The Beaver: Week of October 16th, 2012

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THE CASE FOR ENDING LSE100 | DIARY OF A WANNABE BANKER RETURNS | AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR CRAIG CALHOUN

TheBeaver

16.10.2012

Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union FREE

Neha Jain

Obama’s former Presidential rival in the 2008 US elections, Senator John McCain, addressed a full audience in the London School of Economics Shaw Library last week in a candid question and answer session, focussing largely on US foreign relations and the upcoming presidential elections. Having caught the red eye from Atlanta that morning, McCain recounted a humorous remark from a fellow passenger: “You look awfully like John McCain, that must make you mad as hell!â€? In light of this, McCain conceded that malaise with the American government was well deserved; that there was a meagre eleven per cent congress approval rate from the American public, whilst ObamaCare in his opinion was “the sleaziest process to take place in the Senate in the past thirty years.â€? In spite of this, the former war veteran strongly maintained that the world “needs American leadership.â€? Beginning his discussion on the events of the Arab Spring, McCain argued that this “period of dramatic change in the worldâ€? was misnamed; such instability ZDV QRW FRQனQHG WR WKH $UDE world. Regarding the governments of China and Russia in particular as just “a bunch of guys who gather in seaside resorts to pick their successors,â€? the Republican reinforced Western democracy as the only sustainable and appropriate system for governing citizens. Whilst acknowledging war weariness arising from American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain regretted the US not involving itself enough in Libya in providing medical personnel, border security and in aiding the disarmament of militias. In light of this, he felt the US does not have a privilege, but an obligation to help the

LSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Do not underestimate Obama Students VX૸HU IURP LSE For You glitches Rachel Browne

Syrians through the provision of weapons. When asked by an LSE PhD student to peer into a crystal ball and predict the US’ role in peace and FRQŕŽ‹LFW E\ 0F&DLQ stated simply that “the iPhone has already changed the world... technology will change the world.â€? Reciting the fact that over three hundred thousand people were drawn to Tahrir Square with the help of technology, McCain also recalled how one Tunisian had told him that Mark Zuckerberg was their

national hero. However, McCain recognised that technology has bought great dangers too. Wikileaks’ role in compromising key information on military personnel has been a problem, but McCain especially feared issues of cyber security and hacking attempts stemming from China. He elaborated further that he has been disappointed by Sino-American UHODWLRQV RYHU WKH SDVW னYH years and the Chinese’s ‍ڔ‏WLJKW னVWHG EHKDYLRXU‍ ڕ‏WRwards America.

One audience member pressed McCain on how his foreign policy goals could be reconciled with the economic realities of huge US debt. He argued that the key to growth does not lie in foreign policy - defence spending having already been cut anyway - but in cutting corporate taxes to attract investment. He also favoured creating greater free trade agreements once corruption in Asian countries like Vietnam and China is reduced. Continued on page 8, col 1.

Due to a sudden administration change, MSc students of the Government Department have been facing problems on the London School of Economics LSE For You and Moodle site in the past week, with many not being able to sign up for seminars or be allocated an academic supervisor in a timely manner. Professor Simon Hix, head of the Department of Government, issued an apology and description of the malfunctions last week to the MSc students. “We lost our senior MSc administrator just before the Michaelmas Term began,â€? he said, “we have been pro-active in trying to rectify these problem by EULQJLQJ LQ QHZ VWDŕŽ‰ DQG training others.â€? According to Hix, there were still technical issues with one course and that they are working “aroung the clockâ€? to clear out any outstanding problems as soon as possible. Nevertheless, many students have expressed frustration towards the technical hiccup, which has added to the stress of starting a new academic year. Laura Aumeer, MSc of Comparative Politics student said that she appreciates Professor Hix’s apology and the fact that it sheds light on the problems, but felt that an explanation should have been provided sooner. Aumeer, who experienced difficulty selecting courses after signing into LSE For You and was unContinued on page 8, col 3.

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Editorial

Editorial Board Executive Editor Liam Brown

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Managing Editor Vacant

16.10.2012

TheBeaver Established in 1949 Issue No. 773

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News Editors John Armstrong Shu Hang

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Collective A Doherty, A E Dawson, A Fyfe, A Krechetova, A L Cunningham, A L Gunn, A Moneke, A X Patel, A Peters-Day, A Qazilbash, A Riese, A Sulemanji, A Young, B Arslan, B Butterworth, B Clarke, B Nardi, C S Russell, C V Pearson, D McKenna, D Yu, E Beaumont, E Delahaye, E E Fraser, E Firth, E S Dwek, F Bennett, G K Chhina, H Brentnall, H Burdon, H Dar, H J Sheppard, I M Silver, J Allsop, J Attueyi, J Austin, J Curtis, J M Palmer, J M Still, J R Peart, J Stoll, J Tindale, J V Armstrong, J Wacket, J Yarde, K C Hughes, K Pezeshki, K Rogers, K Singh, L A Yang, L Atchison, L Aumeer, L Brown, L Kang, L Slothuus, / 9DUGD[RJORX 0 & +H૸ HUQDQ 0 Fletcher, M Jenkins, M Veale, M Worby, N Antoniou, N J BuckleyIrvine, N Jaroszek, N Mashru, N Mateer, N Russell, P Gederi, R A Coleman, R Al-Dabagh, R Cucchiaro, R Gudka, R Hamer, R Holmes, R Illingworth, R J Charnock, S Chaudhuri, S Desai, S Gale, S H Low, S Lindner, S Newman, S Nissila, S Poojara, S R Williams, S W Leung, S Hang Low, T Poole, V A Wong, V Chan, X T Wang, Z Sammour

The Collective is The Beaver’s governing body. You must have contributed three pieces of work, or contributed to the production of three issues of the paper (editorially or administratively), to qualify for membership. If you believe you are a Collective member but your name is not on the list above, please email the Collective Chair at:

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Election Information: :H ZLOO EH KROGLQJ WZR GLŕŽ‰ HU ent elections, simply because there are far too many positions available for this to be completed in one day.

| The Beaver

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Heaven Knows We’re Miserable Now

In case you didn’t notice, ZH‍ڑ‏UH DOO UHDOO\ XQVDWLVன HG At least that’s what the 7KH ன UVW HOHFWLRQ ZLOO WDNH polls, news articles, and place on Thursday, October student gossip are saying. 18th in Clement House 4.02 Be it lessons, the Union, between 6:00pm and 8:00pm. loans, or social life, LSE The following positions will be students just plain unhappy. In fact, 57 per cent of us contested: are so unhappy that they -Managing Editor (1) ZHUH ZLOOLQJ WR ன OO RXW D -Social Editor (1) -Sports Editor (1) form on it. We here at the -PartB Editor (1) Beaver are impressed that -Collective Chair (1) so many of you would be that vexed you would do To run in this election please the modern equivalent of send an email to this address (collective@thebeaveronline. writing an angry letter. Student life at this rathco.uk) containing a 150 word manifesto outlining why you er curious institution does should be elected editor by no not have to suck. Getting later than Wednesday, October involved in extracurricular 16th at 4pm. events and societies is a The second election will take great way of meeting new place on Thursday, October people, and quite frankly, 25th in NAB 2.04 between D IDU PRUH IXOன OOLQJ ZD\ RI 6:30pm and 8:30pm. spending your time than Information on the next elec- constantly reading in the tion will be in this space in the library. If you are a member of next issue of the Beaver.

the Athletics Union you can take part not only in sporting events, but also the weekly socials that are a staple of Wednesday nights on the LSE campus and the surrounding area. If you are decidedly less athletic or just ‘hackier’ why not stop by the weekly UGM at 1pm on Thursdays in the Old Theatre? We are the only university in the country to have a weekly Union meeting where you can hold your elected officials to account. The policy initiatives the Students’ Union (SU) Sabbatical Officers put into place are debated and decided at the UGM. Your opinion is important, let it be heard. Even topics like the quality of education are discussed at UGM. For instance, Director Craig Calhoun spoke at the UGM last week and held a ques-

tion and answer session that covered a wide range of topics, including teaching quality. While Calhoun is not at every UGM, the SU Education Officer, Duncan McKenna, is. If you have an issue with the quality of your education let him know and he will do his best to bring it to the attention of the School. In our personal experience as members of the Beaver editorial board, getting involved has made our university life immeasurably better. If you are feeling as though you have no sense of purpose, or that your university life consists of hopping from lecture to class to library, think about getting involved with a society, sport team, or other student activity. Hopefully we can end the Smithian downward spiral the LSE student body seems to be in.

2ŕŽ‰ HQGHG" (PDLO us! editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

8QLRQ %DVKÄ? #AsktheDirector Would you vote for Rick Astley’s ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ for anthem?

News

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

Calhoun speaks at UGM Tapinder Ghuman

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News

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Twitter Q&A with Director Calhoun all students on the basis of demonstrated merit, Last Monday afternoon, ensuring aspirations are Craig Calhoun, the new met and through the study Director of the London of inequality and mobility. School Economics, went ,W ZLOO EH னQGLQJ WKH IXQGlive on Twitter for a ses- ing for scholarships that sion of questions and an- he perceives as being the swers. The issues raised most satisfying challenge ranged from academic to yet to overcome. national to international. In order to prepare With regards to LSE students for the current life, one theme that was economic environment he repeatedly raised was asserted that academics communication. He called are already doing a lot but for more open communi- need to do more. He also cation and mutual respect acknowledged the parin order to build good re- ticular difficulty faced by lations on campus as well non-EU graduate students as collaboration between looking for a job due to the social and natural sci- UK visa policy, which he ences in areas such as cli- described as “contrary to mate, health and urbani- national interests, deprivsation. He made clear that ing the country of needed the LSE’s mission is pub- talent and energy.â€? Havlic and markets are the ing already voiced his means to this end rather concerns regarding the than an end in itself. To Government squeeze on ensure this he plans to intakes of foreign stuutilise online resources dents in the Guardian, as a means of communi- Craig reaffirmed that he is cation in order to reach currently raising the issue the whole LSE communi- with the Prime Minister, W\ LQFOXGLQJ VWDŕŽ‰ DOXPQL relevant ministers and the students and the public, press because “we need to via interactive teaching, make clear that this policy communication, links to hurts the country.â€? source materials and disThinking on an internasemination of research. tional level, he affirmed The disparity in qual- the LSE’s most critical ity of feedback between challenge this coming academic departments decade would be to stay will be tackled by making a world leader in the consure the practices of the WH[W RI LQWHQVLனHG JOREDO best departments become competition. Meanwhile, the norm throughout the on the Euro Crisis, Craig school, whilst his planned saw LSE’s role to be in response to persistent- research and teaching in ly low student satisfac- areas such as politics as tion ratings is to focus on ZHOO DV னQDQFH %XW ZLWK teaching by working with UHJDUGV னQDQFH KH FRQthe Teaching Task Force. strued money as the root For anyone completing of a lot, but perhaps not their thesis his words of all evil. In order to tackle advice are “writing is like this evil he believes LSE running. You need to do should engage more with it every day. Keep up the academic institutions momentum but bit by bit, in developing countries not in binges.â€? although he is pleased The national issues with the LSE’s relationraised included social mo- ship with Cape Town and bility, for which Craig saw broader African initiathe LSE playing a role in tives. providing more scholarFinally, on a lighter ships, making sure educa- note, in answer to “who tion is made available to ZRXOG ZLQ LQ D னJKW D Holly Brentnall

grizzly bear or a gorilla,� asked by Students’ Union General Secretary Alex Peters-Day, Craig pointed out how fortunate it is that they live on separate continents, but in any case he is in favour of peace among all species. Jay Stoll found it “spec-

tacular� that the Director has agreed to accompany him to a Manchester United match this year and besides football, Craig let it be known that his interests include going to the theatre, whilst his taste in music centres around The Rolling Stones, and Eric

Clapton, who he has tickets to see play in London next May. Craig concluded what KH VDZ DV EHLQJ D WHUULனF session, promising to do a repeat since in total he received around 400 more tweets than he could provide answers for.

News

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

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Judge Jules headlines Freshers Ball Nona Buckley-Irvine

The Raising and Giving 5$* 6RFLHW\ DW WKH /RQ don School of Economics marked the start of the year with a highly successful Freshers Ball, raising RYHU e IRU FKDULW\ A change of venue from Penthouse saw RAG hosting Freshers Ball at an equally central location, Piccadilly Institute in Leicester Square. Ex-LSE alumnus DJ Judge Jules, reputed for his sets in Ibiza and across the world, played the main set at the club. He tweeted: “DJing for WKH )UHVKHUV‍ ݰ‏EDOO RI P\ XQL /6( WRQLJKW +RSH IXOO\ WKH\ ZRQ‍ݰ‏W VFUXE PH from their list of ‘illustrious DOXPQL‍ ݰ‏DIWHU P\ VHW ‍ݴ‏ The famous DJ engaged with the crowd and was happy to come back to play for his old university, commenting that LSE facilities were much improved since he was a student at the School. As the highlight of the night, Jules proved a popular choice, enticing freshers to buy tickets. Doors opened at SP ZLWK WKH FOXE packed full of students within the next hour. Students appeared to have a good time, despite the club becoming extremely hot and sweaty

once the crowd were in. Ticket sales soared in comparison to previous Freshers Balls, sellLQJ QHDUO\ WLFNHWV WR freshers, post-graduates and second and third years alike. Although more costO\ DW WKH SULFH RI ೉ IWHHQ pounds a ticket, freshers were treated to discounted GULQNV SULFHV VXFK DV e cocktails. 7KH SUR೉ W RI e LV XS IURP ODVW \HDU‍ݰ‏V e despite the ticket price KDYLQJ LQFUHDVHG IURP e WR e Several changes were made this year: a later VWDUWLQJ WLPH D GLŕłˆ HUHQW venue, and a headline act IRU WKH ೉ UVW WLPH

Commenting on this, the Events Officer for RAG said: “The ticket price inFUHDVHG WR UHೊ HFW D EHWWHU event being organised with a premium act. We wanted to make sure that we were raising as much money as possible for charity while at the same time putting on a great party. The price increase allowed us to do both of these things – and made sure that we broke our previous record for charity. Students seemed to have a great time and all of us at RAG were thrilled with the overall outcome of what was months of planning.â€? Matthew de Jesus, Ac-

tivities and Development Sabbatical Officer added: “From the feedback and pictures on Facebook, this \HDU‍ݰ‏V 5$* EDOO KDV VXU passed all expectations and was truly a success. 5DLVLQJ RYHU e for charity is a massive achievement and the future RAG committees have a lot WR OHDUQ IURP WKLV \HDU‍ݰ‏V ‍ݴ‏ RAG had concentrated WKHLU Hŕłˆ RUWV RQ SURPRW ing their premium event throughout Freshers Week through promotional materials and selling tickets on Houghton Street. They also had a free ticket giveaway for freshers in order to promote the event. Freshers Ball forms part

RI 5$*‍ݰ‏V )UHVKHUV )RUW night, which includes their annual pub quiz and Battle of the Halls. All proceeds from events are being split between the +DYHQ 5LFKDUG‍ݰ‏V +RXVH Hospice and Find Your Feet. The Haven and RichDUG‍ݰ‏V +RXVH +RVSLFH DUH ERWK FKLOGUHQ‍ݰ‏V KRVSLFHV the former located just outside of London and the latter by Canary Wharf. Find Your Feet is an international development charity, working in India and Malawi to help poor people grow food and earn money.

Lord Hennessy on contemporary history understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Lord Peter Hennessy, At- Madmen in authority, who tlee Professor of Contem- hear voices in the air, are porary British History and distilling their frenzy from Fellow of the British Acad- some academic scribbler HP\ NLFNHG Rŕłˆ WKLV WHUP‍ݰ‏V of a few years back.â€? “If Keynes were to write British Government at the London School of Econom- the same passage again he ics public lecture in the would have added historiOld Theatre with an in- ans to the rank of econoformative and entertaining mists and political philosospeech that examined the phersâ€? stated Hennessy, importance of contempo- RQ FRQWHPSRUDU\ KLVWRU\‍ݰ‏V rary history and the chal- LQFUHDVLQJ VLJQL೉ FDQFH RQ lenges that must be over- SROLWLFV DV WRGD\‍ݰ‏V SROLWLFDO come to be good at writing parties “are competing not just for votes but their verit. The speech shared the sions of the recent past, so VDPH WLWOH ZLWK +HQQHVV\‍ݰ‏V as to beguile and manipulatest book “Distilling the late the electorate.â€? As the public is deFrenzy,â€? a phrase from -RKQ .H\QHV‍ݰ‏V ERRN manding of the “right hisGeneral Theory: “The ideas toryâ€? of the recent past, of economists and political the task itself is challengphilosophers, both when ing. One chief temptation they are right and when that has to be overcome is they are wrong, are more the “enormous condescenpowerful than is commonly sion of posterity,â€? a notion Eric Zhang

raised by historian Edward Thompson, who sought to justify the aspirations of %ULWDLQ‍ݰ‏V ‍ݳ‏SRRU VWRFNLQJHU and Luddite cropperâ€? in the famous book The Making of the English Working &ODVV The remedy given by Lord Hennessy, however, is a quote from Benedict Spinoza, a Jewish born Dutch philosopher and theoloJLDQ ZKR OLYHG LQ “I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them.â€? Yet this is not the only tip on contemporary history given by the prominent historian, who also talks about being careful about reading the memoirs of those who could make “the political weather,â€? as it is a natural impulse for politicians to glorify what they

have done when no longer in power. The highlight of the speech is his proposition that contemporary history is “gossip with footnotes,â€? a phrase that later became the buzzword on twitter under #LSEfrenzy. The historian, who authored and co-authored more than ten books on British politics and history, said he had one reJUHW KH GLGQ‍ݰ‏W VHW DERXW writing a “history of the impact of gossip, rumor on policy and governmentâ€? in his late twenties and early thirties as a journalist. “The power of rumor in the shaping of history is not to be underestimated,â€? stated Hennessy. The speech lasted about PLQXWHV OHDYLQJ PXFK time for a Q&A that turned out to be very engaging, with the participation of

students, fellow historiDQV DQG KLJK SUR೉ OH ೉ JXUH such as former Cabinet Secretary Robin Butler, ZKR FKDLUHG WKH Rŕł‹ FLDO inquiry into Iraq war intelligence. During the Q&A, Hennessy quoted Robin Butler as saying every government department should have a chief historical adviser. Besides teaching at Queen Mary, University of London, Peter Hennessy is also an Honorary Fellow of the LSE. During the event, he reviewed back his life as a contemporary historian and giving the audience a piece of advice, which again, is a quote “never underestimate the vital imSRUWDQFH RI ೉ QGLQJ HDUO\ LQ life the work that for you is playâ€?, by Paul Samuelson.

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News

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

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Sir Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, spoke about his “Twenty <HDUV RI ,QೊDWLRQ 7DUJHWingâ€? in a public lecture at the London School of Economics. In his lecture, he GLVFXVVHG LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHWLQJ WKH WUDGH Rŕłˆ EHWZHHQ SULFH DQG ೉QDQFLDO VWDELOity, as well as assessing alternative actions the Bank of England could have unGHUWDNHQ SULRU WR WKH ೉QDQFLDO PHOWGRZQ King began by describLQJ WKH LQFHSWLRQ RI LQೊDtion targeting. The idea was formulated after BritDLQ‍ݰ‏V IRUFHG H[LW RI WKH (XURSHDQ ([FKDQJH 5DWH Mechanism twenty years ago, when “a new framework for monetary policy ZDV QHHGHG ‍ ݴ‏+H H[SODLQHG that “the framework beFDPH NQRZQ DV ೊH[LEOH LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHWLQJ ‍ ݴ‏ZKHUHE\ they would set “a numeriFDO WDUJHW IRU LQೊDWLRQ LQ the medium term,â€? whilst adjusting for economic shocks in the short run. King spoke positively RI WKH HŕłˆHFWV RI LQೊDWLRQ targeting, citing the lower mean and variance of inೊDWLRQ VLQFH WKH FKDQJH in both Britain and other FRXQWULHV V %ULWDLQ VDZ FRQVXPHU SULFH LQೊDWLRQ UDWHV RI RYHU DQG DOPRVW LQ WKH V which he compared to the RI WKH ODVW WZHQW\ \HDUV XQGHU WKH LQೊDWLRQ targeting system. However, the Governor UHೊHFWHG RQ ZKHWKHU ‍ݳ‏WRR high a priceâ€? was paid for WKH ORZ LQೊDWLRQ :KLOVW WKH ೉UVW ೉IWHHQ \HDUV RI LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHWLQJ DSSHDUHG successful, he felt “serious questions about the adHTXDF\ RI LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHWingâ€? have been raised, in OLJKW RI WKH ODVW ೉YH \HDUV

which were characterised by economic troubles. He noted that “low and stable LQೊDWLRQ GLGQ‍ݰ‏W SUHYHQW D banking crisis.â€? Furthermore, he argued that there LV D WUDGH Rŕłˆ EHWZHHQ SULFH DQG ೉QDQFLDO VWDELOLW\ Elaborating on this WUDGH Rŕłˆ .LQJ GHVFULEHG a “misperceptions modelâ€?. Under this model, economic agents can misperceive their future income, causing them to make misguided and unsustainable VSHQGLQJ GHFLVLRQV $Q H[ample given was of houseKROGV H[WUDSRODWLQJ LQFRPH increases from house price increases in the years priRU WR 7KH UDWLR RI house prices to incomes URVH ([SHFWLQJ DQ LQcrease in income to follow suit, households increased spending and borrowing to unsustainable levels. However, it turned out that the

house price to income ratio had risen to a new equilibrium, caused by a fall in the long-term interest rates. According to King, when a misperception is unmasked, rapid adjustments ensue, including a rapid change in asset values, “a synchronised de-leveraging of balance sheets,â€? as well as “a large downward correction to spending and output, and defaultsâ€?. King argued that if misperceptions can be identi೉HG E\ SROLF\PDNHUV DQG corrected with monetary policy, “then there is inGHHG D WUDGH Rŕłˆ EHWZHHQ KLWWLQJ WKH LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHW and reducing the chance of D ೉QDQFLDO FULVLV GRZQ WKH road.â€? However, he conceded it to be “highly uncertain empiricallyâ€? whether policymakers can in fact identify, or correct, these misperceptions.

In addition, the Govenor spoke on the problem of too much stability. He suggested it could breed RYHU FRQ೉GHQFH DQG FRPplacency, which could subsequently lead to collapse. )RU H[DPSOH RYHU FRQ೉dent businesses could take on too much risk. “FreTXHQW H[SRVXUH WR VKRFNV and surprises may improve the way people learn about and manage risk,â€? he said. Interest rates could have been risen prior to the crisis, King commented. This could have kept asset prices down, which in turn PD\ ‍ݳ‏KDYH NHSW H[SHFWDtions of future incomes on a more modest path that did not later require a correction.â€? He went on to say that higher rates and “the resulting recession and unemployment might KDYH UHPLQGHG ೉UPV KRXVHKROGV DQG ೉QDQFLDO

markets that the economy ZDV QRW JXDUDQWHHG WR H[perience continual steady growth.â€? However, the Governor also argued that, due to the global nature of the crisis, the UK’s powers were limited. With higher interest rates, he said “we would VWLOO KDYH VXŕłˆHUHG JUHDWO\ from the very sudden and sharp fall in world output DQG WUDGH LQ ‍ ݴ‏+H also claimed Britain may still have had a banking crisis and credit crunch, as “lending to the UK real economy contributed only a small share to the rise in the leverage of the largest 8. EDQNV ZKLFK UHೊHFWHG PXFK PRUH DQ H[SDQVLRQ RI OHQGLQJ ZLWKLQ WKH ೉QDQcial sector and overseas.â€? Furthermore, “three quarters of UK banks’ losses to date have been on foreign assets.â€? Raising interest rates is further complicated by the FKDQJHV LQ WKH H[FKDQJH rate it would cause. King said the possibility of the H[FKDQJH UDWH UDLVLQJ RU falling were both discussed on the MPC. King’s overall prognosis of higher interest rates was negative. “At best, persistently higher interest rates would have implied an initial slowing of growth, a deliberate attempt to weaken sterling, and an under-shooting of WKH LQೊDWLRQ WDUJHW IRU D period,â€? he said, “at worst, ZH ZRXOG KDYH VHHQ WKH H[change rate appreciate further, and the decade would have been characterised by rising unemployment DQG YHU\ ORZ LQೊDWLRQ ‍ݴ‏ Towards the end of the lecture, the governor admitted that his “long-held ambitionâ€? had been “of being boring.â€?

