Palatinate Issue 735

“You can feel electricity as you walk around”: a farewell interview with Chancellor Bill Bryson

Festive frolics: Christmas fashion shoot inside Indigo

Palatinate, pages 4-5

Indigo Cover Story, pages 3-5

No. 735

www.palatinate.org.uk

Palatinate Durham’s student newspaper since 1948

Cuth’s students demand action over disruptions

..

Tuesday 13th December 2011 | FREE

Jailbreak weekend roundup

Vice-Chancellor challenged at DSU Question Time Complaints about gas leaks and asbestos discovery

Rowena Caine Charlie Taverner

Outraged St. Cuthbert’s students have challenged the University to take urgent action after a term of disruption to college accommodation and catering.

Although the heating problems have now been resolved, a discovery of asbestos in numerous locations throughout St. Cuthbert’s, and the resulting miscommunication, caused students to urge the University to act.

Earlier this term, eleven students and one member of staff in House Twelve and 25 students in House Thirteen were without heating and hot water for seven weeks and four weeks respectively, due to a gas leak.

After the temporary closure of laundry facilities, no in-house catering facilities for four weeks and a discovery of asbestos in a number of doors, the boiler room and two

In Food: your guide to the best meal on the planet

cellars, students took the issue to a panel of University officials at the DSU Question Time on Monday 28th of November.

A group of St. Cuthbert’s JCR members led by President David Dickson, Bar Steward Maria Grace Smith and Gabriel Currie argued to Vice-Chancellor Chris Higgins that college and University handling of the situation was detrimental to the welfare of students.

Professor Higgins said: “The student body, the senior tutors, and everybody have done everything possible to make life easier.

“This is one of those disasters that no one predicted and no one wanted to happen”.

Gabriel Currie questioned why students “have only been offered £61 as a goodwill gesture, not as any form of compensation. There has been a complete lack of communication and also miscommunication on the part of the college and the University”.

The Vice-Chancellor replied: “I cannot answer that question because I’m not directly involved and that is clearly a hiccup in the college”.

After the heating problems were resolved, asbestos was then found in a number of the bedroom doors in St. Cuthbert’s accommodation. Students were not told why they were being replaced and, according to an

“£61 is a kick in the teeth”

DSU Education and Welfare Officer, Scott Parker

anonymous member of staff, University Estates and Buildings were told not to tell them.

The Vice-Chancellor added: “I suspect this is a rumour but we need to find out the truth. The asbestos issue

Continued on page 6, col. 2

Business: are Durham graduates recession proof?

Page 6: Durham ducklings paddled there way around the globe last week all in the name of charity and fetching yellow t-shirts Photograph: DUCK

Travel: The best last minute Christmas destinations

2

Editorial

www.palatinate.org.uk

Students have a right to challenge the University

E

diting a student newspaper can be a tricky business. By the very nature of what we try to do we come into contact with the University in ways that can make the relationship fairly strained.

Obviously, as students we are not detached from Old Shire Hall and all that goes on in internal University politics. However, that does not mean we have a duty to the University in portraying everything they do in a positive light.

Palatinate is and should continue to be an independent and robust challenger of the University, and should always stand up for students’ interests when they are not being fully considered or met. 38-week lets is the perfect example of this.

After all, with the cost of a Durham degree reaching £9,000 in the near future, people will rightly become more vigorous in demanding what they expect from their degree and from their University management.

It is fair to say that as editors we have continuously had this debate about what our role is, and in spite of the potential consequences, we continue to believe than an independent (of the University that is) newspaper is absolutely vital, and if that were somehow taken away it would be a certain tragedy.

At times we are levelled with the accusation that all we say about the University is negative. We have been told that we have little right to ask

probing questions and to challenge University policy. We staunchly disagree.

As sad as it is, we are no longer students at an institution of open learning, we are the purchasers of a service from a business, and therefore are perfectly justified in asking difficult questions of that service provider.

It is also simply not the case that all we have to say is negative. Our Sport section usually reads like a homage to the University’s sporting accomplishments, and when there is a story that should be celebrated (our first front page of this term, on Durham’s rise to being the third best university in the country), we will not shy from doing so. Even with donations from sources which some might consider controversial we have always made sure to ask the University for their view so that they can put their side of the story across.

But, it is in the very nature of a student newspaper to try and hold the University to account, and this is something that is essential to an open and honest university.

So, as our editorship draws to a close, it has been a bumpy ride, but certainly a worthwhile and thoroughly enjoyable one.

In the spirit of this, we would like to indulge in a few thank yous, and a few no thank yous.

Thank you to Durham University Media Relations, for your continued

professionalism and for treating us just like any other journalists.

No thank you to some DSU sabbaticals from years gone by, for leaving DSU in such a weak and precarious position.

Thank you to our brilliant colleagues past and present at Palatinate for making our time at the paper such an enjoyable one. We continue to be amazed by the standards you reach and the effort you put in.

No thank you to some staff at the News of the World and other tabloids for giving journalists everywhere such a bad name.

Thank you to the current DSU sabbaticals and DSU Marketing-Officer Sarah Edmunds. The DSU has not been the strongest of institutions in recent years, but under the current leadership it has already shown significant signs that it is heading in the right direction.

And finally, thank you to all of you for reading, and for your thoughts and opinions on what we do. If you’re even remotely interested in journalism, or even not interested in the slightest, then we cannot encourage you enough to give writing for Palatinate a go.

So that’s it from us then, this has been the greatest procrastination tool known to man. Dissertations here we come.

Daniel Johnson & Hugh AndersonElliott

News Editor Academy BYOB

Ella Pardoe, Dan Trouille

Ella Pardoe, Iona Napier, Christian Kriticos

You will be in charge of heading the news team, and will be responsible for the news section of www.palatinate.org.uk and of the print edition.

Sport Editor

Blurred Vision Ep.3 Vane Tempest Roxanna Lackschewitz-Martin, Livia Carron, Francis Still, Caleb Pike

Briony Chappell, Ellie Ross, Pip Slaney, Sara Neal, Adam Gye

13.12.2011 No.735

Contents Palatinate News pages 3-11 Bill Bryson pages 4-5 Business pages 12-13 Comment pages 14-16 Sport pages 17-20

Indigo

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

In Sport: MC is criticised over fixtures call-off

Palatinate vacancies

Below is a list of current vacancies at Palatinate, including some brief role descriptions. For all positions, email editor@palatinate. org.uk for an application form or for more information about the role. The deadline is yet to be confirmed but will at some point during the Christmas holidays.

A faded dream

Tuesday 13th December 2011 | PALATINATE

You will be in charge of all of Palatinate’s Sport output online and in print. Prior experience of journalism is preferable.

Photography Editor

You will be responsible for commissioning all photos online and in print.

Indigo Editor

Indigo is Palatinate’s culture and lfiestyle pullout. You will be in charge of producing the sixteen-page pullout for every print edition. Prior experience of journalism is preferable.

Film & TV Editor

The Film & TV Editor is responsible for commissioning reviews of the latest films and programmes, as well surveying films produced by Durham students.

Stage Editor

Theatre is immensely popular in Durham, and as Stage Editor you will in charge of covering as much of it as possible, as well as providing interviews and behind the scenes coverage of productions.

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

Editorial Board Editors-in-Chief Daniel Johnson Hugh Anderson-Elliott editor@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Editors Olivia Swash & Alexandra Bottomer deputy.editor@palatinate.org.uk News Editor Rowena Caine news@palatinate.org.uk News Features Editor Mei Leng Yew news.features@palatinate.org.uk Deputy News Editors Emma Charles, Emma Jones, Chris Murphy, Katie Pavid, Tim Perry deputy.news@palatinate.org.uk Business Editor John Zhu business@palatinate.org.uk Careers Editor Charlotte Seager careers@palatinate.org.uk Profile Editor Jessica Waite profile@palatinate.org.uk Comment Editor Charlie Taverner comment@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Comment Editor Olivia Rudgard Sport Editor Delaney Chambers sport@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Sport Editors Spencer Brown, Kate Houghton, Tom Ryder, Will Warr deputy.sport@palatinate.org.uk Indigo Editors Hannah Shaddock & Rachel Aroesti indigo@palatinate.org.uk Features Editor Sarah Murray feature@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Features Editors Catherine Bradfield & Ellie Ross Food and Drink Editor Molly Fowler food@palatinate.org.uk Travel Editor Alexandra Groom travel@palatinate.org.uk Fashion Editors Rachel Bailin & Tom Weller fashion@palatinate.org.uk Film and Television Editor Christian Seiersen film@palatinate.org.uk Stage Editor Kathy Laszlo stage@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Stage Editors Larry Bartleet & Sarah Johnson Music Editor Jess Denham music@palatinate.org.uk Music Multimedia Editor Briony Chappell music@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Music Editor Will Clement deputy.music@palatinate.org.uk Books Editor Izzie Bengoechea books@palatinate.org.uk Chief Sub-Editor Florence Snead sub-editing@palatinate.org.uk Section Sub-Editors Kelsey Tollady, Alice Melton, Rebecca Lee, Rebecca Paul, Malik Al-Mahrouky & Gemma Neale Chief Web Editors Dori Beeler & Rhiannon Mehta web.editor@palatinate.org.uk Photography Editor Tamsin White photography@palatinate.org.uk Deputy Photography Editors Kartikeya Khanna, Delaney Chambers, Katherine Merchant, Sam Lipman deputy.photography@palatinate.org.uk Illustrations Editor David Drysdale illustration@palatinate.org.uk Palatinate TV Editors Ellie Onions & Danford Showan ptv@palatinate.org.uk Blogs Editor Julie Fisher blogs@palatinate.org.uk

News

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

@PalatinateUK Palatinate

>> Newcastle vs.

Durham nightlife, page 6

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News

Durham graduate catches attention of employers Palatinate interviews Durham graduate Orlando Barley, after took an unconventional route to employment Charlotte Seager

News Editor: Rowena Caine news@palatinate.org.uk

3

T

his summer Durham graduate Orlando Barley stood outside the Lloyd’s building in Lime Street with an A4 laminated placard printed with the words “Just graduated from Durham and looking for a job in insurance.”

This simple, yet brilliant strategy managed to capture the interest of hundreds of businessmen and employers in one day, leading to Barley securing a job from a top London firm of head-hunters, specialising in insurance.

