pursuit of objectivity

Isabella Green Profile Editor

Nathaniel Barling, who graduated from Durham in 2016, recently secured a place on Forbes’ 30 under 30 media list, alongside his fellow co-founders of Knowhere – an AI-driven, non-partisan news platform designed to strive towards objectivity above all else. It was an idea conjured up

by Barling as an 18-year-old and nurtured during his time at Durham; a philosophy text on his first year reading list led to the name ‘Knowhere’, while the Bill Bryson library was the scene of its legal incorporation.

Barling first conceieved the idea while on his gap year, and it began to materialise after reading ‘The View From Nowhere’, by Professor Thomas Nagel, during his first year studies. “The argument that he presents in the book,” Barling explains, “is around the impossibility of objectivity.

But his suggestion that we can leverage subjective lenses on the world to get closer to objectivity struck me as a powerful way to be thinking about the role that AI (artificial intelligence) could play.

That’s always stuck with me.”

Nagel’s philosophical treatise ultimately inspired the name of the company. “What we’re trying to do is use technology to find a ‘view’ that is as objective as possible. It was a foundational idea to the technology – I just

(Nathaniel Barling) decided to stick a ‘K’ on the front for a little play on words.”

Throughout first year Barling sat on his idea. “It was during rugby preseason week in second year, at the Billy B, when I originally incorporated the company in the UK.” Barling began to work on the project without any particular sense of urgency. “My plan was always to spend five or 10 years in finance and then one day build this company that I’m drooling about building.”

“I was spending about three months of that year on Stanford campus rather than Durham campus”

But, following a series of personal tragedies, including the death of fellow Durham student and close friend Euan Coulthard in 2015, Barling decided there was no point in waiting. “It pushed me to think, ‘I’m going to get on with the thing that really feels like I should be doing.’ And that was what kicked me to get going. Between then and the end of second year, I was trying to pull together a business plan. I went and spoke with a whole bunch of my professional mentors and ex-colleagues to see what their take was on what I wanted to build – a sort of AI driven news company. I got a positive reception and I managed to get

some commitments from people to back the business.”

It was that summer, between second and third year, that Barling met the first of his fellow co-founders, Alexandre Elkrief.

“We were doing an internship at Deutsche Bank in London. Alex had just finished his undergrad at Imperial and we’d both been working on AI-driven news projects. He was literally the first guy I spoke to on the first day at the internship and we hit it off. By the end of that week we’d agreed to build the company together; and here we are still, six years later.”

By the end of the summer, the pair had managed to pull together significant backing from their network in Europe.

Elkrief, however, had plans to go to Stanford to do a graduate programme in computer science.

“I moved out to spend six weeks with him,” Barling recalls. “Before he’d even started at Stanford we were both crashing in his apartment on campus.”

Soon afterwards, they met their third co-founder, Dylan Rhodes, who was also completing a computer science course at Stanford. “But I had a whole year still to go at Durham. I flew back at the end of Freshers‘ Week and proceeded to spend the next year trying to get the company off the ground in California, get myself a Visa, and raise money so we could get kickstarted.”

Why did the community of Stanford appeal to Barling as a base for the early days of the company? “I always envisioned it as a global company that would emanate from the States. During my research in trying to pull together a business plan, one of the things that had stood out was Stanford and specifically the NLP (Natural Language Processing) and AI research happening there. So, when I met Alex and learned he was going out there for grad school, I showed him all of the plans I’d put together and told him that I really wanted to leverage the research community at Stanford – the best in the world from a university standpoint. It was a completely natural thing.”

After graduation, Barling continued to split his time between the UK and the US. “We raised some money in early 2017 in order to build out beyond the initial prototype. That was the start of the real deal because we could really start hiring

employees.”

“That final year was pretty intense,” Barling adds. “I was co-president of the Finance Society and also trying to finish my bloody degree – and doing that while spending about three months of that year on Stanford campus rather than Durham campus was a little bit nuts, and did frankly stretch me to the very limit. I wouldn’t have done it any other way but it was a tough year.”

Within Knowhere, staff rely on a perpetual groundwork laid by intricately designed AI machinery. Barling describes how their use of technology has informed and enabled their ultimate goal of objectivity. “The best way to think about the AI in our company is that it’s basically the foundation to everything we do. Everything else sits on top of our infrastructure, which is really about discovering and organising information as efficiently and accurately as possible, that might be interesting to a reader or important for them to know about their local community.”

“No algorithm or human is less biased than the amount of information they consume”

“We pull together all of that information into our systems and do a whole host of analysis around it, where we try to predict how reliable that information might be and how newsworthy it is. We also try and look at the partisan nature of the information – is there a lean to the way in which this is reported? Are we getting this from official republican or democratic sources? Is this coming directly from an affiliated elected representative? Is this coming from a group that has financial backing on one side of the political spectrum?”

Once all the analysis has been poured over by AI technology, hired reporters and editors use the data to produce daily news stories.

Barling explains how working from an AI base is actually a very sustainable way for the business to function. “Our algorithms are at the point where the ‘newsworthiness’ analysis and the headline generation is so good that we can deliver newsletters each morning to communities just on that basis alone. The goal is to at some stage self-finance the

reporting of each community. At about 5,000 subscribers on any one of those newsletters, we’re going to be covering the salary of its reporter. We’re now able to much more aggressively expand into new markets and build from the ground up in order to hire new reporters.”

“The AI in our company is basically the foundation to everything we do”

There is a careful balance between human and machine within Knowhere. As they expand and gain access to more data, they will become progressively more able to eliminate biases in their reporting. “We believe that the more sources we gather, the better we’re able to differentiate what information is likely to be biased. Every additional source we’re able to pull in is giving us an additional lens on the world – I guess one way of framing it would be hearing as many voices as we possibly can. We’re giving ourselves more tools to be able to differentiate between information.”

Diversity, as one of their central values, is another aspect that enables the company to combat inherent biases. “We look to bring in as diverse a set of reporters as possible – in terms of background, reporting background, and cultural experience – to counterbalance each individual’s particular biases. And also, we don’t think that this just applies to the reporting piece. It is just as important that we have that emphasis on our engineering and product team as well, so that we accurately reflect the communities we’re covering.”

Barling, however, is clear to acknowledge the ultimate impossibility of their task. “We’re not perfect now and we never will be perfect. No algorithm or human is less biased than the amount of information that they consume. Our goal is to help our reporters get as far away from their own individual biases as we possibly can. In the company values, we talk about how objectivity is an impossible pursuit. We have to accept that and nonetheless work towards it.”

To read the full interview, visit our website at palatinate.org.uk

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

11

Profile

“Every single student has some sort of link to Italy” Profile speaks to Parlatinate about their raison d’être and how they managed to bring the project to life

Erin Waks Ava Cohen and Tom Godfrey, two third year Modern Language Students, have set up their own magazine, Parlatinate, focusing on all things Italian. From food to film and literature, the aim of the co-editors is to get as many people inspired by Italian culture as possible, set against the backdrop of their own years abroad in Italy.

Cohen and Godfrey started the project during their years abroad, in Catania, Sicily and Modena, Emilia-Romagna respectively.

Both share a huge passion for Italian culture. Cohen explains, “I really have always loved Italy.

And I love writing about things culturally, so Parlatinate is the perfect combination of the two.”

“It is a collection of voices who have something to say about Italy” Godfrey, similarly, cites his passion for Italy as “the largest driving factor for the project.” It was during lockdown when the idea first came to him: “Whilst at home studying for exams last May, I was thinking back to the Decameron, one of our firstyear texts. In this text, a group of students flees Florence during the plague, and they tell stories each night to pass the time.

I thought that in our current period of lockdown, it would be a good idea to give people a platform to talk about things about which they are passionate – which for me is Italy. So, I contacted Ava and within about 20 minutes she had come up with a strategy for marketing and planning! What started as

(Ava Cohen) a simple idea soon became the basis for a serious project.”

Their vision for the project, however, is flexible. Godfrey says, “We are happy for people to write what they want, as long as it is related to the Italian imaginary or the Italian experience in general. People could write about Italian-American history, Italian gastronomy, and so on. You don’t have to have been to Italy or speak Italian to write for us – you just need an interest. The great thing about Italian culture is that it is transnational. We aren’t asking for a particular style; we just want people to be heard. We have some more academic pieces, all the way to casual chatty articles and poetry.”

Cohen adds, “It is a collection of voices who have something to say about Italy. So, we’re not going to limit anyone. It is our job to put it together in a way that makes sense.”

It is clear that the passion Cohen and Godfrey share for the project has helped with the process of its launch. Godfrey explains, “We started by messaging people we knew who had a keen interest in Italy or language and culture in general. People were happy to contribute! Then we contacted Heads of Department to email students, which resulted in a great response and lots of new articles. Finally, we got in touch with Durham Italian Society who were keen to create a link with us. These links have helped us to source contributors from all sorts of disciplines – classics, economics, and more. Even though we don’t all share the same subjects, we all share the same passion for language and culture.”

Despite both immersing themselves in Italian culture

this year, they have found that working alongside other students is really what has made the project flow so seamlessly. “Quite simply,” Cohen states, “We’re a team. Whilst I may drive Tom mad messaging him every five seconds, that’s how we get things done.”

Godfrey adds, “Because we are both passionate about the subject, we are keen to make it a really interesting magazine, and share that passion with others. We are asking people to write about what they want. Not having to push people has been excellent.”

And they want contributors from all walks of life. Cohen argues, “I do believe every single student has some sort of link to Italy – think about how many times a month you eat pesto pasta. I rest my case.”

