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THE NAB JOHN SWEENEY’S IPAD - UNIVERSITY CHALLENGED: QUIZ SOC NEEDS YOU

Beaver

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Issue 817 | 04.11.14

newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union

Michaelmas Elections

NUS Disaffiliation Comprehensively Rejected by LSE Megan Crockett News Editor LSESU WILL REMAIN AFFILIATED with the National Union of Students, after a referendum proposing disaffiliation was rejected on Thursday night.

The referendum, which was run alongside the Michaelmas Term elections, was rejected, with 64 per cent of respondents voting against disaffiliation. Even if the result had been reversed, the referendum would not have carried as participation fell well short of the 15 per cent of the student body needed for the result to be quorate.

The Union General Meeting (UGM) on Thursday 23rd October saw Josh Hitchens propose a referendum motion with regards to the Students’ Union’s (SU)

affiliation to the National Union of Students (NUS), which was seconded by Hari Prabu. The vote on the issue was opened on Wednesday 29th October and closed on Thursday 30th.

The campaign took to social media, with two large groups forming on Facebook; ‘Vote YES goodbye NUS’ and ‘NO to NUS disaffiliation’. Both groups listed the reasons they believed voters should side with them.

The Yes campaign group suggested that there is ‘no democracy’ within the NUS as many of the votes are taken by an unelected executive and ‘absurd declarations’ are made, for example their calling for a publicly owned banking system and their refusal to condemn ISIS as it would be ‘islamophobic’ having previously condemned Israel; the group suggested these motions ‘alienate sections of the School’s Continued page 3

The City Sport

Photo: Mahamid Ahmed is elected Postgraduate Officer More page 12

Alternative LSE AU Trading Platform Dance Club Page 24 Page 30

Features: The Beaver Goes to the 100 Women Conference Rachel Chua Features Editor “I DON’T KNOW HER NAME, because she lives in a remote village in India - or was it Afghanistan? She’s not a politician - nor will she ever be. She does not seek publicity, or wear shoes that cost more than a Bangladeshi worker

will earn in ten years. But hopefully one day she or her daughter will break free from male-dominated society and carve out a living as a small-scale businesswoman.” This, according to a BBC audience survey, is who the BBC’s 100 Women month and conference was for.

I had the privilege of attending the BBC’s 100 Women Conference last Tuesday, the conference being the culmination of the 100

Women month – a celebration of women, their achievements, and the acknowledgement of the need to make further strides in the feminist movement. We had speakers from all walks of life – politics, comedy, science – address the problems they faced being women in their fields, the support they had, and what more needs to be done.

The message was clear: wom-

en comprise 52 per cent of the world’s population, are strong, intelligent, and need to be empowered further. I do not dispute any of this. Let me be clear – I am a feminist, and I believe very strongly in gender equality and the vital need for it. The 100 Women conference was a wonderful celebration of the feminist movement and a very serious acknowledgement that there are hurdles yet to cross.

I do, however, take issue with the undertones of the message that Former Malawian President Joyce Banda communicated, undertones which were never addressed.

Joyce Banda spoke of women as being uniquely placed to tackle “small and big projects” – an asset, she claims, that is one of the reasons to work on empowering women more. I found myself squinting at the veracity of this statement, Continued page 27 Photo Credit: Karen Roe

Next week in The Beaver: LSE Remembrance Special

Room 2.02, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, LSE Students’ Union London WC2A 2AE

Beaver

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Beaver

Executive Editor Jon Allsop

editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Managing Editor Alexander Fyfe

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Established in 1949 Issue No. 817- Tuesday 4 November 2014 - tinyurl.com/beaver817 Telephone: 0207 955 6705 Email: editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk Website: www.beaveronline.co.uk Twitter: @beaveronline

managing@thebeaveronline.co.uk

News Editors Sophie Donszelmann Megan Crockett

news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Comment Editor Sebastien Ash

comment@thebeaveronline.co.uk

PartB Editors Jade Jackman Vikki Hui

partb@thebeaveronline.co.uk

The City Editor Julia Wacket

city@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Features Editors Rachel Chua Liam Hill

features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

The Nab Editor Vacant

nab@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Sport Editor Robin Park

sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk

(Acting) Photo Editor Helen Hasse

editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Design Editor Liam Hill

design@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Online Editor Harry Maxwell

web@thebeaveronline.co.uk

The Collective:

A Afridi, A Badwe, A Doherty, A Fraser, A Fyfe, A Howells, A Laird, A Leung, A Lulache, A Moro, A Qazilbash, A Santhanham, A Tanwa, A Thomson, B Phillips, C Holden, C Hulm, C Loughran, C Morgan, C Naschert, C Hu, D Hung, D Lai, D Sippel, D Tighe, D Wong, E Arnold, G Cafiero, G Harrison, G Kist, G Linford-Grayson, G Manners-Armstrong, G Rosser, G Saudelli, H Brentnall, H Prabu, H Toms, I Mosselmans, I Plunkett, J Allsop, J Cusack, J Evans, J Foster, J Grabiner, J Heeks, J Jackman, J Momodu, J Ruther, J Wacket, K Budd, K Kalaichelvan, K Owusu, K Parida, K Quinn, L Hill, L Kang, L Kendall, L Erich, L Mai, L Montebello, L Weigold, M Akram, M Banerjee-Palmer, M Brien, M Crockett, M Gallo, M Jaganmohan, M Johnson, M Malik, M Neergheen, M Pasha, M Pearson, M Pennill, M Petrocheilos, M Rakus, M Rakus, M Strauss, M Warbis, N Antoniou, N Bhaladhare, N BuckleyIrvine, N Stringer, O Hill, O Gleeson, P Amoroso, P Gederi, R Browne, R J Charnock, R Chouglay, R Chua, R Huq, R Kouros, R Park, R Serunjogi, R Siddique, R Soni, R Uddin, S Ali, S Ash, S Barnett, S Crabbe-Field, S Donszelmann, S Kunovska, S Sebatindira, S Thandi, T Maksymiw, T Mushtaq, T Poole, V Hui, Z Chan, Z Mahmod Any opinions expressed herein are those of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the LSE Students’ Union or Beaver Editorial Staff.

The Beaver is issued under a Creative Commons license.

Attribution necessary.

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Jon Allsop on why John Sweeney has raised questions that the School must answer

From the Executive Editor OUR INTERVIEW WITH John Sweeney last week was an interesting piece to write and run. Although the North Korea Panorama controversy took place what feels like an LSE lifetime ago, Sweeney raised some extremely pertinent questions about the LSE’s role in fighting for free speech and the transparency of our funding arrangements with foreign regimes. The lessons of Gaddafigate have not, to my satisfaction, been learned. During my time at LSE, transparency has never been the School’s forte.

I note that the School told the Evening Standard this week that “we declare all funding from overseas sources.” It is now incumbent on them to prove this.

In what was an extraordinarily wide-ranging interview, it was also interesting that Sweeney referenced Professor Calhoun’s meeting with Vladimir Putin last year. I do not think that there is anything inherently wrong with talking to people. Dialogue is, in my view, always better than obsti-

nate stonewalling. The company in which Professor Calhoun attended the meeting, however, again raises important questions. Is it really reasonable to believe that a gathering at which Calhoun was the academic ‘odd one out’ amongst business and finance leaders and economic journalists was spent scalding the Russian President for his human rights record? This meeting admittedly took place well before the explosion of the Ukrainian crisis, although I don’t think that it took this blatantly immoral erosion of a neighbour’s sovereignty to see that the Russian state has, for a while now, been adopting increasingly unsavoury and intolerant attitudes to foreign affairs, democracy and minorities. Almost exactly a fortnight after meeting with Calhoun et al, Putin signed into law a bill banning LGBT propaganda.

The bill was approved by the Duma two days before the gathering took place. Whatever your stance on engagement with those who don’t live up to our

high ethical standards, it is obvious that our university needs to be more actively forthcoming about the terms on which that engagement is taking place.

In fairness to Professor Calhoun, I am not wholly convinced by Sweeney’s justification of his North Korea documentary. His account fails to resolve the tension between the notions that the students on the trip knew who he was and that they needed to be shielded from some knowledge to retain plausible deniability. Journalistic exposure of human rights abuses is vitally important yes, but the trip was, to some extent, executed without due care.

Professor Calhoun was right to highlight this. He was not, however, right to call for information that had already been obtained to be pulled from the public domain. I’m not suggesting suspicious motives for this call, but it makes a telling point.

This is an institution with radically liberal roots. It’s time for us to take a radically liberal attitude to awkward information.

From the Managing Editor

Alexander Fyfe returns home to Scotland for a mid-term break

I MUST APOLOGISE IN advance for the following due to the fact I have been at home for a mid-term break. I therefore struggled to find something to write about, eventually finding inspiration from my surroundings. As a consequence of this, my editorial simply catalogues the minutiae of my existence, hence the apology.

Two days before I am due to leave London and return home, I am determinedly attempting to drain some pasta through two sheets of kitchen roll as I have lost the pan lid. This is much more difficult than expected, especially as the boiling water seeps through the paper, which quickly disintegrates emptying my pasta into the sink. I walk

down to the local market and forage for a burrito. I object to the expense, but console myself with the fact baking will soon start arriving in the post from Granny.

Granny sees my stint at university like going on a tour of military duty, and likes to pretend she’s the Red Cross. She therefore sends a parcel containing a large ginger loaf and some shortbread. She also includes a selection of clippings from the Daily Telegraph; fearful I will return a communist at the end of term. I phone to thank her, and pretend I agree that Iain Duncan Smith is a jolly good egg.

I head over to Grandma and Grandpa’s for supper to find a

state of confusion. Four fish parcels have been cooked; two with tomato, two without. Grandma can’t remember which is which, and Grandpa doesn’t want them to be cut open to allow the steam to escape. Grandma attempts some keyhole surgery with a skewer to discover which is which whilst Grandpa is looking for cider. Grandpa returns to rumble the covert operation and orders everyone to leave the kitchen.

Eventually, the parcels are served after Grandpa has sniffed each one in turn for some time.

Everyone digs in to discover none of them had tomato in at all, because Grandma forgot to put it in.

2

Letter to the editor Dear editor, Sophie Donszelmann is right to query the SU’s choice to host Tim Key as part of the official opening of the Saw Swee Hock building in her comment piece ‘A Questionable Beginning’.

Reading this reminded me of a recent video I saw the SU produce on ‘How to Survive Class on a Hangover’. While some might argue that this encourages the perpetuation of the sort of ‘laddish’ behaviour which has given the AU a bad reputation, I ask simply this: is a video about how to ‘get through’ a class on a hangover really the sort of enterprise the SU should be committing its time and resources to?

Anonymous

“When I ran for Trustee I aimed to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion, but as a third year undergraduate kindly pointed out, these high ideas had no place amongst the tea and the cakes.”

Mustafaen Kamal responds to his coverage in The Beaver with his reflections on the state of our Students’ Union in Comment, p10.

Andrew Farrell @andrewxfarrell Anyone know why The Beaver has a three page advert for John Sweeney’s book before the real The Beaver starts?

John Sweeney @johnsweeneyroar @EveningStandard @craigcalhoun Copy of Mao’s book if u find how much LSE - my old uni - gets from teaching Chinese officials Jack Tindale @jacktindale If anyone at #LSESUelects wants a bemused, crackly Skype interview - I am available from 9:30 onwards.

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News

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Section editorial: WEEK FOUR PROVED TO be a big week for news, with John Sweeney condemning Calhoun, the Michaelmas Term Elections and the NUS referendum; let’s just hope the excitment lasts for the rest of the year, I have a sneaking suspicion this year will be awesome!

Tim Zandbergen’s campaign caught my eye this week with tons of you sharing his accessibility campaign video on Facebook and Twitter; I’m happy to see such an important issue brought to light on campus. The campaign was also discussed in the Disabled Student Assembly (see page 5) so hopefully we will see a difference on Houghton Street. If you haven’t already watched it, go online, have a gander and support the campaign!

Megan Crockett JASON WONG HAS graduated, student clubs and societies seem to be keeping their act together and the School, to the best of our knowledge, is not accepting money from authoritarian leaders. With a lack of scandal surrounding the LSE, it seems that Week 5 is when News seems to die down.

But, it doesn’t have to be this way. I’d really like to encourage you to use these “slow news weeks” to do a little research and make the news yourself. Please do approach us with story leads or ideas for investigations as we’d love to help you expose everyday issues to the public.

There is a plethora of issues to be uncovered at the LSE and a plethora of students, namely you!, who can uncover it for us.

News

Sophie Donszelmann

Section Editor: Megan Crockett and Sophie Donszelmann

Want to write for News? Contact our editors!

news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

LSE Students Reject Disaffiliation Motion by 2 to 1 Margin • Disaffiliation rejected by margin of 64% to 36%, is inquorate in any case • Turn over to page 4 for broader coverage of the Michaelmas term elections Continued from page 1 motions ‘alienate sections of the School’s extremely diverse community and are unrepresentative’.

The cost of membership was also a sore point, as the SU currently spends £34,785 a year to be part of the NUS, which ‘failed on student fees’ according to the Vote Yes group. It was also brought to the attention of students that a large majority of the benefits of having an NUS card are available with a valid LSE ID or through the Unidays website.

The Michaelmas Term elections, perhaps, sparked support for the Vote No group, as one of the positions being elected was

the NUS delegate. The candidates, among many more, took to social media to defend the NUS, as disaffiliation would have made their position redundant. The three main reasons to ‘vote no’ espoused by the group were firstly that we would lose money as the SU recoups £41,000 from reduced goods they then sell in our shops, cafes and bars, secondly that our liberation officers would be weakened and thirdly that we would no longer be a part of a national campaigning body.

One candidate, Layla Doyle, wrote that being affiliated with the NUS is “vital … for us as students, a financially vulnerable group of people within society, to be part of [the] union”. Doyle

went on to note the NUS has the power to effect change, for example stopping the Disabled Students’ Allowance from being cut and ensuring students remain exempt from paying council tax on rented properties; these remarks were echoed by many in the Facebook group ‘NO to NUS disaffiliation’.

The universities of Aston, Cardiff Metropolitan, Dundee, Glasgow, Imperial College London, Southampton and St. Andrew’s are currently unaffiliated to the NUS; so if the School had chosen to disaffiliate they would not have been making a radical step, rather following in the footsteps of other Students’ Unions up and down the country.

ISOC Charity Week Raises £13,000 To Date Samiha Begum THE STUDENTS’ UNION Islamic Society’s annual Charity Week was in full swing last week.

Having kicked off fundraising proceedings with a series of Krispy Kreme stalls, 6am tube collections, an Athletics Union tournament and a poetry night, as well as preparing for their upcoming climb of Mount Snowdon!

Charity Week is a volunteerled organisation hosted by Islamic Relief with a one hundred per cent donation policy. In the UK alone Islamic Relief has raised £2 million so far for orphans and needy

children all over the world. It was founded by a group of University of London students in 2004 keen to make a positive contribution to the world they lived in and since then has become an international initiative in colleges and institutions in countries like Canada and Australia.

The London School of Economics’ Students’ Union (LSESU) Islamic Society celebrated a staggeringly successful Charity Week last year when they raised £25,513.39, more than 8 times their previous total. These efforts were recognised by the SU when the society was awarded the ‘Contribution to RAG’ award at the

STAR’s awards in May. This year, Charity Week heads Arif Miah and Fazila Jahangir are keen to beat their own record, having said “ the charity week team have been working untiringly with the hope to see their funds support orphans and needy children around the world”.

The buzz around campus brought people of all communities and backgrounds together to fundraise and have fun. For many volunteers, meeting new people and making new friends has proven to be a highlight of Charity Week, while having the opportunity to be a means by which lives of deprived children can be improved.

