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issue 58 29 October 2009 ***************************************************** 'Truth: lies open to all' ***************************************************** Every fortnight during term-time. All editorial correspondence to: subtext-editors [at] lancaster.ac.uk. Please delete as soon as possible after receipt. Back issues and subscription details can be found at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext. The editors welcome letters, comments, suggestions and opinions from readers. subtext reserves the right to edit submissions. subtext does not publish material that is submitted anonymously, but is willing to consider without obligation requests for publication with the name withheld. For tips to prevent subtext from getting swept up into your 'junk email folder', see http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext/dejunk/. ***************************************************** CONTENTS: editorial, regional relations, new Grizedale, strategic plan, traffic, time capsule, Bliss on old Grizedale, dress code, 1966 and all that again, letters ***************************************************** EDITORIAL As all in the academic community must be aware, plans are currently being drawn up for the operation of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the successor to the old Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). As subtext long ago predicted, in the transition from the RAE to the REF, we appear to be moving from bad to worse. We suspected that the day would come (unbelievable though it would have seemed a decade ago) when academics would look back on the RAE with a rosy glow of nostalgia. For all its faults and distorting effects, the bedrock of the RAE remained an assessment of intrinsic academic quality based on a process of peer-review. This remained the case right through to the most recent RAE, in spite of the fact that talk of 'income generation' and 'economic and cultural impact' began to creep in. Since then, each indicator emerging from the REF planning discussions has been cause for alarm. First, the main criterion looked set to be that of 'citations', performance in which was to be determined by a system of metrics. Then the talk was of 'income generation', with credit being given for research projects able to generate funding from businesses, industry, government and research councils. Now, the most recent proposal is for credit to be awarded (25% of assessment rating, to be specific) to those research projects that can be shown to have demonstrable 'impact' on the economy and society. These are not, of course, mutually exclusive criteria, and it is likely that all three will play some part in the operation of the 'framework.' They are, of course, ideologically connected in that they are all manifestations of a shift in the very conceptions of research and scholarship, one that involves a highly utilitarian approach to the value of education, and a conception of universities as being fundamentally servile in relation to the economy, government and society. We may well look back at the establishment of REF as a moment of revolutionary importance for the academy, and yet it has been enacted in the face of hostility and sometimes outright opposition from academics themselves. We may move in relatively limited social circles, but we have yet to meet a single academic who has been prepared to defend, in principle, the proposals emerging for the new REF. How, then, has this been allowed to happen? Part of the answer lies in the institutional structures to which universities are now routinely subordinated. The REF Impact Pilot Exercise Steering Group is composed of 14 members, only three of whom are from higher education institutions. The others are apparently drawn from private sector companies and government departments. This is extraordinary, and can only betoken a lack of trust of academics on the part of government, arising, presumably, from fundamentally different conceptions of the nature and value of scholarly research. The University and College Union (UCU) has demanded that 50% of this Group ought to consist of practising academics - a welcome, if modest, demand. HEFCE's proposals for the REF have now been put out for consultation, the deadline for submissions being 16th December. In response, UCU have issued a statement rejecting the proposals, including the 'impact' criteria in particular and have called for the proposals to be withdrawn. The statement is open to be signed by all academics, is headed by the signatures of six UK Nobel prize winners and currently has around 4000 other signatories. To view the statement and sign it, click here: http://www.ucu.org.uk/standupforresearch. In view of the magnitude of the challenge we face, this may be a small gesture of protest. But it is at least a start. ***************************************************** THE REGION AROUND US Since the late 60s Lancaster has had an important involvement with the North West region, and it was thanks to Lancaster that Edge Hill and Cumbria were able to build towards recognition as independent university institutions. Similarly, Blackburn and Blackpool and The Fylde, Lancaster's associated colleges, are both recognised centres of higher education and honours degrees in ways neither could have imagined twenty years ago. Yet over the summer just past, the Office for the Associated Institutions was silently abolished, and an aspect of the recent Senate meeting that went unregarded was a sharp reversal of policy for the region. Recently-forged links with Accrington, Nelson and Colne, and Lakes College were abruptly severed, and Blackpool and Blackburn put on notice that the volume of their business with Lancaster must grow no further. Like Library journals, each time a new programme is put forward, another, it seems, must go. Meanwhile, new relationships with universities around the world are promiscuously promoted, apparently with small regard about whether they are economically viable or a good match with Lancaster. subtext wonders whether others share our sense that these changes are short-sighted and likely to be a cause of regret in the future. ***************************************************** GRIZEDALE COLLEGE OPENING In recent years, Grizedale has been a poor relation among the Lancaster
colleges, so poor in fact as to be homeless. The demolition of its former
buildings some considerable time before the erection of new ones meant
that the experience of its members was somewhat akin to that of wandering
nomads. This has at last been rectified, and the new buildings were officially
opened by former Principal Bob Bliss at a ceremony on Friday 16th October.
