The Beaver: Week of November 13th, 2012

US ELECTION INFOGRAPHIC PULLOUT | KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: A PARTB REVIEW

| JOYS OF LEAGUE TWO FOOTBALL

TheBeaver

13.11.2012

Newspaper of the LSE StudentsтАЩ Union FREE

Students celebrate ObamaтАЩs victory | page 4

Wannabe bankers undeterred Rachel Browne

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2

Editorial

Editorial Board Executive Editor Liam Brown

editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Managing Editor Matthew Worby

13.11.2012

TheBeaver Established in 1949 Issue No. 777

managing@thebeaveronline.co.uk

News Editors John Armstrong Shu Hang news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Comment Editor Alice Dawson

Telephone: 0207 955 6705 Email: editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk Website: www.thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Social Editor Cleo Pearson social@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Sport Editor Vacant sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk

| The Beaver

Collective A E Dawson, A Doherty, 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 Ming, D Yu, E Beaumont, E Delahaye, E E Fraser, E Firth, E S Dwek, F Bennett, G K Chhina, G Manners-Armstrong, 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, R Serunjogi, 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 Beaverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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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The Beaver would like to thank the LSE students who contributed to this issue.

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STUDENT SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Front page image courtesy Leon Puplett.

The LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union has a weekly meeting called the UGM or Union General Meeting.

This meeting is designed to allow all members a forum to debate issues and hold their elected officials to account.

UGM is held at 1:00pm on Thursdays in the Old Theatre and is open to all.

If you have would like to learn more about UGM RU ૽ QG RXW KRZ WR VXEPLW a motion, contact Laura 3HGOH\ DW VX GHPRFUDF\# OVH DF XN

The girl with the thorn in her side Over the past number of days, the Beaver has heard rumblings that LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union General Secretary Alex Peters-Day has asked the Union Shop to pull The Sun from their newsstands.

Apparently, it is for economic reasons. However, we asked shop employees whether The Sun was the most poorly performing newsstand item and very quickly we found that there are other magazines and newspapers that lose considerably more money than The Sun. So why is it then that The Sun is, quite possible, going to be pulled from the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 8QLRQ 6KRS" 6XUHO\ LI HFRQRP ic reasons required the pulling of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most read newspaper there would have been

a detailed report that also advised the dropping of a number of other titles from the Shop.

To our knowledge, The Sun is the only title to be dropped from the Shop, and even more disturbingly, it seems to be totally at the behest of Alex Peters-Day. We, as editors of a newspaper (admittedly with 0.07 per cent of the circulation of The 6XQ ŕŽ&#x160; QG WKLV GHHSO\ FRQFHUQ ing. If there are solid economic reasons behind dropping The Sun from the Shop then we have no problem with that action being taken. What does constitute a problem, in our PLQGV LV ZKHQ D VLQJOH ŕŽ&#x160; JXUH (this is not a policy of the Sabbatical team as a whole) acts unilaterally and without even consulting the wider commu-

nity as a whole.

Peters-Day and other members of the Union executive have proven before that they DUH ZLOOLQJ WR VWLŕŽ&#x2039; H IUHH VSHHFK and tamper with its most vital organ, the Press. Earlier this term they removed and altered the London Student to conform to their viewpoint, when a debate on gender-neutral toilets included a provocative piece from Jason Wong. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.

If you do not agree with a newspaper, an article or pointof-view just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t read it. Simple as that. It is officials who feel obliged to decide what we can and cannot read that threatens our society far more than a page three spread ever could.

2ŕŽ&#x2030; HQGHG" (PDLO us! editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

8QLRQ %DVKÄ?

Second terms P-Day thinks Barry should see her as a model for re-election. %DVKÄ? is the Beaverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s haiku poet.

Some say heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s illegal in thirteen US states and that once, preposterRXVO\ KH KDG DQ Dŕ­ź DLU ZLWK +HUPDQ Cain.

News

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

3

RAG Gets Lost in Skegness teams made ÂŁ1363.79 for charity, with donations still being processed.

Danette Chan and Shaz Aziz were the top fundraisers of the day, raising a total of ÂŁ460.01 for the cause.

All proceeds go towards Children In Need, the annual BBC fundraiser that

raises money throughout the year in order to give grants to charities.

The event forms part of the four â&#x20AC;&#x153;Challengeâ&#x20AC;? events that RAG hosts throughout the year. The other three events are â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hitchhikeâ&#x20AC;?, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Skydiveâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tough Guy.â&#x20AC;?

RAG SOCIETY

and pinch it.

Most teams were back by seven oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock, where they were greeted by a RAG team who had been monitoring their progress throughout the day.

With a travelling time of RQO\ ŕŽ&#x160; YH KRXUV WKH ZLQQLQJ team were back in the Old %XLOGLQJ E\ KDOI ŕŽ&#x160; YH The winners were The Free Switzerland Youth League, comprised of three Bankside freshers, Katie Budd, Gus Mclaren and Connor Vasey.

Katie Budd said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It felt amazing to win! We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think we had a chance at the beginning, a team of three, with one of our members alUHDG\ ŕŽ&#x2039; DJJLQJ IURP D ODWH one the night before. Most of our pick ups were down to pure luck, but we think the great cause, good conversation and the amount of times we said thank you persuaded most of them to take us further than they originally planned.â&#x20AC;?

Team 1 were the last to arrive safely in London, having taken a route via Lincoln, Newark-On-Trent, Peterborough, Bedford, South 0LPPV DQG ŕŽ&#x160; QDOO\ +ROERUQ central London.

An online map was used getting high between teams by RAG to charter the proas it appeared teams were gress of the lost students throughout the day, with a stealing each others lifts.

7HDPV KDG EHHQ ŕŽ&#x2039; DJJLQJ link to their pages to raise down cars and then another money.

So far, collectively the group would run into the car

ious tactics to travel for free.

A lot of students manLast Saturday, 22 students aged to blag themselves a from the London School free bus ride from Skegness of Economics â&#x20AC;&#x153;got lostâ&#x20AC;? in to Boston, whilst others deSkegness, a seaside town in cided to try their hand at East England in aid of Chil- hitchhiking out of the somedren in Need, in an event what deserted coastal town.

Jamie Pelling, a secondcalled â&#x20AC;&#x153;RAG Gets Lost.â&#x20AC;? year History student was The Raising and Giving society hosted this fundrais- one of the unlucky few who er, which involved driving had to stick their thumb out students to a mystery loca- for a ride.

WLRQ GURSSLQJ WKHP RŕŽ&#x2030; DQG â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was hard. Harder than then allowing them to make trying to do an econ b [sic] their own way back without exam on heroin. So hard that I could have taken Mr T spending any money.

Blindfolded until they LQ D ŕŽ&#x160; JKW â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź %RVWRQ URDGV ZHUH ŕŽ&#x2039; RRG reached their destination, ed

by LSE students donning the volunteers were shocked RAG t-shirts, with tempers Jasmine Goodheart

RAG SOCIETY

when they realised that they had landed on the Lincolnshire coast.

Upon arrival, the race began to get back to Houghton Street, with teams using var-

UNION JACK All the way from Jinxland, the former Prime Minister and now King, Phearse.

First, though, a brief announcement from the Guardian of the Gates: three Sabbs will be growing mustaches in support of Movember.

What a worthy cause! What an opportunity to make jokes about Dorothy!

Onto the oration of the mighty Phearse. Phearse and others from Jinxland want all the Ozites to come on a protest in favour of education.

We think. Two years ago, Ozites went on another Jinxland protest that ended up with much naughtiness. Phearse agreed that a repeat would be most unbecoming.

Apart from that, the last protest had â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;too many minutiaeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. To avoid that, this protest will focus on not LQŕŽ&#x2039; XHQFLQJ D SDUOLDPHQWDU\ SURFHVV sending a message to the media, saying that MPs lied in their election prospectuses, the false dichotomy between fees & EMA but EMA is more important if we have to make a choice, begetting the next genera-

tion of student activists, not just having occupations and demonstrations, education, employment and empowerment, young people, fees, mobilising, Nick Clegg is naughty, and a list RI WKLUWHHQ EULHŕŽ&#x160; QJV WKDW -DFN GLGQâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹW even have time to scribble down, QR PDWWHU KRZ IXULRXVO\ KLV WLQ\ ŕŽ&#x160; VW gripped his pen.

So, under no circumstances should the message for this demonstration be described as confused, PHDQLQJOHVV ZD�

H IURP DQ RU ganisation that is half-composed of Munchkins wanting to bring about the revolution, some of whom have started on dubious â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;artâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; courses so they can keep reappearing at the annual Jinxland Parliament, with the other half full of wanton careerists with both halves so full of factions that getting a single, coherent message is like getting money out of Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wallet.

Jack was disappointed in the rebuttal to Phearseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speech from Sir Hokus of Pokes. Sir Hokus wore his colours on his sleeve and, indeed, the rest of his rather attractive blue

sweater. The good knight was at pains to appear moderate and reasonable, with a speech that belied his origins in the Debate Hall. Jack knew that Sir Hokus didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite understand the politics of Oz when he said that a rational decision should be PDGH :HOO ŕŽ&#x160; UVW WLPH IRU HYHU\WKLQJ Jack supposes. When Sir Hokus started talking about mandates and FRVW EHQHŕŽ&#x160; W ULVN DQDO\VHV -DFN knew something was wrong. Long gone are the days of foaming-at-themouth soundness that used to grace the stage. Phearse dealt with a couple of the points well enough by batting them away â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the mandate came from the election of officers, so that the last motion passed in support of Jinxite protests was two years ago doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter. It should, however, matter, but we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to be doing motions any more. That, and the government is naughty because it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a mandate. Oh, and WKH FRVW EHQHŕŽ&#x160; W ZDV EDWWHG DZD\ similarly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s costEHQHŕŽ&#x160; W DQDO\VLV LVQâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹW YHU\ JRRG -DFN is sure that style of argument would

go down very well on Question Time.

The last point wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touched at all; Phearse hopes that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no repeat of last year and, er, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it.

We did have a written report from 'RURWK\ DERXW KHU WULS RŕŽ&#x2030; WKH <HOORZ Brick Road. Jack notes with some disappointment that we have not heard this year from Jack Pumpkinhead, who arrived late this week, the Patchwork Girl, Tik-Tok, the Good Witch of the South, the Good Witch of the North, the Wicked Witch of the West or the Wicked Witch of the East.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll give the Patchwork Girl, Betsy Bobbin, John Dough and Eureka the Cat a pass for the time being, but the other Munchkin Leaders had better start showing some reason not just for their having been elected, but why we need those positions at all.

Anyway, Jack must go now. He has been listening to Die Antwoord and the new album has just dropped onto his doormat. Rest assured, though, WKDW KH ŕŽ&#x160; QN X IUHHN\ â&#x20AC;&#x153;JACKâ&#x20AC;?

4

News

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Liam Burns speaks at UGM Nona Buckley-Irvine

Liam Burns, the President of the National Union of Students (NUS) spiced up the Union General Meeting this week with a debate about whether the London School of Economics Students Union should participate in the NUS demo.

Burns started his time on stage with a presentation about the NUS and the role that the NUS should be playing, particularly in job creation.

However, primarily his focus was on Demo 2012, which has the motto â&#x20AC;&#x153;Educate, Employ, Empowerâ&#x20AC;?.

The President discussed the importance of student unions across the country joining in with the demo, saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no parliamen-

WDU\ PHFKDQLVP WR LQŕŽ&#x2039;XHQFH at the Demo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more about getting students involved in Students Unions.â&#x20AC;?

He claimed that the demo had importance in uniting students and reigniting the student movement throughout the country.

After his presentation DERXW WKH GHPR WKH ŕŽ&#x2039;RRU was opened up to debate as to whether the LSE Students Union should participate on Wednesday, November 21st.

Burns debated against Samuel Joynson, Chair of the LSESU Conservative Society.

Joynson raised various points, such as the fact that a mandate did not exist for the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union to go ahead with the demo.

This was based on the fact that the demo was part of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Freeze the Feesâ&#x20AC;? campaign,

launched two years ago.

LSE students who would have voted for this have since graduated, so Joynson argued that the mandate behind the campaign was now gone.

It was criticised that â&#x20AC;&#x153;LSE students donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to debate politics with Westminster, they want to work for Goldman Sachs.â&#x20AC;?

However, Burns argued that after student demos, â&#x20AC;&#x153;SUs come back with activists ten times [sic] more invested in the student movement.â&#x20AC;?

The SU then put this to a vote in the meeting, asking whether students thought that the demo could make a GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQFH 59 per cent voted for â&#x20AC;&#x153;This GHPR FDQ PDNH D GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQFHâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź whereas 41 per cent voted that the demo could not.

It was then decided that the SU would be joining the NUS demo later in November.

With a turnout of around forty people, the poll was not representative of the LSE as a whole, although the lack of attendance by the rest of the student body suggests overall apathy.

Eden Dwek, a third year Geography and Economics student said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice to see such a debate and that the Union can do things like this because it engages students

more than procedural matters ever could.â&#x20AC;?

Having Burns speak at the meeting forms part of a longer term plan to improve attendance at the UGM. Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of the Students Union tweeted: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Brilliant speech by @NUS_Liam speaking about #Demo2012 at Lsesu Ugmâ&#x20AC;?.

The demo being held on Wednesday 21st November will see SUs across the country travelling down to central London in order to protest about cuts to education.

It is focussing on the creation of opportunity through education and defending this creation against government cuts.

US election party in the Tuns Ira Lorandou

On the eve of US Presidential election, the London School of Economics Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union hosted an election party at The Three Tuns. The party saw the barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior packed to the brim with over 700 people and a deluge onto Houghton Street. As people pushed and shoved to buy jugs of beer and catch a bag of free pop-corn, live coverage of the Presidential election struggled to make itself heard.

Nathan Helman, an MSc Public Administration student who hustled his way LQ WR ŕŽ&#x160;QG RXW ZKDW DOO WKH commotion was expressed surprise at the turnout. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I knew it was election-day but I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know people cared enough to have an event like this.â&#x20AC;?

Despite the fact the clinking of beer glasses overpowered the voices of the CNN reporters, the essence of the conversation was still focused on the US elections, albeit with a few drunken drawls and slurs. $W ŕŽ&#x160;UVW DV WKH UHG VWDWHV polling results came through, there were whispers of a tie

or a win for Mitt Romney.

Nick Brock, a BSc Economic History student was positive with the development, saying that if the results came to a draw, the US could see Mitt Romney as President and Joe Biden as Vice-President and that this might â&#x20AC;&#x153;break the deadlockâ&#x20AC;? in Congress.

Arguments over Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy on China, Russia and the economy dominated the conversation. However, it seemed that from all the â&#x20AC;&#x153;O-B-A-M-Aâ&#x20AC;? chants that not-

withstanding the debates over the two candidatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; policy, the Tunsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; occupants ZHUH ŕŽ&#x160;UPO\ LQ WKH 2EDPD camp. An LSE alumna, Nadia Choudhury, was puzzled by the absence of Romney support, asking the Beaver â&#x20AC;&#x153;Have you met any Romney supporters?â&#x20AC;?

Perhaps the Republicansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; silence was more indicative of the demographics of the FURZG UHŕŽ&#x2039;HFWLQJ WKH VWURQJ pro-Obama sentiment in Europe. Two French students,

Bertille Gallas and Sawsan Honman, shared with me their concerns over a possible Republican win. Sawsan apprehensively remarked â&#x20AC;&#x153;for Europe, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bad thing, nobody wants to think about the option of Romney,â&#x20AC;? both expressing their fears over his foreign policy in the Middle East and the repercussions this might have.

As the night progressed and the crowd of rowdy students turned the Tuns into a pungent sauna, the tensions

got thicker. The results of the election continued to pour in in the form of vibrant maps of red and blue and states, count-down clocks and data analysis, all the while accompanied with chants of â&#x20AC;&#x153;U-S-Aâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;O-B-A-M-Aâ&#x20AC;? and questions over what a win would mean for the future.

The atmosphere lightened towards the end of the night, as it became more and more apparent that Obama would emerge victorious from the election.

One student commented, â&#x20AC;&#x153;overall, the night was a fun way to engage with politics, and another opportunity to debate, drink, debate and drink some more!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the combination of heat and a packed pub, a sense of togetherness is unavoidable!â&#x20AC;? she added.

Chris Rogers, a third year BSc Politics and Philosophy student said that while it was a â&#x20AC;&#x153;good night,â&#x20AC;? he had to leave early as the venue was getting too packed.

Barack Obama won a second term in the White House after winning 332 out of 538 electoral votes, sweeping most of the swing states including Ohio and Florida.

News

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

5

SPICE celebrate Diwali Bollywood style their share of traditional Indian cuisine.

While students were busy lining up for food, the lights gradually dimmed as a live band took over. Lead by Medha Krishna, LSE alumna and ŕŽ&#x160; QDOLVW LQ WKH QDWLRQDO UHDOLW\ singing show â&#x20AC;&#x153;Seragamapaâ&#x20AC;?

LQ ,QGLD WKH EDQG VWDUWHG RŕŽ&#x2030; with two romantic ballads before switching into high

Shu Hang

smooth and seductive dance moves to popular contemporary Indian songs, eliciting raucous cheers from the crowd.

With the last performance ending at ten, the rest of the night was dedicated to hardcore partying, as students danced to a live DJ session featuring Indian and Bhangra music.

LSESU SPICE SOCIETY

Last Thursday night, members of the London School of Economics Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union SPICE (Society for the Promotion of Indian Culture and Ethos) went down to the Quad to celebrate Diwali Dhamaka. Arguably the most important and well known celebration in the cultural calendar, the Hindu festival of lights commemorates the victory of good (light) over evil (darkness).

According to Kamlesh Walia, president of SPICE, the event aimed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;ensure students at the LSE could experience Diwali in a true Indian styleâ&#x20AC;? while â&#x20AC;&#x153;having a blast.â&#x20AC;? It also aimed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;display Indian culture through live performances and Bollywood music.â&#x20AC;?

Donning heavy makeup and colourful traditional costumes such as Sari and Ghagra Choli, students marked the start of the event by performing the Aarti, a Hindu religious ritual of worship in which light from wicks VRDNHG LQ JKHH SXULŕŽ&#x160; HG EXW WHU RU FDPSKRU LV RŕŽ&#x2030; HUHG WR the deities.

The hungry crowd was then rewarded for their patience with an exotic three course dinner. Competition for food was intense, as the energy uptempo numbers, organisers struggle to cope inspiring the audience to ZLWK VWXGHQWV ŕŽ&#x160; JKWLQJ WR JHW sing and dance to the famil-

iar tracks.

The band ended their performance with a birthday song, with the birthday boy standing reluctantly and awkwardly on stage as the crowd wished him a happy birthday.

After a brief interlude, members of the SPICE committee took to stage to perform a group dance. Chan-

neling classic Bollywood, Other highlights include male and female dancers the Bingo session, where SidSDLUHG RŕŽ&#x2030; WR VKRZ RŕŽ&#x2030; WKHLU dharth Gopakumar, secretary

of SPICE won the 50 pound prize much to the dismay of the other contestants.