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Quizzical beavers headed to the Tuns on Thursday night for Raising and Giving (RAG) Society’s “Give It A Go� session, organised to give the London School of Economics students a taste of RAG. Poor weather and heavy rain could not dampen the spirits of the seven teams that battled it out for pub quiz glory, with

Jack Tindale, Community and Welfare Officer acting as quizmaster. Team names were particularly controversial, ranging from “Thatcher’s Childrenâ€? to the “Real 6RQV 2I *DGGD೉‍ ݴ‏$OH[ Peters-Day, General Secretary of the Student’s Union led the team of Thatcher’s Children, which featured a coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative supporters. %DU VWDŕłˆ IURP WKH

Three Tuns also decided to join in the fun, forming a team to compete whilst serving drinks, named “Ben’s Frothy Fishbowlsâ€?. 7LQGDOH FKDLUHG ೉YH rounds, ranging from LSE trivia to the “Jack Tindale Specialâ€?, a round in which teams fared notably poorer, with obscure questions such as “Complete the sequence, four, HLJKW ೉IWHHQ VL[WHHQ ‍ ݴ‏ Teams were similarly stumped by his question

of “what is the name of the dot above a lowercase ‘i’ or ‘j’?�, with several answering “dot�. Tindale said: “It is always fantastic to see people enjoying my devilishly difficult quizzes whilst raising money for charity.� A winner was declared after some controversy: “Quiztopher Columbus� won the quiz after the initial winners, “Thatcher’s Children� had points deGXFWHG IRU KDYLQJ H[WUD

members in their team. “Quiztopherâ€? won not only pub quiz glory, but also a bottle of wine charitably donated by the Three Tuns. Overall, ÂŁ46 was made for charity, after each participants paid two pounds to enter. All proceeds from events will be split between the three charities selected by LSE students: The Haven, Richard’s House Hospice and Find Your Feet.

News

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

7

History of the LSE Students’ Union %XW ZLOO WKH\ OHW \RX ೉ QLVK it?â€? This narrative continA new exhibition on the ues right up to front covhistory of the Students’ ers from the nineties which petitions and Union opened last week reported in the Atrium of the Old protests against the introBuilding. Commissioned duction of top-up fees for by the SU’s returning Gen- higher education. There is eral Secretary, Alex Peters- also a reproduction of a Day, the concise exhibi- letter sent to Arthur Scartion covers all of the main gill over the Students’ Unpoints in the history of the LRQ‍ݰ‏V ೉ QDQFLDO VXSSRUW LQ School’s campus life. Op- the form of proceeds from posite the Student Servic- games machines in the es counter, passers-by can Three Tuns) of the Nationsee historical Beaver front al Union of Mineworkers’ pages along with photos Nottinghamshire Striking of Houghton Street during Fund, signed by the Gensome of its most tempestu- eral Secretary of the time ous moments. There is also - a position renamed from a collection of Welcome President in a show of supHandbooks that have been port for the trade union DQ LPSRUWDQW ೉ UVW JUDVS movement of the 1970s. The most space is deof the School for freshers voted to the 1987 occupaacross the years. The exhibition is broad- tion of Connaught House ly thematic rather than in opposition to the South chronological, focusing African Apartheid and the mostly on both the nu- school’s direct and indiances of campus life and rect links with the then often controversial politi- government of the state. cal campaigns based at the Eventually successful, the school between the 1960s School’s management diand 1980s. The oldest front vested itself of ÂŁ1.7 million page, dating from 1969 RI LQYHVWPHQWV DOPRVW e and referring to the stu- million in present value, dent protests of the time, is DFFRXQWLQJ IRU LQೊ DWLRQ entitled, “Happy New Year! only) in BP, Shell and Glaxo

Connor Russell

amongst other companies associated with the National Party of South Africa at the time, leading to the clear comparisons ZLWK /6(‍ݰ‏V *DGGD೉ IXQGLQJ scandals of late. There was however plenty of evidence of change in the aesthetics and purpose of the Students’ Unions publications, going from the relatively primitive welcome packs given to new students in

the 1970s right through to what we have today. There were also more community focused front pages of the Beaver on show, including one jovial cover on the personalities of the Sabbatical Officers and their political inclinations and tastes in KXPRXU UHೊ HFWLQJ WKH GH velopment of this newspaper. The exhibition seems to have received a warm welcome from students given

its focus on the community of past and present, with Daniel Frost, a second year undergraduate from the Government department commenting, “I strongly believe that ‘Arm the Workers and Students’ should once again be the slogan of LSE Students’ Union. The Activities and Development budget would be far better spent on the acquisition of $. V DQG WKH ZRUNHU‍ݰ‏V nuclear bomb.â€?

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| The Beaver

&DVWHOOV RQ WKH ૹ QDQFLDO FULVLV 6RXWK $IULFD‍ڑ‏V Hence, a “network societyâ€? was proposed by Manuel Castells, Professor Castells as an alternative of Sociology, and Director to socialist movements to of the Internet Interdiscipli- provide a revolution in the nary Institute at the Open aftermath of the crisis. In University of Catalonia fact, people not willing to (UOC) in Barcelona spoke wait for a system change at the London School of are already participating Economics on Monday in a in the “4th sectorâ€? of the lecture entitled “The crisis economy. In support of this argualways rings twiceâ€?. In his lecture, Castells PHQW FHUWDLQ ன JXUHV ZHUH UHWUDFHG WKH ன QDQFLDO FULVLV presented from the socithat unfolded since 2008 in ologist’s latest research in the United States and Eu- Catalonya. For instance, 97 rope before talking about per cent of the local popuan emerging social trend lation have stated to have which could bring it to an engaged in non-commercial end, namely the ‘individu- activities, a third of them ation’ of people and the having lent money without emergence of a “network interest to non-family members during the crisis, and societyâ€?. According to the Holberg more than 50 per cent willPrize winner, distrust of the ing to work less for a lower JRYHUQPHQW DQG ன QDQFLDO salary. Remarkably, a quick institutions, summed with survey initiated by Paul Marecognition of love as op- son in the Peacock Theatre posed to material goods as showed that around 20 per the main source of happi- cent of the audience beness, has lead to the pub- lieved they have engaged lic “disengaging with the in activities alternative to system.â€? Hence, more and capitalism. In support of the Intermore individuals are startnet as a means of develop-

BEAVER ARCHIVE

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ing to withdraw, rather than conform to existing institutions, choosing to engage with new, non-capitalistic activities instead. Continued from page 1, col 1.

ing such networks, Castells claimed that the term “real virtuality� is more appropriate than “virtual reality� since virtuality is as real as

anything else we do in our everyday lives, and thus we should accept it as a part of our reality. He also suggested that people who are more sociable on the web tend to be more sociable in reality. During the debate session with the audience, several attendees expressed doubt as to whether such a network could possibly DFKLHYH VLJQLன FDQW FKDQJ es in the world. The example of Che Guevara was brought in by Paul Mason WR LOOXVWUDWH WKH HŕŽ‰ HFWLYH ness of a vertical hierarchy as opposed to a network society. This was nevertheless rejected by Castell, who believed that leaders are not trusted anymore, and therefore changes will be made not through organised political structures, but through networks. The comment by a LSE sociology student that the downfall of capitalism is not homogenous in the world, as shown by the rise of capitalistic activities in China, brought a new breadth to the conversation, reminding the audience of the complexity of such issues on the global scale. At the end of the conversation, Castells chose not to make any predictions regarding the future of the crisis, even though many of his past predictions have came true in the present. Finally, Paul Mason’s comment that it was not the network society that stopped Fascism in the countries where it was stopped, suggested a supposed feebleness of network societies in face of the real danger, and gave a WKRXJKW SURYRNLQJ ன QLVK WR the conversation. Continued from page 1, col 5.

able to provide a supportDrawing near the end the future. He stated that ing statement for capped of his talk, McCain bought whilst President Reagan courses, said that “having discussion up to the upcom- may not have been the most to worry that technological ing elections. Recalling his intelligent, he had good in- and administration probown experiences in 2008, VWLQFWV DERXW ZRUOG DŕŽ‰ DLUV lems may prevent me from McCain staunchly defended (echoing his famous “tear getting into the courses and Sarah Palin as his choice for down this wallâ€? speech) and seminars that I came to LSE running mate. He felt the that this would have to be to take is unacceptable.â€? Republican Party needed a vital quality in the next The Beaver has also been contacted by other students energising which Palin had President. delivered, but regretted Pierre Gosset, a third experiencing similar probthat Palin was “so viciously year BSc Management stu- lems. It has been reported attacked by the liberal me- dent, had been looking for- that on the LSEforyou site dia.â€? One audience member ward to the lecture due to some classes were initially not allocated leading to insisted that Palin was “de- McCain’s array of life ex- confusion. monstrably unsuitableâ€? as periences. “The fact that Similarly, other students a potential Vice President McCain has been in the have experienced probto which McCain retorted Vietnam war and been in- lems where classes have that she was “demonstra- volved in the 2008 elections been changed following the EO\ TXDOLன HG PRUH VR WKDQ means that he’ll have a lot original publication of their Obama.â€? RI LQVLJKW WR RŕŽ‰ HU RQ ZRUOG timetable. The Department of GovQuoting Yogi Berra, DŕŽ‰ DLUV DQG WKH XSFRPLQJ “never try to predict espe- elections.â€? Indeed, drawing ernment and the IT Departcially when talking about upon his past defeat, Mc- ment are encouraging stuthe future,â€? McCain had Cain closed his speech with dents to communicate with them directly regarding any shown reluctance to make advice to Mitt Romney: “Do continuing problems with forecasts about America in not underestimate Obama.â€? LSEforyou and Moodle.

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Nearly twenty years after the African National Congress (ANC) ousted the pro-segregation National Party in South Africa, the nation is still trying to forge its post-Apartheid identity. This was the subject of the speech delivered Tuesday by Dr Barney Pityana, lawyer, theologian and founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre. The speech was part of a series of Steve Biko Memorial Lectures aimed at promoting discussion on the important issues of today through the lens of the Black Consciousness Movement. Titled “Black Consciousness, Black Theology, Student Activism and the Shaping of the New South Africa,� Pityana’s address focused on the roots of the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement, and their implications for South Africa today. “Being a Kings man and appearing on an LSE platform is an act of betrayal,� joked Pityana, a former KCL student, before diving into the topic. The event was held in honour of Steve Biko, a leader of the early freedom movement who galvanised South Africans to begin protesting the atrocities of the time. Since his murder by the police at the age of 31 in 1977, Biko has remained a symbol of political activism in the region. “Again and again our people lost, but they never surrendered their rights to self-determination,� Pityana said, lauding the revolutionary spirit of Biko and his contemporaries. Despite the forces of oppression working against them, the disenfranchised South Africans, particularly the youth, as a whole recognised the importance of education. “We instinctively understood that a one-dimensional view of the world must be challenged,� Pityana remarked. Hegelian philosophy, the American Civil Rights Movement, and European student protests of the 1960s all gave

“credence to the spirit of our resistance,â€? he added. This “liberatoryâ€? spirit, however, seems to have waned in recent years. Criticising the current state of South African politics, Pityana noted that today’s youth have been “silenced and marginalisedâ€? by the majority ANC party. These echoes of darker times in South African history, Pityana argued, have made it all the more necessary for students to get involved in their communities. Rather than concern themselves with “instant richesâ€? and the “toxic atmosphere that undermines their voices,â€? the youth PXVW FRQVWDQWO\ ன JKW WR change status quo, he said. “In South Africa at the present, it is fair to suggest that we are in danger of growing a generation of young people without hope of a better future,â€? he warned. At the close of the lecture, Nkosinathi Biko, son of Steve Biko and CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation, presented Dr. Pityana with a portrait, as is customary of the Memorial Lectures. Regarding the speech, Masana Mulaudzi, University of Cape Town alumnus and LSE MSc Political Economy of Late Development student said: “I found it interesting that there was a theoretical background to black consciousness, which is something that has really been missing from the literature.â€? Mulaudzi also wondered what policies could be put in place to inspire not only black consciousness, but also political activism. “There is a focus on development of South Africa, on the material,â€? she said, “lawmakers, however, are not actually paying attention to the ideological and moral compass that guides society.â€? Meanwhile, Sachiyo Yasunaga, an MSc Human Rights student, was particularly struck by the notion that “students in South Africa should have aspirations to seek a better society because students in [Pityana’s] time and stuGHQWV QRZ EHORQJ WR GLŕŽ‰ HU ent present and futures.â€?

Comment

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

9

Comment

The case for ending LSE100

DUKE OF YORK VISITING THE LSE IN 2010 | BEAVER ARCHIVES

Why the compulsory course is unpopular with students and useless in the real world

is LSE100. But instead, the course Tsars chose to bury their heads in the sand and “Rerum cognoscere causas,â€? plough full speed ahead for the polytechnic goers with making the course across the Aldwych who compulsory. You might ask don’t read Latin, simply where our Students’ Union means “to understand the was in the midst of all this. causes of things.â€? If our Well, they were too busy university is supposed to “saving educationâ€? and adhere to LSE’s motto “freezing the feesâ€? and by and the raison d’etre of that I mean taking part in our great institution, one demonstrations where proquestion should be at the testers set police vehicles forefront of every LSE stu- RQ ன UH DQG WKUHZ ன UH H[WLQ dent’s mind: what was the JXLVKHUV RŕŽ‰ RI URRIV LQ FHQ cause of the monstrosity tral London, to care about which is LSE100? How can the very students they were a course with the expressed supposed to be representpurpose of teaching the ing. tools of analysis and enOf course, the few quiry which are so essential LSE100 students who did to the study of the social complete the pilot course sciences be so utterly de- were treated as if they were void of anything that could wounded war heroes havbe even loosely interpreted as ing just came home victocritical reasoning? rious from a major battle. Clearly, the LSE100 course The course organisers inorganisers haven’t yet had a vited them to a glamorous chance to visit the LSE Memes awards ceremony, thankpage, a student web forum or ing them for completing HYHQ WKH VLJQLன FDQW DPRXQWV the course and not making of LSE100-related graffiti LSE100 look like the comon the library desks. Oth- plete disaster that it is. erwise, the course Tsars Every year, the LSE100 would surely have realised lecturers begin with an exjust how deeply unpopular tensive introduction about LSE100 is. how groundbreaking and Perhaps the course de- revolutionary it is; nobody signers should have taken was allowed to forget this the 40 per cent dropout throughout the course. Of rate of the pilot course as a course, being very grateful little hint and scrap, instead to the esteemed commissar of spread, the disaster that Jason Wong

that must have fashioned LW WKH ன UVW SODFH LV FRPSXO VRU\ %XW RQFH ZH ன QDOO\ peeled our way through these many layers of selfcongratulatory announcements and got to the real “intellectual meatâ€? in store we discovered it was nonexistant. LSE100 is no more than a façade of critical thinking; it is the height of intellectual pretence. The course organisers can glamourise it as much as they want, but in reality the highly scriptHG DQG ZRUNVKHHW ன OOHG classes make LSE100 worth no more than an average mickey-mouse A-Level General Studies course on steroids. Far from encouraging critical thought, debate and analysis, the course is more concerned about who said what and when. Apparently “great minds discuss LGHDV ‍\ ڕ‏HW LQVWHDG ZH ன QG ourselves encouraged to obsess over events and people. A dogmatic style of teaching also prevails. At WLPHV \RX ன QG \RXU WHDFKHU preaching instead of teaching, while treating opinions as if they are fact is also evident. The entire module on climate change, for example, does not include a single mention of the growing scepticism among main-

stream scientists on the man-made causes of global warming. During a class discussion, I gently raised the point that climate change science is not nearly as settled as some make it out to be and suggested that we should remain open minded on the issue, instead of solely trusting government and scientists, many of whom have vested interests. Instead of encouraging a debate on the issue, the class teacher gave me a strange look and simply dismissed it. Let us be clear, LSE100 is about teaching us what to think and not how to think. Quite simply, LSE100 is where critical thinking goes to die. You can skip the lectures, but miss two LSE100 classes in a row and you will receive an email kindly pointing out that you will get kicked out of LSE should you not dignify the lunacy that is LSE100 with your presence in the next week. But surely, a program that has zero academic value, is deeply unpopular with students and is entirely useless in the real world (LSE100 isn’t going to get you a job at that big investment bank) has no place at one of Britain’s top universities. It should be an urgent goal for the LSE Students’

Union to make sure that it claims no more victims. First year students should not have to go through this monstrosity and second year students should have a choice to drop the course immediately should they wish to. Final year students should receive a letter of apology from the course organisers for the unthinkable ordeal they have had to go through and be allowed to have their LSE100 course result removed from their transcripts should they wish so. I have no doubt that good intentions brought about the creation of this course but it is time for the course organisers to admit that it has been a failure of epic proportions. Never EHIRUH LQ WKH ன HOG RI DFD demia have so many hours of classes, lectures and reading been imposed on so many to produce so few tangible results. Perhaps in between attending protests against capitalism and four star hotel stays at NUS “conferencesâ€? paid for by LSE students, our General Secretary Alex Peters-Day and her friends at the Students’ Union can spare a few moments of their precious time to raise this matter of great importance to the School.

10

Comment

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Free speech and transphobia

Exposure to stupidity and ignorance makes us smarter Marshall Palmer

Another year has hardly begun at the LSE and already our Students’ Union is involved with yet another “scandalâ€? with the fusty nut with no kernel that is Jason Wong (I knew that Shakespearean insults mug would come in handy!) The issue this time regarded the establishment of gender neutral toilets at LSE, a proposal supported by the new LGBT officer, John Peart. The London Student covered the issue, allowing Peart to write an argument in favour of the toilets and Jason Wong to write a rebuttal. Wong’s rebuttal (accessible on the London Student’s website) was to many, unsurprisingly, incredibly distasteful, igQRUDQW DQG UXGH RŕŽ‰HQGing many members of the

LGBT community as well many brilliant, rational poor argument with a brilas their friends and allies. responses written, all de- liant one, allowing me to Upon seeing the article in constructing and criticis- freely make up my mind. the published newspaper ing his article argument- Any interference with that on campus, LSESU Gen- by-argument. This gave a process not only imposes eral Secretary Alex Peters- fantastic opportunity for the publisher’s own opinDay and Peart pulled all people generally ignorant ion but also upon the recopies in order to insert of transgender politics (as, cipients’ right to hear and their own tailored rebut- rightly or wrongly, I think make up their own mind. tal into the paper. It is not most people are, includ- No one, obviously, is going censorship to be right exactly, but about everyit’s both close ‍ڔ‏, IRU RQH FDQ FRQŕ­˝GHQWO\ VD\ , DP IDU PRUH thing, which to the line and is why havaware about the issues facing transgender not exactly ing an arbifair. It leaves ter on what students... than I could have said before.â€? me questionis and is not ing what they permissible would do had something ing myself) to be exposed speech is such an untenaeven more repulsive been to the issues. I, for one, ble position. In conclusion, published. FDQ FRQனGHQWO\ VD\ , DP the old adage is proved :KLOH IHHOLQJ RŕŽ‰HQGHG far more aware about the true: there is always more is understandable, trans- issues facing transgender truth to be found in the resexuals and their allies students, including the buttal of an argument than should be grateful that necessity of having gen- if the argument hadn’t ocWong was allowed to pub- der neutral toilets, than I FXUUHG LQ WKH னUVW SODFH lish this piece. Wong’s could have said before. 7R EULHŕŽ‹\ FRQQHFW WKLV insensitivity sparked a After all, the publica- argument with the recent massive response on Twit- tion of the article facili- controversy surrounding ter and Facebook with tated the juxtaposition of a the “Innocence of Mus-

lims,â€? I ask you to consider whether, instead of passing blasphemy laws, many new Muslim governments ZRXOG EH EHWWHU RŕŽ‰ E\ DOlowing their greatest scholars to rebut and point out all the issues wrong with WKH னOP &RQVHTXHQWO\ XQderstanding of one of the world’s most popular religions would increase and I think such improved understanding can be linked with the impact of the initial controversy and the opportunity of rebuttal this triggers. Rebuttal does not have to be hateful, as it was in the aftermath of Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.â€? Rational and nonviolent arguments given in response to the initial controversy can undoubtedly lead to greater awareness. Marshall Palmer is the President of the LSE Liberal Society. Their AGM is Thursday in the NAB at 18.00

The death penalty as a release Is lifelong imprisonment a better alternative to capital punishment? had murdered another individual? Wouldn’t taking his life simply be equal to Sentencing someone to the harm he had caused? death, no matter how hor- Unfortunately my mind alUHQGRXV WKHLU FULPH DW னUVW ways refused to “do the seemed uncivilised and un- maths.â€? If I were to choose, just to me. Perhaps it was I would rather go for the just my liberal views or my “life in prisonâ€? option than opposition to the “eye-for- have someone’s life taken an-eyeâ€? concept. Whatever away, for the simple reason it was, I always wanted to that we shouldn’t act like believe in the ability of in- beasts, even towards the dividuals to change, evolve most malicious amongst us and progress - even behind in society. bars under a life sentence. “The Green Mileâ€? and In total, 139 countries other similar movies seem around the world still of- to take a similar stance. னFLDOO\ XVH WKH GHDWK SHQ- Although all prisoners prealty. Naturally, people in fa- sented in the movie are vour of this were portrayed on death row, they are in my mind as wicked and portrayed as human beheartless. Especially dur- ings who may have made ing ancient times when mistakes but have now rehanging was considered a formed either totally or in public event accompanied part. The inner kind-heartby cheers and an overall edness of some of them is climate of euphoria, those put on the spotlight, letpeople seemed vicious at ting the audience assume the very least. In the past, that the prisoners were a witness’s testimony that just in the wrong place at someone was, for instance, the wrong time or at least a witch, was enough to have that they are now reformed WKH DFFXVHG‍ڑ‏V KHDG FXW RŕŽ‰ characters. a disproportionate punishI feel that the right to ment to the crime. one’s life is fundamental But what if the criminal and no state or law should Martha Petrocheilos

take this away, no matter how much a person seems to deserve it. Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting a “forgive and forgetâ€? policy by any means. On the contrary, I believe punishment is warranted when crimes have been committed. If citizens are allowed to disrespect the law without any consequences, then chaos and corruption will emerge. According to Dante, our roots do not allow us to be brutal; we are JHQHWLFDOO\ PDGH WR ŕŽ‹RXULVK in kindness and knowledge. But what would Dante say if he was faced with a child rapist or a murderer? I seriously doubt he would hold the same view. I believe that people are constantly tempted to commit crimes. I recently read some interviews with prisoners which addressed the feelings they experienced at the point of committing their crimes. Some described an unexplained sense of empowerment, others attributed their misdeeds to childhood traumas and many simply “lost control of their actions.â€?

Temporary madness? Well, maybe. For those criminals who are not accused of premeditated crimes, isn’t there some hope? Why shouldn’t we believe that some people did indeed act out of character at the time of the crime and give them some chance to reform? I like to consider myself cynical and a strong supporter of realism. However, I also have faith in people. Humans are not like broken pins; when one is dysfunctional we don’t just throw them away. In my opinion, the death penalty is equal to getting rid of the “unwanted,â€? and giving up on improving, inŕŽ‹XHQFLQJ DŕŽ‰HFWLQJ 8QGHsirable as people who have committed heinous crimes are, surely we have no right to end their lives. Imprisonment is often criticised for being too comfortable for criminals but, for those convicted of murder, at least they are forced to consider the consequences of their crimes over and over again. Maybe it’s not often taken into account, but the death penal-

ty may be the easy way out for criminals too. Infamous killers such as Ian Brady have attempted to secure the right to commit suicide as a way to escape their own miserable lives and get away from their meaningless existences. If this is true, then why do them the favour? Surely the real price to pay would be living with the guilt of their crime. On that note, the death penalty appears to be a release for both society and the criminals themselves. By using the death penalty, the society simply does not have to deal with the wickedest criminals - it kills them. It walks away from any attempt to reform them, often using the excuse of saving government funds. Let’s not forget the fact that prisoners are allowed to choose the way they’ll die - just when I was wondering where the “human� and “civilised� face of society had gone, a society which proclaims to know it all but persistently gets it wrong.

