Sochi 2014: Reactions
Interview: Tom Maksymiw talks to John Woodcock MP as part of ‘Time To Talk’ Features p. 23
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Cardinal Sin? Why the LSE should have challenged Peter Turkson over LGBT rights. Opinion: p. 10
The
Beaver
FREE
Tuesday February 11 2014 | www.thebeaveronline.com | No. 806
Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union
AU Strikes Gold RECORDS WERE BROKEN last week as the UGM hosted a long awaited motion to increase the budget of the LSE’s Athletics Union. A staggering 588 students voted over the 24 hour period in favour of increasing the budget from ÂŁ86,821.90 to ÂŁ99,845.19. A further 121 votes were cast, with 99 students opposing the motion and 22 declaring themselves undecided. These dissenters demonstrated that the rallying cries of the AU Executive in the lead up to the vote failed to fully satisfy the concerns of all students. The UGM was heavily hyped in the preceding days, as proposers Harold Craston, AU President, and Thomas Meaden, AU Treasurer, sought to unite the AU’s many clubs in favour of the motion. The turnout at the UGM suggested that they had succeeded, and despite the UGM following a Wednesday night in Zoo Bar there was a strong AU presence. Much scrutiny had been given to the motion by LSESU societies, who feared that an increase in the AU budget could only come at a cost to them. Both proposers attempted to allay their fears, with Meaden speaking directly to them as he said “our gain is not your lossâ€?. Amendements submitted before the UGM were generally received positively, being accepted either in part or in full. The Proposers consequently resolved that the AU will continue to be proactive in increasing its diversity, as well as promising punishments for any club found to be engaging in discriminatory behaviour. An amendment proposed by Jason Wong and Musty KaPDO RQ WKH ŕŽ‹RRU ZDV KRZHYHU dismissed bluntly by Meaden, whose prepared responses throughout the UGM were
‍ ښ‏709 votes cast largest number since return of online voting. ‍ ښ‏588 in favour, 99 against, 22 abstentions. ‍ ښ‏CFO promises WR ૹQDQFH LQcrease. ‍ ښ‏Paper throwing returns to UGM.
theatrical to say the least. Wong’s proposal, that each society receive ÂŁ2 funding per member from the school was deemed too distorting to the motion, as it would cost the school a further ÂŁ29k. But it wasn’t all doom for Wong, as Meaden promised to garner AU support for him should he propose a separate motion to increase society funding. The motion’s opposers, UGM stalwarts Dan Martin and Jamie Pelling, then took to the stage and experienced the comeback of a tradition from the UGMs of yesteryear. A previous ban on paper throwing has expired after three years, and old copies of the Beaver had been distributed on the Old Theatre’s balcony to ensure that students took full advantage of their lofty vantage point. Despite being in the minority in the room, DQG GHVSLWH ŕŽ‹XUULHV RI SDSHU projectiles, both Martin and Pelling spoke well as they voiced concerns shared by many non-AU students. Pelling made the point particularly well as he highlighted the worry that the AU would be prioritised over societies. Martin took a more con-
Bursary Delays Hit Students James Evans, Deputy News Editor
LSE AU
Gareth Rosser, Sports Editor
Catholic Church (England and Wales) CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
troversial line of attack, criticizing the behaviour of some AU students in recent events such as Take Me Out, and going so far as to describe some members of the AU as “nastyâ€?. Unsurprisingly this won him another bout of paper pelting, although the AU might consider investing any budget increase in training sessions to improve their members’ aim, based on the evidence available in the UGM. Lively questions followed, with many issues raised for would-be voters to consider. Tennis Captain Chris Anguelov shocked many as he revealed that members of his team pay as much as ÂŁ600 a year out of their own pockets to represent LSE. Meanwhile Miriam Mirwitch brought the attention of the UGM to the underfunding of Women’s sports teams relative to their male counterparts. Meaden acknowledged this and suggested this was a result of those clubs being more recently founded, and thus placing an increasing strain on the budget which has not been revised accordingly. There was also acknowledgement in the room of the
perceived cliquey nature of the AU, with the opposition being praised for sparking a debate on the issue. The UGM ended with participants in generally high spirits, with many describing the UGM as reenergised following more lacklustre previous meetings. 7KH னQDO YRWH WDOO\ UHŕŽ‹HFWHG WKLV ZLWK D WRWDO WXUQout of 709 votes proving a stark contrast to the previous UGM, which failed to meet the quoracy of 250 votes. The resounding endorsement of the motion doesn’t guarantee the 15% budget increase since the AU must get approval from the Board of Trustees. However, Chief Financial Officer Andy Farrell, a strong supporter of the SU, seemed to suggest the request would meet with approval on Twitter, responding to A&D Officer Hannah Richmond’s request with ‘it will be done.’ Meaden professed the AU ‘delighted with both the sucess of the motion and Mr Farrell’s commitment’, going on WR VD\ ‍Ú?‏:H KRSH WKLV LV WKH னUVW step of many in making our Athletics Union as successful as it can be!’
In other News... City-wide protests against loan privitization
LSE ranked 47th most international uni
Students gathered to voice their opposition to the government’s planned privatization of student loans.
The Times of Higher Education ranked the School as the 47th most international university in the world.
NEWS Page 3
NEWS Page 5
LSE STUDENTS WERE DISAPPOINTED to discover that payments of an essential bursary would be a month late. The termly payment which is provided by the LSE to help cover the living costs or pay for accommodation for students from the lowest income groups were informed last month that the payment would not arrive on time. 7KH னQDQFLDO VXSSRUW RIனFH WROG WKH %HDYHU WKDW ‍ڔ‏WKHUH was a technical issue with the payment for some of the Lent term instalments of the LSE bursaries,â€? and although the issue had now been resolved, the funding would not happen until “mid-February.â€? No information has been released about the details of the ‘technical issue’ but it is known that the issue only affects students from the UK and not international students ZKR UHTXLUH னQDQFLDO VXSSRUW 7KH னQDQFLDO VXSSRUW VHUvices encouraged students to apply for an interest free short term loan if the delay FDXVHG DQ\ னQDQFLDO GLIILFXOties. However, instead of reassuring students, this recommendation merely angered some members of the student body. An Economic History student who does not wish to be named questioned ‘Why should I have to apply for a loan? Of course the delay will FDXVH னQDQFLDO GLIILFXOWLHV otherwise I wouldn’t need the IXQGLQJ LQ WKH னUVW SODFH ‍ ڑ‏$Qnie Leonard, a second year Law student, reiterated these concerns saying, “I don’t see why students have to wait anRWKHU PRQWK IRU WKLV YLWDO னnancial support; LSE is clearly not short of moneyâ€?. For students from the poorest economic background this non repayable bursary is worth around ÂŁ3500 a year, making up a considerable proportion of their yearly budget; the delay will inevitably preVHQW GLŕŽŒFXOWLHV Any student experiencLQJ DQ\ ૽QDQFLDO GLIILFXOWLHV VKRXOG FRQWDFW WKH ૽QDQFLDO VXSSRUW RIILFH LQ FRQ૽GHQFH ૽QDQFLDO VXSSRUW#OVH DF XN