Reception towards the night was positive, with many students praising the night for its â&#x20AC;&#x153;lively atmosphereâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;great music.â&#x20AC;?

Neeraj Baguant, a second year Actuarial Science student said that the authentic atmosphere of the night has managed to ease his homesickness. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is exactly how we do it back at home!â&#x20AC;? he exclaimed.

Rishikesh Anadkat, a second year statistics student also enjoyed the event. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had the chance to get together with many of my friends and meet a lot of new people.â&#x20AC;?

Meanwhile, Tan Yang Tsen, a second year student from Malaysia was surprised at the diversity at the event. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a lot of people RI GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW UDFHV LQ KHUH WKDQ one would expect,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enjoying themselves while being exposed to the rich Indian culture.â&#x20AC;?

According to Walia, the event this year was â&#x20AC;&#x153;bigger and better than ever before.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;With over 400 people attending,â&#x20AC;? he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it was a phenomenal success and one of the biggest events the LSE SU India Society, SPICE has ever hosted!â&#x20AC;?

Miller on the philosophy of denim ceded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is hard to be brief about Daniel Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workâ&#x20AC;? as it spans across a range of Professor Daniel Miller, prosubjects. Nevertheless, acfessor of material culture at cording to Slater, Professor University College London Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary academic inspoke to a full-house on the ŕŽ&#x2039; XHQFH OLHV LQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160; HOG RI FRQ subject of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consumption and sumption studies in which he the Philosophy of Denimâ&#x20AC;? at â&#x20AC;&#x153;re-wrote the bookâ&#x20AC;? through the request of the Sociology his work on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Denim.â&#x20AC;?

Department and the British Miller began his lecture Journal of Sociology. with saying that the focus It looked at the world as it of his work â&#x20AC;&#x153;Denimâ&#x20AC;? is homis, at as a banal a practice as age to Georg Simmel and our choice of clothing which his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Philosophy of we perhaps would never conMoney.â&#x20AC;? Simmel took â&#x20AC;&#x153;monsider articulating anything ey,â&#x20AC;? the â&#x20AC;&#x153;quintessential obprofound about our identity ject of economicsâ&#x20AC;? and then RU RŕŽ&#x2030; HULQJ VROXWLRQV WR WKH removed it from its context consequences of consumpand wrote a book about sotion. cial science and philosophy.

Testament to Professor Equally, Miller took denim, Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grand status and instudies its everyday use and ŕŽ&#x2039; XHQFH LQ ERWK WKH ŕŽ&#x160; HOGV RI then relate that to changes in sociology and of anthropolsociety at large and larger isogy, the Hong Kong Theatre sues such as climate change. was packed to its maximum Professor Miller claimed capacity and with people linthat neither blue jeansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hising up outside the theatre tory nor capitalism can logiwith the hope of securing a cally explain its mass conseat. sumption. Although Blue Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is foundaJeans were previously assoWLRQDO LQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160; HOG RI PDWHULDO ciated with social processes analysis and consumption such as counter-culture or studies, but as the openAmericanisation, it has lost ing speaker Don Slater conLWV VSHFLŕŽ&#x160; FLW\ )XUWKHUPRUH Ira Lorandou

LWV FRQVXPSWLRQ LVQâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹW SURŕŽ&#x160; W able, as people tend to wear jeans for longer than any other clothing.

Arguing that Blue Jeans â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not a fashion item,â&#x20AC;? Miller claimed that a possible reason for its mass consumption is precisely for this reason.

They hold no fashion status and no link to any distinct social process; they are just â&#x20AC;&#x153;ordinary.â&#x20AC;? It is a way for someone to â&#x20AC;&#x153;relax out of identityâ&#x20AC;? and enjoy a â&#x20AC;&#x153;comfortâ&#x20AC;? out of the politics of identity, which has become an increasingly contentious topic.

The notion of â&#x20AC;&#x153;just jeansâ&#x20AC;? and their non-descriptive nature made a member of the audience, Carolyn Thomas, very uneasy. Carolyn felt that Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claim of the ordinariness of jeans, in which he based his whole argument, was unfounded. Carolyn said that she was â&#x20AC;&#x153;surprised by his statement about jeans being a non-fashion item, jeans are maybe one of the most complex fashion items because they are able to embody all fashion that we project on to them... that is the interesting part to me, and

yet he seemed to only want to focus on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ordinarinessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, even the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ordinaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is relative to your social group/ status and the changing fashion.â&#x20AC;?

Another member of the

audience, Paz Concha, was interested in Millerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis of everyday practices like putting on a pair of jeans and how this â&#x20AC;&#x153;was an example of us trying to apply rules on the most common practices.â&#x20AC;?

6

News

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Ekaterina Daminova

Last Thursday, the London School of Economics Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Business Society and LSESU Women in Business hosted â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ladies Night,â&#x20AC;? an event aimed to educate females how to become future leaders and to succeed in their career.

The highlight of the event was a panel discussion with ten female professionals from GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW FRPSDQLHV DV WKH\ share their experiences of what it is like being a female in male-dominated industries to about 100 students.

Discussing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Opportunities and Challenges Female Professionals face during their Career Paths,â&#x20AC;? panellists answered questions submitted by the students beforehand, making the session an interactive one.

The impact of the maternity leave on career progresVLRQ LVVXHV RI IHPDOH FRQŕŽ&#x160; dence, role of mentors and other important topics were discussed. Sharing their experiences on balancing family and professional life, the speakers gave an honest account on how maternity leave KDYH KDG D QHJDWLYH HŕŽ&#x2030; HFW RQ their career progression. The discussion concluded that although female organisations

Continued from page 1.

rest over the â&#x20AC;&#x153;rates-rigging scandal.â&#x20AC;?

A representative from the LSESU Financial Society stated that its members are â&#x20AC;&#x153;optimisticâ&#x20AC;? towards the banking industry despite the crisis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The culture of wanting to go into investment banking at the LSE has not changed and our sponsors are still actively looking to engage our students. In fact, they are actually investing more in careers society this year than they did before.â&#x20AC;?

Another representative felt similarly, claiming that the â&#x20AC;&#x153;general increase in media exposure in the banking sectorâ&#x20AC;? - both negative and positive - has also made stu-

LSESU BUSINESS SOCIETY

Ladies Night to boost female confidence

within companies are working to improve the situation, very little has been done yet, despite the positive trends indicated by official statistics.

Speaker also gave tips on how females could reach professional success. Advice given included taking every opportunity to learn more and enhance oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills, managing stress by taking a positive approach and not

dents more curious about a career in banking. She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;there is also a great surge in interest for internships as seen by the popularity of our events such as WKH FRŕŽ&#x2030; HH GURS LQ VHVVLRQV with past interns.â&#x20AC;?

According to a 2012 booklet produced by the LSE Careers service on investment banking, banks aim to convert sixty to seventy per cent summer analysts into full-time, graduate hires. Although the sector itself has been hit hard by the recent economic crisis, studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; enthusiasm to enter the industry is yet to waver and opportunities to do so remain available.

being afraid to express oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion.

Work ethics was also stressed to be important in determining oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career success. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you do not do a particular task, somebody else will.â&#x20AC;? Students were told to push themselves further and further, as success dePDQGV VDFULŕŽ&#x160; FH The speakers also gave tips on networking for female students. It was noted that

ZRPHQ QHWZRUN GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQWO\ from men, as they tend to build fewer but stronger relationships. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to meet new people,â&#x20AC;? said one panellist.

Female students were also advised to learn to play golf or poker and follow football news as this will facilitate communication with male colleagues and clients, in addition to helping one become a well-rounded person who

FDQ ŕŽ&#x160; QG FRPPRQ WRSLFV ZLWK anybody.

The conclusion made at the end of the discussion was that being a woman should not stop one from achieving a goal. It was also said that being a woman can sometimes be an advantage as it can help one stand out in a crowd and be memorable.

The discussion was followed by a chocolate tasting and networking session.

News

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

7

Sustainable Fund â&#x20AC;&#x153;highly recommendedâ&#x20AC;?

Shu Hang

7KH 6XVWDLQDEOH 3URMHFWV )XQG IURP WKH /6( ZRQ D â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź+LJKO\ Commendedâ&#x20AC;? award at the *UHHQ *RZQ $ZDUGV 5DQ E\ WKH (QYLURQPHQ tal Association of Universities DQG &ROOHJHV 7KH *UHHQ *RZQ Awards is an annual awards ceremony rewarding environmental and sustainability achievements in universities and colleges.

Applications went through a rigorous two-stage screening process and were reviewed and judged by a panel of sector repUHVHQWDWLYHV DQG H[SHUWV 7KH 6XVWDLQDEOH )XQG 3UR ject received a glowing review E\ WKH MXGJHV â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź7KLV LV DQ LQ novative and well administered IXQGLQJ PRGHOâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x17E;â&#x20AC;Ź6XFFHVVIXO student applicants to the Fund JDLQ D ZLGH UDQJH RI H[SHUL ence through managing the implementation of their ideas.â&#x20AC;?

6XVWDLQDEOH 3URMHFWV )XQG ZDV VHW XS E\ 7KH /6(68 6XV WDLQDEOH )XWXUHV 6RFLHW\ ZKLFK IXQGV VWXGHQW DQG VWDŕŽ&#x2030; OHG HQ vironmental projects on campus.

3ULPDULO\ JHQHUDWHG IURP WKH :DWHU %RWWOH 7D[ ZKHUH D S â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹWD[â&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;ŹZDV FROOHFWHG IURP HDFK ERWWOHG ZDWHU VROG DW /6( catering outlets, the fund beJDQ DFFUXLQJ UHYHQXH LQ

LSE screens â&#x20AC;&#x153;When China met Africaâ&#x20AC;?

Arisa Manawapat

Tian Xiang Farm; Zambia, Africa. A plump, middle-aged Chinese woman stands with her hands on her hips, overlooking three male Zambian farmers, planting seeds in WKH ŕŽ&#x160; HOG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź6KH ORRNV OLNH VKH wants to cause confusionâ&#x20AC;?, one man mutters in the local language, causing the others to break out in laughter. â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź6KH WKLQNV ZH DUH FRZV â&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź While this may seem an uncommon scenario to many, it is a typical scene from the public screening of the award-winning documentary â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:KHQ &KLQD 0HW $IULFDâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;ŹDW WKH /RQGRQ 6FKRRO RI (FR QRPLFVâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2018;â&#x20AC;Ź6KHLNK =D\HG 7KHD tre.

Director Nick Francis of 6SHDNLW )LOPV UHYHDOHG KRZ WKH ŕŽ&#x160; OP VSURXWHG IURP WKH crewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s encounter with a Chinese construction worker in 6RXWK (WKLRSLD â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź7KLV story,â&#x20AC;? remarked Dr Chris Alden, reader of international UHODWLRQV DW WKH /6( â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹLV QH glected and necessary to tell.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:KHQ &KLQD 0HW $IULFDâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź is a two-fold documentary, looking at grassroots workers on one level, and inside meetings with top officials on WKH RWKHU 0RVW LPSRUWDQWO\ every conversation is subtitled.

7KH PLQXWH GRFXPHQ tary begins with the ChiQD $IULFD 6XPPLW RI where hundreds of African delegates gather in parliamentary meeting hall in Beijing, under a white dome with a large, Communist red star.

([DPLQLQJ &KLQHVH LQ YHVWPHQW LQ =DPELD WKH ŕŽ&#x160; OP demonstrated the undeniDEOH H[LVWHQFH RI ZRUNLQJ class tensions. Li Jiangguo, a project manager from ChinaHenan, is given the task of supervising Zambian workers in the construction of a NLORPHWUH URDG 'XULQJ OXQFK WLPH 0U /L JLYHV ORFDO workers a large plastic tub ŕŽ&#x160; OOHG ZLWK ULFH VPDOO JUH\ ŕŽ&#x160; VK DQG JUHDV\ ZKLWH FDE EDJH â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź$OZD\V WKH VDPH EDG dietâ&#x20AC;?, complains a worker who proceeds to bring out KLV RZQ IRRG â&#x20AC;Ť(Ú&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹYHQ WKH DQL mal we keep at home, we do not give this.â&#x20AC;?

Fast-forward to Xiamen, where the 13th China International Fair for Investment and Trade is being held. The camera follows Zambian delHJDWHV IURP WKH 0LQLVWU\ RI Trade, Commerce and Industry as they walk under a giant, red-lettered sign which VSHOOV â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:LQ :LQ 'HYHORS mentâ&#x20AC;?. $V )UDQFLV H[SODLQHG DIWHU WKH ŕŽ&#x160; OP WKH &KLQD $IULFD G\ QDPLF LV â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹQRW D RQH ZD\ UH lationship,â&#x20AC;? contrary to mainstream Western thought. â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź$IULFD VKRXOG EH VHHQ DV D land of opportunityâ&#x20AC;?, the diUHFWRU VWDWHG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹUDWKHU WKDQ D land which needs our sympathy.â&#x20AC;?

Jude Howell, professor of International Development at WKH /6( FKDOOHQJHG WKH QR WLRQ RI WKH â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:LQ ZLQ UHODWLRQ VKLS â&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź6RPH RI WKH Chinese immigrant farmers have had no prior agriculWXUDO EDFNJURXQG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:KHUHâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź +RZHOO TXHVWLRQHG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź,V WKH technological transfer here?â&#x20AC;?

and now has amassed about e The project was also funded through other projects such as the ReLove Fair held earlier in the year, where second hand

items were sold.

The Fund is available for students who want to design, create, and carry out sustainability projects on campus. Though the projects are directly aimed

at environmental sustainability, the fund also recognises the value of social and economic sustainability, and thus the soFLDO EHQHŕŽ&#x160; WV RI WKH SURMHFWV ZLOO also be considered.

7KH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW VXFFHVVIXO 6XVWDLQ able Futures Fund project on /6( FDPSXV ZDV WKH *UHHQ 5RRI DW WKH 3OD]D &DIH RXWVLGH WKH /6( OLEUDU\ 7KH JUHHQ URRI help reduce the urban heat isODQG HŕŽ&#x2030; HFW DLG ŕŽ&#x2039; RRG SUHYHQ tion by lowering surface water UXQ RŕŽ&#x2030; UDWHV DQG HQKDQFH XU ban biodiversity.

According to Robin Ray, SUHVLGHQW RI WKH 6XVWDLQDEOH )X WXUHV 6) 6RFLHW\ â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹWKH )XQG LV a unique student environmental group targeting students who are interested in helping institutionalise sustainability DW /6( ZKLOH KLJKOLJKWLQJ WKH practicalities of doing so.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;Ź:H DUH WKH RQO\ /6( 68 societies that works to implement sustainability projects on

FDPSXV â&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;ŹKH DGGHG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹZRUNLQJ FORVHO\ ZLWK WKH 6XVWDLQDELOLW\ 7HDP RI WKH /6( (VWDWHV 'LYL VLRQ WR DGPLQLVWHU WKH 6XVWDLQ DEOH 3URMHFWV )XQG â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź :KLOH WKH 6) 6RFLHW\â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹV )XQG is open to students providing their own project idea, the Fund has also been working to develop a list of suggested projects in the case that students ZRXOG VLPSO\ OLNH WR JDLQ H[ perience managing a project.

A number of mentoring events ZLOO EH SXW RQ E\ WKH 6) 6RFLHW\ DQG WKH /6( (QWUHSUHQHXUVKLS 6RFLHW\ WR KHOS JXLGH DSSOL cants with project advice and development.

Applications this year will be made available on the NoYHPEHU WK DQG WKH ૹ UVW round will be held at the beginning of Lent term.

8

Comment

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Comment

A historic moment in politics

BYUS71

Forecasting the next four years of American politics with Obama in charge

Jon Allsop

Barack Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s election victory over Mitt Romney was supposed to be a lacklustre affair. Seen as divisive at home and indecisive abroad, Obama looked browbeaten from years of constant struggle against an intransigent Congress and the restlessness of global deYHORSPHQWV D GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQW PDQ from the titan elected on a surging wave of hope four years ago. Presiding over a sluggish economy and having expended his political capital ramming through a decidedly piecemeal healthcare package, the President seemed not so much the change that America had been waiting for but the embodiment of GLVDSSRLQWPHQW LQ DQ RŕŽ&#x2030;LFH increasingly susceptible to petty partisan sniping. Gone was the soaring rhetoric and lofty idealism which had so elevated him above his discredited peers, to be replaced by grinding, intractable discord DQG GHŕŽ&#x2039;DWHG H[SHFWDWLRQV Remarkably, his re-election wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even much of a surprise. For all the sensationalised talk of narrowing polls and Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s failings, the Republicans forfeited the Presidency the minute they OLQHG XS D ŕŽ&#x160;HOG RI WKH ERULQJ bad and truly insane to compete for their nomination. The fact that the vile Newt Gingrich, vile and seemingly stupid Herman Cain and palpably unhinged Rick Perry can all at one stage have been serious contenders is testament to the mediocrity of the canGLGDWH WKH\ ŕŽ&#x160;QDOO\ LQHYLWDEO\ picked. Those who feared that Romney would prove an insip-

id choice were largely proven right, with his moderate credentials derived more from D GHŕŽ&#x160;FLW RI SULQFLSOHV WKDQ FRQVLGHUHG UHŕŽ&#x2039;HFWLRQ +H ŕŽ&#x2039;LS ŕŽ&#x2039;RSSHG RQ LVVXHV IURP DERUtion to healthcare, going from pro-choice, reforming Governor of Massachussets to social DQG ŕŽ&#x160;VFDO UHDFWLRQDU\ LQ RUGHU to beat his most enduring Primary challenger Rick Santorum, a spectacular non-entity until the desperate anybodybut-Mitt coalition made him an unlikely star. Caricatured as a heartless plutocrat with a sack-â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em-all mentality, his fate was all but sealed when he senselessly dubbed 47 per cent of the American people workshy scroungers, despite D FUHGLEOH LI RYHU K\SHG ŕŽ&#x160;UVW debate performance dragging him back into the race.

Despite the seemingly uninspiring nature of their choice, however, the American peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision has two vital UDPLŕŽ&#x160;FDWLRQV First and foremost, Obama was a glaringly superior candidate to his opponent, with his record greatly creditable given the unprecedented political, economic and international challenges he has had to face. Domestically, he saved the Michigan auto-industry and its thousands of jobs, pushed through a bold stimuOXV SDFNDJH WR VWDYH RŕŽ&#x2030; WKH threat of depression and had D GHFHQW LI XOWLPDWHO\ ŕŽ&#x2039;DZHG FUDFN DW ŕŽ&#x160;QDQFLDO UHJXODWLRQ DOO ZKLOVW EHFRPLQJ WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW President in history to universalise healthcare insurance, putting two pro-choice women on the Supreme Court, repealing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Ask, Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Tellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military and

coming out in favour of gay marriage. Abroad, he crafted a delicate balance between his liberal peacenik instincts and the need to ensure the security of his country; pulling troops out of Iraq whilst initially bolstering them in Afghanistan to halt Taliban momentum, turning on old allies such as Egyptian President Mubarak to support the democratising values of the Arab Spring whilst guarding against a destructive terrorist incursion into the ensuing vacuum and pushing his START treaty for nuclear non-proliferation with Russia through a lame-duck Congress whilst audaciously bringing down the Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most dangerous and reviled enemy in a generation.