Comment

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

11

Nationalise the transport system

,1*<7+(:,1*<

Should the British rail network change its course?

Jimmy Chen

The controversy over the awarding of the West Coast Main Line franchise to FirstGroup has been brewing for months but ஊ QDOO\ EOHZ RYHU ZLWK WKH government’s recent decision to take away First*URXS‫ڑ‬V FRQWUDFW LQ OLJKW RI PLVWDNHV PDGH E\ FLYLO servants during the bidGLQJ SURFHVV $OWKRXJK the Department for TransSRUW KDV DGPLWWHG LWV IDLO XUH RQ WKLV LVVXH LW ZRXOG FRVW WKH WD[SD\HU e PLO OLRQ LQ FRPSHQVDWLQJ WKH IRXU ஊ UPV IRU WKH H[SHQV es of their bids. For a govHUQPHQW ZKLFK WDONV HQG OHVVO\ DERXW HOLPLQDWLQJ XQQHFHVVDU\ DQG ZDVWHIXO government expenditure WR UHGXFH WKH GHஊ FLW WKLV ZLOO EH D KXJH HPEDUUDVV ment. 3HUKDSV LW ZRXOG EH HDV\ WR OD\ D FKDUJH RI incompetence on the curUHQW FRDOLWLRQ JRYHUQPHQW EXW LQ WKLV SDUWLFXODU FDVH LW PD\ EH XVHIXO WR TXHV tion whether a franchise V\VWHP LV WKH PRVW Hஉ HF tive method of running the %ULWLVK UDLO QHWZRUN DIWHU DOO 7KHRUHWLFDOO\ WKHUH GR seem to be many advantages to the franchise system. Firms compete for contracts to run services on the state-owned track and the government seeks the EHVW GHDO IURP WKH YDULRXV bids, making its decision based on a number of factors such as the revenue generated, investment in services, and the feasiELOLW\ RI WKH SURMHFWLRQV PDGH E\ WKH UDLO ஊ UPV ,Q this way, the government HDUQV UHYHQXH IURP VHOO LQJ Rஉ WKH IUDQFKLVH WKH

ஊ UPV VKRXOG DFFRUGLQJ WR WKHLU SURMHFWLRQV PDNH D SURஊ W DQG SDVVHQJHUV FDQ expect to take advantage RI LPSURYHG IDFLOLWLHV As in so many cases, what sounds good in theRU\ IDLOV WR ZRUN DV Hஉ HF WLYHO\ LQ SUDFWLFH ,Q RUGHU to win contracts, many franchise providers tend WR RYHU ELG UHVXOWLQJ LQ higher fares for passenJHUV ORZHU LQYHVWPHQW LQ VHUYLFHV DQG XVXDOO\ D government subsidy for WKH UDLO ஊ UPV ZKLFK FDQQRW meet the costs of running a franchise. This is not WR VD\ WKDW DOO IUDQFKLVHV ZRUN EDGO\ RQ WKH ZKROH it seems that Virgin’s operation of the West Coast Main Line has been sucFHVVIXO 1HYHUWKHOHVV IRU those areas of the country where a poor service LV SURYLGHG LW LV XVXDOO\ PDQ\ \HDUV XQWLO D IUDQ chise can be changed. However, if contracts ZHUH VKRUWHU WKHUH LV OHVV RI DQ LQFHQWLYH IRU ஊ UPV to invest and improve serYLFHV UHVXOWLQJ LQ IXUWKHU deterioration of the infraVWUXFWXUH )URP SHUVRQDO experience on the Great Eastern franchise based LQ (DVW $QJOLD QR PDWWHU )LUVW *UHDW (DVWHUQ RU 1D WLRQDO ([SUHVV (DVW $QJOLD RU *UHDWHU $QJOLD VHUYLF es are mediocre and prices very high. ,W WKHUHIRUH VHHPV WKDW IRU D ODUJH QXPEHU RI %ULW ish passengers, the service provided does not warrant the expense of WUDLQ WUDYHO 5HVHDUFK E\ the Campaign for Better Transport has shown that UK train fares are among the most expensive in the ZRUOG ZLWK D VHDVRQ WLFNHW for a suburban commute to

London being as much as ten times the cost of those LQ (XURSH 7KLV LV SDUWO\ due to the government’s decision to shift the exSHQVH RI UXQQLQJ WKH UDLO ways away from taxpayers WR IDUH SD\HUV $V D UHVXOW IHZHU SHRSOH DUH LQFHQWLY LVHG WR WUDYHO E\ WUDLQ SUH ferring the option of car WUDYHO WKXV FRQWULEXWLQJ to increased emissions of greenhouse gases. ,Q FRQWUDVW LW LV PRUH FRVW Hஉ HFWLYH WR WUDYHO ORQJ GLVWDQFH E\ UDLO WKDQ by car in many European FRXQWULHV 'HVSLWH UDLO cards and various student discounts, on top of university fees and accomPRGDWLRQ WUDLQ WUDYHO UHS resents an extra expense. +LJK UDLO FRVWV DOVR SUH YHQW JHRJUDSKLFDO PRELO LW\ RI ODERXU SUHVHQWLQJ D GLIILFXOW FKRLFH IRU WKRVH working in London – either to face the costs of commuting to London, or to incur the heavy costs RI OLYLQJ LQ /RQGRQ 7KLV LV D GLIILFXOW FKRLFH WR PDNH when times are good, but in times of economic difILFXOW\ LW LV HYHQ ZRUVH IRU WKRVH VHHNLQJ HPSOR\ ment. The franchise system DOVR PHDQV WKDW WKHUH DUH GLஉ HUHQW SULFLQJ VWUDWH JLHV QRW RQO\ EHWZHHQ GLI IHUHQW ஊ UPV EXW DOVR HDFK ஊ UP SULFH GLVFULPLQDWHV on time time of booking DV ZHOO DV RQ DJH DQG WLPH RI WUDYHO 7KLV FRPSOLFDWHV the system and means that passengers are conVLGHUHG FULPLQDOV IRU ZKDW are in most cases genuine PLVWDNHV ,W DOVR PHDQV that, in many cases, cusWRPHUV DUH QRW Rஉ HUHG WKH cheapest tickets to which WKH\ DUH HQWLWOHG ,Q OLJKW

RI WKHVH SUREOHPV ZLWK WKH franchise system, it is necHVVDU\ WR H[DPLQH DOWHUQD tive methods of operating %ULWDLQ‫ڑ‬V UDLO QHWZRUN %ULWLVK 5DLO ZDV SUL vatised in 1993, with the Conservative government DUJXLQJ WKDW WKLV ZRXOG UHVXOW LQ JUHDWHU QXPEHUV RI SDVVHQJHUV $OWKRXJK the number of passengers has increased since privatisation, a number of acFLGHQWV DQG GHUDLOPHQWV UHVXOWHG LQ WRXJKHU UHJX ODWLRQV DQG WKH GHPLVH RI 5DLOWUDFN DQG LWV UHSODFH PHQW E\ 1HWZRUN 5DLO HI IHFWLYHO\ D JRYHUQPHQW UXQ HQWHUSULVH :KLOH there is no denying that there were a number of isVXHV ZLWK WKH UDLO QHWZRUN prior to privatisation, such DV UHJXODU VWULNHV E\ UDLO unions, it is perhaps time WR H[DPLQH WKH SRVVLELOLW\ RI UH QDWLRQDOLVLQJ WKH UDLO network. $ QDWLRQDOLVHG WUDQVSRUW V\VWHP ZLOO JLYH WKH JRY HUQPHQW PRQRSRO\ SRZHU HQDEOLQJ LW WR WDNH DGYDQ WDJH RI HFRQRPLHV RI VFDOH DQG WR LQFXU ORZHU FRVWV LQ EX\LQJ PDWHULDOV 7KH JRYHUQPHQW ZRXOG WKHQ EH DEOH WR SDVV RQ ORZHU FRVWV WR SDVVHQJHUV 7KH PDMRU LW\ RI UDLO VHUYLFHV LQ ,WD O\ *HUPDQ\ )UDQFH DQG 6SDLQ DUH QDWLRQDOLVHG UHVXOWLQJ LQ SULFHV WKDW RQ DYHUDJH FRVW KDOI DV PXFK as they do in the UK. &ULWLFLVPV RI QDWLRQDOL VDWLRQ WHQG WR LQYROYH WKH FRVW RI LPSOHPHQWLQJ VWDWH FRQWURO +RZHYHU JLYHQ WKDW WKH UDLO WUDFNV DUH HI IHFWLYHO\ VWDWH FRQWUROOHG together with the costs inYROYHG LQ VXEVLGLVLQJ WKH IUDQFKLVHV QDWLRQDOLVDWLRQ PD\ EH D PRUH FRVW Hஉ HF tive method. Lack of in-

novation is a further critiFLVP RI QDWLRQDOLVDWLRQ DV D ODFN RI FRPSHWLWLRQ UH VXOWV LQ FRPSODFHQF\ DQG acts as a disincentive to H[SHULPHQW $OWKRXJK WKLV is true to an extent, one must be reminded that innovation in a franchise system is mediocre at best. )XUWKHUPRUH WKH PDMRULW\ of intercity services in the -DSDQHVH UDLO QHWZRUN UH garded as one of the most hi-tech, efficient and inQRYDWLYH LQ WKH ZRUOG DUH VWDWH FRQWUROOHG ,Q WKH PLGVW RI WKH HFR nomic crisis with a ConVHUYDWLYH OHG FRDOLWLRQ JRYHUQPHQW LW LV XQOLNHO\ WKDW ZH ZLOO VHH WKH UH QD WLRQDOLVDWLRQ RI UDLO LQ WKH near future. However, if one subscribes to Keynes’s HFRQRPLF SKLORVRSK\ LW LV QHFHVVDU\ WR EULQJ WKH UDLO V\VWHP XQGHU VWDWH FRQWURO RU DW OHDVW UHGXFH WUDLQ fares during periods of HFRQRPLF GLIILFXOW\ ZLWK D YLHZ WR VWLPXODWLQJ WKH HFRQRP\ E\ FUHDWLQJ MREV DQG JLYLQJ WKH XQHPSOR\HG PRUH RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR ஊ QG work. During an economLF FULVLV LW LV HVVHQWLDO WR LPSURYH JHRJUDSKLFDO PR ELOLW\ RI ODERXU LQ RUGHU WR increase opportunities to ஊ QG HPSOR\PHQW Since the Thatcher government, state ownership DQG QDWLRQDOLVDWLRQ DS pears to be a thing of the past, with even Labour SROLWLFLDQV EHLQJ VFHSWL FDO RI VWDWH RZQHUVKLS ,I anyone has watched Yes 0LQLVWHU LW LV FOHDU WKDW creating an integrated naWLRQDO WUDQVSRUW QHWZRUN comes with its own set of GLIILFXOWLHV %XW JLYHQ WKH operation of the current IUDQFKLVH V\VWHP VXUHO\ WKLQJV FDQ RQO\ JHW EHWWHU"

12

Comment

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Love is love: equal marriage for same-sex couples /6(68‫ڑ‬V /*%7 2୿FHU ODXQFKHV WKH ‫ڔ‬/6( 6WXGHQWV IRU (TXDOLW\‫ ڕ‬FDPSDLJQ

John Peart

LSE has a proud history of ஊJKWLQJ IRU XQGHU UHSUH VHQWHG FRPPXQLWLHV 7KH 8. DUP RI WKH *D\ /LEHUD WLRQ )URQW ZDV IRXQGHG RQ RXU FDPSXV DQG WKH 6XI IUDJHWWHV EDVHG WKHPVHOYHV RQ WKH VLWH RI WKH 7RZHUV 7KHVH UHYROXWLRQDU\ JURXSV IRXJKW IRU OLEHUDWLRQ RI WKHLU FRPPXQLWLHV DQG VWRRG XS DJDLQVW WKH SUHMX GLFH LQKHUHQW LQ RXU SROLWL FDO DQG OHJDO V\VWHPV DQG LQ RXU HYHU\GD\ OLYHV ,W LV ULJKW WKDW ZH GR RXU SUHGHFHVVRUV MXVWLFH DQG WDNH RQ WRGD\‫ڑ‬V ELJ LVVXHV )RU /*%7 SHRSOH OLYLQJ LQ WKH 8. WRGD\ WKHUH DUH IHZ LVVXHV PRUH LPSRUWDQW WKDQ WKHLU ULJKW WR KDYH WKHLU UH ODWLRQVKLSV UHFRJQLVHG DV HTXDO WR WKDW RI KHWHURVH[ XDO PDUULDJHV , DP SURXG WR EH ODXQFK LQJ WKH ‫ڔ‬/*%7 6WXGHQWV IRU (TXDOLW\‫ ڕ‬FDPSDLJQ ZLWK WKH /6( 6WXGHQWV‫ ڑ‬8QLRQ /*%7 $OOLDQFH WKH UHSUH VHQWDWLYH ERG\ RI OHVELDQ JD\ ELVH[XDO DQG WUDQVJHQ GHU VWXGHQWV DW /6( 7KH FDPSDLJQ DLPV WR FKDO

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Comment

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

13

Change focus of domestic violence campaigns Emphasis must be put on the perpetrators and their behaviour as well as empowering victims Harriet Danby-Platt

Last Thursday was the UN’s Day of the Girl. Last Tuesday, comedian Justin Lee Collins was tried and successfully convicted for domestic abuse and sentenced to community service. Last month, the government issued a redefinition of what constitutes domestic violence, which encompassed those between the ages of sixteen DQG VHYHQWHHQ IRU WKH னUVW time and emphasised that it is not a solely female, or heterosexual, experience. So far, so good. Google “domestic violenceâ€? and you get 155,000,000 reVXOWV 2I WKH னUVW UHsults, 31 are links to support channels for victims while the other nineteen DUH GHனQLWLRQV I am not about to argue that these movements should stop. Rather, I think they need to continue with more fervour. More people need to be successfully tried and convicted for domestic or sexual abuse RI DQ\ NLQG KRUULனFDOO\ D 2009 review by the Association of Chief Police OfனFHUV VKRZHG WKDW DERXW “a quarter of incidents recorded by the police result in arrest, while between DQG னYH SHU FHQW RI incidents result in conviction.â€? There needs to be more legislative acknowlHGJHPHQW RI WKH GLŕŽ‰HULQJ ways that domestic abuse can occur and care that legislation such as the Welfare Bill of 2012 does not inadvertently worsen the situation. Victims of domestic abuse need to have unprecedented access to support channels and be able to seek the advice they need.

My concern is that too often the responsibility for seeking to change a domestic relationship is placed upon the victim. It is the victim who is the primary target for many domestic abuse charities. One of the reasons for the poor conviction rate is because it is the victim who is the prosecutor; they are the ones who have to actively go through the justice system against their husband, wife, partner or loved one. It is the perpetrators who beat, rape, abuse, manipulate and torment, and these are the people who must be focused upon if the rate of domestic violence is ever expected to change. Giving victims the knowledge and support which helps them to escape such a relationship is not enough in order to address domestic abuse. It is not the victims’ fault that they are in an abusive relationship or that they were raped (whatever they were dressed like), it is the fault of the person who thought that was an acceptable

way to behave. We need a domestic abuse policy that UHŕŽ‹HFWV WKLV The government-led “This is Abuseâ€? advertising campaign was poignant, thought-provoking DQG D GHனQLWH PRYH LQ WKH right direction. Targeted VSHFLனFDOO\ DW WHHQDJHUV

the campaign aimed to demystify the grey area which phrases such as “legitimate rape� and “feisty� relationships have created around a very black and white issue. This campaign showed “normal� expectations for

a relationship, such as that your girlfriend should have sex with you and that if she kisses you in a room at a party that means she’s up for it, yeah? It makes it very clear that both of these expectations, which are obviously not universally shared, are actually not normal at all. They are actually sexual abuse. Education is one of the primary methods of prevention. I struggle to see why there are very few attempts to further this. Why do secondary schools not hold compulsory sexual violence and domestic abuse classes alongside the one in which you put a condom on a banana? Why is there a massive government push for support for victims but very little in the way of educating the perpetrators? There is an argument that these perpetrators know that they are wrong and do it regardless, but without making excuses (because there are none), the role of childhood experience, previous sexual

abuse, poverty, gender inequality on a personal level and alcohol and substance abuse must all be acknowledged to play a part in blurring their perceptions of behavioural moral boundaries within relationships. Evidently, such socioeconomic issues are too huge to be tackled any time soon but emphasis on WKH FDXVDO HŕŽ‰HFW WKH\ KDYH upon a person’s propensity to commit such a crime is essential. This further removes responsibility from the victim and puts the onus on the perpetrator and their own personal experience or lack of education. Anne Robinson recently spoke to the Guardian about the issue of sexual harassment in light of the Jimmy Savile revelations. She claimed that “I would much rather we cut to the chase and empowered women not to put up with this sort of behaviour.â€? The movement to address domestic violence should of course be about empowering the victims. But the focus should primarily be upon the perpetrators and their behaviour. Their behaviour needs to actively change as opposed to everyone else working around it and being empowered enough to deal with it. The simple fact is that not everyone is empowered, and the vulnerable will continue to be prayed upon. We need proactive steps to stop this, focused upon the perpetrators. It is them who are at fault. And it is them who global attention needs to be drawn to.

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The Beaver 16.10.2012

15

PartB

FILM REVIEW ON THE ROAD

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16.10.2012 PartB

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Cover Art

COURTESY OF TOM SPEED AND THE LSESU VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY

Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund, as Dean Moriarty and his wife Marylou, with Sam Riley as Sal Paradise in the backseat.

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here’s no gold at the end of the rainbow’ says Carlo Marx (Tom Sturridge) in one of the many drunken, drug-addled, sexcrazed parties throughout On the Road. In a way that is the sentiment you are left with RQFH \RX OHDYH WKH ೉OP EHKLQG LQ WKH VWXŕłˆ\ FLQHPD 'LUHFWRU Walter Salles has created a worthy adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same title, which follows the novel in imparting the idea that it is the means, not the end, that truly matters in life. The continued relevance of Kerouac’s tale proves that the thirst for life and hunger for adventure is a common attribute of youth, whether of today or yesteryear. The ever-observing writer and narrator Sal Paradise— D UHೊHFWLRQ RI .HURXDF‍ݍ‏LV played by the excellent Sam Riley, portraying a nuanced frustration of writer’s block and the fever that consumes any writer given the right muse. Sal’s friendship with FRQPDQ 'HDQ 0RULDUW\ *DU-

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rett Hedlund) is illustrated WKURXJKRXW WKH ೉OP DV WKH NH\ to Sal’s inspiration, the source of all madness, the drive to create. Hedlund presents us with a performance that can only be praised, embodying Moriarty with all his charisma and subtle desperation. Kristen Stewart, in a rather rare non-annoying turn, is Moriarty’s long-time lover and exwife, Marylou. Although, this may be due to her limited number of lines rather than actual acting ability. Along with these young faces in the cast you have big names such as Academy Award winner Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi, Terrence Howard and Kirsten 'XQVW (DFK KDV D UHODWLYHO\ small role but contributes to the over-arching story, a story that tumbles from one interesting character to the next throughout this unsettled life of travel. The trouble is none of them are never really developed so the characterisation IDOOV D ELW ೊDW 7KH VFUHHQZULWer, Jose Rivera, had previous-

ly worked with Salles on his PDJQL೉FHQW ODVW HŕłˆRUW The Motorcycle Diaries. The shortcomings in the script thereby limiting character interaction in terms of dialogue; physical interaction on the other hand was not exactly lacking. On a higher note of praise WKH ೉OP GRHV D SURIRXQGO\ eloquent job of capturing the ]HLWJHLVW WKURXJK UH೉QHG FLQematography and a superb %HDW *HQHUDWLRQ VRXQGWUDFN On the Road is visually stunning, the camera gliding over the wide-open barren deserts, the black ever-rolling tarmac, &DOLIRUQLDQ FRWWRQ ೉HOGV DQG as well as the breathtaking skyline of New York City. The

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Three odd-ball scientists get kicked out of their cushy positions at a university in New York City where they studied the occult. Jobless, they WKXV GHFLGH WR EHFRPH *KRVW-

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%DUEDUD D GRFWRU LQ V (DVW *HUPDQ\ LV GHVSHUDWH WR OHDYH the country to join her lover in the West. However, her application to leave incenses the authorities and results in her relocation to a tiny rural district. Unwilling to remain, she hatches a plan to escape. The latest collaboration between the director, Christian Petzold, and the always excellent Nina Hoss since Yella presents a YHU\ GLŕłˆHUHQW YLHZ RI WKH (DVWern Bloc and, as has come to be expected of this exceptional ೉OPPDNHU LV D ೉QHO\ QXDQFHG drama.

Sarah Mac Rory

IN CINEMAS NOW Director Walter Salles Cast .ULVWHQ 6WHZDUW *DUUHWW +HGOXQG 6DP 5LOH\ 9LJJR 0RUWHQVHQ $P\ $GDPV .LUVWHQ 'XQVW 7RP 6WXUULGJH (OLVDEHWK 0RVV Run time PLQXWHV

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೉UVW SHUVRQ QDUUDWLYH RI 6DO‍ݰ‏V story was emphasized, and its emotions further accentuated E\ 'XWFK DQJOHV DQG FORVH ups. Jarring camera movements that follow the trio add WR WKH LQWHQVLW\ RI WKH ೉OP D quality that matches Kerouac’s short sentences and concise descriptions. The jagged movements reaffirm the pure madness and primal nature of the parties. Salles’ use of jazz and counWU\ EDOODGV LQ GLŕłˆHUHQW VFHQHV help move the narrative and plot along, giving you insight into a world that is visually and aurally rich with culture. 7KH ೉OP LWVHOI LV WU\LQJ WR EH poetic and literary, naturally, since it is emulating a novel. A goal it almost achieves through cinematography and excellent performances. The ೉OP KDV PRPHQWV ZKHQ WKH pace burns like a match, thrilling and exhilarating for both the characters and the viewer. In other instances everything slows and you are presented with a painfully dragged out scene that does nothing to further the plot nor develop the characters. Kerouac’s animalistic tale of youth, wonder, travel, sex, jazz, instinct, humanity, the itch to write and the yearning for life is captured by Salles’ and his well chosen cast. It left me wanting to go on my own adventure. As with The Motorcycle Diaries, Salles leaves you inspired. To put it plainly, go see On the Road.