After the society’s big Mount Snowdon climb- which on its own has already raised £13,000, ISoc look forward to hosting their Charity Week dinner including a three course meal and an exciting auction and then are finally concluding their fundraising activities with a sponsored skydive with Raising and Giving next weekend.

As Charity Week comes to a close, the optimism and excitement remains as the LSESU Islamic Society prepare to find out what their overall total is to see if, once again, they can break a new record.

The vote had been a yes vote, the referendum suggested that the “amount of money saved annually from disaffiliation from the NUS (a minimum of £34, 785) ought to be spent on mitigating the loss of sponsorship funds suffered by the [Athletics Union]” as they have just lost the support of KPGM following the Rugby Team controversy.

The results of the disaffiliation motion were published on Thursday 30th October. There were 864 votes cast, which made the vote short of quoracy (which was around 1500 votes). Of those few votes only 36 per cent were in favour of disaffiliation; so, for the time being, our student discount is safe.

LSE Hits Back at Sweeney Jon Allsop Executive Editor THE LSE HAS HIT BACK at investigative journalist John Sweeney, following his controversial interview in last week’s edition of The Beaver.

The School told the Evening Standard that “Mr Sweeney approached The Beaver to conduct a highly personal attack. He disputed the conclusions of the BBC’s report, following [which] it issued an unequivocal apology.

We would hope he has the good grace to respect the BBC’s findings.”

LSE also told the Standard that Mr Sweeney’s allegation that the School receives “unknown, undeclared sums of money from the Chinese state” was “nonsense... We declare all funding from overseas sources.”

Mr Sweeney used his exclusive interview with The Beaver to claim that Professor Craig Calhoun was “not a fit and proper person to run an elite university like the LSE”. He questioned the School’s opaque financial links with China, as well as attacking the LSE’s handling of the North Korea Panorama controversy.

Read Jon Allsop’s editorial, page 2

News

Tuesday November 4, 2014

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Michaelmas Term Elections

Sophie Donszelmann News Editor W I T H A TOTA L O F 5 6 candidates competing for just 15 places the Student Union Michaelmas Term elections concluded this Thursday evening after over 2000 students voted. After a week of hustings, and campaigning on Thursday evening, students gathered in the Venue to hear the members of the Democracy Committee announce the results.

While student turnout to the election results party was low, enthusiasm was high as most attendees were supporters

of candidates. Campaigner for Michelle Warbis for Postgraudate Officer, James Clark, said “I loved election night! There’s so much atmosphere and campaigning was so much fun! Everyone should consider running in Lent term elections or, at least, being on a campaign team.”

Before his election, Mahatir Pasha, then candidate for Court of Governors, told the Beaver that “very nervous” as, “anything could happen… student politics isn’t dead.”

The large number of candidates and the palpable nerves in the Venue indeed proved that student politics was far from

dead. As the night proceeded Democracy Committee members Martha Petrocheilos and Rayhan Uddin announced the results in the absence of the Returning Officer, Laura Weigold, who could not attend due to an injury. The announcement of the winners ran smoothly.

The evening started with the announcement of the uncontested positions of Postgraduate Research Students’ Officer, Mature and Part-time students officer and the BME Students’ Officer won by Salma Raheem, Laura Mertsching and Samiha Begum respectively. This year saw the first election of the BME, Black Ethnic Minority Officer, with voting open only to those self identify as BME. The position was put in place through a motion in the Lent Term of 2014.

The positions of General Course President, NUS Conference Delegates and Postgraduate Trustee, among others, were announced throughout the hour.

The evening culminated in the announcement of the most contested position, Postgraduate Student’s Officer; a paid part-time position that will work together with the current Executive Officers of the Students’ Union. After 11 rounds of voting, eliminating 13 other can-

Election Fun Facts: 56- Total Number of Candidates 9,218- Number of eligible voters in LSE community 2,080- reported number of votes The SU claims that the voter turnout at LSE is around 26 per cent higher than at most other universities The SU also claims that: • British, male undergraduate students studying fulltime are most likely to vote • Postgraduates, particularly research students, are least likely to vote • Fewer international students vote than home students • Part-time students vote in lower numbers

didates, Mahamid Ahmed was elected, surprising many who saw it as “being a two-horse race between Rian Watt and Michelle Warbis.”

Current members of the SU were also pleased with the election results. Democracy Committee member, Rayhan Uddin, was “very pleased with the re-

The Rules Word Limit for candidate manifestos is 150 Candidates may submit a maximum 6 word slogan.

Paper Limits: Non-Sabbatical executive positions: 200 A4 Democracy Committee and Trustee: 150 A4 Budgets: Candidates for all other elected positions are able to spend up to £15 Home printed/designed t shirts have a notional value of £2 per t shirt.

cord turnout” and the SU Community and Welfare officer Seb Bruhn said “it is amazing to see such a high turnout and to see student democracy so alive. We really look forward to working with this fantastic new team.”

The Beaver extends its congratulations to all elected and all who ran for a position.

Meet Your New Representatives The following candidates have been elected as student representatives: Postgraduate Students’ Officer - Mahamid Ahmed Postgraduate Research Students’ Officer - Salma Raheem General Course President - Lisa Han Mature & Part-time Students’ Officer - Laura Mertsching BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Students’ Officer: Samiha Begum

Postgraduate Student Trustee: Scott Gammon

Student Members of the Court of Governors x 5 Tom Glen Harry, Kabu Senapitak, Katie Budd, Mahatir Pasha and Megan Tretheway Students Members on the Academic Board x 2 James Wurr and Tooba Mushtaq NUS Conference Delegates x 2 - Emily Haimeed and Jon Foster Postgraduate Trustee- Scott Gammon

Members of the Academic Board: James Wurr and Tooba Mushtaq Postgraduate Research Students’ Officer: Salma Raheem

BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Students’ Officer- Samiha Begum

Mature and Part-time Students’ Officer: Laura Mertsching

Left- NUS Delegates: Emily Haimeed and Jon Foster

General Course President: Lisa Han

Postgraduate Students’ Officer: Mahamid Ahmed

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News

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Disabled Students’ Assembly Off to a Positive Start Mark Malik Disabled Students’ Officer THE DIRECTOR OF THE London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE), Professor Calhoun, helped launch the Disabled Students’ Assemblies on Wednesday 29th October. The Assemblies, which will be convened monthly by the Student’s Union (SU), are a forum for disabled students to share experiences, and raise issues and concerns with services in both the School and the SU. In addition to Calhoun, representatives from the Disability and Wellbeing Service, Careers, and Estates were present, as well as the Disabled Students’, Education, and Community & Welfare Officers of the SU. Calhoun’s call during #AskTheDirector for students to “bring both challenging questions and good ideas so we can make it a step in supporting everyone” was heeded by those present, with frank and open discussions on such a diverse range of topics as attitudes of departments and academics towards disability, the potential for summer resits in exceptional circumstances, and – following a recent campaign by student Tim Zandbergen – accessibility issues of

buildings on campus.

It was acknowledged that whilst the School has made progress in recent years on disability issues, there is still much to be done. However, this attitude was criticised by the students present as too backwards-looking and that the School should focus on improving services now.

The School was very keen to listen to the students present and take their ideas on board.

In particular, Disabled Students’ Officer Mark Malik and Education Officer Tom Maksymiw will engage with the School during the review of the structure of the academic year.

It was stressed that the School is open to criticism from all students, and that students should not be afraid to escalate issues if they are not resolved. Students were advised to seek help from the relevant SU officer if needed, as it can be difficult to identify the correct person within the School.

Of the event, Malik said: “It was great to see the School and the SU take disability issues so seriously and invite criticism from students. I will be following up issues raised and reporting back to students at future Assemblies. If other students have ideas or issues, the School and SU will definitely be ready to listen.”

Apology issued to Lib Dem Society over Freshers Ejections Sophie Donszelmann News Editor THE STUDENTS’ UNION HAS issued a formal apology to several guests of the Liberal Democrat Society for denying them entry to the Freshers’ Fair in early October.

The SU apologized to Lily Aaron, Lord Paddick and Baroness Suttie.

The following is an excerpt from the issued apology: “The safety and security of everyone at our events at LSESU is of the highest importance. For all high profile guests we want to ensure that there are sufficient security arrangements in place.

These requirements appear to not have been clearly communicated in a timely manner to the LSESU Liberal Democrat Society in order for them to inform the Union to support them to put the suitable arrangements in place.

“We want to support our students to be the best, but in a safe way. The miscommunication between the Student [sic] Union and the LSESU Liberal Democrats meant that on the day of the Fair there were not sufficient arrangements in place to ensure your visit was safe. We had also asked all stall holders to restrict the number of people on their stall to three to prevent overcrowding and to prioritize

LSESU SPICE’s Diwali Dhamaka is a Hot Ticket Kanan Parida Staff Reporter LAST TUESDAY, LSESU SPICE, the largest Indian society on campus, held an event to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Light. Held at the Venue, tickets were a record low price at £4 for members and £6 for non-members for the initial three hundred guests. However, this did mean sacrifices on the provision of food, which was provided last year. With over four hundred people in attendance, the evening kick-started Spice’s events for the year 2014-15.

People began trickling in around half an hour after the starting time, as the committee began the puja- prayer- slightly behind schedule. Nevertheless, this was followed by a committee dance to three Bollywood songs and a few words by SPICE presi-

dent, Udit Gadkary. One student commented, “The performances were great but Spice should be more inclusive to members who aren’t on the committee. We were never given the option to perform at the event”.

Nonetheless, the performance attracted a higher turnout and the DJ soon began playing remixes of popular Bollywood music. From old classics to current favourites, the DJ at Diwali Dhamaka expertly persuaded students from all backgrounds and nationalities to dance to the desi beats. Lorraine Leung, a second year undergraduate LLB student from Hong Kong said, “I really enjoyed this event because it felt like Saucy, with a twist. Indian music is surprisingly easy to dance to and it was so great to see so many people in traditional Indian clothing. I felt really included and it didn’t matter that I wasn’t ‘Indian’ enough”. Though

the highest volume of students in attendance was Indian, there were also a large amount of Pakistanis, and students of other nationalities.

To promote Indian culture, the committee organised the provision of Indian desserts- jalebiand pani puri shots at the bar.

Moreover, they created boards with popular Hindi slogans and expressions, which were picked up by many students for photographs.

Towards the end of the night, the crowd thinned out but there still remained a high amount of energy until the DJ abruptly cut off at the ending time. Chaos ensued as students began filing out, looking for their friends, getting their last drinks or their coats from the cloakroom. However, the event was largely well organised and there were no major hiccups.

Want to report on your society’s events? Contact us!

The Beaver has redacted the name and signature of an SU Official from this letter.

students attending the Fair.”

The SU official who authored the letter concluded by stating, “I hope you can understand the motivations of the Student [sic] Union asking you to leave the event and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. We hope this does not impact on your working relationship with the LSESU Liberal Democrat Society and the LSE. Hari Prabu, President of the LSESU Liberal Democrat Society said “I am very grateful for

LSESU taking the time and effort to write formal apologies to our guests. The actions taken

by LSESU during freshers’ fair could have seriously affected the relationship that our society has with our politicians. We hope therefore that these apologies will fix any damaged relationships and that we will have no such problems with the Union next freshers’ fair”.

This apology was issued four weeks after the incident at Freshers’ Fair.

News In Brief

Tuesday November 4, 2014

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The Word in the

Knowledge Exchange and Impact Masterclasses KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE and Impact Masterclasses will be hosted by the Institute of Public Affairs and held termly. The Michaelmas class will take place 12.30-2pm on Tuesday 4th November in TW2.9.04. The theme will be roles for LSE faculty in government commissions.

The distinguished panel includes Professors John Hills, Eileen Munro and Tony Travers.

The chair will be Professor Julia Black, Pro-Director for Research.

Demand for a place is expected to be high, so email conferences@ lse.ac.uk if you would like to attend.

Public Lecture: Shared ResponsibilityThe Importance of International Partnerships to Homeland Security ON WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER, the Deputy Secretary of US Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro N Mayorkas, will deliver remarks on the close partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States on a variety of Homeland Security issues, including counterterrorism, aviation security, cybersecurity, travel and trade, and countering violent extremism.

The suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEUS This event is free and open to all with no ticket or pre-registration required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

LSE Research Festival Exhibition 2015: Call for Submissions RESEARCHERS ACROSS THE School can now submit works for next year’s Research Festival Exhibition.

We are seeking posters, photographs and short films that convey research in compelling ways and open up dialogue with visitors to the exhibition.

Those interested can find out more on the LSE website under the “LSE Research Festival 2014.”

If you are an LSE staff member, student or alumnus with an announcement to make then News in Brief wants to hear from you! Email news@thebeaveronline.

The Word on

Election Night Beaver Reporters From the live feed of the Michaelmas elections: “It’s very likely that we’ll see a very low turnout for the NUS referendum. That’s not surprising that there hasn’t been great campaigning … For postgrad officer, I see it being a two-horse race between Rian Watt and Michelle Warbis.”

Michael Pearson, Former Station Manager of PuLSE Radio “It’s been a really good race, and apparently it’s a record Michaelmas turnout. It’s also been a really good-natured set of elections.”

Jon Foster, Elected NUS Delegate “I hope I win, but I won’t.”

Meg Trethewey, Elected Member of Court of Governors “I’m more nervous about this than the Iowa Senate race.”

Rian Watt, Candidate for Postgraduate Officer “Anything could happen… student politics isn’t dead.”

Mahatir Pasha, Elected Member of Court of Governors “Eagerly anticipated a shock NUS disaffiliation vote. Either way, I’d like to see the whole SU take an interest in the NUS and consider how best to take action to reform it.”

Hari Prabu, Proposer of disaffiliation from the NUS “Very surprised I’ve been elected, but very pleased so many people agreed with the message I want to take to the school about satisfaction.”

Tom Glen Harry, Elected Member of Court of Governors “I think it’s the Islamic Society who’ve done everything for me.

I hardly campaigned. I am looking forward to working with James [Wurr].”

Tooba Mushtaq, Elected Member of Academic Board “This is one of the happiest moments of my time at LSE. At last I can bring forward the changes to LSE for international students. Thank you to everybody who supported me!”

Kabu Senapitak, Elected Member of Court of Governors “I’m glad there was a decisive majority for LSESU to stay in the NUS. To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed by the turnout, but very glad we won. Thanks to all the people who helped with the campaign.”

Tom Maksymiw, LSESU Education Officer “Woop woop. Where there’s a Wurr there’s a way!”

James Wurr, Elected Member of Academic Board

... will be back next week!

Do you want to be our roving reporter for a week? E-mail news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Prestigous Law Professor Continues to ‘Grill’ LSE Academics Joe Grabiner Staff Reporter PROFESSOR MARTIN Knapp was the latest academic at the London School of Economics (LSE) to face the ‘Gearty Grilling’. Conor Gearty, the Director of the Institute of Public Affairs and Professor of Human Rights Law at the LSE, has been producing his quick-fire interview series since April 30th 2014. To date fifteen high profile academics have been subjected to Gearty’s to-thepoint five-minute interviews.

Knapp made the case for increased government spending on mental health provision saying we needed to ‘address the mental health needs of children in their adolescence.’ The sixty-two year old, who is Professor of Social Policy and Chair of LSE Health and Social Care, proposed that governments, and the British one in particular, must put an emphasis on the mental health and well being of their citizens if they are to avoid a whole myriad of serious, damaging, and publically costly ramifications. He suggested academics have a vital role to play in policy formation, arguing, with regards to dialogue with policy makers, ‘we need to help them make the difficult decisions’.

Previous academics to have faced the grilling range far and wide from the outspoken economist Danny Quah, to the eminent sociologist Eileen Barker and from the former member of Monetary Policy Committee, Tim Besley, to the Philosophy hearth-throb Alex Voorhoeve.