It is clear that not all of these successes came without compromise or complication. Ultimately, however, Obama has always seemed an under-rated President, with disappointPHQW LQ KLV WHQXUH UHŕŽ&#x2039;HFWLQJ ridiculous assessments of his potential rather than the hard facts of his record. Out of the RSWLRQV SURŕŽ&#x2030;HUHG KH DORQH had the integrity and skill to drive America through the unique challenges to come.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the election was momentous due its implications for the Republican party.

Many pundits have predicted that the hard right will declare Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defeat a victory for their convictions, shrilly declaiming that a Tea Party ŕŽ&#x160;UHEUDQG FDSDEOH RI LJQLWLQJ the base could have beaten Obama. Calls for further polarisation will undoubtedly be made in the short-term, although these should be disregarded as the miscalculation

of American sentiment that they are. Romney lost simply because he wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a very good candidate, with his moderate status actually keeping him in some sort of contention rather than hindering his progress.

The sensible rump of his party need only turn to the data to see where they went wrong.

Obama won women by 55-44 per cent, Hispanics by 71-27 per cent and African Americans by a staggering 93-6 per cent (despite popular fears of their disillusionment) in a country in which such groups are growing in both proporWLRQ DQG LQŕŽ&#x2039;XHQFH 2Q WKH same polling day, Wisconsin PDGH 7DPP\ %DOGZLQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW openly gay Senator, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington all approved same-sex marriage, New Hampshire VHQW WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW HYHU DOO IHPDOH delegation to Congress and Republicans Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock lost winnable Senate seats in Missouri and Indiana over ill-judged comments decrying the abortion of rape-induced pregnanFLHV $PHULFD LV ŕŽ&#x160;QDOO\ DZDNening as a socially progressive country and the Republicans cannot possibly hope to regain the Presidency until they recognise this fact.

Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results, then, KDYH PXFK PRUH VLJQLŕŽ&#x160;FDQFH than immediately apparent.

I fundamentally believe that Obama can become one of the best US leaders of modern times, gradually repairing WKH ŕŽ&#x2039;DW OLQLQJ HFRQRP\ DQG building on social provision at home, whilst using his renewed foreign policy mandate to negotiate with Iran, make progress in Syria and have a crack at pulling Israel and

Palestine closer together (particularly now he can get tough with a chastened Netanyahu who backed the wrong horse in the US election). How the next four years will pan out is difficult to predict but, with a sense of cautious optimism, they may go something like this. Obama, emboldened by a strong new mandate and without re-election to think about, will face down sabre-rattling Republican obstructionists in the House with a disarming willingness to work together to VWRS WKH FRXQWU\ IDOOLQJ RŕŽ&#x2030; WKH â&#x20AC;ŤÚ?â&#x20AC;ŹŕŽ&#x160;VFDO FOLŕŽ&#x2030;â&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹLPSHQGLQJ IRUFHG tax increases and spending cuts that both parties will desperately want to avert. Bolstered by the realisation that the party must become more economically responsible and socially progressive, Republican moderates will eventually unite to marginalise the lunatic fringe, who will take a hit in the 2014 midterms as a result. With the new Congress altogether more amenable to bipartisan progress and the sensationalists distracted by a 2016 election likely to pit superstar Hillary Clinton against the Hispanic Marco Rubio, female Condoleeza Rice or moderate Chris Christie, Obama will have two more years to quietly push through more valuable reform, leaving ofŕŽ&#x160;FH D UHVSHFWHG LI QRW ZLOGO\ SRSXODU ŕŽ&#x160;JXUH 7KLV IRUHFDVW is tentative at best, although it does neatly convey one certainty. Following Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reelection last week, the shape of American politics is changing for the better.

Jon Allsop is President of LSESU Forum.

Comment

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

9

A triumph of liberalism Why America voted for the right candidate on November 6th Isabella Mosselmans and Guillermo Ordorica

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant Americaâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; when news stations began to call President Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory over Republican candidate Mitt Romney, cheers of relief and happiQHVV ŕŽ&#x2039;RRGHG YLOODJHV DQG FLWies worldwide. As the clocks struck 7:00am in London, and President Obama articulated his vision, the elation we felt lay primarily in the triumph of liberalism over the frightening stances of social conservatism. The most powerful country in the world will not be led by a man with ostensibly dangerous ideas, but by a man who gives us hope that America can be a country that promotes equality, freedom and peace, a country we believe in.

For months, the world had to witness a series of radical pronouncements from Tea Party candidates and even from the supposedly moderate Mitt Romney on a range of issues such as abortion, immigration and gay rights.

Despite these, the polls all seemed to show an evenly split electorate and we all

wondered, could the US really elect a President who supports â&#x20AC;&#x153;self-deportationâ&#x20AC;? or a Congressman who believes there is such a thing as â&#x20AC;&#x153;legitimate rapeâ&#x20AC;??

Fortunately, November 6th proved to be above all an absolute rejection of these ideas. In what turned out to be a decisive Electoral College victory, Obama was re-elected for reasons that extend beyond demographics. The President and the Democratic Party are on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;right side of historyâ&#x20AC;? on womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights, immigration and gay rights.

The Republicans, on the other hand, are, as Thomas Friedman stated â&#x20AC;&#x153;at war with too many in the next generation of America on all of these issues.â&#x20AC;? To the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relief, it seems America is moving â&#x20AC;&#x153;forwardâ&#x20AC;?.

Republican candidates Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock infamously suggested that even in the case of rape abortion should not be allowed. Statements such as Mourdockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claim that pregnancies caused by rape are still a â&#x20AC;&#x153;gift from a Godâ&#x20AC;? caused public outcry. To our immense relief and in spite RI WKHLU FRQWLQXHG ŕŽ&#x160;QDQFLDO backing, both candidates lost as Missouri and Indiana

voted for their Democrat opponents. Due to the failure of the Republicans to gain WKHVH VHDWV WKH SDUW\ PD\ ŕŽ&#x160;nally abandon its arcane position on abortion and accept a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right to choose.

Perhaps the most important social issue of 2012 was gay rights. Before this election, no President had openly supported gay-marriage, no state had approved it through referendum and only six states had passed it through the legislative process.

It ZDV WKHUHIRUH IXOŕŽ&#x160;OOLQJ WR VHH Minnesota reject a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage; and revolutionary to see Washington, Maryland and Maine vote to legalise it. The public took a stance that rejected Mitt Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belief that the Defense of 0DUULDJH $FW GHŕŽ&#x160;QLQJ PDUriage as exclusively between one man and one woman) should be maintained. In addition, it was amazing to see the groundbreaking victory of Tammy Baldwin in WisconVLQ VRRQ WR EH WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW RSHQly gay member of Congress.

Her victory, and these steps away from discrimination and towards equality are inspirational - demonstrating the emergence of a society where being gay will not limit what

one can achieve.

The election result will KDYH EHQHŕŽ&#x160;FLDO HŕŽ&#x2030;HFWV RQ LPmigration policy. Mitt Romney advocated â&#x20AC;&#x153;self-deportationâ&#x20AC;?

- that is he believed in incentivising illegal immigrants to leave the US by making it impossible for them to gain employment. The Democrats on the other hand, recognize the incredible contributions immigrants make to the US economy and culture. Obama, who won 80 per cent of the minority vote, is committed to giving the millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. Given the much more diverse electorate, Republican electoral calculations will likely lead to immigration reforms passing through Congress. Regardless of the motivations for them, these reforms will mean millions RI SHRSOH ŕŽ&#x160;QDOO\ KDYH D FODULŕŽ&#x160;HG OHJDO VWDWXV WKDW ZLOO JLYH them and their families the ability â&#x20AC;&#x153;to keep reaching, to NHHS ZRUNLQJ WR NHHS ŕŽ&#x160;JKWing.â&#x20AC;?

Whether in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Jakarta in Indonesia, or The Three Tuns, it seemed the rest of the world (with the exception of Israel and Pakistan) was in support of the Democrats due to the frightening far-right nature

of the Republican Party not only on these social issues but also on foreign policy.

The Economist described the extremism of Mitt Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s party as being â&#x20AC;&#x153;his greatest handicapâ&#x20AC;?. At LSE where there would usually be at least some divide in support for the Labour and Conservative parties, it seems that no matter your economic views it was socially unacceptable to be Republican. The student body advertising the event at The Three Tuns, stated there would be a space for Republicans in the cupboard!

The American people chose to support the values of â&#x20AC;&#x153;weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all in this togetherâ&#x20AC;? by voting for Barack Obama.

These values give us hope of an America that is becoming a fairer and more tolerDQW VRFLHW\ IRU WKH EHQHŕŽ&#x160;W RI not only its citizens but also WKH ZRUOG )RU WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW WLPH we found ourselves agreeing with Mitt Romney when he began his concession speech with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Thank you so very much. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank youâ&#x20AC;?, as that is exactly what we would like to say to those Americans who voted for the right president, allowing liberalism to triumph.

The case for a living wage Arguing that this issue should be at the forefront of UK political agenda Adam Wright

It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t long ago since Labour hailed the implementation of the National Minimum Wage across the country.

Back in 1998, employers had WR SD\ DOO WKHLU VWDŕŽ&#x2030; D PLQLmum of ÂŁ3.60 an hour for workers aged 22 and over, and today the rate has risen to ÂŁ6.19. Last week, however, ZDV WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW DQQXDO /LYLQJ Wage Week, where a higher wage was demanded by low-paid workers across the country. The idea of the living wage, as opposed to the National Minimum Wage (set by the government), has been ŕŽ&#x2039;RDWLQJ DURXQG VLQFH with more and more people ŕŽ&#x160;JKWLQJ LWV FDVH $QG LWâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹV D pretty good case.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s be clear, the living wage isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t about redistributing wealth; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about paying a wage that is fair and that gets the bills paid. In essence, the living wage allows for the minimum cost of living. It will cover the cost

of bills, food, rent and travel in a certain area. In London the wage is calculated by the Greater London Authority to be ÂŁ8.55 an hour while for the rest of the UK it stands at ÂŁ7.45, which is calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

Those workers who currently earn less than a living wage are more likely to receive tax credits and/or have to go to pay-day loan companies to take out loans that ZLOO EH XVHG WR SD\ RŕŽ&#x2030; VRPH of their outgoings, such as a bus ticket, electricity bill or school uniform. This creates a vicious cycle where households are plunged deeper into unnecessary debts. A living wage payslip wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go straight into the back pockets of workers; it simply allows them to make ends meet.

As things stand, the taxpayer and generous tippers subsidise low-paying employers. Tax credits for some low-paid workers may bring them up to a decent level of

income, but the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role is not to top up the wages of the employed! In 2010, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated that giving every private sector worker a living wage would increase earnings by around ÂŁ12 billion, and generate ÂŁ6 billion in higher tax revenues for the government.

It has been argued that VRPH ZRUNHUV PD\ LQGHHG ŕŽ&#x160;QG no change in their actual incomes, as a Living Wage may simply mean they pay more taxes, or may disqualify them from tax credits. However, studies have shown the posiWLYH HŕŽ&#x2030;HFWV RI QRW UHFHLYLQJ WD[ FUHGLWV RU EHQHŕŽ&#x160;WV DV SHRple who pay more taxes feel they have contributed more to society. A person will feel prouder if they do not have to have their wages topped up with tax credits. Moreover, an independent study of WKH EHQHŕŽ&#x160;WV IRU EXVLQHVV ZKR paid the living wage in London found that it had improve the quality of the workforce, with absenteeism falling by

25 per cent. If low-paid workers, who usually work frightfully long hours and awkward shift times, are paid a higher ZDJH WKH\ FDQ DŕŽ&#x2030;RUG WR ZRUN less hours, freeing up time to spend with their families.

The really great news is that a living wage is unlikely WR DŕŽ&#x2030;HFW OHYHOV RI HPSOR\ment, despite concerns being raised by some. Similar fears were raised in 1999 with the introduction of the National Minimum Wage. However, WKHUH ZDV QR VLJQLŕŽ&#x160;FDQW DGYHUVH HŕŽ&#x2030;HFW RQ HPSOR\PHQW after it was introduced. In fact, since 1999, the National Minimum Wage has risen DERXW WZLFH DV IDVW DV LQŕŽ&#x2039;Dtion and yet there is still no evidence to suggest that this rise has cost jobs.

Citizens UK have been campaigning for a living wage since 2001, and have made fantastic progress, peacefully pestering CEOs, attending company AGMs and informLQJ FLYLO VHUYDQWV E\ OHDŕŽ&#x2039;HWLQJ outside Whitehall. In the process, they won a few people

round to their way of thinking.

KPMG have managed WR SD\ DOO WKHLU VWDŕŽ&#x2030; D OLYing wage without incurring higher costs. In fact, so did Deloitte, PwC, Preston Council, Lloyds London, Samuel Rhodes School, LSESU, Capacity Global, Herbert Smith and many more. As a direct result, these employers who have paid their entire workforce a living wage have lifted over 15,000 families out of poverty.

Boris Johnson is a big fan of the living wage. In fact, the living wage campaign has recently been picked up

by Ed Miliband and the Labour Party, but it is this current government that needs to act. The coalitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pledge to get Britain back to work and rid the country of its supSRVHG EHQHŕŽ&#x160;WV FXOWXUH VLPSO\ wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t function when people who are working arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t earning enough to live. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to bring the living wage to the forefront of the agenda.

10

Comment

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Islamophobia Awareness Month /6(68â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹV $QWL 5DFLVP 2ŕ­żFHU XUJHV XV WR XVH WKLV PRQWK DV D SODWIRUP WR ŕ­˝JKW ,VODPRSKRELD Mohamed Harrath

November marks the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month, a national campaign by prominent British campaigners set up to tackle and reverse the increase in anti-Muslim sentiment and hate. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about time. Many authorities on Islamophobia will cite a Runnymede Trust report from 1997 as the start of an acknowledgement that Muslims in Europe and the U.S. in particular were beginning to face discrimination primarily due to the fact they were Muslim. But what followed in the next decade would have surprised even the most cynical author of that report.

The 9/11 attacks on the United States and the ensuing â&#x20AC;&#x153;war on terrorâ&#x20AC;? instigated an increasingly negative portrayal of Muslims in the mainstream media, where the seven most common adjectives to describe Muslims were to become: radical, fanatic, fundamentalist, extremist, militant, moderate and evil. Such a narrative can only cause fear, division and hate, and that is where we are today.

44.7 per cent of the British public believe there are too many Muslims in the UK, over 60 per cent feel Islam is incompatible with British values and only 25 per cent feel positively about Islam.

Anti-Muslim hate, be it itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the narrative. The only themselves. Islamophobia a physical attack against way to overcome this unfair has also penetrated maina young woman wearing a and marginalising depic- stream politics across Euheadscarf, a criminal act of tion of Muslims is for the rope. Geert Wildersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; antidamage against a mosque narrative to change and for Muslim party, the PVV, is or the desecration of a portrayals of Muslims to be the third-largest party in Muslim grave, are all direct in line with reality, not the the Netherlands. Wilders consequences of a sense of subject of a sometimes sen- compares the Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an to fear and suspicion achieved sationalist, somewhat irra- Mein Kampf and publicly through the often cynical tional and often perverted advocates for the mass and negative portrayal of tirade against Muslims by deportation of Dutch MusIslam and Muslims. This is some prominent commenta- lims. Switzerlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest why it is so important that tors in the mainstream me- political party has banned Islamophobia and anti- dia. minarets and in France, Muslim sentiment are tackMuslims are largely Marine Le Penâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Front Naled head on by those of us proud citizens of Britain tional, on an anti-Muslim who understand the causal and, in my opinion con- platform, received between link between sentiment tribute massively to this eighteen and twenty per and hate. cent of the Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even vote in the more reveal- 2QH RI WKH JUHDW VWUHQJWKV RI WKH /6( LV RXU c o u n t r y â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s ing is the mismost reLQFUHGLEO\ ULFK DQG GLYHUVH VWXGHQW ERG\ 2XU cent Presmatch between how non-MusDELOLW\ WR ZRUN WRJHWKHU DJDLQVW DWWDFNV RQ i d e n t i a l lims perceive election.

LQGLYLGXDO JURXSV RQ FDPSXV KDV LQVSLUHG Muslims and Closer how Muslims to home, VWXGHQWV DFURVV WKH FRXQWU\ perceive themIslamoselves. 83 per phobia in cent are proud to be a Brit- country. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time the ha- Britain is an increasingly ish citizen, compared to 79 tred against them was chal- worrying trend for many per cent of the general pub- lenged robustly by us all of us who want to live in lic. 77 per cent of Muslims and in the same fervour we an inclusive society, and strongly identify with Brit- would if that same hate was while mainstream political ain while only 50 per cent directed against any other parties and MPs hardly inof the wider population do. racial or religious minority. dulge in the rhetoric that 86.4 per cent of Muslims To those who see Is- has poisoned Dutch and feel they belong in Britain, lamophobia as a problem French politics, successive slightly more than the 85.9 FRQŕŽ&#x160;QHG WR IULQJH JURXSV governments have not done per cent of Christians. 82 on the far-right like the enough to challenge the per cent of Muslims want BNP and the EDL, groups extent of the problem and to live in diverse and mixed which routinely target in many ways have helped neighbourhoods compared Muslims, the statistics foster suspicion of Musto 63 per cent of non-Mus- which demonstrate the lims. There are signs this is lim Britons. widespread nature of anti- slowly changing although Why the mismatch? Well, Muslim sentiment among the relics of New Labour the answer is quite simple; the British public speak for policies, continued under

Letter to the Editor Dear Sir, Last week, you published an open letter from representatives of unions within LSE to Craig Calhoun, objecting to information that had been included on recent payslips about discounted private KHDOWKFDUH WKDW LV DYDLODEOH WR VWDŕŽ&#x2030; , VKRXOG OLNH WR PDNH LW FOHDU WKDW WKH RŕŽ&#x2030;HU RI WKLV EHQHŕŽ&#x160;W GRHV not, in any way, imply that the School has a position on the relative merits of the NHS and private providers.

As with many universities in the UK, LSE has negotiated a group discount rate for private medical LQVXUDQFH DQG LW LV IRU LQGLYLGXDO PHPEHUV RI VWDŕŽ&#x2030; WR GHFLGH ZKHWKHU RU QRW WKH\ ZLVK WR VXEVFULEH WR WKLV 7KLV LV RQH RI WKH UDQJH RI EHQHŕŽ&#x160;WV WKDW WKH 6FKRRO RŕŽ&#x2030;HUV DQG ZH DUH FRPPLWWHG WR HQVXULQJ WKDW VWDŕŽ&#x2030; DUH DZDUH RI WKH RSWLRQV WKDW DUH RSHQ WR WKHP WKH UHFHQW PHVVDJH DERXW KHDOWKFDUH was sent to communicate a change in the administration of the discount scheme.

