Category Archives: College

International Students Tea Party – December 14th, 2016

18th December 2016College, Front-Page, NewsVictoria Brown

It was the last academic week of 2016 and you could sense a faint air of end-of-term fatigue in the SCR. Fortunately a selection of minced pies, chocolate brownies, coffee and tea was prepared to reward those who showed up for the second International Students tea party of this Michaelmas term.

Discussion:

Once everyone had taken their seat the discussion started with a few classic questions: What were your impressions of England? Durham? Chad’s? What will we tell our parents when we get home? How we do we feel now that term has (almost) ended? There wasn’t much enthusiasm to answer these, which may reflect either a reluctance to leave or an eagerness to return home. Once some shared their thoughts and feelings, it became evident that this term has been very successful. Friendliness and ease of transition into Chad’s frequently came up. An interesting topic that briefly surfaced was whether we as international students took notice of the quintessentially English beat-around-the-bush culture. In particular the issue that English people readily apologise. Although a few were aware of it, it wasn’t considered a hindrance (sorry, excuse me for bringing it up).

The obvious topic that was thrown into the group was what we were looking forward to most at home. An interesting answer amongst some was the opportunity to speak our mother-tongue. I know I am. Although Chad’s has treated us well, some were quite eager to return to a familiar environment at home as a break.

We concluded with a brief recap of our thoughts on 2016. I think the consensus was that 2016 was probably not one of the best years we’ve seen in recent times. Brexit and Trump (amongst others) illustrate how the world seems to prefer intranationalism in favour of internationalism these days. Wars, diseases, and this year’s extensive obituary makes it a year to forget, and very much makes 2017 a year to look forward to.

That being said, we look forward to the next get-together in 2017.

Green Door Theatre Company presents: The Flint Street Nativity

10th December 2016CollegeFront-PageVictoria Brown

Green Door’s Michaelmas production of The Flint Street Nativity was a festive treat. Aside from the hot chocolate and warm mine pies served during the interval, the production ticked all the heart-warming boxes expected from a play about the iconic and much-loved British ritual of the school nativity.

The cosy and nostalgic atmosphere, accentuated by staging in the chapel, was in large part achieved by the creative flair of the production team, the heads of which include many of Chad’s own: Hannah Smith as co-producer, Alex Greenen as Technical Director and Teresa Cherubini as Costume Manager. Their costume and prop creations could not have been more authentic in their charmingly makeshift feel—the ass-head and giant star were especially impressive—transporting us back down memory lane to the days of bed sheets and tinsel.

Aside from all the visual delights, the hilarious, endearing, and at times very touching, performances given by the cast affected to heighten the play beyond cuteness and frivolous fun. Well done to Chadians Mikki Redhead (Wise Gold), Richard Penny (Star), Mary Lord (Ass) and Marcus Dell (Inkeeper) who formed part of the super-talented cast. Massive congratulations to everyone involved for making the play such a memorable success. All the hard-work and passionate attention to detail really paid off.

St Chad’s hosts termly Question Time

6th December 2016College, Front-Page, Lectures, Talks & Sermons, NewsVictoria Brown

St Chad’s College hosted its termly ‘Question Time’ evening on Thursday, 24th November.

Styled on the BBC’s Question Time programme, Conor Fegan took over David Dimbleby’s role as chairperson. Conor introduced each panellist, a cross-representation of the common rooms. These included the SCR’s Baroness Maeve Sherlock, and the JCR’s Michael Aspin, Dom Birch, Jess Frieze, and Josh Barker.

Throughout the evening, panellists were quizzed on a range of issues. The provision of port and cream-crackers got the audience’s creative juices flowing!

On a second EU referendum, the panel argued in favour of popular sovereignty, although there was also an acknowledgement that it’s going to take more than two years to negotiate Brexit.

Addressing whether the election of Donald Trump in America signals that we are living in a post-factual age, Josh urged the audience to “debate” views which seemed to be different from theirs. Baroness Sherlock argued that we must have “mechanism to distinguish” between fact and fiction, whilst Michael defended pluralism and democracy. Dom spoke about the emotions involved in politics and Jess said it’s wrong to simply shout back.

On the issue of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the panel agreed that a healthy democracy requires an effective opposition.

The evening provided a thoughtful, intellectual, and dynamic dialogue. We wait to see what next term’s event holds in store.

Perspectives 28/11: Is Democracy working?