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FOX SEARCHLIGHT

storm of biblical proportions approaches the Bathtub, a shanty village ‘on the wrong side of the levee’ in the bayou country of Louisiana. Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of six-year-old Hushpuppy (QuvenzhanĂŠ Wallis) and her father Wink (Dwight Henry) in their struggle for survival. With his crew, Director Benh Zeitlin painstakingly built the setting of the Bathtub based on his experiences living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the film, black and white, old and young live cooperatively in the cut-off community, raucously celebrating each triumph of survival with vast tubs of crabs and crawfish and plenty of beer. Ben Richardson’s sublime work behind the camera carves an image of a community walking a tightrope between free spiritedness and dependence on the mainstream of society which discards the scraps of hardware that their houses are built from and produces the alcohol that they import to endure the hardships of life in the marshland. The looming environmental catastrophe threatens the

QuvenzhanĂŠ Wallis is Hushpuppy from the bayou community, Bathtub.

existence of the bathtub. As the storms come, the sound of the rain lashing against the roof leads hushpuppy to imagine polar ice melting and unleashing colossal aurochs. Her musings tell us that ‘the entire universe depends on everything fitting together just right.’ Zeitlin has been criticized for using the child narrator to allude to poignant issues such as climate change, poverty,

and loss without saying anything meaningful about them. However the images of the film are driven by the associations of Hushpuppy’s mind, and it is precisely this narrative device that carries the air of magical realism and lack of a conventional plot structure so convincingly. This is in no small part thanks to the defiance and determination of Hushpuppy’s character, as well as the

of his reggae sound system, and to borrow a relevant term, his trials and tribulations in Babylon. Director Franco Rosso’s principal success is the incisiveness with which he characterises the lives of his characters.

ished communities that happen also to hold much real estate potential. The parallels to places like Hackney and the Olympics are quite obvious, as LV WKH TXHVWLRQ RI IDWKHU ೉ J ures, a key part of Cameron’s Britain addressed most often to black Britons. Featuring very natural performances from Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr., -RKQ 6LQJOHWRQ‍ݰ‏V GHEXW ೉ OP LV one of huge importance, not least for America, where it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

strength of QuvenzhanÊ Wallis’ performance in playing her. Aged five when cast and seven upon completion, Wallis’ astounding performance rarely looks as though she’s acting at all. Along with Dwight Henry and most of the rest of the cast, Wallis was a novice actor. While many young girls auditioned for the role of Hushpuppy, Henry is a baker and father of five who works a short walk from the offices of the production company. There is no doubt that the life experiences of Henry and others inspired their conviction in taking on their roles, and helped convey the emotional depth of the story. Wink’s relationship with his daughter is riddled with the frustrations of their situation, occasionally violent, but permanently pervaded by love. As the prehistoric beasts charge relentlessly towards the Bathtub, Wink’s health deteriorates and the floodwaters

17

rise to claim the lives of some and the houses of others. As he battles his sickness, he tries to teach her all he knows about the world. He teaches her to fish with her hands from the back of their raft fashioned from the bed of a truck, while the other residents rebuild their homes into a floating ark replete with animals and plants, which they hope will rise with the waters and float them to safety. This is Zeitlin’s first feature and is based on a stage production by his collaborator, Lucy Alibar. The film won the CamÊra d’Or award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and won a Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered. Emotionally resonant and creatively complete, Beasts of the Southern Wild is an utterly mesmerising independent feature film that restores faith in storytelling and cinema.

Shyam Desai IN CINEMAS 19TH OCTOBER 2013 Director Benh Zeitlin Cast QuvenzhanĂŠ Wallis, Dwight Henry Run time 93 minutes

# BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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o celebrate Black History Month we’ve chosen some of our favourite snapshots of black cinema‌

BABYLON 1981

$ XQೊ LQFKLQJ SRUWUD\DO RI WKH black British experience in broken 1980s Britain, the stories in Babylon punch out to a pulsating reggae soundtrack by Dennis Bovell and Aswad. In the midst of a recession, much like now, the pinch was hardest on poor immigrant communities. Thankfully different, however, is the simultaneous discrimination they had to contend with, with the National Front a major presence, but worse perhaps, the institutional racism at every level of society, not least in the police. The existence is a painful and frustrating one, but there is also pride. Culture is more difficult to deny than work or rights, and they have are enriched by reggae music. The central story is of Blue (Brinsley Forde), toaster

BOYZ N1991 THE HOOD

‘Either they don’t know, don’t show, or don’t care about what’s going on in the ‘hood.’ It is home, but surviving it is no easy feat when one in every twenty or so young black men is gunned down. Boyz is essentially the story of a few young men coming of age in Los Angeles. It is elevated above others in the genre by its emotional depth, maturity and introspection. These young men are decent people, but their OLYHV DUH KHDYLO\ LQೊ XHQFHG by factors out of their control: ranging from the identity to SUR೉ FLHQF\ DW VSRUWV DQG DW a much higher level the status of these neighbourhoods, which are home to impover-

CLEOPATRA JONES 1973

COLUMBIA PICTURES

6 feet 2 inches of dynamite. She is like James Bond, but cooler, with her gadgetised Corvette and her karate. The titular Cleopatra Jones, a secret agent posing as a model (real-life model Tamara DobVRQ LV D JURXQG EUHDNLQJ ೉ OP with its highly progressive characterisation of race and gender. She is a strong, beautiful, black woman—her life, her money and her sexuality are hers and hers alone—yet she is also caring and committed to both her man and her community. Themes typical to the Blaxploitation genre such as community spirit and black unity are very overt, but they never grate. Backed by a funky score and committed SHUIRUPDQFHV LW LV D ೉ OP ZLWK heart that is also a lot of fun.

DO THE RIGHT THING 1989

On the hottest day of the summer, tensions run high in Brooklyn. Spike Lee directs and leads in this marvellous, unsentimental snapshot of racial tensions in urban America. This average inner-city neighbourhood notably contains Italian, African and Korean Americans, all of them having arrived on Lady Liberty’s VKRUHV DW GLŕłˆ HUHQW WLPHV ZLWK YDVWO\ GLŕłˆ HUHQW VWRULHV 7KH\ KROG GLŕłˆ HUHQW YDOXHV DQG WHQ dencies too, as the characters notice with introspection typical of a Spike Lee joint, and they are citizens of a country that is still, and perhaps always will be, divided at some level. Public Enemy’s Fight the Power, both part of the soundtrack and a recurring motif, is pitch-perfect in capturing the blossoming black consciousness among local youth, which in itself is intimidating to other Americans. By any means necessary? Not all of its inhabitants would agree.

MALCOLM X 1992

Led by an electrifying Denzel Washingon delivering one of the greatest performances of recent decades, this is an epic worthy of the man and his life. From the humblest of beginnings in a deeply racist country, Malcolm Little descends

into a life of crime and further still into prison, whereupon he rises higher and commands perhaps more power than any black man of his day. He falls because he is black, but he rises also because he is black. That is the point of Malcolm, the Nation of Islam and black consciousness. Black pride and autonomy. If equality and justice are not granted, they must be taken. Singing, delivering pompous speeches and waiting for heavenly assistance is foolish. Fear is a weapon, love is a shield. Spike Lee skilfully and passionately captures the essence of the man, as found in his Autobiography, written in collaboration with Alex Haley. If anything, Manning Marable’s luminous recent biography reaffirmed his importance and continued relevance. He remains a source of pride, inspiration and a point of reference to millions across the world, of all races.

!Aameer Patel

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16.10.2012 PartB

VISUAL ARTS AT THE LSE

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London. Last year we visited a portrait class at the National Portrait Gallery, the monthly Late at the Victoria and Albert, as well as huge groups of around 40 of us going to visit the Degas and David Hockney exhibitions at the Royal Academy. These trips are always great fun, and will definitely save you a lot of money on tickets! Tickets for the Degas and Hockney shows are normally £14, and we managed to get them for just £2!

he LSESU Visual Arts Society is one of the fastest growing societies within the LSE Students’ Union. We are very active, providing you with opportunities to take a break from your hard working schedules to unleash your creative side (and don’t worry, you definitely have one). Here iss a little taste of what we’re all about.

LIFE DRAWING

We put on life drawing classes every week aimed at people of all abilities. Come and practice your drawing under the guidance of a professional tutor, or feel free to sit and do your own thing. We provide a variety of media for the classes such as pencil, charcoal, and ink, so all you need to do is bring yourself! Our first class is being run as part of Give It A Go on 16th October at 6pm, in Parish Hall which is next to the Peacock Theatre. This session will be free and open to all, and subsequent classes will be charged at £3 for members

PartB COVERS

The Summer Exhibition in the Atrium Gallery

of Visual Arts Society and £5 for non-members.

WORKSHOPS

We realise that life drawing isn’t necessarily everyone’s thing, so we like to put on other art workshops every couple of weeks. Check our Facebook page (https://www. facebook.com/groups/VisualArts.LSE) and the Student Union website to be kept up

to date. To give you an idea of what these may entail, last year we worked closely with tutors at the Victoria and Albert museum and got them to teach sessions on textiles and paper art.

GALLERY VISITS

Being a large student body, we can often get our members discounted tickets to the world-famous exhibitions in

Every week we give members the opportunity to have their art be the front cover of the Part B section of The Beaver – turn back a few pages and take a look at the current one! Email su.soc.visualarts@ lse.ac.uk if you want your art to be considered. Preferably, it needs to be colour and portrait in orientation but we’re open to anything.

SUMMER EXHIBITION

To round off the end of the

year and show off the fantastic art that Visual Arts Society members produce, we have started to put on end-of-year exhibitions in the Atrium Gallery of the Old Building. The exhibition premiered last year and displayed everything from large scale canvases to photography and video art. It was a huge success, reaching out to audiences both within and without the school and ran for 5 weeks in the summer term. More information on this will be given out later on in the year. Cumulatively, our hard work and the enthusiasm of the LSE student body have allowed us to achieve all of the above and we would like to thank you for that. It all paid off, and we were awarded a Silver Students’ Union STARS award which will be giving us and our members a few perks throughout this year. We are excited to meet you all, and hope to see you soon!

Paniz Gederi

FIVE EXHIBITIONS FOR THIS TERM D

on’t worry if you missed the Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park over the weekend, there is plenty of art to indulge in this term. Here are a few highlights of what’s coming up in the next months.

DAIDO MORIYAMA: TIGHTS & LIPS MICHAEL HOPPEN GALLERY UNTIL 20 OCTOBER 2012

Timed to coincide with the upcoming William Klein/Daido Moriyama show at the Tate Modern, this exhibition show-

cases some of the more recent work of Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, in particular his Tights series–black and white close ups of legs in fishnet hosiery. The display will also include photographs from the Lips series, in which Moriyama homes in on women’s mouths.

BRONZE

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS UNTIL 9 DECEMBER 2012

Bronze has been employed as an artistic medium for over five millennia. It is an alloy consisting mainly of copper,

Lady Lilith, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868. Pre-Raphaelites at the Tate Britain.

with lesser amounts of tin, zinc and lead. Due to its inherent toughness and resistance, the material’s uses over the centuries have been remarkably varied. A section of the exhibition has been devoted to the complex processes involved in making bronze, enabling visitors to explore how models are made, cast and finished by a variety of different techniques. The exhibition offers a unique exploration of artistic practice, an understanding of the physical properties and distinctive qualities of bronze, and the rare opportunity to see the very best examples in one place.

Bruce Davidson, New York City, 1962. Everything was Moving at the Barbican Centre.

also coincided with a golden age in photography: the moment when the medium flowered as a modern art form.

EVERYTHING WAS MOVING: TURNER PRIZE 2012 PHOTOGRAPHY FROM PRE-RAPHAELITES: TATE BRITAIN UNTIL JANUARY 6 2013 THE 60s AND 70s VICTORIAN BARBICAN CENTRE UNTIL JANUARY 13 2013 AVANT-GARDE TATE BRITAIN

The Turner Prize, named after the romantic landscape painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize started in 1984. The prize, organised by the Tate, accepts art in any medium, but has been associated with conceptual art in recent years. Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde preserved shark and Tracy Emin’s disheveled bed are famously controversial past entries. This year sees performance artist Spartacus Chetwynd nominated with her piece Odd Man Out in which participants are hurled down an inflatable slide to be met by charred limbs. Another noteworthy entry is Paul Noble’s Public Toilet which is part of his 15 year drawing project. It depicts the inhabitants of a sprawling metropolis as human faeces which engaging in orgies.

This major photography exhibition surveys the medium from an international perspective, and includes renowned photographers from across the globe, all working during two of the most memorable decades of the 20th century. Everything Was Moving: Photography from the 60s and 70s brings together over 400 works, some rarely seen, others recently discovered and many shown in the UK for the first time. The world changed dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s. From the Cultural Revolution to the Cold War; from America’s colonialist misadventure in Vietnam to the indelible values of the civil rights movement; this was the defining period of the modern age. It

UNTIL 13 JANUARY 2013

Combining rebellion, beauty, scientific precision and imaginative grandeur, the Pre-Raphaelites constitute Britain’s first modern art movement. This exhibition brings together over 150 works in different media, including painting, sculpture, photography and the applied arts, revealing the Pre-Raphaelites to be advanced in their approach to every genre. Led by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood rebelled against the art establishment of the mid-19th century, taking inspiration from early Renaissance painting.

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The Beaver 16.10.2012

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THE ROYAL COURT THEATRE until 13 October 2012 Directed by James MacDonald Written by Caryl Churchill 110 minutes

20

16.10.2012 PartB

ŕŠ‚ LUCY AND THE HAWK L

SWITCHBACK PRODUCTIONS

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ucy and the Hawk, part of the Ovalhouse’s new Beside Me collection, is a charming and refreshingly original love story. Lucy and Elliott, played by Abigail Moffatt and Tom Walton respectively, live separate lives. They have never met, they share nothing in common, and yet they are undeniably connected—if not actually, or physically, then somehow else. The neat but bizarre stage—tables are sloped and landline telephones multiplied to excess—compliments an eerie production that follows Lucy silently on stage as she struggles to understand her sudden feelings for Elliott. Meanwhile Elliott provides the corroborating sound from Rŕłˆ VWDJH EHIRUH UROHV DUH UH versed to portray Elliott’s confusion. The pair rotates often enough to keep things moving in what becomes a genuinely ೊ XLG GHSLFWLRQ RI KRZ WZR SHU manently separate lives can seemingly intertwine. So Lucy and the Hawk is essentially mime but with QRLVHV DUWL೉ FLDOO\ LQMHFWHG WR JUHDW DQG RIWHQ FRPLF Hŕłˆ HFW

/XF\ UXŕłŒ LQJ D QRQ H[LVWHQW newspaper is met by Elliott UXŕłŒ LQJ DQ DFWXDO QHZVSDSHU Elliott’s anxiety is explained as Lucy voices his thoughts with a soft tone that could easily be mistaken for Charlotte Gainsbourg, if the Ăźber cool Gallic actress/singer were from the north of England. The two estranged lovers compliment each other in this way throughout, more or less always perfectly in sync. Though the performances are H[FHOOHQW WKH Rŕłˆ HULQJ RI WKH characters’ thoughts in particular—like hearing the little voices in their head—make for a much richer production. The audience is given a clearer picture but by no means the entire picture; this difficult balancing act is very well done.

Personally, Lucy and the Hawk explores the space between something and nothing in the way it conveys the real and deep connection between two characters who have no tangible link to point to. The idea that two people can be so close but never to touch is shown too in Damien Hirst’s Loving in the World of Desire, where a stream of air keeps a ball hovering eternally above a box. Despite a world of confusion on stage, it was comforting to notice that both Lucy and Elliott read from scripts when dictating the other’s thoughts – suggesting that maybe some things are just meant to be.

Laurence Vardaxoglou

OVALHOUSE until 27 October 2012 Written and directed by Phil Ormrod 6WDUULQJ $ELJDLO 0Rŕłˆ DW 7RP :DOWRQ 100 minutes

BEAVER BARISTA ~ BEANS

spresso. Not expresso. For the love of all things that you hold sacred, espresso. Were you to go into a reputable coffee house and ask for an expresso you should be laughed at and told to take a hike. If worse comes to worst, then just ask for a Doppio or a Solo and just try to wing it, there is no need to try and be a hero, just make it out of there with your dignity intact. This week, your favourite Barista will be taking a look at coffee beans, both the strong espresso variety, for you latte hounds out there, and the more flavoursome beans used to make filter coffee. The more astute amongst you will be aware, of course, that if one were to have finely attuned tastebuds, then differing espresso roasts can give widely differing flavours, but one must cater to the masses here, so I’m hamstrung in that respect. Espresso roasts don’t only have to be espresso roasts. These roasts tend to be on the heavier side, but this varies wildly across the UK, with Starbucks beans being roasted very, very, heavily, whereas those at somewhere such as Caffe Nero are much more traditionally and lightly roasted. Frankly, if you’re going to try and create your own Doppio at home I’d recommend a standard light roast and a traditional Moka pot. It won’t strictly be espresso you’re making, because as we’re all aware, the Italian Espresso National Institute declare that

for espresso to hold it’s name, the shot must be pulled at a pressure of 9 bar (Your Moka pot will attain a rather measly 1.5 bar). But it’d be approximately close enough that most of your friends will let you get away with it. Sometimes one can even manage a broad approximation of crema on their shots, I certainly wouldn’t turn that down! Now, onto filter coffee, where even the slightest variation in geography, altitude or even seasonal weather can have a veritable world of difference. Coffee beans, broadly speaking, come from three regions across the globe, South America, Africa and SouthEast Asia. I would argue that Hawaii’s Kona beans, and Jamaica’s Blue Mountain beans, would form a fourth distinct region, but it is hard to equate two island groupings as a region compared to continental landmasses. Each area has their own, broadly distinctive tastes. African coffee is distinctly fruitier than the other regions of the globe, and noticeably sweeter that one would expect, in my experience Ethiopian wouldn’t require even the sweetest of teeth to deploy their sweetener of choice. African Coffee does not have the heaviest of bodies, but the light and delicate flavours make it perfect if you want a good breakfast coffee, without being punched in the face by an espresso shot. South American coffee is much more nutty, almost to the point of being chocolaty, than

the other regions that produce coffee beans. This is probably the most robust of the regions, simply because of the many varying bean types, you could drink this in your filter coffee at breakfast, lunch or even as a larger cup of coffee after a good evening meal. When you imagine filter coffee, this is probably the flavour you’re imagining. A great type of bean for those taking the first, burgeoning, steps out into the wider world of caffeine. Finally, South-East Asian coffee beans. Possibly the most polarising of the beans we’ve discussed in this little

column. With their distinctive, heavy, earthy tones it is often the case that the uninitiated do not taste much more than a smoky aftertaste. Often leading to the joke, ‘Is this coffee fresh?’ and then the inevitable, terrible response of ‘Of course, it was fresh ground this morning.’ If you must insist on using this tired, and frankly terrible, joke then do so ironically. With the correct guidance, or several years of hard training it is possible to truly appreciate the more subtle tones of this coffee roast, and it would be well worth your while to do so. Of particular note is Indonesian

coffee, once the heavy curtain of smoke is lifted, the bright and delicate notes of flowers is a joy to behold. So, hopefully you can put this knowledge to good use. And if that hipster in your local coffee bar starts talking shit about different types of coffee bean, and how they affect his aura, or other bollocks like that, you can give him a good old fashioned verbal curb stomping.

Beaver Barista

21

The Beaver 16.10.2012

Â? HONEY & CO. H

ummus. Or is it houmous? Or hoummos, humos or hummous? Whilst in a lecture the other day and idly thinking about the plethora of spellings of this ancient food, the craving to dip some warm pitta bread in a chickpea purĂŠe overcame me and I realised really needed to eat some immediately. After all, students and hummus are well known to be strongly linked. Foods that manage to be vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, cheap and still relatively tasty are few and far between: hummus transcends all barriers, everyone loves it. So where to go to sample this wonderfood? I emerged from my lecture into a drizzly, dark evening and made for Honey & Co., a Yemeni cafĂŠ and restaurant that is guaranteed to brighten up your day. The window array of lus-

T

cious cakes and jars of interesting preserves tempt you to step across the threshold, luring you inside with the promise of irresistible things to eat. The room itself is small, cosy and simply decorated with a gorgeous blue and white MoURFFDQ WLOHG ೊ RRU 7DEOHV DUH topped with paper, and the cutlery and napkin are held together with a wooden peg. I started with—of course— the hummus, alongside four other small dishes as part of a meze which changes daily. (DFK ZDV D PRXWKIXO RI ೊ D vour, easily mopped up by the accompanying pitta bread: sweet beetroot with Greek oregano, crunchy little radishes with a creamy labneh, a spicy tomato and pepper concoction, and a fragrant pumpkin and sultana dip. The hummus had a light, smooth texture, and certainly satis-

o celebrate the EU controversially winning the Nobel Peace Prize this past week, we here at Food & Drink desk are giving you three EU-inspired cocktails.

M

PRESIDENTOFTHEEUROPEANCOUNCIL

FIRST UP

THE PARISIAN 60ml dry gin 30ml dry vermouth 20ml crème de cassis Combine in shaker with ice. Strain into martini glass.

WARSAW ROSE 40ml Polish vodka 30ml cherry liquer 15ml triple-sec A dash of Angostura bitters Combine with ice in shaker. Strain into martini glass.

Try these!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

BARCELONA FIZZ

40ml sweet sherry 30ml gin 15ml lemon juice 7ml simple syrup 110ml soda water Combine sherry, gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker. Fill highball glass halffull with ice and strain sherry mixture over top. Garnish with lemon and cherry. With these three European cocktails you can now celebrate your next celebratory bailout party in style! Beaver Bartender

They climbing through our legislative windows snatching our sovereignty up.

lemon, vodka, and poppy seed cake. Both were dense and moist, and equally delicious. Neither lasted long. Honey & Co. Rŕłˆ HUV D ZLGH range of drinks, with house wine served in quaint tumEOHUV DQG WHD LQ PDJQL೉ FHQW silver pots. I had a homemade orange blossom iced tea, which was refreshing, although very sweet. My friend had a totally unsweetened but wonderfully aromatic mint tea. Owner and chefs, Sarit and Itamar, describe their fare as

village food, simply food remembered from their childhood and inspired by their friends, things they have imagined or just heard about. However, do not let this humble front deceive you. As protÊgÊs of the esteemed Yottam Ottolenghi, both are immensely accomplished chefs. And after all of that, I can’t even remember how Honey & Co. spell hummus. Looks like I will just have to go back again to check.

,Gaia Manners-Armstrong 25a Warren Street W1T 5LZ 7.30am-7pm daily Cuisine Middle Eastern Average spend ÂŁ18 (3-course dinner) Meals Breakfast, lunch, or just tea and cake

MUTANT MUDDS

COCKTAIL CORNER

SECONDLY

೉ HG P\ FUDYLQJ This was followed with VWXŕłˆ HG YLQH OHDYHV DV UHF ommended by our charming waitress. This is usually a dish I avoid at all costs, due to unappetizing holiday memories of cold, bland lumps of rice wrapped in slimy leaves. I am glad to say that I now have DQ HQWLUHO\ GLŕłˆ HUHQW YLHZ these were parcels of silkily textured deliciousness, tangy with leek and grape. The main course was lamb paltican, a sort of stew. The lamb was meltingly tender, and was complimented by the smokiness of chargrilled aubergine and sweetness of pomegranate seeds. Presented in a cast iron dish, it looked almost as good as it tasted. Finally, it was time to try one of the cakes. I went for the pistachio, almond and plum and my foodie companion had

utant Mudds is a retro-style side-scroller starring the bastard child of Joan Rivers and Millhouse from the Simpsons. 2-D side scrolling is a wellknown genre of classic gaming, having given rise to giants that still exist today, such as Mario Brothers series, and on the surface Mutant Mudds seems to be a decent enough throw back to such classics. You play a young boy tasked with ridding the world of an invading force of mud like beings, using an inexplicably available jet pack and space age musket. Along the way you will have to avoid spiky pitfalls, collect coins and overcome other obstacles that should really be familiar to a 90s child. There are also points where you will be required to jump into the background and foreground in order to get everything you need to fully complete the game, including a coin quota and a number of secret and ever more challenging stages. Despite this, the game does not quite amount to the platforming masterpiece that

it is hyped up as online. As I played, I kept getting annoyed by the sluggish movements of the character. The repetitive nature of the enemies and traps just compounded this, and failing a level after being crushed by the last in a line of 8 hammers made me start to miss my experiences LQ 6N\ULP ZKHUH MXPSLQJ Rŕłˆ FOLŕłˆ V DQG XQORDGLQJ P\ TXLYHU into a dragon before landing safely in a 6 foot deep river was an everyday norm. Obviously, playing a small blond GZDUI ZLWK DQ LQHŕłˆ HFWXDO weapon would not be authentic if he could casually annihilate enemies, yet I cannot help but think it would be better if you could. The game’s hub world also seems kind of uninspired, particularly given how D ೊ RDWLQJ SODWIRUP LQ WKH PLG dle of the sky is inexplicably referred to as an attic. Having said this, progressing further into the game can become very satisfying. At ೉ UVW WKHUH LV OLWWOH FKDOOHQJH DQG WKH ೉ UVW VLJQ RI LW FDQ WDNH the player by surprise. However, if you get further on, get used to the traps and forgive the limitations of the character you can get a real sense of satisfaction. The game appears very simple, but getting farther into the experience becomes a bit like completing a hard Sudoku puzzle: winning

at something you know others will have been too bored or impatient to compete against you in. Some websites have Mutant Mudds in the top ten lists of games for the 3DS, and this seems a bit undeserved. The game has a fair amount going for it, but when compared to mainstream titles like Mario Kart 7 or Kid Icarus it just feels like it only has appeal for certain niche gamers. I have heard the excuse that the basic level design makes up for the slowness of the character, but again this does not ೉ [ WKH ERUHGRP RQH FDQ IHHO The lack of a story compounds the sense that you could be playing something with more drive and entertainment to it, and quite frankly there are enough options even for the £6 Mutant Mudds can be downloaded for. In short, Mutant Mudds can best be described as a niche platformer marketed as a charming retro experience. Play it if you miss the days when it was the most satisfying thing in the world to get every secret on a cartridge game. There is nothing wrong with that, but make sure you remember the aspects of gaming that have improved since then.