Living in Italy and being immersed in Italian culture was for both a huge driving force of the project. Cohen recalls her time in Catania. “I was learning so much that I would never learn in a classroom. Any opportunity to share that with as many people as possible would be amazing.”

“Think about how many times a month you eat pesto pasta”

Godfrey also acknowledges the influence of his year abroad on the magazine. “Living in a country really informs your ideas.

If it goes right, you become so much more passionate about the culture. We’re so fortunate to be able to travel, and not everyone has these opportunities. This magazine could be a door into the culture for others. Our magazine’s title includes the word ‘parla’, which comes from the imperative ‘speak up.’ The magazine gives people a platform to share their experiences and learn about Italian culture.”

For Cohen and Godfrey, Italian culture encompasses many different elements.

Godfrey attributes it to the way of life in Italy. “There is a word in Italian – ‘sprezzatura’ – which describes the relaxed way in which Italians seem so cool and nonchalant, even if they are stressed. You can see this in cafés in Italy – you see these waiters running around frantically, but they don’t even look stressed. It seems easy to them. In everything to do with this culture that I’ve experienced – and everyone will have a different view – it’s about enjoying life.”

Cohen also describes feeling particularly at ease in Sicily. “Italy will welcome anyone. Things like walking into an advanced

level ballet class not knowing anyone – it’s just about knowing the terminology; just feeling like part of the family from the second I walked in. If you are there, you belong there. If you are interested, you belong there.”

It is not only a love for Italian culture, however, that drives them. Cohen reflects, “Learning about other cultures is the way to build tolerance, friendships, and foundations. Looking to people who feel they don’t have an aptitude for languages – you will be accepted by anyone as long as you are interested.”

“Even if the UK is cutting some ties with Europe, we are still connected”

Similarly, Godfrey argues that learning about other cultures “opens so many doors. You discover new things, and add them to your identity. In a new country, you see habits that don’t exist in your home country. The more you see, there more you can create a mix and match identity for yourself. Even though I have no Italian heritage, I can see my identity becoming a mix of Italian and English.”

“You can interweave all these aspects, and that goes for every culture. There is no such thing as ‘an Italian’, especially somewhere like Italy where pride in individual regions is so important. Wherever you go, you can develop on a personal level.

And then on a universal level, you can bring that to increase tolerance. People are benefiting themselves when engaging and sharing tolerance with others.”

Considering the current political climate, with Brexit coming into the fore, Cohen and Godfrey believe projects

like Parlatinate are paramount.

Godfrey recounts a job interview he recently had for an internship in Bordeaux: “One of the first things they found interesting about my application is that I am a British student who studies languages. They were very excited to see that – despite leaving the EU – British students are still interested in learning about other cultures. And it doesn’t have to be just languages. Engaging in any way – reading the French canon, working on a vineyard in Europe, studying in Germany – all of these things help to keep connections going. So, even if the UK is cutting some ties with Europe, we are still connected.”

Cohen agrees, “On a wider scale, Italy has offered so much to the world, and you can feel their massive international network and influence everywhere. With Brexit, it is important to maintain an international network and create a strong British cultural influence elsewhere.”

“Learning about other cultures is the way to build tolerance, friendships, and foundations”

The duo has encouraging advice to offer to other students who are thinking about starting their own initiatives. Cohen urges, “Just go for it! Put the idea out there and work out the practicalities later.

We had the idea long before we had the means to put it into practice.” Godfrey adds, “If you have the idea, there is probably going to be someone else in the University who is keen. If you can find a team, that makes it so much easier, so you are not on your own.”

Find them on Instagram and Facebook @Parlatinate (Tom Godfrey)

12

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

SciTech

(Verity Laycock)

Survey suggests 60% drop in STEM student satisfaction in 2020-21 • 85% surveyed say their satisfaction with teaching has decreased after the switch to online learning • Overall, student satisfaction with teaching dropped by 50% • Students cite lack of access to laboratories, the ‘dumbing down’ of content in order to teach it online, and the difficulty of participating in group discussion over Zoom Faye Saulsbury

Science & Technology Editor The 2020-2021 academic year has forced universities to move their curricula online, as successive lockdowns in the UK prevented students from travelling or gathering in groups.

Palatinate Science & Technology conducted an investigation into Durham student satisfaction with online teaching.

It aimed to find out whether the online or blended teaching being offered by Durham University this year is a comparable substitute for in-person teaching.

The results of a small-scale survey showed that overall, student satisfaction with teaching dropped by 50%, but with stark differences between subjects.

The satisfaction of STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) students dropped by 60%. Arts and humanities students’ satisfaction only dropped by 20%. It should also be noted that STEM students made up a large proportion of the sample (86%).

Overall, student satisfaction with teaching dropped by 50%

switch to online learning was 8/10. The average (mode) rating of teaching satisfaction after the switch to online learning was 3/10.

All students cited the difficulty of participating in discussions over Zoom, and the fact that prerecorded lectures are often not uploaded at the scheduled time as reasons for their decreased satisfaction with teaching.

66% said their satisfaction with teaching has significantly decreased since the switch to online learning. 100% of this group were STEM students.

19% said their satisfaction has somewhat decreased.

The average (mode) rating of teaching satisfaction before the

However, the most common concern was specific to STEM students. The lack of access to laboratories and subject-specific technical equipment, and the ‘dumbing down’ of content in

66% say their satisfaction with teaching has significantly decreased

order to teach it online means many feel they have not learnt the skills necessary to pursue careers or postgraduate degrees in research.

The average rating of teaching satisfaction was 3/10 after the switch to online learning

They highlighted the fact that practical work is critical to learning the scientific process.

It teaches students methods of gathering primary data, how to design and conduct an experiment and how to use technical equipment.

While students did not blame lecturers or Durham University for the situation, they strongly felt

that the quality of their teaching has been reduced, and that online teaching for STEM courses is not a comparable substitute for inperson teaching.

6% of respondents said their satisfaction with teaching has somewhat increased since the switch to online learning.

Reasons for this include the ability to watch lectures at a time and speed that suits the individual, and a greater focus on the teaching of software-based skills, which students feel will be more important in the future.

These figures are based on a selfselecting survey of 115 responses collected by Durham students from Durham students – alongside Durham Polling – over a period of four days.

“Do you think the teaching of subject-specific skills has been well adapted for online learning?”

• Lectures are well adapted to an online format and allow greater flexibility • The teaching of experimental skills has been poorly adapted to an online format • Some departments have provided technical equipment for at-home use

No, not at all. (14 responses) I feel I am not as skilled as I would have been, because content has been “dumbed down” so it can be taught with limited resources online. (Geography) We have been left in the dark when it comes to how we will complete summative work based around our practical learning.

(Biology) The lecturers are doing their best but ‘virtual practicals’ is a contradiction in terms. I want

to do postgraduate research and need in-person practical experience in order to advance to this level. (Natural Sciences) People do not engage in online seminars. I am disappointed with the quality of teaching. (English)

Yes, the department has adapted well to teaching software-based skills online. But not at all well to the teaching of fieldwork techniques. There has been no substitute at all for these.

(Geography)

The Maths department providing all students with drawing tablets was really helpful. (Maths) They’ve adapted as best they could, but unfortunately lab work is impossible to teach online.

(Engineering) Overall yes! There’s a lot of good that’s come from teaching online, such as the ability to speed up/ rewind lectures. (Maths)

Lots of lectures don’t have a scheduled time for upload, or they are uploaded late, which

can make it hard to establish a routine. (English)

Yes, being sent lab equipment at home was a really good idea.

(Natural Sciences) I feel discouraged from asking questions because there are so few opportunities to talk to lecturers, and emails are often ignored. (Psychology)

The circumstances are not the department’s fault, but online practicals don’t work. (Biology)

Not too much needs to change for a humanities student, and lecturers have adapted well to delivering lectures online.

(English and Philosophy)

Not all modules have provided videos of the experiments. It is hard to interpret methodology from just text. (Biology) I appreciate it has been difficult for the department to adapt to these new circumstances but I have learnt much less from virtual fieldtrips. (Geology)

13

Thursday 18th Febuary 2020 | PALATINATE

SciTech

In their own words: STEM students on learning science through a screen JACK, 3rd YEAR, PHYSICS I’ve seen a very mixed response from teaching in the Physics department, depending highly on the individual lecturers for each course.

Problem classes run by PhD students on Zoom are often stilted and awkward, and many students sit in silence. There’s no easy way to replicate hand drawn diagrams explaining mathematical concepts. How can you show where your problem is without holding pieces of paper up to the camera?

There were only 58 lab spaces for a year group of 250

Physics is a practical subject.

Much of learning depends on lab work. The department made an effort to offer labs to third year students by creating online, “at home” experiments for second years. However, they were only able to offer 58 lab spaces to a year group of around 250. A lot of Physics students, myself included, felt really discouraged from applying for the labs modules we had wanted to do. We were worried that it wouldn’t be safe, wouldn’t be able to run all year, or we wouldn’t be able to secure a place.

AMBER, 3rd YEAR, ENGINEERING

The transition to completely online learning has meant a massive shift in the way teaching is delivered. Engineering has always been a contact hour heavy degree, with up to 25 hours per week of lectures, labs and seminars.

For the most part, online lectures and seminars have been delivered seamlessly, with many occurring ‘live’. My lecturers are making a huge effort to continue to engage students with different formats of delivering lectures, extremely detailed lecture notes and some lovely backgrounds (one lecturer has even brought a professional green screen).

My lecturers are making a huge effort

However, it has been harder to learn practical skills remotely.

Crucial to an Engineering degree is practical experience. Now, lab access is limited to those with explicit permission all other lab work has been moved “online”.