Today, the Cuth’s alumnus Orlando Barley speaks to Palatinate about his unique approach to job hunting. Having just got back from a trip to America with friends, Barley had nothing job-wise on the cards.

“People often think it was a last resort, however this was far from the case,” he says. “I couldn’t be bothered to send out many applications, and was feeling put off by people I know applying to jobs in the city and being rejected”.

One day, whilst sitting in a London Starbucks, friend Tom Archdale (a fellow Durhamite) suggested, “I know what you should do, stand outside Lloyds with a sign”.

At first, Barley admits, the idea didn’t appeal to him. However he explains “the more I thought about it the more I thought I didn’t have anything to lose”. The idea created a filter, those who were interested could come and chat and those who wanted to laugh or walk on past could do so.

At 7:30 on the day Barley called Tom Archdale for moral support. He says he remembers feeling as though he were standing there naked. “I hid behind the covered sign, took a deep breath, turned the sign round... and put it away again quickly. However then I thought, no if I’m going to do this I’ll do it properly, and turned the sign around”.

From five minutes on people started approaching him. He received emails, contacts, business cards-all of which he followed up. He reports the ease of the situation, “so many people came up to me and said ‘well done’ and many more came up to of-

fer me advice on getting into the industry. I was given such confidence by people”.

By 4.30, (with a late lunch in-between) he had handed 67 out of 70 CVs, although he is certain he “easily could have handed them all out”.

At the end of the day four men who worked in insurance came and asked if he’d like to go for a drink with them, commenting on how impressed they were he’d stayed there so long.

Since that day, Barley has received several interviews for jobs, offers of work experience and over 22 business cards.

The offers are still rolling in; he

“Thinking that I got here without making a single job application is incredible”

reports receiving two just in the last week. It’s also helped him to make a phenomenal amount of contacts in the insurance business. Barley has now started working at an insurance broker where there are over 4,000 applicants for just 26 places.

He told Palatinate “Thinking that I got here without making a single job application is incredible”.

We Asked Barley what he gained from the experience, and he responded “The experience of speaking to all those people was invaluable. It gave me an insight I would never have gotten by sending out letters, and helped me to make an immediate impression to potential employers”.

He also advised Durham graduates still looking for employment not to get bogged down with applications. “It is important to enjoy your time at Durham and not let the pressure of finding a job get to you.

“Use your friends to help you form potential contacts; any older person you know in Durham can be really influential in putting you to the front of the pile”.

We couldn’t agree more. “No one needs to feel excluded from this, there are so many people at Durham who go on to do brilliant things- even if you haven’t come to Durham with any contacts there is no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of your time here to leave with some”.

Orlando Barley stood outside the Lloyds building until 4.30pm Photograph: Tom Archdale

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Tuesday 13th December 2011 | PALATINATE

Bill Bryson interview

Bill Bryson bids farewell Durham’s immensely popular and outgoing Chancellor speaks to Palatinate about his love of all things Durham, and his plans for the future Hugh Anderson-Elliott Daniel Johnson

B

ill Bryson is one of those people that just looks loveable. Most students have never met him, and yet there’s an all-pervading fondness for the now ex-Chancellor. It might be his open smile, or the slight air of an off-season Father Christmas, or perhaps just the humorous persona one finds in his books. But whatever it is, Bill Bryson (along with Santa, Ewoks and Gary Barlow) possesses it in large quantities. Maybe it’s a facial hair thing.

Bryson talks of Durham with a fondness that matches any sent his way, but what will he miss the most?

“Lots of things, one is just the chilling beauty of the place, that’s the first thing that hits you when you get off the train: the cathedral and the castle.

“The other thing of course and obviously, which I would say anyway, and actually really mean, is the people. I do think the people in the North East of England are the friendliest of anywhere I’ve ever been”.

Perhaps some of the many reasons that Bryson was a resounding success were his un-chancellor-like qualities. He himself admits that he was an unconventional choice. “I was very reluctant to do it because I just didn’t think I was the right kind of person to do it. The perfect Chancellor was Peter Ustinov, someone who was a great raconteur and storyteller and was very comfortable schmoozing. I knew that wasn’t me so I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in. Every bit of it was new and exciting, but also kind of terrifying”.

As befitting a man who didn’t quite see himself as the ideal fit, there were some aspects of the role of which Bryson wasn’t a big fan.

Once again he is disarmingly honest.

Honesty would in fact be high up the list of adjectives to describe Bryson, and this is really why students and staff respond to him with such positivity. ”My favourite part was anything that didn’t involve getting dressed up like the chancellor.

“The parts that I least enjoyed were the bits where I had to dress as Father Christmas. The part I enjoyed the most was getting to go and do departmental visits or colleges and just getting to sample student life in a way… Congregations are really hard work; it’s quite a draining

“I least enjoyed the bits where I had to dress as Father Christmas”

week. It wasn’t a lot of fun, not fun like going to a fashion show at Hatfield and drinking a lot of beer. That’s what I really enjoyed in Durham, when I just got to wander around like a normal person and take part in university life in some way”.

Bryson is particularly interesting in describing what the role meant to him. It is abundantly clear that he immensely valued the community aspect of being a part of Durham University, something that he finds can be absent in his everyday life: “I miss the people a lot. Because I’m self-employed my life at home is very quiet”.

In addition, his own experience of Higher Education was not entirely positive, something that his involvement in Durham has made up for: “I completely screwed up my own chance at Higher Education when I was young, I didn’t go away to college and just stayed in my own town and never really took part in University life. It was just like an extension

of HS, I jut went to this campus took the classes and went home.

“So this was the first time I’d been somewhere where there was a real sense of community, everybody belonging to something, a sense of attachment to something, I’d never had that before. That was one of the things that was most powerfully enforced upon me. Being part of a great institution is really exciting”.

But as we all know, these institutions are changing in enormous and alarming ways, and the dangers within these education reforms are not lost on Bryson.

His warnings are those of a man who has experience of the extreme commercialisation of education in America: “What is likely to happen is that people start to shop around.

They come to Universities and stop looking so much for the quality of the education - although that’s the most important thing. They often begin to look a lot more critically at what the sports facilities are like, do you have free broadband in every room, and how comfortable will my lodgings be, and all those kinds of things. What kind of facilities are you going to give to me? Because suddenly you’re a consumer… There’s a danger you could start going down that road in Britain. If you’re paying

“The thing that I find alarming is that I would hate to see the University leave the centre of the city”

£9,000 per head you’re going to want some value for your money.

Universities are going to have to compete… There’s a danger that

Bryson bids farewell to Durham after six years of service. money will be siphoned of away from education and into just providing comforts. Tempting students to come”.

Bryson is in an interesting position to be able to comment on the future of Durham University. He had no connection with Durham before his Chancellorship, and now once again he is in the position of outside observer just this time with a compendious knowledge of the community.

So where does he see the University a few decades further on in time? “The thing that I find alarming is that I would hate to see Durham University leave the centre of the city. I find it sad that Old Shire Hall is going to be left, I don’t have to work in there so it’s easy for me to say, but I think there’s something very very special about having local institutions next door. I think the

University should be in the heart of the town. It’s a shame when they all go out and become semi-suburban, and I would hate to see the University doing that too much, I think Durham is a very special place and you can see the centre of the city is struggling anyway without the University becoming less and less of an economic player”.

And what about the direction of the University as an organisation? “I really believed that one of the things that are overlooked in the University is that the fundamental purpose of the University is to educate students, and sometimes that gets a little bit secondary. I think it’s really important, and I think that you need to remind people that University is all about you, and it’s not about lots of other things. I mean it is about lots of other things but it’s primarily about providing you and 15,000 oth-

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PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

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For more, visit palatinate.org.uk

Students find novel way to win charity business game Christopher Murphy

He was a ready participant in fundraising and community work ers like you with decent education.

People take that so much for granted sometimes that I think they just

“The best thing about Durham is how good people are at doing things outside the classroom”

assume that that is going to happen automatically and there are other things that are more important or higher priorities at times, and I’m not sure that that’s right”.

It is impossible to go ten minutes of conversation with Bryson without hearing a genuinely heart-warming observation on the quality of

Durham students. Sometimes when in ‘the bubble’ all of us are guilty of taking our situation for granted.

How many times in the future will we be able to go to a play, an opera, a poetry reading, a fashion show and a jazz band all in one week for under £10? One suspects never.

This has clearly never been lost on the ex-Chancellor. “The thing that I always go on about, the thing that impresses me about you students is not that you’re smart are because of course you’re smart, you wouldn’t be in Durham if you weren’t able to do that, you’ve got to be brainy to be there, so it’s hardly surprising that you do brainy things when you’re there. But what’s always impressed me about Durham students is the quality of extra curricular things going on. The best thing about Durham students is just how good people are at doing things outside of the

Photographs: Alex Duncan & Durham University

classroom”.

So that’s all from Bill Bryson, much loved Chancellor, author, and Durham icon. It’s hard to imagine a figure inspiring such student loyalty almost entirely through his character alone. And of course the warmest smile in the frozen North. We’ll give him the last word: “The last 20-25 years I’ve just been really busy, I’ve done a huge amount of travelling and I’ve just always been on the go doing my work, and just being busy.

“My dream now is just to step back and take things a lot easier.

Just to move into a realm of steady retirement where essentially all I do is write my books and then enjoy myself the rest of the time.

Just having that tome to myself and being able to relax and not being the centre of attention, is very appealing but it comes at a price, I’m going to miss Durham a lot”.

Bryson: In Short Chancellor between: 2005-2011 About: Bill is a US-born journalist and author and among many interests has been appointed a Commissioner for English Heritage and President of the Campaign for Rural England.

He has written a large number of humorous and best-selling books on travel, the English language and on science. His most famous books include ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ and ‘At Home: A Short History of Private Life’.

He was awarded an honorary OBE and made an honorary freeman of the City of Durham. Bill describes “life as a University Chancellor” as “interesting and varied”.

Four Durham students won the £10 business challenge run by Entrepreneurs Durham, with the majority of their profits coming from a betting website.

Collingwood students James Chamberlain, Alex MacPherson, Jezza Talbot and Sayo Sogbesan raised over £500 from an initial £10 investment given to them by Entrepreneurs Durham.

All participants were given £10 with which to make as much money as possible. 40% of profits from the challenge go to DUCK, whilst the competitors keep 60%.

The team of students took advantage of a referral scheme provided by betting website, Betfair – the world’s largest betting exchange.

