PartB: THE GAZE- JADE JACKMAN’S INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST MARK NEVILLE
Beaver
the
Issue 823 | 13.01.15
newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union
LSE Rent Guarantor Scheme Important Step Closer to Reality Kanan Parida Staff Writer IN 2014, LONDON HOUSING PRICES were, on average, twenty percent higher than the UK average, placing the housing prices at a rate higher than ever before. Not only are prices high, properties are so in demand that flat rentals have become a major concern for London students, such as those studying at the London School of Economics (LSE). With only first year, postgraduate and general course students being guaranteed LSE accommodation, the rest of the student body has been struggling with the problem of sorting out accommodation for the year; this can be particularly tough for international students. The School’s Sabbatical officers have been working for years to introduce a rent guarantor scheme. This could be enormously beneficial to LSE students on two fronts. Firstly, many lease agreements for students require a Rent Guarantor, or a parent/guardian living in the UK who will take
responsibility to pay rent in the event that the tenant fails to do so. The LSE sabbatical officers have been pushing for the LSE to become a rent guarantor for students, which will be hugely beneficial to international students for whom it may prove more difficult to find a guarantor in the UK. Moreover, the rent guarantor scheme means that LSE will be able to sign the tenancy agreement on behalf of students so that they may not have to pay months in advance. Though the scheme has not being passed yet, it has been taken as a matter to the Financial Committee this month and is under review. LSESU General Secretary Nona Buckley-Irvine commented that this motion to the Financial Committee is “a huge step, and if it passes, we will finally have this scheme in place!” Chief Financial Officer of the LSE, Andrew Farrell, wrote that “It is right that this is something Sabbs have pressed for for years. We will now go forward with a positive recommendation to implement a scheme similar to that which operates at UCL.”
Comment: Why I’ll Be Backing This Week’s Assessment Boycott Dr. Pat McGovern
LSE UCU Branch Chair, Reader., Dept. of Sociology
NOUS SOMMES TOUS
ON FRIDAY THE 16TH OF JANUARY, LSE academics will probably resume the boycott on the assessment of exam-related work. Assuming that the USS Trustees endorse a much-disputed valuation of the pension fund at a meeting on the 15th of January, universities across the UK will find themselves in an unwanted and unnecessary ‘winter of discontent’. None of us are looking forward to this. This marking boycott is part of an ongoing struggle against the commercialization of UK universities. Student fees have risen astronomi-
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cally, while, except for VCs and top management, terms and conditions of academics are declining across the UK university system. For instance, a recent analysis by Deloitte shows that UK lecturers earn less than their counterparts in Australia, Canada and the USA. So despite our university system being ranked second after the United States in various studies, UK academics’ pay is amongst the lowest of the major English-speaking countries. Now, the academic pension scheme is under attack. Those of us who work in the longestablished universities belong to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which is one of the largest and Continued page 9