Philip Gallagher

22

The Beaver 16.10.2012

DE JESUS GIVES CONTROVERSY A GO Ginger Whoreby

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Shake ingredients well, and strain into a chilled martini glass.

3RXU YRGND DQG FRŕ­źHH OLqueur over ice cubes in an old-fashioned glass. Fill with light cream and serve.

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

44 Teams. 11 Universities. 1 Amazing Prize. Win the ultimate internship and see banking differently. The Future Leaders Development Programme was created to find and develop people who can lead thinking and drive innovation at Barclays. Now here’s your opportunity to experience it for yourself. Challenge Africa is an amazing competition that offers one team the ultimate internship in Africa. Show us genuine potential as a future leader through a number of stimulating challenges, and you could be heading off on the internship of a lifetime. Learn more and enter by visiting www.seemore-bemore.com/challengeafrica The challenge will take place at Old Building (Room OLD 3.21), Houghton Street on 8th November between 6.30 – 8.30pm.

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The Beaver 16.10.2012

Guide to Starting a Society

Kirsty Kenney on her society trials and tribulations

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ccording to the SU website, the school already boasts 150 societies. These range from the well known such as the Grimshaw Club, Fashion Society and, of course, the Finance society, to the more obscure, like the Hummus Appreciation Society and the Beekeeping Society. However, if you wandered around Freshers’ Fayre and didn’t quite னQG ZKDW \RX ZHUH ORRNLQJ for, then maybe you should consider setting up your own society. This is surprisingly easy to do. All you need is an idea and a little bit of support behind you. I know this, because at one point last year I decided that I would like to set up a new society: The Album Club. It is a bit like a Book Club. But as the name suggests, it is for albums. So instead of ‘50 Shades of Grey’ and middle-aged, middle class gossip, students such as yourself bring an album of choice to the table for discussion, and socialise with likeminded people. I admit, the concept isn’t new; it’s been taken and jiggled around a bit from a successful group at an Oxford College. So once you have an

idea, a vision or whatever you would like to call it, WKH QH[W VWHS LV WR னOO RXW a “Request to Set up a Society Formâ€? which can simply be downloaded online, or picked up from the ARC. It’s very straightforward, all you need are three founding members and twenty signatures to show support for, and demand for, your society. Alongside these, you will need to submit a constitution. This may sound complicated, but a mock constitution is available online, and most VRFLHWLHV ZLOO னQG WKDW IHZ changes need to be made to this model. The areas that require personalisation are even highlighted for you. What is important is thinking about the aims and objectives of your society. In our case our objectives were threefold. Firstly, to bring people together to discuss, review and debate an album of a member’s choice, we decided that a new Album will be put forward on a weekly basis. Secondly, to promote the enjoyment of music and albums for recreational and personal interest purposes and to encourage members WR EH RSHQ WR DOO GLŕŽ‰HUHQW types of music brought

forward within the group. Lastly, we want to arrange any relevant events outside of meetings, such as social events at gigs or other music venues. Then come the practicalities. You will also need to think about the activities that you would like to put on to achieve these, and the cost of society membership - ÂŁ1.50 being the minimum that you are allowed to charge. Once you have completed these forms and handed them back to the ARC, your request is submitted to the Student Activities Committee. The committee meet every other week, so you don’t need to wait too long for a decision to be made. Your constitution must conform to Union policy. But, the primary reason that societies are rejected is that the aims of the society are too close to those of another. It was a fear I had, as I thought I the Album Club could be rejected for being too closely associated with the Music Society. I made WKH GLŕŽ‰HUHQFHV FOHDU DQG soon we got approval. This brought the prize of administration rights to the societies page on the website. From there you can personalise your page and

send out emails to members of the society. Society membership runs from September to September and anyone can sign up online at any time. You will need twenty people to sign up, and pay up, in order to EHFRPH DQ RŕŽ‰LFLDO VRFLHW\ DQG WR KRVW \RXU னUVW $*0 (Annual General Meeting). Having gained approval in May, there was little point in us signing members, having them pay ÂŁ1.50, when realistically revision was taking over and we were not going to do much more until the new academic year, and then have them pay another ÂŁ1.50 to re-subscribe. This meant that Freshers’ Fayre would be a big opportunity for us to get at least twenty people to sign up and pay up, in order for the Album Club to move forward. Freshers’ Fayre Day One: We arrived -all be LW D OLWWOH ODWH WR னQG WKDW our table had been taken over by a political activist group and our barcode sheets scattered across the ŕŽ‹RRU 1RW GHWHUUHG ZH VHW XS FDPS LQ WKH ŕŽ‹RRU GRZQstairs next to Acapella Choir- a successful group currently in the process of EHFRPLQJ DQ RŕŽ‰LFLDO VRFLety. More at home in the

arts room, surrounded by choirs, the Film Society and the Fashion Society, we were able to talk with lots of enthusiastic fresher’s and non- fresher’s alike, sign people up and collect lots of emails. We had stickers printed with our logo on, which looked pretty funky. By the end we KDG RŕŽ‰LFLDO PHPEHUV and we hope to have more come along to our AGMthere will be cake. For any glitches that might occur along the way, the SU are there to answer any questions that you might have, to help with funding, to help you னQG VSRQVRUV DQG WKH\ also run training sessions to teach the necessary skills for running a Society well. Through the SU you can also book a stall on Houghton Street and book rooms for meetings. And so, if you feel like there’s something that LSE FRXOG EHQHனW IURP DOO LW takes is one person, or a couple of people, to take the lead and make it happen. Be enthusiastic, get RXW WKHUH DQG னQG WKH SHRple that are excited about your cause too! What are you waiting for?

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

Social

25

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Diary of a wannabe banker

Bakr Al-Akku’s H[SHULHQFH DV DQ (DVW /RQGRQHU RQ WKH FLW\ WUDGLQJ ୾RRU

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26

Social

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Koalas and conservatism %'($57+

Kate Lonie on being an Aussie in London

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RSSRVLWLRQ OHDGHU 7RQ\ $EERWW $V KLJKOLJKWHG E\ *LOODUG WKLV WUDFN UHFRUG includes statements regarding abortion (“the easy ZD\ RXW‍ ڕ‏ZRPHQ‍ڑ‏V SURIHVVLRQDO UROHV ‍ڔ‏ZKDW LI PHQ whether by physiology or WHPSHUDPHQW DUH PRUH DGDSWHG WR H[HUFLVH DXWKRUity or issue command?â€?) and at home (“the houseZLYHV RI $XVWUDOLD DV WKH\ GR WKH LURQLQJ‍ ڕ‏ +DYLQJ DOUHDG\ EHHQ dubbed a “bad-ass mother I ‍ ڕ‏E\ 86 IHPLQLVW ZHEVLWH -H]DEHO DQG KHU VSHHFK currently being considered as one of the all time parliamentary greats by sections RI WKH $XVWUDOLDQ PHGLD *LOlard’s potent and powerfulO\ GHOLYHUHG ‍ڔ‏FDOO WR DUPV‍ ڕ‏ against archaic representations of women’s roles and rights act as an important reminder that Australian ZRPHQ ZKHWKHU ன[WXUHV LQ SXEOLF OLIH RI QRW LQ ‍ڔ‏GHVHUYH D EHWWHU VWDQGDUG WKDQ WKLV ‍ ڕ‏, JXHVV RQO\ time will tell if this speech will prompt a meaningful re-assessment of the role of women in the public and SULYDWH VSKHUHV LQ FRQWHPSRUDU\ $XVWUDOLDQ VRFLHW\ 2Q D OHVV VHULRXV QRWH the thirty- degree day has SURYHQ WR EH D RQH RŕŽ‰ DQG Melbourne and London ZHDWKHU LV QRZ EDFN RQ SDU ,Q WKLV VHQVH VRPH WKLQJV ZLOO QHYHU FKDQJH

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

Social

Culture Shocks

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Khushi Mehra on moving from India to London GLG QRW PXVWHU XS HQRXJK FRXUDJH WR WDNH LW HQWLUHO\ XSRQ WKHPVHOYHV WR PRYH LQ $QRWKHU SUREOHP , IDFHG ZDV WKH VKHHU QXPEHU RI WDVNV , ZDV PHDQW WR GR ,I \RXтАл┌СтАмYH HYHU EHHQ WR ,QGLD \RX ZRXOG NQRZ WKDW WKH PDQ\ ,QGLDQ WHHQDJHUV GR QRWKLQJ PRUH WKDQ D SRWDWR ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR HYHU\GD\ MREV EHFDXVH WKHUH LV RIWHQ VRPHRQH WR GR DOO WKH PXQGDQH VWXроЙ IRU \RX 'RPHVWLF KHOSHUV DQG FDU GULYHUV DERXQG LQ ,QGLD $OWKRXJK WKDW LV QR ORQJHU P\ KRPH DW OHDVW QRW IRU WKH QH[W IHZ \HDUV )RU P\ роКUVW \HDU , ZLOO EH VWD\LQJ DW %DQNVLGH ZKLFK LV VXSSRVHGO\ WZHQW\ PLQXWHV DZD\ IURP /6( 6LQFH , GRQтАл┌СтАмW KDYH ORQJ OHJV LW WDNHV PH DURXQG DQG VRPHWLPHV HYHQ PLQXWHV WR JHW WKHUH %XW ZK\ GR /RQGRQHUV KDYH D FRQVWDQW QHHG WR JHW VRPHZKHUH" , ZRXOG UDWKHU HQMR\ WKH YLHZ DQG VRDN LQ WKH IUHVK DLU <RX DUH LQ RQH RI WKH PRVW EHDXWLIXO KLVWRULFDO SDUWV RI /RQGRQ 3HUKDSV LW LV MXVW WKH UDLQ\ ZHDWKHU WKDW FRPSHOV SHRSOH WR роКQG VRPH VKHOWHU 7KH ZHDWKHU LV HQRXJK WR VHW \RX LQWR D JORRP\ WRQH LI WKH FDOFXOXV DVVLJQPHQW

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oving to London - what is not to love? However, when , роКUVW JUDGXDWHG IURP senior school, I did not SODQ RQ FRPLQJ WR WKH 8. IRU P\ %DFKHORUV , GLGQтАл┌СтАмW even plan on doing EcoQRPLFV 7KLQJV FKDQJH DQG ,тАл┌СтАмP QRZ DQ HFRQRPLFV VWXGHQW DW /6( IURP ,QGLD роКWWLQJ WKH VWHUHRW\SH $ WXUQ RI HYHQWV EURXJKW PH WR +HDWKURZ RQ D GXOO JUH\ 6XQGD\ PRUQLQJ ZLWK QRWKLQJ EXW WKUHH RYHU SDFNHG EDUHO\ VKXW VXLWFDVHV DQG WKUHH \HDUV DW /6( DKHDG RI PH 2Q DUULYDO , UHDOLVHG P\ L3KRQH ZDV ORFNHG 6R QR ZRUNLQJ SKRQH DQG WR P\ VXUSULVH WKHUH ZDV QR IUHH ZLроК DW +HDWKURZ $IWHU VRPH WLPH , HQGHG XS XVLQJ D SDLG SKRQH WR FDOO P\ rather concerned parents, WR OHW WKHP NQRZ , KDG reached London and not 6HUELD DOO LQ RQH SLHFH <HV , FDPH DORQH ZLWKRXW SDUHQWV , WKRXJKW LW ZRXOG EH WKH тАл┌РтАмJURZQ XSтАл ┌СтАм WKLQJ WR GR /LWWOH GLG , NQRZ , ZDV LQ IRU D ZRUOG RI SDLQ 0\ DGYLFH IRU IXWXUH IUHVKHUV LV GR QRW WU\ DQG VHWWOH GRZQ RQ \RXU RZQ (YHQ VRPH 0DVWHUV VWXGHQWV WKDW , KDYH PHW

LV WR GLH IRU &HQWUDOO\ ORFDWHG DPLGVW DOO WKH JODPRXU RI /RQGRQ 0\ OHFWXUHV DUH HQWHUWDLQLQJ LQIRUPDWLYH DQG RYHUZKHOPLQJ DW WKH VDPH WLPH ,Q WKH OHFWXUH WKHDWUHV SHRSOH FRPH DQG OHDYH OLNH D VZDUP RI EHHV QRW OLNH \RXU ROG DQG VPDOO VFKRRO FODVVURRPV , GR TXLWH OLNH WKH IRRG KHUH , KDYH DOZD\V FRQVLGHUHG P\VHOI WR EH TXLWH YHUVDWLOH LQ WHUPV RI P\ FXOLQDU\ FKRLFHV DQG ZRXOG QRW H[DFWO\ ODEHO P\VHOI DV WKH VWHUHRW\SLFDO FXUU\ ORYLQJ ,QGLDQ 7KDW VDLG I have spiraled into this SRWDWR HDWLQJ RYHUGULYH , JXHVV WKDW LV MXVW RQH RI WKH V\PSWRPV RI VWXGHQW SRYHUW\ 7R DGG WR P\ IRRG ZRHV , DP DOVR JOXWHQ DOOHUJLF ZKLFK PDNHV LW GLIроКFXOW WR роКQG LWHPV WKDW , FDQ HDW ,W ZRXOG UHDOO\ KHOS LI /6( FRXOG MXVW PHQWLRQ WKH DOOHUJ\ VSHFLроКFDWLRQV IRU LWV YDULRXV GLVKHV <HW VWLOO P\ PHDO DW %DQNVLGH LV SUREDEO\ WKH KLJKOLJKW RI P\ GD\ 7KHUHтАл┌СтАмV VWLOO PXFK IRU PH WR H[SHULHQFH , KDYH D EXQFK RI WKLQJV WR H[SORUH $GHOH DQG 0XVH FRQFHUWV WR DWWHQG JOXWHQ IUHH UHVWDXUDQWV WR WU\ DQG D WUHQFK FRDW WR EX\

Travel Diary: Morocco

Holly Bretnall on travelling in the steps of the caravan

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s I travelled in the VWHSV RI WKH FDUDvan, across MoURFFR D PXVW\ UHG ODQGVFDSH RI VDQG DQG URFNV VWUHWFKHG WR WKH KRUL]RQ ,VRODWHG DPLG WKLV ZDVWHODQG OLHV KLGGHQ RQH UHPRWH тАл┌РтАм.DVEDK тАл ┌СтАмD FDVWOH EXLOW HQWLUHO\ RI UHG PXG ZLWK FUXPEOLQJ WRZHUV RYHUORRNLQJ D VPDOO SDUDGLVH YDOOH\ EODQNHWHG E\ YHJHWDWLRQ RI HYHU\ VKDGH RI JUHHQ $V JXHVWV ZH IHDVWHG XSRQ WKH GHOLFDFLHV RI WKH GHVHUW ULFK VOLWKHUV RI FKLFNHQ VLPPHULQJ DPLG D VWHZ RI GDWHV DQG SUHVHUYHG OHPRQV DQG D PLON\ PRXVVH GHOLFDWHO\ роЛDYRXUHG ZLWK роЛHXU GтАл┌СтАмRUDQJH )URP DQ DOFRYH RI WKH FRXUW\DUG D EOXH UREHG %HUEHU PHUFKDQW SURроЙHUHG KLV ZDUHV VLOYHU ULQJV DPXOHWV DQG FKDUPV FRUDO QHFNODFHV EOXH JODVV SHUIXPH ERWWOHV DQG YLEUDQW UXJV (DFK LWHP LV WR EH DSSUHFLDWHG QRW RQO\ IRU LWV DHVWKHWLF YDOXH EXW DOVR IRU LWV VXSHUQDWXUDO IRUFH RI тАл┌РтАм%DUDNDтАл ┌СтАмPHDQLQJ EOHVVHG LQIXVHG LQWR HDFK REMHFW DV LWV FUDIWVPDQ FKDQWHG RYHU LW GXULQJ LWV PDNLQJ

'XULQJ WKH GD\ DW WKH ORFDO EDNHU\ D \RXQJ JLUO VLWV LQ WKH GXVW EHVLGH D KXJH FOD\ RYHQ FRQWLQXRXVO\ VWRNLQJ WKH роКUH WR FRRN JUHDW URXQG роЛDW EUHDGV 6WRUHG LQ D FRPPXQDO JUDQDU\ WKH роЛRXU LV ORFNHG DZD\ EHKLQG GRRUV ZLWK LQWULFDWHO\ VKDSHG NH\ KROHV GHVLJQHG WR роКW ODUJH ZRRGHQ NH\V XVHG E\ GLроЙHUHQW IDPLO\ , VDZ WKUHH ZRPHQ VKHOOLQJ ZDOQXWV EHVLGH WKH JUDQDU\ SHUFK ZLWK IDFHV DV waxen and creased as the EURZQ QXWV LQ WKHLU KDQGV %HORZ WKHP DUH GDWHV DQG SRPHJUDQDWHV JURZLQJ DQG RXWOLQHG E\ D QHWZRUN RI LQWHUVHFWLQJ PRXQGV WR OHW WKH UDLQ UXQ GRZQ DUH роКHOGV RI carrots, potatoes and wheat IRU JULQGLQJ IRU EUHDG %H\RQG WKH RUFKDUGV DQG RYHU D VKDOORZ EXW ZLGH ULYHU RI FOD\ FRORXUHG ZDWHU ULVHV D VKHDU FOLроЙ SRFN PDUNHG ZLWK ZLQGRZV DQG HQWUDQFH ZD\V 7KHVH DUH WKH WURJORGLWH FDYHV ,Q WKH FRRO JORRP\ LQWHULRU FDUDYDQV RI GDWH WUDGHUV XVHG WR UHVW IRU WKH QLJKW EHIRUH FRQWLQXLQJ WKH QH[W GD\ RQ

WKHLU ORQJ YR\DJH WR 0DUUDNHFK RU (VVDRXLUD %DFN LQ WKH ZDUP KHDUW RI WKH .DVEDK DPLG WKH OX[XU\ RI UXJV DQG FXVKLRQV ZH DUH VHUYHG PLQW WHD LQ D JROGHQ VWUHDP DV LW LV SRXUHG IURP D KHLJKW LQWR VPDOO JODVVHV HGJHG ZLWK JHRPHWULF SDWWHUQV 0HDQZKLOH WKHUH LV WKH UHYHUEHUDWLQJ EHDW RI D 0RURFFDQ IRON EDQG ZKLFK HYRNHV HYHQLQJV VSHQW DURXQG WKH роКUHV DV FDUDYDQV SDXVHG IRU WKH QLJKW 7KH IUDQWLF ULVH DQG IDOO RI WKH QRWHV WROG RI WDOHV RI WUDJHG\ DQG URPDQFH 7KLV QLJKW VN\ LV SXUSOH DV LI 7\ULDQ G\H KDV VHHSHG IURP LWV YDWV WR роЛRRG XSZDUGV DQG EODQNHW WKH VXQ 7KLV SLJPHQW RQFH XVHG WR FRORXU WKH VWULSH RI 5RPDQ 6HQDWRULDO WRJDV LV PDGH LQ (VVDRXLUD $ ODE\ULQWK RI QDUURZ SDVVDJH ZD\V (VVDRXLUD PDUNHG WKH роКQDO GHVWLQDWLRQ RI WKH FDUDYDQ Its a port town, with scents RI WKH роКVK PDUNHW WKH PLQW stalls and the sandal wood shavings at the carpenters \DUGV GRXVLQJ WKH RFFXSDQWV LQ WKH ROIDFWRU\ HTXLY-

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28

Social

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

I’m (still) a Lady Frances Bennett on the broader implications of the pixie crop

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16.10.2012

| The Beaver

The lost country in the Mediterranean

T

he art of Italian politics has become trapped in a strange brainteasing game. The country stretching down the 0HGLWHUUDQHDQ LV ன QGLQJ LW hard to come to face with reality. A country that once hosted the Renaissance and was the destination of the Grand Tour, was praised in literature and poetry, and JORULன HG LQ VRQJV LV VORZO\ falling to pieces, guided, or rather not guided, by a

location and embezzlement of public funds and a dissatisfying group of leaders with no world view to shape the country. In the midst of a tragic economic situation, with unemployment and public GHEW URFNHWLQJ 0RQWL‍ڑ‏V ன V cal policy crushing the middle class, and continuing recession, which has even recently seen the colossus FIAT renounce new investments in the Italian market, political parties continue

The arrival of the EU-appointed technocrat Mario Monti at the Chigi Palace in Rome managed to restore the international reputation of the country. ruling class composed of people with little care, who travel but do not see, read but do not learn, live but do not experience. Granted, the arrival of the EU-appointed technocrat Mario Monti at the Chigi Palace in Rome managed to restore the international reputation of the country. Back to being looked at respectfully by its neighbours, the forced decision placed upon its republic helped Italy recover in the eyes of the world. But it is what those international eyes have stopped seeing that still

WR GHYRXU ZKDW WKH\ ன QG on their paths, collecting over two billion from public funds in the past twenty years, and spending only one third to improve the country, so as to devote the UHVW WR ன QDQFLQJ WKHLU ‍ڔ‏QR bleâ€? political game, or in other words, their holidays and dinners. The recent scandal in Berlusconi’s centre-right party Pdl, entailing the party leader in the Lazio region, Franco Fiorito, who spent millions of party IXQGV WR ன QDQFH KLV SULYDWH life and caused the turmoil that led to the resignation of

Promises of change and scrapping of the current political class sprout from the new candidate of the centre-left party. troubles the country. On the eve of new elections and a year from Monti’s appointment, the Italian situation has returned to its roots. Despite the dusty layer of optimism that has deposited itself on the surface, around the country’s borders, chaos reigns within. Hobbes might have referred to it as that most undesirable state of nature which all men desperately seek to leave but the political contract that people must enter to escape it keeps falling to pieces, ripped apart by internal party disputes, misal-

the region’s adviser Renata Polevirini is but one key on the chain of distrustful political behavior. And, as in Italian history every twenty years brings winds of change, these twenty years have passed and the sand in WKH KRXUJODVV KDV ன QLVKHG brining a new tipping point which, again unsurprisingly, to quote Tommasi di LampeGXVD LQ KLV ‍ڔ‏7KH /HRSDUG‍ ڕ‏ changes everything but changes nothing. Promises of change and scrapping of the current political class sprout from the new candidate of the centre-left

party, Matteo Renzi. Yet, he nevertheless continues the inner battle against his ‍ڔ‏WHDPPDWHV‍ ڕ‏9HQGROD DQG Bersani, in a rush to inner party elections characterized by mutual tripping and attacks; a situation which, far from seeing compromises emerge for the sake of an ideology and the good RI D FRXQWU\ VDGO\ UHŕŽ‹ HFWV the 1929 thirsty struggle IRU SRZHU ZLWKLQ WKH ‍ڔ‏GHP ocraticâ€? Soviet Communist party. Meanwhile, the centre-right parties attempt a grand coalition to undermine the left’s victory. So the story goes, with no destination in mind and no plan for constructing a country. The parties move on, more concerned with damaging each other, oblivious to the damage their path causes to the country. For most, hope now lies with the potential return of Monti to head the government, a symbol of failure of a political class that can no longer satisfy the needs of the people, and yet the only path with some meager potential. Thus, democracy is put aside and technocracy reigns in a place where the baton has been passed to chance and uncertainty, and where politics no longer plays that society-developing and security-enhancing UROH LW ZDV ERUQ WR IXOன OO ,Q stead, people turn to each other for help and compassion rules, as in the case of the Milanese benefactor who has been anonymously helping families under economic strain in his region. So, as the much too large pieces that make up the Italian political puzzle can QR ORQJHU EH IRUFLEO\ ன WWHG together after twenty years of strain, the country is left to sail today’s difficult seas without a commander, fearing every wave. Observing the storm around them, they still cannot face reality and its needs, dreaming DQG DFWLQJ IRU D GLŕŽ‰ HUHQW one, and thus continuing their brain-teasing game that makes our heads spin.