Millie Foster, a second year Law student at the School expressed delight regarding the series saying, ‘Gearty is such a high profile figure in the Law world and, even though he teaches at LSE, we never really get any exposure to him. It’s great being able to sit, open my laptop, and watch him interact with other top academics’. Regarding the whole series of videos the Human Rights expert noted, ‘As an interviewer I am seeking to use these cross-examinations to challenge academics on the tensions, and possibly the contradictions, in their work.’

Conor Gearty moved to LSE in 2002, to a post in the law department but also to become the first Rausing Director of the new Centre for the Study of Human Rights. He also is a founding member of Matrix Chambers.

The whole series of the Gearty Grillings can be found online at http:// www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/geartyGrillings/

THE WOMEN’S NETWORK LAUNCH 2014/15 Tuesday 11th November, 6pm, LSESU Venue

The Women's Network is a new and prolific series of free events to empower LSE women in all aspects of life. It will take the form of speaker and networking events, campaigns and workshops.

Through the motivational work of The Women’s Network, we hope to get more female students to aspire to top careers in politics, law, media, the third sector, sport and business.

Tickets available for free from www.lsesu.com/whatson.

VISIT LSESU.COM AND OUR SOCIAL NETWORKS

Comment Section Editorial: IT HAS BEEN KIND OF A slow week. Just three pages I am sad to report; you’ll have to make do with them.

Maybe you’re all a little burnt out after the four torrid weeks of news we have had. There were so many articles on rugby you’d have thought we were a Welsh student newspaper. Gair Rhydd this is not, however, and at some point we had to come back to a more distant and quotidian criticism of the patriarchy.

Cut to this week and we’ve still got some pretty great stuff.

A note for next week: please try and fabricate some sort of controversy. I’m really not fussed exactly what you decide to create a fuss about but grab your axes and grind them harder than John Sweeney would.

For example: What about those poppies on the frontpage, eh? Fucking imperialist poppies, honoring the war dead and perpetuating an elite militarist cult.

Take that one and run with it.

Comment

Sebastien Ash

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Section Editor: Sebastien Ash Deputy Editors: Mallika Iyer, Natasha Su Sivarajah comment@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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We will be electing a second Comment editor to work with Seb next week.

Keep an eye out for updates via e-mail and Twitter

Putting Your Career On Ice

The decision to have children should not be up to your employer hind it: Allowing young well-educated and high-achieving female employees to postpone family planning until later in their lives.

By funding this painful and expensive undertaking (egg freezing costs around 4000 pounds per cycle), the companies claim to give women more freedom and autonomy on one of the big-

Camilla Naschert COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE, Facebook and Apple seem like every employee’s dream: With subsidised food, modern relaxed offices with excellent facilities and flexible work hours, boundaries between private and professional life have been brought down. Now they have taken the perks to the next level.

Facebook and Apple are the first big corporations that offer to pay for female employees freezing their eggs. This means that the woman takes an ovulation-stimulating hormone to allow her to produce around five eggs, which are then surgically removed and frozen for future conception. The intention be-

Photo Credit: Flickr: Chesapeake Bay Program

“Will those young women who are unwilling to freeze their eggs have poorer career prospects than their peers who accept the offer?” gest choices in their lives. This is at best a well-meant misconception.

Instead of giving women freedom, the corporations now get involved in even their most private and personal decisions,

creating pressure and making it even more difficult to draw the line between work and life.

What will this lead to?

Will those young women who are unwilling to freeze their eggs have poorer career prospects than their peers who accept the offer? Will this mean that young women who are ready for children and are in a happy relationship have to think twice about the right moment? What happens if the science does not work (many are in doubt about the effectiveness of the technique), leaving women and their partners disappointed? Also: Is there really ever a “right” moment for a child?

Now, one could say, this is only an offer. Nobody has to freeze their eggs if they don’t want to. But looking beyond the internal pressure exerted within the company that this offer can create, Facebook and Apple are more than just businesses – to many they are pioneers and role models, and their policies reach an international audience. It is here that they are sending a dangerous message.

What goes on in a woman’s womb should be under nobody’s

influence but her own. A truly understanding employer should allow employees to design their jobs around their lives, not the other way round.

Many of us spend our twen-

“A truly understanding employer should allow employees to design their jobs around their lives, not the other way around.” ties in a confusing whirlwind that boils down to finding our priorities, what we want, when, where and with whom. I’d like to think this is what makes us selfdetermined adults who are able to make independent decisions.

Whether we want a baby or not, whether we freeze our eggs or not – these things belong to our private lives in which our employer should not play a role.

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Comment

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Europe in a Catch-22 A common fiscal policy is unavoidable but politically unrealistic Maciej Blasiak AS A STUDENT OF European Political Economy, times could not be more exciting for me; yet as a European, I have lots to worry about. The Eurozone faces one of its most important and difficult challenges since its creation. Recent data suggests the EU might slip into what could be its third recession in the last six years.

The European Commission questioned France’s draft budget for next year which violates EU law and David Cameron refused to pay an additional £1.7 billion to the EU budget. Is there a way out of this mess? Voters rightfully demand change, but

they are rarely happy with the outcome. The economy will not improve without painful and unpopular reforms. What is viable in economic terms is unthinkable politically, leaving the EU in a catch-22 situation.

“The Eurozone faces one of its most important and difficult challenges since its creation.”

One could list many reforms that would improve the situation

at national level. But there is only one thing that can be done by the Eurozone as a whole; the question is whether European leaders dare to try it. Common fiscal policy (common tax which would finance the Eurozone budget) would cure many of the Eurozone’s illnesses. Yet for many, the idea is on the verge of political fiction.

From an economic point of view, such a policy could help kick-start the economy and thus benefit everyone (For a more detailed account of the benefits one can refer to the ‘Theory of Optimal Currency Area’.). Perhaps getting the EU economy back on track would even cool down euro-sceptic sentiments in

the UK. A common currency and common monetary policy requires at least synchronised (if not common) fiscal policy. This has been obvious to economists since the introduction of the Euro. Yet European leaders light-heartedly violated the Stability and Growth Pact and allowed many countries to pursue completely independent fiscal policy.

Today submitting a budget deficit above the EU target, France is trying to violate the Fiscal Compact (new and reformed SGP). By repeating mistakes of the past, it threatens to diminish what has been accomplished after the Greek bond crisis of 2009

and risks further divergence of fiscal policies in the Eurozone.

The European Commission might not have the courage to force France to change its plans.

But one thing is certain: a high budget deficit may delay the necessary reforms but it cannot substitute them.

A common fiscal policy may sound like political suicide. However, if Europe wants to preserve its financial security and avoid the volatility that led to situations like those in Ireland and Greece, then they must make fundamental changes. Changes were almost certainly inevitable with the introduction of the Euro. The only question is when they would be implemented.

Hong Kong’s Modern Day Slavery The ‘Two Week Rule’ is an embarassment to Hong Kongers Stephanie Tai H O N G KO N G I S N O stranger to the spotlight. From the ongoing political controversy regarding when and how to achieve universal suffrage, to the Edward Snowden episode, it would be an understatement to claim that Hong Kong has had its fair share of the press, yet the recent revelation of what is arguably modern day slavery has stunned the international community beyond compare. This article does not simply call for the condemnation of the epidemic abuse of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, but demands that the government amend the ‘Two Week Rule’ and the ‘Live-in Requirement’, which violate international standards such as the International Labor Organization’s 2013 Convention on Domestic Workers.

At the heart of the media frenzy lies Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian foreign domestic helper who claims that her employers tortured her by repeatedly slapping, beating, and punching her everyday. According to Sringatin, the vice chair of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Sulistyaningsih was forbidden to sleep for more than four hours a night. This is not the first case of foreign domestic helper abuse in Hong Kong. Just last September 2013, two employers, Tai Chi-Wai and Catherine Au Yuk-Shan, were convicted of eight charges, two of which were assault and wounding with intent. According to foreign domestic helper

Kartika Puspitasari, the couple scalded her with a hot iron and beat her with a bicycle chain.

These are not exceptional cases.

A 2012 survey found that 30% of domestic helpers do not have bedrooms and sleep in kitchens or corridors, and 20% admit-

“This article demands that the government amend the ‘Two Week Rule’.” ted that their employers have CCTV to monitor their every move (Mission for Migrant Workers Limited, 2012).

Whilst we would like to think that abuse of foreign domestic helpers is an exception and not the norm in Hong Kong, the reality is that it is difficult to know how many foreign domestic helpers are tortured given the systemic failures of the government and the exploitation of workers by recruitment agencies. According to the Immigrant Department, the ‘Two Week Rule’ requires foreign domestic helpers to leave Hong Kong after two weeks of a premature termination of contract.

Although this rule is there to arguably prevent the influx of unemployed foreign domestic helpers living in the already overly crowded city, this rule essentially leaves the foreign domestic helpers in a Catch 22 situation. It confines them to their current abusive jobs despite

their desire to escape as many know that it is difficult to find a new job within two weeks. Even the Immigration Department has acknowledged that it takes “about 4-6 weeks” to process an application for a change in contract and employer (Amnesty International, 2013). The “Two Week Rule” poses further obstacles to access of justice by discouraging helpers from bringing their case to court. This is due to the fact that a case normally takes two months to process in the Labor Tribunal yet given the “Two Week Rule”, foreign domestic helpers cannot remain in the city unless he or she applies for a visa, with the additional economic burden of renting accommodation for the duration of the trial. The “Live-in Requirement” similarly confines foreign domestic helpers as it requires them to live with their employers and as such, exposes them to physical and verbal abuse. Notably, it is not uncommon for employers to prohibit their live-in helpers from practicing their religion, and denying them a day off. Given this, the two legislative measures act as significant barriers to justice.

Whilst the Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying has spoken out about the appalling incident, stating that Hong Kong “will not put up” with such epidemic abuse, what is needed is not a brief denunciation of the employers’ acts or the reinstatement that Hong Kong abides by the rule of law, but the amendment of the ‘Two Week Rule’ and the ‘Live-in Requirement’.

Whilst extremists might call for

a total abolition of the two legislations as it appears attractive at the outset to the protection of foreign domestic helpers, complete abolition would have two undesirable consequences.

The abolition of the ‘Two Week Rule’ would consequently allow and perhaps encourage employer-shopping and job-hopping, and allow unemployed foreign domestic helpers to live in Hong Kong, over-occupying the public facilities of Hong Kong. It should be noted that as of 2013, there were 320,000 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong.

It is not in the public interest to abolish the ‘Two Week Rule’ as Hong Kong simply does not have the resources to accept so many people who are unemployed and will not contribute to society. Similarly, the abolition of the ‘Live-in Requirement’ would generate complications as foreign domestic helpers would then be in charge of their housing situation, creating a further economic burden for them. With the expensive housing in Hong Kong, helpers might be confined to living in ‘cage homes’ as small as 1.9 square meters. As such, the two legislations should be amended accordingly so as to prevent barriers to justice, and not abolished. The government should adjust the time period of the ‘Two Week Rule’ to 4-6 weeks, given the Immigration Department’s acknowledgment that this is a realistic period to find new employment. Similarly the current ‘Live-in Requirement’ should be amended to make it optional as opposed to mandatory, for foreign domestic

helpers to live with their employers. This would allow those who have the means to move out to live somewhere else, yet does not preclude others who do not want to sustain the additional economic burden to secure independent living settlements.

Although it is a start, lawmakers feeling “ashamed” of such legislative inadequacies

“Actions speak louder than words and until the government amends the the two rules...

Hong Kong will live with the reputation of allowing modern day slavery.” will not solve anything. Foreign domestic workers do not crave a simple apology from the Chief Executive for the systemic failures. Actions speak louder than words, and until the government amends the two rules and lifts the barriers to justice, Hong Kong will live with the reputation of allowing modern day slavery.

Do you agree with this week’s writers? Tweet @beaveronline or write for Comment next week!

Comment

Tuesday November 4, 2014

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Movement For Justice and the UKBA

Lyndon Mukasa AS A STUDENT OF LSE I feel that it is my responsibility to bring to light the injustices committed against marginalised groups regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, age, disability and immigration status. I am a member of Movement for Justice, an organisation that fights and campaigns against injustices committed towards marginalised groups in the UK. At Movement for Justice we believe in campaigning for a better Britain that speaks the truth about racism, homophobia, misogyny and anti-immigrant bigotry and challenges all forms of prejudice whenever and wherever it emerges. In being part of Movement for Justice, I have had the opportunity to be part of building a grassroots movement that is led by and for marginalised peoples, young people, students and the politically and socially conscious. Together representing the most dynamic, integrated and politicised collective in Britain today.

So why am I telling you this you may be wondering?

“At Movement for Justice we believe in campaigning for a better Britain” In British society we have seen the increase in toxic language and policies that gives a false sense of legitimacy to racism, homophobia and sexism. Take the hypocrisy and contradictions in Britain’s foreign policy in relating to the issue of the anti-homosexuality bills that were passed (and later struck down by the High Court) in Uganda. The British Government has rightfully condemned the passing of such laws. However beyond the public eye the UKBA has routinely sent back gay asylum seekers from Uganda that have fled attacks, corrective rape, unjust imprisonment and marginalisation from their

own communities. The use of “Fast Track” (the system of incarcerating asylum seekers with no time, knowledge or opportunity to organise their case) has been applied to make this system more efficient and deadly to the lives of those involved. The fact is that our work at Movement for Justice never stops and we are always expanding and calling on more people to join us in the fight against injustice. Over the last few months we have been convening on Harmondsworth Detention Centre in a series of demonstrations where friends and loved ones from our communities have been locked up indefinitely for no crime. Our campaigns have empowered those detained to resist the injustices of detention and speak the truth about what is really happening, exposing the abuse, humiliation, neglect and dehumanising experience of detention that is too often left out of discussions on immigration. We have been active and part of pushing the agenda of ending “Fast Track”. The result of such a system being to secure thousands of deportations of people to their persecutors. This system was recently ruled unlawful by the High Court. As such only by building on our movement and consolidating our efforts can we

keep our momentum going and we can win.

This is why I call on everyone who cares about fighting for justice to join us on Saturday 8th November 2014 at Harmondsworth Detention Centre at 1pm

“I call on everyone who cares about fighting for justice to join us on Saturday 8th November at Harmondsworth Detention Centre” to demonstrate and build the integrated mass movement that campaigns for the rights of all.

Our previous demonstrations have been instrumental in empowering those detained to speak up, resist and expose the detention system for what it really is; an unjust, hypocritical, racist system that must be challenged and must be ended. An LSE Movement for Justice Society is being established on campus and will be established shortly.

Photo Credit: Movement For Justice

Letter To The Editor A word about what I’ve done and what has been said Mustafaen Kamal IT’S FLATTERING TO have been on the front page of the school newspaper so many times. One would hope that in recent editions, the stories would be a bit more favourable. But nonetheless it is humbling to know that there are other people who genuinely care about our SU, the way it’s run and the deal that students get out of it.

“It’s flattering to have been been on the front page of the newspaper.”

I am grateful to this Editorial Board for allowing me a chance to reply to some of the claims that have sometimes been made in my name or against me, but I am afraid

I will have to disappoint any readers seeking a fiery rebuttal of the allegations. I feel that those familiar with the matters in question do indeed know of the events that transpired and as long as I feel comfortable in my actions, no justification is necessary. In lieu of any angry retort, I will offer a humble commentary of my time at the school and how I feel I have not let down the people who initially elected me.

When walking down Houghton Street I have grown accustomed to three sorts of reactions. One, I’m sure many readers will be able to empathise with, is the blank face of sheer indifference as fellow students bustles to a seminar or a lecture. Second, while President of the Economics Society, many stopped me in the street to ask about our academic lectures, our careers events, our outreach events for underprivileged schools and I was even honoured enough to re-

ceive the occasional remark of gratitude. Thirdly, and perhaps the reaction that often follows Beaver articles about myself, is a mixture of confusion, sympathy and perhaps even disappointment as some question me about my relationship with the SU. So why am I telling you this?

