OPENING UP THE EDUCATION DEBATE | PRIDE WEEK SPECIAL | HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO
TheBeaver
27.11.2012
Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union FREE
Eggstreme disappointment
Liam Brown and John Armstrong
Liam Burns, President of the National Union of Students (NUS) was pelted with eggs DQG IUXLWV DQG ERR HG Rஉ WKH stage while speaking to a crowd of protesters, following a poorly-attended and poorly organised NUS Demo. The annual Demo, entitled “#demo2012: Educate, Employ, Empower,” was widely criticised for its route. Instead of going by the Houses of Parliament, like previous years, the demonstration crossed the Thames via the Westminster Bridge on its ZD\ WR .HQQLQJWRQ WKH ஊ QDO destination of the march. In a statement, Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of the LSE Students’ Union, stated that “whilst it was brilliant to see so many students from across the country marching in support of education,” the route the NUS chose was “abysmal” as “Kennington Park has little to QR VLJQLஊ FDQFH WR VWXGHQWV RQ a march for education.” “I’m on the national committee for National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) and we’re working on a further response to pressure the NUS to be less rubbish,” she added. Similarly, Lukas Slothuus, former Community and Welfare Officer of the Students’ Union wrote on Twitter, “By now we can probably conclude that the route of the #NUSdemo is a complete DQG XWWHU RS 3UHGLFWDEOH ڕ Thousands of students braved the rain on Wednesday to protest cuts to education by the Coalition government. Nevertheless, it is estimated that between 3000-5000 students attended instead of the 10,000 expected. The demonstration started with a rally at Temple before moving down the Embankment towards Westminster. The police had quite a presence throughout the march with extra horse-based
squadrons stationed outside Westminster as well as barricades preventing protesters from breaking away from the designated demonstration route. Discontent towards the march was evident among protesters, with chants of “NUS, shame on you, where the fuck have you brought us WR ڕஊ OOLQJ WKH DLU DV WKH PDUFK neared its end. By the end of the march, only a few hundred students were left. Burn’s closing speech DERXW KRZ LQஊ JKWLQJ ZLWKLQ WKH 186 VKRXOG QRW Dஉ HFW WKH ஊ JKW DJDLQVW WKH JRYHUQPHQW was accompanied by howls of “boo’s” and demonstrators began pelting him with eggs and fruit. Burns soon left the stage which was taken over by a faction of protesters. Burns tweeted after the march, “Amazing day, 10k out, students’ unions buzzing... And my egg dodging is SUHWW\ ஊ HUFH ڕ
FT Managing Editor on the economy dismiss as irrelevant, such as faith and cohesion. Drawing upon the term Last week Gillian Tett, Social Anthropologist and award credit, as in the Latin meanwinning assistant editor of ing ‘trust,’ Gillian depicted the Financial Times, spoke the world of banking as beat the LSE 100 prize giving having much like the Roman ceremony. Her topic being Catholic Church. The investhe state of the economy to- WRUV DQG FRQVXPHUV RI ஊ QDQ day and over the past few cial products were like the decades. On the whole the congregation, sitting dumbly audience responded well al- in the isles feeling embarthough one academic from rassed that they didn’t unthe anthropology department GHUVWDQG WKH ஊ QDQFLDO /DWLQ judged her evaluation of cap- spoken by the priests, the italism to be missing out on bankers. Whilst they waved incense and cheap credit some crucial issues. Gillian champions a multi- cards above the crowds, their faceted view of the world as Pope, Allen Greenspan, stood taught in LSE 100, which was before the whole scene blessinstrumental in her predict- ing everyone and preaching LQJ WKH ஊ QDQFLDO FULVLV WZR WKH EHQHஊ WV RI LQQRYDWLRQ Since this era of moderayears before it happened. Taking an anthropological tion, the faith of the populaperspective she was able to tion has undergone a series take into consideration fac- of transformations. Accordtors which economists would ing to Gillian, after our faith Holly Brentnall, 6WD 5HSRUWHU
in the banks collapsed, faith in Government and the pubOLF VHFWRU VXஉ HUHG D VLPLODU fate. The part of society in which faith is not declining, said Gillian, is technology. Now who people trust is not those above them but their peer group, Facebook friends and and social networks. The second theme Gillian drew upon was cohesion. Working for the Japanese Tokyo bureau in the late 1990s GXULQJ WKH -DSDQHVH ஊ QDQFLDO crisis, the head of a large Japanese bank had told her that he was going to have to cut his wage bill by twenty per cent. “So,” he had deduced, “I am going to have to cut everyone’s salaries by twenty per cent and my own by 30 per cent.” When Gillian queried this he had elaborated. Continued on page 4, col 1.
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