6th December 2016College, Front-Page, Lectures, Talks & Sermons, News, PerspectivesFront-PageVictoria Brown

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Perspectives last week was on a really interesting and vitally relevant topic. We all know the famous Churchill quote, ‘democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried’; to be honest, I think our political system is something we tend to take for granted. All the more relevant as the final Perspectives event of the term, considering recent events – it is too easy to simply assume this system is the norm and is faultless because it is the only one we have ever been exposed to.

Chad’s hosted Professor Fred Robinson (Professorial Fellow of St Chad’s College), Dr Anna Rowlands (Theology and Religion), and Lily Botrous (Alexandria School of Theology, Egypt), who put forward their very interesting views on the question of democracy – Prof. Robinson and Dr. Rowlands focussed mainly on Brexit, while Ms. Botrous talked about the Arab Spring. In classic form, after their thought-provoking talks, we broke off into small groups, with discussions ranging from the virtues and vices of political correctness to the problem with modern voting systems to how politics is all too often boiled down to basic ideas and ideologies. Some really stimulating discussion, which certainly left us with a lot to think about.

All in all, a very successful evening, and a great relief from the summative stress which tends to drown students in the last few weeks of term. I hope that next term’s lectures are as thought-provoking as the fantastic schedule put together already this year.

img_0250-2 — Dr Anna Rowlands addresses attendees

Perspectives – Can we trust our Technology?

18th November 2016Front-Page, Lectures, Talks & Sermons, News, PerspectivesVictoria Brown

The third in our College Series: Perspectives was held on Monday night. Despite the inset of summative season the session was well attended, by a range of individuals from both JCR and MCR.

Following an introduction by Dr Eleanor Spencer-Regan the three speakers each laid out their point of view on the question of how far we can trust technology. First up was Dr Toby Breckon (Engineering and Computing Sciences), who argued that we could trust technology because it can only do that which it is taught or programmed to do by human designers. He also emphasized the power of consumers to pressure manufacturers to make trustworthy technology, by voting with their wallets.

Dr Toby Breckon speaking to MCR and JCR members in the quad

Next was James Page (School of Government and International Affairs) who talked about the ethics and practicalities of drone warfare, and suggested that they are more accurate than human operated aircrafts.

Finally Dr Ladan Cockshut (School of Computing, Teesside University) talked about the increase in interest in AI, humanoid robotics, transhumanism in the mainstream media (movies, TV) over the past few decades, and about how our use of social media might change the ways in which we view ourselves, and our relationships with others.

Attendees then formed groups for discussion before returning to a final overall summary of the thoughts from the evening. One particularly interesting outcome the following day was the discovery of one student that her experiment of leaving Facebook open (with microphone access permissions) on her phone throughout the discussion might well have influenced the advertising she received the following day, with recommendations for AI films appearing on her Facebook.

Returners Weekend (4th-6th November)

12th November 2016College, Front-Page, NewsVictoria Brown

This weekend saw the event that everyone’s been waiting for since graduation – Returners! This year, the highly anticipated Returner’s Bop featured interpretations of 90s pop culture including a highly convincing Austin Powers costume, double (and in some cases triple) denim, and some wildly questionable Macarena moves. The evening was a huge success, with vibrant decs and of course, a playlist full of funky fresh tunes.

Having managed to stumble home, Chadsians past and present woke the following morning, perhaps not as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as desired, but definitely still functioning. However, there was no time for slacking as Saturday was the scene of the Returner’s Formal, followed by Princey B. If the brilliantly cheesy DJ wasn’t enticing enough after a rowdy night in the bar, then the free burgers certainly were!

Sunday came with an undeniably bittersweet taste, as, all too quickly, it was time to say goodbye again. In all seriousness, I hope that you all enjoyed this weekend as much as I did. If nothing else, I’m sure you can take away another cache of memories to look back on and laugh at for years to come. At the end of the day, that’s what Chad’s is all about.

International Students Tea Party – November 7th, 2016

8th November 2016College, Front-Page, News, SocialVictoria Brown

St Chad’s College now counts 44 different nationalities (close but not quite the number of English counties), and thus a host of international students. A selection of about 25 of them spared an hour of their time halfway through a soggy Monday to congregate in the SCR for drinks and nibbles. Also present at this gathering were the Principal, Vice-Principal and Chaplain of St. Chad’s, the former two eager to highlight their international backgrounds.

There was a noticeably strong European and east-Asian contingent in attendance, with only a handful students from outside the Eurasian landmass. Noticeable was also the range of accents around the room, making each conversation sound considerably different to the other, and which for some people betrayed their origin quite quickly.