The choice of the guest of honour was an appropriate one, not only because
he was one of the longest serving of Colleges Principals (1978-93), but
also because he taught the current Principal, Father Hugh Pollock, when
the latter was an undergraduate in History in the 1970s. Bob's friends
awaited his speech with anticipation, recalling his witty and unconventional
style, and, indeed, they were regaled with a speech that was far distant
from the usual bland platitudes uttered on such occasions (see extract
below). The opening ceremony was followed by a convivial party which made
effective use of the new college cocktail-themed bar and surrounding social
space. subtext hopes that members of Grizedale will now be able to enjoy
a more settled existence in their new home. STRATEGIC PLAN subtext subscribers were promised an overview of the University's Strategic Plan (see it yourself at http://bit.ly/strplan). It's taken subtext drones a while to wade through it, and there's a lot to comment on, so we've decided to spread it over a few issues. This week: The Big Picture. The Plan is nicely laid out with lots of white space and using attractive photos. The front cover uses perspective rather cleverly in order to make the newly laid-out open space by County College look like the main runway in a newly-refurbished local airport. The language is, by and large, free of the sort of clotted jargon that Plans are wont to contain. On page 13 readers will encounter the word 'ideation', which, while we reluctantly accept that it does seem to be a real word, isn't one that we have heard being tossed around much by Learners in the new Zone. But that's to quibble; while there are a lot of management-ese terms used, a real effort does seem to have been made to use words which most people can recognise. Of course, that doesn't mean that the words used always mean what we might expect them to mean, or mean anything at all, but we'll get to that later. Seeking out typos and wondering why institutions can't afford the services of a competent proof-reader is a way of getting cheap laughs, so unsurprisingly we've done that too. Page 14 has the word 'exempla', in the phrase 'Lancaster has been an exempla within the sector'. Now, there is indeed a Latin word 'exempla', the plural of 'exemplum', meaning example. This would be a rather pretentious way of saying 'example', but it's clear that they meant 'exemplar'. Shame it occurs in a heading. Page 16 talks about 'A third of the Lancaster's total student population ...', which is the kind of mistake we've all made cutting and pasting (subtext included, ahem, but then we do this in our spare time). But let's put the typos aside. The first thing the avid reader encounters is the Foreword. Sentence 2 reads; 'Higher Education (is) driven by ... changes to the complexity of knowledge ownership and transmission'. Not sure how many people would agree with that; there are still a few of us who don't see knowledge as a commodity in the sense it is used here. Part of the problem is that the words 'knowledge' and 'information' are used synonymously. It would help if they weren't. Further down, we encounter this; 'Our campus, with its distinctive academic and college structures ...'. Hmm. Not wishing to be disrespectful, but a) not sure what is so distinctive about our academic structures, and b) anyone who was involved with the Colleges a decade ago will confirm that in every meaningful sense they are a pale shadow of what they were back then. The sentence continues; '... is a major asset which encourages interactions between staff and students ...'. It should do (see Bob Bliss's speech, below), but actually it doesn't. A minority of staff are involved in the Colleges, and a minority of students ever see the need to get in touch with their College Tutor. This is a direct result of University policy, which refuses to give any credit to those involving themselves in the Colleges. For the University to claim credit for the heroic work done by those staff members involved with the Colleges is verging on the dishonest. Then there's a page on 'Catalysts and Drivers', which is management-speak for 'Things that we reckon will affect us now and in the future'. Not much to disagree with there as it stands, though as anyone who has ever dealt with a Strategic Plan knows, the statements of intent aren't the problem. The devil is in the detail; what priorities are planned? Then there's a page on Lancaster 2015, which is the date of the end of the Six Year Plan. (Interesting choice of time-period; presumably the idea of a 5 Year Plan was seen as too Stalinist? Or is this a move away from the decimal system and a return to old money? Very