durham union society

Dur

ham Un

ion

Societ

y

Epip

hany 2

015

Hello and welcome back to a

new term and new year here

at the Durham Union

Society!

I hope you are all well

rested and enjoyed your

Christmas, ready to endure

whatever summatives that this term

throws at you. Here at the DUS we are

trying something different this term—with

new motions discussing issues in the world

of art, sport and sci-fi. However beyond

that, this term we have looked to focus on

celebrating the achievements of strong and

inspirational women from all backgrounds

throughout the UK. Too often it is

forgotten that overcoming sexism is a battle

many still have to fight but these women are

beacons of hope that one day we will live in

an equal society where gender is not an issue.

To that end we are hosting many female

‘firsts’; from the only female Supreme Court

Justice of the UK, Baroness Hale to the first

female Match of the Day pundit— this term

has many amazing women who will speak to

you on a wide range of issues facing society

today.

For the politicos amongst you,

fear not—we have not

forgotten you! The first

debate of term is

discussing whether

celebrities should voice

their beliefs on political

issues or even run for office, we

are hosting a Question Time event

where you can come and quiz the five

main candidates for the City of Durham

seat for the General Election 2015 and

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett will

be giving an address on policy and the

election.

Regarding socials this term, come join

us in 24s donning your finest/craziest

pyjamas, slippers and dressing gown for

our Pyjama Party (onesies are

encouraged) and then come along to our

Wine and Cheese social to have your

tastebuds challenged by a variety of local

and international delights.

If you have any questions or just want to

come and say hello, come along to our

office on Palace Green or drop us an

email at [email protected]

Katie Heard

Epiphany President 2015

President’s Welcome

Debates Doors open: 8pm

Start time: 8:30pm

Celebrities

Friday 16th January 2015

This House Believes That : Celebrities should keep out of politics

In an election year with celebrities voicing their views in the wider media, we ask whether

celebrities should seek to influence the public on political matters or keep out altogether

Proposition Opposition

Edwina Currie

Former MP,

Strictly Come

Dancing

and I’m A

Celebrity Get Me

Out of Here!

contestant

Esther Rantzen

TV broadcaster,

journalist and

founder of

Childline

4

Kit Mercer

Director of Debating

and Worlds

University Debating

Championship

Quarter Finalist

Jo Elvin

Editor of

Glamour

Magazine

Friday 23rd January 2015

This House Would :

Force the media to display and promote women’s sports in equal measure to

men’s sports

Eniola Aluko

England and

Chelsea

footballer; first

ever female

Match of the

Day pundit

Camilla Swift

Editorial Assistant

at the Spectator

5


Sponsored by

Simon Richards

Chief Executive of

the Freedom

Association

Sally Hancock

Chair of Trustees

for the Women’s

Sport and

Fitness

Foundation

7

Friday 30th January 2015

General Election Question Time

Come along to the Durham Union Society’s own Question Time where you can ask questions/ demand answers from the candidates vying for your vote for the

City of Durham seat in the 2015 General Election

6

Labour Lib Dem Green

Conservative UKIP

Roberta Blackman Woods

Rebecca Coulson

Craig Martin Jonathan Elmer

“David Dimbleby”

Joshua Bailey TBA

Art

12


Tuesday 3rd February 2015

Address:

Natalie Bennett

Leader of the Green Party

Natalie Bennett was elected leader of the Green Party of England and Wales in 2012. She will be here to talk about

the upcoming General Election, Green Party policies and to answer your questions.

9

Environment

13

Proposition Oppo-

Friday 6th February 2015

This House Mourns :

The loss of the Great British eccentric (comedy debate)

Proposition

John Finnemore

Comedy writer

and actor; has

appeared on the

Now Show and

I’m Sorry I Haven’t

a Clue

Charlie Palmer

Cambridge

student comedian

and law student

Opposition

10

Tim Fitzhigham

Comedian and

world record

holder for

rowing a bathtub

across the

Channel

David Knowles

Durham Revue

comedian

Monday 9th February 2015

Address:

Robert Swan

Adventurer and Explorer

Robert Swan is the first man to walk to both Poles and has lived in Antarctica relying solely on renewable energy. He

is the founder of 2041, an organisation dedicated to promoting the use of renewable energy and the

preservation of Antarctica.