Betfair offers a £25 ‘referral bonus’ both to the referrer and referee when a new user signs up to the site. The team encouraged a large number of Collingwood students to open an account using one of their four ‘refer and earn’ codes, resulting in a £25 profit per student.

Jezza commented: “There was no possibility of anyone losing any money”.

James came up with the idea to use Betfair: “Given the time constraints, we saw Betfair as a great way to make lots of money for charity”.

Alex said: “We didn’t see any problem with using this no-risk scheme from Betfair, and we made more money for charity than we otherwise would have done”.

Sayo added that he thought of Betfair’s refer and earn scheme as: “a really profitable way of making money, something I love doing”.

All the teams involved in the challenge made £518 for DUCK, meaning that almost half of this figure came from James, Alex, Jezza and Sayo.

The team’s other money-making methods included the set up of a FIFA 12 video game tournament, with the £10 from Entrepreneurs Durham used as the prize for the winners.

They sold Domino’s pizza slices at the tournament, which they obtained free of charge.

For the whole story, visit the News section of www.palatinate.org.uk.

6

News

Jailbreak raises over £8,600 for charity On November 26th Durham students had to get as far away from Durham in 36 hours as they could, using no money, in fancy dress, and all the in name of charity.

Out of the 36 teams that took part, 23 made it out of the UK, with the winners ‘Bitchhikers’ making it 6,565 miles to Kuala Lumpur.

The overland winners were team ‘Rhose Island Reds’ who survived a six hour truck journey with a Dutchman who told them all about the people he had beaten, stabbed and potentially killed. They reached Barcelona. A DUCK spokesperson said: “Over £8,600 was raised for charity. Jailbreak 2011 was a definitely a grand success”.

Team ‘Catch Us If You Can’ in Cologne, France Photograph: DUCK

St. Cuth’s Disruption Students were offered a refund of 10% of their accommodation fees for the elapsed time. This equated to £61. No students have cashed their cheques.

Heaters were taken away before the radiators worked which meant three days in a freezing room.

Reserve hot water in House 13 ran out by 10am most mornings for the week.

Students had to go to House 8 for showers whose facilities failed to provide enough hot water for all of these students.

A damp problem ruined books, bedding and clothing and caused respiratory problems for two weeks.

The college budgeted £30 for all the affected people to use laundry facilities down at Parsons Field. However, a wash and dry comes to £5 so it did not cover it.

With no in house catering for four weeks, students were forced to go to Hatfield and Castle. Hatfield only allowed Cuth’s students to use their dining hall from 5pm - 6pm.

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For more on this story, visit www. palatinate.org.uk

Anger at Cuth’s disruption

Tuesday 13th December 2011 | PALATINATE

www.palatinate.org.uk

Police trial noise-curbing sweets Durham makes to try to quieten Durham streets a good catch Emma Charles

Police officers in Durham have found a new way to communicate to students: by handing out boiled sweets.

10,000 boiled sweets, bearing the messages ‘Shush’ and ‘Quiet Please’, will be given out to students to curb noise pollution.

University Liaison Officers will give sweets out on busy nights when students may need to be reminded to keep quiet.

Similar schemes have been tried in other areas.

However, Durham’s sweets are believed to be the first to have messages written on them. Scott Parker, the DSU’s Education & Welfare Officer, revealed that the DSU used to give students lollipops when they left club nights to minimise night-time noise.

Parker appealed to students to “please take a sweet from the police

and suck it until you get back home”.

However, not all students share the DSU’s confidence.

Hild Bede student Emily Bottoni said: “I don’t think rewarding loud behaviour with sweets will reduce the noise as I doubt students will read or take the sweets seriously.

“Students could even begin being purposefully loud to get free sweets”

“Students could even begin being purposefully loud to get free sweets”.

It is not known what levels of noise pollution will prompt the police to begin giving out the sweets, which are part of Durham’s ongoing Safe City campaign to make Durham the safest city in the UK. For the full story, visit www.palatinate.org.uk

Phoebe Hall

Sustainable fish is now on the menu in all colleges, after the University became the first in the country to offer the option to students.

All livers-in will now be able to choose sustainable fish independently certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Shona Millar, Head of Catering, said: “We are delighted to gain this certification. It demonstrates our commitment to sustainable sourcing of wild fish.

“It’s important to everyone that we produce sustainable, quality food”.

Van Mildert Environmental Representative David Hynes was one of the first to try the fish, and commented: “I think it’s great that Durham is committed to serving fish from sustainable sources”.

Continued from page 1

is not necessarily a risk to health; it is only a potential risk to health”.

After the Vice-Chancellor promised to take serious action, University Deputy Warden, Professor Graham Towl has begun an investigation into the handling of the situation.

He said: “Students affected by the accommodation issues at St. Cuthbert’s were offered alternative accommodation within and outside the College. We have also been in regular communication with students since the situation arose to keep them informed about progress”.

The issue of the offer of alternative accommodation to the affected students is disputed by St. Cuthbert’s JCR. They maintain that the offer was made verbally to just a few students.

The JCR told Palatinate that nothing was followed up in writing and concerned parents were told differing stories. They revealed that some parents were even told that their children were offered hotel accommodation.

The college will not offer full compensation. They argue that students were offered alternative accommodation and turned it down. Therefore, a gesture of good will is sufficient.

DSU Education and Welfare Officer, Scott Parker, added: “£61 is a kick in the teeth. If I hadn’t had hot water or heating in all of those old blocks down at Cuth’s for eight weeks, I would probably be seeking legal advice”.

A review group will be set up in January, which will contain a number of student representatives to evaluate how the situation has been handled.

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7

News

www.palatinate.org.uk

Students choose Newcastle over Durham, says survey Rowena Caine Christopher Murphy A survey conducted by Palatinate has shown that many students prefer the nightlife options available in Newcastle compared with Durham.

Whilst many were quite happy with the social scene in Durham, it averaged only three out of five stars.

The quality of Durham’s nightlife combined with the proximity of Newcastle encouraged 85% of people to sample the Toon on at least one occasion. 72% of this number were persuaded enough that they returned, and almost a quarter of respondents had visited Newcastle for a night out five times or more.

Despite the supposed inferior quality of Durham clubbing, for many the ‘Durham experience’ was an important aspect to consider. One anonymous student commented: “You can easily have a great night out in Durham despite the lack of nightlife as long as there is a good group of you. It’s so small you don’t have to worry about getting home from wherever you are”.

However, many students did prefer the more authentic clubbing experience available in Newcastle. An anonymous student said: “Newcastle’s is infinitely better, for choice, diversity, music, everything.

“You have to drink a lot to have a good night out in Durham because the music is a joke. High School Musical and S Club 7 in a club is ridiculous”.

Another anonymous student said that the two shouldn’t be compared as they’re both very different prospects. They said: “You have to take Durham for what it is but if you want proper clubbing then Newcastle is

obviously going to be better”.

Although half of the students affirmed that clubbing in Newcastle was better than in Durham, many of them raised the issue about the return journey home. The last train back to Durham leaves at 10.45pm or 4.40 in the morning if you are prepared to stay up until then.

A second year Modern Languages student said: “If trains between Durham and Newcastle continued throughout the night with the same frequency as during the day, people would choose Newcastle over Durham most of the time”.

Other options include the lengthy journey home on a night bus, or paying for a taxi when the metered fare is approximately £40.

The survey revealed that 25% of students solve the issue with getting

“We don’t have a proper concert venue in Durham” Second year Sarah Burnham

home to Durham by staying the night with a friend in Newcastle. However, the majority said that a taxi home was their preferred choice, even though it was the most expensive option.

However, there have been attempts to combat this lack of return transport. Red Eye Buses was set up

by Durham graduate James Birney in 2011 to provide a service between Durham and Newcastle throughout the night, five days a week.

Birney, who graduated from Van Mildert college in 2005, told Palatinate that there was a lot of interest from Durham students about the late night service between the two cities.

However, due to cash flow problems

Newcastle has world-class concert venues, like the Sage in Gateshead Photograph: Anthony Burns

and lack of uptake, the service was forced to stop, having run for just the Easter term of 2011.

As well as having a diverse nightlife, Newcastle attracts big names from the world of music, comedy and theatre. The survey revealed that 70% of Durham students have attended an event in Newcastle, with 40% attending a music event.

Large music events are a privilege that Durham is not always able to offer. However, Durham Live Lounge, previously known as Academy, often brings in Live Bands. Gig Organiser Phil Hughes told Palatinate: “We work closely with all the major and minor agencies. When bands are touring and wanting a Durham show, they get in touch with us.

“We struggle as the majority of bands want to play in the bigger city (Newcastle), but every now and then we get a good band that we go for.

“We offer 20% on all shows to students so please get yourself along and support the live music we’re bringing to Durham”.

Second year Biology student, Sarah Burnham, argued: “The problem is that we don’t have a proper concert venue in Durham. It’s too small a city and it would never work.

“There are loads of music nights that people don’t know about so maybe we need better publicity”.

It seems that not only events in Durham lack publicity. 45% of Durham students felt that they were only moderately aware of live entertain-

ment in Newcastle, with only 10% saying that they felt ‘very aware’ of events in Newcastle.

‘Shopping’ was the biggest area in which students thought that Newcastle outdid Durham. Only 4% gave our university town full marks for its shopping, whilst 67% rated Durham one or two stars out of five.

However, this does not put students off Durham as a university town.

An anonymous student, who took the survey, said: “There is less entertainment available within Durham but that does not detract from the social experience as it is all students”.

Another added: “Durham is more intimate; you’ll always see people you know”.

The total annual income for the year came to £255.1m, an increase of 2.5% from the previous year. Finan-

do not begin until 2012.

However, the University has managed to accommodate such changes and the report was positive about the future financial outlook of the University: “Our financial modelling has shown that we are relatively well-placed to manage the changes being introduced but that our available cash resources will be stretched during the period up to 2013/14”.

Tuition fees accounted for around £75 million of the total income, a figure which is set to rise dramatically next year. A large amount also came from the Higher Education Funding

Council for England, and the main expenditure was staff costs.

Professor Christopher Higgins, the Vice-Chancellor of Durham University said that the surplus “enables us to bring facilities up to world-class standards through an ongoing programme of major building and refurbishment”.

The figures will be of interest to students concerned about how such a large surplus of money will benefit them in real terms in the future. The news also comes after the University has decided to set tuition fees for next year at £9,000.