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Carolina Nizza investigates the political situation in Italy

Features

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

31

$6(,))

Slick business threatens Cambodia

MĂĄirtĂ­n Walsh, :RUOG $ŕ­ź DLUV &ROXPQLVW

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olitics in Cambodia is a murky business. According to many international and local reports, the country suffers from endemic and chronic levels of corrupWLRQ ZKLFK DŕŽ‰ HFWV LW JUDYH ly in every possible way. Most of us as students would only be able to associate Cambodia with gap year “voluntourism.â€? By looking at recent events such as when a prominent land rights campaigner was imprisoned, it is possible to understand that the abject poverty experienced by a vast majority of the population is no mere coincidence. With two US-funded broadcasters now left smarting by a government clampdown, it is difficult to see how the rational voice of those who live on lands subsumed by large oil multinationals and investors can triumph over a political executive willing to serve its own self-assigned interests. In what is a textbook case of the beginnings of a resource curse, Cambodia’s elite is at a crossroads; it must decide whether to build a sustainable and transparent resource management structure or maintain its subordination to private interests and accept the costs that such a strategy entails. In a country where the Prime Minister has held office, in varying coalitions, since 1985 it is perhaps natural to be pessimistic about the prospects for oil

extraction in Cambodia. Indeed, having only emerged from decades of civil strife and genocide only recently it is difficult to see how the subsequent prosperity derived from natural resources will spread beyond the elite who are securelyfastened in their positions RI LQŕŽ‹ XHQFH )RUJHWWLQJ the wealth divides for a second, the ecologists are not happy either; fearing a repeat of severe environmental damage in the Niger Delta and the exhaustion of Cambodian forestry, they now challenge the government openly. This is, after all, a government whose mining policies have already damaged around 25 per cent of the country’s wildlife districts. International donors have become increasingly concerned about the level of near-specialisation in resource exploitation demonstrated by the elite, whose repeated stalling of anti-corruption legislation has done little to assuage fears that the country is not an opportune place in which to do business. :KLOVW VRPH WRNHQ HŕŽ‰ RUWV have been made by the government in regards to transparency, like the publication of some officials’ total assets, the sheer magnitude of other problems as regards corruption on a national scale do incredibly well to negate it. Indeed, when oil exploration licences are granted in secret and new resource extraction legislation has no public consultation, one must question the value being placed on public con-

sent by the political elite. ,Q )HEUXDU\ +XQ 6HQ – the Cambodian Prime Minister – was reported to have said that the NGOs’ worries were “crazyâ€?. In discussing oil, it is perhaps impossible not to mention the quality of life of those to whom the resources should be commonly accessible. Given governmental restrictions, freedom of speech is a rarely-enjoyed commodity in Cambodia and there are tangible concerns, voiced by Christian Aid amongst others, that the wealth created by oil extraction development will, perversely, lessen the standard of living for some sections of VRFLHW\ 5DGLR )UHH $VLD and Voice of America are two radio stations which have become the target of a government keen to kerb any possible incitation to resistance in this regard. Allegedly menaced with closed door talks on the matter of “cooperationâ€? with the government last ZHHN $)3 DQG 5HXWHUV both report that journalists from these two organisations were questioned on their “professionalismâ€? and threatened with XQVSHFLன HG OHJDO DFWLRQ should they not cease their liberty-oriented broadcasts – though this has been denied by an official government spokesman. This summary call for “discussionâ€? by the authorities took place after a series of airings which covered issues such as border demarcations with Cambodia’s neighbour, Vietnam, and a transmission follow-

ing Mam Sonando’s imprisonment whose championing of land rights for the poor has earned him the respect of many. Both stations, which broadcast in Khmer, made strong points of the government’s unjusWLன DEOH VLOHQFLQJ RI ‍Ú?‏GLV sent’ within the country. The charge on which Sonando now stands convicted is that of “a plot to overthrow the government and attempting to establish a state within a stateâ€?. A long-standing critic of the +XQ 6HQ UHJLPH KLV ULJ orous defence of freedom of speech and objective news reports placed him in a vulnerable political position. According to one Al Jazeera report, he was charged with potentially assembling “up to a millionâ€? peasants in a putsch. A claim as ridiculous as this is very hard to take seriously, though KH ZLOO VHUYH \HDUV in prison nonetheless. Vested interests are hateful. When it is governments, and those who have D PRQRSRO\ RQ WKH ‍Ú?‏OHJLWL mate’ use of power, who abuse society with such things it is yet more desperDWHO\ VDG )HHOLQJV LQ WKH West are often described as powerfully passionate, yet inert and there truly is no better description. With an increased focus on economic recovery across the region and the attendant insular notions of economic nationDOLVP ‍Ú?‏OLWH‍ ڑ‏DQG EURDG GR mestic economic reforms, LW LV HYHQ KDUGHU WR ன QG a place in which problems such as those being

experienced in Cambodia can attract and maintain the attention of those with the power to stop it. The United States and the United Kingdom jointly FRQVXPH RI DOO &DPER dian exports; some may ask why that could not be used as a power play in bringing about political reform. Economic sanctions against elite power groups which seek to repress and entirely ignore their citizens are due worthy consideration. Even on a more basic level, the United Kingdom must at the very least have a presence within the countries with which it is to do business – in this way, the Department for International Development must strive to reverse its pulling out of Cambodia following a VWUDWHJLF UHYLHZ LQ Some may be quick to label this article as but mere idealism, but there are many, many practical and realistic steps yet to be taken – like mandatory, transparent and international tax publications; like reform of EU foreign policy, as well as the application of further pressure on tax havens to share more information, besides much more. Where existing institutions are poorly formed, where there is an absence of political competition and where there is a low level of primary, secondary and tertiary education, complacency is not an option in foreign policy. It is our moral duty to, if not realise all that could be done to improve, at least facilitate its beginnings.

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Features

Six more years of ChĂĄvismo Aditi Gupta

H

ugo ChĂĄvez’s electoral victory last Sunday was viewed by many with consternation and surprise. Increasing doubts regarding his problems with cancer, capacity to control overwhelming crime rates and an increasingly unstable oil policy had given opponent Henrique Capriles such a boost that there was only a two per cent gap between them in the polls. Nonetheless, ChĂĄvez managed to rise from the ashes yet again, and secured a decisive victory of 55 per cent of the vote on an 81 per cut turnout after fourteen years in power. ChĂĄvez’s name is one that is shrouded in controversy – as much loved in his country as he is maligned in the foreign media. Constantly viliனHG DV D ‍Ú?‏GLFWDWRU‍ ڑ‏DQG D ‍Ú?‏W\rant’, ChĂĄvez is also seen by many as central to the tide of progressive, social-democratic change that is sweeping Latin America. His Bolivarian revolution, through a process of decisive regional integration, has spearheaded movements which focus on wealth and power redis-

tribution whilst rejecting Western neo-liberal orthodoxy and neo-imperialism. Famous for calling George W Bush ‘a donkey’, ‘Mr. Danger’ and most hilariousO\ ‍Ú?‏DQ DVVKROH‍ ڑ‏KH LV GHனnitely a leader to watch. Owing to his radical foreign policy and revolutionary domestic reforms, ChĂĄvez has earned the enmity of America, and the US-backed social and racial elites in Venezuela that have called the shots in the country for centuries. After rejecting America’s proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Chavez proposed his own alternatives; The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and his own regional oil alliance, Petrocaribe. This was in order to promote unity for the Americas without the United States of America. Cuba is the most LPSRUWDQW EHQHனFLDU\ RI WKLV arrangement and is totally dependent on the 300,000 barrels of oil that Venezuela provides per day in return for medical and social assistance. It is this direct challenge to American hegemonic power within the region that has caused such

a backlash towards Chavez, particularly when you consider that Venezuela has the second largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia. As the Venezuelan oil industry is completely state-controlled, the fear of an energy security crisis is a key factor of American paranoia. So much so, that the US has even been implicated in the unsuccessful coup of 2002 that attempted to oust Chåvez from power. The Venezuelan elites tend to see Chåvez as the man who took away the privileges they enjoyed under the previous Punto Fijo system, and gave them to the majority of poor Venezuelans i.e. the many social programmes are taking up too many slices of the proverbial pie. Under Chåvez, generous allocation of petrodollars has seen poverty fall by half and extreme poverty by 70 per cent. There is free healthcare and education. More than twenty universities have been built. Adult education campaigns have helped to improve literacy rates. To shore up his support before this year’s election, Chåvez has widened the state pension programme, raised the

16.10.2012

minimum wage by 30 per cent and pledged to build a quarter of a million homes. Indeed, if Capriles had won the election, we would have seen the axing of many social programmes and a string of privatisations and market-based reforms. However, the fact that Venezuelan oil and gas exports are currently in decline indicates that ChĂĄvez’s revolution may have to scale down its ambitions. This stagnation is not the result of any shortage of oil reserves, but due to negligible investment which has helped to keep the global oil price high. The more important question for the majority of Venezuela’s people however, is not to do with Venezuela’s oil politics, but னUPO\ URRWHG LQ WKH PLVHU\ caused by the eye-watering crime rates, corruption and the looming spectre of currency devaluation that faces their economy. In spite of ChĂĄvez creating a whole new security body – the National Bolivarian police force – Venezuela still has one of the four highest murder rates in the world, with a murder every half an hour. Despite its oil wealth, Venezuela has borrowed heavily

| The Beaver

in recent years and is now UXQQLQJ D னVFDO GHனFLW RI 16 per cent of GDP. To meet debt obligations and pay for his extended welfare programmes, ChĂĄvez will come under pressure to devalue WKH %ROLYDU RU VLJQLனFDQWO\ raise oil revenues, which account for 95 per cent of Venezuela’s export earnings. Revealingly, ChĂĄvez has now outlined plans to more than triple oil production by 2020 – a sure sign that the pressure is mounting. Regardless of the challenges that lie ahead, ChĂĄvez’s recent victory saw him eleven points ahead of the opposition. He is the most electorally successful radical left leader in recent years, and his re-election will, at the very least, give him a chance to ensure that Venezuela’s social transformation is entrenched. Whilst some call him a tyrant, even opposition leaders have to concede that Venezuela is fundamentally a democracy, with exceptionally high levels of political participation. If his appointment of Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver, as Vice President is anything to go by, he will continue his socioeconomic reforms.

Julia Gillard, the Australian ‘badass’ around the world,â€? and Australians around the world ustralians living னQDOO\ KDG VRPHWKLQJ WR EH in London are re- proud of in their nation’s signed to the re- government. “I will not be lectured sponse, “no one about sexism and misogyny cares,â€? when they attempt by this man, I will not. And to discuss Australian politics the government will not be with their friends. With the lectured about sexism and Presidential elections in the misogyny by this man. Not United State of America, the now, not ever. The leader re-election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and political of the opposition says that tensions between China and people who hold sexist Japan, even as an Austral- views and who are misogyian, I am often wondering nists are not appropriate for why anyone would bother high office. Well, I hope the discussing the mundane, and leader of the opposition has some-what insular workings got a piece of paper and he of Australia’s parliamentary is writing out his resignation. Because if he wants to system. However, on the 10th Oc- know what misogyny looks WREHU ZKHQ $XVWUDOLD‍ڑ‏V னUVW like in modern Australia, female Prime Minister, Julia he doesn’t need a motion Gillard, attacked Opposition in the house of representaLeader, Tony Abbott, by con- tives, he needs a mirror.â€? 7KH னIWHHQ PLQXWH UHSULdemning his history of misogmand followed Ms Gillard’s ynistic comments, Australia defending the Speaker of became more than a country the House, Peter Slipper, of shrimp barbecuing, kangain the wake of a scandal roo riding “bogans.â€? where, according to Mr Ab$IWHU DQ LPSDVVLRQHG னIbott, Slipper sent “vileâ€? and teen minute speech in front “derogatoryâ€? texts to a feof the House of RepresentaPDOH PHPEHU RI VWDŕŽ‰ tives, Ms Gillard was efHowever, as Mr Abbott fectively “labelled a ‘bacriticised Slipper’s actions, dass’ champion for women Chloe Kim, :RUOG $ŕ­źDLUV &ROXPQLVW

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in turn, it left him open to a long and legitimate lecture on his own displays of sexism and misogyny. Armed with an excellently prepared and researched speech, Gillard took direct quotes, dates and names to shame the leader of the Opposition. In 1998, Abbott answered a magazine’s question about the lack of women in parliament with his own question, “what if men are by physiology or temperament more adapted to exercise authority or to issue command?� Then he suggested that Gillard “make an honest woman of herself� because Gillard is unmarried. Or when he described the Prime Minister as “barren� due to her decision not to have children. Or when he stood in photographs with protestors holding signs calling Gillard “a man’s bitch� and a “witch.� Often linked to US politician Todd Akin who recently stated that “legitimate rape� did not result in pregnancy, in 2004, Abbott said that abortion was “the easy way out.�

Evidently, Abbott’s track record is less than impressive DQG *LOODUG‍ڑ‏V VXFFHVV LQ னnally putting Abbott in his place is sure to do wonders for the Labor party in the next Australian elections. Ever since the Australian Labor Party replaced former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, with Julia Gillard on 23rd June 2010, (essentially staging a political coup) the Labor government quickly fell out of favour with the Australian public. However, while there was a legitimate basis to some of the criticism they faced, such as the useless implementation of the carbon tax, questions regarding the government’s competence and disastrous handling of asylum seeker boat arrivals, other reasons simply lay with the fact that Gillard was physically unattractive. With cankles, red hair and a large, sharp nose, VKH ZDV SK\VLFDOO\ XQனW WR be Prime Minister. Or, Gillard would be criticised for remaining unmarried and instead, choosing to live with a life partner whose occupation is a hairdresser.

And the other main criticism the Labor government faced was the sheer fact that their leader was a woman. Although no one said so, so blatantly, it does not take a genius to see that daily newspapers both rate and comment more on Gillard as a woman, than as a Prime Minister. However since 10th October 2012, Gillard seems to have reclaimed the upper hand in the upcoming national elections. Now it will be interesting to see how Abbott retaliates. With Julia “badass� Gillard’s video going viral after less than twenty- four hours of being uploading onto the internet, the world has discovered a sudden new found interest in Australian politics. This new found appreciation however, will only mean, for Tony Abbot, that all eyes will be watching him intently. And when I say all eyes, I do not only mean Australians anymore, because it will be the international community who will be watching, watching no doubt, on YouTube.

Features

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

33

Emerging from shadows of apathy Ali Hughes

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he US presidential election race has entered its ன QDO VWDJHV DIWHU the party conventions. Obama and Romney sit neck and neck in the polls and the world awaits the results on November WK PLOHV VRXWK RI :DVKLQJWRQ WKRXJK WKHUH LV DQRWKHU XSFRPLQJ HOHF tion. Less anticipated but equally closely contested, this year’s presidential election in Venezuela could HLWKHU VHH +XJR &KÂŁYH] FOLQJ WR SRZHU IRU DQRWKHU VL[ \HDUV KDYLQJ DOUHDG\ VHUYHG IRU WKLUWHHQ RU ZLWQHVV WKH ன QDO GHPLVH RI D SROLWLFDO LGHRORJXH ZKR KDV GHன QHG 6RXWK American politics since WKH WXUQ RI WKH FHQWXU\ $QG WKHQ WKHUH LV &KLQD $ JHQHUDWLRQDO FKDQJH LQ leadership comes about in WKH 0LGGOH .LQJGRP IRU RQO\ WKH IRXUWK WLPH VLQFH 7KLV WLPH WKH FKDQJH LV PHDQW WR EH SHDFHIXO constitutional and set an example to a world which LV ன JKWLQJ SROLWLFDO DQG economic turmoil at every corner. Instead there has already been barely disJXLVHG SROLWLFDO LQன JKWLQJ

major scandal and a missLQJ OHDGHU ,W LV SHUKDSV EHKLQG WKH KLJK ZDOOV DW =KRQJQDQKDL LQ %HLMLQJ WKDW WKLV \HDU‍ڑ‏V ELJJHVW SR litical upset could occur. In this article, however, I want to look beyond these events. Much will be written about them and they will be discussed at OHQJWK RYHU WKH FRPLQJ WHUP %XW ZLOO DQ\WKLQJ UHDOO\ FKDQJH DIWHU WKH HOHFWLRQV" &DQ D JURXS RI politicians, whether experienced or novices, totalitarian or democratic, return us to the sunnier times RI WKH HDUO\ 1RXJKWLHV" (QFRXUDJLQJ HFRQRPLF JURZWK D VHHPLQJO\ VLP ple concept. A concept that many politicians already HOHFWHG GXULQJ WKLV GRZQ WXUQ KDYH FDPSDLJQHG IRU <HW PDQ\ RI WKHVH PHQ DQG ZRPHQ KDYH VLQJXODUO\ IDLOHG WR JUDVS WKH VFDOH RI WKH SUREOHPV IDFLQJ WKHLU countries and the world economy. This downturn is not a simple business cycle slowdown. Nor can it be easily compared to the structural problems which DŕŽ? LFWHG HFRQRPLHV LQ WKH 1970s and 1980s. Instead, EHFDXVH RI WKH ZD\ WKDW WKLV FULVLV LV DŕŽ‰ HFWLQJ QRW RQO\ WKH PRVW JOREDOLVHG economies in the developed

ZRUOG EXW LQFUHDVLQJO\ WKH GHYHORSLQJ JLDQWV LQ $VLD we must label it as a new economic phenomenon. $QG LI WKLV LV D QHZ SKHQRP enon, how can politicians UHDFW HŕŽ‰ HFWLYHO\" 7KH SDVW IRXU \HDUV KDYH ZLWQHVVHG D ODUJH GHJUHH RI HFRQRPLF and political trial and erURU PRVWO\ HUURU 7KH RQO\ way politicians can possibly hope to overcome the economic malaise we are FDXJKW LQ LV E\ GHYHORSLQJ D FRKHUHQW URDG PDS IRU their economic policies. :LWKRXW WKH DEROLWLRQ RI uncertainty, the economies RI WKH ZRUOG ZLOO QRW JURZ The problem with the elections and appointments RFFXUULQJ WKLV \HDU LV WKDW QRQH RI WKH FDQGLGDWHV DUH RŕŽ‰ HULQJ DQ\WKLQJ QHZ 7KH\ DOO DUH FDPSDLJQ LQJ DERXW WKH VDPH LVVXHV WKH\ ZHUH DW WKH EHJLQQLQJ RI WKLV FULVLV EDFN LQ and 2008. All are indebted to vested interests within WKH HFRQRP\ JRYHUQPHQW and political party. To reWXUQ WR HFRQRPLF JURZWK the world needs politicians ZLOOLQJ WR WDNH D ன UP VWDQG RQ WKHLU SULQFLSOHV *LYLQJ PDUNHWV FRQன GHQFH DQG leadership will be the acid WHVW IRU WKH FODVV RI It is not only in economics that politicians elect-

ed this autumn will need to prove themselves. The ZRUOG LV IDFLQJ WXUEXOHQFH RI D SROLWLFDO NLQG WRR 7KH ‍ڔ‏$UDE 6SULQJ‍ ڕ‏FRXOG ZHOO EH JLYLQJ ZD\ WR WKH ‍ڔ‏$UDE :LQWHU‍ ڕ‏ZLWK HYHQWV LQ 6\U LD ERWK KDUURZLQJ DQG XQ PDQDJHDEOH 'LSORPDF\ LV DOZD\V D GHOLFDWH JDPH EXW DIWHU HOHFWLRQV LQ ERWK WKH 86$ DQG &KLQD WKH ZRUOG‍ڑ‏V JUHDW VXSHUSRZ HUV WKDW JDPH FRXOG EH come yet more complicated DQG GDQJHURXV ,W LV DOVR SRVVLEOH WKDW QRWKLQJ ZLOO DFWXDOO\ FKDQJH 3UHVLGHQW ;L UHSODFHV 3UHVLGHQW +X XVLQJ WKH VDPH KDLU G\H DQG SUHDFKLQJ WKH VDPH doctrine. Obama continXHV KLV VKLIW WR WKH 3DFLன F EXW VKULQNV IURP WDNLQJ WRR KDUG D OLQH DJDLQVW &KLQD (OVHZKHUH LQ WKH HPHUJ LQJ ZRUOG WKH $UDE 6SULQJ FRXOG HLWKHU UHOHDVH JHQHU DWLRQ ORQJ WHQVLRQV RU VHUYH WR PDNH DQ XQVWDEOH UHJLRQ more stable. The problem HYHU\ZKHUH \RX ORRN LQ IRU HLJQ DŕŽ‰ DLUV WRGD\ LV WKDW as with the economy, cerWDLQW\ KDV JRQH 3ROLWLFLDQV elected this year could do much to return the world to RSWLPLVP DQG VDIHW\ RI WKH WXUQ RI WKH FHQWXU\ ,W LV QD ÂąYH WR VXJJHVW WKDW WKH\ ZLOO be able to turn back time, EXW LW LV D ZRUWK\ JRDO WR

UHPHPEHU VRPH RI WKH OLE eral, open values espoused DW WKH HQG RI WKH &ROG :DU 3ROLWLFV WRGD\ ERWK LQ WKH domestic and international domain, is not what it was HYHQ IRXU \HDUV DJR $W WKH VWDUW RI WKH HFRQRPLF FUL sis, politics could still be a YHKLFOH IRU KRSH $V 2EDPD VKRZHG LQ KLV FDPSDLJQ politics and politicians can and should inspire. +RZHYHU WKH IDLOXUH RI that hope to translate into positive economic recovery KDV GDPDJHG SROLWLFLDQV‍ ڑ‏ reputations more than any VHULHV RI VFDQGDOV FRXOG 6R WKH ன QDO GHWHUPLQDQW RI WKH FODVV RI ‍ڑ‏V VXFFHVV ZLOO be whether they can prove politics is not simply an exFLWLQJ VLGHVKRZ WR WKH ‍ڔ‏UHDO‍ ڕ‏ EXVLQHVV RI HFRQRPLFV 7KH HOHFWLRQ RI SUDJPDW LF OHDGHUV VXFK DV 3UHVL dent Hollande in France LV D JRRG EHJLQQLQJ %XW LW LV QRW HQRXJK 3ROLWLFLDQV must prove that they can actually deliver on their promises. This point is not only relevant to politicians in Westminster, but also in :DVKLQJWRQ &DUDFDV DQG %HLMLQJ (OHFWLRQV LQ $PHU LFD DQG WKH HPHUJLQJ ZRUOG FDQ DQG KRSHIXOO\ ZLOO EULQJ politics back to the respected position it deserves in societies across the world.