This means that we will have less familiarity with crucial equipment and have less opportunity to practice data collection skills.

Where online learning falls short most, however, is not unique to Engineering. We are all missing out on the student ‘experience’. It is easy to fall behind and lose focus without the regular encouragement of seeing your course mates.

I appreciate how lucky I am in having established friendships, and know how much harder this would have been if I was a first-year. The Engineering department has put a lot of effort and resources into accommodating students for remote learning. However, the effect on the student learning experience cannot be ignored.

HELEN, 2nd YEAR, NATURAL SCIENCES

I had some in-person lab sessions last term (Michaelmas Term), although the hours were significantly reduced from normal years. Chemistry labs are often run over two days; now we only have one afternoon and we are given supplementary datasets to make up for the rest.

We’re missing out on the social aspect of learning

Social distancing was possible and the sessions were well organised.

However, social distancing was not always enforced, and some of the spaces in labs are really not large enough to stay one metre apart at all times.

Without lab partners, noone was talking - so it was very quiet and uncomfortable. We’re missing out on the social aspect of learning, as lab partners often become good friends.

Pre-recorded lectures work better than traditional lectures For those who want to pursue a career in research, online learning has had a significant negative impact. Students aren’t able to gain as much practical experience as we would normally, and it is harder to figure out if research is something we are really interested in.

However, I actually think prerecorded lectures work better than traditional lectures, because we can pause them to take notes and breaks. However, tutorials are much more difficult over Zoom; quieter students are discouraged from participating.

Ultimately though, the practical skills which are key to science can only really be gained in a handson way. There is talk of catching

up on labs in summer term if possible, and I think this would help significantly.

PAUL, 4th YEAR, CHEMISTRY

Before the academic year began, the department took the decision to schedule all lab work for second term. All lectures, reading time, planning, and other teaching activities were brought forwards to first term. At the time, that seemed a reasonable decision.

I am sure I am missing out on skills that I can’t even name

Since then, however, the pandemic situation has become worse, not better, and the department recognised that some students would be unable or unwilling to return to Durham for lab projects after Christmas.

They allowed students to opt for a remote project, akin to a dissertation, instead.

The students still completing lab projects that I have spoken to seem glad to have had this opportunity and are benefitting from conducting primary research. However, their time in the labs has been restricted.

For those like me who are undertaking remote projects, we are glad to have been given this option. Students and staff know that we are missing crucial research skills such as experiment planning and learning to use equipment. I am sure I am missing out on other skills that I can’t even name because I don’t know what they are. These can never be replaced, but we do not expect that the department can change this under the current circumstances.

ELISE, 2nd YEAR, BIOLOGY

‘Online labs’ involve using secondary data, for example using computer programmes such as Fiji Image to analyse images. We haven’t had a lot of instruction for this work; many of the programmes are new to us this year, and we’ve been expected to complete tasks without demonstrations. I feel it would be better if we worked through it together on Zoom.

Quieter students are discouraged from participating on Zoom JEN, 3rd YEAR, GEOLOGY

Fieldwork is an essential part of geology. It is an opportunity to

put the theory learnt in lectures to the test.

Can the field environment really be recreated on Zoom? In short, I would say no. That said, I feel that the pandemic has made clear the importance of learning digital skills as well, which will benefit me in a digitally advancing world.

Instead of travelling by coach, we arrived via Google Earth satellite imagery

In 2020/21, I was expecting to travel to Southern Spain and Tenerife, to discover in person the effects of extensive faulting and volcanology. These trips were moved online. The virtual ‘field trip’ to Spain consisted of a week’s worth of 9am-5pm Zoom calls.

Instead of travelling by coach, we arrived at our localities via Google Earth satellite imagery.

Our lecturers taught us the same content as they would have done in the field, but using drone footage, 3D software and virtual microscopes to analyse the outcrops.

At the end of the week, we produced a digital geological map, cross section, stratigraphic column and report by compiling all the new digital skills we had acquired. Although it was engaging and I felt I had learnt a lot, it is not the same as exploring the Betic Mountains and studying the rocks in person.

The pandemic has made clear the importance of learning digital skills

Geology as a degree has hardly changed since it was first introduced. Geoinformatics (a module teaching core software skills), only became compulsory in 2018.

Now, this module has become more valuable than ever, with research and learning becoming computer based.

But although digital skills were gaining importance, the pandemic has forced the department to quickly bring them to the fore, rethinking the structure of the entire course. Before Covid-19, I would have been spending six weeks of my summer mapping the Dorset coastline.

But I am now mapping the palaeochannels of the Yellow River, China, using satellite imagery and ArcGIS. In the 21st century, there are fewer jobs as a fieldwork geologist – spending months in the field – which the physical

Editor’s note

I

n April last year, I wrote an op-ed in Palatinate making clear my disappointment with the idea of online teaching. At the time, learning entirely from recorded videos and Zoom calls seemed alien and impossible.

Now, online learning is our reality.

For me, it has meant the cancellation of both my second and third year field trips. The final year field trip to the Norwegian Arctic was one of the reasons I chose to study Geography at Durham University, and I made sure to study modules relevant to that trip in my first and second years. Although I am disappointed that I can’t go, I understand that the situation is beyond anybody’s control.

Yet as I near the end of my time at Durham, I wonder if I would have had a greater appreciation for my degree subject had I gone on those field trips.

As it stands, I do not see myself choosing a career or postgraduate course directly related to my degree. But I don’t think that’s because I have no interest at all in my subject. I just don’t feel I’ve had the opportunity to really engage with it - to find out if I love it.

The aim of this investigation is to gain an understanding of whether students feel online teaching at Durham University is a comparable substitute for in-person teaching.

We all know that campus life cannot continue ‘as normal’ this year and the responses I received were objective, not whiny. Nonetheless, it is important to recognise that different subjects fare differently in an online format, and there is much work to be done to convince students to stick with practical-based subjects.

Faye Saulsbury

mapping dissertations gave us the skillset for. These roles are much rarer due to the development of remote sensing. With my training in digital software, I do not think I will be negatively affected in the job market.

However, in the longterm I do not think science subjects can purely be taught virtually. Learning how to use a microscope is a key skill which can be supplemented but not replaced with a virtual one. I hope that we will eventually have the opportunity to return to the invaluable hands-on experience in the field and the labs, so that first and second years have the opportunity to put the skills learnt over Zoom into practice.

14

Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

SciTech

Valentine’s special: scientists make voles fall in love Cameron McAllister Scientists at Emory University in the U.S. have become the cupids of the vole world by discovering that by activating specific brain circuits in the female prairie vole they could cause them to fall in love with certain males.

Less than 5% of mammals form long-term monagamous relationships

Prairie voles are highly sociable and form long-term monogamous relationships, a behaviour known as pair bonding which is relatively rare in the natural world – occurring in fewer than five per cent of mammals. This makes prairie voles the perfect candidate for a small mammal model to learn more about the brain circuitry that underpins these bonds, circuits that are also believed to be implicated in human pair bonding.

First, electrodes were inserted into the brains of female prairie voles to identify the brain circuitry that’s activated when a pair bond is formed. The researchers found that rhythmic oscillations of a

group of neurons in the prefrontal cortex controlled the strength of oscillations in neurons of the anatomically linked area the ‘nucleus accumbens’, and that the connections in this circuit became stronger after mating and when the females huddled close to a male. The nucleus accumbens is involved in pleasure, reward and addiction, while the prefrontal cortex is mainly involved in decision-making and executive functions, suggesting that the partners themselves had started to act as rewards to the female.

Scientists then exploited a technique known as optogenetics to trigger the love circuit that they’d found between the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens. First, genes were inserted into the neurons of the prefrontal cortex via a viral vector.

These genes were designed to act as switches, turning the neurons on when exposed to light. Light could then be pulsed into that brain region via a fine optical fibre to activate the genes.

A male and a female were then put together for a bonding period of an hour without being allowed to mate, while their cortex neurons were stimulated to connect with the reward

bonding. For example, it has been shown that monogamous prairie voles have an abundance of oxytocin receptors in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex (the areas involved in the ‘love circuit’) while nonmonogamous montane voles do not. It has even been found that the oxytocin receptor density of prairie voles predicts how resilient female voles are to early life neglect.

A real Casanova (Jonathan Ridley via Unsplash)

system at the same oscillatory frequency observed during mating (mimicking what happens to naturally strengthen the pair bond).

Light, pulsed into the vole’s brain, activated genes that stimulated the brain’s reward system

Female voles were then given the choice of mating with the male they had been artificially bonded with or a male stranger, with 10 of the 12 females choosing the latter compared to only three of

the 10 control females who had an irrelevant gene simulated.

“We are not doing these studies to uncover the secrets of love, or to make people fall in love,” Robert Liu, lead author of the paper, told Quartz. Instead, scientists are hoping to develop new psychiatric treatments.

Neurochemicals such as oxytocin (colloquially known as the ‘love hormone’) are known to play a role in social bonding, but their exact function is not fully understood.

Studies of voles offer an important way to learn more about the effect neurochemicals have on

The findings could be used to develop new treatments for schizophrenia or sociopathy The ultimate aim of studies like these is to develop new treatments for social disorders such as schizophrenia or sociopathy that might include circuit-level targeting of the oxytocin system, which could massively advance psychiatry.

GOT AN IDEA FOR AN ARTICLE? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Send your thoughts to scitech@palatinate.org.uk

The science of attraction: kissing, odour and Zoom

compatibility, such as shared experience and intimacy.

Elise Garcon Science and Technology Editor

Is physical everything?

