PALATINATE Durham’s Official Student Newspaper celebrating 75 years
Thursday 26th January 2023 | No. 858
FREE
www.palatinate.org.uk
p22
Film & TV look ahead to awards season
Sport chat to Mark Pougatch
Outraged and priced out Durham University criticised for £9000 college rent
Students gathered outside the Bill Bryson Library to protest student housing price increases in October 2022 (Emily Doughty) Nicole Wu, Emily Doughty & Ben Webb Editor-in-Chief and News Editors Durham University students have been left angered after Durham University announced that accommodation prices would rise by 10.3%, the biggest increase in accommodation prices ever. The increase means that a standard catered room with a shared bathroom will be £9156 for a 39 week contract, with students paying £234.77 per week. This is the first time a standard catered room will be over £9000. This has led to an outrage among students, with a Cut the Rent protest now being planned by several prominent organisations on 28th January in an attempt to get the increase reduced. In their initial statement, Durham University said “The University has approved a 10.3% increase in both accommodation and catering charges. As you will be aware, the University is experiencing rises in our operating
costs in the current economic climate. We have tried to keep increases to our accommodation and catering charges as low as possible, and to make sure that college-managed accommodation remains competitively priced in relation to private accommodation in Durham City” In a poll conducted by Palatinate where 1014 students were polled, it was found that 89% of students disagreed with the rise of prices. 67% of students completely disagreed with the rise, with 22% of students mostly disagreeing. Many students voiced their anger to Palatinate with one Durham student saying “this is disgusting and I still can’t believe the university is doing this to its students. My rent this year was £9000 - next year it will be higher than my max maintenance loan. What am I meant to do?” Another student echoed this anger but wanted to know where the money was being spent, “I would love to see a breakdown of this cost. I’m living in college this year, and have switched to being
self-catered this term. “College food is poor quality, has small portions and is really quite disgusting. Where’s this money going?” Other students have raised concerns that porters in college and catering staff are not seeing wage increases in light of the cost-ofliving crisis and are concerned about where the money will be going. Durham UCU PGRs highlighted this issue saying for those who both work for the University and who also live in University run accommodation “While [Durham University] refuses to become a living wage employer, continues to exacerbate the issues in the private housing market, it also remains committed to fleecing its students. And PGRs are impacted by both.” Durham University chose not to add to their initial statment to Palatinate over whether porters and catering staff were receiving an increase in wages to match inflation. Concern was also raised about the impact on working class students due to the increase in prices.One alumna criticised the decision as
impacting inclusivity saying “literally pricing out working class students. Maximum student loan is now £9978, leaving £822 to live on. Durham don’t allow you a job for more than 12 hours a week if I remember. Students with additional needs who require an en-suite will need to pay more.” The University allows students to work 16 hours per week, though they do not advise working any more hours. In a statement to Palatinate, 93% club said, “Recently, Palatinate has produced articles discussing why state-educated students are most abundant in self-catered hill colleges, Josephine Butler having a 67% state-educated majority intake over the last 5 years. Now, with the 10.3% rise set for the next academic year, where will stateeducated students from low socio-economic backgrounds go? “Durham continues to push out talent and position itself as a figurehead for universities ‘inspiring the extraordinary’ who are privileged enough to
attend, and not for talent of all backgrounds. Durham University is unfortunately reinforcing structural inequalities, which make the institution less accessible for those from low and middle socio-economic backgrounds.” When contacted by Palatinate regarding the issues facing working class students, Durham Universtiy chose not to add to their initial comment, they “offer to all students who need to bridge financial gaps to support grants of up to £6000 per annum.” The decision to raise prices also comes in a year where Durham students have faced unprecedented issues with housing. In October 2022, Palatinate reported about students forced to camp out overnight last term to secure housing for next year. The situation also sparked a private housing protest which took place last term and garnered national attention. With rising costs of housing, which saw some houses going for Continued on Page 4 & 5