11

12


This House:

As a student, would go on the Mars One Mission

The Mars One project will send volunteers to Mars to begin a colony and

never return. We explore the idea of whether the gains from space exploration are really worth the costs

Hannah Earnshaw

Phd student in the last 750 out of 200,000 applicants for a place on the Mars One mission


Chris Newman

Module Leader in Space Law at the

University of Sunderland

Klara Capova

Cultural Anthropologist and member of

the Search for Extra-terrestrial

Life Institute (SETI)

Monica Grady

Leading space scientist; Professor of Planetary and Space Science at the Open University

12

Second Chance

14 Friday 28th November , 8:30pm, the Debating Chamber

Monday 16th February 2015

Address:

Laura Bates

Feminist Writer

Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, whose aim is to catalogue the incidents of sexism that

women around the globe face daily. So far there have been entries to the project. Laura has just released her first book,

’Everyday Sexism’ .

Please note: earlier start time of 6:30pm 13

7

Proposition

13


This House Believes That:

Duchamp’s urinal is not art (is everything art debate)

Proposition

Nathan

Wyburn

Toast artist

and Britain’s

Got Talent

semi-finalist

Opposition

With the rise of contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, we ask the question: how do we define art?

14

Charles Thomson

Artist and founder

of the Stuckism

movement

Jack

Williams

Durham

Union

Society

debater

Jason Cockcroft

Illustrator;

illustrated several

Harry Potter books


This House Believes That:

Climate change will not end the world but something else will


Rob Grant

TV producer and

comedy writer,

Creator of Red

Dwarf, Head Writer

of Spitting Image

Andrew Snyder-

Beattie

Academic at the

Future of

Humanity

Institute in Oxford

Dr Vicky Pope

Head of

Integration and

Growth at the

Met Office

15

Simon Bowens

Campaigner for

Friends of the

Earth

14

Thursday 5th March 2015

This House Would:

Not vote for any major political party (President’s Farewell Debate)


Katie Heard

Politics student

and outgoing

President

Howling ‘Laud’ Hope

Leader of the

Monster Raving

Looney Party

16

Rick Edwards

Former T4

Presenter and

cofounder of the

Voting Advice

Application

TBA

Friday 6th March 2015

Address:

Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond

Supreme Court Justice

Lady Hale is the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the only woman out of 12

Supreme Court justices and was named the fourth most powerful woman in the UK by Radio 4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’.

She is most senior female judge in the history of the United Kingdom.

18

Monday 12th January—Term begins

Tuesday 13th January

Wednesday 14th January—Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 15th January—Novice Debate Practice

Friday 16th January—Celebrities debate

Monday 19th January—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 20th January

Wednesday 21st January - Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 22nd January- Novice Debate Practice

Friday 23rd January—Sport debate

Monday 9th February—Robert Swan address

Tuesday 10th February

Wednesday 11th February—Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 12th February—Novice Debate Practice

Friday 13th February—Mars Debate

Monday 26th January—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 27th January– Wine and Cheese Social

Wednesday 28th January—Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 29th January

Friday 30th January— General Election Question Time

Monday 2nd February—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 3rd February—Natalie Bennett address



Friday 6th February—Comedy Debate

Monday 16th February—Laura Bates address

Tuesday 17th February—Pyjama Party social



Friday 20th February—Art debate

Monday 23rd February—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 24th February



Friday 27th February—End of the World Debate

Monday 2nd March—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 3rd March

Wednesday 4th March—Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 5th March—Farewell debate

Friday 6th March—Baroness Hale address

Monday 9th March—Intermediate Debate Practice

Tuesday 10th March

Wednesday 11th March—Advanced Debate Practice

Thursday 12th March—Novice Debate Practice

Friday 13th March

Socials

Pyjama Party

Social

17th February

Come along in your

finest nightwear for

an evening of party

games, midnight

feast food and plenty

of yakka!