progressive.) That's all for now folks. Tune in next issue for a discussion on our 'Mission'. ***************************************************** Last Friday saw a frustrated mass of demob-happy students thwarted in their attempt to leave campus for an evening of rest and relaxation, as the flow of Stagecoach buses completely dried up for a few hours in the early evening. Jams on the A6, exacerbated by the diversion of motorway traffic through Lancaster after an accident, were blamed for the lack of buses. Even the taxi companies were refusing to send cars out to pick up the thirsty students, because of the gridlock, which extended to Freehold and other areas of the city. As your intrepid reporter waited in the crowd of frustrated non-travellers for 45 minutes before setting off on foot for the city centre, it seemed like a good opportunity to reflect on a range of projected developments between campus and the city centre, developments which are likely only to add to Lancaster's traffic woes. First, then, down the hill past the site of the new Sports Centre. Yes, it's a nice spot for an iconic building (have you noticed how all the lovely new iconic buildings being built at the University are being invisibly buried one-by-one in the interior of the campus, while the embarrassingly ugly architecture of Alexandra Park is visible for miles?), and it's good to see new access paths being constructed to ensure easy and safe pedestrian access (that never happened when the Pre-School Centre was down there, oh no). But the new Centre is bound to generate a good few single-occupancy journeys. Then along the A6, past the northern limit of the campus to the nice belt of meadows that separate the campus from the town. But not for long. Past issues of subtext have devoted a lot of coverage to the pros and cons of the Science Park proposed for the fields on the right just before Bailrigg Lane, not least in relation to the extra traffic it will generate. However, at the June meeting of Lancaster City Council's planning committee, outline planning permission was granted for the whole development, which will provide 34,570 sq m of employment space, and full planning permission for the initial work of creating a new access from the A6, constructing an internal spine road and doing associated landscaping. So it's on, folks. Documents and objection letters pertaining to the application - which interestingly refer to the development as 'Bailrigg Business Park' - can be viewed on the Council website here: http://bit.ly/scipark. Further along on the other side of the A6 past the old water works, at the green field site known as Lawson's Bridge with its unusual seasonal pond, there are plans for two new supermarkets, a hotel and a 500-space car park. Supporters of this development say that it would reduce the number of car journeys through Lancaster and across the river, as hungry shoppers in south Lancaster will no longer have to drive to Sainsbury's and Asda. However, others are sceptical, and anyway object to this urban sprawl which threatens to connect Lancaster's built-up area to the University, and beyond to Galgate. Thus, this Monday (26 October) saw the start of a Public Inquiry in Lancaster Town Hall into a Town Green application for Lawson's Bridge, which, if successful, could put a halt on the development. More information at http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/viewdoc.asp?id=45458. Through Scotforth (what will happen to the old Booths store if they move to Lawson's Bridge?), past the mile of standing traffic inching its way towards the road works at Penny Street Bridge. Stagecoach of course blame its delayed buses on the road works, due to finish in November, which are being conducted to create a cycle-friendly traffic island. But of course it's because Lancaster has such traffic problems anyway that any further minor constriction causes such chaos. Along King Street, past the 1936 Art Deco Regal cinema and Gala Bingo complex on the corner of King Street and Spring Garden Street, due to be demolished by Christmas (this Monday saw the start of what they call the 'soft strip'; the main demolition will start at the end of November). The developers, Kempsten Ltd, plan to replace it with a 115-bedroom Travelodge hotel, and also submitted an application for a Tesco Express store to be built on the ground floor, to be open from 6 am to 11 pm. They later withdrew the application for the Tesco store after concerns about extra traffic were raised by Lancashire County Council and the Highways Authority, but are planning to resubmit it. Cutting across town to the Dukes Theatre on Moor Lane, behind which the developer Centros plans to build a