The reason I draw on the example of these disparate groups, is that there was never an individual who offered 2 or more of these responses. I believe this is indicative of how there is a segregation at the LSESU between the uninterested, the disengaged and those in the know. But this isn’t news to many; in fact it is a widely acknowledged fact. How can we have a body of students that is 60% foreign, yet so few representatives who are international? How can we have so many BME students and so many don’t believe they belong in the SU? But perhaps most troubling is that the vast major-

ity of students at the LSE don’t want to go near the SU. Where does one put the blame for this? I don’t believe it is possible to argue that the onus lies on students to dig a space of their own in the SU. Instead, I believe we need to foster a culture of invitation and openness. Some of the largest societies at the LSESU are disenfranchised, yet the largest Religious society remains disengaged and the largest National society holds most its events off campus.

When I ran for Trustee I aimed to foster a culture of diversity and inclusion, but as a third year undergraduate kindly pointed out, these high ideas had no place amongst the tea and the cakes. I will continue to strive for these principles in whatever capacity I can, although I’m sure the there will be apparent obstacles, it is necessary for the University to make it a happier home for many.

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Ottavia Ampuero-Villagran and the LSE Students’ Union

Photo Photo Tuesday November 4, 2014

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The Beaver 09.10.2012

PartB PartB

Photo credits to: Internet Archive Book Image

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

MUSIC

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India’s Foothold on Western Music C

hicken Tikka Masala. Darjeeling tea. Yoga. Indian culture has long been an essential part of the everyday lives in the West. However, no realm of Indian influence would be complete without mentioning the heavy effect that it has on western music. From the Beatles to Missy Elliot, modern popular music owes much of its current sounds to the East.

Photo credits to: superchordstheory

In the early 60’s, Ravi Shankar began to bring Indian music to the world as mean of celebrating culture. Shankar was a classical sitar player and composed pieces in the style of Hindustani music. Musician Alla Rakha often accompanied him on the tabla (an Indian drum) in his performances of improvised ragas (with the most famous then being “the Three Ragas”). Shankar continued to play music until the end of his life, incorporating western musical structure into his music by writing concerti for the sitar.. Ravi Shankar toured Europe, North America and Europe and his success during this tour allowed him to become the first Indian composer to write for non-Indian films. It also led him to meet minimalist composers Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, with whom he collaborated. At the same time, Ravi Shankar was recording in the same studio as the Byrds, who later passed Shankar’s music onto George Harrison.

Harrison was enthusiastic about the sitar and started to learn more about the instrument. In 1965, the Beatles released Norwegian Wood, the first song by a rock band that features a sitar (played by Harrison). George Harrison then used Ravi Shankar as an inspiration on many other Beatles tracks such as “Within You Without You” (Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967) and Love You To (Revolver, 1966).

Through out the 60’s, Ravi Shankar was a prominent character, bringing classical Indian arrangements to the West. He inspired not only the Beatles but also a host of other artists of a multitude of musical genres such as the Grateful Deads (rock, folk), John Coltrane (jazz), and the Doors (rock).

Fast-forwards to the 80’s, Indian music have now slowly become clear guilding light for many Western artists. From alternative rock bands such as the Cure (If Only Tonight We Could Sleep) to funky Prince (The Cross), classical-Indian inspired melodies are being heard more and more frequently.

Later on, the residue of Indian musical culture finds its way into Hip-Hop and modern R&B. MIA, a British-Tamil artist herself, uses Indian instrumentations and borrows riffs from Bollywood film music in many of her tracks (Jimmy, Matangi). M.I.A’s testimonial to her Tamil heritage is even more evident in her music videos where she often incorporates Indian aesthetics and style (Come Walk With Me). However, M.I.A is not the only Hip-Hop artist who adopts the Indian sounds. In 2001, Missy Elliot released her single “Get Ur Freak On” which features a Punjabi melody played on the tumbi (a stringed instrument). Other artists such as Timbaland, Magoo and Mobb Deep are also impacted by Indian music, sampling Indian tracks in their prominent works.

Photo credits to: kevingoesrawr

Recently, as Bollywood over takes its American counter-part as the world’s biggest film producer, Hollywood itself has been looking to the East for inspiration. Baz Luhrmann cites Bollywood musicals as the first catalyst for his Oscar nominated musical “Moulin Rouge!” (2001). However, the influence of Bollywood music on the West would not have been so great if it was not for A.R. Rahman. Rahman is an Indian composer and producer, who have written scores for movies such as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “127 Hours”. His use of traditional Indian instruments gives him the ability to expand on the emotions of movie scenes.

Indian music and culture are now an essential part of the West. In 2014, we currently live in a culturally mitigated society where many features of Indian music and aesthetics are borrowed and recreated as a part of modern media. Even when the West’s nods to Indian influences are subtler, today’s popular music would have been a completely different picture if songwriters did not adopt the Eastern sounds.

BAOHAN TRAN-LE

PARTB EDITORIAL TEAM PARTB

FASHION

FILM

Jade Jackman Vikki Hui

Sanya-Jeet Thandi

Jade Jackman Maryam Akram

partb@thebeaveronline.co.uk

FOOD

Dorothy Wong food@thebeaveronline.co.uk

fashion@thebeaveronline.co.uk

film@thebeaveronline.co.uk

LITERATURE

MUSIC

TECHNOLOGY

THEATRE

VISUAL ARTS

Ellen Wilkie

Conor Doherty, Will Locke & Dominic Tighe

Rohan Soni

Vacant

techonology@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Jade Jackman Maryam Akram

literature@thebeaveronline.co.uk

music@thebeaveronline.co.uk

visualarts@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

FILM REVIEW: Nightcrawler "Gyllenhaal produces a stunning performance in this stylishly shot, smartly written takedown of broadcast journalism. And, a lot like his character, Nightcrawler is as beguiling as it is unsettling." 4/5 STARS Having played a troubled, skulking teen so well in Donnie Darko, it’s a bit of a surprise that more films haven’t tapped into Jake Gyllenhaal’s potential as a shady anti-hero. But, following on from his enigmatic turn in Prisoners, his latest film completes his return to much darker territory. He’s a perfect fit for the enticing but morally murky world of Nightcrawler, which refers, not to a member of the X-Men, but a breed of seedy journalists who make a living out of filming the grisly remnants of a crime scene. Their motto? “If it bleeds, it leads”.

Gilroy shows a much surer grasp of his own callous material, extracting dark comedy from Louis’ interactions with the outside world, whether he’s haggling over a salary with his intern, or turning a sexual advance into a blackmailing business proposal. In one scene, Louis speaks ardently about how he frames that morbid money shot, likening human casualty to some perverse form of art. It’s a pretty damning assessment of broadcast journalism, but one that you’ll struggle to pry your eyes away from.

Gyllenhaal plays Louis Bloom, a slick wannabe journalist looking to pushily negotiate his way into the industry. He spends much of the opening film getting rejected and shooed away from yellow-taped crime scenes, but to his credit, he maintains an air of boundless enthusiasm, eventually deciding to have a crack at freelancing. Tooled with an amateur camera and a shifty grin, his go-getter spirit finally reaps rewards when he sells his footage to the head of a ratings-obsessed broadcast show (Rene Russo), with whom he forms a twisted working relationship. Given the right (wrong?) encouragement and a criteria of things to look for – urban crimes concerning well-off white families apparently draw the most viewers – he decides to take his small enterprise a little further, enlisting the help of a whelp-like intern (Riz Ahmed), who effectively acts as our moral compass.

This is because, with the eye of cinematographer Robert Elswit, we get another tempting, picturesque vision of the City of Angels (not too dissimilar from Drive), which gets the kind of fetishized treatment that Louis ascribes to bloody violence.

There’s an overriding sense of beauty from the darkness; as well as lavishing us with images of sun-dappled streets and purple-y skylines, the film somehow manages to attract us to this depraved protagonist, painting him as some kind of warped, sunglass-wearing hero.

This mediating presence will come in handy, for soon Louis’ transgressive ambitions take him beyond the realms of decency and good taste. Following police conversations, he goes from pouncing on minor crime scenes to – in one voyeuristic sequence – watching as a crime unfolds in a suburban household, taking the audience and his reluctant sidekick on a tense, exhilarating ride.

Photo credits to: Bold Films

That’s where the work of star and script come into play.

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Gyllenhaal in the leading role; he ably suggests a sense of instability and nervous energy behind his neighborly façade, and even if there’s only one scene where he reaches breaking point, he remains constantly watchable and central to our attentions. Oscillating between creepy and strangely endearing, he is the kind of character who you still won’t have figured out by the end credits.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the writing of Dan Gilroy, who, like Louis, could make a good career out of mining for darker subject matter.

RYAN CRANE

More than an admittedly solid piece of entertainment though, this also functions as a curt, cleverly engineered piece of social satire, showing the very worst results of a culture so tickled by crime and tragedy that providing a helping hand becomes an afterthought. Following a glut of unfulfilling screenplays for studio blockbusters, Writer-director Dan

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: The most vibrant and the most lonely of places, the city poses new meanings and casts new shadows every day.

On a Sunday evening at Passing Clouds, we want to share these ideas and reflections of the city - explore the experience of city living and challenge its glamour and its stereotypes.

And every penny made will be given to the Homeless Film Festival (http://www.homelessfilmfestival.org/).

We will be showcasing some fantastic poems and films that explore the city, plus Q&A’s with artists and directors about the relationship that their work has with the city. Everything will kick off at 6 with clothes, cakes and prints sales, and close with live music, DJs and dancing.

Stay tuned on here for updates, our lineup will be announced very soon!

If you'd like to submit work, just get in touch at marina@brainchildfestival.co.uk.

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

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TECHNOLOGY

will WE soon need to pay a fee to use key services on the Internet?

It’s a good time to consider this question seriously following hugely consequential Google Spain judgement of 13 May. In its ruling, the European Court of Justice confirmed that individuals - normal people like you and me - have the right to be forgotten. In other words, they have the right to be liberated of past information concerning themselves, pretty much like your friends would naturally forget about a night when you did something embarrassing at a night club. This case is quite relevant to UK residents not only because this country is an EU Member State but also because Google’s share of the search engine market is nearly 90 percent here.

The right to be forgotten was originally integrated into the proposal on General Data Protection Regulation of the EU in 2012 and since then discussion surrounding this topic has continued, mainly focusing on conflicts with freedom of speech and on the feasibility of this right. Google has been arguing that this right would lead to information censorship. I agree that freedom of speech remains a crucial concern, but let us put this much-debated topic aside for now to consider the basic question of “what is Google?” and the question of what kind of an Internet we should promote more generally.

Most legal professionals (including our amazing law professors at LSE!) expected, ahead of the Google Spain ruling, that the court would not accept the right to be forgotten, and consequently they did not think Google would soon have a duty to remove links to third- party websites from their search engine. The ruling will have a much wider impact on Google (and other intermediaries) than we might imagine, as being required to take on this new duty means not only the need to respond to requests from millions of individuals but also the need to consistently comply with the data protection laws. As a

“data controller” (the designation given to Google in this case), a company always has to check the contents of the data on its platforms and remove them if they "appear to be inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant or excessive” in the context of original purposes.

How can intermediaries like Google, unaware of the contents of billions of pages accessible through its search engine, ensure these contents are in line with the data directive? Isn’t this like seeking shipping companies to take responsibility over the contents of each and every individual letter or parcel?

Having been faced with the new ruling, Google seems to be preparing algorithms to erase problematic personal data automatically. This could reduce their burden to an extent but still it seems to me that detecting data which is incompatible with the directive (especially, data which is initially compliant with the directive but becomes problematic after a period) is a fairly difficult job for a robot and thus requires human labour. With a potentially huge volume of legal claims, the cost of responding appropriately could thus be astronomical. So it is easy to see that the recent ruling may all but wreck Google’s present business model.

So what is Google? I would argue that, along with social media giants like Twitter and Facebook, Google has grown into something so big that it can not anymore be understood Page 2 of 2as a purely “private” company.

Given the amount of the data it possesses and its influence on society, Google’s activities are bound up with the public interest to a far higher extent than could have been originally anticipated by its young,

passionate founders. So Google is a highly public entity, which is why its clash with the right to be forgotten is not as surprising as some might think.

What kinds of an Internet do we wish to promote as users? It is us users who made it possible for Google to grow so huge.

We also predominantly enjoy its services free of charge (except for indirect payments through online advertising-led consumption). Could it be that, if we demand them to comply with higher legal and public standards, we should start paying fees for using services like those furnished by Google? Are we, along with the government and dominant corporations, responsible for maintaining and improving the Internet and our information society more generally?

I hope everyone who reads this article thinks about this for a minute unless, of course, you have not Googled anything today.

BY NAHO NAKAKUBO

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

VISUAL ARTS

Cast Court Collection at the Victoria & Albert CAST COURT COLLECTION THE V&A

facilitated the likes of Michaelangelo’s statue David being reproduced to impressive detail. The The Victorian Albert founded original Michaelangelo’s statue in 1875, which moved to South of David dates back to between Kensington 162 years ago, holds 1501 and 1504 and came to syma variety of exciting exhibitions bolize the defence of civil liberand is home to six permanent col- ties in the Republic of Florence. lections. The permanent collections consist of Asia, furniture, Despite the intricacy and imprestextiles and fashion, sculpture, sive nature of such casts, a debate metalwork, ceramics and glass remains as to whether plaster casts and world and image. My person- can be considered an authentic al favourite is the cast collection, representation of art in itself or partly constituted by the biggest can be reduced to a mere imitacollection of Italia Renaissance tion. On the 12th of March the V&A held a session entitled ‘castitems outside of Italy.

Rooms 46a and 46b confront you ing the body’, a lot of the agenda with not only towering plaster was devoted to investigating the cast sculptures, but an introduc- production and reception of plastion to the historical tradition of ter casts in relation to sculpture.

European sculpture. As part of The topics of the papers used the V&A’s undergoing restora- varied however greatly in subject tions, the rooms are only view- and geography, Victoria’s Gardable from room 111’s walkway ner Coates’s paper, confronted above. However, the closure does how casts taken from the hollows not have to disappoint potential in volcanic ash- a relic of dead invisitors, as the views from the cor- habitants of Pompeii. In contrast ridors on both stories, highlight Joanna Lubos-Kozeil discussed the extent of the collection. Fur- how casts made from religious thermore it shows the construc- sculpture came to be viewed as tion under way, giving an insight religious casts in their own right. into the preservation practices for This is in indicative of the debate of authenticity which was also sculpture. highlighted by Kate Nichols in THE HISTORY OF PLASTER her paper ‘mechanical reproduction, mass audiences and beautiCASTS AT THE V&A ful manufacture’.

Plaster casts became a significant and popular way of reproducing Nichols commented how the rise copies of well-known important of plaster cast reproductions of pieces of work, especially when sculpture came at a time hertravel to the rest of Europe re- alded as the age of ‘mechanical mained largely unaffordable. The reproduction’ and led to what legacy of the cast collection at the some view as a democratizaV&A is descended from this rise tion of sculpture. The V&A cast in popularity in the 19th century. court collection certainly could Henry Cole-the original director be labelled as a democratization of the Museum, considered plas- of sculpture as the collection is ter casts as an important source free and open to the public and of education. Today the collec- provides an insight into a varied tion is a great resource of art and often otherwise inaccessible history and moreover the quiet world. The value of art surely cool atmosphere allows for excel- should not lie in its exclusivity but lent sketching opportunities. The by what it can convey. innovation of using individual

BY MARKYAM AKRAM composite moulds of the original

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

18

Al Photo credits:Lensational

PHOTOGRAPHY:

LENSATIONAL - WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY Lensational is an award winning social enterprise that seeks to empower women through photography. Bonnie, one of the co-founders of Lensational, is an LSE graduate and so I decided to ask her a few questions about the organization…

1. Why did you come up with the idea of Lensational?

When I was In Istanbul, Turkey, two years ago, a girl came up to me and asked if she could take a look at my camera. She’d never had the chance to use a camera before. The sheer joy on her face as she learned how to use one inspired me to use photography as an agent of social change. Photography is a universal language that transcends boundaries and connects cultures.