Gone are the days of making eye contact with someone in Klute, or meeting them at your college’s Summer Ball. Dating has turned virtual, and in our third national lockdown, a connection online seems to be the only way to meet anyone romantically. But what can happen when these text conversations turn into socially distanced walks? Why can the spark that seemed so strong over Zoom fizzle out in person?

This evokes exhilaration

Human attraction is a complicated system that has formed from the influence of social cues over the evolution of our species. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter which causes cravings, is at the centre of this.

When casually touching someone, or walking side by side, it causes a whole range of neurons to fire in your brain.

This evokes exhilaration, especially when you and your date are hitting it off, and leads to the addictive first stages of a new relationship. Oxytocin also plays a part, building affection, and epinephrine lowers stress, making you feel like your partner is perfect. Serotonin rises to the

At least they don’t need to go on Zoom dates (Mike Seyfang via Flickr)

levels of patients with obsessivecompulsive disorder, leading to your thoughts returning, again and again, to the other person. A simple tap on the arm can set off this endocrinological cascade.

But the science of attraction can begin at an even more basic level: smell. An experiment where women were asked to smell men’s worn t-shirts asked them to rank them from the most to least attractive. A strong correlation was found between the most attractive odour, and the man that differed the most genetically from the woman in immunological response.

Evolution prevails here: finding a genetically different mate would produce children with varied and strong immune systems.

Diversity in the major histocompatibility complex, a molecule expressed on the surface of T cells, is essential for good immunity. This means an individual will have many different structures of the complex, and can bind to a range of pathogenic peptides, fighting off many infections.

Aside from unconscious attraction, kissing is also important in gauging compatibility. It evolved as a

litmus test, giving a quick insight into the taste and smell of a mate. This courtship ritual has consequences: 59% of men and 66% of women have broken up with a partner after a bad first kiss. The lack of this can make a person hard to judge.

The superficial nature of dating apps also result in relationships petering out in person. Studies show that women with long hair and men over 6’3 tend to receive more attention online than their counterparts. This initial focus on physical attributes means that matches aren’t made on factors that play into long-term

attraction

Though video chat cannot replicate physical chemistry with someone, Zoom dating can provide a good way to discount incompatible people straight away. The issue lies when, in lockdown, the relationship stays virtual. That isn’t to say that all pandemic relationships are in trouble: visual cues also trigger dopamine activity.

Facial symmetry is made to attract us, as it’s a sign of how healthy an individual may be. Our genes have evolved to develop symmetrically, and diseases during development cause blemishes that knock this symmetry out of balance. The stronger the immune system, the more symmetrical traits. Another reason this preference may exist is due to “perceptual bias”. This is the idea that our visual system is hard-wired to process symmetry over asymmetry, and viewing these faces gives us a dopamine rush.

So if your river walk seems to have led nowhere, don’t worry too much about it.

Your biology just may not be compatible.

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

15

Politics

Has Covid caused the death of satire?

Samuel Lopes Satire seems to flourish when things are going fairly well in the grand scheme of things. The issues of the day must be large enough to be important, and yet understandable enough to be easily susceptible to mockery.

At its best, satire is irony and sardonicism that is weaponised, targeting those in power – but it has to hurt. Good satire fosters, if not a public, then a perceived sense of shame by those on the receiving end of such satirical criticism.

What happens, then, when conventional satire and cold hard reality collide? Does satire still have a place in a post-coronavirus world?

Lately, satire appears to be bleeding into reality

There has been a proud tradition of modern political satire in the UK stemming from the 1980s to the present day.

Programmes such as Yes, Minister, Spitting Image and the The Thick of It have all satirised various aspects of political life over the past thirty years. Lately, however, satire appears to be bleeding into

reality.

Even Armando Iannucci, the creator of some of the best satire of recent times, published an article in October of last year following Trump contracting Covid-19, entitled, ‘I Created Veep and Even I Couldn’t Make the Last Week Up’. When asked whether he could effectively satirise Trump, he responded, “I’d find it very difficult to do fiction set in the world of government while what’s happening in reality is far more absurd”.

Even our own Prime Minister has surpassed satirical criticism.

Many populist figures have incorporated satirised versions of themselves into their political personas – creating an ideological vaccine against criticism by constructing political narratives far removed from reality. This has the negative effect of allowing real political failings to slip through the cracks. Take the overwhelming level of cronyism that has been allowed to fester in Britain over the course of the pandemic, resulting in the squandering of vast amounts of taxpayer money.

Nearly £2 billion of Covid-19 contracts went to those with connections to the Conservative Party. Sadly, this is now expected

by many as a result of Johnson’s ‘boys-club’ Etonian personality, with polling figures remaining relatively unchanged since November.

A basic level of competence, thankfully (and finally) seen in the rollout of vaccinations, exceeds public expectations of the government.

September, late 2020 and early 2021 were set to see the holding of indirect parliamentary and presidential elections. Under this agreement, the plan was for 27,775 special delegates chosen by clan members to pick lawmakers, who would go on to choose the president.

However, the deadline of 8th February for holding these indirect elections has now passed, after talks between the central government and federal

states over how to proceed with the election broke down. Now, the coalition of opposition candidates are calling for a transitional national council to be created, whilst claiming to no longer recognise President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who is also known as Farmaajo.

For three years, Farmaajo’s administration planned to hold one-man, one-vote elections, perhaps overly ambitious in a country that still sees a big al-

Such collisions of farce with reality are not just limited to national government

Such collisions of farce with reality are not just limited to national government. In the seventeen-minute clip of the Handforth Parish Council meeting published online last week, the nation collectively saw the impotent rage of several middleaged men explode over whether Jackie Weaver had the authority to call an extraordinary (in all senses of the word) meeting of the parish council.

The response from the public was swift, with some calling it, “the best British comedy in decades”. The tumultuous events of the past few years (as well as the current trilogy of lockdowns) have made our old points of reference obsolete. Faced with a

lack of social stimulation, many have chosen to retreat into their inner lives and thus common social grievances have become all-consuming.

Perhaps this is what prompted the violent and disproportionate outbursts by the councillors of Handforth. In the face of this virus, comfort can be gleaned from that which seems unchanging, like reading and understanding the standing orders in the memorable words of ‘Aled’s iPad’.

It is difficult to effectively satirise events which, to many, already seem farcical or fantastical. Besides, one must recognise the great struggles that many are continuing to undergo as we struggle through the third wave of the virus. Maybe now is not the time for satire. But we shouldn’t underestimate the power of satirical commentary to hold our elected leaders to account.

Treating important and prescient issues by responding with satire can be an important tool in highlighting the immoral or incompetent. Satire, in contrast to popular belief, is not dead – but perhaps it should be adapted, in light of the current pandemic, so it can perform its vital political role once more.

The future of Somalia is at stake Madeleine Burt Somalia is in crisis, battling against violent Islamic insurgents, a locust invasion, and severe food shortages. On top of this, it is now facing a political challenge that threatens to plunge the country into increasing turmoil and conflict.

The Horn of Africa nation has faced great instability for decades following the chaos of the 1991 overthrow of President Siad Barre’s military government.

This led to clan warfare, and saw the rise of al-Shabaab, an Islamic insurgent group based in Somalia that is allied to al-Qaeda.

At one time, al-Shaabab controlled much of the capital, Mogadishu, and large areas in the Somali countryside. More recently, it has been pushed back from the capital and other population centres by an AfricanUnion led military campaign.

However, it threatens to reemerge in relatively stable areas due to the security vacuum caused by the current political turmoil.

Solidified by a deal made last

Shaabab presence in the rural central and southern areas. The agreement that followed for indirect elections was determined

by Farmaajo and leaders from four out of five federal states in the country. However, the federal state leaders of Jubaland and Puntland soon accused the President of going back on the deal by filling the election boards with his allies.

The central government in Somalia has a weak hold over the country

Farmaajo asserted that he had “made compromises on everything” when attempting to reach a commitment for the election with the federal states. In particular, Farmaajo blamed “foreign interference”, most likely aimed at Kenya, for its involvement supporting armed groups in the Jubaland region. Kenya is on close terms with Jubaland’s leader, Ahmed Madobe, and it sees Jubaland as a buffer between al-Shaabab militants who are also present in Kenya. Madobe has accused

From the Editors

Anna Shepherd Deputy Politics Editor

This week has brought the oddest tribulations of our Covid-19 era to light in a power struggle over Zoom in Handforth concerning whether Jackie Weaver really should have held the floor. I hope you watched the video, it brought me some muchdesired comic relief! Yet, while we find a laugh over squabbling parish councillors, Somalia, like Uganda, faces an election that seems to only have the outcome of possible prosperity or despotic demise.

Further, echoes of history have billowed through the week as Joe Biden has taken to armchair addresses in an attempt rekindle the ideas of a paternal presidency and a space race between the UAE, the USA and China fuels foraging for new information on Mars. While everything on Earth seems to be writhing against itself, has life on another planet ever been more welcome?

Farmaajo in turn of interfering with the election process.

The central government in Somalia has a weak hold over the country, with continuing conflict between local and national forces on top of al-Shaabab insurgency.

The government relies on foreign support from the United Nations and African Union in the form of security and financial aid to maintain power, and is being warned against interfering in a fair election process.

An agreement must be reached quickly to prevent increased violence, and so efforts can continue to be made to confront the ongoing humanitarian crisis. al-Shaabab has launched numerous attacks in recent weeks as unrest grows. Over one third of the population are in need of humanitarian support, and thirty years on from the 1991 rebellion, millions of people are displaced.

The future of Somalia is at stake, with the possibility of either a long yet hopeful road towards increased peace and prosperity throughout the country, or a steep descent back into conflict and war.

