News in Brief: 11th – 17th August
Durham University launches professional clothing drive
In its weekly newsletter for students, Durham University has appealed for donations its new professional clothing drive.
The Durham Wardrobe Collective aims to create a collection of professional clothing, that students may borrow at the start of the academic year. This will allow students to cultivate a professional appearance when attending interviews (or similar events such as networking sessions), despite financial circumstance.
To donate to the drive, you may leave clothing inside available drop-off collection boxes, which will be located outside the Careers and Enterprise office, DU Business School, and Waterside Building Office.
By Jasmine Davey
Durham Book Festival announces lineup
Durham Book festival has announced its complete line up, featuring a guestlist predominantly of writers heralding from the North.
The festival will be held across three days, from the 10th -12th October. Over 25 events and talks will be available across locations in Durham, including Clayport Library, Gala Durham and Collected Books. Events will also be streamed online for virtual viewing.
Many prominent literary figures are set to feature, including Dame Pat Barker, Eliza Clark and Ann Cleeves.
Durham University and Palatinate alumnus Jeremy Vine is also set to discuss his new venture into the world of crime writing with his book ‘Murder on Line One’.
Fiona Hill, chancellor of Durham University, is launching a new podcast as a festival commission. According to New Writing North, Forged in the North is a series focusing on “how the North East has shaped the lives of successful people”.
This is a matter that lies central to the festival this year, as it aims to spotlight authors local to County Durham and the North, as well as inspiring new talent.
By Katie Trahair-Davies
Durham achieves University Mental Health Charter Award
Durham University has been awarded the University Mental Health Charter (UMHC) by Student Minds, in recognition of the mental health and wellbeing support it offers.
Student Minds stated that Durham University had a “commitment to implementing a whole-University approach to mental health and wellbeing, which is evident in the resource allocation, core institutional mission and institutional strategies, policies, and procedures”.
The Outcome Report also praised several “outstanding initiatives”, including student enrichment opportunities, work on sexual misconduct and harassment, student pathway with NHS Talking Therapies, reflective reviews for critical incidents, and the use of a Health Needs Assessment.
By Jasmine Davey
Biddy Baxter remembered – Durham alumna and influential TV editor
Durham alumna and Blue Peter pioneer Biddy Baxter MBE died on the 10th of August, and has been remembered by the university in the ensuing days.
Biddy was a student at St Mary’s college between 1952 and 1955, where she read social studies. After leaving Durham, she began working for the BBC in 1955, making sound effects for radio shows.
By 1962, she had taken the reins of Blue Peter as a producer. The show was young, having started just four years before, and malleable – allowing Biddy to reshape the show into the successful format many current Durham students will remember from their childhoods.
In her 23 years at the helm as editor, Biddy introduced the badge system, commissioned the show’s iconic insignia, and developed a card index to ensure no child who wrote in would receive the same response letter twice.
Blue Peter’s pets, summer adventures, crafts (here’s one I made earlier!), and non-patronising tone were all hallmarks of Baxter’s two-decade stint as editor – a role which earned her two BAFTAs and a gold Blue Peter Badge.
She always carried fond memories of her time at Mary’s, receiving a Centenary Year Honorary Fellowship from the college in 1998 and becoming an Honourary Doctor of Letters in 2012. Palatinate remembers her pioneering legacy and wishes her family well in this difficult time.
By Hugh Ludford