This inspiration led to the birth of Lensational.The name, Lensational, is a combination of “lens” and “sensational.”

I believe that the model of social entrepreneurship holds potential for empowering women emotionally and economically. Lensational allows women to share their sensations through photography by giving them an outlet for the expression of their emotional needs as well as their natural talent for doing so.

2. Future of Lensational Lensational aims to tackle gender inequality on both the local and global levels. Wherever the need for women’s empowerment exists, Lensational will go. We believe we can change the world for women and girls, one camera at a time. And through our endeavors, we hope that Lensational can inspire many others to contribuete to the cause of women empowerment More broadly, we will pioneer an impact-oriented ecosystem whereby each donor will be able to track the photos being taken on the ground. We hope to add a new dimension in development whereby outcomes are not only measured by subsistence needs but more intangible ones as well, including ability to express onself and to own memories in physical form. We exist to fulfill the aspirations of the Base of Pyramid, as we see them not as passive recipients of aid but also as customers with agency. We want to pull the Global North and Global South closer through understanding each other’s realities through camera lens.

3. Why do you think it is important to empower women?

(A more personal answer) Having attended an all-girls school for my primary and secondary education made me become more acute to the gendered nature of poverty and inequality.

Having relatives in Mainland China and Indonesia made me see how particularly acute gender inequality is in the developing world. As Kofi Annan famously said, empowering women is the most effective development tool. Yet, gender inequality is still an unresolved issue. With the Millennium Development Goals due to expire next year and the global development agenda under way, this is the most crucial time in achieving headways in alleviating gender inequality. I strongly believe that Lensational can contribute to this development by sharing the stories of women told by themselves, changing the victimized images of underprivileged women, and raising global awareness of gender issues.

(An official answer) Women empowerment is critical for achieving other development outcomes, especially health and education. According to the World Bank (1994), Gender Equality is Smart Economics. However, women are still oppressed worldwide, including: 1) Women’s lack of free expression: A lack of free expression is spelled out through the global gender gap in education. According to the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report, of the world’s estimated 796 million illiterate adults, 64 per cent are women — restricting access to information, education, and public debates.

2) Women’s economic dependence: As women earn only one-tenth of the world's income, they are barred from making basic life choices for themselves and their children independently.

However, increasing women’s economic participation is difficult, since women need to engage in domestic and care responsibilities, especially in the developing world like Pakistan where family size is larger.

Moreover, a major barrier to women empowerment is the constant portrayal of the underprivileged women as victims, as criticized by feminist scholars like Mohanty and Baines.

JADE JACKMAN

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

FASHION: get to know... Imran Amed

INFORMATION

QUOTES

Indian roots via Africa and Canada to London

“Real fashion businesses are made from staples. Predictable and proven patterns, materials and numbers to make”

Former management consultant at McKinsey & Co B.Com from McGill University, Canada MBA from Harvard Business School Established Business Of Fashion as a blog from his sofa in 2007. Little did he know it would become the go to fashion destination for the inside scoop for the fashion packs worldwide.

Listed in British GQ’s 100 Most Influential Men in Britain Listed in Indian GQ’s 50 Most Influential Global Indians Listed in Wired UK’s 100 Most Influential Figures in Britain’s Digital Economy Fashion is a pillar of popular culture just like music and film Africa is the next frontier for luxury fashion, as a marketplace and producer.

Similar to how the luxury industry has learned to appreciate India, African cities are a fusion of history and pride and this is one to watch in the future.

On fashion nationalism, it’s okay for Mrs Prada to showcase in Paris instead of Milan and it’s awesome that Manish Arora has shows in Paris as well as New Delhi Fashion week this year was “underwhelming. We need to do something to justify the existence of fashion week” in light of technological developments and changes in the way the industry remains effective The communication of fashion is key to how the industry operates Then: Aspirational images that make people want a part of it. Creation of desire via aspirational imagery e.g. Tom Ford at Gucci in the nineties was very dependent on the media. The message portrayed was carefully constructed Now: Brands are becoming media professionals in their own right. They can’t control the conversation around their products anymore thanks to social media

“We have to do away with fashion nationalism” “We need to do something to justify the existence of fashion week. There’s a lot of stuff on the runway that doesn’t need to be shown on the runway.”

“Newness drives the communication of fashion” “People follow fashion like sport”

by Sanya- Jeet Thandi

The Beaver 09.10.2012

PartB

Photo credit: Florian Scholz

THE NAB IN IPAD-HACKING SCANDAL: SECRETS OF JOURNO JOHN LAID BARE FOR ALL LSE TO SEE

John Sweeney’s iPad Beijing, CH Never likely to be held to Evidence of impropriety (Obviously)

¥40000000 Image Unavailable, Existence doubtful The LSE’s soul

United Kingdom, but will travel Prev. Owners:

Goldman Sachs, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Category: soul trading

20 quid per item Gaffer tape included Unusable KPMG stash

100% GENUINE CONTRITION Condition:

Light reputational damage, Dirty money

Category: clothing and accessories to misogyny

Tuesday November 4, 2014

22

An (hones t) lette r to my pre-pos tgrad self

bathtub, double glazed windows and pilot lightDear Me in August, ing – although a significant lack of hot water Congratulations!

(BRING YOUR ROBE). So, what I am saying to you The first month of your may come as a surprise. postgraduate course Ready? has now come and gone. It is November You aren’t going to be and the leaves have all that happy your first changed. You’ve cho- month in London. In sen your courses, made fact, it will really sort new friends and sur- of suck. vived the craziness that was Orientation Week. So, I want to both preThe local off-license pare you and offer you knows you quite well some tips I wish you now and you’ve figured would have known: out the tube. While you may still be struggling First, you aren’t going to to adapt to being back like school as much as in school again – you’ve you thought you would. been out of school for It will also be harder some time, as you know than you think.

– you have nailed down proper study habits and Yes, it should be. Yes, feel more comfortable that’s the point. But, bespeaking up in seminars. yond the demands of course reading and discussion seminars, the first month will break you down in ways you could not have ever anThe first month of your ticipated.

It takes a time in London will be different confidence hard. You will question to be in school than in why you came in the working life. Your mind first place. You will miss will be challenged and home more than you pressed and stretched thought. And your con- in a way that it hasn’t fidence in your intel- been in years. For malectual abilities will be ture students like you tested in ways that they this return to academia haven’t been for years. will feel like a diving into a cold pool - both True, you are not a shocking and bracing. stranger to these things. You will find yourself You have lived in new living on an entirely countries and are fa- day-by-day basis, flucmiliar with symptoms tuating between moof culture shock. You ments of panic at your are older and capable academic rustiness (poand you have a support- litical hegemony is what ive British partner and again?) to serious bouts a network of his fam- of missing home to beily and friends to lean ing unable to sleep from on. Your new flat has a mounting stress.

You However, speaking from the future, I have to be honest with you.

will feel more comfortable in the aisle of Sainsbury’s Local contemplating curry sauces at quarter to midnight than in any of the lecture halls you go. You are not alone in this.

and economic condition standing behind a food counter than you have yet to learn in a lecture hall. Yet.

Finally, be kind to yourself! The theme of a postgraduate life is inMany of the people you tensity. Intensity of acwill meet will feel sim- ademics and social life ilar levels of difficulty and opportunity. While in re-entering the “Ivo- this is extraordinary, ry Tower.”

Other stu- don’t forget the value dents have been away in rest. Don’t go to that from school for much party just because you longer will share their feel like you should or own fears on return- exhaust yourself to the ing. Gravitate towards point of inability. Be them! Ask them for cof- balanced and stay home fee and commiserate when you need to. Take together. Like becom- the time to recharge. ing reacquainted with London will still be a language you haven’t there tomorrow. spoken in a while, you will feel as they do: a Oh, and do remember to bit at sea. It is alright pack your yellow scarf. to sit back and absorb, You will miss it if you they will tell you.

It don’t. Trust me. will come back.

Love, Next, I know the last exam you took in the You in November last eight years was to receive a food handler’s P.S. Don’t be freaked out. permit.

While helpful What they don’t mention in the service industry, anywhere in the amazknowing the safe way ingly simple and easyto defrost chicken will to-follow LSE website not be so applicable for (ahem) is that orientaexams in June. I know tion features a Taster you are already wor- on Time Travel in Hong ried about this and that Kong. You can’t register worry will only inten- on Moodle however, as sify when you arrive. it will be down. So just turn up.

Take it easy. That year you spent serving pie at a diner while looking for work will apply here.

Don’t shy away from your seemingly inapplicable work experiences, but be proud to bring them to the (academic) table. Not doing so is limiting. You’ve learned more about the social

from Amy ScovilleWeaver

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Tuesday November 4, 2014

Society Listings LSESU WELSH SOCIETY and LSESU NORTHERN SOCIETY Joint pub crawl: Friday 7th November, 8pm Starting at Shakespeare’s Head and heading back down to Saucy after.

LSESU AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY Come along to LSESU Amnesty International Society’s Meet and Greet TODAY (Tuesday 4th November) at 6.15pm in CLM2.04 - Meet with like-minded students - Find out more about our plans for the year - Get involved with our upcoming campaigns - Free food and drink This is our first social event for what is looking to be an actionpacked year for the LSESU Amnesty International Society, so don’t miss it.

YOUR STARTER FOR 20 (SIGNATURES) STARTER (10 points), please answer as soon as you buzz: Q: What does LSESU Quiz Society need to get off the ground?

A: Just 20 signatures from current LSE students BONUSES ON HOW TO GET INVOLVED (5 points each): Q: How do I get on University Challenge?

A: The society will help select this year’s University Challenge team. Normally the Students’ Union holds trials open to all LSE students.

Q: What if I’m too scared of Paxman to go on TV? A: The society will send students to a variety of university and other competitions this year, and will likely also offer opportunities for social quizzing to members.

Q: How can I get involved?

A: Confer with Jimmy Chen (above next to Jeremy Paxman) at J.Chen32@lse.ac.uk

IT WAS THE NAB WATT WON IT!!!

The successful postgraduate officer candidate Mahamid Ahmed queued up to say ‘thank you’ to the NAB yesterday after we successfully de-railed Rian Watt’s campaign against him.

We refused to stand idly by and watch as ’Watt the Trot’ ruined our university with his communist plot to introduce free periods on Wednesday afternoons and increase space on capped courses.

Windbag Watt, this newspaper notes, cannot even spell his own name. We are hearing rumours that he is not from around here and that he is a close confidante of Marxist terrorist Barack Obama.

The City Section Editorial:

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Section Editor: Julia Wacket city@thebeaveronline.co.uk

The City

T h i s week ’ s C i t y section lives up to its name, with two of our pieces being quite finance-oriented. I especially recommend Mika Morissette’s piece, which sheds some light into the world of high-frequency trading, alternative investment systems and ‘dark pools’ (read article if the only pool you can think of is a swimming pool). Her article is portraying IEX, an alternative trading platform that has installed a ‘speed bump’ – delaying incoming orders by 350 millionths of a second, or a thousandth of the time it takes to blink –​ on its trading venue, letting it update prices faster than the fastest market participants can calculate them, so that high-frequency trading firms cannot use their speed advantage to front-run others. I am also happy to see that more societies are getting involved and are reviewing events for us. We appreciate their cooperation. If you are a finance, economics or business related society trying to share some of you work or expertise on the paper, please feel free to email me!

Julia Wacket

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Features: Sport: Busayo Twins on Feminism Charity 5-a-side Page 28 Page 31

When Exchanges Get Too Fast and Too Furious The IEX, a new alternative trading platform which famously limits the speed at which prospective users can trade, celebrates its first birthday

Mika Morissette City Correspondent Brad Katsuyama is an unlikely banking legend: born in a small Canadian town and graduated from a small Canadian university, he had never laid eyes on either New York or Wall Street until the bank he worked for, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which Katsuyama himself describes in the New York Times as a “nobody”, posted him there at 23. His first impression of Wall Street was that it was full of twats: “Everything was to excess. I met more offensive people in a year than I had in my entire life” he goes on in the same interview. This impression, however, was to be the key to his success.

IEX, the alternative trading platform he founded from what he learnt in New York, has only just celebrated its first birthday but it’s attracted more than its fair share of media attention. A large part of this comes from the fact that Katsuyama’s story featured in the hit best seller Flash Boys, published by financial journalist Michael Lewis in March 2014. Flash Boys looks into the shady world of ultra-high-speed High-Frequency Trading and describes how Katsuyama attempted to counter speed with slowness.

What makes his IEX special is a whopping 38 miles of extra fiber-optic cables looped up in front of its main computing

equipment which act as a speedbump of sorts adding an extra delay in the time it takes for transactions to go from the trader’s desktop to the exchange’s own system. Of course, this time lag is incredibly short, 700 microseconds to be precise, but Katsuyama and his team hope that this fraction of a second is enough to prevent High-Frequency Trading outpacing the exchange’s own pricing algorithms, something Katsuyama claims is a growing problem.

In a nutshell, during his time working at RBC in New York Katsuyama noticed that so-called “scalper” high frequency traders had the ability to move so fast that they could buy up stocks in the space it took data to go from a conventional trader’s computer to the exchange. As early as 2007, Katsuyama started seeing the market acting in strange ways when he attempted to make large transactions which would need to be split across exchanges.

Splitting large transactions is very common. If someone in

Manhattan wants to buy 100,000 shares of AT&T, for example, they might have to buy half from the New York Stock Exchange and the other half from the NASDAQ if neither exchange can provide enough. They only press Enter once and the results will be returned faster than it takes a human to blink, but the deals will actually be milliseconds apart since the equipment for the NYSE is physically closer to Manhattan than equipment for the NASDAQ. This infinitesimal gap was enough for some high-frequency traders to take advantage of the second exchange platform’s slow pricing algorithm, buy up “in demand” stock before the price was changed and potentially sell it back at a higher price.

It’s hard for us to imagine, since it’s pretty much humanly impossible to visualize anything shorter than a second. In Katsuyama’s words, “people are getting screwed over because they can’t imagine a microsecond.”

From there came his brain-

wave: while everyone else was desperate for more speed, even competing for access to alternative fiber-optic cables installed by private firms outsourcing big banks, he and his programmer Rob Park developed a program which would to solve the problem by adding a lag to ensure that all ends of the trade arrived at the same time.

Thus was born the IEX, which, although now representing only about 0.8% of the market share, has seen an exponential rise in traffic. Since September it has been trading an average 97 million shares per day (double counted), and according to Michael Lewis has even at times overtaken the AMEX. So do traders including big banks see the IEX as a good alternative? The IEX is still quite niche and created a stir not only for its artificial delay but also because it uses other controversial rules to the game which are common in Canada but unpopular in the US. The fact also remains that the IEX is still a “dark pool”, a private exchange platform where trades remain confidential and outside the view of the general public.

Katsuyama and his team hope to turn IEX into a fullf ledged public exchange in the not-so-distant future. However, this could take up to a year and the platform would need to build up more volume to open publically. Watch this space on IEX’s second birthday.

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The City

Tuesday November 4, 2014

The City Society Space Are We Only Buying Time?

Want to see your society featured?

E-mail the editor.