I appreciate, though, that the payslip is a powerful communication tool and we will be mindful of this when considering adding a message in the future. It would not, however, be appropriate for XV WR FRQVLGHU UHVFLQGLQJ WKLV RŕŽ&#x2030;HU ZKLFK KDV EHHQ LQ SODFH IRU D QXPEHU RI \HDUV LV DSSUHFLDWHG E\ WKH VWDŕŽ&#x2030; ZKR KDYH WDNHQ LW XS ,WV SRSXODULW\ LV DOVR XQGHUOLQHG E\ WKH IDFW WKDW LQ WKH UHFHQW SDVW /6(68 DSSURDFKHG WKH 6FKRRO DERXW WKH SRVVLELOLW\ RI RSHQLQJ XS WKLV RŕŽ&#x2030;HU WR LWV RZQ SHUPDQHQW VWDŕŽ&#x2030;

Chris Gosling HR Director, LSE

the coalition government, have had a huge impact on British Muslims. One of these is the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PREVENT agenda, a problematic â&#x20AC;&#x153;counter-extremismâ&#x20AC;? strategy with a heavy focus on universities, colleges and student groups.

It is up to us as students to resist the agenda and make it clear that treating Muslim students as suspects is not okay.

One of the great strengths of the LSE is our incredibly rich and diverse student body. Our ability to work together against attacks on individual groups on campus has inspired students across the country. Our response to IslamRSKRELD ERWK RQ DQG RŕŽ&#x2030; campus, will be one of the greatest social challenges of a generation. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only right that we as students come together and use this PRQWK DV D SODWIRUP WR ŕŽ&#x160;JKW against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.

The LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month is proud to be hosting: Exhibition on Islamophobia in the Quad (Monday November 19th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Friday 23rd) Launch event in the Quad on Tuesday November 20th at 6pm with Dr Leon Moosavi (University of Liverpool) and Myriam Francois-Cerrah (Journalist and Academic).

Comment

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

11

Welcoming weed on the agenda

Why we should get with the times and legalise Britain’s favourite narcotic such rare incidences that it does not make sense to criminalise on that basis.

It would be tantamount to criminalising bananas, because some clumsy people occasionally slip if their skins are left on the floor.

While I’m debunking common myths, there is no medical basis for the term

On November 6th, the voters of Colorado and Washington passed landmark bills that legalised cannabis for recreational use, the first time this has been done anywhere in the world. These new laws mark the culmination of a period of intense shift in the public perception of the planet’s most common illegal drug. The liberal attitudes of a modern American electorate look set to pass more cannabis legislation in the near future.

Humorously, in New York City, there is a larger fine imposed on someone who sells a 16-oz soda than there is on someone who is carrying an ounce of cannabis. While America’s experience of cannabis is different – the “War on Drugs” and its brutal links with Mexican cartels is far more violent and public than the comparatively amateurish underworld associated with cannabis smuggling is in the UK – we have relatively similar cultural values and norms.

So, while our younger cousins are busy legalising cannabis, I think it is worth considering whether we should follow suit.

The crux of the argument is nowadays no longer centred on old hippies wishing to return to their guitar-playing days of hallucinogenic drugs and casual sex, but on economics and morality. My argument for legalisation is simple, but first must start with a dismissal of the hysteria surrounding negative health effects of using cannabis. Medical research has not shown a definite link between regular cannabis consumption and decreased life expectancy. Anyone who tries to tell you that cannabis is as dangerous as tobacco, or kills as many people as alcohol, is relying on rhetoric and fabrication. This is not to say there are no health problems that arise from cannabis consumption – paranoia and schizophrenia do occur, but in

bad personal experience or other anecdotes, which are ridiculous pieces of evidence to use when discussing government policy.

Furthermore, from the Office of National Statistics, “Deaths involving cannabis were very low (seven deaths in 2011) and usually involved more

admitting this - an unlikely action for any politician with a self-preservation instinct - but as a country it is time we stop supporting costly operations that do little to stop drug supply and harm innocent people every year.

A second argument for cannabis legalisation, and

LEAH GREGG

Ed Szymanski

“cannabis addict.” Addic- than one substance.” As a one that is considered far tion creates physical with- comparison point, rough- less often, is the economdrawal symptoms – evident ly 100,000 people died in ic revenue that a tax on in regular users of heroin, 2011 from cigarette use, the drug could bring in cocaine and tobacco – and 10,000 from alcohol. for the government. Lawbut the properties of the I would posture that more makers in Colorado plan c a n n a to use the tax bis plant income to build don’t have Medical research has not shown a definite new schools – this efmoney will also fect on link between regular cannabis consumption be used to eduthe brain. and decreased life expectancy. Anyone who cate the populaCannabis tion about drug is only tries to tell you that cannabis is as danger- use and abuse. addictive UK cannabis ous as tobacco, or kills as many people as al- The to the exmarket is valued tent that cohol, is relying on rhetoric and fabrication. around £4 bilchocolate, lion (there are shoe shopping or texting people are killed in gang obvious difficulties measis. You may not enjoy it, and crime related violence uring the size of an illicit but you don’t have physi- associated with the drugs market), but it seems fair cal withdrawal symptoms trade than in the consump- to assume that legalisation – muscle spasms, vomit- tion itself, and a system and taxation would genering and diarrhoea – when whereby we moved the ate revenue of the order you give up chocolate for market from criminals to of several billion for the lent. Therefore, it is only the government is likely government, and take the possible to make the medi- to diminish the reach of money out of the hands of cal argument for cannabis drug gangs. The “War on gang lords and criminals. restriction on very tenu- Drugs” has been an un- On top of the obvious revous grounds, and those mitigated disaster, and le- enue from government doing so usually rely on a galising cannabis would be sales, there would be jobs

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created in state-licensed cannabis shops, and there would also be a reduction in policing costs related to drug prohibition. While it would be foolish to say that legalising cannabis is going to be the grand saviour of our economy, at a time of brutal budget cuts and self-imposed austerity, any additional revenue should be welcomed by the government.

The final argument, which is often advocated

by American pro-legalisation groups, is the freedom of adults to do what they want in their own homes.

The current restrictions on cannabis use are a form of state paternalism, and it infringes too far into our lives. There are many damaging activities that the state allows – smoking, drinking, fast-food consumption, and suicide – just to name a few. To restrict cannabis on the grounds that it harms you is inherently contradictory, and even if we take an exaggerated view of the negative externalities of cannabis use, they are no more significant than the externalities from obesity, lung cancer, second hand smoke and drunken behaviour. John Stuart Mill famously decreed that “liberty supersedes safety in terms of actions that affect oneself.” We would do well to heed his advice.

I don’t believe that a world where cannabis is legalised will have dreadlocked drug-users strewn across the streets, guzzling cheesy Wotsits and flunking off work to get high. I think it’ll be a world where adults have more choice, and can smoke a joint with their friends at the weekend if they want to, without the clenched fist of the state hanging over them. But we’ll see. If the Colorado and Washington experience goes well, then we will need to start implementing our own legalisation policies soon, and start getting with the times.

Features A citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibility 12

Features

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

SPIROSK PHOTOGRAPHY

Georgios Barzoukas

One could argue that the only apology uttered by a politician in-office during the past ten years, has been Nick Cleggâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fees-related one; an occasion brilliantly converted into a rap song that became a YouTube sensation. For the generation of the 90s, the only other relevant occasion was Bill Clinton apologizing for his Oval Office debaucheries. In contemporary times, one is therefore left with a single example of a leader apologising for not delivering on his promises, while trying to think of a politician who apologised for what he actually did, is even more Herculean. In the context of the current EU crisis, where states are called upon to mend their spending bonanzas, many citizens are awaiting a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mea culpaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from the leaders and parties who rode the wave of uncontrolled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;allocationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Citizens are unlikely to hear such humble words from their leaders, and this article will argue that they do not deserve it either.

About a month ago, the former Deputy Prime Minister of the technocrat Papademos government and one of the oldest members of the PASOK party, Theodoros Pagkalos, uttered the controversial statement: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all binged togetherâ&#x20AC;?.

Through this statement, the rather controversial Mr Pagkalos suggested that the citizens of Greece had to

share the blame along with the politicians instead of dumping everything on the latter, for they had contributed actively to the current mess. Despite of the fact that this man represents, amongst others, everything that is deeply wrong with the Greek political system, he is most probably right.

Greece has not been, since the end of the military junta, comparable to Pinochetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chile or Mubarakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Egypt.

Unlike the two latter examples, Greek citizens had the opportunity for more than thirty years, to choose between candidates across the political spectrum when, and if, they judged the country to be sidetracking. SpeFLŕŽ&#x160; F UXOHUV DQG PHQ LQ SRZ er cannot be singlehandedly held responsible for corrupt or oppressing statal mechanisms in Western political systems.

In republics, responsibility is collective because the running of the state is assigned to individuals elected WKURXJK XQLYHUVDO VXŕŽ&#x2030; UDJH Furthermore, the tolerance of illegal or illegitimate practices by a population which banalises deviant civic behaviour is as condemnable as the practice itself. The newly re-elected President Obama, quoting JFK, said that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote.â&#x20AC;? The choices of those electible every four RU ŕŽ&#x160; YH \HDUV DUH PRVW XVX ally disappointing and only occasionally inspiring, but our civic and democratic du-

ties extend beyond the suffrage and into our day to day interactions.

2Q D PDFUR OHYHO WKH ŕŽ&#x160; nancial echo of the Lehman Brothers bust reached the shores of the Old Continent, DQG H[SRVHG WKH ŕŽ&#x160; VFDO ZHDN nesses of states as soon as Moodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Standard & Poor and Fitch ceased playing the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Three Wise Monkeysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

While Greek citizens are not responsible for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitizing mortgages which could never be repaid, they are to blame for not shielding their state and its system, through their votes and daily practice from negative externalities that always tend to occur. Rephrasing what the masked individual from V for Vendetta so eloquently and elegantly said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;States are not responsible for their citizens, citizens should be responsible for their states.â&#x20AC;?

The day 44 per cent of Greeks voters chose to elect George Papandreou, a man they previously called: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Little Georgeâ&#x20AC;? (Giorgakis) to highlight his perceived incompetency and naivety, they became partially responsible for the impact that his administration would have on their countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prosperity. And while citizens had the power and the right to protest when Papandreouâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Party voted LQ IDYRXU RI WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW 0HPR randum with the ECB, the EC and the IMF, (unconstitutionally according to some legal experts) they only did

when their respective secWRUV ZHUH OLQHG XS WR VXŕŽ&#x2030; HU cuts. A behavior somewhere along the lines of Pastor NiemĂśllerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poem: â&#x20AC;&#x153;First they came...â&#x20AC;? Similarly, in the 2008 General Elections, Italians chose Silvio Berlusconi for the third time as their Prime-Minister: a jetsetter playboy, media Mogul, and owner of AC Milan would comfortably dwell once again in Palazzo Chigi.

Although it would be unfair to argue that a nation with a history and culture as rich as Italyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s can be personiŕŽ&#x160; HG E\ D PDQ VXFK DV %HU lusconi, it certainly is not the epitome of Italian Republican achievement. One can only imagine what Garibaldi, Mazzini or Socrates would think of their neighboring descendants, if they were to ever lay eyes on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Il Cavaliereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Little Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; brandishing as elected leaders of these two countries.

The vast majority of citizens of countries that are now undergoing Structural Adjustment programmes in Europe have a comprehensive education, a satisfactory access to information and have developed adequate critical and analytical skills.

Eventually no answer along the lines of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;blame it on our corrupt politiciansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; came be uttered as a response to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cognoscere causasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of a problem as multi-faceted and multi-dimensional as the ongoing crisis. It is to overestimate the capacities of individuals such as Angela Merkel, George Papandreou

(and his father Andreas Papandreou: a man renowned IRU KLV ŕŽ&#x160; VFDO ODUJHVVH LQ WKH 1980s and 1990s) or Nicolas Sarkozy as being the promiQHQW FKDUJHDEOH ŕŽ&#x160; JXUHV IRU our current hardships.

Similarily, institutions such as the European Commission, the IMF or the ECB canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be solely held accountable for the distress of Greek, Portuguese and Irish workers, for the former are the process of Institutionbuilding in which Sovereign States have contributed actively, and still do. Both on a community and national level, it is essential to be prepared for situations that arise beyond oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s control but which have an immediate and sometimes calamiWRXV HŕŽ&#x2030; HFW XSRQ XV It appears that the generation of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Credit Cardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is learning the hard way how crucial frugality is, and that societal foundations need to be strengthened and enhanced prior to cyclical EXUVWV ,I DQ\ SXEOLF ŕŽ&#x160; JXUH were to be found guilty of embezzling money or other condemnable practices, retribution should follow. However, citizens should be fully aware that retribution alone ZLOO QRW DVVXDJH WKH VXŕŽ&#x2030; HU ing of those battling to survive the current economic crisis, nor will it ensure the cessation of similar practices in the future. The change that our societies require go beyond what the IMF or the ECB might prescribe: it is civic as well as social, rather WKDQ ŕŽ&#x160; QDQFLDO

Features

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

13

Circling the square: a new industrial revolution Sam Barnett

The world economy is under increasing pressure.

We depend on a limited resource base that can hardly cater for our needs already, yet projections suggest that another billion people will be added to our total population in the next century. As China and other non-Western nations mature economically, their inhabitants will increasingly aspire to our consumptiondriven lifestyle. The Earth cannot sustain humanity at this rate: we are running out of planet. But an idea, (or, more accurately, a collection of ideas), exists that may be able to help us defend our resource base.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a gimmicky magic bullet product, like biofuel, nor a preachy moral cam-

of these are totally unscienWLŕŽ&#x160;F H[DPSOHV , PDGH XS IRU illustrative purposes, by the way).

Things that are technical and even more complex, with lots of parts, may need considerably more attention. Here things get really clever. One idea for higherend products is the introduction of a service economy instead of an ownership one. Instead of buying a mobile phone, or a washing machine, you buy the service of mobile phone or washing machine provision from a company for a set time.

Then when it breaks, or becomes obsolete, the company takes it away and gives you a new one. Instead of selling you some crap that breaks after a year (hello, Apple), itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suddenly in the corporationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest to

to break the product down and sell the useful parts.

So there is no one circular answer for all questions, just a brand new set of options that, if well thought through, could be environmentally and economically EHQHŕŽ&#x160;FLDO RQ D PLFUR DQG macro level. Circularityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second principle is that diversity is strength: the more ideas there are, the more protected the planet and the economy are. It applies equally to energy production, which should either be green with no by-products, or in an interesting twist, have useful by-products.

To a hard-headed LSE student, though, this is all unicorns and rainbows. We wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it until we have to; it makes no sense to develop a design process that undoubtedly costs more than

because right now, resource inputs are directly connected to revenue, but resource costs are high and growing, and expose companies to the volatility of commodity prices. Circularity breaks this link- who wants their business to be at the mercy of speculators? So maybe this is an idea you can invest in when you land that dream job at the Goldman Sachs after all.

There are problems, of course. There have been accusations that some of the inventors have been holding too tightly on to the intellectual property and thus reduced the ideaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exposure.

The main issue, however, is an intellectual one. Designers need to understand circularity to make circular products. Companies need to understand circularity

possibly can biodegradable, so nature eats it for us. One EL]DUUH LGHD WR WKLV HŕŽ&#x2030;HFW is for edible product packaging, so you would get a Big Mac in a box that tastes like chips. More complex products would be made of component parts that are useful, so they are taken away and broken down. For example, clothes might be PDGH IURP ŕŽ&#x160;EUHV WKDW FRXOG be melted down and used as fertiliser, or car tyres used as housing insulation (both

give you a dependable piece of equipment, so they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to give you a new one every week. Then, at the end of the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, Apple are stuck with 38 million iPhones. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hardly in their interest to throw them all away- if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re built with circularity in mind, a few tweaks, and bingo! iPhone 12! (Though I may have chosen poorly, as Apple probably do this anyway). As for that washing machine, it suits Whirlpool or whoever

the one we already have, right? Supply and demand, etc. Well, not necessarily, according to McKinsey, who, in a report commissioned by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, argued that circularity could provide â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;An annual net material cost savings opportunity of up to USD 380 billion in a transition scenario and of up to USD 630 billion in an advanced scenario, looking only at a subset of EU manufacturing sectorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. This is

before they can radically alter their business model, and entrepreneurs need to understand it to build new circular businesses. Consumers need to understand circularity so they start favouring circular products over linear ones. Academics need to understand circularity so they can start researching it. Will the circular economy really throw the world a lifeline? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s RQO\ RQH ZD\ WR ŕŽ&#x160;QG RXW

JUSTHUGO

manufacturing process is linear, with three basic steps: take, make, and dispose. The problem is that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re running out of primary (natural) inputs to take, and our disposal is polluting and damaging the planet in GR]HQV RI GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQW ZD\V We are already trying to delay the dispose bit, by recycling, which means we get a few more uses out of things.

But the circular economy goes beyond that. It wants to get rid of the straight line, and get us thinking in circles.

In nature, waste is food.

This is the core principle of circularity. Everything we make, once it has served its purpose, can be an input in some process of use to us. The easiest circle to build is harnessing nature by making everything we

paign. All it asks you to do is change the way you think.

More accurately, it asks you to change the way you think about the things we use.

It is called the circular economy, but it also goes by design to disassemble or cradle to cradle. Several economists, scientists and architects claim to have WKRXJKW RI LW ŕŽ&#x160;UVW EXW DV WKH basic principle is modelled on nature, it can also be described as being ageless.

The argument is breathtakingly simple. Our current

14

Features

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Marshall Palmer

%(/.,1

This past Sunday November 11, people from all over the UK and the Commonwealth fell silent at the eleventh hour to remember the dead and fallen who fought so bravely since the First World War. Why we celebrate this day is (I thought) obvious; to mourn the incomprehensibly staggering numbers of men and women ZKR IRXJKW DQG GLHG LQ FRQŕŽ&#x2039;LFW since World War I. This is done by the donning of memorial poppies and by taking some time out of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s day on the 11th to remember those who PDGH WKH XOWLPDWH VDFULŕŽ&#x160;FH Two years ago, I traveled WR WKH JUHHQ ŕŽ&#x160;HOGV RI )UDQFH to see the dimpled and still PLQHG EDWWOHŕŽ&#x160;HOGV RI WKH )LUVW World War, the dishearteningly long stretches of Juno, Sword, and Omaha beaches, and the grand monuments and memorials dedicated to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;glorious dead.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Spreading to the horizon, the perfectly arranged white crosses for the French, white tombstones for the Commonwealth, and black crosses for the Germans brought home the sheer magnitude of the WZR JUHDW (XURSHDQ FRQŕŽ&#x2039;LFWV The numbers such as 60,000 (the number of casualties WKH &RPPRQZHDOWK VXŕŽ&#x2030;HUHG RQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW GD\ RI WKH %DWtle of the Somme) suddenly personalised and became far more meaningfulâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;and tragic.

I do not pretend that all, or even a large percentage, of these men died for my freedom even if that may have been WKH RXWFRPH RI WKHLU VDFULŕŽ&#x160;FH In fact, I imagine that most of them were socialised into fervent nationalism, cunningly persuaded, lied to, or FRHUFHG LQWR ŕŽ&#x160;JKWLQJ DQG G\ing, for purposes our representatives, rightly or wrongly, deemed higher than them.