34

Features

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Thoughts from the party conferences better to do some good now than have grand plans in Lib Dem Conference is a permanent opposition. As there was no unseemELW GLŕŽ‰HUHQW 0HQWDO WKLQJV tend to happen, like a white ly democracy for the press witch declaring that Simon to excoriate, no debate to Hughes was being followed be mistaken for internecine by bad spirits, and the Glee warfare, the column inches Club singing songs like ‘On instead went to Nick Clegg’s WKH னUVW GD\ RI &RDOLWLRQ WKH speech, which wasn’t exTories gave to me a referen- actly epoch-making. He GXP RQ $9‍ ڑ‏LQVWHDG RI ‍Ú?â€ŹŕŽŠYH stressed that Lib Dems are gold rings’ we get ‘bugger neither Labour nor Tories. all’). It also tends to be the 6KRFNLQJ VWXŕŽ‰ %XW WKHUH gift that keeps on giving to was also a reiteration of the press hacks. It has an unusu- Clegg endgame - rebuildal strain of democracy run- ing Britain. He argued that ning through it that means cuts and restructuring don’t the leadership is regularly have to mean some kind of stateless challenged, scrutinised or neo-Thatcherite even embarrassed by the country, but can mean a UXOLQJV RI WKH ŕŽ‹RRU WKH VRY- leaner, greener, liberal nation. Especially cited were ereign body of the party. This year that didn’t re- the Business Bank, the pupil ally happen. There were no premium and the basic rate notable wrecking amend- tax change. There was a dements or anti-government fence of the 45p rate reducdebates. The Coalition’s tion; as it was still a higher economic policy was over- rate of tax than Labour ever whelmingly backed. This utilised, except as an emerannoyed Polly Toynbee and gency measure. There was everyone who believes that DOVR D UKHWRULFDO ŕŽ‹RXULVK the Lib Dems can only sur- aimed directly at the Libvive by ditching Clegg and eral g-spot, as Clegg lifted turning against austerity. directly from Jo Grimmond The truth is, however, that and David Steel’s most fathere is a certain steel in the mous conference speeches. All in all, the Lib Dems rhetoric that has been there for a few conferences now. DUH QRW LQ D PXFK GLŕŽ‰HUHQW Whilst there is unease about position after Conference whether the electorate will than before. Clegg is percome back, there is a sense haps a bit safer, and Vince that the die is cast, and all &DEOH KDV PRYHG IXUWKHU RŕŽ‰ that can be done is to make centre stage. No radical new the best job of government policies were adopted, and that we can. Small victories no government core princiare of great importance to ples shouted down. For me this, and issues like secret the highlight was a presencourts (Jo Shaw’s ‘Kafka tation from Citizens UK, as gave us a warning, not a a group of former asylum manual’ line won much ap- seekers thanked our party plause) and mental health for ending child detention provision were discussed, for immigration purposes. binding the leadership to Maybe moments like that action. Speeches from the justify holding our noses likes of Tim Farron reiter- and governing after all. ated the message that it is

Sam Barnett - Liberal Democrats

Chris Rogers - Conservatives

The Tory Conference this year certainly lived up to expectations. Almost everyone in suits as Conservatives descended upon Birmingham is a spirit of uncertainty. Lagging behind in the polls, the Lib Dems had scuppered the attempts at boundary reforms, seen as vital for a Conservative majority at the next election and just after Ed Miliband laid down a claim to the mantle of Disraeli’s One Nation Conservatism. Although there have been some claims to success, most centered on Michael Gove’s education reforms, and Iain Duncan Smiths redesign of the ben-

HனW V\VWHP Most of the fringe events UHŕŽ‹HFWHG WKH ZRUU\ RYHU WKH next election with events entitled, “the road to 2015â€?, “how to win the next electionâ€?, “can we win in the northâ€?, and other events designed to explain how to reverse the worrying trend in the opinion polls. Indeed one such event was so packed that people were prevented from entering WKH URRP SRVVLEO\ WKH னUVW time Conservatives supported health and safely legislation as Polly Toynbee was prevented from entering the event. Other fringe event’s undoubtedly proved a headache for the Tory leadership, notably the Coalition for Marriage event

optimism swiftly turned to awe. Ed delivered a deeply charismatic, interesting The Labour Party faithful and often witty 64 minute gathered this October for address - and without a sintheir annual shin-dig of polgle note. It wasn't difficult iticians' speeches, policy to imagine a 'Prime Mindebate and frequently inister Miliband' from this ebriated fringe events. speech. He had the timing This year's conference and narrative of an accomhas come at a good time for plished stand-up, alonside the Party: leading by some the conviction of a leader10 points in the polls, winin-waiting. This was, for Laning the debate on austerbour, 64 minutes that made ity and with the wind of a power seem possible again. year's election victories Using Benjamin Disreabehind them. But one conli's 'One Nation' mantle (a siderable, LSE educated VSHHFK னUVW GHOLYHUHG MXVW question has lingered peropposite the venue of this sistantly: is Ed Miliband a year's Labour conference) potential PM? This was a Miliband set out his Britweek for one of our own to ain. Drawing on his Jewish lay down the gauntlet. SDUHQWV ŕŽ‹HH IURP IDVFLVP Those in politics have WKHLU னQGLQJ a grave conprosperity in cern for powEd delivered a deeply charismatic, interesting London (both, er. It's not incidentally, all that moti- and often witty 64 minute address - and without at the LSE), vates them a single note. his compreoccasionally hensive eduit's a set of principles - but the fatality the leader. Ed Miliband cation and his experiences of the British system means has faced criticism for his as a father. It was a perthat without Downing aesthetic credentials, with sonal story, illustrating that Street, you're getting noth- some suggesting he doesn't if his family can go from ing done fast. It was this look like a bloke you'd meet Polish refugees to leading frustration which shaped down the pub, but rather politicians in one generasome kind of north Lon- tion, then maybe the polars Labour's conference. Fringe events focused don intellectual. The prob- of British society aren't so unrelentingly on teething lem here being, that this is separate after all. These speeches will nevout every which and way largely true. Whilst it's a of why Conservatives are shame that it's personality er really light up the homes wrong. From highlight- not policy that more usu- of middle-England. People ing attacks to the work- ally courts public percep- aren't that interested three ing poor in tax credit cuts, tions, our current Etonian, years from an election. But Sure Start closures and the never-eaten-a-pasty PM is what it did achieve was HPSOR\PHQW ULJKWV ERQனUH hardly miles ahead at being the chance to put Labour's case in the shop window for right through to expos- 'one of the people'. Fortunately for me, I D GLŕŽ‰HUHQW JURXS RI SHRSOH ing Michael Gove's school reforms seemingly come had the pleasure of a near The journalese, twitterati, directly from the era of front-row seat for Ed's con- punditocracy and comDownton Abbey. Labour is ference speech. Having mentariat liked it. And, two angry, and not so much as a been in the hall for all three years in, it was the conferpassing venue janitor could of Ed's speeches to date as HQFH ZKHQ /DERXU னQDOO\ Labour leader, I took my took Ed to its bosom. escape hearing it. It wasn't just in fringe seat with mixed, if not opevents that the anger timistic expectations. But Ben Butterworth - Labour

with Lord Carey and Ann Widdecombe. However it must be said that such troubling events were few and far between. Indeed the greatest worry was what Boris would say. Would he lay down a direct challenge to Cameron? Instead he arrived at an event celebrating his re-election as London Mayor fully endorsing the Prime minister and the Chancellor. 7KLV ZDV WKH னUVW WLPH that many of the new ministers had a chance to explain what they planned to do with their new brief. Others such as Michael Gove received standing ovations after explaining what they had managed to achieve in office, and indeed it was easy to

seeped. As each of Labour's shadow Secretary of States gave their conference address, the feelings of party activists made the route from fringe farore to media soundbites. Andy Burnham pledged to repeal the controversial NHS bill, Caroline Flint vowed to abolish the energy watchdog, Ofgem, and Yvette Cooper called for a new body to replace the Police Complaints Commission. But it would have taken nothing short of a Janet Jackson nipple slip for any shadow Secretary to get the big headlines. That, in Britain's increasingly presidential system, is an opportunity reserved for

see which government minsters had the favour of the party grass roots. During Boris’ speech the atmosphere of the main hall was electric, and as Boris walked in, the room jumped to its feat to applaud the most electorally successful Tory today. Most ministers also used their speeches to take swipes at Ed Miliband’s “One NaWLRQ‍ ڕ‏FRPPHQW W\SLனHG E\ William Hague’s putdown: “To borrow a turn of phrase, we were led by Disraeli, our predecessors knew Disraeli, Disraeli’s beliefs were Conservative through and through, and, Ed Miliband, you are no Disraeli.â€? The event Climaxed with Cameron’s speech which was aimed to set out the

Conservative stall for the next election. Addressing his critics, Cameron admitted that he had no “hard luck storyâ€? but that he was “not here to defend privilege, I’m here to spread it.â€? His speech contained a range of concepts, from rallying the grass roots with attacks on Labour to reŕŽ‹HFWLQJ VROHPQO\ RQ HYHQWV in his life such as about his son Ivan. Did the conference have a decisive impact? Not really, there was no game changer, but it is now clear how the Tories inWHQG WR னJKW WKH QH[W HOHFtion: focusing on Labours economic history, and with policies designed to help the ‘strivers of Britain’.

Features

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

35

Will the real Romney please stand up? Basak Arslan

H

e’s running for the office of president. He’s Republican. He’s a Mormon. He’s very easy on the eye and he’s rich. Apart from that, what do we actually know about Mitt Romney? Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has it all: a vast personal fortune, a successful business career, a family and a ridiculously gorgeous haircut! (“The person who wins the presidential election is always the person with the best hair.� — Felix Salmon.) Now, the 65 year old wants to crown his much successful career by conquering the high-

est land, the Oval Office. We’ll see whether the King of Bain becomes the new President in a couple of weeks. In the meanwhile, why not explore the fascinating background of the business magnate turned presidential candidate? The Romney family can be traced back to the 17th century Great Britain, to William Romney who served as the Lord Mayor of London. Mitt Romney on the other hand was born in Detroit - as the youngest of three siblings - to a homemaker and an automotive executive/politician. He was named after his father’s friend, hotel magnate John Willard Marriot (JW Marriott). Middle name Mitt is for Milton

Romney, his father’s cousin and a former Chicago Bears quarterback. Quite a combination! Romney attended Stanford University between 1965-1966 before leaving the country for a thirtymonth stay in France as a Mormon missionary. In June 1968, an automobile he was driving in southern France was hit by another vehicle, killing one of his passengers. A French policeman thought Romney was dead and wrote “Il est mort� (dead) on his passport. Later he was found seriously injured in a hospital. Following the car accident, Romney returned to US and decided to get married to his high-school sweetheart Ann Davies DONKEYHOTEY

who had converted to Mormonism when he was away. They got married in 1969 by civil and Mormon ceremonies respectively. Romney began attending Brigham Young University where Davies had been studying. There he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and graduated with the highest honors. 7KH 5RPQH\‍ڑ‏V னUVW FKLOG was born in 1970 when they were undergrad students. Although Romney wanted to pursue a career in business right after graduation, his father advised him that a law degree ZRXOG EH EHQHனFLDO IRU KLV career even if he didn’t become a lawyer. Hence, he enrolled in the joint Master of Business Administration/Juris Doctor program coordinated between Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School. According to his classmates during his term at Harvard he was non-ideological and to an extent apolitical. After graduation with several career paths in prospects, Romney joined Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) as he thought it would better prepare him for a future position as Chief Executive. He was then recruited by Bain & Company a managementFRQVXOWLQJ னUP EHIRUH FR IRXQGLQJ WKH VSLQ RŕŽ‰ private equity investPHQW னUP %DLQ &DSLWDO Although the partnership structure indicated that 5RPQH\ KDG QR னQDQFLDO or professional risk, he held the titles of President, Managing General Partner, Managing Director and CEO. In February 1999, Romney took a leave of absence to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee. Right after the Olympics came the Massachusetts Gubernatorial Elections. The acting governor of the state, Jane Swift was plagued by personal and political scandals (such as using the state employees for personal purposes). Hence the party leaders and the White House wanted Romney – who was nicknamed as “The Lord of the Ringsâ€? due to his successful performance as the President and CEO of the Olympics - to run for governor. On November 5, 2002, Romney won the governorship, earning 50 per cent of the

vote, beating O’Brien’s 45 per cent. To say that Romney’s rich would be an understatement. His estimated net worth is $202 million. Although his corporate journey seems quite smooth, the same cannot be said about his political path. Despite his appeal to the moderates and independents, Romney faced tremendous resistance from the conservative base RYHU WKH ODVW னYH \HDUV The main point of concerns is with regards to his fundamental political ideology. His support for the Massachusetts Health Reform 2006, which was the progenitor of ObamaCare was criticized by many, including the federal government. Moreover his greatest strength, which is the ability to build a consensus from diverging factions, is also his greatest weakness. His need to please everyone makes him look indecisive according to focus group that was assembled by Democratic pollster Peter Hart in Tampa. “Make a stand, whether people like it or not,â€? a 56-yearold woman in the group RŕŽ‰HUHG DV DGYLFH IRU 5RPney. “Stick to something,â€? said another 55-year-old woman Show me a career politician who has never changed a position and I’ll show you a unicorn. However, the situation with Romney is not about changing positions. He seems to be one of those people who never choose an opinion but always wear whatever happens to be in style. Whether it’s abortion, minimum wage, the 10th Amendment or the stem cell research Mitt Romney never fails to “entertainâ€? the public with his huge U-turns! His doubletalk has thus earned him another nickname: FlipFlopney! What about his opinion on UK? According to Romney “England is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn’t make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn’t been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler’s ambitions.â€? Nevermind folks, he will probably change his mind soon!

36

Features

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Meeting Craig Calhoun and big issues facing the ZRUOG )RU H[DPSOH ZH DO What is your favourite UHDG\ KDYH WKH *UDQWKDP LQVWLWXWH RQ FOLPDWH FKDQJH pub in the area? , WKLQN ZH ZLOO KDYH DQ HYHQ PRUH LQWHU GLVFLSOLQDULDQ In the area? George IV ZD\ RI ORRNLQJ DW WKH HQ You’ve just arrived at YLURQPHQW DQG ORRNLQJ DW the LSE from an Ameri- cities and urbanisation as can university, what are ZHOO WKH PDLQ GL૸ HUHQFHV \RX 6R ZKDW , ZRXOG H[SHFW LV WR VHH WKH /6( QRW MXVW have experienced? ZKDW DV \RX VWXG\ DQG ZKDW The LSE is distinctive even GHSDUWPHQW \RX DUH LQ EXW inside Britain and cer- KRZ LW ORRNV DW WKHVH ELJ LV tainly doesn’t have any ex- sues. act counterpart in the US. 7KH ELJJHVW GLŕŽ‰ HUHQFH LV , What do you think is the WKLQN WKDW LW‍ڑ‏V RUJDQLVHG DV number one issue you RQH IDFXOW\ ZLWK HYHU\RQH have to deal with as diWRJHWKHU DQG QRW LQ GLŕŽ‰ HU rector and how are you dealing with it? HQW VFKRROV OLNH PHGLFDO schools or business schools. 7KDW‍ڑ‏V NLQG RI WHUULன F WKDW LW ,‍ڑ‏P JRLQJ WR FKHDW DQG JLYH KDV WKLV FRQFHQWUDWHG PL[ \RX DQVZHUV 7KH WKLQJ ,‍ڑ‏P PRVW LPPHGLDWHO\ XS of everybody. It’s a quarter the size of VHW DERXW LV LPPLJUDWLRQ WKH XQLYHUVLW\ , FDPH IURP and the police registration LQ WKH 86 7KH RQH , FDPH LVVXH , WKLQN LW‍ڑ‏V MXVW RXW IURP LV RQH RI WKH PRVW rageous that international global of the elite universi- VWXGHQWV DUH FRPLQJ EH WLHV LQ WKH 86 WKH /6( LV LQJ WROG WR UHJLVWHU DQG \HW HYHQ PRUH JOREDO DQG VR WKH\ FDQ‍ڑ‏W SRVVLEO\ UHJLVWHU and they are even queuing GLŕŽ‰ HUHQW DJDLQ 7KH ELJJHVW GLŕŽ‰ HUHQFH ,‍ڑ‏G over night. VD\ LV WKH H[WHQW WR ZKLFK ,‍ڑ‏P H[HUFLVHG DERXW WKDW , $PHULFDQ XQLYHUVLWLHV DUH KRSH WKDW ZLOO JHW ன [HG DQG oriented to private fun- ZLOO QRW EH WKH ELJJHVW LV draising - to try and do sue over the year. things to raise scholarship 7KH ELJJHVW LVVXH ORQJ WHUP IXQGLQJ WR RŕŽ‰ VHW IHHV DQG LV ன JXULQJ KRZ WR EDODQFH support other kinds of ac- WKH UHVRXUFHV WKDW ZH QHHG WR EH D ன UVW UDWH LQVWLWXWLRQ WLYLWLHV ZLWKLQ XQLYHUVLW\ ZLWK DQ DELOLW\ WR KDYH DF The LSE’s directorship is FHVV WR D ZLGH UDQJH RI VWX a term of 5 years where dents. do you think the school What are your views on will be in 5 years? your recent predeces5LJKW KHUH , KDYH QR LQWHQ sors Howard Davies and Judith Rees? WLRQ RI PRYLQJ LW , WKLQN WKDW ZHOO OHW PH SXW LW WKLV ZD\ WKLV \HDU ZH DUH , IHHO WKDW ,‍ڑ‏P LQ WKH GHEW going to have a strategic RI HDFK RI WKHP 7KH\ HDFK UHYLHZ 6WXGHQWV ZLOO EH GLG JUHDW WKLQJV +RZDUG LQYROYHG DV ZLOO WHDFKLQJ GLG WHUULன F WKLQJV IRU WKH VWDŕŽ‰ WR PDNH VXUH ZH DUH VFKRRO LQFOXGLQJ OHDG FOHDU DERXW ZKDW RXU YDO LQJ VRPH LPSURYHPHQWV WR XHV DUH ZKDW RXU JRDOV DUH WKH HVWDWHV WKDW ZHUH UH DQG WKLQN DERXW KRZ WR SUR DOO\ PXFK QHHGHG -XGLWK FHHG VXFK DV WKH HŕŽ‰ HFWV RI VWHSSHG LQ DW D KDUG WLPH UDLVLQJ WKH $$% FDS VKRXOG DQG GLG D WHUULன F WLPH KHOS WKH VL]H FKDQJH VKRXOG LQJ WKH VFKRRO PRYH IRU there be a shift in the pro- ZDUG SRUWLRQ RI XQGHUJUDGXDWHV WKH PL[WXUH RI ZKRVH DW WKH 5HJDUGLQJ WKH *DGGDૹ VFKRRO DQG ZKDW VXEMHFWV funding scandal, do you ZH VWXG\ 6R WKHUH DUH D ORW think Howard Davies was RI WKLQJV RQ WKH WDEOH DQG , right to resign and had FDQ‍ڑ‏W SUHGLFW ZKDW ZLOO KDS you been director would you have accepted the pen. money? I expect there to be vigorRXV GLVFXVVLRQ IURP PDQ\ GLŕŽ‰ HUHQW SRLQWV RI YLHZ , :HOO KLQGVLJKW LV D WHUULன F ZLOO KRZHYHU SUHGLFW WKDW advantage in this. So I have WKH WKLQJV WKDW ZH HPSKD no idea at one level. I can VLVH ZLOO EH PRUH HQJDJH WHOO \RX JRLQJ IRUZDUG PHQW DFURVV WKH GLVFLSOLQHV KRZ ZH DUH WU\LQJ WR GHDO ZLWK WKDW LV E\ KDYLQJ D Chris Rogers and Liam Brown

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DOO\ ZDQW WKH JRYHUQPHQW WR GR DQG WKDW LV SUREDEO\ QRW MXVW ZKDW LW ZDV GRLQJ ODVW \HDU $QG ,‍ڑ‏P ZRUULHG QRW MXVW ZLWK UHJDUG WR 186 but higher education in JHQHUDO WKDW ZH VKRXOGQ‍ڑ‏W JHW IDFHG ZLWK D FKRLFH RI MXVW ZKDW HYHU ZDV JRLQJ RQ ODVW \HDU DQG WKH FXU UHQW SROLF\ EXW ZH VKRXOG EH ORRNLQJ DW D ZLGHU UDQJH of potential policy. What is your opinion on Alex Peters-day and the Students’ Union, and given its rather low ranking in the NSS survey do you think it is doing a good job, and should it focus on activism or societies? , OLNH $OH[ DQG , DP DW OHDVW 2 to 1 ahead of her in our RQOLQH VFUDPEOH FRPSHWL tion. I think that the LSE as a ZKROH VKRXOG DOZD\V ZDQW WR GR EHWWHU WKDQ WKH 166 VXUYH\ DQG , WKLQN WKDW WKH XQLRQ VKRXOG UHDOO\ ZDQW WR GR EHWWHU WKDQ WKH 166 VXU vey. <RX‍ڑ‏YH IRFXVHG RQ FDP SDLJQLQJ RQ ZLGHU LVVXHV and student service and acWLYLWLHV RQ FDPSXV , WKLQN WKH\‍ڑ‏UH QRW PXWXDOO\ H[FOX VLYH DQG JHWWLQJ WKH EDO DQFH ULJKW LV LPSRUWDQW

WKHUH ZKR KDG WR PDNH GH FLVLRQV ZLWKRXW IXOO LQIRU PDWLRQ RI WKH FRQWH[W WKH\ ZHUH LQ VR ,‍ڑ‏P QRW ZLOOLQJ WR JR YHU\ IDU , KDYH ZULW ten an article about this ZKROH FDVH DQG KDYH P\ RZQ RSLQLRQV DQG , WKLQN PRVW LPSRUWDQWO\ ZH VKRXOG DOZD\V NHHS WKH PLVVLRQ FOHDU ‍ڔ‏ZKDW \RX DUH WU\LQJ to do?â€? and be sure all the ZRUN LV KHDGLQJ LQ WKDW GL rection. 7KLV LV WKH ૹ UVW \HDU students will be paying ÂŁ8,500. Do you think this is the right cost or, if you were here would you have argued for ÂŁ9,000? , WKLQN WKH GHFLVLRQ ZDV PDGH E\ D YHU\ QDUURZ PDMRULW\ 6R WKH DFWXDO GH FLVLRQ JRW PDGH DV D FRP SURPLVH 1RZ , FDQ‍ڑ‏W NQRZ H[DFWO\ ZKDW , ZRXOG KDYH GRQH WU\LQJ WR SXW P\VHOI in the past. My general YLHZ LV WKH UHDOO\ LPSRUWDQW WKLQJ LV WR RŕŽ‰ VHW WKH IHHV ZH FKDUJH ZLWK EXUVDULHV for the poorest & to try and get additional funds for those bursaries.

In general I think our stuGHQWV DW WKH /6( DUH VPDUW HQRXJK WR NQRZ WKH GLŕŽ‰ HU HQFH EHWZHHQ WKH VWLFNHU SULFH DQG WKH ERWWRP OLQH RI ZKDW WKH\ DUH DFWXDOO\ SD\ LQJ VR ZKHUH , SODQ WR ZRUN on this is to raise additional PRQH\ WR NHHS ERWWRP OLQH SULFHV GRZQ The SU have launched their priority campaign, this year, are you broadly in favour of it?

