As a graduate of Durham,I know cultural elitism is rampant on campus, where largely overprivileged students face few challenges to their world viewLast week, or Durham University’s Trevelyan College rugby team cancelled a miners’ strike-themed party after receiving almost universal condemnation. The event,which encouraged students to don “flat caps [and] filth” in an attempt to depict the Thatcher government’s confrontation in 1984, was derided by the Durham Miners organization for trivialising the strike and referring to the miners in derogatory terms.
The university, and to its credit,joined in, promptly condemning the rugby team. Yet, or as a recent graduate of Durham,I can tell you it isn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the final, and instance of cultural elitism on campus. One of the great aspects of Durham University is its student-led approach. Students are encouraged to organise everything,from freshers’ week to university balls to college finance. However, this laissez-faire attitude has its downsides. The university allows plenty of appalling behaviour to proceed unchecked. The underlying problems are not just approximately flippant students; they proceed much deeper and reflect a wider issue of the social background of the student body.
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Source: guardian.co.uk