University reports “surplus” of £19m Katie Pavid Durham University Council has approved the financial report for the last academic year, and has reported an operating “surplus” of almost £19m.

The report is for the year ending July 2011 and outlines the overall progress of the University. The figures reported by the council, which is in charge of the affairs of the entire University, claim that it was aiming for the University to achieve a £5m

surplus for the year.

Durham University Treasurer Paulina Lubacz said: “The University’s financial position is healthy with a surplus of £19m, which is approximately seven per cent of our annual turnover. This is appropriate for an organisation of our size and allows us to reinvest in our infrastructure and to be sustainable for the long-term.

“The fact that the University has maintained and improved its surplus shows we are managing our finances well despite the current economic climate”.

£255.1m

Durham University’s total annual income for the year 2010/11

cially, last year marked a transitional period in which government funding to the University was cut, although the higher tuition fees for students

8

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Tuesday 13th December 2011 | PALATINATE

‘Tis the season to be selfless

Palatinate takes a look at some of the highlights of student generosity this Michaelmas term Mei Leng Yew

With Christmas only around the corner, it is a time to celebrate the quiet acts of charity and kindness that take place each day as students across the university give their time, skills, commitment and money towards a variety of good causes.

Durham University Charities Committee (DUCK) and Student Community Action (SCA) work hard to provide interesting volunteering and fundraising opportunities for students to use their talents for the greater good.

But recognition must also be giv-

en to the societies and college charity officers. These people remain completely committed to making it easier for students to do something selfless for their wider community, whether it is through donating their time, their talent or their money.

With limited space, Palatinate cannot begin to give all of these generous and hard-working people the recognition they deserve.

However, we can showcase some of the events that have been the highlights of the Michaelmas term.

They have been selected for their variety, their impact on the wider community and as examples of our stellar student body.

The Christmas appeal:

Every year, Student Community Action (SCA) organises a Christmas appeal and this year was no exception.

The ‘Giving Tree’ appeal asked students to donate gifts to children in the North East who might not otherwise have received any presents at Christmas for a variety of reasons.

SCA placed collection boxes around colleges and e-mails were sent to staff and students across the University, asking them to donate anything that might be appropriate for a child to receive this Christmas. This could be anything from a soft toy, felttip pens, chocolates or notebooks.

The generosity of students means disadvantaged local children will receive presents this Christmas Photograph: SCA

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Working with children:

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The Thurston Project is a drama, dance and music group for disadvantaged children from Bowburn.

It is run by student volunteers Andy Hopkins and Idunn Helle and it is completely free for the children to take part.

Every Christmas the Project puts on a show, and this year the children have made their own Christmas pantomime.

Explaining how they worked with the children to create this year’s show, Idunn said: “We gave them a plot outline, and then the children, guided by the volunteers, made the detailed script”.

She continued: “What I personally enjoy most about the project is that you get to go out of the Durham bubble and see real people, not just students. You also develop skills and have fun whilst you get to know other volunteers from all colleges and degrees. It’s just a great combination”.

Busking for charity: Every Christmas season, Josephine Butler Music Society sends out their student choirs, its jazz band and the string group to busk in various places around the market and by Durham Cathedral.

All the money raised is donated to the Grace House North East Children’s Hospice Appeal, a charity with which the college has a close link.

Last weekend, the Music Society Presidents Sophie Hammill and Owen Franklin organised for 35 members of the college choir, string group, Barbershop and Jazz band to perform for passers-by at the Christmas market.

Reflecting on the weekend, the Presidents told Palatinate: “Playing at the Christmas market is a fantastic experience. Not only are the venue and the whole setting unbelievable, but the crowd are always very enthusiastic and we manage to raise quite a lot for Grace House”.

Grace House is a charity building a much needed hospice in the north east and is Josephine Butler’s chosen charity. The college has raised over £8,000 in the last two years for the hospice.

Creative fundraising: Aidan’s DUCKtator David Murphy came up with an innovative way to fundraise for charity at Aidan College’s Harry Potter themed megaformal in October.

He raised £160 in one night by introducing the JCR to a game wherein students had to tap someone’s glass with a wand and say a spell. He then sold wands to students for £1 each.

They were twigs.

The Thurston Project enriches both the lives of the local children and the student volunteers Photograph: Idunn Helle

Adventurous spirit: On the last weekend of November, 79 students embarked on a 36-hour mission to get as far away from Durham as possible without spending any money.

The students dressed up in an array of fancy dress, including bananas, moneys, a priest and even as Gandalf, in the hopes of attracting sponsorship support and hopefully a free lift from passing drivers.

Organised by DUCK volunteer co-ordinator Krystina Warrington, Jailbreak raised approximiately £10, 000 for a selection of charities.

Working with adults:

Every year, the Durham Union Society runs an eight-week debating course for people who were formerly homeless.

Some of these had overcome great personal challenges such as alcoholism and addiction.

The aim of the course is to build their confidence and improve their public speaking skills.

This term over 30 students volunteered and the project was organised by five DUS members: Sam Richards, Ettie Bailey-King, Sarah Spriggs, Verity Adams and Christine Reid.

Twenty participants completed the course and eight spoke in a Friday night debate that was well-attended with a turn-out of approximately 150. The project has now run for five years and is an ongoing partnership between Team Durham, Durham Union Society and the Cyrenians.

Over an eight-week period, students from the University’s debating society led the workshops through a combination of games and exercises.

The team which made it the furthest were the ‘Bitchhikers’, who wrote to East Coast Trains and Air Asia beforehand and convinced them to donate a train ticket to London and then a one-way flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Honourable mentions also go to the ‘Rhode Island Reds’ who made it overland to Barcelona with a lorry driver, and to team ‘FC Copenbadly’ who made it to the Gran Canaries.

Jailbreak participants were overwhelmingly positive about their experience and several teams raised over £400 in sponsorship money.

Community Work: Durham University ‘Save the Children’ Society held a fashion show on 2nd December which raised over £300 for ‘Save the Children’.

Led by Jenni McDermott, the DUSCS President, and organized by Jessica Hanley, the show brought together local businesses, schoolchildren and student volunteers in order to raise awareness and funds for the world’s leading children’s charity.

The models were dressed by Bexbrides, Belles Evening Wear, Dolly Mama and Sorella.

Hair and make up was provided

by Saks.

The Durham University Cocktail Society also created mocktails, and Mexican T Party - a band from Durham Johnston school - provided music while the audience perused a range of stalls and enjoyed the photography studio set up by See Me School Photography.

Rag-raiders:

Trevelyan College have raked in £4,039 so far this term just from RAG raids and shaking buckets on street corners.

Additional reporting by Henry Anderson-Elliott.

The Second Chance debaters collect their certificates Photograph: Tom Winstanley

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Written by Durham University Deputy Warden Graham Towl: “Welcome to 5 new faces as Heads of Colleges for 2011/2012” This year we have appointed five new Heads of Colleges. Appointments have been made at Collingwood, Grey, Marys, University College and Van Mildert.

Three of the appointees were already at Durham and we have two appointments from other universities (Copenhagen and LSE). All the candidates competed against an international field. The Head of College posts are half time to provide scholarly leadership in the college and half time for research.

These are senior leadership roles in the university and I am delighted that we have been able to attract and appoint from such a strong field.

At Collingwood, Professor Joe Elliott is a prolific and distinguished educational psychologist with a real passion for our collegiate system.

Joe was a student at Hild Bede where he originally trained as a drama teacher.

His research interests include dyslexia, achievement motivation and psychological assessment, to name a few. “My first term at Collingwood has been hugely enjoyable. The talents, energy and social commitment of our students are a real inspiration”.

Professor Tom Allen is delighted to have taken up his post at Grey, with this current term being his first. “My research interests relate to

property in different contexts. This takes account of international human rights, identity and culture. I am still settling into the role, but already I am enjoying being part of the active community in the college”. Tom is also Deputy Head for colleges with strategic responsibility for estates and facilities.

At St Mary’s, Professor Simon Hackett from the School of Applied Social Sciences has immersed himself into the life of the college. His research interests are in the area of child welfare and adoption.

He is internationally known for his work on improving services for children who have been affected by abuse. His energy and commitment is evident to anyone who meets with him. “I am thoroughly enjoying the role, it is a pleasure to be working with, and amongst, such a talented group of students”.

At University College, Professor David Held is very much looking forward to taking up post on 1st January 2012. His research has been focussed upon globalization and its changing impact upon politics.

He has spent a number of years working for the Open University, and more recently, the London School of Economics. David has always very much enjoyed his contacts with students. “The Castle is a unique environment in which to engage

contemporary debates, representing both historical continuity and robustness in the face of change”.

Professor David Harper commenced at Van Mildert as Principal at the beginning of November. He is a field based palaeontologist, and his research has taken him as far afield as the Tibetan plateau to North Greenland. Before moving to Durham, he was Professor of Palaeontology and Head of Geology at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.

“It has been a challenging and exciting first few weeks at Van Mildert working with staff and students alike, learning about the rewarding outreach projects associated with the College and of course there are always the legendary Mildert formals”. He is also Deputy Head for Research in colleges.

We can be justly proud of our collegiate system at Durham with its distinctive multidisciplinary environment. Our colleges are a central part of what has become known as ‘the Durham difference’. The engine room for this difference is the college community; students and staff working together to achieve the very best for our whole student community. Opportunities are abound for personal development via the sheer number and variety of JCR societies and sporting related posts

at all levels. Colleges are pivotal in contributing to the university wide engagement with green issues. They are also key hubs for a huge amount of volunteering and outreach work and long may that continue.

On 22nd November 2011, we published a story about Professor David Held’s appointment as master of University College.

We would like to clarify that the “college panel” referred to in the article is not the same as the appointments panel which recommended Prof Held’s appointment. The views expressed in the article are not those of the members of the appointments panel. The appointments panel found Prof Held to be eminently suitable for the role and accordingly recommended him for appointment.

We wish to unreservedly apologise to the members of the appointments panel for any inference that they did not follow proper process or that they did not select the most suitable candidate for the post against the role description.

Furthermore, we wish to unreservedly apologise to Prof Held for any suggestion that he was not the most suitable candidate for the role and for any distress caused by the comments contained within the article.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

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Arguing the case for the Tobin tax Will this controversial transaction tax be able to save Europe from the abyss?