These days, of course, I imagine that most soldiers in a volunteer force have a genuLQH DQG UDWKHU VHOŕŽ&#x2039;HVV EHOLHI in the causes our leaders engage in. I also believe I have

a right to live free from terror and othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; a right to live free from the tyranny of, say, the Taliban or Saddam Hussein.

However, the reason why I wear the poppy and fall silent on the eleventh hour is neither because I believe our OHDGHUV ZHUH DUH MXVWLŕŽ&#x160;HG LQ war nor because of a fervent patriotism for my native country, Canada, but because it is an absolute tragedy so many killed and were killed. We are, after all, only primates living on some rock in an obscure corner of the universe. In this sense, war is ultimately unnecessary and always a tragedy. Nevertheless, tyranny occurs and some forms of it are worse than others (take Nazi *HUPDQ\ YV ,PSHULDO %ULWDLQ

A line is drawn and, however undesirable, a choice must made. It seems to me the only viable one is to stick with the lesser of two evils, and not WR LQVXOW WKRVH ZKR ŕŽ&#x160;JKW DQG die in asserting that choice. I ZRXOG DOVR DGG WKDW ZKLOH %ULWain was an Empire in 1914 it is not now. The poppy is as much about remembering the fallen of the past as those of today.

In light of this, it seems clear this day deserves the greatest reverence.

This is why I was so surprised to see so few at the LSE wearing the poppy on the 11th and so few attend the memorial service in the Shaw library.

Trying to rationalise this, I have concluded that there are three groups of people at the LSE who choose not to remember.

7KH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW DUH WKH LQWHUQDtional students who come from places that were not, or were only tenuously, connected to WKH &RPPRQZHDOWKâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹV FRQŕŽ&#x2039;LFWV Their ignorance is understandable and, for the most part, forgivable. After all, I do not celebrate, nor feel I should, the Chinese day of remembrance, for example.

On the other hand, I do not reside within Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borders and, as such, do not enjoy direct EHQHŕŽ&#x160;W IURP &KLQHVH VDFULŕŽ&#x160;FH The second group are

LAUREN CATHY TURNER

Remembrance day and its importance

those from the Commonwealth but for whatever reason are uncaring or ignorant.

The best of them might, for intellectual reasons, reject the idea of the Poppy (as my ŕŽ&#x2039;DWPDWHV GR \HW WKH\ VWLOO recognise the sombre tone of the 11th. It is, after all, the anniversary of an armistice.

This level of basic respect LV ZKDW GLVWLQJXLVKHV P\ ŕŽ&#x2039;DWmates from the third group, also hailing from the Commonwealth. The third group is composed of those who actively resist Remembrance Day. The website of the Socialist Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Party - whom, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m assuming because of their vexing presence on campus and in Starbucks, form the political background of most of the WKLUG JURXS MXVWLŕŽ&#x160;HV WKHLU DEstention to the poppy through equating it to a celebration of imperialism (and probably investment banking too).

Anti-imperialism and anti-

war might be noble campaigns, but the day and the poppy are not, nor have they ever pretended to be, a celebration of imperialism, empire, and war.

It is to remember the young men and women that have committed and been on the receiving end of inconceivable, but coldly real, actions. It is hard to escape the political connection but Day is far more about the individual tragedies, so immense they outweigh everything else. To use the event to obnoxiously encourage that inevitable global revolution is insulting as it is stupid.

I can only express the utmost frustration to see the third group mock those who protect them while they sleep. I defend their right to dissent, yet this right only H[LVWV EHFDXVH RI VDFULŕŽ&#x160;FH 7R WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW DQG VHFRQG groups, I can only suggest one empathise with the

men and women who have given far more than anybody should to the Commonwealth in which we reside.

Place yourself in the shoes of a seventeen year old man in this city 98 years ago or in the shoes of the men and women currently serving overseas, prepared to kill and die with the, unintended or not, consequence of protecting this imperfect VRFLHW\ GHŕŽ&#x160;QHG QRW JUHDWO\ (even in 1914) by its race or religion but by a set of noble ideas. We would not be worthy of calling ourselves academics if we did not question the leaders and debate the history but we are not worthy of calling ourselves compassionate (or indeed logically consistent) if we do not honour LQGLYLGXDO VDFULŕŽ&#x160;FHV ZKLFK sustain(ed) the society we currently reside. And this is why we wear the poppy.

Features

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

15

7KH 3UHVLGHQW DSSURDFKHV D SROLWLFDO FOL૸ ULVH RI RWKHU ŕŽ&#x160; JXUHV OLNH 3DXO Ryan who, in contrast, will reâ&#x20AC;&#x153;And in the coming weeks and turn to his seat in the House months, I am looking forward of Representatives as one of to reaching out and work- the most far-right Vice Presiing with leaders of both par- dential candidates in Amerities to meet the challenges can history with a greatly we can only solve together.â&#x20AC;? HOHYDWHG PHGLD SURŕŽ&#x160; OH /LNH Fine words, Mr President. wise, Rick Perry is set to seek But bipartisan compromise is re-election to the position of just as unlikely to happen in Governor of Texas, while Mithe coming four years, per- chelle Bachmann managed to haps even less so â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for this retain her seat in the House HOHFWLRQ LV QRW RQO\ VLJQLŕŽ&#x160; FDQW of Representatives. Centrism in the fact an embattled presi- is a forgotten voice in the Redent campaigning on shaky publican Party; fanatics and grounds managed to survive, Tea Party activists abound.

It is therefore worrying to but that it was a Republican see President Obama extend moderate who was decisively such invitations for collective defeated on election night.

Romney may have pandered action to the Republican Party and U-turned and twisted his itself â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if anyone could have words on whim but at the end EXŕŽ&#x2030; HUHG XS WKH PRGHUDWH of it all he is no Rick Perry wing, it would have been the or Paul Ryan, and it is this President. They did not have growing shadow of Repub- to see eye to eye or agree on lican extremism which will even a single piece of legislathreaten to divide America tion, but at least they would more than it has already done. have been open to negotiaThe marks of this collapse tion, debate, compromise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; of the moderate Republican elements that are distinctly faction are clear â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jon Hunts- removed from the growing man Jr., all but ignored dur- core of hardliners who would ing the Republican primaries gladly bring America to a DQG ZKR KDV EHHQ HŕŽ&#x2030; HFWLYHO\ standstill simply to ensure a kicked out by the conserva- greater chance of conservative faction of his own party tive victory in 2016 by pinfollowing his criticism that ning the blame for failure to the GOP needed to do more progress on Obama. Older, in bipartisan compomise; Mitt grayer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but how much wiser?

Romney, who does not even If his victory speech is to be have Massachusetts or a po- taken at face value, his belief litical position to return to; the in the potential for a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;grand

compromiseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; between the parties as a whole is naĂŻve.

Commentators have spoken of a civil war within the Republican Party â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but such a war is long over, with a dwindling moderate faction now decisively defeated and with no apparent means of regaining ground within the GOP itself. What does this mean for America? Firstly, the upFRPLQJ ŕŽ&#x160; VFDO FOLŕŽ&#x2030; LV OLNHO\ to result in the same kind of heart attack that happened with the threat of government shutdown during budget talks in 2011. If past trends of Republican behavior in the House of Representatives is any indicator, right-wing ex-

tremists in Congress would quite happily drive the United States right up to the edge of disaster, agree on a limited compromise and then blame the President for refusing to engage in bipartisan talks.

It may well be true that Obama cannot compromise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but what does compromise mean when one is dealing with an increasingly right-wing Republican party? The President once again spoke of sitting down with Mitt Romney to discuss where they could â&#x20AC;&#x153;work together to move this country forwardâ&#x20AC;?; once again, it is crucial to remember Romney is not representative of the makeup of the Republican

Party, and will be remembered within his party for his defeat.

The path ahead for Obama is grim, beset by restricted choices and hostile Republicans ready to pounce on any error, genuine or perceived. If there was any hope of breaking the partisan deadlock in Congress, it evaporated with the fall of moderate Republicans in the GOP and the growing dominance of the Tea Party right. If Obama truly stands for hope, it is little more than the desperate, nerve-wracking hope that Congress does QRW GULYH $PHULFD RŕŽ&#x2030; WKH FOLŕŽ&#x2030; LQ WKH EODPH JDPH WKDW now envelops Washington.

:$//<*

Dominic Hung

Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s re-election and its lessons truth, but at present, Silver remains an outside bet for the In the end, the result was Democratic nomination 2016.

It would be wrong for this rather limp. For people incorrespondent to talk in any terested in the hyperbole of more objective ways about the the rolling news networks, way in which the USA voted. with all their talk of â&#x20AC;&#x153;knifeIrrational love for Robert edgeâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;too close to callâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;electoral college tie,â&#x20AC;? in 0 /D)ROOHWWH DQG :LOOLDP -HQ the end Mr Obama was re- nings Bryan aside, there are far turned to the White House more experienced commenwith a fairly thumping major- tators around to pass judgeity in the Electoral College, ment on the United States. something the BBC seems to /HVV ZHOO FRQVLGHUHG LV ZKDW think is selection by a meet- the Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s re-election ing of political science majors. means for British politicians.

The Conservatives and It is quite clear the AmeriWKH /DERXU 3DUW\ ERWK KDYH can people decided to go for a reasons for quiet optimism status quo result. Obama beand forthcoming dread.

FRPHV WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW 3UHVLGHQW VLQFH Typically, the main isReagan to gain a majority of sue that the US election was the popular vote in two elecWLRQV ZKLFK ERWK RŕŽ&#x2030; HUV KLP fought over, the economy, will increased legitimacy and a no doubt be at the centre of sense that, tepid endorsement attention in the General Elecor not, the American people tion of 2015. David Cameron still feel that he is the person will be considering the fact best suited to serve as Com- that the President was remander-in-Chief.

Arguably election with a the highest Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory comes sec- rate of unemployment since RQG WR 1DWH 6LOYHU RI ŕŽ&#x160; YHWKLU Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 tyeight fame, who was able to alongside similarly anemic break the will of self-appoint- growth-rates. Short of privaed experts via a unique com- tising Scotland, there is litbination of mathematics and tle sign that wage packets will have recovered to their Jack Tindale

pre-credit crunch highs, yet, should the prevailing view be that the economy has rounded a corner, Obama has demonstrated that an incumbent can win election.

It represents a clear sign of hope for Mr Cameron, who has already seen Sarkozy, Zapatero and Berlusconi fall to the endemic malaise within European society. Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory, shows that â&#x20AC;&#x153;steady as she goesâ&#x20AC;? may yet win the day, although it should be noted that the US economy is three per cent larger than when Mr Obama entered office in 2008. The UK LV WKUHH SHU FHQW ZRUVH RŕŽ&#x2030; /HVV VR WR 0U &DPHU on, Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory represented a comparative rebuck to the Tory Right.

Within hours of Mr Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concession speech, SenDWRU /LQGVH\ *UDKDP RI 6RXWK Carolina, hardly a moderate, publicly denounced those who accused him of â&#x20AC;&#x153;not being conservative enoughâ&#x20AC;? as essentially living in cloudcuckooland. Whilst all wings of the Republican Party lost out on election night, the message to the GOP right, especially

represented by such such illustrious ambassadors such as Todd Akin and Allen West must be that America has fundamentally progressed from the Culture War era.

Mr Cameron would do well to point out to his party that, whilst British voters retain similar view to their American cousins regarding ŕŽ&#x160; VFDO UHVSRQVLELOLW\ VRFLDOO\ both nations are far more progressive than the centreright would care to admit.

Gay marriage may not win any votes for the Prime Minister, but dropping it would certainly lose some.

7KH /DERXU 3DUW\ VLPLODUO\ may take some solace from the fact that, in appealing to the middle-ground, Obama has presented a blueprint for Ed Miliband emerging victorious as Prime Minister in just over two years time.

The President has certainly governed rather more to the centre than his winning coalition may have liked, but it was interventionist bail-outs of the auto industry that secured his victory in Ohio, a stimulus package that began the troubled economic recovery and

an open mind on social reforms that shored up his support amongst minority voters.

In many respects, the President helped to deliver PDQ\ RI WKH SROLFLHV WKDW /D bour submitted to the country back in 2010, a manifesto that Mr Miliband co-authored.

The President also ensured victory thanks to a groundgame that was far ahead of his somewhat out-modelled opponents, who saw their cherished â&#x20AC;&#x153;Project Orcaâ&#x20AC;? fail miserably, with poorer direcWLRQ WKDQ WKDW RŕŽ&#x2030; HUHG E\ $S ple Maps. President Obama led the way in the use of soFLDO PHGLD EDFN LQ KLV ŕŽ&#x160; UVW election, this time, it was the energy and commitment of volunteers that maintained a formula for victory. ,I FRPH /DERXU FDQ develop existing strengths in voting rolls, activist involvement and consolidation of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;town hallâ&#x20AC;? method of word-of-mouth endorsements, then it bodes well for Mr Miliband standing on the threshold of Downing Street.

Of course, one should not IRUJHW WKH /LEHUDO 'HPRFUDWV

16

Features

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

AMERICA VO

REPUBLICANS: 45 SEATS

SENATE DEMOCRATS: 53 SEATS INDEPENDENT: 2 SEATS

OBAMA 332D ROMNEY 206

DEMOCRATS // OBAMA

OTHER CAND

LIBERTARIAN // GARY JOHN GREEN // JILL STEIN 0.34% CONSTITUTION // VIRGIL GO JUSTICE // ROCKY ANDERSO

270 TO

OTES

DIDATES

NSON 0.97%

OODE 0.09% ON 0.03%

O WIN

Features

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

17

+++++++++++++++++++

A BEAVER GRAPHICS BREAKDOWN +++++++++++++++++++

SWING STATES WON BY OBAMA

VIRGINIA 50.8% 47.8% FLORIDA 50.0% 49.2% OHIO 50.1% 48.2% NEW HAMPSHIRE 52.2% 46.4%

WON BY ROMNEY

N. CAROLINA 50.6% 48.4% INDIANA 53.4% 43.8%

WISCONSIN 52.8% 46.1% COLORADO 51.2% 46.5% IOWA 52.1% 46.5% NEVADA 52.3% 45.7%

KEY PROPOSITIONS

LEGALISED MARIJUANA PASSED IN COLORADO, WASHINGTON AND FAILED IN OREGON GAY MARRIAGE PASSED IN WASHINGTON, MARYLAND AND MAINE REMOVAL OF DEATH PENALTY FAILED IN CALIFORNIA LABELLING OF GMO FOOD FAILED IN CALIFORNIA REMOVAL OF RACIST LANGUAGE IN STATE CONSTITUTION FAILED IN ALABAMA

DEMOGRAPHICS HISPANIC VOTERS 71% 27% BLACK VOTERS 93% 6% WHITE VOTERS 59% 39% FEMALE VOTERS 55% 44%

MALE VOTERS 52% 45% WHITE CATHOLIC 59% 40% WHITE EVANGELICAL 78% 21% NON-RELIGIOUS 70% 26%

REPUBLICANS: 234 SEATS

HOUSE DEMOCRATS: 195 SEATS 6 UNDECLARED AT TIME OF PRINT

REPUBLICANS // ROMNEY

18

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13.11.2012

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The Beaver 13.11.2012

19

PartB MUSIC RUN JACK RUN

TELEVISION REVISITED~ STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP

FILM KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

20

13.11.2012 PartB

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

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PartB

PECCADILLO PICTURES

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D

Thure Lindhart and Zachary Booth as a pair of troubled lovers in Ira Sach's critically acclaimed drama, Keep the Lights On.

ebuting at the Sundance Film Festival with much critical success, Ira Sachsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; semi-autobiographical feature can be described as many things: an audaciously intimate portrayal of a longterm relationship from its exhuberant beginning to bittersweet end; an ethnographical account of New York gay community at the turn of the millenia; a refreshing take on the addiction narrative where the subject is neither condoned nor condemned; and more.

At the heart of it all, however, Keep The Lights On tells a very simple story, that of two individuals fortunate enough WR ŕł&#x2030; QG ORYH QR PDWWHU KRZ UH JUHWWDEO\ ŕł&#x160; HHWLQJ VXFK ORYH LQ the end, turns out to be.

6HW LQ WKH ŕł&#x2030; OP LQWUR duces Erik (Thure Lindhart), D 1HZ <RUN EDVHG 'DQLVK ŕł&#x2030; OP director who invests the hope of artistic recognition into his long-gestating documentary on late Avery Willard, a post-WWII gay experimental ŕł&#x2030; OPPDNHU 6LWWLQJ DORQH RQ his bed, the man dials up a landline in search of a sexual partner for the night. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Goodlooking, muscular.. six-anda-half inches, uncutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, he describes his appearance to a stranger in a well-rehearsed seductive tone. Paul (Zachary Booth), on the other hand, is a conventionally handsome OLWHUDU\ DJHQW 6WLŕł&#x2C6; HQHG FRO lar and shirt tucked in, he SHUVRQLŕł&#x2030; HV WKH LPDJH RI XUEDQ bourgeoisie. When the two ŕł&#x2030; UVW PHHW LQ WKH ODWWHUâ&#x20AC;ŤÝ°â&#x20AC;ŹV GLPO\ lit hotel room, he succintly informs Erik, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I actually have a girlfriend, so donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get your hopes upâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Little do they know that this heterosexual façade would be the least of their concerns.

Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drug use spirals from

a romantic bonding experience into a catalyst for arguments, into days, and then weeks of untrackable disappearances.

For once, the seemingly upstanding citizen, instead of the struggling artist, is a drug addict. Rehab is followed by relapse, one after the other. Eight years go by.

More and more, letting go of one another appears to be the only sensible option.

But is Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drug addiction solely to blame? Sachs examines that question with a calm, insightful perceptiveness, only achievable through the EHQHŕł&#x2030; W RI KLQGVLJKW 7KH VWRU\ is, of course, based on the real relationship between the director himself and Bill Clegg, prodigal son of New York literary scene, who had, in succession, established his own publishing agency, left it for a two-month crack binge with male prostitutes in boutique hotels both sides of the atlantic, lost his apartment, clients, boyfriend, savings, ended up in rehab, had a triumphant return with a confessional memoir suitably titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Portrait of an Addict as a Young Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and that was two years ago. Earlier this year, the ByURQLF ŕł&#x2030; JXUH SXEOLVKHG \HW DQ other memoirâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ninety Daysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201D;which refers to his less than successful attempt at staying FOHDQ IRU WKH ŕł&#x2030; UVW QLQHW\ GD\V a milestone for those in recovery. One can only imagine the sheer amount of instability being involved with such a larger-than-life personality would entail. If anything, the fact that Keep the Lights On did not turn into furiRXV ŕł&#x2030; OLEXVWHU RU JXLOW ULGGHQ melodrama is an ultimate testament to Sachsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; artistic integrity. Instead, what we get is a level-headed introspec-

tion, sensitively delivered in D EHDXWLIXOO\ FRQVWUXFWHG ŕł&#x2030; F tionalised form, with a touch of palpable self-restraint at every step.

7KH ŕł&#x2030; OP LV JUDFHG E\ WKH presence of colourful, vividly drawn peripheral characters.