large retail development, which will also by the way nearly triple the amount of car parking space on the site. An eventful Public Inquiry on the proposals was held in June (see subtext 56); the inspector at that inquiry, Ian Gray, will now make his recommendations to the Secretary of State (presently John Denham), who will publish his decision on January 14th. It could go either way - but that's not deterring local landowner Mitchells. On 9 October the hotel and pub chain company, notorious for the neglect of its stock of empty old buildings in the city, notified the council of their intention to demolish pre-emptively the historic brewery building on Brewery Lane, with a planned start date of 23 November. However, the presence of bats in the buildings, and the concerted action of local campaigners to get the brewery listed, may yet prevent the destruction. So, there are lots of reasons to think that last Friday's transport implosion might become a common experience. Oh, and when work on the Northern Bypass commences, the word has it that Junction 34 will be closed for up to two years, meaning that a lot more traffic will be entering Lancaster from Junction 33, and driving along the A6 past the University. Time to get out that rusty old bike! ***************************************************** TIME TO LEAVE A CAPSULE (IF YOU DARE) subtext notes that a time capsule has been placed in the foundations of the new University Sports Centre. We're a bit surprised that more wasn't made of this, particularly in view of the new Director of Marketing's desire to sell the University By Any Means Necessary, including awarding honorary degrees to anyone who's ever appeared on television and getting sponsor's logos on the Chancellor's robes, like a racing driver's overalls . (We're missing all sorts of tricks here. 'This Degree Ceremony was brought to you in association with Acme Climbing Equipment, the choice of Champions.' 'This Senate Meeting was sponsored by Gagreflex Associates, for all your waste disposal needs.' It's only a matter of time.) Seriously, might the burial of the capsule not have been a media event? subtext also wonders what the capsule contains, and who made the decision? When the Sports Centre is knocked down in a decade or so due to the fact that no one wants to walk through the rain for ten minutes to get there and back, what will be found buried under it? Presumably the capsule will be full of things that the University feels will accurately represent the essence of Higher Education at Lancaster. Suggestions already received include the College system with its feet set in concrete, and a shrivelled backbone once owned by Senate. It has also been suggested that the capsule will reveal some of the University's more arcane secrets hitherto restricted to the Inner Sanctum, such as the magical way that an Administrative Review designed to save money can employ a lot more people at very high salaries and still achieve substantial savings. Obviously we hope that subscribers will write in with their own suggestions as to what the capsule might contain. ***************************************************** BOB BLISS ON OLD GRIZEDALE As reported above, the new Grizedale College building was formally opened on 16 November, with a speech by former principal Bob Bliss. We here print an extract of his speech in which he reflects on the early years of Grizedale (founded 1975). 'Lancaster University's original challenge was to see whether the Oxbridge college system could work well in a modern university, and while (given that collegiate aim) there might have been a serious temptation to erect, on this hill, some kind of mock Magdalen or a trumped up Trinity, there was no architectural timidity about either the original theme, which you can see around the centre of campus, or these striking, pleasing structures ... 'Old Grizedale, some of the elderly here will remember, was built as the then Labour government of James Callaghan sailed into financial crisis. See what I mean about symmetry? I doubt if either Gordon Darling or Alasdair Darling were taking notes, then, but who knows? Anyway, one result of the gathering storm was for universities to shorten sail, to pull in their horns, to husband their strengths, all those other clichés professors can get away with but students can't. Furness College, I remember, suspended (forever, as it happened) its senior common room coffee and tea service. Vice-Chancellor Charles Carter issued monthly reports on the financial outlook with titles like Doleful December, Melancholy May and Awful October. And thus it was that Grizedale became, as we often joked, the only building on campus that disappeared as it was being built. 