Justin Cash Commentary

Countercyclical policy is a tricky business. Recession governments have pushed round after round of stimulus package and quantitative easing. But in the continual search for an economic panacea, the idea of a financial transactions tax has been gaining force. First proposed

by Nobel Prize winning economist James Tobin, his formulation of such a tax was originally one that would cover all spot conversions of one currency into another. His intention was mainly to penalize short-term financial round-trip excursions into another currency.

Current financial troubles are evidently not limited to foreign exchange markets though. For this reason, many are calling for a more general transactions tax on the dealings of financial institutions, levied on dealings in shares, bonds and derivatives. The furor surrounding this idea may not be misplaced.

Primarily such a tax may act as a stabilizing force, slowing down flows of hot money that potentially contribute to financial volatility. This volatility critically impacts upon the investor and consumer confidence that is conspicuously waning of late and is desperately needed. The hope is that this will also constrain the riskiest and most speculative of trades, making traders think twice about each deal they wish to conduct.

If we are genuinely concerned with the risks our financial institutions are taking, as we appear to be, then reducing high frequency trading may at the very least kick start measures to wean them off gambles.

€57 bn per year

Potential amount raised from the Tobin Tax within the EU

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Development lobby groups have also suggested this type of tax can be used to raise money for aid, and consequently another name given to this idea is: the Robin Hood tax.

Back in 2001, Tobin suggested a fairly arbitrary rate of 0.5% of transaction volume. Many agree that this would be approximately optimal.

However, it is easy to spot the trap that one falls into when setting the effective tax level. Either the level is so low that it is entirely ineffective, or it is so high that it inhibits liquidity in the financial system too much.

Conducting empirical analyses should help clear up some of these uncertainties. There is an argument for preferring the rate to be at a conservative, low level, perhaps even

Oxfam believes this tax could raise £300bn, ten times the UN poverty budget Photo: Oxfam below Tobin’s suggested 0.5%. This follows the work of German economist Paul Spahn, who argues: “If the tax is generally applied at high rates, it will severely impair financial operations and create international liquidity problems, especially if derivatives are taxed as well. A lower tax rate would reduce the negative impact on financial markets…”

There appears to be little that is objectionable in this.

Even if the levy is ineffective at providing stability, governments may still draw significant revenue from a highly profitable sector. A recent European Commission report suggests that a Tobin style tax within Europe could raise €57bn (approximately £49bn) annually, which could either boost the EU budget or end up in the coffers of national treasuries.

Opponents of such measures will insist that our financial institutions and some of our finest minds will relocate if they were introduced.

There is much truth in these claims.

In an increasingly globalized economy, the so-called ‘brain drain’ is a clear and present danger, and not just an empty threat. Asian economies would be more than happy to accept major banks that are inter-

“Opponents will insist that our financial institutions and some of our finest minds will relocate”

ested in moving base, for example, alongside the inevitable increase in trade on their markets. For this reason, unilateral implication of a Tobin style tax amounts to economic suicide. The key is to somehow achieve a truly global implementation of the

policy.

If nowhere else, there is at least potential for the Eurozone to form an effective consensus. This is evidence by the deals struck to form bailout packages for its ailing economies. But at meetings on the 8th of November in Brussels, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and several other EU members all demonstrated their support of British Chancellor George Osborne’s staunchly anti Tobin-tax stance. Many fear that this spells the end for any such measures.

Combined with worries that implementation of a tax on financial transactions would drive up borrowing costs and irreparably damage some institutions, many are still skeptical of such a measure. It certainly seems that, regardless of its merits, a Tobin-style taxation on our financial institutions is a very remote possibility at present.

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Without membership, China would lose huge trading partners to rival economies, but by adopting conditions of membership, the People’s Republic will lose its key advantage – an undervalued currency. Far from contradicting the consensus, Obama was later quoted as saying he wanted China to “play by the rules” shortly after meeting with President Hu Jintao.

The Chinese administration is therefore running out of time. Once

“The US is trying to force China to face a ticking clock, either reform or lose a competitive edge”

No surprise as President Obama is smiling, President Hu is feeling a little awkward Photograph: TalkMediaNews

Bridging the Pacific together How will America’s new idea on trading policy affect its Asian counterpart?

Stephane Rouschmeyer

Obama, continually pushing for progress, now sets his eyes on a much anticipated Pacific free trade agreement. It was at the APEC summit in mid-November that the details of the proposal were outlined: free trade based on removing taxes and other barriers to trade for nations hugging the pacific ring of fire.

Such a free trade area would harbour huge benefits for all parties of the region and, for sure, fuel growth for all nations involved. But not all is as

meets the eye.

A pacific trade plan, as outlined, calls for the destruction of trade barriers as well as limitations of subsidiaries given to domestic firms.

Essentially, it is a union promoting free trade and free markets, open to those who adopt those notions. This is important for two reasons, firstly, the current APEC agreements are lose and have very marginal benefits.

Too many of its member nations over protect the domestic markets and give unfair advantages to their businesses for true free trade to be possible. Secondly, Obama is testing China’s resolve. A true free market

encompassing South American nations, South East Asian nations, Australasia, Japan, the US, Canada and Mexico would create an economic area 40% larger than the 27 EU nations (Reuters), an irresistible prospect for the Chinese economy.

For the moment, the Trans-Pacific Partnership includes nine member states, but Japan, Mexico, Canada and a host of other states have publicly declared their interest in joining the partnership. Rules state that new members have to be agreed upon by current members, but until the trade agreement is finalised and running (Obama has set 2012 as his dead-

line), pacific members are apprehensive of the delays caused by the introduction of new states.

Karan Bhatia, former deputy US trade representative described the initiative as a “gravitational force that would bring others in”. Essentially, creating an economic affiliation that would benefit close rivals of Chinese industries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam and South America would lead China to economic reform, paving the way for its entry into the pact. Many analysts see the trade plan as an attempt by the US administration to force China to allow the Yuan to float, one of the conditions of entry.

2011, unemployment has sharply risen. 16-24 year-olds have been the first and worst affected; nearly 22% of youths are currently unemployed.

However, with unemployment figures close to the national average and salaries to match, Durham graduates could be forgiven for asking ‘what recession?’ Indeed Alex, an economist from Grey College, seems to have no knowledge of the concept, claiming that “gaining a summer internship when you have a degree from Durham is no tall order”.

The figures themselves are startling, since 2008 unemployment among recent Durham graduates has fallen by 5%. This has led to Durham becoming the most employable university outside of Oxbridge and London.

The recession has been less kind to other universities. In 2008, 65% of Bolton graduates were finding employment, but it is predicted that in 2012 just 45% will get a job. Bolton is not alone - most universities have struggled to ensure employment for

showing itself to be recession proof.

However, Durham may yet face its own winter of discontent. With recent public sector cuts and the continuing decline of many private sectors, the professional job market, Durham graduates’ traditional feeding ground, is shrinking.

With over one million people already competing for the less skilled jobs, employment opportunities could become very thin on the ground leaving many with nothing at all. Oliver, a Sociology student, believes “opportunities disappear before you even have the chance to apply...it’s going to be tough to get a job that I really want to do”.

Despite strong employment figures 10.8% of Durham students at-

the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes into force, an undervalued currency will be no match for the economic benefits of TPPs member states. The US is trying to force China to face a ticking clock, either reform or lose a competitive edge.

However, the TPP should not be viewed as an American economic attack on China. The TPP creates a genuine opportunity for Pacific nations to kick start growth and change the face of the global economy. The US is also using this opportunity to find larger trade volumes after difficult quarters with European trading partners. Just as you might look away when you give a blood test, Obama sees trouble in Europe and looks to the west for new markets.

Ever the optimist, the Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev was last week quoted as saying of the TPP “I don’t understand what the result of this club will be”. With planned implementation set for the end of 2012, the TPP will be a game changer, and one to watch out for.

Are Durham Graduates Recession Proof?

Nathan Noerr

Durham’s graduates remain among the most employable despite record youth unemployment, research claims. A staggering 91.2% of Durham students find employment or further study after graduation according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

Youth unemployment may have surmounted one million people in the past week but the extra competition has not perturbed Durham students who are more employable than ever before. As economic performance has stuttered, leaving the economy at a virtual standstill in

22% of youth Currently Unemployed

their graduates since the economic downturn.

It appears the force of the ‘Durham difference’ has been intensified in the economic climate. Durham is

tain jobs that don’t ‘normally recruit graduates’. With aforementioned cuts this figure may be set to rise, leading to further underemployment of graduates.

For now though, the Durham air is not as chilly as it could be. The general youth population is approximately three times more likely to be unemployed than a Durham graduate and, on average, will earn half as much per calendar year.

It is clear that Durham degrees continue to make a difference to employers who would employee a student from the university over any other outside of The Golden Triangle.

The world may be in for a few more turbulent years but it all seems fairly calm from inside the Durham bubble.

Comment Comment Editor: Charlie Taverner

comment@palatinate.org.uk

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Debate: Is a degree from Durham worth £9,000 a year?

At the DSU Question Time debate, the issue of the University’s value for money reared its head once again YES: Charlie Taverner

L

iving in the insular Durham bubble, we rarely get the chance to take stock of where Durham sits in the higher education landscape of our country.

Even when tuition fees rise to £9,000 a year, Durham will still provide excellent value for money because of all the extra experiences it provides.

By pointing to Durham’s ranking of 15th in the QS world graduate employment table and recent research showing that even a Third class degree can see average yearly earnings of almost £30,000 – far above the £25,000 British average – it would be easy to argue that the increased fees are manageable.

Yet, it is very easy for this to turn into a turgid discussion about tuition fees, but that would not allow us to see why a degree at Durham stands out.

On academic reputation alone, a degree from Durham is one of the best in the whole country. It was not for nothing that we were placed third in The Sunday Times University rankings. A Durham degree is ranked incredibly highly in the eyes of employers.

But what does the lofty annual fee pay for during the process of earning that coveted degree? The main yardstick is usually teaching time.

Every student in the country, particularly in Arts subjects, will tell you that they wish they saw their tutors and lecturers more often.

Durham’s high numbers of English and History students will bemoan the handful of hours they receive for

the same fees as a scientist.

Yet, what really matters is the level of direction and the learning environment we are given – and this is where Durham shines. Durham is home to some of the top academics in the world who are there to inspire us to engage in the same current critical thought they use in their world-leading research.

