It’s a sad day as the year draws to a close with the last issue of The Courier. Here’s a selection of some of Comment’s best articles this year: Feminists fight against ‘banter’ culture Back in October, Lauren Stafford took aim at the misogynistic culture which seems to be increasingly prevalent in society, and considered the action which is being taken by feminists to counter this problem. Occupy Grey Street The ’99%’ came to Newcastle and occupied the area around …

Jennifer Evans considers whether it would be better to distribute students loans a weekly or monthly, rather than termly, basis The day you receive your student loan is, for the majority of students, like all your Christmases have come at once. Your bank balance suddenly jumps from £0 to over £1000 in just one day and the temptation to go all out and purchase a Mac, a once in a lifetime holiday or at the very least copious amounts of …

Politicians’ usage of the word ‘common’ is an insult to the public and an affront to democracy The ideal of British politics is nurturing the social and economic needs of this country through democratic leadership and the employment of equal rights. Why then should there be a hierarchy between the nation and the members of its parliament on a human level? This argument comes down to one seemingly insignificant linguistic error of the politician’s discourse – calling the British public ‘common,’ with …

Discovering the book behind Hitler’s regime is an important way for Germans to understand their troubled past, says Wills Robinson It has often been described as one of the longest and most boring rants of all time. However, although certainly not a page-turner, it has become of one the most symbolic books in twentieth century history. Now it seems like Hitler’s part biography, part racist tirade ‘Mein Kampf’ will be on German bookshelves for the first time since 1945, as …

Jack Torrance asks whether a headteacher’s abuse of power indicate an inherent problem with the ‘academy’ system?

Sophie McCoid and Anna Templeton discuss recent findings showing 54% of GPs want the power to deny non-emergency treatment to those who won’t lose weight or quit smoking Cream cakes and nicotine versus penicillin and surgery: it is common sense where our health priorities should lie.Yet the media criticised 54% of GPs who said the NHS should have the right to withhold treatment to obese or nicotine-addicted patients. The increasing population and cuts to public healthcare mean that controversial health …