'Among features that disappeared were the roof flats. For in its original planning stages, Grizedale was to have had - like the older colleges - flats on the roof for senior officers, nearly all of whom would be academics. So off went the flats, but with the sort of bad planning that does NOT seem to have accompanied this project, the reinforced roofs were retained, I guess so that Grizedale would not collapse under the weight of its shingles. More in contrast with today's Grizedale, insulation was removed, to save money (heating oil was so cheap then that the Saudis paid us to buy it). And then, in a brutal manoeuvre, the university engineer installed, in all the college's public bathrooms (in other words in all the college's bathrooms) timed light switches. Actually, Jim Cansfield did not single Grizedale out for this punishment. This was done all across campus. Everywhere. This caused anger, alarm, and a number of contusions. I can remember the then head of the History department, Harold Perkin, raising a frightfully profane row in the third floor Furness men's toilet, when the lights went out while he was, so to speak, in mid-passage. 'Grizedale students even in those dark ages showed resolve, fortitude, and ingenuity. Within days, Grizedale loos all radiated bright light, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, and as the Grizedale solution spread north across the campus, Jim Cansfield's expensive energy-saving scheme lay in ruins, his timed light switches locked open forever by superglue. I was accused of complicity in this Araldite attack. 'As for me, I have fond memories. I have profited greatly from Lancaster's College System. When I first arrived, in 1970, Fylde College gave me a congenial home away from History, one in which I could let my hair down and make close friends from other departments. We built upon those friendships to plan such innovations as Independent Studies and Lancaster's model JYA program. We also learned in the most practical way that universities are, indeed, multidisciplinary places, and that the best talk-and much of the best research-happens along the fuzzy, pervious frontiers of knowledge that not only mark off History from Literature but one science from another and all from the arts. Lancaster's colleges also offered alternative governing constituencies, and not only for students but for faculty too, who had been attracted to a university that proclaimed collegiality as one of its leading values. 'Colleges were great places for students, and they remain so-but I wonder how many students today see their college as a place to meet socially with, have a coffee with, or just have a private chat with a teacher who is also a member of their college? Away, so to speak, from the authority of the department? For students, that promise of real informality with faculty, not intimacy but informality, of casual or intellectual chat, of greetings hurled across a crowded bar to one's teacher, was a real benefit. I hope it still is.' ***************************************************** DRESSING UP, DRESSING DOWN ***************************************************** 1966 AND ALL THAT - CHAPTER TWO David O'Dell was amongst the first students to study at the newly-founded University of Lancaster. Here we continue his story - as he remembers it. Chapter 2: Freshers' Week 1966 * Wednesday 14th October, and I find myself on a train heading north with a suitcase, a duffle bag and a guitar which I can't play. I am surrounded by delegates to the Conservative Party Women's Conference in Blackpool. Is this the real world I have heard so much about? * The Observer colour magazine describes Lancaster thus: 'Still very new - lecture halls in converted Congregational Church with "Enter then these gates with Thanksgiving" on doors'. 'It all helps the rugged pioneering spirit,' they say. Arts people moving to Bailrigg, the permanent campus, next year. College system - two so far, already with their own characteristics - Bowland is highly political, Lonsdale is calmer and more sedate, Lancastrian academic specialities: operational research under Prof. Rivett (can be combined with economics) and environmental studies under Prof. Manley. Energetic students: took militant, action when lodgings fees increased, and have boycotted classes they claimed were 'useless'. Already, after 1½ years, there's a flourishing newspaper, an excellent (and profit making) news magazine, a good theatre club (which uses the Grand Theatre). Students live mostly in Morecambe: 'Landladies' interpretation of the role of Mother is often much stricter than that experienced by students at home'. Lancaster has a nice eighteenth-century centre, a discotheque, a castle, and a view over dreaming chimneys and the Lune valley. Beautiful surrounding country (Lake district, etc.) and excellent pubs. 