With government funding being reduced, £9,000 a year is necessary to maintain not only the high level of academics at the university, but also to invest in the best learning environment possible. The £35 million development at the Science site is part of the mission to provide world-class conditions for study.

But, academic excellence is not what makes Durham truly special.

“

You get a top degree and a fantastic education

”

It is those extra aspects of the university experience which make the investment so worthwhile.

That £9,000 yearly fee is not only payment for a world-class degree that will hopefully secure you good employment, but it also allows you to be part of one of the most talented and vibrant university communities around.

Durham is home to some amazing people, and because of the vast

With tuition fees set to almost treble for next year’s freshers, will range of things you can do at different levels of ability, everyone can engage in whatever they choose.

At the pinnacle we have the likes of the astounding Durham Revue, university orchestras and choirs and BUCS-winning sports sides. At every level below that, college sides or small groups of individuals do the same activities and with no less passion.

We are privileged to be part of a community that has so much to offer. The college system adds a depth to extra-curricular activities that is not available elsewhere. A Durham degree is worth every penny of the £9,000 if you make the most of it and engage in that vibrant community.

Over the last few weeks, the relatively-clichéd phrase “Don’t let your degree get in the way of your education” has been oddly everpresent in numerous interviews, programmes and articles.

In a time of financial austerity, we are all - understandably - worrying about if and when we will find future employment. However, a Durham degree is still a great investment.

For £9,000, not only do you get a top degree but you also get a fantastic education.

NO: Joe Adams

I

s a Durham degree worth £9,000 a year? A short answer would be that some are.

The University administration is always quick to point out that it won’t be receiving any more government money next year than it does now, meaning students will have to foot the bill. However, this surely increases the duty of education and care needed to be given to the students.

Arts students have been complaining for some years that their contact hours are far too few. While degrees such as my own - History are primarily self-study, the conduct of the majority of history lectures is totally unacceptable. This not the staff’s fault, but that of timing. It is simply impossible to properly cover the span of an entire History module, dealing with complex historical debates, in just twenty-one hours.

This extremely short space of teaching causes lectures to be extremely rushed: very few lecturers ask questions or invite them from

15

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

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Comment

A View from France: Sarkozy must put Euro stability before politics David WynneGriffith

F

or almost two years, Germany has born the brunt of blame when it came to the longawaited solution to the contagious Eurozone debt crisis. Some commentators have even said that Germany has conducted ‘economic warfare’ on its continental partners.

“

Last-minute political deals just prolong the crisis

coming to study at Durham still be worth the investment? Photograph: Katie Merchant their students. One begins to wonder why lectures are not simply delivered by video, or typed up and put on DUO. The range of seminar experiences exposes the extreme variance in quality of education at the university. Durham academics, while often at the forefront of their fields in research, are not necessarily the best teachers.

While all of my history modules have been led by lecturers, those I have taken in other subjects have sometimes been given by postgraduate students.

While Durham seems more likely than your average university to have lecturers teaching seminars, at £9,000 a year, not to have this would be unacceptable.

A History degree has been described by many of its students as a “£3,000 a year library fee”. While the library is currently being expanded, its current facilities are completely insufficient. The best lecturers take the initiative in digitising key texts: this should be made mandatory. The current system, which consistently expects twenty people or more to read the same copy of a book in less than two weeks, is ridiculous.

Arts students’ fees clearly cannot

be entirely spent on the incredibly short contact hours if the same is charged for scientists and mathematicians.

One would expect, therefore, for their money to be spent on providing a good learning environment in the

“

The higher fees increase the duty of care and education

”

library. Admittedly, a long-overdue expansion is finally taking place, but it is too late for those currently in their final year.

The opening of the cheerfully titled ‘e-den’ on the second floor shows the university’s lack of competence when it comes to I.T. provision. The ‘e-den’ revealed itself to have about half the computers of its

previous incarnation. Instead, there are new group study spaces with large screens, which will no doubt disturb the people attempting to work individually a few metres away.

The lack of computers could possibly be forgiven if there was space to use a laptop. In daylight hours, however, every power point is continually occupied. Why are our university fees being spent on fancy architecture and not the cheap and simple solution of providing a power point to every single desk in the library?

Coupled with the ridiculously small YUM café attached to the library and minimal heating after most library staff go home, the library surely cannot be the recipient of an Arts student’s £3,400 a year.

A Durham Arts degree, then, is barely worth its current cost, let alone an exorbitant cost of £9,000.

Let Arts degrees be cheaper than Science ones - as the university itself admits is true in international fees.

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”

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has looked for long-term treatments at every turn rather than short-term solutions. In Berlin’s eyes, expensive bailouts based on blind solidarity and last-minute political deals are just ersatz solutions which merely prolong the crisis.

To their credit, it now seems as if their bold brinkmanship in the face of panic-stricken calls for action may be about to bear fruit. One redeeming feature of the German approach is that it has seen the problems as a governance crisis. Too many national governments have been willing to buy short-term electoral success in exchange for vast, underfunded and unproductive public sectors that have created huge sovereign debts.

Finally, it seems as if the FrancoGerman pairing have found vital common ground. To save the Euro, it is going to take a step into the unknown territory of tightened fiscal integration and budgetary harmonization. This could mean that Nicolas Sarkozy has to sacrifice his career in order to save his country.

Mr Sarkozy has prevaricated his way into an incredibly tight political corner. He now stands wedged inbetween clamoring markets and

a distrustful electorate. Everyday the sovereign debt crisis festers and places France’s AAA credit rating under threat.

Sarkozy has no choice but to bow out of Angela Merkel’s perilous game of ‘call my bluff’ and back German plans to give budgetary control to Brussels.

In France, where the state is as highly centralised as the electorate is parochial, this final wrestling of sovereignty away from the people and towards Brussels may be a step too far. In a recent poll, 64% of French voters valued national sovereignty and thought that EU states should be allowed to set their budgets independently.

The French electorate is already rallying behind the leftward leaning Francois Hollande ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Should France suffer a downgrade, Sarkozy will be unable to defend himself on grounds of economic competence. But, even if the rating stays, Sarkozy’s priggish approach towards European treaty change will leave him open to accusations that he courts the EU’s unelected technocrats.

This may be one of the rare occasions where the politics of the nation trumps the politics of an individual.

The reorientation of EU institutions towards a more coherent fiscal base is something that must happen if the Eurozone is to avoid a catastrophic

The Eurozone’s future could be in Sarkozy’s hands

default that could crush its economy.

Yet, the French electorate is vehemently opposed to federalism and Sarkozy will struggle to survive another arresting of national sovereignty.

But he also knows that he has little option but to play second fiddle to a Germanic Europe based on fiscal harmonization and centralized budgetary control.

It is to Mr Sarkozy’s credit that he may be willing to sacrifice his political career to save his country from irreparable economic ruin and long-term impoverishment. Shortterm unpopularity is a small price to pay for a blessed place in the history books.

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PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

Procrastination is human - embrace it Unable to concentrate on that important essay? You’re in good company Adam Robertson

I

am writing this in the library around midday, having snoozed my alarm for an hour and a half, spent an hour over a bowl of cereal and cup of coffee and only managed to get here to start on some work by eleven-thirty.

I currently have a word document open with a gobbet question due in for next week, which is rudely refusing to write itself. I also have open: facebook, an article about Boris Johnson calling the Occupy London protesters ‘fornicating hippies’, the ‘last dictator standing’ video on youtube (watch it if you haven’t), as well as the video for a song called ‘I thought I was an alien’, none of which contains any information relevant to Christopher Wren’s plans for the rebuilding of the City of London after the Great Fire.

If you are reading this, given the number of days left until the end of

term, you are probably sitting at a desk in the library with your copy of Palatinate, hiding your books for the two essays that you knew were due for the last day of term way back in October, and that you planned not to leave until the last minute like those crazy weeks in March last year.

I am of course procrastinating by writing an article about procrastination, which you are reading to procrastinate. Procrastination dominates student life at the back end of term as much as alcohol dominates the start. It is ubiquitous, and it causes great frustration and disappointment.

But I urge you all to take comfort: procrastination is a phenomenon of genuine academic interest. Firstly, it is indicative of our inconsistent relationship with time. Procrastination is the result of the collision between our long and short term desires: we know that we want something, and we have identified what we need to do to get it, but actually, right now, we’d much rather just watch something on iplayer, browse news websites, play Fifa or schedule a forty

Photograph: Jamil Soni Neto minute coffee break every hour.

It also illustrates quite how irrational we are. Procrastination

makes us unhappy. It is not just a re-evaluation, deciding that we want the short term more than the long, or a decision over what is a better use of our time, it is a capitulation to a short-term urge of which we are not proud and which sacrifices our chance to crack on with what we know want to achieve. This is a serious point for discussion among economists, most of whose models rely on people acting in their rational self-interest.

So next time you catch yourself straying away from JSTOR and onto Facebook, reassure yourself with the fact that you are engaging in an important academic debate about human nature.

You can take further reassurance from stories of other people’s struggles with the P-word. Last summer I wanted to do well in my exams, so spent my days revising in the library, studiously raising my Brickbreaker high score from around 8,000 to its current position of 26,540. I am not proud of this fact.

Moving onto more illustrious sufferers, the American author Jonath-

an Franzen’s rule number eight for writing fiction is: “It’s doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction”. He takes his own advice seriously. He has a second apartment in New York City solely for writing, which contains nothing but a desk, tea-making facilities and a laptop which has had its internet connection disabled. Despite this, he still took a decade to write his most recent novel.

In the nineteenth century, Victor Hugo used to write naked and have his valet hide his clothes and refuse to reveal their whereabouts so that he could not leave the house until he had finished his writing for the day.

So don’t worry about it. Procrastination is only human. Better people than us have struggled with it. Well, maybe still worry a little bit. At least until your last bibliography is alphabetised. Or until that dreamed of day when you wake up to find that you sleep-wrote an entire essay.

Too much to ask for as a Christmas miracle?

Time to break the silence on Israeli atrocities A Channel Four drama raises difficult questions about the West and Israel Charlie Garnett

C

hannel Four earlier this year aired a very intense, subtle, and thought provoking drama called ‘The Promise’. It tells the story of Erin, a twenty-year-old girl who flies out to Israel with her Jewish friend Eliza in order to support her while she does military service.