(AMISOM Public Information, Flickr)

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Politics

Betting on Bitcoin: cryptocurrencies’ future Richard Herbert It was disclosed this week that Tesla had invested $1.5bn in Bitcoin and that it was initiating plans to start accepting the digital currency as payment for its electric vehicles, causing its value to swell to a new high of $44,100 on Monday. This comes after Elon Musk had reportedly been promoting both Bitcoin and Dogecoin on Twitter in recent days. Many have seen this move as a big boost to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as whole.

This move could have been made due to tax concerns

Tesla’s audit committee approved of the investment, believing it was a way to “further diversify and maximise” returns on their cash. However, this has not come without major criticism due to its increasing volatility. Nevertheless, this move could have been made due to tax concerns, as an expensed loss if there was to be one from Bitcoin’s volatility. This could be

classed as only an impairment loss under USA tax law which could lead to visibly favourable results in Tesla’s quarterly reports, thus leading to further potential investment.

Meanwhile, Tesla has not been the only company to invest in the digital currency and instead follows a long trend of many other investors. Many of the investors involved had gradually began to seek interest following its last peak in 2017, which reached a high of $19,783.06.

In late October, PayPal had announced that it was allowing its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency, effectively democratising its use even further for retail users.

Within recent years the platforms Coinbase, Robinhood and Trading212 have become commonplace platforms to buy and sell cryptocurrencies with a simple click of a button on any handheld device.

Chamath Palihapitiya, the outspoken CEO of Silicon Valley fund Social Capital, recently stated that Bitcoin could soar to $200,000.

Palihapitiya, who has been investing in the

cryptocurrency since 2013, (Larry Miller, explained that bitcoin is surging Creative Commons) because more investors are realizing that national leaders are “untrustworthy”, and that they need to add a hedge to their portfolios.

Major investors and users were not only limited to companies: certain states have already begun to consider how they could accommodate cryptocurrency usage. In December 2020, the Swedish Government started exploring the feasibility of having the country move to a cryptocurrency. It was not stated whether Bitcoin would be directly involved in this new development.

News for cryptocurrencies has not been completely positive and over the last few years has posed many concerns, particularly in regard to criminal activity.

For example, according to the Financial Times, authorities in the USA during October last year charged the founders of BitMEX, a major cryptocurrency exchange, with wilfully failing to prevent money laundering and operating an unregistered trading platform. These charges

continue to study the planet’s atmosphere by sending highresolution pictures back to Earth, becoming the first of its kind from any Arab nation.

the technology failed and there was no return of any data. It took the Soviet Union until 1971 to finally land, but the orbiter crashed during landing and was inoperable. Later in the year they launched another mission; the lander worked (for a few seconds) but the orbiter was successful.

Not until 2003 did another country enter the space race.

Japan launched their Nozomi spacecraft on 4th July, but it failed to enter orbit in December after having reached Mars.

The European Space Agency was next to attempt to reach Mars with its land-orbiter named Mars Express/Beagle 2, launched on 2nd June 2003, but the lander was lost on arrival on 25th December 25th. However, the orbiter did complete its prime mission in November 2005.

Geopolitical rivalry in space Georgia Golding In July 2020, the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched three separate missions in the hope of reaching Mars. Over the space of just 11 days in the coming two weeks all three of the missions are scheduled to reach their destination of the Red Planet.

The USA and China are hoping to explore the land of Mars using rovers, while the UAE is going to focus on observing the planet from above using an orbiter.

This is an unprecedented moment in the competition in space. The UAE’s Hope probe successfully entered orbit on 9th February, and will now

This is an unprecedented moment

China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft joined Hope on 10th February (just one day after the UAE spacecraft reached its destination) and will become the first ever expedition to observe Mars from orbit, deploy a lander, and deploy a rover with one probe.

For the USA, their Perseverance rover, which is expected to land on the 18th of February, will be NASA’s ninth mission to Mars.

The first successful flyby of Mars was in 1965, with NASA’s Mariner 4 sending 21 photos of the Red Planet back to Earth.

Preceding this mission, the Soviet Union had made five attempts to reach Mars, all to no avail as most of the spacecrafts were destroyed en route. Just two days after NASA’s successful mission, the Soviet Union managed to pass by Mars, but (Kevin M. Gill, Creative Commons)

Competition in space has been ongoing

China’s first attempt, the Yinghuo-1 mission, was an orbiter carried by Russia’s Fobos-Grunt mission in 2011. Fobos-Grunt failed, therefore meaning China’s first attempt also failed.

India successfully orbited Mars in 2014 with its Mars Orbiter Mission and managed to image the entire planet. In total, only the USA, the Soviet Union, India and the European Space Agency have

were one of many moves in a years-long effort by the American government to crack down on the cryptocurrency market that was once largely unregulated but which has now moved more under the eyes of regulators.

Fraud has become a problem for the cryptocurrency market, according to the computer analytics group, The Tie, “87% of exchanges reported trading volume was potentially suspicious, and that 75% of exchanges had some form of suspicious activity occurring on them”.

Overall, Elon Musk’s decision to involve company finances into the cryptocurrency shows that cryptocurrencies are even more likely to stay for the long run, whether that includes Bitcoin is another matter.

The increased utility of the currency whether under boom or bust for its price level has created more difficulties for regulators and governments in cracking down on the criminal activity associated with it and looks like it will continue to be an everexpanding challenge.

successfully completed missions to Mars.

The competition in space has been ongoing since the Space Race of the Cold War, in which the Soviet Union and the United States fought to become the first nation to achieve firsts in spaceflight capability. In 1957 the Soviet Union was the first nation in the world to complete a successful launch into space with Sputnik-1. The USA was the first country to land humans on the Moon with Apollo 11 on 20th July 1969.

The technological progress is invaluable

The Space Race set the precedent for the competition to achieve firsts in space, as during the Cold War any technological advancement over the other country was seen as a huge advantage.

The technological progress that has come from the Space Race and the research that went into it are invaluable. The intelligence and data these three missions could obtain will be extremely beneficial, and the symbolism of two new countries entering the space race is monumental.

The events of the coming weeks are completely unparalleled to what we’ve seen before, and it will be fascinating to observe the missions and their successes, as well as to observe how it affects the geopolitical tensions of the world today.

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

17

Politics

Variants threaten UK’s control of pandemic Anna Noble The UK is third in the world for the percentage of vaccines given to the population. At the time of writing, over 15% of the population have been vaccinated; this is a cause for rare praise of our government.

However, coronavirus variants and the government’s failure to prevent their spread threatens to undermine vaccine success.

There are currently three major variants causing global concern. The British variant, the South African variant, and the Brazilian variant. All three appear significantly more contagious than the original variant. The risk is that this will lead to increased hospital admissions and ultimately, more deaths.

Furthermore, there are also significant concerns that the vaccines already in circulation may not be effective against the new strains – this is a particular concern with the South Africa strain.

Early trial data released last week from the Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccines showed reduced efficiency against the South Africa strain.

Moderna and Pfizer have also said that their vaccines may be less effective against this strain.

This is concerning. The British variant has spread rapidly

across the world and the South Africa strain is already present in the UK, with the government ordering mass testing in locations across the country in an effort to contain it. The government failed to act quickly enough.

Even with the knowledge of the rapidly spreading coronavirus, Boris Johnson was still committed to Christmas. An earlier and stricter lockdown could have prevented the variant domestic spread. The government has also failed at our borders.

The government failed to act quickly enough

The irony of having spent the past five years campaigning to be in control of our borders should not be overlooked. While the mandatory quarantine has been in place since the summer, in effect the vast majority of travellers were not contacted to ensure they were complying with the quarantine requirements.

Similarly, the UK has only just introduced the requirement of a negative test to be able to enter the country, and the rules regarding quarantine hotels are still somewhat ambiguous.

The countries that have been most successful at preventing the spread of coronavirus (according to the Lowy institute) are New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan,

who have all succeeded in largely eliminating coronavirus. Their success should be attributed to a combination of early screening, effective and strictly enforced methods of isolation, and quarantine, as well as the use of masks and the success of using digital tracking to identify potential cases. Countries such as New Zealand and Australia (which ranked eighth in the Lowy table) have also enforced strict lockdowns over small outbreaks.

Two million people in Perth were placed under lockdown restrictions last week after a single positive test result. This may seem like an overreaction, but it is working.

Dido Harding must be criticised. She has repeatedly stated that coronavirus variants were impossible to predict; yet scientists have been concerned about variants from the start of the pandemic. Her ‘Test and Trace’ system has been chaotic from the start. Put simply, Dido Harding does not appear qualified enough for the incredibly crucial role she was given; Boris Johnson and the government bear the blame for this.

The UK promised to be worldbeating. To a certain degree it is. It has the worst economic downturn and at times, the highest death rate in the world.

The failure of our government

to actively prepare for or prevent the spread of variants is just one in a long list of failures that one day the Conservatives will have to reckon with.

There are lives at stake. If the government does not change

a constitutionally guaranteed share of power under the democratic government.

However, some argue that the decline in popular support for the army motivates them to shift the balance of power back in their favour. The Economist believes General Min Aung Hlaing wishes to guarantee his own personal legacy before retiring and reinstating the army’s power could be a way to guarantee his future.

the military’s actions against accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

However, it seems the uneasy alliance between the two was too fragile to last.

What will happen next is unclear. However, analysts doubt that the military will easily reclaim its previous dominance over the country’s politics.

The country has experienced democracy, and through its most recent election expressed its preference over the alternative.

Power in a society is not binary. No one political actor posesses all of the abstract concept of power.