Wine and Cheese

Social

27th January

Prepare yourself for an

evening of

international and local

cheeses and a wide

variety of wines from

across the world.

Kindly sponsored by:

24s The North Bailey Club

Affectionately known as 24s, this is the Union Society’s own bar,

conveniently located a short walk from the Debating Chamber

between Chad’s and John’s. Serving a range of excellent cocktails,

beers and a cask ale, it is perfect as a bar crawl stop, for a quiet

drink with friends or a night at one of our fantastic bar events with

themed cocktails and live music.

Open:

7.30pm—12 pm Friday and Saturday

7.30pm—11.30pm Monday, Tuesday, W ednesday,

Thursday and Sunday

In addition to our regular free socials the bar holds events every

week. Every other Sunday 24s holds a pub quiz, starting at

8.30pm.

Competitive

Debating

Competitive debating is currently going from strength to strength, last term our

teams having won several Inter Varsity competitions and two teams reached the

quarter finals of the European University Debating Championships; three out of

four team members were freshers. Debating is

a fantastic way of improving your public

speaking skills and building your CV, as well

as meeting new people and travelling across

the world. Any member of the DUS can get

involved, whatever your experience. We

actively encourage anyone to give debating a

go, whether you debated at school or are

completely new to the activity, we welcome

everyone to come along to a training session

to give it a try! Each week we run training sessions, held in our debating chamber

on Palace Green:

- Debating for Beginners, every Thursday at 7.3opm in the Cham ber.

We will give you an introduction to the skills of debating and public speaking.

- Intermediate Debating, every Monday at 7pm in the Cham ber . This is

for those with a more advanced grasp of debating, looking to refine their skills.

- Advanced Debating, every W ednesday from 6.30pm . This is for the

most experienced university debaters. There is always room to progress and we try

and move people from Beginners to Intermediate as soon as we think they are

ready. If you’re interested in joining our sessions, or have any questions at all about

debating, please email [email protected].

We also offer plenty of opportunity to

put your skills into practice, sending

teams and judges to competitions across

the country , with your registration and

travel fully paid for. We also send teams

across the world for the European

University Debating Championships,

hosted this year in Vienna and also host

our very own Durham Schools debating

competition on 21st-22nd March.

Finally, competitive debating also has a fantastic social element to it! We host

regular socials, and usually go for drinks in our bar, 24 North Bailey, after training.

Getting involved Why Get Involved

Being in the Union Society is great fun as well as being excellent work

experience. The Union offers so much that there is a role for everyone, no

matter how much time you have or where your skills lie. To find out more

try popping into our office on Palace Green, or checking our notice board

for forthcoming positions and further details. You can also direct any

questions to us at [email protected].

Charity Work

The Durham Union Society is a registered charity and it offers unique

opportunities to give back to the local community around Durham. This is

done this term through the Schools Outreach Program. We would love it if

you would like to get involved.

Many Schools don't offer the opportunity to learn to debate. We therefore

do a huge amount of work to give children that chance. We run training

programs in many local schools and hold and fund several teams to attend

the Durham Schools Debating competition. We also invite schools from the

local area to attend some of our Friday Night Debates. If this sounds like

something in which you would like to become more involved, contact us at

[email protected].

Committees There are a large number of committees that all help to run the Union,

most are re-elected every term.

Here is a quick summary of what they do:

Consultative Committee, m ade up of college representatives

connect the Union with the colleges. One position per college is elected in

order to gather members’ feedback, bring ideas to the office and distribute

Union publicity within their college. These positions are held for a year.

House Committee is responsible for the logistics of all Union

events including Friday Night Debates. House Committee Members meet

the speakers and socialise in the Reading Room after debates.

Social Committee organises the Union ’s social events—from learning

the secret yakka recipe to helping to bring social themes to life, this

committee is perfect for the creative types amongst you.