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Sport

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

37

Table Tennis or Ping Pong? LSE has both! convinced I had to smash the ball on my own side of the table as opposed to over the net, I have since played in numerous competitions

team – culminating in the YLFWRU\ RI WKH %ULWLVK 8QLYHU VLW\ 6SRUWV &XS %8&6 And having spent over e RQ QHZ HTXLSPHQW

by against Queen Mary’s (think Arsenal v Spurs and then double the intensity) ZKLOH RXU ன UVW :RPHQ‍ڑ‏V match will be against our

DQG HQMR\ WKH VSRUW WUHPHQ GRXVO\ /DVW \HDU /6( 7DEOH 7HQ nis members were graced ZLWK VRPH ZRUOG FODVV SLQJ pong from the Women’s

since, we are even better equipped to challenge for both the league and cup this WLPH DURXQG 2XU ன UVW 0HQ‍ڑ‏V WHDP PDWFK ZLOO EH D /RQGRQ GHU

‘noisy neighbours’ Kings WKLQN 5HDO 0DGULG Y %DUFH lona and then quadruple the QRLVH But if you are one of the casual social players (along

on in the night, and not for WKH ன UVW WLPH ZDV *HQHUDO Mateer and the birthday girl whose display on the sofas set the tone for the UHVW RI WKH HYHQLQJ Equally shameless in KLV HQGHDYRXUV ZDV &DS tain Craig who managed to conqueror the majority of the girls in Zoo, however WKH VHOI FRQJUDWXODWLRQ RQ the sofas should not be encouraged, and yet more unnecessary stripping left PDQ\ JLUOV GLVDSSRLQWHG While quantity was high KH IDLOHG DW WKH ன QDO KXUGOH managing to get de Italy into a taxi, only to EH MRLQHG E\ *HQHUDO Mateer, whose drunken cockblocking ended the QLJKW ZLWKRXW D EDQJ Lush continued rugby’s successful streak, taking D UDWKHU NHHQ QHWEDOO ன UVW

team member home at the HQG RI WKH QLJKW DQG UX mour has it, for a second round on Saturday night DV ZHOO )OLUW\ %LUW\ ZKR ZDV DW the top of her game for the ன UVW ]RR EDFN PDQDJHG DW least three pulls but, as far as my sources are aware, was the only occupant of KHU EHG WKDW QLJKW Rugby was not the only sport to get on the scoresheet as rowing stepped up their game with the AU’s answer to *HRUJH 2VERUQH VZHHSLQJ a women’s rugby fresher RŕŽ‰ KHU IHHW :KHWKHU RU not she agreed to cox for KLP UHPDLQV XQNQRZQ $ PRUH UDQGRP EXW QR WDEOH HQG RI WKH QLJKW RF curred for one Masters fresher who, even after KHU QLJKW ZDV RYHU PDQ

DJHG WR JHW ன YH UDQGRPHUV on her night bus to come home with her – while tea appears to have been the only thing on her agenda WKLV QHWEDOOHU LV GHன QLWHO\ VRPHRQH WR EH ZDWFKHG $OFRKRO FDQ KDYH LQWHU HVWLQJ HŕŽ‰ HFWV RQ SHRSOH most of which ends up with D WDFWLFDO RU OHVV WKDQ WDF WLFDO FKXQGHU )RU 2[IDP however, his infatuation with Zoo bars rope led him to being possibly the only person to be thrown into =RR 0DQ\ IRRWEDOO IUHVK ers weren’t so lucky with many failing to get past WKH 'DOHV 0DQ\ D IUHVKHU ORVLQJ WKHLU =RR EDU YLU JLQLW\ ZDV FDXJKW E\ /LW WOH 0LVV 0XŕŽ‰ HW UHWXUQLQJ WR SDSDUD]]L GXW\ ‍ ڋ‏WKRVH currently anonymous pulls will not stay that way for

Whether we’re talking about the Olympic sport that is Table Tennis or it’s elusive FORQH 3LQJ 3RQJ ZH‍ڑ‏UH GHன QLWHO\ WDONLQJ DERXW VRPH WKLQJ WKDW UHTXLUHV 0DWUL[ OLNH UHŕŽ‹ H[HV $Q RSSRVLQJ IRUHKDQG RI god can shoot towards you DW RYHU PSK WDNLQJ XQ GHU VHFRQGV WR WUDYHO WKH IXOO OHQJWK RI WKH WDEOH And yet, table tennis players are somehow able to respond and smash that lightning bolt of a ball back WRZDUGV WKH RSSRVLQJ SOD\ HU 1RW TXLWH GRGJLQJ EXO lets, but the closest thing you will get at the LSE! :LWK PDWFKHV DQG RSSRU tunities to play against the best players in universities around the UK coming up, WKH /6( 7DEOH 7HQQLV VRFL HW\ LV RŕŽ‰ HULQJ SOD\HUV WKH chance to see if they have WKH PDJLF WRXFK (YHU\RQH VWDUWV VRPH where (in all walks of life) and table tennis is a sport ZKLFK FDQ EH SOD\HG DQG DF FHVVHG E\ DOO Having started by being

Welcome back to a new year of promiscuity and the naming and shaming of WKRVH EDGO\ EHKDYHG PHP EHUV RI WKH $8 7KLV \HDU LV VHW WR EH D JRRG RQH XQ der the new leadership of *HQHUDO 0DWHHU ZKR DV expected returned to her natural state of inebriation RQ :HGQHVGD\ QLJKW DF TXLULQJ D PDQ DQG D PRWRU ELNH WR WDNH KHU WR =RR Our beloved Zoo Bar is once again a hot and sweaty PHVV DOORZLQJ WKRVH VH[X al deviants among you to WDNH IXOO DGYDQWDJH )RU WKRVH )UHVKHUV H[SHULHQF ing this disgusting yet EULOOLDQW SODFH IRU WKH ன UVW time, love it or hate it, it is the only place to be on a :HGQHVGD\ QLJKW Enjoying the experience ZLWK VRPH VKDPHOHVV JLUO RQ JLUO DFWLRQ IDU WRR HDUO\

Luke McKernan

Chung Lo

with Wayne Rooney, Barack 2EDPD DQG DOO WKH RWKHU SRO iticians who try to play table WHQQLV ZLWK NLGV WR VKRZ RŕŽ‰ don’t worry, there’s nigh on 60 hours per term worth RI )ULGD\ GURS LQ VHVVLRQV LQ WKH 3DULVK +DOO KHOG EH WZHHQ SP SP RQ FDP pus next to the Peacock 7KHDWUH +HUH \RX ZLOO EH RŕŽ‰ HUHG WLSV IURP RXU PRUH H[SHUL enced players (not always good ones) and you will also be able to play with new people and meet new mates LQ D IULHQGO\ HQYLURQPHQW $V RI RXU SDVW PHP EHU EDVH KDV EHHQ QHZ FDV XDO SOD\HUV D ODUJH HPSKD sis is put on social sessions LQ DGGLWLRQ WR PDWFKHV And all equipment will be provided for, so there is no need to bring your own – PDNLQJ RXU GURS LQ VHVVLRQV one of the most accessible IRU VSRUW DW /6( Like what you hear? If VR FRPH MRLQ RXU ன UVW *LYH ,W $ *R VHVVLRQ RQ WKH WK SP SP DQG LW‍ڑ‏V IUHH and if not, I’m sure you’ll be reading about our success in the coming weeks!

long, you can try not to get caught but no corner is dark enough to hide your antics and we will all know what or who you did last Wednesday – you have EHHQ ZDUQHG While that is true, bad EHKDYLRXU LV ZKROHKHDUW HGO\ HQFRXUDJHG DQG DW tendance at AU events and =RR LV PDQGDWRU\ )RU PRVW RI XV 7KXUV days are a day for walks of shame and not going to OHFWXUHV 7KDW EHLQJ VDLG try to avoid an AU degree – ZRUN KDUG MXVW SOD\ KDUG HU Next week brings us netball initiations and the $8 :HOFRPH 3DUW\ VR DF quire a bed sheet and aim WR ORVH \RXUV DQG JHW XQ der someone else’s by the HQG RI WKH QLJKW

38

Sport

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

From the Eyes of a Ginger Matthew Worby

every last court battle he faced over these issues, it would fall on deaf ears. I’ll be honest, I was a huge Armstrong fan. He was an inspiration to me, for both what he did on the bike and then what he

POWERIPICS

So Lance Armstrong’s reign as cycling supremo has come crashing down around him. With every member of the now defunct US Postal team changing their tune and admitting to being part of a vast conspiracy enveloping the entire team and potentially the upper management of cycling, the question of what Armstrong’s exact legacy has come to the forefront of my mind. Firstly, however, I’ll go into just what the allegations are, and what they mean. Not only did Armstrong dope, he did so systematically. And in such a fashion that it’s difficult to even conceive of a scenario ZKHUH QRQH RI ing bodies were unaware of what was happening. It is alleged that not only did Lance undergo blood transfusions (requirLQJ GLUHFW DQG VLJQLன FDQW supervision by the US Postal team) to cheat the system, but that positive samples were covered up by authorities, as early as the 1990s. Further allegations argue that Lance bribed the UCI, and by extension Hein Verbruggen (President at the time) to the tune of $125,000. And if you think everything so far is damning enough, claims there that Armstrong was somewhat of a ringleader - someone

who not only cheated to win but, because of the nature of the sport, created a team of doping domestiques to enable him to succeed - go beyond the darkest realms of anything the world of sport has ever

Platini announced ‘unanimous support’ amongst the footballing community for proposals which will ensure clubs make a minimised loss over a 3-year period or face a series of sanctions ranging from loss of prize money to total expulsion from UEFA competitions (such as the Champions and Europa Leagues). Seen as a step in the right direction rather than a solution by many, the rules do at least signal a reassuring policy move by the governing body. The rules do, however, have some gaping loopholes which have left many questioning whether this

FLDW RŕŽŒ

seen before. Now, while the arguments will rage in the courtroom, Armstrong’s name has already been permanently tainted. The media have turned on him, while triathlons and marathons are already refusing to allow him to participate. Were Armstrong to win

went on to do in the world of charity. And despite that, despite all that work for charity and various apparent good deeds, I don’t care. I couldn’t care less what Armstrong does, or what he did. He’s now just another one of those people who

is just another example of the credibility of football’s governing bodies being undermined. The debate about Goal Line Technology, as well as the controversial award of

nothing to improve FIFA or UEFA’s global credibility. With that in mind, critics argue the new regulations will actually create more problems than they solve.

future World Cups to Russia and Qatar have done

The rules themselves are weak in allowing large

GENE HUNT

Continued from page 40, col 1.

WKH

brought the sport into disrepute, and it’s wearing. Every year talking heads amongst the sport say that this is what we’ve DOO EHHQ ZDLWLQJ IRU ன QDOO\ a clean year. And every year we give

Worby. I’ve given two and a half WHHWK WR WKH ன FNOH PLVWUHVV that is cycling. For Armstrong to treat the sport, and the fans in such a way is insulting, abhorrent and outside the capabilities of any decent human being. For the sport to move on, Armstrong has to be publicly disowned and winners need to clearly be clean athletes themselves. Cyclists such as David Millar taking the stances that they have has helped the sport and teams like Garmin-CervĂŠlo are a breath of fresh air. But regardless, Bradley Wiggins has ominously already been linked to doping by some members of the press. Hopefully, the fact that cyclists now produce power-outputs broadly in line with human capabilities show that an improvement has been made. However, the sport stands on a precipice, a tipping point, where doping can become truly frowned upon or... the wink wink, nudge nudge politics of the previous decade may be allowed to insidiously lurk at the back of our minds. I hope for the state a little piece of our souls, of cycling, Armstrong is and whisper yes. I usually watch the tour stripped of his titles and live, or record it - all of it - never allowed to compete and spend three full weeks again. And I hope with all my discussing strategy, tactics and generally worrying heart that Wiggo becomes about the various British WKH ன UVW F\FOLVW LQ OLYLQJ memory to declare he’s prospects. , ZDQW P\ ன UVW ERUQ WR clean - and be believable be called Bradley Mark as he does so. losses in the short term and only basing these losses on transfers rather than the salaries of players, which is arguably a JUHDWHU ன QDQFLDO EXUGHQ Most clubs’ salary bills as a proportion of turnover are far in excess of any normal business. Under the FIFA proposals, losses can be hidden by paying players higher wages instead of player/agent fees within the transfer package. Moreover, clubs can bypass the losses through dubious investment and sponsorship dealings. Manchester City’s sponsorship deal with Etihad sees two companies owned largely by the same ruling family engaging in a deal to HQVXUH WKH FOXEV ன JXUHV DG here to UEFA regulations.

Most worrying of all is the potential creation of an elite group of European football super powers that will now cement their GRPLQDQFH LQGHன QLWHO\ Success in the Champions League means more prize money and more TV pay-outs, with other clubs unable to spend to compete with these elite clubs due to the new regulations. The bigger clubs will therefore be able to conWLQXH VSHQGLQJ RŕŽ‰ WKH back of their Champions League revenues. So while UEFA’s attempts to quell the extravDJDQFH RI IRRWEDOO ன QDQFHV are well intentioned, their lack of substance may make it no more than an exercise in window dressing.

Sport

The Beaver | 16.10.2012

39

YOUR SPORT, IN BRIEF

Emile Heskey VFRUHG KLV ன UVW JRDO for Newcastle Jets in a 3-2 win over Sydney FC. Heskey put his side 2-1 up DV KH ULŕŽ‹ HG KRPH D right-foot half-volley.

VETTEL RACES CLEAR 5HG %XOO‍ڑ‏V 6HEDV tian Vettel claimed his third victory in a row at the Korean Grand Prix to leapfrog rival Fernando Alonso by six points in the Drivers championship.

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS World number three 1RYDN 'MRNRYLF VDYHG ன YH FKDP pionship points to overcome Andy Murray 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in the Shanghai 0DVWHUV ன QDO

VICTORY ROSES -XVWLQ 5RVH ZRQ WKH inaugural Turkish Airlines World Golf Final after beating fellow Englishman Lee Westwood by one shot.

Greatness awaits a top four, not three. In years gone by, Murray was the leader of the chasing pack - the best of the rest. Not anymore. Now, the Scot has proven his ability to beat those that stood in his way for so long, and ZLWK VHYHQ WLPH PDMRU

Tim Poole

When Andy Murray won at Flushing Meadows in September, the 25-yearold Scot achieved more than simply breaking his Grand Slam duck. Yes, surpassing the status of being the tour’s ‍Ú?‏QHDUO\ PDQ‍ ڑ‏DQG ன QDOO\ VHFXULQJ KLV ன UVW PDMRU LQ heroic, almost gladiatorial fashion was the achievement of a lifetime in itself. But by conquering NoYDN 'MRNRYLF LQ WKH 86 2SHQ ன QDO 0XUUD\ GLG as much for the sport of tennis as a whole as he did in furthering his own personal success. :LWK WKH FRQன GHQFH boost the Scot will have received from claiming 2O\PSLF *ROG DQG WKH 86 title, he will surely now believe in himself enough to permanently challenge the illustrious triumvirate RI 'MRNRYLF 5RJHU )HGHU HU DQG 5DIDHO 1DGDO And, though we have admittedly seen some special seasons in recent men’s tennis history - including Nadal’s master class of 2010, 'MRNRYLF‍ڑ‏V GRPLQDWLRQ of 2011 - the prospect of the four best players in WKH ZRUOG ன QDOO\ DOO EH ing at their imperious best has fans across the world venturing excitedly into the greatest depths of their imaginations. 7KH NH\ GLŕŽ‰ HUHQFH now is that we have

&$5,1(

IT’S HESKEY TIME

winner Ivan Lendl in his corner and a revamped attacking playing style, Murray has the requisite quality to challenge for every prestigious tour-

nament from hereon in. And he is not alone. This year’s four Grand Slams ZHUH VSOLW IRXU GLŕŽ‰ HU ent ways, being taken by 'MRNRYLF 1DGDO )HGHUHU and Murray respectively. Federer - whose 17th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon raised the argu-

man no doubt hungry to better this year’s solitary Grand Slam title - which represents a below par season by his standards. But there is one man whose return will solidify any claims that the year ahead could be the most competitive we may ever witness: a certain Spaniard who answers by the QDPH RI 5DIDHO 1DGDO He cruised to his sevHQWK 5ROODQG *DUURV WLWOH in June and, although he KDV EHHQ VXŕŽ‰ HULQJ IURP tendonitis for longer than one cares to imagine, a return in time for next season’s Australian Open is on the cards. If the 11-time maMRU ZLQQHU FDQ KHDO XS in time, his determination to make as powerful a mark on history as he can will surely see Nadal challenging again. And so in Melbourne in January, four of the best players ever to grace a court will be at the peak of their games - and the prospect of all four makLQJ WKH VHPL ன QDOV ZLWK so much currently at stake is any tennis watcher’s happiest dream. Never mind the twoman rivalries to have captured our imaginations in the past, this time the ment of him being the rivalry splits four ways, best player in history with each man capaby several notches - will ble of beating the other. doubtless be in pursuit of Time please, the further career success. best season in men’s 6R WRR ZLOO 'MRNRYLF D tennis history awaits.

We’re looking for writers! .DPP\ :K\ \RX ZHDU \HOORZ ŕŽ‹ RZHU"

FOOTBALL IS ON!!! Write now!!! Want to write for us? Then just e-mail sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk and we will be happy to hear from you.

Sport

40

Sport

16.10.2012

| The Beaver

Inside

‍ښ‏/HW‍ڑ‏V 7DON 7DFWLFV ‍ښ‏/6( 6SRUW ‍ښ‏7KURXJK WKH H\HV RI D *LQJHU

Too many tweets make a twit tweeted in the heat of the moment - even when their posts have been far from a The explosion of Twitter WKUHDW WR QDWLRQDO VHFXULW\ use by Premier League or even a threat to anyone footballers and other athat all. letes over the past two )HUGLQDQG ZDV னQHG years has highlighted some Cole was forced to apoloserious issues about free gise to the FA and Hamilton speech. ZDV LQWHQVHO\ FULWLFLVHG ,I 0RUH VSHFLனFDOO\ LW KDV they are going to be puncome to light just how much ished for saying largely IUHHGRP SXEOLF னJXUHV DFKDUPOHVV VWDWHPHQWV ZK\ tually have - and mark my should they supposedly be ZRUGV ZKDW ZH‍ڑ‏YH GLVFRYJLYHQ WKH ‍Ú?‏IUHHGRP‍ ڑ‏WR GR VR HUHG KDVQ‍ڑ‏W UHYHDOHG DQ\LQ WKH னUVW SODFH" thing worth celebrating. The Western world is The recent racism casSURXG RI LWV VWDWXV DV D IUHH es involving John Terry liberal environment where and Luis Suarez have only the media is not censored helped to further exaggerand the public are free to DWH PDWWHUV $QG VR , KDYH say whatever they want. been forced to come to a +RZHYHU WKH 8. LV ULVNcontroversial conclusion: ing the loss of that stathat professional sporttus and respect with this speople should be banned continuous punishment of from using Twitter. ZHOO NQRZQ னJXUHV 7KH Now before you acgovernment and the FA cuse me of being a Stalinwould be better placed ist dictator... just hear me simply prohibiting athletes RXW 5LR )HUGLQDQG $VKfrom expressing their views OH\ &ROH 5\DQ %HUWUDQG through social media. and even Lewis Hamilton They would thereby rehave got into hot water remove damaging comments cently over what they have

from ever existing in the னUVW SODFH DQG VDYH WKHPselves the trouble and media scrutiny of bringing

sportsmen or women in question into line. $QG DV IRU WKH VSRUWV னJures themselves (think Joey

'8//+81.

Rayhan Chouglay

%DUWRQ RU (PPDQXHO )ULPpong) - they would simply avoid any unnecessary trouble for their actions. 5HDOO\ P\ RYHUDOO DUJXment here is that professional athletes in this country do not have the freedom of speech they think they do. Why should we then continue to pretend that they do by allowing them to use Twitter and then slamming the book in their face every time they say anything that LV HYHQ VOLJKWO\ RŕŽ‰HQVLYH" ,W LV PRUH WURXEOH WKDQ LW is worth trying to balance the atmosphere of political correctness with the values of free speech. We should thus simply remove one aspect through which free speech goes awry. (LWKHU WKDW RU ZH DOORZ everyone to say exactly how they feel on Twitter and deal with the consequences. $QG , FHUWDLQO\ ZRXOGQ‍ڑ‏W want to see the anarchy that would arise out of that.

&DQ QHZ 8()$ UHJXODWLRQV VWRS ૹQDQFLDO IRXO SOD\" Ollie Bishop

(XURSHDQ IRRWEDOO LV WKH pinnacle of club sport the world over. The continent has leagues which gain wide acclaim around the globe and are seen as exemplar for world football. (QWKXVLDVP IRU WKH (XURSHDQ JDPH LV PRVW W\SLனHG E\ WKH &KDPSLons League - arguably the greatest cup competition in sport - which annually plays host to the top 32 teams on the continent. ,Q WKH னQDO VXUSDVVHG WKH 6XSHU %RZO ZLWK PLOOLRQ YLHZHUV making it the single most watched annual sporting event in broadcasting. 2Q SDSHU WKH JDPH should be played on sure னQDQFLDO IRRWLQJ DQG LQdeed it remains an attractive option for certain types of investors and corporate sponsors alike.

+RZHYHU WKLV RQO\ VHHNV to hide the endemic cracks LQ WKH னQDQFLDO VWUXFWXUH of the club game. 2I FRXUVH SHRSOH PD\ question whether there is an issue at all. Compared to other industries coping ZLWK WKH HFRQRPLF FOLPDWH football clubs seem totally free from the strains of austerity and in many cases seem to have expanded their relentless spending. 7KLV VXPPHU JRQH 0DQFKHVWHU &LW\ 36* DQG =HQLW 6W 3HWHUVEXUJ‍ڑ‏V FRPbined spending exceeded e PLOOLRQ LQ WUDQVIHUV alone. , DP QRW QHFHVVDULO\ suggesting that high levels of spending in football LQ LWVHOI LV EDG LQ IDFW , would argue they make the sport highly liquid in economic terms and also exciting from a fan based perspective. The problem is that 8()$ VWXGLHV VKRZ SHU

FHQW RI FOXEV PDNH D னQDQcial loss year on year. This is not sustainable in any industry. Clubs can justify such a position through the wealth of their owners and backers - the losses encountered at City will barely put a dent in the personal fortunes of Sheikh Mansour and this is the same for many other clubs. +RZHYHU WKH ‍Ú?‏KREE\‍ ڑ‏ approach taken by many owners utilises extreme short-termism with owners all too happy to walk away when they lose interest or their ambitions do not come to fruition. The Qatari investment of al Thani in Malaga (Spain) emphasises this very risk. ,Q WKHLU னUVW VHDVRQ XQGHU QHZ RZQHUVKLS 0DODJD VSHQW D QHW e P RQ transfers in a bid to reach WKH ‍Ú?‏3URPLVHG /DQG‍ ڑ‏RI Champions League Foot-

ball and eat into the duopoly that Real Madrid and %DUFD HQMR\ LQ 6SDLQ LQ which they partially succeeded). <HW E\ WKH VXPPHU RI WKHUH ZDV VXGGHQO\ huge uncertainty for the $QGDOXFLDQV ZKR ZHUH XQable to sign players to bolster the squad and were forced to allow big names such as Salomon Rondon and Santi Cazorla to leave for pastures new. 8QSDLG ZDJHV DQG GHEWV have turned optimism at La Rosaleda into despair amongst supporters. The fallout is exacerbated when you consider the interconnected nature RI WKH IRRWEDOOLQJ V\VWHP with debts on player transIHUV QRW RQO\ DŕŽ‰HFWLQJ WKH club in question but also the clubs owed; such a GRPLQR HŕŽ‰HFW ULVNV UXQning a number of teams into the ground. The problem is becom-

ing desperate in some areas of the game today and undermines the spirit of WKH VSRUW WKHUHE\ WHVWLQJ the loyalty of fans who invest not only hard earned money but huge emotion into their clubs. 2ZQHUV PDQDJHUV DQG overpaid players come and go but what makes a club is the undying support (most of the time) of the fans. The situation was deemed serious enough IRU 8()$ WR DFW DQG WKLV ZDV LQ LWVHOI VLJQLனFDQW JLYHQ SHRSOH‍ڑ‏V SHUFHSWLRQV of the Swiss based organisation. The Financial Fair Play Regulations - conceived in 6HSWHPEHU DQG FRPLQJ LQWR DFWLRQ IRU - are a series of targets ZKLFK 8()$ KDYH VHW RXW LQ D ELG WR UHGXFH WKH னnancial anarchy that is currently rife. &RQWLQXHG RQ SDJH FRO

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