'Lancaster University is like a Gold Rush frontier town, whooping it up on all possible occasions: it is exciting'. Hint of nascent Wars of Roses rivalry with York. * There is no student accommodation on the campus and my digs consist of a small bedroom, with hand basin, on the second floor of a guest house in Dallam Avenue, just off the prom in Morecambe. The room is so small that I can use the hand basin without getting out of bed, but have use of the dining room and front parlour. * Only one of the three other students I am sharing digs with has put in an appearance - Mike from Staines, who is reading Economics. The next day we head for Lancaster where I open a bank account with the Midland Bank - the University branch is a man with a suitcase in a room in University House. Buy a university scarf (£1.15.6), tie (15/6) and a bus pass (£10.10.0) and push on to Bailrigg. It will be nice when it is finished. Buy books (£2.2.6), have something to eat (3/5) and attend the Bowland College reception. Write first letter home. * Friday we pick up our undergraduate gowns which must be worn to all lectures. Go to the Societies Bazaar in the evening and on the basis of having played two games of mixed hockey at school, I join the Hockey Club (subscription 7/6) unaware that others have been playing the game properly for years. Promise to join the Table Tennis Club to because there is a good-looking girl behind the desk. Can't find the Choral Society so adjourn to The Shakespeare Hotel, next to St. Leonardsgate JCR, for our first pint of Mitchells. * Saturday and we are welcomed by the VC. Not personally, but given there are only 300+ new students it is a possibility. Register for Economics and History and think about taking Environmental Studies, but the queue is rather long and it's lunchtime. The Politics queue is much shorter and so I join it, beginning a 40+ year career studying, teaching and examining the subject. * Hockey trials in the afternoon so invest in the university kit and a hockey stick (£2.1.3). Still unaware of the standard expected of the only Lancaster team playing UAU Division 1. Soon find out. And it rains all afternoon. Deep joy. * The Freshers' Ball is a revelation. Live bands! And not just any bands, but Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers who are at No. 6 in the charts with 'Got to get you into my life'. At 12/6 for a ticket and a few drinks, The Winter Gardens, Morecambe, is a place of magic. * According to the Social Committee, during the next six months they have booked The Nashville Teens, The Graham Bond Organisation, The Hollies, Monty Sunshine and his Band, Zoot Money and his Big Roll Band, and Georgie Fame. Coming from a town where the choice on a Saturday night is either the Luxor cinema, the Princess cinema or a pub - though the Rolling Stones did once play Watford Town Hall - Lancaster is right up there with London and Liverpool. * Sunday. Along with 250 other students we have signed up for a coach tour of the lakes, organised by the Student Council. Being new to this student thing, and therefore feeling obliged to fulfil our commitments, we drag ourselves out of bed and onto one of the five buses and head even further north. But it is worth it. Hertfordshire never looked like this. * Tomorrow teaching begins. My grant for the first year is £280 or £93.6.8 a term. Most of this has already gone or about to go. I owe £38.10.8 for bed, breakfast and full board on Sundays and £3.10.0 for the undergraduate gown and with the bus pass, hockey kit, books and the rest I have about £3.12.0 a week to last me until Christmas, not counting the train fare home. Debt is not an option, so cut out lunch for the first year. ***************************************************** LETTERS Dear subtle texters, Last time I read the law about this (a few years ago), national legislation said that, if food and/or drink is served to non-employees, and if that service is not by way of automated machinery, then toilet facilities must be available within walking distance, which I think is either 100 or 200 metres. So if there are no toilet facilities available in the Learning Zone, that explains why there are no catering facilities there. Vending machines only, I'm afraid. I am not a lawyer; I don't even play one on TV. Simon Slavin, Psychology ***** Dear subtext, ***************************************************** The editorial collective of subtext currently consists (in alphabetical order) of: George Green, Gavin Hyman, Bronislaw Szerszynski and Alan Whitaker. |