Power arises from multiple sources, and whilst the junta have brute force on their side, it will take a lot for them to

course, they risk their vaccine success. The ban on travel during lockdown, proposed quarantine hotels, and mass testing are steps in the right direction, but they have yet to be fully enforced, and to be frank, are too late.

Would you support or oppose blocking flights into the UK from countries with new COVID-19 variants?

(Data via YouGov, 3,883 GB adults, Jan 14, 2020)

Explained: Myanmar’s first coup since 1988 Bartosz Maj On 1st February the Myanmar army, known as the Tatmadaw, toppled the democratically elected government, and arrested its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The Tatmadaw announced Suu Kyi would be charged with owning illegally imported walkie talkies; however, it appears their actions are a response to a staggering defeat of the armybacked political party at the November election where the pro-democracy Suu Kyi party won 83% of the vote. A year-long state of emergency has also been called.

Medical personnel have engagedinsociallydistanced sit in protests

It also confined hundreds of politicians to government housing, before informing them they had 24 hours to leave the capital. More recently the newly established junta blocked Facebook in the country after

Suu Kyi used it to encourage civil disobedience and resistance to the military takeover.

Acts of resistance have taken the shape of noise protests, with the banging of pots and pans, and medical personnel, who have been crucial in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, have engaged in socially distanced sitin protests.

The coup marks a new development in the country’s long relationship with the army. In 1962 a coup imposed a military government. In 1988 an anti-military uprising was crushed, and the 1990 election result was ignored after the army lost. Suu Kyi and many other pro-democracy figures rose to prominence in the 1988 uprising, and Suu Kyi led the opposition to the army whilst being held under house arrest between 1989 and 2010. In 2011 the military transferred power to a democratic government, whilst ensuring the new constitution granted them control over key ministries and some guaranteed seats in parliament.

The coup has puzzled analysts, as the army continues to have

Analysts doubt the military will easily rise to its previous dominance over the country’s politics

Though Suu Kyi is seen as a pro-democratic hero, her international status has significantly declined during her time in power as she enabled the military-led genocide of the Rohingya people. The Rohingya is a stateless Muslim minority, which is not recognised by the Myanmar government and has been oppressed since the military seized power in 1962.

In 2019 Suu Kyi defended

overcome the power that derives from significant public resistance and widespread international disapproval.

(Prachatai, Flickr)

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Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

Puzzles

Puzzle Editors Harry Jenkins and Thomas Simpson

For online versions, answers and more puzzles, head to

www.palatinate.org.uk/category/puzzles

Valentine's Sudoku

7 3 9 2

8 2 1 7 4 6 3 1 5 3 5 7 7 2 4 3 4 1 8 3 2 7 4 3 2

Word Ladder MEET

LOVE

DATE

PAIR

5

2

Word Pyramid This week we've got some Valentine's themed puzzles for you – we hope you enjoy them!

Part of the head Female horse Hope or wish To order back A winding path

We'd love to hear what you think of our new section, so follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Missing a limb In love with

Answer the crossword clue to the right of each row to complete the puzzle. Each answer is an If you're interested in anagram of the answer in the row above with contributing, do get an extra letter added. in touch using those platforms.

Valentine's Quiz

Change the word on the top row of the ladder into the word at the bottom.

On each level, you must put a valid four-letter word that is only changed by one letter from the word above.

There may be multiple solutions...

1. Which city, the birthplace of St Valentine, is known as the ‘City of Lovers’?

2. Complete these famous Shakespearian couples: Romeo and __, __ and Titania, Beatrice and __.

3. What brain chemical is known as the ‘love hormone’?

4. How many times is Elizabeth Bennett proposed to in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?

5. What are the upper and lower chambers of the heart called?

PalatiDates: “He’s sweet and handsome, bonus points for the cat” Hatfielder Lou and Jonny from Grey, both language students, meet for a blind date on Zoom

Lou on Jonny

What were your first impressions of your date?

Charming and surprisingly normal! I felt far less awkward than I was expecting.

What did you talk about?

Our Durham horror stories, the struggles of being MFL students and the greatest TV show of all time, Glee!

Who joined the call first?

He was but I’m blaming that on the authentication system.

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

I’ve never been on a Durham night out, so he will have to be a Tesco trip for now!

How do you think they would describe you?

Definitely talkative, maybe a little odd?

How would you describe them?

Sweet and handsome, bonus points for the cat (although I didn’t get to see it).

What was the most surprising thing about them?

Apologies for mentioning Glee again but the man has watched Glee and that amazes me.

Any awkward moments?

Unintentionally interrupting each other far too often.

Would you meet up in person?

Of course!

Marks out of 10?

9 (Alicja Sek)

Jonny on Lou

What were your first impressions of your date?

As soon as she mentioned hating two-factor authentification, knew I’d be in for a great ride.

What did you talk about?

Durham horror stories involving tears in the Billy B and a questionable man in a kilt.

Who joined the call first?

Me, swiftly followed by her and then her dog.

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

Fabio’s – great taste in drinks, perfect for her Italian student vibes.

How do you think they would describe you?

Hoping for ‘tall, dark and handsome’ but I’ll settle for ‘gives off good vibes’.

How would you describe them?

Gorgeous, funny, with a penchant for telling a banging story.

What was the most surprising thing about them?

Probably that she actually goes to 9am’s.

Any awkward moments?

Nope, least I hope not!

Would you meet up in person?

Would definitely meet up for real.

Marks out of 10?

10

19

PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

Sport

Another overpriced Test summer in England Ollie Phillips Towards the end of last year, the ECB released ticket ballots for the English Test Summer which, predictably and depressingly, priced out thousands of potential buyers for yet another year.

Fast forward to February 2021, after a historic win in Chennai that brought Test cricket to the uninitiated via Channel 4’s free coverage, and these ticket prices rear their ugly head more emphatically than ever.

Barring many potential variables, by June, the nation will be emerging from a gruelling lockdown, desperate to go to see live sport. Such a situation represents a huge opportunity for English Test cricket, after a winter of attracting interest from a fresh audience, to save itself from the supposed decay that it is suffering.

Ultimately, the longest format is not “dying” in this country, thanks largely to its core group of dedicated fans who will pay huge fees regardless to watch England play. But this is the group upon which the ECB has leaned for far too long. It is time to branch out, to actively grow the game by accessing those on the fence, who ultimately do not climb over due to the ludicrous sums they are asked to part with.

This year, for the Test against India at the Oval, tickets for a day will set fans back an average of around £90. As England head to Lord’s to face New Zealand, tickets will regularly pass £100, rising as high as £150.

Antagonistic sentiment towards prices similar to these has been around for some time.

In 2018, The Cricketer carried out a survey that revealed 72% of fans believed tickets for the cricket were either overpriced or very overpriced, with two thirds

England will host New Zealand and India for Tests, and Pakistan and Sri Lanka for ODIs, this summer (Aksh Yadav)

feeling that they were simply unaffordable. Three years on and little has been learned.

Cricket, although not dying, is certainly stagnating as a sport in the UK. According to Statista’s figures, involvement in the game at a grass-roots level decreased by roughly 20% between 2016 and 2019, with a dismally low increase of 0.07% from 2019 to 2020, when, amongst bans on other team sports and foreign travel, a far higher participation rate was expected.

Test cricket remains the nucleus of the sport at an elite level: it is the pinnacle which must continue to play the principal role in attracting viewers and players of the game.

Many continue to claim that Tests are being diluted

by T20 cricket, supposedly a microcosm of the modern world desiring instant satisfaction and entertainment.

Instead, it is to T20 that Test cricket must look and take notes. In the Blast competition, Edgbaston offers free entry to kids, who come in their

swathes to watch Moeen Ali and Warwickshire enjoy success.

Counties all over the country provide family bundles that have attracted many newcomers to grounds full of energy and excitement.

Indeed, to point the finger at the shorter forms for undermining Test cricket is typically entitled and ignorant of the game and analysts alike.

So wonderful is the longest format, and so pulsating it has been over the last couple of years, that its survival needs no justification through a petty blame-game.

One need only look at the global hysteria at Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89 to defeat Australia in the fourth Test Down Under, and compare such to the relative disinterest at Alex Hales contemporaneously smashing the ball to all parts in the Big Bash, to see where the formats rank in terms of significance.

Rather than worrying about its own disappearance, Test cricket needs to expand, to undergo a similar journey to the one T20

itself has enjoyed over the past decade. To do so, venues must go beyond slashing prices for limited fifth days, and instead offer core reductions for the key days of key Tests.

Of course, the counterargument comes in the form of the huge overheads involved in staging a Test match over five days and the spectacle it represents. Relevant, too, is the need for profits after a damaging summer of Covid-hit empty grounds and bio-secure bubbles.

But this is where the ECB needs to map out a plan for Test cricket’s future development in the UK, rather than favouring quick-fixes and short-term profit.

The Barmy Army and staunch supporters will always remain, as will a scattering of attendees on “business meetings”, as happy to spend immense fees on tickets as they are on marked-up Champagne, the pops of the corks often forming the soundtrack to a day at Lord’s.

The issue lies not in these groups, but is found in the homes of those who have been excluded

especially with men, but there are always people to talk to. You don’t need to pretend that you’re alright, not to yourself or to other people.”

pulled him away. That day was a low point, but running has improved his life remarkably since then, and he is now “on cloud nine”.

“Jiggsy’s a nice lad, isn’t he?” begins Paul, and Palatinate agrees. “At school, his way of coping was being the smiley character, the jokey character, but when he was getting home, he wasn’t like that. It proves that it’s not always the people who are quiet and look sad that are suffering from mental health issues.