Erin takes with her the diary of her dying and unhappy grandfather Len, who was stationed in Israel during the British Mandate period after World War Two. This was a time when the released Jews were returning in large numbers to their ‘promised land’ from Nazi concentration camps. Both the main protagonists enter Israel favouring the Jews. However, it is clear by the end that their perspectives have changed.

Peter Kosminsky, the director, claims in interviews that ‘The Promise’ is “first and foremost a drama” based around Erin’s relationship with her grandfather. However, the drama is political as well as personal

- it encourages us to rethink our view of Israel.

Gerard Kaufmann, a Jewish politician in the Labour Party, recently likened the actions of some Jews in Israel to that of the Nazis towards

“

The West holds pro-Israeli views for its own gain

”

the Jews during the holocaust. He believes that to a certain extent many Jews have used their past mistreatment in order to justify their current atrocities towards Palestinians. Kaufmann went on to say that

his grandmother was not shot by Nazis in order that Jews may do the same to Palestinian grandmothers.

Kaufmann cites some events that are shown in ‘The Promise’: the execution by hanging of two British soldiers and the blowing up of the King David hotel. Both the drama and Kaufmann come to the same conclusion: “Israel was born out of Jewish terrorism”.

There is much more than spoken evidence that the government of Israel have displaced Palestinians and continue to treat them unjustly.

Two questions therefore need to be asked: Why is there so much Western support for Israel? And why do so many in Israel believe their attitude is justified?

To put the conflict into context, since 2003, 124 Israeli children have been killed compared to 1,452 Palestinian children while, in total, more than six times as many Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli army has destroyed 24,813 Palestinian homes; Palestinians have destroyed no Israeli homes. The U.S government is not supporting the Israelis in order that they can defend themselves. The West holds proIsraeli views for its own gain.

The Israeli army is powerful and has a huge intelligence network; the U.S recognises this and understands the advantage of being on side. News coverage highlights the radical and fanatical acts of Palestinians in order to add justification controversial foreign policy, such as the war in Iraq. Added to this is the fact that

1,452

Total number of Palestinian children killed since 2003

there are far more Jewish American citizens than Palestinians in the USA. There is a clear correlation between foreign policy and the fight for electoral votes. While peace is the ultimate goal, wrongs committed by both sides have to be acknowledged.

There are however a growing number of Israelis who object to the situation, such as those who refuse to do their compulsory national service.

Social conditioning and obligatory conscription has led to widespread acceptance of the terrible treatment

of Palestinians. This is exemplified in ‘The Promise’ by Eliza’s parents. Her father explains to his son at a young age that the Israelis have looked after their land while the Palestinians have made theirs barren. It is this attitude which is preventing peace between new generations of Israelis and Palestinians.

It is about time the world finds a solution to the situation which Peter Kosminsky calls “the central fault of our age”. The real story of the Palestinians’ removal from their homes by the Israelis has been obscured in Western history due to guilt left over from the Holocaust and embarrassment from the British army’s failure to control the situation.

Change and understanding is now necessary, particularly in light of the revolts in North Africa. ‘The Promise’ shows this conflict in a new light.

Never has a drama been more vital to our understanding of the central conflict of our time.

P

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PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

17 www.palatinate.org.uk

Sport

Golf duo drive Durham to top of the BUCS table William Warr

Athletes of the Week MIICHAEL ELBORN SIMON DOHERTY

@PalatinateUK Palatinate

Durham University Golf Club have won every single game in a stunning first term, in stark contrast to last autumn, when Durham lost all their matches.

Part of the secret to the team’s success so far this season has to be put down to two of their top players, Michael Elborn and Simon Doherty, both from Northern Ireland.

Both took up the sport at a young age. Elborn started playing golf when he was twelve, after being introduced to the game by his mum, also an impressive golfer.

By the age of fifteen he had won

“Getting selected for the Irish national team was my biggest achievment.”

the page >> Turn for a report on Maiden Castle’s fixtures fiasco

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Simon Doherty

On the ball: Doherty (left) and Elborn (right) tee off together. Photograph: Durham Golf Team

The Telegraph young golfer of the year and at sixteen he left school and went to a full time golf academy.

However Elborn thought it was too risky to put “all my eggs in one basket”. To pursue a golfing career he would have to leave his education to one side, something Elborn could not see himself doing.

So he returned to school to pursue his studies after a year at the golf academy, and still continued to play in regional tournaments.

Doherty was introduced to the sport even earlier, at ten, by his dad.

“I was hooked from then on” he said.

At sixteen he was selected for the Irish national team. “It was my biggest achievement,” he said.

He went on to play in and win the ‘Nick Faldo’ competition, which qualified him to play in a tournament in

China.

Then he was invited to study at East Tennessee University in the U.S. on a full golf scholarship.

Tennessee was ranked in the top fifteen golf universities in the US. “It was very intense training in America. For it to work relies on having good time management.

“We trained Monday to Friday in the gym from 7am before class, then played golf after class at two”.

He played ten or eleven tournaments per year, each taking up a significant amount of time, so there was always pressure to manage his studies “weeks in advance”.

When he was younger Simon played with famous players like Rory McIlroy.

Mcllroy according to Dohertry was “always a step above the rest… his mental attitude is what differentiated him and allowed him to become

a top pro”.

Doherty thought turning pro was too risky a move.

“I know friends who have turned pro and are doing really badly. Plus, you miss the boat on getting a quality education”.

So instead, Doherty opted to pursue his studies, enrolling on a master’s course in finance here in Durham.

With such a high class of talent, the Durham golf team has gone from strength to strength, beating Newcastle’s 1sts, UCLAN 2nds and 3rds, Sterling’s 2nds, Leeds 1sts , and Teesside’s 1sts.

Both Doherty and Elborn are keen to highlight that they are being backed by a ‘immensely talented team,’ which includes Lewis Khuler, James Wright, Ben Hayden and Jeremy Morgan.

Young British prospect Khuler has

won all his games this season, gaining six points out of six.

The level of the club puts them in a good position to win both their BUCS league and The Cup. “We have a realistic chance of winning the cup,” Elborn told Palatinate after their latest win against Sterling, taking them through to the next round against Strathclyde.

In addition to this they have their eyes on the BUCS premiership next year.

“If the rest of the season goes well, we should be on par for a promotion,” said Elborn.

Durham’s flawless record puts them at the top of the BUCS table.

Inside Palatinate

>>

An end-of-term college sport round-up

18

Sport

Mental health in football: what we don’t consider Ed Owen

The emotionally intense story of Wales manager Gary Speed has been an important issue this season.

The most shocking aspect of this tragic story was that nothing about Speed’s demeanour gave away his mental anguish.

The day before his death he appeared on Football Focus, chatting away with presenter Dan Roan. As Roan has since said, there was no indication of what was about to occur.

Despite the best efforts of those around the game (particularly in the work of the Sporting Chance Clinic), physical and mental weakness can still be stigmatised.

“It is really difficult to get any footballer to talk about mental health” Susannah Strong ‘The Footballer’s Guidebook’ Author

The result is that the modern footballer can become a fiercely introspective person.

This amplifies the seeds of selfdoubt that might come as part of the

football environment.

Susannah Strong, author of The Footballers’ Guidebook, admits that it is “really, really difficult to get any footballer to talk about mental health”.

This attitude is not helped by the footballing community.

If a journalist hears of a weakness, it will be ruthlessly exposed.

When Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram admitted he had schizophrenia, chants of “There’s only two Andy Gorams” came from both home and away fans.

With reception such as this, is it any wonder that players don’t like to talk about their mental welfare?

Attitudes to mental health are changing by the day, however. In Germany in 2009, national goalkeeper Robert Enke took his life, and now mental health issues are treated with paramount importance.

When Schalke 04 coach Ralf Rangnick resigned, citing psychological burnout and depression, the issue was treated head-on, with Rangnick eliciting compassion from all quarters.

Football can be a dangerous environment for the mentally-at-risk, and more needs to be done.

Whilst England has long had a good infrastructure in place for such concerns, they are always kept under the surface.

It is a great sorrow that it took a man’s death for them to come to the forefront.

Gary Speed’s memorial service at Elland Road drew thousands of mourners

www.palatinate.org.uk

Tuesday 13th December 2011 | PALATINATE

Each Wednesday, hundreds of sportsmen flock to Maiden Castle to train on the pitches, despite the

MC in fixture callCollege captains protest after Team Durham failed to notify them Delaney Chambers Commentary

After spending many a chilly Wednesday evening training until dark for an upcoming fixture, it is devastating to receive that ‘all-fixtures cancelled’ email on the morning of the game.

On a sunny matchday morning, Durham students wake early for important fixtures, only to discover that matches have been cancelled, perplexingly, due to ‘bad weather’.

For many teams, fixtures are called off seemingly arbitrarily, despite the fact that, on adjacent pitches, games are allowed to continue.

Both Maiden Castle and Helena Stolle, Team Durham President, have said that “only a handful” of fixtures have been called off this term.

However, as the weather has remained mild, it is perplexing as to why matches have been called off at all.

Palatinate spoke to Maiden Castle staff in an attempt to discover why the groundskeepers have deemed it appropriate to cancel some matches but not others.

“If there’s a more important game on the same pitch later in the day,

sometimes the groundskeeper will call off games to preserve the pitch,” one Maiden Castle staff member explained.

“If there’s a more important game on the same pitch later in the day, the earlier games are cancelled” Maiden Castle Staff Member

The Maiden Castle groundskeepers declined to comment when Palatinate attempted to get in touch with them.

‘Health and safety’ has also been cited as a reason for cancelling games.

This is often the case with women’s games, which were called off three weeks in a row this term. (The texts read ‘All women’s games cancelled.’)Men’s games were allowed to continue.

It is also unclear exactly what

‘healthy and safety’ actually entails.

Whether the pitches are frozen or muddy, student athletes tend to do more damage to themselves by playing sport than by running on ground that’s slightly more slippy and less perfect than it could be.

Another reason cited for calling off games is to “keep pitches sustainable throughout the year”.

Maiden Castle groundskeepers spend the summer maintaining the pitches, but football and rugby boots tear them to muddy shreds each term, regardless of efforts to keep them pristine.

“Groundskeepers call off more games toward the beginning of the year so the pitches are playable later in the year for more important competitions”.

Maiden Castle speculated on possible solutions.“The problem could be that there just aren’t enough pitches,” one staff member admitted.

College sports captains will continue to protest, but it is unclear whether their complaints will be heard.

Last season, a considerable number of fixtures had to be played in Easter term, due to repeated postponements.

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

19

Sport

www.palatinate.org.uk

Palatinate’s comprehensive College Sport round-up

Kate Houghton

MEN’S Premiership: Cuth’s A take a strong lead finishing with 9 points and a goal difference of 15.

Division 1: Aidan’s A finish top also with 9 points and a goal difference of 23.

Division 2: John Snow A with 9 points and a goal difference of 9 are in first place, Chad’s A also with a goal difference of 9, but with just 6 points take second.

less-than-ideal surfaces Photograph: Delaney Chambers

- off debacle that their rugby fixture was off

Maiden Castle in deep water: call-off catastrophe threats and accusations RUGBY In their most recent fixture controversy Team Durham cancelled all rugby and football fixtures last Saturday, but failed to notify the rugby teams that their fixtures had been called off.

The two rugby teams, Castle and Collingwood, are now being threatened with charges of £100 for simply coming down to Maiden Castle and warming up for their game.

Team Durham usually sends out a text to all team captains when games are cancelled, but neither team had been notified of the cancellation.

The two teams met on the pitch 45 minutes before their scheduled game and found that nothing was set up, and that no post protectors had been taken out.

So they went into Maiden Castle to get the equipment, but there was no one there to sign it out.

The captains then took the equipment, planning to sign it out

later, and proceeded to set up the pitch for their game.

Collingwood rang up to see where the referree was, only to be told for the first time that the game had been cancelled.

A member of Maiden Castle staff then stormed on to the pitch, threatening the teams with charges of theft, a fine of £100 for warming up on the pitches, and a three-week ban for disobeying orders they were not given.

The teams were threatened with theft charges because they took the rugby gear without Maiden Castle’s supervision.

Maiden Castle also threatened the Collingwood coach with a year ban.

The teams await decision from Team Durham as to whether the Maiden Castle staff member’s allegations will hold weight.

Peter Warburton, Team Durham Director of Sport, has said that “the matter is being dealt with”.

WOMEN’S Premiership: Cuth’s A finish top with 9 points and a goal difference of 17.

Division 1: John Snow A and Jo Butler B both secure 6 points taking first and second place respectively due to John Snow’s goal difference of 6 compared to Jo B’s 2.

Division 2: Joint on 9 points and a goal difference of 13 Collingwood A and Jo Butler C, are neck and neck at the top of the table.

BASKETBALL

MEN’S Premiership: Ustinov A and Hild Bede A both finish with 12 points, however with an incredible GD of 92, Ustinov edge in-front.

Division 1: Again both Van Mildert A and Trevs A finish with 12 points putting them at the top, but with a whopping goal difference of 122 Van Mildert hold the number one spot.

WOMEN’S Premiership: With 9 points each Grey A and Van Mildert A take first and second place respectively. Grey manage to sneak in-front with a goal difference of 115 compared to Milderts 100.

FOOTBALL

MEN’S Premiership: Mary’s A finish with 12 points and a goal difference of 6.

Collingwood A take second with a goal difference of 10 and 11 points.

Division 1: With 14 points Chad’s A hold onto first place, but with 13 points, Aidan’s B are extremely close behind.

Division 2: John’s A finish with 15 points, placing them on top. 3 points behind are Hatfield B. Division 3: Collingwood E and Aidan’s D take first and second place respectively finishing with 18 and 15 points. Hatfield D, also on 15 points are close behind.

Division 4: Grey D manage to cling on to the lead with 13 points, but are

WOMEN’S Premiership: Grey A, Ustinov A, Queens, and Castle A all finish with 6 points, leaving the goal difference to determine who takes top of the table.

With just one goal between them, Grey hold first place with a difference of 5 compared to Ustinovs 4 who take second place.

Division 1: Trevs A dominate with 12 points and a goal difference of 16, John’s A on 9 points take second place.

Emilia McAllister-Jepps

BADMINTON

being pressurised by Castle C, just one point adrift on 12.

Rowers come to Durham

HOCKEY

MEN’S Premiership: Collingwood A storm to the lead with 22 points and a goal difference of 30. Mary’s A and Cuth’s A both finish with 19 points, but with a goal difference of 12 Marys clinch second place.

Division 1: With 21 points John’s A take first place, but with 22 points Aidan’s A are hot on their tails.

WOMEN’S Premiership: Hatfield A manage to grab first place finishing with 24 points. Collingwood A are closely behind with 22 points. However with a goal difference of 25 compared to Collingwoods 5, Hatfield are well infront.

Division 1: With 27 points and a goal difference of 52, Hild and Bede are unstoppable, 8 points behind are Aidan’s A on 19 points.

MIXED LACROSSE

Collingwood A, John Snow A and Cuth’s A all finish with 6 points, but with a goal difference of 23 Collingwood dominate the first place spot.

FRISBEE

Premiership: Jo Butler A and Aidan’s A both secure 6 points to take first and second place respectively, however Jo Butler have the edge with a goal difference of 9 compared to Aidans 4.

Division 1: Castle A and Trevs B also finish with 6 points. Castle however take first place with a goal difference of 17.

NETBALL

Premiership: Hild Bede A snatch first place with 18 points and a goal difference of 140.

Division 1: With 15 points apiece Trevs A, John’s A and Grey B, all finish at the top of the table, but with a goal difference of 126 Trevs finish on top.

Division 2: Cuth’s B take a clear lead, finishing top with 15 points and a goal difference of 115.

Pulling a crowd: NEIRC

William Warr

ROWING Durham University Boat Club hosted another successful year of the North East Indoor Rowing Championships on Wednesday at the Graham Sports Centre, Maiden Castle.

The event drew over 200 athletes from throughout the region, with the Universities of Teesside and Newcastle attending, as well as many Durham Colleges.

Contestants raced over 2km on Concept 2 ergos.

Impressive performances were noted from Durham’s Jess Budget, who won the open weight women’s category with a time of 7:07.1.

In the Heavyweight Men’s division Callum McBrierty was

200+

Number of rowers who competed in the challenge “pleased” with his personal best of 6:01.7, coming second behind Newcastle’s Sam Arnot with 6:00.5. George Seeger, a member of DUBC’s fresher’s squad, won the beginners event with 6:26.6.

DUBC president Franz Imfeld was “really happy with all the support that turned up”.

Durham’s Tim Woodman won the lightweight men’s event with 6.27.6. Tim hopes to take this success into GB’s next set of trials on the 17th of December in Boston.

The college events were won

by Lee Fisher of Grey and Harriet Horton of Collingwood.

Sport

Maiden Castle scandal

PALATINATE | Tuesday 13th December 2011

Call-off investigation, pages 18-19

Athlete of the Week

Golf surprise success, page 17

Mental health in sport

Gary Speed and mental health, page 18

Water Polo sunk by Edinburgh Durham

11

Edinburgh

15

Tom Ryder

WATER POLO Team Durham Men’s Water Polo lost out to Edinburgh at Freeman’s Quay on November 24th by a tight 11-15 margin.

It was the Palatinates’ first clash of the season, having been North East Champions last year.

Despite remaining firmly on the tails of the visitors throughout the contest, a resilient Edinburgh defence proved difficult to break down.

The first of the four 8 minute quarters saw Durham start brightly, with Santiago Gonzalez and Patrick Bennett monopolising the early possession.

But a major foul from William Betts – resulting in him being sent to the corner of the pool – allowed Edinburgh to open the scoring by capitalising on their ‘man-up’.

Durham’s Gonzalez, who has played semi-professionally in Spain for Helios, made a swift reply with a lob that nestled in the top corner, in a move that captain Josh Brown said

“In the later rounds we’ll have a much better chance.”

Josh Brown Team Captain “really got us going”.

And though Alexander Gabriel added another for the home side before the break, three goals from Edinburgh’s captain Ed Grundy ensured that his team ended the first period 4-2 up.

In the second quarter Durham won the restart and after just 30 seconds of play captain Josh Brown pulled another goal back.

But a bounced shot from Grundy and a penalty which slid under the body of Durham keeper James Miao extended Edinburgh’s advantage.

Making a splash: Durham’s Santiago Gonzalez tussles for possession near the Edinburgh goal Photograph: Delaney Chambers

Betts’ long range effort made the score 6-4 but at half time the Palatinates still had a great deal to do.

After the change of ends Durham switched their game plan, bringing U18 Singapore international Miao out of goal.

He provided more attacking options and along with the physicality of Gonzalez the hosts looked more threatening going forward.

Durham looked to be more direct but in doing so conceded three further goals before Gonzalez bounced in a shot.

Then the Spaniard found Brown who made it 10-6.

Edinburgh keeper Bojan Donevski managed to beat away several attempts on goal as the hosts failed to take advantage of their man-ups.

And despite more goals from Toby Gomersall and an audacious effort

from Gonzalez with just seconds left on the clock, Edinburgh gave as good as they got to end the third quarter 12-8 up.

In the final period the tempo slowed but the goals continued.

Brown pulled a further goal back for the Palatinates but as fatigue set in and the home side committed more men forward, they left their back line exposed.

Miao hurled one in from long range and Gonzalez scrambled in another effort after riding several challenges.

But Edinburgh ran the clock down and at the final whistle the score was 11-15.

Durham skipper Josh Brown explained the reasons for the loss, saying that Durham did not hold the attacking position they should have.

“We missed our man-ups and they

played very deep – we didn’t drive enough”.

He put the loss down to a lack of attacking power.

“We didn’t press tight enough”.

6 on 5

Ratio of players in a ‘manup’ following a major foul

Brown went on to say that part of the loss could also be due to lack of fitness.

“Their guys were more drilled and more match fit”.

Despite the outcome, Brown remained spirited about his team’s chances as they look ahead to their next fixture against Leeds on 25th January.

“The difference between the sides was tactical really”.

“In the later rounds we’ll have a much better chance”.

Brown was also keen to praise the opposition, and particularly the Edinburgh captain Ed Grundy.

“Their number 3 was very strong.

He scored nine goals and we didn’t quite anticipate their ability”.

Elsewhere in Durham Water Polo, the Men’s second team are propping up the BUCS table, having played just one game.

They regrettably went down 4-22 at home to Stirling 1sts and their next fixture will be away at Northumbria on the 21st January.

There is also one Women’s team of Water Polo Palatinates.

Their first match of the season - a home tie against Newcastle - resulted in a 3-7 loss.