Rules Committee helps the Returning Officer to run fair and free

elections.

Debates Committee organises the debating w orkshops and

internal competitions. They help run three of the largest debating

competitions in the UK : the IV, the Schools’ Competitions and the Open.

Press and Speakers Committee helps the President to find

speakers and coordinate student media for the debates and addresses.

Sponsorship Committee encourages outside bodies to support

the Union. This committee is vital in obtaining support from local and

national companies to keep the Union running.

Officers President

Katie Heard

Ollie Hamlet

Treasurer

Can Aykol

Custodian

Philip

Robinson

Assistant

Secretary

Napat

Rungsrithananon

Sponsorship

Secretary

Kit Mercer

Director of

Debating

Aisling

Cowell

President–

Elect

Frans

Robyns

Press and

Speakers

Secretary

Emily

Bushell

Publications

Secretary

Emily

Beighton

Secretary

Afam

Okoh

Social

Secretary

Gillian McLeod

Assistant

Sponsorship

Secretary

Derek

Rutter

Assistant

Social

Secretary

Daniel Gold

Debate

Competitions

Secretary

Eliot

Voelker

Technical

Officer

Josh Bailey

Returning

Officer and

Debates Training

Secretary

Jack

Williams

Steward

Presidential Thanks

This term was a challenge, both in its organisation and also efforts towards moving forward in a new year in trying something new. Without so many people, the DUS would not run as efficiently as it has and as it hopefully will continue to do for years to come. The biggest thank you goes to Sharon, Caroline and Sue- for the many cups of tea, supportive chats and for all the work you do to keep the DUS running. Also apologies for constantly eating all the Fruit Pastilles. Thank you to Mike, Can, Gordon and all the bar staff for continuing to run 24s to the highest standard. We also wish Gordon good luck in his retirement; it just won’t be the same when there is no one to greet us with a smile on our way to the bar! Thank you to Josh for being a great Returning Officer, for always challenging me and pushing me to be the best I can possibly be, though your constant efforts to check my privilege are sadly in vain. To Daniel who is always there to moderate the fights and never fails to have kind words for anyone who has had a bad day. Thanks to my campaign team for continuously searching high and low for that one extra vote, it made the difference in the end! Thank you to DUS debaters—Harriet, Sophia, Ollie, Afam, Joe Mayes, Jess, Elise, Kez, George and others past and present. You keep me constantly entertained at IDP and ADP every week and for maintaining Durham’s position as one of the top debating universities in the country - long live the Knifes Templar! A special mention goes to Kit, who has fought the battle to educate me about the world but has always been so unfailingly nice when giving feedback and for the continual pep talks that are most needed when it all seemed too much. Special thanks to all the committees who make the DUS run smoothly without it all falling apart. To Napat and the Sponsorship Committee for magicking money out of what seems to be nowhere in order for the Society to go on another day. To Jack for keeping House Committee in order and always being there to hand me a glass of wine after a long Friday. To Eliot who has provided us with endless technical knowledge. To Derek and Social Committee for taking over and working hard on socials so they are accessible to all members. To the other officers; especially Gillian and Emily, thank you for your kind w ords that kept m e going. Thanks to Joe Hill; for dealing with every crisis with a death threat, my aim is to issue less than you did but I am not so sure that will be successful. Thank you to Will Thong, you m ay not even go her e but you have alw ays provided great amounts of support to me as a lifeline from afar. Special thanks to Kat for being my own personal cheerleader and allowing yourself to be co-opted onto nearly every committee. Also thank you to Xander for the wonderful cover to my term card, clearly the superior Bailey! Good luck to Aisling for what I am sure will be an excellent Easter term. Lastly thank you to my Mum, a life member of the DUS who urged me to get involved in the first place and has since been constant support from help with speech writing, room tidying and just being an all round problem solver. When we grow old, we shall wear (Palatinate) purple.

Katie

durham union society - epiphany 2015 term card

Documents

new term

pm celebrities

term throws

debate of term

general election question

female match

election year