A review of Wolfgang Streeck’s book on the delayed crisis of democratic capitalism by the LSESU Post-Crash Economics Society Carolin Thol Post-Crash Economic Society

IN DEVELOPED DEMOCRATIC countries we like to think that the ultimate power rests in the hands of the people. In his book “Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism”, Wolfgang Streeck, director of the Max Planck Institute, a German thinktank, casts this assurance into doubt. He argues that especially since the financial crisis, the financial institutions and not the citizens are the principal stakeholders of overly indebted governments.

In a talk at LSE on October

20th, Streeck explained this shift in power, by putting the financial crisis in a wider context of capitalist development since World War II. In his framework, three forms of state are considered: the tax-state, the debtor-state, and the consolidation-state. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, unsustainable levels of public debt have forced governments to transition from the tax-state to the consolidation-state.

But, what is the “tax state”? After the war, different parts of the society negotiated to build more or less generous welfare states, financed by tax revenue from corporations and wealthy individuals.

This compromise created what Streeck calls the tax-state. When the post-war boom ended, this model came under severe pressure. High rates of taxation were no longer accepted, and increasing globalisation brought about a race towards lower taxes and deregulation. This triggered the transition from the tax-state to the debtorstate. Instead of collecting taxes, governments resorted to financing their expenditure by increasing public debt.

Financial deregulation and the financialisation of the economy facilitated the piling up of ever higher stocks of government debt.

During the 1990s, this trend was slowed down by smaller government deficits and growing GDP. During the same time, however, private debt of corporations and households increased, so that overall debt in the Western economies was growing. Moreover, the slight consolidation was brought to a sharp end when the financial crisis broke out in 2007.

Unseen levels of public indebtedness brought up the questions if this debt could ever be repaid.

Strong doubts about this were indicated by rising risk premia on government bonds of several countries. A government has to default on its debt if it is unable to raise enough funds to service interest payments on outstanding debt.

Therefore, to convince creditors to keep lending, governments have to assure them that they won’t be “the last in the line” and that they will also be paid back. Of course, the ability to pay debt back incurred today depends on whether creditors can also be convinced in the future. Streeck calls this a “confidence game”.

To win over the confidence of investors, governments simply always have to repay their debt and also make sure that this will be their priority at any point in time in the future. In Streeck’s words, this

manifests the “primacy of commercial contractual commitment to its lenders over political public commitment to its citizens”. To illustrate this, Streeck introduces the concept of two constituencies: the state-people and the marketpeople. This conflict of obligations poses a severe risk to democracy: “Results of elections are less important than that of bond auctions”. Every spending cut and tax increase can be justified by pointing to the need to service creditors first to insure a constant stream of credit. This is the consolidationstate.

This transition from the debtorstate doesn’t always run smoothly.

Streeck points for example to France and Italy, where such developments are severely contested.

If the transition is too slow, central banks have to step in to bridge financing gaps. This takes control even further away from the citizens, as power is shifted from parliamentarians to central bankers.

These are radical ideas, and some very unpleasant ones, too.

Colin Crouch, discussant at the lecture and former LSE professor, compared Streeck’s theses to the fact that the earth circles the sun and not the other way around.

People have a hard time accepting that what they always thought

to be true might in fact be wrong.

We’re taught to believe that we live in something like a perfect democracy. This might now need serious questioning.

With his analysis of the financial crisis, Streeck brings the discussion beyond questions of ad hoc crisis management. He emphasises the deep structural changes the crisis has caused to the working of governments and the relations between sovereigns, citizens and financial markets. Although in his lecture he did not discuss solutions to the dilemma facing democratic regimes, the outlook might not be as bleak as it seems. For example, Streeck pointed to Sweden, a country that is usually regarded as having a very generous welfare state. Yet, the government has consolidated its debt, amongst others by successfully privatising large parts of its education system.

In essence, Wolfgang Streeck brings up the question whether capitalism and democracy are still compatible. This remains to be seen, as cleaning up the consequences of the financial crisis is still an ongoing process. Governments and citizens have to find new ways to organise, set up their budgets and negotiate about what can be reasonably expected from each other.

LSESU Entrepreneurs Society Sam Povey Interviews Muzaffar Khan: Part 3 “160 MILLION DOLLARS” is the value of D-Wave systems, a Canadian company credited with producing the world’s first commercially available quantum computer, co founded by Dr Haig Farris. The Entrepreneurs society hosted an event with the famous Lawyer turned Venture Capitalist, who sold one of his first companies to Motorola for 100 million dollars. Dr Farris started the company with two of his students after realising the potential of a disruptive Quantum Computing technique. This man’s keen foresight will make any Investor’s mouth water, as his company now has contracts with organisations ranging from the tech titan “Google” to an advanced technology company “Lockheed Martin”. The talk concluded with a Question and Answer session, where the first question was asked by Dr Farris himself, “Has anyone started his or her own company?” Only one

hand went up in response. He then gave key words of advice in response to different questions, such as the importance of networking and how crucial it is for an investor and an Entrepreneur to be analytical and optimistic.

Entrepreneurship Events next week LSESU Entrepreneurs Society Event : 4th November at 19:15 in NAB.2.06 - ‘How the City can prepare you for entrepreneurship, Vishnu Hariharan, CFA & CEO of BlueBook.io’ LSE entrepreneurial masterclass series: ‘Generate an audience’, 5th November 3-5pm, KSW.G.01.

Masterclasses are step-by-step guides to starting up your own business. This session focuses on brand building and pitch preparation.

This is the third part of a series of interviews with Muzaffar Khan by Sam Povey. To read the full interview please go to beaveronline.co.uk/category/thecity/ “UNFORTUNATELY TOO MANY people who are rich and powerful prefer to live in gated communities than look after their neighbourhoods”. It’s an odd line to hear in the plush surroundings of a Mayfair private members club. A former City banker turned philanthropist, Muzaffar Khan has strong opinions on the rich and powerful, and their role in society.

Rather than blame largesse, however, he sees the problem as one of engagement. “If you go to older NHS hospitals you will see that the wards were donated by the rich. That kind of investment into communities is now missing from the rich’s expectations of themselves”. Drinking tea poured from an ornate pot, he espouses

this ‘responsible capitalism’.

Yet Muzaffar is not exactly a banker-bashing Guardian columnist. “The criticism that [bankers] are untrustworthy to handle money is patently false”, he tells bluntly. “Relative to the amount of money in the system, remarkably few misdeeds happen”. Regarding the recent scandals involving LIBOR and PPI he argues: “There is no profession in the world where mistakes aren’t made, in finance [despite] over a million people working in the industry, there are only a handful of scandals”.

The inefficiency in the system according to Muzaffar has more to do with the fact that profits are

privatised and losses are socialised. “The UK taxpayer was saddled with billions of pounds of debt because of RBS, relative to bankers’ pay that is a drop in the ocean”. He argues that the scandal surrounding those bail-outs severely tarnished society’s view of bankers, and the stigma that exists today hasn’t been helped by high finance’s notorious reputation for mistreating young employees.

Fierce competition for jobs and tight deadlines push interns and junior analysts to work exceptional hours. 20 hour work days and the infamous “Magic Roundabout”, where a taxi takes the inters home at 7am, waits while they shower and change, and then quickly shuttles them back to the office are not unheard of. But after the death of Bank of America intern, Mortiz Erhardt, last summer, finance may finally be changing its attitude to new recruits. “Investment banks are belatedly becoming more protective of interns and junior analysts.”

Features Section editorial: FEATURES IS GROWING. From a team of one just a fortnight ago, to a team of two last week, we are now a team of five. We say welcome aboard to our newly appointed deputy editors George Greenwood, George Harrison and Taryana Odayar. We look forward to working with them and to bringing out the best in this section with their support. Rest assured, if you are interested in getting involved with the section or the newspaper, there are still so many ways to be active. Just contact us.

Next week, on Tuesday November 11, we are planning a remembrance-themed issue of the Beaver, and at Features we want to be at the heart of the discussion around the central issues: war and peace, life and death, poppies and symbolism, respect and remembrance, nationalism and internationalism, and how these all fit in with contemporary conflicts. If any of these ideas catch your imagination, or you have any remembrancerelated ideas of your own, please do get in touch and get writing.

Features

Liam Hill

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Section Editors: Rachel Chua and Liam Hill features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Deputy Section Editors: George Greenwood, George Harrison and Taryana Odayar tweet @beaveronline

Humanitarian Intervention:

International Law and the Lesson from Afghanistan Taryana Odayar Deputy Features Editor TO INTERVENE OR NOT TO intervene? That is the question.

Or, in other words, can we trample over another country’s sovereignty in order to satisfy our ideals of selfdefence and to save civilian lives? In order to find an answer to this multi-faceted question, we must first look at what is meant by the term ‘humanitarian intervention,’ commonly referred to as the ‘responsibility to protect’ or R2P. Interestingly, there is currently no set definition of the term ‘humanitarian intervention’, with the closest example of a definition coming from Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, in his 1999 Annual Report to the General Assembly, in which he outlined the principles of Humanitarian Intervention, insisting that it should be fairly and consistently upheld, be an absolute last resort, and most importantly, adhere to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which he referred to as a “living document.”

Now although these points come across as being fairly comprehensive and feasible components of a valid definition, Annan neglected to mention one key point that has been the cause of much controversy and heated discussion amongst political commentators, not to mention heads of state and military strategists, which is the central issue of legality. Is it legal according to the customs of international law to intervene in another country’s domestic politics? Do other nations have the right to place boots on the ground of other countries without their mutually binding consent?

And finally, who gets the blame and is accountable for civilian casualties and military operations gone sideways?

When tackling the issue of legality, oddly enough, the very concept of Humanitarian Intervention seems to be at complete loggerheads with two of the core principles of the United Nation’s charter.

Firstly, the Charter itself prohibits the use of force by one state against another, and secondly, it places the decision-making power regarding military intervention in the hands of the UN Security Council members, and not in the hands of individual states. For instance, Article 2(3) encourages all UN member nations to resolve bilateral and multilateral conflicts first and foremost

using “peaceful means”, and Article 2(4) follows up on this by stipulating that, “All states shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

Article 2(4) clearly seems to take away the legal right of sovereign nations to militarily intervene.

Secondly, Article 24 of the Charter metes out the “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security” to the UN Security Council (UNSC), and goes a step further by placing the power to decide whether or not intervention is necessary in the hands of the UNSC as well. Hence, we are made to view the UNSC as the centralized seat of power, responsible for giving the ‘go ahead’ signal to other nations as to when humanitarian intervention (both military and non-military) is in fact permissible and necessary.

modern-day use of humanitarian and military intervention, wherein countries claim to use it for the purpose of self-defence. Following the devastating 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the United States identified al Qaeda, and their leader Osama bin Laden, as being the non-state actors responsible for the attack, and named Afghanistan as the 21st century’s most potent terrorist breeding grounds.

What then followed was a fullfledged military intervention into Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, which was started, in the words of former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in order to “get the people who attacked us.”

This was the start of what foreign policy analysts have now termed the Global War on Terror (GWOT). However, is vital to distinguish here between the legality of intervening for the purpose of self-defence or in the face of an impending threat, which is allowed for in international law

Afghanistan, a front in the Global War on Terror since the invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001.

Article 41 deals with non-military intervention, including “complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations”, whilst Article 42 deals with military intervention, if “measures provided for in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate”, and would take the form of “demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.” It is important to note here that the UN Charter stipulates that if and only if non-violent measures fail, should military strategy be employed, re-iterating Annan’s key underlining principle of military intervention only as a last resort.

This leads us to the current,

with the approval of the United Nations Security Council, and vigilante intervention or retaliatory intervention, which is in fact illegal.

To this day, there is no Security Council resolution that specifically provides the USA with the right to intervene in Afghanistan.

However, the USA was able to justify its desire for intervention based on Resolution 1368 of September 12th, whose preamble recognizes “the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence in accordance with the charter,” and which although makes no reference to Afghanistan, was in line with the USA’s stated objectives of intervening in Afghanistan to eradicate al Qaeda, overthrow the Taliban regime, and instate a more democratic government in its place. In the wake of 9/11, a terrible tragedy that caused nation-wide anger

and agony, it was perhaps a bold move on the part of the US administration to intervene in Afghanistan, stoking sentiments of national unity as an entire country waited for the terror group and its leader who were responsible for the attack to be captured and punished.

Looking back on the US invasion of Afghanistan, it appears almost ludicrous when one considers that the full force of the US Army was requested to take on the mission of finding and bringing to justice just one man.

Regrettably, the United Nations Security Council seems to have completely omitted Article 41 of the UN Charter, by not imposing any non-military intervention schemes, such as negotiations or economic sanctions, before the US committed itself to a military operation; a case that has been cited as one of the historical failings of the UN as a decision-making body. This recurrent indolence on the part of the UN was further highlighted by former US representative to the UN, John Bolton, who controversially declared that, “There is no such thing as the United Nations.

There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States…When the United States leads, the United Nations will follow. When it suits our interest to do so, we will do so.

When it does not suit our interests we will not.”

Perhaps the lack of action on the part of the USA and the International Community during the Rwandan Genocide and the Genocide in Darfur, where, despite the availability of concrete evidence pointing towards extreme crimes against humanity, Western powers seemed to chose to turn a blind eye to and refrain from intervening, is an example of “When it does not suit our interests we will not (intervene)” being played out, as no potential gains to their interests were foreseen.

Alarmingly, its becoming increasingly obvious that wars begun in the name of self-defence are being continued to further hidden political and socio-economic agendas.

So perhaps we should pay heed to former US congressman, Ron Paul, who so aptly remarked that, “we ought to consider a Golden Rule in foreign policy: Don’t do to other nations what we don’t want happening to us. We endlessly bomb these countries and then we wonder why they get upset with us?”

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Features

Tuesday November 4, 2014

100 Women Conference Featurettes Rachel Chua Features Editor Continued from page 1 at the veracity of this statement, and found myself doing so for the better part of her speech. I respect her claim that women are able to take on “small and big projects”, but somewhere in that claim makes implicit the notion that men are unable to do so as well. An untrue claim, surely – as a little girl I remember my father discussing at the dinner table the numerous projects he was overseeing, and a cursory glance around in any lecture makes it hard for me to believe that my male course mates find it any harder than I do to juggle our essays, reading, and extracurricular activities. Such was the ‘women are better than men’ subtext that littered certain elements of Joyce Banda’s speech, either fully supported by the audience or entirely missed.

This is not what the feminist movement is, or indeed should stand for. I do not believe myself better than my male counterparts – I merely want to be paid as much as they are when we enter the workforce, and, if I choose to have children, not have to worry about having my job taken from me when I go on maternity leave. I want to walk down the street and not be harassed because of the way I dress.

I want wider career choices. I want not to be sexualized and objectified.

If, in a competition for, say, a certain position, and there is a male competitor who is better qualified than I am, I do not dispute the fact that he should get the role. What I am arguing for, and what, I believe, should have been the message of Joyce Banda’s speech, was for gender parity. I merely want to start of with the same privilege and level as a man with my qualifications would. I want gender equality,

and I want meritocracy.

None of this ‘only women can do certain things’ rubbish. If a man can do this equally well,

power to him, and if he can do it better, good for the fellow. All I’m asking for is an equal starting point.

The Devil’s in the Detail:

Britain’s Diabolical Drugs Policy Ryan O’Rourke Third year undergraduate Anyone following the news recently will have seen the apparent media frenzy over a home-office report on Drug policy. Several news outlets ran a headline stating the report shows no link between the level of drug use and the level of crime prevention. However, this misses the crucial points that come out of the report. There are two; one, that drug use per se is falling. Second, how the government plans to change future drug policy. The first is true but misguided, the second shows how toxic the issue of drug policy is.

Most have focused on how the level of drug use is unrelated to enforcement. In the context of the report this holds less weight.

The main object of the report was to analyse other countries experiences when changing drug policy. In the case of Portuguesestyle decriminalisation, the effect of lower enforcement on levels of use is unclear. Rather, the effects are hard to disentangle from socio-economic factors such as improvements in treatment. This is far from concluding there is no link between enforcement and the level of use.