This includes an elderly interviewee who laments the disintegration of the homosexual community, an adorably narcissistic bodybuilder who possesses an English degree, and a Russian art student who promises Erik dinner, whose cameos demonstrate the diversity within a subculture which, since its coming out in the 1970s, has largely been perceived through the distorted lens of outdated stereotypes, and until recently, relegated to the margin of society so that their allegHGO\ GLVHDVHG QDWXUH ŕł&#x2030; JXUD tive and later literal, does not threaten the established social order. Still, Sachs handles this ethnographical aspect of WKH ŕł&#x2030; OP ZLWK D VHQVH RI OHYLW\ throughout, allowing it to enULFK WKH ŕł&#x2030; OPâ&#x20AC;ŤÝ°â&#x20AC;ŹV WH[WXUH LQVWHDG of overwhelm it.

Lindhart is perfectly casted for the role. His low-key, unassuming, ghostly demeanor further accentuates the uncertainty with which his FKDUDFWHU EHJLQV WKH ŕł&#x2030; OP 7KH relatively high-pitched voice, occasionally rising during moments of emotional intensity,

gives him a particular childish quality, conveying strength and vulnerability simultaneously. Booth registers less impression than his romantic opposite. Perhaps that is WKH RQO\ UHDO ŕł&#x160; DZ RI WKH ŕł&#x2030; OP Sachsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decision to channel the fragmented narrative through Erik is meant to be imitative of memories, and mimics the way in which one experiences the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;through a narrow, disjointed point-of-view where the internal truth of another person always remains out of reach. Still, one cannot help but think that a more thorough character examination of Erik, given what we know of his real-life counterpartâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; paradox of propriety and decadence, dual drives of sex and death, embodiment of extremesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;could yield an even more impressive story.

Nevertheless, Keep The Lights On is a tremendous piece of art in its own right.

Filmed in hues earthy orange and biege, the cinematography emphasises the intensely physical, almost primal, quality of this passionate dance of romantic codependence. Most importantly, Ira Sachs has joined the pantheon of those who have successfully turned their pain and yearning into art, where its beauty can be forever preserved.

Josh Jinruang IN CINEMAS NOW Director ,UD 6DFKV Writer ,UD 6DFKV 0DXULFLR =DFKDULDV Cast 7KXUH /LQGKDUW =DFKDU\ %RRWK -XOLDQQH 1LFKROVRQ Run time PLQXWHV

21

The Beaver 13.11.2012

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5DFKHO 2QJ TO BE RELEASED ON BLU-RAY 12 November 2012 Director Hiyao Miyazaki Writer Hiyao Miyazaki Run time 86 minutes Year 1988 Country Japan

THIS WEEK IN FILM LIFT TO THE SCAFFOLD a.k.a.

ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS 14 NOVEMB ER

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS 16-17, 23 NOVEMBER

FRITZ LANG'S M 19 NOVEMBER BFI SOUTHBANK

BFI SOUTHBANK

BARBICAN CENTRE

KINO LORBER

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UNTIL 15 NOVEMBER RENOIR CINEMA

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FROM 16 NOVEMBER CURZON SOHO

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22

13.11.2012 PartB

) a chat with ½ of RUN JACK RUN that just blew up—he is the epitome of what a new artist can be. There wasn’t necessarily Song or Columbia or EMI pushing this person by. He’s got integrity, and a sound that is very relatable to the new generation, and he hasn’t sold out—which is really cool. And I have no qualms with people making commercial music, at all, it is a music business for a reason. It is important to champion new talent, otherwise there won't be anything.

WHY ARE YOU STUDYING HISTORY AT THE LSE?

I want to do as much as I can in this life. I have a lot of interests and I really enjoy life itself—like the world. I think I’d go a little bit crazy if I solely focused on music. Because I’ve been so interested in music from such a young age, more than just listening to it as a release, or listening to it to enjoy. So it’s nice to be able to do other things, like learning about the world, because that’s enriching my mind and making me able to put everything into context.

DOES STUDYING HISTORY MAKE MUSIC SEEM TRIVIAL ON ANY LEVEL? Brothers Arun and Nari Blair-Mangat of the duo Run Jack Run

LSE student Arun Blair-Mangat is part of the RnB/Hiphop duo Run Jack Run with his brother Nari. We talked to him about their music, the industry and studying history at the LSE.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE RJR’S SOUND?

My brother and I come from completely different musical backgrounds; my brother grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop and I was always influenced by soul and mowtown, and then into kind of pop—and I love rock. I guess initially finding our feet sonically at first was an… interest-

ing process, but now it’s much more cohesive: it’s RnB/Hiphop.

WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE IN A BAND WITH YOUR BROTHER?

It’s really crucial to have an honest relationship with someone that you’re going to be working with like this. So I can say ‘that was terrible’ or ‘that’s awful’. I’m probably a little bit more blunt, he’s always telling me off, but it’s better to be direct.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR LATEST VIDEO ‘LIGHT UP THE SKY'.

So, the beat was probably made… maybe five years ago? But this one still strikes a chord, we were like ‘that sounds fresh—that still sounds good!’ So we just kind of brought it back into the now, in terms of ‘beat-wise’, because it had had a different beat originally. I guess we wanted to write something about us, and be very truthful. So we make music in our bedroom studio, and we are brothers and we’re trying to do everything by ourselves, independently. It’s important to put out positive messages.

I think it’s almost harder to make something that’s a lit-

tle bit more positive, and not necessarily a euphoric dance tune like ‘YEAAH WAAOOOWWW!!!’

DO YOU SEE THE RESHAPING OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN THE PAST DECADE AS A CHALLENGE OR OPPORTUNITY FOR EMERGING ARTISTS? I think it’s really actually empowering that it’s become so fractured, because there are now so many routes. There’s more power to the people for sure, so people can trump an artist. I mean, if you look at Drake he released a mixedtape a few years back, and

THE PULSE LIST Each week we catch up with a PuLSE DJ and see what they have to say for themselves.

If we are not allowed to say 'shit', we just said we'd be playing Robin. C'mon son.

NEILAY & KABIR post_Rushmore

IF YOUR SHOW WAS A TUBE STATION WHICH ONE AND WHY?

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Counting clocks in a puddle of sin. Post-geography, somewhere before time.

3 TRACKS WE WILL HEAR?

1. I Ain't Got The Time by Navid Izadi 2. Smoke A Sac by DJ Paul and Juicy J 3. Show Me Love by Robin

If we are allowed to say 'shit', we're like some George Lucas pre-Anakin type shit.

WHEN?

Thursdays 1-2pm every week!

(8am for the EST homies) (#represent) So there you have it, tune in to Neilay and Kabir's show every Thursday at www.pulselse.co.uk for what promises to at least be positively early /XFDV୽ OP

Ɖ Emir Nader

DJ PAUL ELSTAK

ONE REASON WHY WE SHOULD TUNE IN?

We're more similar to Heathrow knaa'mean..

DJ Paul Elstak

It’s actually made me think the opposite. Music is so universal—I think with all these horrendous and sometimes wonderful things that have happened in modern history, music is so empowering. I know what you mean, but for me it’s the opposite. There are all these divisions, where the world is always going to be crazy and unequal and unjust, and I just feel that music can unite.

Check out Run Jack Run (RJR) at runjackrun.com. Download Light Up The Sky at soundcloud.com/ runjackrun, and you can visit their YouTube channel at youtube.com/rjrofficial.

Ɖ Tom Barnes

23

The Beaver 13.11.2012

GIGS BRAD MEHLDAU 14 NOVEMB ER BARBICAN CENTRE

ESPERANZA SPALDING 15 NOVEMBER

ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

RIZZLE KICKS 15 NOVEMBER

THE ROUNDHOUSE

SWANS 15 NOVEMBER KOKO

NXI 15STUDENT NIGHT NOVEMBER NEW CROSS INN

XOYO

THE LUXE LIVE

HAMMERSMITH APOLLO

BONOBO (DJ SET) 17 NOVEMBER

GENTLEMEN'S DUB CLUB 20 NOVEMBER

KOKO

LONDON GYPSY ORCHESTRA 17 NOVEMBER

HOXTON SQUARE BAR

THE VACCINES + FUCKED UP 17 NOVEMBER

PURITY RING + DOLDRUMS 20 NOVEMBER

UNION CHAPEL

BARBICAN CENTRE

WANT TO WRITE FOR MUSIC? YOU COULD INTERVIEW OR REVIEW ALBUMS AND CONCERTS!

PASSION PIT 20 NOVEMBER THE FORUM

Submit articles or just get in touch with Emir and Tom at music@thebeaveronline.co.uk

SCALA

MWALIMU EXPRESS TOM VEK + BRETON 18 NOVEMBER + COVES RICHMIX 21 NOVEMBER THE GARAGE SNARKY PUPPY 18 NOVEMBER

COGDOGBLOG

LINDSTROM + JOAKIM + NZCA + THE16 OTHER TRIBE NOVEMB ER

SALTWATER RUFUS WAINWRIGHT SAMURAI + ECHIDNA + KRYSTLE WARREN 16 NOVEMBER 18 NOVEMBER

THE MACBETH

2 TONGUE FU @ RICH MIX RICH MIX

-RQQ\ )OXஉ \SXQN DQG 0DULD Ferguson.

It was a little unfortunate though that the focal point of the night—the words—were drowned out by a trio of musicians intent on making themselves heard: as soon as one asks to be turned up they all do! Despite each performer UHTXHVWLQJ D VSHFLஊ F NLQG RI sound to support their poem, the band was insistent on playing what they wanted to.

The poets themselves are not dressed up in tweed, smoking pipes or cradling a bottle of red—essentially they’re not your stereotypical bohemian writers. This is a good thing though, people from all kinds RI EDFNJURXQGV DQG GLஉ HUHQW kinds of all other possible factors) stand up on stage and

simply read what they have ZULWWHQ‫ڌ‬FRஉ HH DQG &KDUOHV Dickens bookend the range of topics covered at Tongue Fu. There seems to always be a great feeling of inclusivity and openness attached to this kind of event; there is never heckling, only support, the performers don’t have an air of superiority but enjoy the words with the masses, and more often than not you don’t even have to pay! It’s kind of like a utopian comedy circuit.

I chanced upon a ‘poetry slam’ earlier in the year DQG WKLV GLஉ HUV VOLJKWO\ IURP

Next on at RICHMIX 10 January 2013

Spoken word has come into its own as a legitimate poetic form.

Originially popularised by the 1960s African-American Civil Rights movement, and later adopted by college students engaged in postmodern live performance arts, it has become an inclusive medium for self-expression and social commentary. Here are some upcoming spoken word poetry events at Rich Mix, Bethnal Green, for your calendar.

CINEPOEM

22 NOVEMBER RICH MIX (FREE)

RICH MIX

S

horeditch’s Rich Mix seems to have established itself as a bit of a hub for all things spoken word—that’s live poetry, broadly speaking—and Chris Redmond’s Tongue Fu is an enjoyable evening spent listening to a boisterous band accompanied by some witty wordplay (better than alliteration anyway). The premise for the show is a good one: HDFK PRQWK GLஉ HUHQW SRHWV take to the stage and recite their work as three musicians fashion a sound based on the words. There are also vaguely relevant images being projected onto the back wall—again improvised.

Rachel Rose Reid’s enchanting storytelling stood out alongside performances from Iuna Ellams,

Tongue Fu in that the poets take it in turns to compete for judges’ votes—the judges being those audience members who look at their shoes when the compere asks for volunteers. Perhaps because of the competition, the performances at the slam were more sincere, more heartfelt, than those at Tongue Fu; luckily male judges were scoring pretty poets noticeably and XQMXVWLஊ DEO\ KLJK HQRXJK WR lower the tone. The guest appearance from former teacher and Poet Laureate of Peterborough—I’ve heard it all now —Mark Grist excited the regulars in the crowd. Grist has become somewhat of a pinup for poetry today; his rap battle with teenage MC Blizzard went viral earlier this year, and I would recommend looking it up if you haven’t already —although it does get very vicious very quickly.

Spoken word lurks somewhere beneath theatre, gigs and live arts in general, it’s one of those things that you won’t notice until you start to look for it—and then you won’t be able to escape it. An iceberg makes for a suitable analogy; do feel free to use WKDW LI \RX ஊ QG \RXUVHOI ZRUN ing on a poem about spoken poetry for a spoken poetry evening – you can’t rule anything out anymore after hearing that Peterborough has a Poet Laureate.

POETRY

JAWDANCE

28 NOVEMBER RICH MIX (FREE)

MR8 SANDMANN DECEMBER

RICH MIX (£9, £7 STUDENT/CONCS)

ALLSORTZ ALLSTARZ OPEN MIC 21 DECEMBER RICH MIX (FREE)

TONGUE FU

10 JANUARY 2013 RICH MIX (£9, £5 STUDENT/CONCS)

24

13.11.2012 PartB

¬ REVISITED: STUDIO 60

Studio 60 ran for one season in 2006, and followed the lives of two TV producers, Matt (Matthew Perry, aka Chandler from Friends) and Danny (Bradley Whitford, aka Josh from The West Wing), as they try to pick up the reigns of a late night comedy-sketch show (think Saturday Night Live, but a lot less funny) when the former host has an on-air meltdown. They struggle with office romances, meddling from channel execs and dropping ratings as they try to keep the show afloat.

Really, it’s classic Sorkin: amusing, patronizing and vaguely irritating in equal

Greek tragedy, which gives the series some real soul, some weight, a backbone. Ignoring the bullshit about her being a Christian and him being a liberal atheist, there is a truth and a sorrow to their relationship which is both moving and genuine (look out for the two-part episode, ‘The Harriet Dinner’, in particular).

Another brilliant part is the character of Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber), TV exec. Originally the villain to the heroic and pure Matt and Danny, Sorkin was forced to develop the character fast as it became clear the show was going to get cancelled. As the show goes on he becomes more nuanced, and you find a sad, work-obsessed man just trying to do his job. You feel sorry for him and you root for him over the self-righteous asses. Despite all his shouting, Rudolph turns out to be the most principled and heroic of the lot, and the most realistic character on the show.

Studio 60 is flawed, and it’s no West Wing, but it has a truth and importance all of its own. And, hey, at least it’s better than The Newsroom.

Isabella Silver

CHANNEL FOUR

NBC

I

have a confession to make: my name is Isabella Silver, and I still miss The West Wing.

It has been six years, and I still yearn for that witty repartee, those long walks down the hallways of the White House, and Martin Sheen’s slight speech impediment and stupid hair. But we have to face facts: it’s never coming back. So, instead, let’s try Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the one-season series Aaron Sorkin made between The West Wing and The Newsroom. It is the only thing that can combat W.W.W.—West Wing Withdrawal.

measures. Plus, you know, Josh is in it. However, Studio 60’s main failing is that it can never be The West Wing, no matter how hard it tries—and it tries really hard—and the inevitable comparisons are its downfall. It tries extremely hard to be political, with an entire episode dedicated to the War in Afghanistan. Sorkin has chosen the comedy sketch show as the spoon with which to shove his political moralizing on the state of ‘America today’ down our throats, and the two concepts jar a little.

Another fairly gaping problem is that, whilst Sorkin’s dialogue is as droll as ever, the jokes that are supposedly being used on the comedy show are pretty much lame. Which sort of makes the whole idea that Matt and Danny are these comedy geniuses a bit unbelievable.

And yet despite all these flaws, Studio 60 survives as a fantastic show, and this is because of all the moments it stops trying to be the West Wing. The most interesting example of this is the relationship between Matt and Harriet, played by Sarah Paulson.

Sorkin creates a believable and heart-breaking on-again off-again relationship, a total

TELLY RECS SECRET STATE

WEDNESDAY 10PM CHANNEL 4

The second installment of the new four part political drama on C4. Gabriel Byrne plays the Deputy Prime Minister who is forced to take the political spotlight when the Prime Minister dies under suspicious circumstances. Very exciting, very British.

THE BIG BANG THEORY THURSDAY 8PM E4

Yay it’s back! All our lovable geeks are up to their old tricks: Howard’s up in space, still broNHULQJ ೉ JKWV EHWZHHQ KLV ZLIH and his mother; Raj is lonely, and a new bromance blossoms between him and Stuart, the comic book store guy; Penny has issues with being the girl in her relationship with Leonard, and Amy is still trying to provoke a human emotion from Sheldon. Hilarity, um, ensues.

GEEKOUT:NEONGENESISEVANGELION

I

GAINAX

n 1995, the world of anime was transformed by the broadcast of a broadly typical show about an unwilling teenage protagonist holding a complex relationship with his estranged father whilst trying to save the world via the common mechanism of a giant robot. After teaming up with two fellow pilots, one stoical, one headstrong, the trio manage to fight off a set of increasingly Lovecraftian eldritch abominations, learning about life, love and happiness in the process.

So far, so standard. However, Evangelion is to mecha anime what Twin Peaks was to cop shows. Created by Hideaki Anno, the mind behind the likes of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and Gunbuster, the original series breaks out of a fairly pedestrian setting into a complex study of characterisation, with a particular focus on depression, isolation and the pain of human interaction. Whilst these themes have now become a typical, almost clichéd aspect of many derivative anime, at the time the approach was considered almost revolutionary. Prior to the original showing, only a handful of shows, notably Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the more obscure Space Runaway Ideon, had ever chosen to discuss the psychological damage that placing a superweapon in the hands of a teenager would do. Despite the

(Clockwise from top) Asuka Langley Soryu, Gendo Ikari, Ritsuko Akagi, Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari, Misato Katsurahi. (Background) Evangelion Unit-01

outlandish setting, the perils that protagonist Shinji Ikari undergoes is an impressive attempt by Anno’s Studio Gainax to hold a mirror up to an audience raised on escapism and angst.

Evangelion broadly mirrors the protagonist with an equally dysfunctional cast.

Shinji’s guardian, Misato Katsuragi, is a woman broken by her experiences during “Second Impact’, the global cataclysm that acts at the show’s background. His fellow pilots, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu act as similar foils to such roles, with the former being so passive as to imply a

much darker origin than originally suggested, whilst the latter’s brash and assertive nature is systemically broken down by the final third of the original series’ run.

The show is less about fighting a monster-of-theweek, in this case represented by the guise of the ‘Angels’, seemingly extra-terrestrial beings whose arrival heralds the destruction of the human race, but about the social interactions between vulnerable people. As is typical to the genre, we expect the relationship between Shinji and Asuka to reach an amicable conclusion, instead, they be-

come even more broken and abusive towards one another, something that reaches a dreadful denouement by episode twenty. The television series finishes on a cautiously optimistic note, but only after forty minutes of surrealism that subsumes it into a state of confusion. The same can be said for the feature-length End of Evangelion, which acts as the ‘official’ finale, but only after ninety minutes of violence and death.

Anno wrote Evangelion as he was emerging from a period of severe depression, which perhaps explains the erratic episode mood-swings. He also uses the show as a means of criticising his own audience for their obsessive use of the show as escapism. Shinji Ikari is an introverted and cowardly protagonist and the vitriol that he often spawns amongst various first-time viewers tends to be because he is rather too familiar for comfort. A notorious scene where the protagonist masturbates over a comatose woman was inserted by Anno purely as a reaction against the fetishisation of his female characters. In areas such as this, Anno is to be praised for holding a mirror up to the audience and challenging them to rethink their own lives.

