Birkbeck tells media critics to buzz off

BIRKBECK is immensely proud of its students and their many remarkable achievements. Not only are they older than students are commonly conceived to be, they combine part-time evening study with work and family commitments. They complete a three-year full-time undergraduate degree course in only four years' part-time. It is extremely hard work - a real challenge. They are determined, committed, highly motivated, and get very good results. They deserve to be congratulated not humiliated.

The University Challenge televised on Tuesday December 3 has gone down in history as record-breaking, twice over, for the worst-ever and one of the best-ever scores. Unusually, Birkbeck's score was the worst ever. There is no point in trying to find excuses. It happened. "Why can you not laugh it off?" asked one journalist. Our reply: "We are trying to, thanks, but you are not making it very easy. "

Why did the media go to town in the way it did? Headlines read: "Starter for ten: Who put the berk in Birkbeck?" (Daily Mail), "Your stutter for ten . . . which London College disgraced itself on University Challenge?" (Evening Standard), "Universthicky Challenge. Bunch of Birkbecks TV flop" (Daily Mirror), "Quiz team universally challenged" (The Times) and more.

Does our name lend itself to misuse/abuse? Or was it the uncharacteristic compassion shown by Jeremy Paxman which generated such all-embracing media coverage? Sadly, it appears to be simply a desire to humiliate. So what is the problem. Surely no one is going to judge an academic institution by a quiz show . . . are they? The cost of infamy for a day.

"It will take ages for trivia-challenged Birkbeck to recover" (Guardian).

Most of our 6,000 degree students, over 40 per cent of whom are doing postgraduate degrees, are very busy. Our University Challenge team were all volunteers who responded to a poster put up by the student union at very short notice. Few volunteers came forward. Most would not have had the time or inclination. It was a risk but they decided to go for it. Birkbeck prides itself in giving people a second chance: "Self-help, by self-improvement." (George Birkbeck, 1823).

Granada Television, which produces the programme, operates very strict screening before the teams get to the first televised round. Our team had done extremely well in the qualifying rounds, coming comfortably in the last 24 of over 100 teams and scoring a few points short of Manchester. But when the chips were down, they froze. Slower responses because of age was a recurrent theme in the media. Psychological research on response times does not support this.

Thank you for the excuse, but can the speed with which four of its students press a buzzer provide insight into the academic excellence and intellectual achievements of a whole institution? Perhaps a theory explaining the stresses of appearing on a television quiz show may have been more enlightening. Is education just for younger people? There are more mature students participating in higher education, both full-time and part-time, than ever before. We have evidence which negates the suggestion that academic performance deteriorates with age. Seventy-five per cent of our degree students are aged 25-44 (9 per cent under 25 and 15 per cent over 45). Indeed, our oldest graduate in 1996 was 83. Our students consistently get good results - in 1996, out of nearly 500 undergraduates, 60 per cent of the 540 bachelor degrees awarded were firsts or upper-second class honours. Similar negative attitudes are often experienced by mature graduates at work. Balancing their busy lives, many of our students also find other factors, such as how understanding their employers are, can often be crucial to completing a part-time degree successfully and gaining suitable recognition after completion.

Many students come to Birkbeck because they missed the opportunity to study earlier in life. Others want to upgrade their qualifications for career advancement, change direction or simply now have more time available. The bringing together of individuals of differing ages, backgrounds and experiences is a bonus and one valued highly by students and staff.

There is no doubt that the Manchester team were outstanding adversaries. But let us not think of the quiz show as a reflection of the academic merits of Birkbeck and Manchester. Let us compare it with that of Manchester United. Remember Southampton 6 - Manchester United 3; Newcastle 5 - Manchester United 0? Since these defeats, which shocked fans and foes alike, Manchester United have retained their position among the elite of the Premier League. Birkbeck College will similarly survive unscathed.

Mat Gilman is union president and Sally Whitaker is external relations and information officer at Birkbeck College, London.