“Running is his way of coping with what he needs to cope with and it’s great to see how he has turned his life around and is now

inspiring others.”

Ultimately, that’s one of the goals for characters like Paul and Jiggsy: to inspire others. Paul has had comments from people telling him that, seeing his efforts, they’ve also left the house and are finding brightness in the winter months.

from the day, or have chosen against it, due to economics.

For such, one-off attendees may pay hefty sums at the time, but they are not financially fruitful in the long term.

By reducing costs and developing schemes to attract more families and their young children, the ECB would build a lifelong, generational fanbase that can treat a day at the cricket as a regular event rather than a special treat.

To introduce new fans to the sport, and for them to subsequently return on a routine basis, would benefit English cricket both within a context of financials and of its growth as a well-supported game.

The ties with a past of elitism, of the upper-class suppression that founded it so long ago yet which still lingers, must be severed in order for Test cricket to thrive.

With many watching a live Test for the first time since the 2005 Ashes, questions will have been posed in sitting rooms about the match, interest stoked by its intricacies and nuances.

Watching Joe Root dominate a world-class bowling attack, reports flooded into Channel 4 via Twitter that many were out in the snow bowling to their kids, replicating the Yorkshireman’s sweep shot and twirl of the bat.

As England march up the test rankings, these new fans that they take with them will immediately be disenfranchised if the ECB and respective Test venues fail to seize the opportunity that such images clearly present.

Rather than blaming the global franchises of the short form, it is time for Test cricket to undergo some introspection, to improve its own accessibility by lowering these exorbitant ticket prices and ensuring an inclusive, prosperous future for the game.

“There’s a stigma, especially with men”

Continued from back of which look like they’ve been taken in the middle of an arctic blizzard – and in most of the photos, he’s got his thumbs up and is smiling. While he hasn’t had any mental health problems in his own life, this ability to find a reason to keep going in challenging times is something that he’s keen to highlight for anybody who might be in a dark place.

“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. The hardest step is admitting that you’ve got a mental health problem and getting help. There’s a stigma,

“I’ll always run as long as my body allows. I feel better in myself because of running”

Earlier this month, Paul completed a half marathon with Durham University student Jiggsy Mcleod, who told Palatinate in October about how running has turned his life around. Not long before, Jiggsy had been on a bridge, contemplating suicide, until the hand of a policeman

“You don’t need to pretend that you’re alright, not to yourself or other people”

On March 31, Paul will finish his challenge, and he’s right to say that he’ll take a break on April 1! But he is quick to add that “I’ll always run as long as my body

allows. I feel better in myself because of running.”

With such an intense training schedule, there seemed one unavoidable question.

Will Paul be setting his sights on an Olympic gold medal? “Not at 46,” he replies, laughing, “and certainly not if I was racing Jiggsy!” Yet while the likes of Mo Farah may seize glory on our television screens, in his own way, Paul is equally a champion.

IfUCareShare offer support to those affected by suicide or who are feeling suicidal. If you feel like you need support, you can contact them on 0191 387 5661 or text ICUS to 85258.

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Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

Sport Sport

‘Enough is enough’: the case for a new Six Nations Robert Morrisey “Enough is enough.” These were the words of ex-Wales captain Sam Warburton after France’s 50-10 demolition of Italy in the first round of this year’s Six Nations. Warburton was talking about how, in his opinion, Italy are simply not good enough for the tournament and that teams like Georgia should get a chance instead.

He outlines, albeit briefly, the idea that the team who finishes bottom of the Six Nations, typically Italy, should play the team that finishes top of the European Championship in a play-off at the end of both tournaments to decide who takes the coveted sixth spot at the next year’s Six Nations. This is so Georgia can play the big boys and get more experience, but also so Italy can finally win again.

It has been 27 Six Nations games now without a win for the Azzurri, so maybe a step down is what they need to build up morale. However, although in principle I do very much like the direction that this idea by Warburton is heading, I do have two problems with it. One, we should not single out the Italians, and two, he doesn’t go far enough.

It has been 27 Six Nations games now without a win

Firstly, yes, the Italians haven’t been the greatest rugby team on earth. However, that doesn’t mean that, because of their shortcomings, we should restructure international rugby.

They haven’t won in a while and in most games, no matter who the opposition is, Italy do look thoroughly outclassed.

But they are improving. In the first round they came up against a monstrously brilliant French side that will probably win the Six Nations, and I do not believe the score line was fair. Paolo Gabrisi, the young Italian fly-half,

Angelo Esposito is part of the Italian side that has struggled in the Six Nations, having lost their last 27 games (David Molloy)

played brilliantly, and when they got going the Italians actually went toe-to-toe with the current best team in the world. The same can be said of their performance against England last weekend.

Yes, of course, they have problems. Whenever the field was broken (which happened a fair few times with missed tackles) they couldn’t cope or regroup.

But they didn’t look so far out of their depth that they should be expelled from the competition.

Why give them the boot when they are just starting to show signs of genuine progression?

There are very valid reasons for expanding the Six Nations and European rugby, but Italy’s losses are not one.

We should want to expand and reform because we want

rugby to grow, especially in Europe, and because it wants to expand. There are always your rugby purists that want things to remain the same and see the same games every year in the name of tradition.

Games are consistently high scoring and full of action, with almost every play requiring a perfect balance of risk and reward that only cricket can really match.

A fumble or interception can and will change games instantly and great defensive play can be as entertaining as great offensive play, which is something no other popular UK sport can claim.

If your team has had a bad season, they instantly get the opportunity to turn their fortunes around in the draft, another element UK sport is missing as a

way to level the playing field.

There are very valid reasons for expanding the Six Nations and European rugby

However, I would implore those people to get off their high horse and see that rugby can be so much more fun and exciting with greater risk and diversity involved. The other challenge comes with convincing the unions to change and support a new system, which is never easy.

I am suggesting a complete

reform of the current European rugby calendar. My idea consists of two-year windows in which (in both of these years) a different format of European rugby is played out. In one year, you would have the Six Nations and the European Championship and so on underneath it without promotion or relegation from the Six Nations. But the other year you would have a 12-team, twopool European tournament.

The Six Nations of the previous year would be met by the six top teams from the prior European Championship and drawn into two pools. The draw would be seeded via World Rugby rankings to ensure fairness. Each team would play every other team in the pool totalling five games each just like the Six Nations, and

then the top three teams in both groups qualify for the next year’s Six Nations and the bottom three from both will compete in the next year’s European Championship.

instant, they could become one of the league’s top sides.

The season only runs from September to February, shorter than UK sports’ normal seasons.

There are trade windows which mimic football’s fabled transfer windows and blockbuster trades arguably happen more often than big transfers. It’s a sport which can either have incredible depth to it, analysing every play and college prospect, or can simply be appreciated for its energetic and deeply entertaining aesthetic.

There’s very little for the average

UK sports fan to dislike, and a lot to love.

The most common criticism I’ve heard is about players wearing pads, but when you see the size of the athletes and the speed they’re allowed to hit at over and over again (with very few regulations), it is evident that they are necessary.

A much more relevant criticism is the repeated adverts, but they’re just filling time that couldn’t be spent playing anyway and give a welcome break for either analysis Continued on page 21

We should want to expand and reform because we want rugby to grow

To me, this would increase risk and excitement and put more on the line for the traditional Six Nations teams, whilst also bettering the tier two teams and giving them a chance to genuinely develop and expand the game in their countries. I know it is radical and would have lots of opposition, but I believe it is necessary for the health and future of international rugby.

Why the UK is sleeping on, and through, the NFL

George Simms On paper, the NFL should appeal across the board to the UK’s armchair sports enthusiasts. It combines the strategic intensity and consistency of Test cricket with rugby’s sheer power and football’s call for technical skill and individual brilliance.

Every play and movement has been intricately handcrafted by the sport’s finest minds and is executed by some of the finest athletes worldwide.

Games are consistently high scoring and full of action It is very rare that the worst performing franchises stay bad for long and even rarer that the best stay the best.

This season’s worst team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, now have the opportunity to draft Trevor Lawrence, someone widely touted as one of the greatest college prospects of all time. In an

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PALATINATE | Thursday 18th February 2021

Sport

Non-league football is in a funding crisis

funding and testing.”

Spennymoor Town voted similarly and said, via their website, “ensuring the safety of our players, staff, volunteers and supporters” was their key priority and that funding from the government “would be better spent in other places during a global pandemic.”

Ben Fleming Deputy Sport Editor As professional sport continues undeterred and largely unaffected by the Covid-19 crisis, non-league football and local clubs here in the North East continue to be left in limbo by the government and National League over the future and financing of the current 2020/21 season.

With fans not allowed in grounds for almost the entirety of the season due to various coronavirus restrictions, most clubs in the National League and National League North and South (the first and second tiers two of non-league football) don’t have the financial resources to continue the season.

A £10 million grant from the national lottery saw clubs able to fund the first three months of the season but with fans still not back in the grounds, clubs once more have looked to the governing bodies for financial support if they are to continue the season.

However, the £11 million in further financial support offered to clubs from the government was set to come in the form of loans, causing uproar from clubs who say they were promised grants and not loans, which would put them into further financial concern in years to come.

Speaking to Palatinate, Ollie Bayliss, presenter of The NonLeague Show on BBC Three Counties Radio, explained the financial consequences of such loans.

“In most circumstances, the loans are over 10 years. They’re low-interest loans with an initial payment holiday. What isn’t clear is whether they have to be guaranteed against a club’s facilities or against an individual.”