Evangelion has suffered from Seinfeld Syndrome. It has created so many tropes, spawned so many derivatives and inspired so many artists

that it almost seems trite today. This is a shame. Successors, such as the likes of RahXephon and Genesis of Aquarion have been impressive visually, but the original has yet to be bettered. The animation holds up well, especially considering the fact that Gainax ran out of budget by the time of the final two episodes, something that clearly explains the likes of one particular skit in which two characters stand in an elevator for a minute, sans-dialogue.

It seems sensible to revisit the show on the eve of the release of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, the third part of the Rebuild tetralogy and re-imagining of the original program. Although the new films have presented a different way of looking at the franchise, helped by a more assertive Shinji, new characters and a sufficient number of callbacks to make obsessive fans debate the concept of the show being a sequel. In actual fact, it also allows for a more reflective consideration of Evangelion, which remains the one of the most influential cartoons in history, almost twenty years on from the first time audiences were introduced to a self-doubting and introverted young boy forced to pilot a huge robot with an horrific secret.

Jack Tindale

25

The Beaver 13.11.2012

Â? MEATMARKET EWAN-M (FLICKR)

P

recariously perched above Covent Gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jubilee Market, almost like a vulture with a preference for vintage dresses and souvenir number-plates, is the latest derivative from the mind of street-food guro Yianni Papoutsis. MEATmarket, like its older siblings Meatwagon and MEATLiquor, specialises as an antidote to the asinine world of GBK or the increasingly tedious Byron, with their multi-page menus and charity tie-ins.

In an attempt to keep the inevitable horde of tourists away, MEATmarketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrance has been modelled on the popular â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Post-Industrialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; style

of design commonly seen in Detroit, Bolton or Chernobyl.

Compared to the hodgepodge of faux-Americana inside, the exterior seems barren. A grey doorway on Tavistock Street almost beckons you to stay away from what one would naturally assume to be the service entrance to London Transport Museum, only revealing itself to the handful of nosey passers-by who have the gall to walk on the wrong side of the road. Walking up the stairs, you half expect to see a police team with a battering ram.

Thankfully, the air of concern is soon replaced by a waft of smoke so greasy that it

COCKTAIL CORNER

ith the American election over and the balORWV ŕł&#x2030; UPO\ LQ WKH KDQGV of the Electoral College representatives, we at PartB have come up with some themed cocktails to help you either celebrate Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s win or get over Romneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loss.

With these election-inspired cocktails you and yours will be able to swallow four more years of Obama.

W

almost gives your nostrils cholesterol. MEATmarket is less a restaurant, more a bar, with a set of parallel tables sitting so close to a wall of glass panes that any post-meal stretch would leave a careless diner at risk of falling into the atrium below. A rather concerning mesh has also been stretched over them, apparently in order to keep pigeons out. The message seems to be â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you can now enjoy your meal without WKH GDQJHU RI D ŕł&#x160; \LQJ UDW GH ciding to use your burger as a WCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which is refreshingly respectable of the managePHQW 7KH YLHZ Rŕł&#x2C6; HUHG RYHU WKH PDUNHW VWDOOV Dŕł&#x2C6; RUGV \RX is perfect for people-watch-

ing, so long as the people you want to watch are prune-like old market salesmen. Sadly for foodies possessed of the gift of sight, you may decide order your burgers to go.

Despite the diner-feel, the price is decidedly higher than even the likes of formal establishments such as Samâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

For the average LSE student, this is not an habitual venue.

The bottom-rung â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dead Hippy Burgerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with fries costs in excess of ÂŁ10, and there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a discount for takeaway orders.

This is likely good thing, at least for your health, this is food so guilty that even nonCatholics will feel minded to go to confession. Servings are generous, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;slabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is perhaps a better description that burger to be perfectly honest, and the quality of the meat used is exceptional. At times, there is perhaps an overuse of sauces,

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with black and white licorice candies.

I

10 ml Baileyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Irish Cream 10 ml Cointreau 10 ml Creme de Cacao Layer in order in a shot glass with Creme de Cacao on the bottom.

FLORIDA FREEZE ON RESULTS 37 37 59 30

ml ml ml ml

Coconut Cream Dark Rum Pineapple Juice Orange Juice

Blend with 170 grams of ice until the mixture is slushy.

Beaver Bartender

not to get too enthusiastic with your movements lest you foil the 3DSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fragile alignment. Thankfully there is a stabilisation button to alleviate thisâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and given how you will need patience to get used to these new-fangled wireless controls anyway this does not turn out to be too much of a problemâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;as long as you are committed to getting good.

It is rather uncharacteristic for Nintendo that these controls work fairly well once you get used to them. The fact that they are part of the console itself and do not need to be constantly reconnected is a nice change from the controllers for the Wii, and a somewhat redeeming feature after the terrible 3D function which bought the 3DS its name. Furthermore, since moves like barrel role, somersault and U-

turn can be utilised using the buttons rather than pointing WKH FRQVROH LQ D VSHFLŕł&#x2030; F ZD\ the new controls never make things too complicated.

Above all, the original game is perfectly preserved. I VWDUWHG Rŕł&#x2C6; ZLWK WKH EDVLF FRQ trols simply for the nostalgia value, and I was happy to see that some challenge still existed in the game for me, even without the added bonus of

the gyro controls. That is not to say the experience is still all there emotionally. For one, I kind of miss the old voices.

But still, Star Fox 64 3D was a brilliant purchase. I mean,it has been out for a year already. I had no excuse not to have it already, and frankly neither do you.

Philip Gallagher

NINTENDO

dross. The original version ERDVWHG ŕł&#x160; XLG DQG FKDOOHQJLQJ gameplay, as well as a system where the player could take GLŕł&#x2C6; HUHQW SDWKV WR UHDFK WKH ŕł&#x2030; QDO ERVV 7KLV DGGHG D KXJH degree of re-playability, as did the inclusion of a medal system which would allow determined players to unlock more difficult versions of the game. ,W ZDV WKH ŕł&#x2030; UVW 1 JDPH HYHU to be released with the edition of a rumble pack, a novel device for the time.

1RZ ZH ŕł&#x2030; QG LW UHPDGH for the Nintendo 3DS, another novel device, with better toned graphics, less annoying voices, and a brand new â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;gyro controlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; feature which can be used in gameplay. It involves tilting the console itself to control your aircraft, which works surprisingly well.

Although, one must take care

& Liam Brown

SPELL BINDER (FULL OF WOMEN)

STAR FOX 64 3D

s there a point of applying features to an absolutely classic Nintendo 64 game, using a console that originally sold itself based on a migraine inducing 3D function? Such is the quandary I was faced with when I discovered Star Fox 64 3D, a remake of my personal favourite game of all time, Lylat Wars 64.

Originally on the N64, Lylat Wars is a corridor space shooter wherein you play the leader of a 4-man mercenary team known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Star Foxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, generally considered to be more competent than the combined military forces of the planet you are assigned to protect.

Your squadron becomes the spearhead of a counterattack against the aggressor of the game, and probably one of the most memorable video game bosses of all time, An-

,Jack Tindale

The Mezzanine, Jubilee Market Hall, Tavistock Street, WC2E 8BE Noon-11pm daily Cuisine American Average spend ÂŁ10-15 Meals Lunch, dinner Reservations No

BLACK AND WHITE MARTINI PO 9DQLOOD ŕł&#x160; DYRXUHG 9RGND 30 ml Creme de Cacao

the beef used in the signature Philly Cheese-Steak is far higher than the thick mesh of jalapeĂąos would suggest, which is rather a shame, but it is entirely consistent with the ethos of the place.

The only real disappointment are the hotdogs. For ÂŁ7, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ripperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really live up to expectations. With a soggy bun and an overuse of mustard, it represented a rather poor contrast to those available at the Delaunay &RXQWHU MXVW Rŕł&#x2C6; WKH $OGZ\FK for less money.

So, skip the hot-dogs, book a gym session and MEATmarNHW Rŕł&#x2C6; HUV D SHUIHFW KDYHQ IURP the masses of Covent Garden.

Just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask for a knife and fork, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably a barring Rŕł&#x2C6; HQFH

Slippy, still the worst pilot in the galaxy after all these years.

26

13.11.2012 | The Beaver

SECRET TORY ADVISOR SHAME The B can exclusively reveal that a top level advisor attached to the highest office in the Students’ Union is not what he appears to be. In a stunning revelation seen earlier this week, when Putin-Day was handed a list of potential names, she couldn’t help but blurt out the fact that one of her PRVW WUXVWHG FRQஊGDQWV was, as we had long suspected, a Tory.

The B is, for legal reasons unable to name this particular individual, any and all allegations are as yet just that, allegations, DQG LQ WKLV ஊQH DQG IDLU land we are all innocent until speculated guilty. To protect the identity of this abhorrent human being, Private B bought a very expensive piece of equipment, a random covername generator, after it was felt that using the infamous codename “Deepthroat” would be in poor taste. With this in mind the B shall, henceforth be naming this person by the designation Lord Roahm. Just to reiterate, any potential similarity with this name and a popular supermarket, or real person, is entirely accidental.

When pressed for a quote Putin-Day called the B a “fucking disgrace, I’ll have yous all tooken out and shot.” It is clear that despite increasing calls for Putin-Day to come clean and uncover one of the many secrets her regime of terror has covered up, she has no intentions of stepping down in the near future.

Tinned Dick, a top level advisor to Putin-Day gave D VKRUW SUHVV EULHஊQJ WKLV afternoon, in response to this issue. He gave his strongest condemnation to the “witch-hunt being perpetrated against me-inor

... individuals that, despite horrible secrets, deserve a chance to bring real good to the community.”

This comes as a continuation of the wave of condemnation that Putin-Day has had to endure over the past few weeks. Having received a damning report from the LSE estates labeling her desk in the Sabbatical Officers’ den a level 4 biohazard, her initial response was to lean on her top level advisor Tinned Dick, clearly, however, such unwillingness to look after her own personal space is clearly indicative of the type of work she goes about doing in the Students’ Union. If our leaders can’t keep their tables tidy, can they do the same with the Union?

Having just found out the existence of this mysterious, and cleverly coded individual whose fake name is, again, Lord Roahm, this esteemed organ thinks not.

There is, however, one shining positive for PutinDay - her electoral machine once again managed to engineer a surprise victory for another of her closest allies in the Union. The B is of course talking about the election of Carmilla to the position of friend-who-sitsover-there-for-two-days-ofthe-week. Despite releasing a video and engaging in facepaint time, Carmilla managed to storm to an astonishing victory, twenty eight hundred votes ahead of her nearest rival. Unlike Florida this race was called at a reasonable pace. By the time polls opened Carmilla already had two thousand votes tallied up in her column. The B wishes the newest cog in the pointless machine that is the LSE Students’ Union well in her new post.

# NEW # SOCIAL # MEDIA # REGULATIONS

Social media is a fun and enjoyable way to procrastinate between the various commitments of your humdrum and ultimately pointless lives.

However, occasionally you may tweet or blog

about something in a naughty and un-approved manner. To this end Private B has produced a handy little cut-out-and-keep guide to how you should use your myspace page.

YET ANOTHER LOOKA-LIKEY COLUMN TO FILL SPACE

Jack Tindale

Eccentric hat wearing weirdo who lures children in with sweets

Social

TORSTEN MANGNER

The Beaver 13.11.2012

27

BABY BLUES

Anna Gallinat on why deadlines are far from some girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; biggest worries

I

think I might be pregnant. And the father of the child is that guy in a Smurfcostume from Halloween!

I wish I could remember his name!â&#x20AC;?

Unintended pregnancies, be they in committed relationships or followLQJ D ŕŽ&#x2039; LQJ DUH IUHTXHQWO\ used themes in sitcoms and drama series. However, as funny as they may be represented on television, in reality they are no laughing matter. Of course, pregancy can be a wonderful experience, natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gift â&#x20AC;&#x201C; when you feel that you are ready for it. But if the pregnancy is unplanned the situation and the emotional responses get tough.

No preparation, no thought whatsoever was taken beforehand by LSE student Emily (name changed) and her boyfriend. They were dating for a while when he came from their home country to visit her in London for a couple of days. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

had sex for a while and we were always careful and using protection, but two weeks after he left, my period was supposed to be due, but nothing happenedâ&#x20AC;? she describes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Well, this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t unusual. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing too worrisome.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

But each day that went by without her period, the pressure mounted. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What ifâ&#x20AC;Ś?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; she started wondering. Then she began feeling nauseous in the mornings. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that an early symptom of pregnancy?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; She began reading up on the facts online.

Other symptoms include tender breasts, headaches and lower backaches. Certain she had none of these other traits; she assumed her nausea must just be a RQH RŕŽ&#x2030; XQWLO WKH QH[W GD\ when her breasts began to feel tender. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sometimes that is a sign that I get my period.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; But a whole week later, there was no denying the symptoms anymore. That is when Emily really started to worry. She says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then

DOO WKH KDUG TXHVWLRQV VXG denly come to your mind.

What will my boyfriend say? What about my or our future? What will happen to my study if I have a child?

And of course, do I want to keep it?â&#x20AC;? In Western societies, independence is a great value. But how independent can one be with a child? Huge amounts of VWXG\ ORDQV GRQâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹW KHOS ŕŽ&#x160; nancial independence either. In many Western countries one has the freedom to choose to terminate a pregnancy, but that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily make things easier, as, for some, the answer to WKLV TXHVWLRQ UHPDLQV DQ immediate â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Noâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. For othHUV LW LV D YDOLG TXHVWLRQ worth considering. However, no matter how much freedom one has, this is never an easy decision to make.

Despite Emily and her boyfriend being close, she chose not to tell him right away. â&#x20AC;&#x153;First of all, he lives on the other side of the planet, so what could he do, except worry about us

and the future, just like me? Secondly, it is in my nature to try to figure out things by myself. That is why I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell him or anyone else.â&#x20AC;?

Naturally, every woman UHDFWV GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQWO\ LI VKH ŕŽ&#x160; QGV KHUVHOI LQ WKLV VLWXD tion. Some prefer a strategy of ousting until the actual test result; others choose to talk to a role model or other trustworthy person.

Maybe the best friend, who might understand the situation the best. Maybe the parents, who always know what to do. Maybe a spiritual person, who one can trust. Or maybe the potential father, who has a right to know, at the latest when the pregnancy test is positive.

Emily explains: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The moment I realized that I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop being nervous about this until I was certain, was when I decided that I need to do a pregnancy test. I thought I would â&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x201D;â&#x20AC;ŹVWDUW RŕŽ&#x2030; VORZâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;ŹZLWK D WHVW you can do at home.â&#x20AC;? She would then go to a doctor if

the test was positive.

She went to a Boots store, making sure to avoid the ones closest to her home or to school. She recalls:â&#x20AC;&#x153;The SUHJQDQF\ WHVWV ZHUH TXLWH ironically, in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Family Planningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; section of the store.â&#x20AC;?

At home, she read the instructions more than carefully. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had to wait one more night because it is best to take the test in the morning.

I had never slept that badly.â&#x20AC;? $IWHU ŕŽ&#x160; QDOO\ WDNLQJ WKH WHVW she endured the worst and longest two minutes of her life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was torn; I needed to know the result but at the same time I was scared that it would be positive. So, I stared at that little hourJODVV RQ WKH GLVSOD\ IRU ŕŽ&#x160; YH seconds, then I looked away because I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take it.

I guess I must have looked rather stupid there.â&#x20AC;? With the time up, the doomsGD\ UHVXOW ZDV ŕŽ&#x160; QDOO\ LQ she glanced, it stated â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Not pregnantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Nothing more, nothing less. But for Emily those three letters had never meant more than in that moment.

28

Social

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no taste like home

Jiayi Fan scours the capital for her favourite Chinese snack

I

tablespoon Chili sauce, half tablespoon seafood sauce, two tablespoons chopped scallions, one tablespoon sesame seeds, and two tablespoons vegetable oil.

First, you need mix toJHWKHU WKH ŕŽ&#x2039; RXU KDOI DQ egg, and the water until you have a well-combined free mixture. Second, heat up a skillet, brush with a bit of oil, and scoop three to four tablespoons of batter onto it. Third, tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter covers the surface evenly. Fourth, pour the eggs on, sprinkle on chopped scallions and sesame seeds. Then cook the batter for one to two minutes until the pancake turns golden brown. Finally, place it on a serving plate, brush with the sauces, center the deep fried dough sticks, and wrap it prepare hence, you need up!

Although it may be a litpatience. To make Tianjin VWXŕŽ&#x2030; HG SDQFDNHV \RX ZLOO tle tricky to cook, especially need three to four deep for beginners, this street fried dough sticks each food really tastes delicious. about eight inches long I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say my own attempts PDGH IURP J ŕŽ&#x2039; RXU J at home have been particuVHPROLQD J ZDWHU WZR larly successful but I am eggs (lightly beaten), one- no masterchef. It looked necessary for cooking? Chinese pancakes originated from Tianjin, a metropolis bordering Beijing and the fourth largest city in China.

Therefore, this street foodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official name is the â&#x20AC;&#x153;TianMLQ 6WXŕŽ&#x2030; HG 3DQFDNHâ&#x20AC;Ť Ú&#x2022;â&#x20AC;Ź$V IRU the recipe, it is not easy to

mayonnaise, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, kebab, and coriander. Although, visitors can still choose to add something more, such as pork, duck, or something veggie. You might compare WKH ŕŽ&#x2039; DYRXU WR EHLQJ VLPLODU to French crepe or remark HOLLY LEIGHANNE

f you walk amidst the crowds in Camden Lock Market, as your pace slows, inhale and you will be met by a particular smell. You look around, and notice a food stall called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mei Meiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Street Cartâ&#x20AC;?, run by a friendly British woman.

She works happily wearing a big smile as people stop to take photographs and to ask her questions. So, what is it that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooking to attract the touristsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attention? The answer is pancakes.

When her sister visited Beijing, she fell in love with &KLQHVH SDQFDNHV DW ŕŽ&#x160; UVW bite. After returning, the two women invented their own imaginative methods to cook Chinese pancakes, this popular Beijing street food. After I bought one and ate it, being Chinese myself, I have to say, they have done a good job to make some developments in order to suit Britonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; WDVWHV 7KH PRVW GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW step is the variety of ingreGLHQWV WKH\ XVH WR ŕŽ&#x160; OO WKHP Their winning combination is to combine ketchup or

that the cooking process is like that of a Mexican burrito, she is the one who gives Chinese pancakes some popularity and fame in London.

So what does the real Chinese pancake look like?

Are vegetables and meat

more like a bomb had hit, ZLWK SXŕŽ&#x2030; V RI ŕŽ&#x2039; RXU FRYHULQJ every surface, batter scatWHUHG DFURVV WKH ŕŽ&#x2039; RRU DQG sauces left bubbling on the stove. Following that experience I decided that even if the pancakes in Camden werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the most authentic, they were certainly better than mine!

6R LI FDWFKLQJ D ŕŽ&#x2039; LJKW across the continent might be a bit far fetched for you, make sure you get a taste of China, the delicacy that LV WKH 7LDQMLQ VWXŕŽ&#x2030; HG SDQ cake, in London.