The first half of the hour was spent in casual discussion. Then, there was a round of introductions, where each person stated their name, country of origin and the thing that they found most different or surprising in Durham. Friendliness and the weather seemed to be recurring themes. This was followed by a brief discussion of international perspectives, especially the perception of British and World politics in each person’s home country. One person, for example, remarked that the British seemed to talk much less about Brexit than they did at home. The discussion also briefly covered the negative stereotype of British ignorance of global political affairs, taking the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong as a specific example, which has received very little media coverage in the UK. Drawing from that example, Dr. Masson emphasised the value of an international perspective brought to Durham by those that have come from abroad to study at St. Chad’s.

Another gathering is in the planning for the near future, perhaps featuring festive cakes as we approach the holidays. It might provide an opportunity for the international students to share more experiences, especially those who could not make it this time.

Perspectives: Are we living in a post-gender age?

5th November 2016Front-Page, Lectures, Talks & Sermons, News, PerspectivesVictoria Brown

This Monday’s Perspectives evening kicked off with a fantastic turnout once again, with a diverse range of academics and researchers at the ready to speak about their disciplinary or personal take on whether we are living in a post gender age.

cropped-seated-speakers — An introduction to the evening from Dr Masson began proceedings

The first speaker, Dr Gillian Campling, kicked off the evening talking about biological sex, posing the question that if we could achieve a post-gender society, could we ignore human genetic make-up?

The next speaker was one of our very own postgrad students, Hannah Earnshaw. They gave an eye opening account of their personal experience about coming out as agender, which challenged the audience to think beyond the binary. This account stimulated open discussions within small groups about current societal positions towards gender.

The final speaker, Professor Robert Song, talked about the traditional view of man and woman in the Bible, adding to the diversity of the evening. This was followed by a short, but thought-triggering discussion session, aided by cheese and wine.

The talk was particularly relevant in college as at the JCR meeting the day before, the constitution was changed to recognise students of all gender and none. All in all, it was a really engaging evening, throwing new light on an incredibly relevant issue for today’s students.

The Great Chad’s Bake Off

5th November 2016Charities, Front-Page, NewsVictoria Brown

Fairtrade and CharComm united on Wednesday night in the form of The Great Chad’s Bake Off. Baking talent from across the college came out to produce an array of cakes and cookies the revered Paul and Mary would be proud of.

Judging started at 6:45, which involved Eleanor Spencer-Regan, Maryam Mahtob and Jack Angers trying everything from profiterole-decorated coffee cake to vegan banana loaf. Assessing for appearance, effort and taste, the ultimate prize of Chad’s Star Baker was well-deservedly given to Ayesha Mahmood for her visually impressive chocolate cake.

Following the announcement, donations were made to the Fairtrade Foundation in exchange for tasting the bakes, whilst the judges went for a lie down having eaten enough sweet food to last a life time. In total £53.23 was raised, and the turn out for both taking part in baking and consuming cake was brilliant. All in all, the night was a success, and congratulations to the winner of the actual Great British Bake Off!

Our three Judges: (l-r) Jack Angers, Eleanor Spencer-Regan, Maryam Mahtob

Man Booker reading group

3rd November 2016Front-Page, Newsfro, Front-PageVictoria Brown

The Man Booker Prize is a prestigious literary prize awarded every year for the best original novel published in English in the last year. Three British authors made the this year’s shortlist, including David Szalay’s All that Man. Szalay’s exploration of manhood is presented through a series of linking stories, each centring on a different male figure. The work is currently being enjoyed by first year student Julia Atherley.

A personal favourite from this year’s titles was Graeme Macrae Burnet’s second novel, His Bloody Project. It details the murder case of Roderick Macrae, set in a 19th century Scottish crofting community. Second year student, James Kerr, praised the work for its form as a historical novel that presents the reader with a selection of documents including a murderer’s memoir, witness testimonials and medical reports.

The winning novel was announced on Tuesday 25th October at London’s Guildhall. American author Paul Beatty took this year’s title with contemporary satire The Sellout. Fiona Meads, a first year student, praised Beatty’s work, explaining that the novel’s satirical tone ‘doesn’t overshadow it’s sombre and serious message’. A novel in which the central character wants to bring back slavery and segregation, it was a hit with this year’s judging panel.

Shadowing the prize has been a great wa shortlist group-picutre y for the group to delve into contemporary fiction. Next term we have plans to shadow the Costa Book Awards which runs into the new year.