Catherine Meyer-Funnell

2019 marks a significant year for the LGBTQ as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a landmark achievement that has quite rightly sparked international recognition. Yet it is one thing for the people to take to the streets and refuse to be persecuted for their sexual orientation, and another for their struggle to be adopted as a marketing strategy. For 2019 was also the year that Pride that filled our shop windows and TV screens as one conglomerate after the other took up the rainbow as their logo of choice. While having companies getting behind a cause is nothing new, it seemed to strike a sour point with those who felt the true message of Pride was being lost so capitalism could gain. Their anger is understandable, but is it possibly misplaced? Pride has officially cracked the mainstream - is this not in fact an accomplishment worth celebrating? First, we must address why people are unhappy about the change of tone during Pride Month. The Pride movement was originally spa...

Students at Durham University have set up a petition demanding compensation for lectures missed as a result of strikes organised by the University and College Union (UCU). Final year Education and History student Tom Hawkins has followed in the footsteps of others at universities such as Edinburgh and Sheffield. Why should students be compensated? Tom has started a petition for compensation Tom told The Tab: "I was just starting to find my feet within the world of academia and it is disappointing to have this taken from me because of what essentially is mismanagement. "I am sure many others feel the same way I do. I hope the petition can help resolve the situation for students and lecturers alike." According to Tom, not only could these strikes "disrupt the joys of learning and impact performance in all important end of year assessments", but may also lead to our education being used as a "bargaining chip". However the ...

Durham County Council have begun work to create a new permanent light feature at Durham's Railway Arches, along with Milburngate developers, and Artichoke, the producers of Lumiere. As an instantly recognisable Durham landmark, the viaduct's arches will soon become our answer to an all year round Lumiere, the country's biggest light festival, getting lit permanently. Could the cathedral be next? Katy Williams, a second year student at Collingwood, told The Tab: "I think it's quite a good thing because it brightens the place up, Durham can feel a bit drab at times so I don't see it as a bad thing! As long as it doesn't attract the crowds that Lumiere did I'm happy". However, Mildert third year, George Walker, disagreed, telling The Tab he feared having the light installation all year round would "devalue" the festival and "it would just look silly during the day". Looks pretty lit as it is tbh Durin...

Picture the scene. Four months ago. You’ve got your offer, your car is all packed up for the long drive north, and all you can picture is wandering along our quaint cobbled streets, mingling with the intellectual elite and maybe even joining the ranks of our distinguished alumni. Of course, there may have been a few rumours that you heard about us. Now you’re well into your second term, you should have a pretty good idea about what is, in Durham, officially  fake news . Just in case you’re still struggling to distinguish between your actual and alternative facts, here is our handy guide to Durham expectations versus reality. Expectation: You will live in a castle The dream…. Reality:  Yes, we do have a castle. And there are a few lucky students who get to call it home. But actually, even the majority of Castle members don’t live within these hallowed halls but instead in rather more average lodgings. In all honesty you will more likely be living in a...

Last weekend I was waiting for a bus to take me to a doctor's appointment on my local street in North London. It was set to be the hottest day of the year so far and in preparation for this I was wearing a cropped top and shorts with flip flops (this may be an irrelevant detail but it might later enable you to understand perhaps why I was feeling a little more exposed than usual). There was one other person at the bus stop - a man of unspecified age but certainly a fair bit older than me. After some minutes had passed he told me he had been waiting a while and wasn't sure if the bus was coming. I had headphones in, which I like to think automatically give off an air of I do-not-want-to-be-disturbed ness, but I also didn't want to be completely rude so I said I would look it up on my phone and reassured him that the bus was on its way. What followed next is what troubled me. Before I launch into a potential character assassination I just want to say I have no idea if this ...