Gustatory sense helps XV YLHZ WKH ZRUOGâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹV ŕŽ&#x160; QHVW ŕŽ&#x2039; DYRXUV :H JDLQ HQHUJ\ IURP PHOORZ FRŕŽ&#x2030; HH DQG silky tea. We absorb vitamins from juicy fruit and refreshing vegetables. We are kept in high spirits by having the sweetest chocolates and candies. But there is always one special taste which can remind you of home. No matter how long it is that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been gone, this special taste lies in ingrained in your memory, hard to remove, that will be aroused the moment you miss home.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to the Zoo, again

Selina Parmar RQ ZK\ VKHâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹG QHYHU VDFULŕ­˝ FH KHU 7KXUVGD\ KDQJRYHU ty of people from all corners of the world, all faiths and all subject areas are gelled together by commitment, team spirit, perseverance and determination which culminates after matches every Wednesday night.

So maybe some of us donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get round to playing for our team every week (I think I played a total of four netball matches last year, one of which was cancelled). But we still feel proud to say that we are part of the AU. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something for everyone.

From footballers to those who practice martial arts, sweat, conversation and saliva are mixed together into a unique cocktail in the Leciester Square underground.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not all about the GDQFHŕŽ&#x2039; RRU WKRXJK :KDW can rival the immense sense of pride one feels after playing a great game, being called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;player of the matchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, or scoring that winning goal. Or the determi-

nation to play better when the odds are against you, or when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re playing that team whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve beaten you by a whisker the last three times.

Aside from the debauchery of Wednesday nights, sport has another aspect that many tend to take for granted. Forget about yoga and pilates, an hour long MOYAN BRENN

M

issed my 9:00 am this morning #still drunkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lost my wallet, phone and ID, anyone seen them, message meâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Got on a night bus at 4:00 am, ended up in Lewishamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Sound familiar? It could only be a Thursday morning newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter.

As much as AU members love to complain about the notoriously â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sweaty zooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; so PDQ\ ŕŽ&#x2039; RFN RXW ZHHN DIWHU week to experience the underground room with the drippy ceiling in central London. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing grandiose, the only award that the AUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s venue of choice would ever come close to winning would be for cramming the largest number of people into the smallest space possible. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way it should be.

But our love-hate relationship with the Wednesday night club explains the very importance of sport at the LSE and why we do it: sport unites us. A communi-

netball match or messy rugby game will allow your mind to focus afterwards.

For me, and many others, looking after my physique is key, not only in looking how I want to, but also in terms of feeling mentally positive.

Few can argue against the fact that exercise makes you feel more upbeat for the rest of the day. Even if

your mind and body might not be feeling so fresh on a Thursday morning!

Not only does sport unite people socially, create great chat and improve grades, it proves positive for the mind, body, and soul. Though Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still not looking forward to ending up in Lewisham at 4:00 am any time soon.

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

What are you paying for?

Social

29

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30

Sport

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

Aria Georghiou

Aaand theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re back. Bigger, better, faster, stronger. With a lack of veterans left, LSE WFC was anxious starting the new season. However, after a great turnout at Fresherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fair, excitement accelerated quickly after tryouts and our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Give it a Goâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; session. WFCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issue of not attracting enough freshers means the dynamics of the team changes from year to year. Which pretty much makes everything that much more exciting! Truthfully, the talent and potential was so incredible that I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit still, biting my nails, getting random bursts of excitement LQ DQWLFLSDWLRQ IRU WKDW ŕŽ&#x160; UVW Sunday.

Having conceded a goal ZLWKLQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW PLQXWH :)& was left slightly shaken up.

Football is a team sport. Duh. And the team is comprised of individuals from all corners RI WKH ZRUOG ZLWK GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW DELOLWLHV DQG GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW OHYHOV RI experience. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t long be-

fore the team stepped up their game and played some quality football.

Frustrated by their third consecutive draw with Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medics, nothing but smiles remained on the pitch after the ŕŽ&#x160; QDO ZKLVWOH ,W ZDV FHUWDLQO\ a performance to be proud of and excitement for the team spirit to grow, and believe me, WKH ZLQV ZLOO VWDUW ŕŽ&#x2039; RRGLQJ LQ Literally. The following match was cancelled due to the pitch being â&#x20AC;&#x153;waterloggedâ&#x20AC;? but hey, WFC relocated to the LSE library and remain undefeated.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to the new season and the adventures to comeâ&#x20AC;Ś!

28th October - Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Medics Vs. LSE: 1-1 Captainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MVP: Jenny Critchley for her ease and certainty on the pitch and her admirable tackles in defence; all that with no breakfast!?

Wowza.

Coachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MVP: Nadin Medellin for her fast pace and to put it simplyâ&#x20AC;Ś what a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sexyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ŕŽ&#x160; UVW JRDO UHSUHVHQWLQJ /6( QuĂŠ Buena!

CHLOE HASHEMI

An exciting season ahead for LSE womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s football

From the Eyes of a Ginger Matthew Worby The culmination of the years tennis is the ATP World Finals. Eight of the best men duke it out in two round robin pools, before four enter into the knockout phases of the competition. The star studded line up meant that even without Raphael Nadal, who is in urgent need of a trip to the Bat Cave for some Dark Knight style knee reconstruction, every match promised to be a real treat.

Interestingly the draw of which match will be played in what session isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t made public until the day or two before, so despite managing to obtain tickets punters are unsure of the precise line up they will be able to enjoy. We were fortunate enough to watch possibly the greatest player of all time, Federer, play David Ferrer, and, despite my best attempts to work the primitive ATP site, had no idea which doubles match would warm up the crowd. It was with excitement that we had the luck to be able to watch Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes dispatch the unfortunate duo of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.

This slow starting aperitif was the perfect way to build up to the main match of the session. Whilst we werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t avid followers of doubles tennis it was clear for all to see that Paes and Stepanek were

a cut above their opposition.

Indeed it was pleasing to later open up wikipedia and see that paes has won seven males doubles grand slams over his lengthy career. This match VWDUWHG ZLWK D ŕŽ&#x160; UVW VHW WKDW seemed destined to be heading for a tie break, until the Indo-Czech pairing mercilessly targeted Granollers, who could only volley into the net to lose the set.

The second set was a markHGO\ GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQW VWRU\ ZKHUHDV before breaks of serves were as rare as henâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teeth, they were now coming thick and fast. While there was still a disparity of class, Paes and Stepanekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concentration appeared to have waned, they were dropping easy points in the middle of games, and it was haunting them at later stages.

However after a spectacular point in which Leander made an audacious volley attempt in front of the umpireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chair, only to have to jump over his bench in a jason bourne-esque fashion, the momentum began to shift. Mistakes were eliminated and Paes and Stepanek maintained their as yet perfect record of winning sets in the competition.

With the starter out of the way it was time for the tantalising main course. Federer may be the grandfather on the court, but when he plays in-

doors he is a man transformed.

Despite him having a head to head record of thirteen wins to no losses to Ferrer, the Spaniard works so hard at every facet of his game, if ever Ferderer were to slip up, today would be the day.

And despite the scoreline seemingly a relatively comfortable Federer victory, 6-4, 7-6 where he also maintained his perfect record of not dropping a set, the match was always a closely fought contest. Ultimately, however, Ferer was LQFDSDEOH RI ŕŽ&#x160; QGLQJ DQRWKHU gear with which to triumph.

Several times the Spaniard had Federerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serve at 0-40, and yet he failed to break.

Ultimately Ferrer had ten breakpoints, where he capitalised on just one, Federer, conversely capitalised on two from the four he managed to obtain.

The two contrasting styles made for engrossing viewing, Ferrerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s venomous striking of the ball was something to behold, until you looked to the other side of the court and Federer was waiting patiently to return the ball at an even more impossible angle, and at the exact same pace, if not faster.

It is difficult to describe exactly what makes Federer so impressive. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more WKDQ MXVW KLV JUDFH DQG HŕŽ&#x2030; RUW

less swinging motion when he plays. He is actually a lot slower around the court than one would imagine having watched him on television.

This merely makes his playing ability all the more breathtaking, as he anticipates and reads the game so well there is no noticeable weakness from his lack of pace compared to either Djokovic or Murray.

Then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s his placement of his shots. Ferrer is an excellent athlete, and has the ability to soak up pressure until his opponent makes a mistake, an excellent â&#x20AC;&#x153;numbersâ&#x20AC;? player, his shots are consistently in corridors of uncertainty where, on average, he should either win the point through an error of his opponent, or be in the position to thump the ball into an open FRXUW )HGHUHU VLPSO\ GHŕŽ&#x160; HV these numbers to the extent that I reckon even nate Silver would scratch his head. In the IRXU RU ŕŽ&#x160; YH ORQJ UDOOLHV )HGHU er was dropping the ball either on the line or within such close proximity it essentially PDGH YHU\ OLWWOH GLŕŽ&#x2030; HUHQFH 0XFK OLNH WKH :LPEOHGRQ ŕŽ&#x160; nal this year, he is simply still an entire plane of existence above the rest of his fellow players when indoors.

However, that is not to say he is unbeatable.There DUH GHŕŽ&#x160; FLHQFLHV GHYHORSLQJ

in Federerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s game that, if not corrected will lead an opponent such as murray or Djokovic to outlast even the sweetest of his corner forehands.

This is both his serve, and unIRUFHG HUURUV LQ WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW VHW the Swiss Maestro managed to only make 40 per cent of KLV ŕŽ&#x160; UVW VHUYHV +H PD\ KDYH won 59 per cent of those that he landed, but gainst a more skillful opponent he would have had a much harder day in the office. The there were his menagerie of unforced HUURUV WKLV LV D VLJQLŕŽ&#x160; FDQW problem early on in most of the big games he has played this year, had Ferrer started out more positively the match FRXOG KDYH KDG D YHU\ GLŕŽ&#x2030; HU ent outcome.

So where does Federer go from here? Well, he has a match soon against Del Potro, so this is the key indicator of just how ready Federer is to step up his game against one of the other top three in the world. Were he to put in a dominant performance in the Millenium Dome, despite being safe in the knowledge of a victory then the rest of WKH ŕŽ&#x160; HOG PD\ EH JRLQJ KRPH empty handed for the third \HDU LQ D URZ $ VHPL ŕŽ&#x160; QDO likely against Murray, will be an absolute barnstormer of an event.

Sport

The Beaver | 13.11.2012

YOUR SPORT, IN BRIEF Swimmer leaves the pool for good Ross Davenport, three time Olympian, and two time double Commonwealth Games swimming champion announced he would leave the sport, Friday, saying it was â&#x20AC;&#x153;time to move on.â&#x20AC;?

+RHૺ 5LHVFK ZLQV Levi slalom Despite a hip surgery and advice from doctors not to compete, German MaULD +RHૺ 5LHVFK ZRQ WKH Levi slalom with a combined time of one minute and 55.58 seconds. Tanja Poutiainen of Finland and American Mikaela 6KL૸ ULQ URXQGHG RXW WKH top three, respectively.

Snooker regulators clear Davis v Un-Nooh match The World Professional Billiards and Snooker AsVRFLDWLRQ GLG QRW ૹ QG 'D vis committed any wrongdoing in his September 8th 4-0 win against Thai player Un-Nooh. The two ZHUH IDFLQJ R૸ LQ WKH third round of the Players Tour Championship.

McLaren looking forward to Austin Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have both expressed their optimism over the new United States GP track. ComPHQWLQJ RQ WKH ૹ UVW WLPH track, Hamilton said he thinks â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a track that drivers enjoy.â&#x20AC;?

Autumn Internationals begin This seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international rugby are well under way. England completed an expected win over Fiji, 54-14. Argentina triumped over Wales, the latter slumping to their fourth consecutive international defeat. The most impressive result being Franceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destruction of Australia, 33-6.

31

Joys of League 2 Football John Allsop

The Premier League is frequently criticised for being inaccessible. The top teams are more corporate behemoth than supporter-driven; matchday prices have skyrocketed in recent years, whilst matches are scheduled at the convenience of Sky. The players, whilst technically excellent, are over-paid and often look disinterested, with fans leaving grounds up and down the country frequently bemoaning their South American starletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s failure to put in that extra tackle or chase down that loose ball.

Perhaps most unforgivably, clubs are no longer rooted in their local community.

2Q WKH WUDLQ WR 2OG 7UDŕŽ&#x2030; RUG for example, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just as likely to hear a Cockney accent or no accent at all as a Manchester one, as moneyed glory-supporting Southerners trek up from Guildford to see â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;theirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team inevitably thump a Wigan or Norwich City. Its one redeeming feature is the quality of play itself, with even the big games having escaped the cycle of cautious tedium that rendered Skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Super Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tag somewhat risible only a few years ago to become exSORVLYH DŕŽ&#x2030; DLUV SDFNHG ZLWK exquisite skill and helterskelter entertainment.

Anyone who parrots the line that the Premier League is â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the best league in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, however, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have sampled the joys of npower League Two. The division only ever grabs national attention when one of its â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;pluckyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teams goes toe-totoe against a big club in the FA or Capital One Cup, making an Aston Villa or Sunderland sweat before being narrowly, heart-breakingly beaten by a last- minute strike from an unknown youth-team right-winger, returning from a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;character-formingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; loan VSHOO DW 7UDQPHUH WR EULHŕŽ&#x2039; \ FRQWHVW D ŕŽ&#x160; UVW WHDP EHUWK EH fore falling out of favour and ending up on the bench at Walsall by autumn.

Indeed, many older fans only worry about League Two in hoping their team isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t returned there in May, mistakenly believing it to be the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;old Second Divisionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

League Two exists largely outside of the public eye, quietly going about its own business without ostentation or pretence. On the whole, this is to be considered a great shame, with an afternoon out at a League Two ground a much richer experience than its bank-breaking Premier League equivalent. To prove this, I have decided to compare the two games I have

had time to see in North London since moving to LSE last autumn. Last October I went to watch Arsenal beat Stoke City 3-1 with a friend from halls, whereas this October I trudged up to Barnet to watch my beloved Plymouth Argyle (yes, them of the Paul

The Emirates is undoubtedly a gorgeous ground, curved into a beautiful bowl around a lush green pitch. Situated in the vibrant heart of Islington, it commands the local landscape.

Unfortunately, there is no

atmosphere whatsoever. I am assured by my myriad Arsenal supporting friends that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;it gets louder for the big gamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; but this in itself is a damning THE GAME: LQGLFWPHQW RI WKH WRS ŕŽ&#x2039; LJKW Clearly, the quality of football mentality that some matchat the Emirates was much es are bigger than others. higher than at Underhill, Watching a match amongst even if our Aldershot loanee Arsenal fans is like going to Guy Madjo may genuinely be the cricket but with the boreD PRUH HŕŽ&#x2030; HFWLYH WDUJHW PDQ dom-busting alcohol-fuelled than Marouane Chamakh sense of fun sucked out, as and Barnet did at least try to a crowd of middle-class loplay better football than Tony cals and tourists sit in near Pulisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;combativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; side. Ulti- silence on their red plastic mately, however, the League seats, munching on their Two game was more enter- sandwiches and occasionally breaking into a tame chant of taining.

The contest seemed to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or mean more to both sets of sporadic smattering of polite players, both striving for applause.

Only the Stoke fans lifted their football league futures at the foot of the table, both lunging into every tackle with wholehearted aplomb on a sticky pitch.

Even though Arsenal won their game through Robin van Persieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s majestic, gliding movement and the deft touch of Aaron Ramsey where we won ours courtesy of Darren Purseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s uncompromising defending and Luke Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WLUHOHVV HŕŽ&#x2030; RUW LQ PLGŕŽ&#x160; HOG WKH games were just as enthralling as each other in their own way, played under the same rules and dictated by the mortuary-esque quiet the same aim: that potent and even silence seems preferable to yet another atonal mixture of points and pride.

If you think you have to refrain of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why, why, why DeJR WR WKH WRS ŕŽ&#x2039; LJKW WR ORRN IRU lilah?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;, a Tom Jones song with big names, meanwhile, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d so far unexplained connections to the Potteries. Underbe sorely mistaken.

Whilst only anoraks may hill, by contrast is a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;proper revel in a glimpse of some- football groundâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, standing on time Northern Ireland inter- its last legs against the innational Warren Feeney or exorable tide of modernisaChampionship journeyman tion that will see it tragically -RKQ 2VWHU &KHVWHUŕŽ&#x160; HOG KDYH ŕŽ&#x2039; DWWHQHG DW WKH HQG RI WKH just snapped up erstwhile Ar- season. With a ramshackle senal winger Luis Boa Morte combination of shallow seatwhilst the game I saw at Un- ing and shed-style terraces derhill marked Edgar Davidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; around their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;famous sloping touchline debut as Barnetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pitchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, the ground has a romantic tumble-down feel. new player-head coach.

Crucially for the atmosphere, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also allowed to THE STADIA:

Whitehouse â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Green Armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; commercial) claim a 4-1 victory.

stand, something long since outlawed at Premier League stadia for understandable safety reasons. Packed in like sardines, the travelling Green Army spent ninety minutes bouncing up and down, singing the praises of Feeney to the strains of Depeche Modeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Just Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Get Enoughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and volubly enquiring â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;who the f*@* is Edgar Davids, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got Jason Bentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in tribute to the dreadlocked PLGŕŽ&#x160; HOG G\QDPR RI RXU SURPRWLRQ VLGH Unlike the sterile environment of the Emirates, away fans at lower league stadia are bonded by a shared sense of hopeless camaraderie, glued together by a wit that is only partially ironic.

MATCHDAY EXPERIENCE: For me, this is where League Two enjoys its chief advanWDJH RYHU WKH WRS ŕŽ&#x2039; LJKW :KHQ we went to the Emirates, my friend and I sat quietly in the upper tier and walked back to Fitzrovia clutching our glossy matchday magazine and munching on over-priced gourmet street food. On our trip to Underhill, we chatted to a kindly old programmeseller who turned out to be the official club historian about a game between the WHDPV LQ WKH V KHâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹG EHHQ researching, sat in the sunny beer garden of an adjacent pub proudly sporting our colours without fear of violent reprisal, bought a gloriously tasteless and relatively cheap burger from inside the ground and returned to the train station sharing our mutual delight at a rare away victory with other members of the travelling cohort.

League Two fans experience â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;proper footballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;proper groundsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; frequented by â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;proper supportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, revelling in a weekly walk through our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most salient sporting heritage, clicking through old-fashioned turnstiles with a sense of unparalleled nervous excitement and pouring out at the end relieved to have a football club to support regardless of the result.

Yes, they want to get out of the division at the right end as soon as possible, as all football fans do. But for those marooned in lower mid-table mediocrity like my Pilgrims are at present, revelling in what the bottom tier has to RŕŽ&#x2030; HU LVQâ&#x20AC;ŤÚ&#x2018;â&#x20AC;ŹW VXFK DQ XQSOHDV ant hiatus.

Next time you feel the Premier League burning a hole in your pocket, turn to League Two. You may just be VXUSULVHG DW ZKDW \RX ŕŽ&#x160; QG

Sport

32

Sport

13.11.2012

| The Beaver

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