It is the report’s finding on falling drug use which is most

debatable. It shows how over the last decade drug use has fallen from 12.3% to 8.8% amongst adult users; the main driver of this change being the falling use of Cannabis. However, this is still far above the average level of drug use in Europe. The problem is this conclusion paints a far rosier picture then it should.

First, given falling use of Cannabis, widely considered a soft drug, is driving this fall implies use of other substances remains constant. The report point to the case of Heroin and Opiates as an example. The majority who continue to use such drugs have been using them for decades.

This points to a stagnation in structural drug use. This should be a worry; it means current treatment programmes for hardened users may not be effective. It may also mean the replacement rate for the use of class A drugs is not falling; for every person who dies from use, at least another continues to take it up. This is worrying.

The data also points to a stagnation in drug use since 2007/08.

It shows that at the start of the recession, drug use actually rose.

This could be for similar reasons as in the ’80s; due to an economic downturn, people turned to drugs as a way to make life easier. It also shows, however, that drug use over the past twelve months has began to rise again. Together, this indicates the effectiveness of current policies has peaked; it may also indicate that a new generation of drug users is appearing. The rise in trend seems to be driven by class A substances. For future policy makers, this should mean a greater emphasis on making sure a generation of people do not end up on hard drugs such as opiates as the previous generation did.

The methodology used by the authors may also explain some of the fall in use. The data is based on reported crime where drugs have played some role. This systematically fails to account for a substantial level of recreational use, particularly in the consumption of Cannabis, Ecstasy and other “legal” highs. As the report alludes to, a large proportion of new users

The Key Findings: UK drug use in 2014 • 8.8% of adults aged 16-59 had taken an illicit drug in the last year • 18.9% of 16-24 year olds had taken an illicit drug in the last year • Last year saw an overall increase in illegal drug usage • 35.6% of 16-59 year olds sampled admitted that they had used illegal drugs at some point in their lifetime.

Source: Home Office

are using unconventional drugs; these may also be unaccounted for.

Rather, the reported fall may only indicate a fall in drug use that has serious social consequences, in itself a good trend. But it is unclear whether drug use has fallen, especially given the use of drugs such as cocaine is largely considered to have risen.

But the reports main aim was to document the experiences of other countries given a change in drug policy. Rather then come to any firm conclusions on their applicability to the UK, the authors largely state that in most cases the evidence wasn’t strong enough to come to any firm conclusions; in most cases replicating them would be wrong given differences in the legal and cultural contexts. Whilst there is some truth in this, it shows an unwillingness on behalf of the government to seriously consider changing drug laws; more so given how David Cameron and Theresa May dismissed its findings.

This also shows how toxic the issue of drug policy is. That its conclusions are weak, even though in many of the case studies the evidence seems to point to the contrary, shows an unwillingness for politicians to engage seriously with the issue of drug policy. Until this happens, expect more fanciful headlines related to drug use; and more lives to be ruined.

David Cameron’s Week of EU Woes

IN A BLOW TO DAVID Cameron’s bid to curb EU migrant numbers, the German government was this week quoted as saying that Britain was being taken to a “point of no return” regarding EU migration laws.

Merkel’s government will not accept Cameron’s attempts to reform freedom of movement laws, and would be open to a British exit from the political union if the matter was pushed further.

This news comes in an already bad week for British relations with Brussels, as Cameron was unexpectedly handed a £1.7 bill as an extra British contribution to the EU budget. Despite refusing to pay up by the 1st December deadline, Cameron’s hands are believed to be tied with regard to this highly unpalatable budget adjustment.

Virgin Spaceship Tragedy ONE PILOT WAS KILLED and another was injured in a catastrophic Virgin Galactic crash in the Mojave desert.

SpaceShipTwo broke apart in mid air during a test flight as part of Richard Branson’s endeavour to facilitate space tourism in the near future. Whilst investigations into the crash may take over a year to conclude, the US Transport Safety Agency has allowed test flights to continue to take place. Richard Branson is determined to “find out what went wrong” and hopes that this tragedy can be learned from, although this comes as a huge blow to the space tourism industry in what Virgin describes as a “horrible day”. Virgin Galactic has already taken over 700 flight bookings at prices in excess of £150,000 per person, yet more safety testing is clearly needed.

Turkey Kurds Protest TENS OF THOUSANDS OF Turkish Kurds demonstrated in support of the ongoing fight against Islamic State in Saturday’s massive rally. The peaceful protest saw the streets lined by protesters who sung songs of unity with Kurdish forces battling for Kobane. The conflict has illicited international outrage at Turkey’s reluctance to become involved with the fight against IS. If you are interested in writing Featurettes for next week’s edition, please email features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Features

Alec Howells Pocket Philosopher ZENO OF ELEA WROTE an unknown number of ‘Paradoxes of Motion’ a few being ‘The Dichotomy’, ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’, and ‘The Arrow.’

Let’s form his Dichotomy Paradox. Imagine you’re stood at the Garrick and want to walk to the library. Well, in order to walk to the library you will first have to walk halfway. But to walk halfway you’ll have to walk half the way to halfway. But to reach this quarterway point you’ll have to walk half way to it, an eighth-way point. In short, in order to reach the library you’ll have to cover an infinite number of finite distances, but this would be impossible to do in a finite amount of time. However, of course, you’ve reached the library many times before, therefore we have a paradox.

Zeno concluded that motion and change is an illusion and that reason reveals the universe is, contrary to our senses, unchanging. Skipping ahead to the 19th century, mathematicians could perhaps be believed to have found a solution to this counterintuitive result. A limit, in mathematics, is the number a convergent sum is said to reach or tend towards.

For example, the convergent sum (1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + …) tends towards the number 1. Can the infinite number of finite distances to the library eventually add up to the total distance to the library and would this solve our paradox?

J. Thomson challenges those who think that it does in his thought experiment ‘Thomson’s Lamp’. Using limits as a response to Zeno mounts to claiming that one can complete an infinite number of tasks in a finite amount of time; a ‘Supertask’. Questioning whether a Supertask could ever actually occur in reality he asks us to imagine a lamp, operated by a ghost. It begins turned off and after 1 minute is switched on.

After another 30 seconds it turns it off, after 15 on, after 7.5 off…

This will converge on the limit of 2 minutes. Thomson hopes to strike a discord with us by asking whether the light is turned on or off after 2 minutes? And would it matter whether, instead, the light had begun turned on?

Send us your own philosophical musings to features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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The Argentinian Escalation: From Squid Bounties to Saab Bombers

George Harrison First year undergraduate FOR DECADES, SUCCESSIVE governments of Argentina have claimed sovereignty of the hotly disputed Falkland Islands, yet few have postured and protested to the same degree as President Cristina de Kirchner’s current cabinet. Entirely unperturbed by the fact that the British territorial claim dates back to 1690 and was resoundingly ratified in the 2013 Falklands referendum, Argentinian governments have attempted repeatedly to wrangle control of the islands, both by force and by diplomatic measures.

Since the Falklands War, Argentina has traditionally exploited diplomatic channels to push their agenda on the world stage, yet in an underreported development, Argentina recently placed an order for 24 Saab Fighter-Bombers to expand their military capabilities. This comes at a worrying time of UK defence cutbacks, with the Saab contract due to be signed by December. This may be yet more of Kirchner’s posturing, which has frequently been employed in order to divert attention from the col-

lapsing Argentinian economy, yet any developments regarding the volatile Falklands situation should be regarded seriously.

The perpetual turbulence of the situation spiked recently after Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear cohort filmed a special episode using number plates that were described as “provocative” by the Argentinian cabinet; the offending number plates contained the abbreviation FKL and the year of the Falklands war – 1982. The Top Gear team were attacked by an angry Argentine mob, who pelted their vehicles with rocks, forcing the team to require a police escort to guarantee their safe travel through the country. Since the dust settled on the incident, the desperately bitter Argentinian administration have repeatedly demanded an apology from the

BBC, yet to no avail, so far.

Other recent developments include a triumph for the Falkland Islanders in a so called ‘Squid War’, which spanned two years and resulted in Argentinian fishing vessels deliberately targeting the local Illex squid population before they could reach the British territorial waters around the Falklands. This attempt to strangle the Falklands fishing economy proved to have failed in September, when a record breaking annual squid catch worth over £45 million was reported by the Falklands Islands Fisheries Department. Although a seemingly petty and trivial example of the ill-natured international relations that Britain remains caught up in, this represents merely a drop in the ocean of bad blood that separates the two nations.

As the Spanish attempt like-

Credit: Flikr: John5199

The Pocket Philosopher: Motion, Limits and Lamps

Tuesday November 4, 2014

wise to claim Gibraltar via their own methods of intimidation and international pressure, the British hold on both vital overseas territories is called into question.

Without any aircraft carriers until the expected completion of HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2020, the worrying news of Argentina’s planned military expansion comes at a bad time for Britain, and whilst Thatcher’s defence of the islands in 1982 was met with little international opposition, countries such as China and Russia have now thrown their weight behind the Argentinian sovereignty claim.

The issue of retaining our overseas territories remains close to the heart of many British patriots, who are united in the consensus that the British sovereignty claim on the Falklands is entirely legitimate, especially since an overwhelming 99.8% of the Islanders voted to remain as a British territory in last year’s referendum. However, Kirchner has already proven to be apathetic towards the notion of self-determination, and she has already proven to be tenacious and desperate in her mission to claim the Falklands for Argentina. Just how desperate she is, however, remains to be seen.

How ‘Western’ Feminism Can Maintain Oppression Busayo Twins ACS President LET ME BEGIN BY SAYING this: regardless of location, race, religion or age, all women seek for a better life, a life of aspiration, opportunity, choice, love, kindness, support and respect.

What I’m going to call ‘Western’ Feminism emphasises heavily what some may consider to be niche female oppression; institutional sexism and the conflict between gender and sex. The Western movement encourages greater fluency between male and female roles and even questions the origins of these stereotypes.

It claims that women, if given opportunity, are totally equal to men and that their reproductive assets aren’t sufficient arguments to differentiate between the two genders. Men are not the ‘head’ of the household but are part of an institution that prides the equality of both parties and so should be reflected statistically in the salaries (if in the same job) and representations in politics, for example.

Why it is specific to the ‘Western’ (be it white or middle-class) story is because this agenda tends

to concentrate on a set of assumed social structures, ideas/ philosophies and economic environments that the global South lacks.

Moreover, western feminists do not understand other societies and can use those societies’ nonwestern habits such as economic gender inequality, authoritarianism/dictatorship, anti-homosexual or illiberal legislation (and disobedience to IMF structural adjustment programmes) to justify the divergent North-South economic performances. The West enjoys higher living standards, generally Christian or secular states and have greater historical female participation in industry, so it is easy for this to be considered the right way or the only way to organise a society. Therefore white, middle-class feminists tend to take the front seat and lecture others on what good feminist behaviour looks like and anything that strays from these rigid perspectives makes for an un-feminist or patriarchal argument.

According to the West, Muslim women are treated like second class citizens because they cover their heads, are dedicated to domestics and ‘forced’ to

marry. (Note: these distinctions should not be attributed to certain societies only but definitely are prevalent in others).

Consequently, the western feminist movements see the removal of headscarves or disobedience to family customs as some sort of testimony of liberation - a sign of great western intervention/influence. Like all implicit or explicit interventions, it makes it difficult for the southern-minded men to support gender equality seeing it as a form of imperialism intended to undermine their native civilisations. Whether we in the West want to believe it or not, we are conditioned to think ‘liberally’ with low tolerance for any other philosophies.

This is not to say that the western manifesto is not supported by BME communities living overseas or that if you aren’t British or middle-class you would not want to correct institutional sexism, but what we are talking about are groups of women belonging to other societies at different stages of development and so these ideas seem so farfetched or ‘extra’ considering their general economic environments. Also, most religious books talk of spousal submission which

reminds women that despite the ever-changing economic and technological times into which mankind enters, a woman should honour her role as a wife and dedicated mother. This would also validate the argument explaining why men are paid more, as from a business perspective, they are uninterrupted investment.

However, for those living in the UK, Europe or America, we should recognise western sexism as we focus on the ‘bigger issues’.

We should acknowledge that certain battles are region specific and do not (yet, if ever) compliment the women of extra-territorial Europe. We should engage in deeper cultural analysis before we deem a practice oppressive or unsophisticated.

In addition, though, we should understand the women of the world too. Let us understand that certain battles are region specific and not ignorantly drag all women under the same umbrella, condemning any ‘unwestern’ or unsophisticated practices as un-feminist or oppressive.

Write the Liberation column next week by emailing the editors.

features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Features

Tuesday November 4, 2014

UKIP: An Earthquake or a Tremor?

Mahatir Pasha First year undergraduate

Greens and UKIP: Timeline

“RACIST”, “SEXIST” AND “unprofessional”. Upon hearing such a compilation of words people of this country would impulsively presume the conversation resolves around the UK Independence Party.

It may be unfair to claim these commonly adopted terms are entirely true, but it would be equally naïve to dismiss them as completely erroneous.

Professor Alan Sked, the founder of UKIP and professor of international history at the LSE, earlier suggested that the leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage used the n-word to refer to black voters. Farage’s recent remarks about Romanians, implying that they were responsible for a crime wave in Britain and admitting that he would feel “uncomfortable” if they moved in next door has contributed to the Party’s ‘racist’ persona. Godfrey Bloom, the UKIP MEP who referred to women as “sluts” and the uncovering of Mujeeb ur Rehman Bhutto’s (previously UKIP’s Commonwealth Spokesman) criminal activities in Pakistan have also delivered bitter blows towards the party’s image.

Despite the stigma attached to the right-wing nationalist party, a Caroline Lucas is elected first Green MP in Brighton Pavillion May 2010

new question has arisen in the contemporary political world. Is UKIP a force to be reckoned with? The results of the 2014 local and European elections seemed to have rocked the road towards, in Nigel Farage’s words, a “political earthquake”. In the local elections, UKIP secured 17% of the vote and obtained 163 new councillors thus defeating the Liberal Democrats who under Nick Clegg, only secured 13% of the vote and lost a staggering 310 councillors.

The European election acted as the biggest success for Nigel Farage as his party won 24 seats and attained 27.5% of the vote, which equates to over 4 million. This election drew extra attention for two reasons. Firstly, this was the first time in a century that either Labour or the Conservatives have failed to win a national election and secondly UKIP became the first ever party in history to win a national election without a single seat in Westminster.

And it doesn’t stop there. With former Tory MP Douglas Carswell being re-elected in his constituency of Clacton, this time representing UKIP and subsequently making history as the party’s first ever elected MP, this earthquake seems to be growing in force. Carswell pulled off arguably the biggest political stunt of the year by forcing the Tories to face a humiliating by-election defeat

Nigel Farage elected UKIP leader for the second time

Natalie Bennett elected as leader of the Greens, following Caroline Lucas

August 2010

September 2012

in which the defector won with a majority of 12,404 votes. The Eurosceptic party is also on course to win another by-election in Kent next month with another ex-Tory MP, Mark Reckless, leading the way.

UKIP, previously dismissed by the Conservatives and Labour as a threat, has now begun to attract attention. David Cameron has started attempting to appeal to UKIP voters whilst Conservative backbenchers have even called for a pact with the more right-wing Farage in preparation for the next general election.

A significant amount of UKIP’s 50,000 members are speculated to be disgruntled Conservatives, which implies that the growing nationalist party has the potential of splitting the Conservative Party’s vote making an outright majority seem increasingly like a dream for David Cameron in the next general election.

UKIP’s rise has also caused anxiety amid fears the Tories may begin to lean more towards the right in order to bring back some of their disgruntled members as well as appeal to UKIP’s more loyal voters.