With these loans extremely unappealing to non-league clubs, the alternative financial cost of playing through until the end of the season without fans or grants would “be significant,” according to Bayliss.

Currently, all clubs in Step One and Two are voting on whether their respective leagues will continue

Victoria Park, Hartlepool’s home ground, has remained without fans for most of the season (Hartlepool United FC)

Most clubs don’t have the financial resources to continue the season

“Losses will be probably somewhere in the region of £300400,000 for some of the larger full-time clubs. The part-time sides could perhaps see loses of somewhere in the region of £100,000.”

With only 16 out of the 66 clubs in Steps 1 and 2 making a profit in the 2018/19 season, prior to Covid-19, it is unsurprising that such financial costs are insurmountable for the vast majority. In the past few days both Maidstone United and Tonbridge Angels have announced they will have to furlough contracted firstteam players and be forced to field non-contract players should

the season continue.

However, the season may well not continue. Currently, all clubs in Steps 1 and 2 of nonleague football are voting on four resolutions which will decide whether their respective leagues will continue. A simple majority is required for Step 1 (Vanarama National) or Step 2 (Vanarama North and South) to be null and voided for the 2020/21 campaign.

Bayliss suggests that by current estimations, “it feels as if a slight majority of clubs at Step 2 (the National League North & South) want to stop the season.

It’s harder to gauge a consensus within the National League (Step 1). Very few clubs have publicly voiced an opinion on the issue. At a guess, it feels as if that division will continue.

All three clubs in County

Durham have publicly announced their voting intentions.

Hartlepool, who currently lie third in the National League, announced via their website that they want the league to continue and have voted accordingly.

When approached by Palatinate, the club stated they “will not be commenting further on this matter until we understand the position following the vote being finalised.”

Darlington, a fan-owned club, who currently play in the Vanarama North voted differently and to null and void the season immediately. Speaking to Palatinate, the club stated “we’re not prepared to take on the burden of a six-figure loan to cover four months” and that their vote has “got nothing to do with league position, simply about

a few seminars.

they play at 11:30pm on a Sunday evening six times a season, most UK fans over the age of 21 are going to choose a good night’s sleep, because when they have to be up for 7:00am the next morning, it’s not really a choice.

As simple as it sounds, this is NFL’s biggest obstacle to mainstream UK success.

Having a dedicated channel loses its point when so few people are awake to watch it. People fall in love with a sport by watching it and developing a deeper love for the teams and the players.

In a later statement on 12th February, the club said that regardless of the outcome of the vote, “the club will not be continuing with the 2020/21 season” and have since refused to play in their most recent games against Telford and Alfreton Town.

The club declined to comment on whether they had been charged by the National League for this refusal to play games, with Dulwich Hamlet, Curzon Ashton and Chippenham Town just some of the other clubs already charged for the same offence.

Further down the non-league pyramid, in Steps 3 to 6, the FA is also still yet to decide on when, or if, the season will continue. That means yet more uncertainty for the likes of Durham City A.F.C, who sit bottom of the Northern League Division Two, and Consett AFC, who reached the final of the 2019-20 FA Vase, meant to be held at Wembley, which has been indefinitely postponed.

At present, the outcome of the vote and lack of financial support remains unclear despite weeks of turmoil. What is for sure, though, is that the handling of this saga from the governing bodies has left many unimpressed. The words of Slough Town jointmanager Jon Underwood, who said he was “embarrassed right now to be associated with the league we now manage in”, likely represent the sentiments of many in non-league football at present.

Few games are played at ‘a reasonable hour’ Continued from page 20

or snacks. September 2020 saw the launch of Sky Sports NFL, which many thought, or still think, would be massive for NFL popularity in Britain. It will certainly help – it shows at least five live games a week, with red zone and dedicated pundits.

Sunday evening’s Super Bowl LV was watched by an estimated 100 million people in the USA and 30-50 million more across the world. In the UK, this year’s

viewership peaked at 1.3 million in the first five minutes, an alltime high. This also highlighted one of the key issues with NFL’s lack of popularity in the UK. The biggest game of the year kicked off at 11:30pm GMT and I made it to bed just before 4:00am on Monday morning.

Now, I’ve watched every minute of the last four Super Bowls.

However, I’m also a student who’s used to going to bed at 4:00am and who knows that not sleeping won’t make my day at work a nightmare, because I’ll only have

In the UK, this year’s viewership peaked at 1.3 million This isn’t just a problem for the Super Bowl. Regular Season NFL games are played on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights, with only a few Sunday evening games being played at what most UK sports fans would call ‘a reasonable hour’. If you want to watch the team you follow and

As simple as it sounds, this is NFL’s biggest obstacle

Not being able to watch it makes this virtually impossible, however lovable the NFL is.

American Football is going to have to wait for our generation to grow up and hope that we’ve developed enough of a love of the sport through our teenage years to sacrifice sleep and share our passion with our children. If not, the NFL may continue to lag behind its UK competition.

Thursday 18th February 2021 | PALATINATE

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Sport

Time for change in the Six Nations?

Robert Morrisey considers the case for promotion and relegation (page 20)

North East clubs split on vote to continue season

Ben Fleming looks into the funding crisis affecting non-league clubs (page 21)

Local hero runs 365 days in a row for charity Luke Power Sport Editor

Fiona Crackles in action for Great Britain against the Netherlands last year (Fiona Crackles)

Hockey star Crackles “striving for gold” James Reid Deputy Sport Editor For most people, the Olympics represents a couple of weeks sat on the sofa watching the world’s finest athletes going head-tohead. Perhaps it’ll even inspire you to take up a new sport.

For Durham student Fiona Crackles, however, the Olympics are a very different proposition altogether. The 21-year-old has recently been called up to the full-time training programme for Great Britain’s women’s senior squad as they prepare for this summer’s Games in Tokyo.

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Collingwood student, who only made her debut for Great Britain in October last year.

“I did not expect to get asked to join the senior squad full-time”, Crackles tells Palatinate. “It was an amazing experience playing at that level but I really had no idea anything would come from it.”

The call-up means that Crackles has swapped Maiden Castle and the Billy B for training alongside Olympic gold medal winners such as Lily Owsley and

Laura Unsworth.

“Training full-time is hard and draining but very rewarding”, says Crackles, who has split her year in order to commit to the full-time programme.

“My first session was scary but fortunately I had a few experiences of training with the girls prior to my first official training as a senior squad member.”

The defender joins a squad that will be looking to replicate the success of nearly five years ago when the women’s side took gold in Rio, but Crackles is not fazed by the prospect.

“We hope to create our own history instead of living in the shadows of the amazing success of the previous team at the last Olympics. As a team we are obviously striving for gold.”

Joining the full-time programme is the latest achievement on a journey that started aged seven at Kirkby Lonsdale Hockey Club, where both of her brothers played and her mum umpired.

“It was a brilliant little club with just the best volunteer coaches and parents keeping it

running.”

The North West would eventually be swapped for the North East, as Crackles joined Durham’s renowned hockey programme in 2019, something she gives great credit to.

“Durham has been an unreal opportunity to play very high level hockey but also excel in my studies. The coaching and extra support staff are phenomenal and had me in the best condition to join the central senior programme.”

It’s not just on the pitch that Durham has helped Crackles either. “DUHC as a club has been a home to me. Socially my best friends are there, physically I believe we work harder than any other team in our league and psychologically the support and care it offers is second to none.”

Such support is important as Crackles tries to balance hockey with studying for a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, but it is something that is embraced.

“Balancing sport and academics is hard of course but I find they act as a distraction for each other. You can escape getting bogged down in online teaching

and it can also help stop you overthinking hockey.”

It is still unclear whether the games in Tokyo will actually take place, but for now Crackles is focused on “training hard as I can and staying injury free” and simply embracing everything that comes her way.

“I am feeling so lucky to be training every day in these current circumstances so I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and aim to have no regrets with the effort I put in.”

Whatever happens this summer, it has certainly been quite the journey already for a player who clearly has a big future in the game.

From Kirkby Lonsdale to Tokyo, Crackles is looking to complete a journey traversed by few and is hoping to inspire others along the way.

“Hopefully we can continue to inspire the future hockey players and show the nation how brilliant hockey is as a sport.”

Crackles’ success should inspire us all at the very least to tune in and hopefully cheer on one of Durham’s own at the Games this summer.

Paul Bainbridge is a man on a mission. It’s a gruelling mission, but it’s one worth its weight in gold.

The County Durham firefighter is aiming to run three miles every day for a year. When we speak, he has already ticked off 316 days, days in the beating sun, days in the freezing cold, days when his calves screamed at him to stop.

But Paul hasn’t listened to his calves and has, so far, raised over £3,300 for his chosen charities.

The If U Care Share Foundation support those who have suicidal thoughts or are suffering from a bereavement due to suicide, while The Fire Fighter’s Charity provides psychological and physical support for firefighters and their families.

Fighting the battle against mental health problems has been important to Paul ever since his football friend, Daniel O’Hare, committed suicide out of the blue in 2005. Every year, Paul and some friends commit to a different charity challenge, and they had been hoping to participate in the Great North Run last year until Covid-19 got in the way. Yet this hasn’t put an end to Paul’s enthusiasm for clocking up the miles.

“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. The hardest step is admitting that you’ve got a mental health problem”

“I will admit: not every day has been easy, but I’ve never reached a point where I thought ‘I can’t do this,’” Paul tells Palatinate.

“Sometimes I do wake up, look outside and think ‘that’s not for me’, but once you’ve had some breakfast, you’re good to go. You just need to get up and do it.”

It’s this positive attitude which characterises Paul. He regularly posts pictures showing his progress on his runs – some Continued on p. 19