UKIP supporters have accounted Cameron’s commitment to deliver an in/out EU referendum- that the Prime Minister said he would resign if he failed to deliver- to their party’s strong anti-European vibe.

UKIP come second at a speight of byelections November 2012 onwards

UKIP win the European Elections, while the Greens beat the Lib Dems May 2014

At first glance, the UKIP earthquake would appear to be of a high magnitude. However, perhaps the quake is not as high up on the Richter scale as we might have first thought. Despite UKIP obtaining in excess of 150 seats in the 2014 local elections, the party fails to run a single council. Additionally, UKIP may have a majority of seats in Europe but, if the party’s wish of leaving the EU is achieved, their European seats will no longer be of any significance.

After the European elections Nigel Farage boldly claimed the “UKIP fox is in the Westminster hen house”, for now he’s right, that fox is Douglas Carswell, but how much damage can a single fox cause before its chased away by an angry farmer? The true question of the UKIP threat can only clearly be exemplified in the upcoming general election.

Despite UKIP’s recent success, their growth has in many cases been overrated. To truly measure the potential threat of the party, more seats must be obtained in Westminster.

Those still undecided about the potency of Farage and his party will be waiting for the next general election to answer this perplexing question. For now, however, although UKIP’s first quake caused Tory and Lib Dem casualties, it was merely a tremor… but that’s not to say the UKIP Earthquake is over.

HAD YOU TOLD ME 5 YEARS ago that you supported the Green Party, I would have given you a pitying smile, internally chuckling at your delusion of reality and desire to save the world one wind farm at a time but today, things have changed.

I am a full member of the Green Party and the LSESU Greens, and have been out protesting with them, even contributing my own “Green Surge” songs. So why such a sudden change, not just for me, but many of the 20,000 members the Greens now have nationally?

In 2014 alone membership of the party has gone up 45% and since March this year there has been a 100% increase in the Young Greens.

It seems like the Greens are serious about challenging mainstream politics and the rise of right wing alternatives that are drawing the apathetic and disillusioned masses.

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, suggested that a significant part of the story is due to the

inability of both left and right mainstream parties to deliver what voters’ want. “Former Labour voters are looking at our firm statements that the poor and disadvantaged must no longer be made to pay for the fraud and recklessness of the bankers. Even traditional Tory voters are coming to us for our firm defence of the green belt and determination to rein in our still out of control financial sector.”

The Greens have been very vocal about inequality caused by the 2007 economic crash, gaining the trust of frustrated voters. This decidedly socialist and somewhat anti-establishment approach was summed up by Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton, at an anti-austerity protest in June, “We have a message for the government. It wasn’t the poor who caused the economic crisis. It wasn’t people on Jobseeker’s Allowance who brought down the banks.

It wasn’t people with disabilities who wasted billions speculating on risky financial markets. So that’s why we’re here to say: stop punishing the poor.”

It’s no secret that a big part of

the Greens’ emerging success is to an extent due to youth votes; some polls have shown them to be the second most popular party among 18-24 year olds, and potential new insight into this phenomenon may be provided by the Climate Outreach and Information Network who released their “Young Voices” report last month. Lead researcher Dr Adam Corner explained “Our research suggests that many young people care deeply and passionately about climate change. However, there has been a collective failure to talk to young people about climate change in a way that inspires them.” This suggests that young people may be turning towards the Greens as they see them as the only party serious about environment issues.

Aside from all their successes, the political eco-warriors are still facing many challenges. Despite last month’s opinion poll by YouGov (amongst others) putting the Greens at 7%, ahead of the Lib Dems, they are still being denied eligibility to participate in the BBC and other 4 television network giants’ televised debates before the coming election.

Katie Budd RAG President

THE RAG INTERNATIONAL charity of the year category was a varied one this year. On the one hand we had Farm Africa, a development charity aiming to combat hunger in Eastern Africa by working directly with farmers to help them increase their harvests, rather than simply providing aid. On the other, we had MAG (Mines Advisory Group), a charity dedicated to clearing mines and other remnants of conflict in ex-war zones, as well as providing essential mine safety education to local communities. The charity ultimately chosen for our support, however, was War Child, winning by a significant margin.

War Child’s mission is to achieve greater protection of children in conflict. They’re a small charity that claims to have directly reached 62,236 people with their work in 2013 alone. When UKIP win their Broadcasters they applied to be one of our first Westminster invite UKIP but charities they told us about some seat at the not the Greens of their key projects. One of these Clacton to planned TV is making ‘Child Friendly Space’ by-election leaders’ debates in areas of conflict, for children August 2014 October 2014 to play and to be referred on to further services. They provide counselling to children, as well as legal aid if necessary. Rebuilding schools destroyed in war is anThis issues has become par- other key project they carry out, ticularly toxic sighting the fact that minimizing the effect war has on UKIP were recently approached to the education of local children. enter the debates. The Green party is Plus War Child’s geographically considering taking legal action over focus is broad. The countries War this issue, but this lack of publicity Child works in include Iraq, Syrin comparison to the other parties is ia, Uganda Afghanistan and the deeply concerning (have you noticed Democratic Republic of Congo. that the media seem to enjoy follow- It also works with partner organiing Nigel Farage into pubs far more sations in Gaza. than covering actual Green Party isThey’re also a really effective sues?). Having said this, UK polls are campaigning charity. From lobnot unanimous on where the Greens bying the UN General Assembly, are in popular opinion, particularly to playing a role in the recent as some polls such a one from Ash- Summit to End Sexual Violence ford have been criticized for using in Conflict, the charity are at the weighted young correspondents in forefront of making sure that detheir research, thus skewing the data. cision makers take seriously the The rise of UKIP is also show- welfare of children in conflict. ing a growing schism between the These are just a few of the many left and right in UK politics as vot- reasons that we’re so excited to be ers abdicate from the quicksand working with them over the comthat is ideologically central politics. ing year!

As there is less information about Green campaigns than UKIP “policies”, Farage’s party is soaking up Disagree with any of our many of those who are tired of the writers’ analyses?

Big Three. I don’t know where the Send in your own to Greens will be in 5 years, but I doubt features@thebeaveronline.co.uk people will be laughing at them and or submit online! not taking them seriously.

How to Explain the ‘Green Surge’

Perdita Blinkhorn First year undergraduate

corner

Sport

Tuesday November 4, 2014

30

Thriller Moves for Halloween: Interview With The LSE AU Dance Club Alice Baudry, President of the Dance Club, talks about upcoming competitions and the club’s Halloween ‘Thriller’ night Robin Park Sport Editor RP: How did you first get involved in the LSE Dance Club?

also Bollywood, which are workshops run by students.

RP: Do you cater for beginners?

AB: At Freshers’ Fair in my first year I basically just found them.

A lot of dancers already know they’re going to be part of the club because of their past experiences.

AB: Definitely. Ballet, hip-hop, contemporary and jazz have beginner classes, and these are for total beginners, but all our workshops are really mixed levels so anyone can show up. And they’re free as well for members, and it’s a pound for non-members.

RP: What are some of the types of dance/activities the Dance Club offers?

RP: Do you have any auditions throughout the year?

AB: We have classes on ballet, contemporary, jazz, jazz-technique, hip-hop and commercial. The classes are run by professionals, but we also have workshops and those are covered by students who are really interested and talented. So for example, we have ballroom and

AB: For classes and workshops, no.

For these you basically just show up, just like a dance school. But we do have auditions for our competition teams and when we have our annual show, there are auditions for the solos and duets.

RP: How did auditions go this year?

AB: Really good and a lot of people turned up. Auditions are obviously targeted for dancers with experience and everyone that turned up had good technical abilities.

RP: What do the teams compete in?

AB: Last year we sent one, but this year I’m planning to send three, as we have a lot of talent this year!

RP: Does the club organize any socials?

AB: Absolutely. We organise trips to see ballets, which is what we did this week, outings to the theatre, and also occasional pub socials.

AB: A lot of universities run competitions throughout the year and we got invited to the Royal Holloway one this year called

RP: You’re organizing a ‘Thriller’ night this week.

Can you tell me a little more about it?

‘Get Down’, and it’s really, really huge, and it’s held on the 29th of November. We’re sending, ballet, contemporary and hip-hop.

AB: It’s basically our Halloween party. We have a guy called Anthony King coming and he teaches a one hour ‘Thriller ‘workshop, which fits into the theme and a lot of people have told me they’re looking forward to it! It’s really just asking the dancers to come and have fun and also to have a few

RP: How many teams do you usually send to competitions?

drinks.

RP: What are your plans for the future?

AB: A lot of the work right now is buildup for our annual show. It’s our biggest event of the year so a lot of preparation goes into it.

Organising another workshop as well hopefully. We really want to get more students involved and to teach them and workshops are really important.

And maybe another competition as well in Lent.

Want to see your club featured in the Sports interview?

E-mail Robin at sports@ thebeaveronline.co.uk

31

Sport

Tuesday November 4, 2014

Charity Week Football Tournament A review of the 5-a-side tournament, jointly organised by the Athletics Union and the LSESU Islamic Society Ateeq Tariq Event Organiser

Classified Results

Unity is an objective that is undervalued when appraising the success of any tournament, sporting or otherwise.

On Sunday 26th October the AU jointly hosted a football tournament with the ISOC that not only achieved its main goal of fundraising for the most vulnerable

in society but additionally managed to bring together people in our diverse LSE community that would perhaps not have otherwise crossed paths.

With 16 teams in total, from

the Athletics Union, halls of residence and religious societies, we had a vast array of footballing talent on display. Teams fiercely contested every game, jostling one another to gain an upper hand in matches, all of which proved to be scintillating encounters. The verocity and vigour with which each game was played did not detract from the task in hand.

Achieving a goal that transcends the simple objective on the day, winning a game of football,

Men’s Football

Hockey

Squash

LSE 1s 3 - 1 Sussex 2s (Cup) MOTM: Hunte

Men’s 1s 5 - 1 UEL

Men’s Team beat St Barts, UCL and Portsmouth 1sts, all of which were won 15 - 0

LSE 2s 3 - 1 Kingston 2s (Cup) MOTM: Khalid LSE 3s 5 - 0 Holloway 4s MOTM: Taylor LSE 6s 0 - 1 Imperial Medics 2s MOTM: Wright LSE 7s 1 - 3 Royal Vets 2s MOTM: Passe

Women’s 1s won 20 - 0 Women’s 2s lost 5 - 3 Netball LSE 3s 25 - 22 St George’s 4s LSE 5s 45 - 8 UAL

Women’s Team lost against Reading 12 - 1.

Women’s Rugby LSE 31 - 5 Millwall

LSE 7s 11 - 9 UAL 2s

Want to see your team’s results published?

Win, lose or draw, send them to sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk !!!

was at the forefront in the minds of all competitors and this manifested itself in the group picture that was taken, an embodiment of our mission statement, the collective mission of all on hand.

The tournament itself, of course, could only have one victor who would reign supreme and only one team that could have bragging rights on the day, and it is for this reason special congratulations are in order for ‘fazza boys’ who were crowned champions. They bested ‘el ahly hadeed’ in the final of the competition, coming from behind to win 8-4.

It was a truly valiant performance which warranted nothing but victory.

Sport

AU MATCH RESULTS INSIDE - OFFICIAL FANTASY FOOTBALL: 1923555-432233

the

Beaver

Editor: Robin Park Email: sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk

New Zealand Rugby Tours America Robin Park Sport Editor

IN FRONT OF 62,000 HOME fans, the USA Men’s Rugby Team, ‘the Eagles’, were given a masterclass in pass and run rugby, as the All Blacks beat them 6 – 74.

The exhibition match in Solider Field was meant to win the hearts and minds of American rugby fans. It’s difficult to know if such utter destruction of the home team was the best way of achieving this.

The new look All Blacks backline performed to the expected standard, though worryingly second choice halfback TJ Perenara was still unconvincing. The All Blacks’ philosophy of having two world-class halfbacks will not work unless Perenara starts pulling his weight, and the weight needs to be pulled in the mould of a flair player, something akin to a Piri Weepu. Aaron Smith makes the No. 9 role look effortless, but

IT WAS A SPOOOOOOKY Wednesday night for the AU in the graveyard of romance and taste they call Zoo Bar. There was fake blood and fake fluids… and blood and fluids…

Colourful costumes were worn all round, notably the FC’s decision to once again dress up as the Ku Klux Klan. This year, however, it appears The Tuns’ Hayekian bouncers were more respecting of their abhorrent views and let them in.

Netball 3’s performed a par-

at 82kg he’s playing Russian roulette with the rugby gods. The day will come when he gets blindsided by a thuggish loose forward and the All Blacks ‘Perenara Project’ better be ready by then. The rugby gods are rarely merciful.

The rest of the backline however was superb, often verging on sublime. A new, mature Cory Jane took to the field to show off his full flight speed, which may unfortunately be compromised after a late hamstring injury. Hopefully he doesn’t get arrested with his beveraging buddies during rehabilitation like last time.

Sonny Bill Williams did what Sonny Bill Williams does best: offloads, destroying flankers’ careers and scoring tries. Yet, this was a different Sonny Bill to four years ago. There was composure in his movement; no longer the man who looked for an impossible offload in tight tackles, he balanced creativity with experience, showing that he is a serious challenge to Ma’a Nonu for the 12 jersey.

The cameo appearance by full-time male model, part-time fly-half Dan Carter was also no-

table. It’s truly bewildering how good he still is considering all his injuries and geriatric age. Forget all the discussions pitting Cruden and Barrett against each other.

There is only one first-choice flyhalf in New Zealand and Carter will no doubt be starting in 2015 (no claim).

However while it’s all well and good to sing praises of the men in black, what about the bigger question: what has this match done for American rugby? Whilst the team may be demoralised, hopefully the crowd was inspired by some of the best expansive rugby they will ever see in their lifetimes.

Soldier Field is the home of the Chicago Bears, and for an American football crowd so used to stop-start matches, the freeflowing backline-dominated rugby must have surely been a refreshing change, hopefully making up for the loss of the home side.

Perhaps they will recognise that in this contest, rugby was the true winner (Yeesh. Apologies. I was short on content this week.

Obviously fined myself).

ticularly cringeworthy rendition of Enrique Inglesias’ ‘Hero’ to NOT Rugby in the Tuns, bucking a societal trend by declaring their love for them amongst the baying “BAH!”s. Somebody should show them a leaflet they distributed at Fresher’s Fair... I guess they don’t follow current affairs.

NOT Rugby were in a fighting mood this week with an altercation between a fresher and a member from Rowing, a club even less significant than a club that doesn’t exist. Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to have heard of them.

The elusive James Wakefield also found himself in a scrap with a public Zoo Bar attendee. Allegedly the disagreement was about whose dad worked for whose dad

and was decided by a grand ol’ game of fisticuffs. He celebrated his victory by Bridging the gap between his love and hate.

One netballer was revELINg on the dance floor and found herself a lovely chap. The night, or rather morning, ended with her forgetting his name and so embarrassed by her dELINquency she made a beELINe for the door.

It also looks like the Not Rugby player from last week did indeed set sail along the Ganges, and returned for another experience of the subcontinent this week. With a Sliva of luck, one WRFC fresher managed to escape an evil Cave Troll. She eventually evaded this Hayrendous monster when she cast a spell of “Wingardium I’m not

Photo Credit: Flickr: Luton Anderson

that easy” which made him recoil in pain.

People thought a Strom was a’ brewing when Sam ‘The Face’ was on the prowl—actually they just cuddled.

Sheepsy went searching for his missing love, Maddened by lust until he—they also just cuddled. However, the rumours that he shit himself on his way back from Portugal have now been confirmed.

Finally, the Bev Report would like to apologise to anyone we offended in last week’s column. As a result, I, Ollie Subheader, have officially resigned. Farewell fine readers.

Have gossip? Will share?

E-mail what you’ve seen to sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk