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The Beaver Election Guide 2014

Opinion p. 10

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Venezuela’s Forgotten Struggle

Tuesday March 4 2014 | www.thebeaveronline.com | No. 809

FREE Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union

SO IT BEGINS

JOSH JINRUANG

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LAST THURSDAY’S Union General Meeting (UGM) contained no motions to be debated, and no complaints to be raised. Instead the stage was set for the candidates for next year’s Sabbatical Officers to put forward their case for election to LSE students. Unlike in previous years, questions were QRW SXW IURP WKH ŕŽ‹RRU EXW LQstead the UGM Chair, Joe Anderson, chose three questions for each group of candidates from a set of seven submitted to him by students. The hustings began with the General Secretary candidates. Candidates Mengxuan Lonoy Ge, Abi Aryan and Jack Kelly were not present at the hustings. Sam Barnett set out his plans to improve the

sense of community among LSE students by creating an entertainments committee for “helping [students] to implementâ€? “their ideas for activities.â€? This was followed by the promise to create more foreign exchanges at the LSE so that it is truly “the most international university in the worldâ€?. Similar sentiments informed the key points of Nona BuckleyIrvine’s stance as she found the key problems that need to EH ன[HG DW WKH /6( WR EH WKH “cost, the cold atmosphere and the lack of facilitiesâ€? and one way she promised to rectify this was by easing the “struggle that societies and clubs have with their budgets.â€? Musty Kamal who spoke next began broadly by declaring that LW ZDV WLPH DOO GLŕŽ‰HUHQW QDWLRQDOLWLHV GLŕŽ‰HUHQW UHOL-

JLRQV DQG GLŕŽ‰HUHQW SHUspectivesâ€? “got representation in the Students’ Unionâ€?. He proceeded with a key policy that would give LSE students â€ŤÚ”â€ŹŕŽŠUVW DQG VHFRQG SULYLOHJH LQ bookings and viewingsâ€? of the DFFRPPRGDWLRQ RŕŽ‰HUHG E\ WZR estate agencies. In contrast, Jason Wong was more focussed on structural changes to the SU and wanted a “more efficient Unionâ€? that focussed on more than just “banning songs [i.e. Blurred Lines], and newspapers [i.e. The Sun].â€? Wong expanded these ideas by stating that the Union was “overly bureaucraticâ€? in his second opportunity to speak, as a candidate for Education Officer, where he outlined his plans to reduce the salaries of the Sabbatical Officers and take on the roles of “two Sabbs for the

price of one.â€? The candidates for Education Officer all took the line that the introduction of a reading week at LSE should be up to the students but if there was to be a reading week there should be no compromise to teaching time. This formed an important part of Jamie Pelling’s broader position that /6( ‍ڔ‏LV D னQH UHVHDUFK LQVWLWXWLRQ‍ ڞ‏LW VKRXOG EH D னQH WHDFKing one as well.â€? Similarly, Dan Martin felt that teaching standards and hours needed to be raised and believed that through his leadership the LSE would make big steps towards having the “best student satisfaction score in the U.K.â€? Another widely shared belief among the candidates was put succinctly by Patricia Grace de Lara who said, “class sizes

[should be] kept smallâ€? and promised to “continue [Rosie Coleman’s, this year’s Education Officer’s] work on Teaching Task Force II.â€? Thomas Maksymiw spoke after her and focussed on ensuring sufficient study help for students by making “basic readingsâ€? widely available and also by “guaranteeing students better feedbackâ€? on their work. Jade Symonds and Sebastian Bruhn were the only two of the Community and Welfare candidates to attend the hustings. Symonds felt that it was “really sadâ€? that some people WKRXJKW WKDW WKH 68 RQO\ RŕŽ‰HUV drinking and the gym when in IDFW WKHUH DUH ‍ڔ‏VR PDQ\ GLŕŽ‰HUent things to get involved inâ€? with “so many societiesâ€? and “so many sports teams.â€? Continued on page 4

8QLRQ %DVKÄ? Lexical nonsense blurs the problem: Adjectives perplex, No answer to who are the “Mysticalâ€? hacks

A song from Houghton Street:

‍ڔ‏1R ŕŽ‹\HUV SOHDVH I’m anti-democracy.â€? Still vote for me.

%DVKÄ? LV WKH %HDYHU‍ڑ‏V KDLNX SRHW 6RPH VD\ WKDW KH FKRRVHV ZKR ZLOO EHFRPH WKH QH[W *HQ6HF EXW HYHQ KH FDQ‍ڑ‏W H[SODLQ ZK\ $OH[ 3HWHUV 'D\ JRW D VHFRQG WHUP DQG WKDW KH ZRXOG UXQ LQ HOHFWLRQV KLPVHOI EXW KH RQFH ORVW DQ DUPZUHVWOH WR $QGR DQG KDV EHHQ EDUUHG IURP GRLQJ VR HYHU VLQFH

Bernard Levin Award! Entries can still be made until the end of term! The panel of judges will consist of Bernard’s friends, journalists and media experts, a representative from the BBC as well heads of The Beaver, Clare Market Review and the Literature SociHW\ <RX FDQ னQG GHWDLOV of all of the judges in the Presentation Booklet (see above). Last year’s winner received a cerWLனFDWH e D ZHHN internship with the BBC, and a night out for 2 for dinner and the theatre in the style of Bernard!

TheBeaver

Established in 1949 Issue No. 809 - Tuesday March 4 2014 - tinyurl.com/beaver809 Telephone: 0207 955 6705 Email: editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk Website: www.thebeaveronline.com Twitter: @beaveronline

The shape of things to come Walk down Houghton Street between today and Thursday and marvel at the array of posters, the innovative and outlandish campaign themes, VFRŕŽ‰ DW WKH EDG VORJDQV DQG FKRUWOH DW WKH GHFHQW RQHV DQG DSSUHFLDWH WKH HŕŽ‰RUW WKDW PDQ\ GHGLcated people are putting in to make our Students' Union a better place, or at least to get a pint out of their chosen candidate in the event of a fortuitous result. Election time is upon us Election time is not, and should not be, the preserve of hacks, bloc votes and vested interests. It is perhaps the one time of year when the Union truly belongs to all its members, the one time when students have a chance to exercise their collective voice. Every student, postgraduate or undergraduate, international or home, has a stake in the School and a stake in our Union. The Beaver urges every one of you to take part in these elections, even if only by exercising your right to vote.

If you feel underinformed, visit the Media Group's dedicated election website http://lsesuelects. co.uk/ and you still have questions, get in touch with The Beaver. This is in many ways a crucial year for our Union. As Education Officer Rosie Coleman says on page ii in our election pull-out, 'Next year is the year to watch', for her position at least. In many ways, this is true of the whole Union. Where progress has been made this year, the new generation of Union representatives must build on it, and there are plenty of opportunities for new innovations, for our next Union representatives to make their mark. The School is undergoing change and our Union needs a grounded candidate with achievable goals and LSE students' best interests at heart. And we'll see you on Thursday in the Venue at 8pm for election results.

Hacks and BME: Identity politics There is nothing hackier than complaining about hacks, and if you are reading this, chances are you are already one. ‘Hack’ is one of those peculiar words of which the meaning seems so hard to pin down. Traditionally referring to a journalist known to write sensationalistic articles and paid by number of words - quantity over quality – the label has now been applied to a certain type of students, namely ones heavily involved in student politics, whether as elected SU officials or the media group. The derogative, just like ‘phony’ or ‘hipster’ before it, connotes a sense of fakeness; a work of a selfimportant amateur masked under the guise of righteous conviction, given undue legitimisation through undeserved platform. But, is there anything necessarily wrong with this? The assumption is that value lies in authenticity, and that any attempt to reach beyond the ERXQGDU\ WKDW LV RQH‍ڑ‏V ULJLGO\ GHனQHG VHOI EHWUD\V this unspoken assumption. However, as university VWXGHQWV DUHQ‍ڑ‏W ZH DOO E\ GHனQLWLRQ DPDWHXUV" Aren’t we all in an ideal place to experiment with the full range of our potentials? To try on roles – politicians, activists, journalists – in the sincerest hope that perhaps they might suit us? Fake it, as they say, until you make it? And this is where The Beaver comes in. We are, னUVW DQG IRUHPRVW GHGLFDWHG WR VWXGHQWV SUDFWLFing their journalistic writing skills with the awareness of a larger audience in mind, with the chance of getting your work out there for everyone to see. Secondly, we wish to represent the views of the whole LSE community, encouraging not only the awareness of other people’s points of view but also a intersubjective dialogues. Still, there is a limit to empathy, and we realise as much as we try lived experience will always triumph over even the greatest of our imagination. Earlier this week, The Beaver has come under னUH LQ DQ /6(68 WXPEOU SRVW ZKLFK VXJJHVWV WKDW some BME students feel that part of our Union, including the Media Group, can be ‘cliquey’, ‘hacky’,

‘exclusive’ and even overly ‘white’ and ‘middleclass’. While it is true that the current editorial board is predominantly ‘white’ and ‘middle-class’, to accuse us of being ‘cliquey’ and ‘exclusive’ seems based more on perceived stereotype and less on reality. And while our members may have opinions on various issues, it has never been the FDVH WKDW ZH HYHU OHW WKDW LQŕŽ‹XHQFHV RXU HGLWRULDO decision. 6WLOO WKH OLYHG H[SHULHQFH RI VHOI LGHQWLனHG BME students are not to be invalidated, and we are always open for any discussion on proposed solution. Submissions, as always, are welcome from writers of any ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, and sexuality. Indeed, the diversity of our VWXGHQW SRSXODWLRQ VKRXOG EH UHŕŽ‹HFWHG LQ WHUPV of representation within the paper, the result of which would be the enrichment not only of this paper’s content but also the vibrancy of LSE community. As such, do not hesitate to contact any of our editor if you have an idea for an article. Structurally, The Beaver has an inclusive, democratic and accountable framework. As an organisation, we are governed by students who have written three or more articles, who become members of the ‘Beaver collective’ and elect all of our senior editors and hold them to account. Any student can stand for most of the positions on the editorial board, whether they have written ten articles or none, and no previous experience is required. We have inclusive and democratic structures in place and we welcome people from all backgrounds, all walks of life, to write for The Beaver and to get involved. So, write for us, and wear a hack badge with pride. After all, aren’t we all just hacking through life anyway? Pretending to know everything about the world in which the best chances we have at truth are mere approximations? As a zeitgeistGHனQLQJ TXRWH IURP D WZHQW\ னUVW FHQWXU\ OLWHUDU\ classic goes: ‘You think you know what’s to come, what you are. You haven’t even begun.’

The

2

Beaver

Room 2.02, Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, LSE Students Union London WC2A 2AE Executive Editor Josh Jinruang (Acting)

editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Managing Editor Josh Jinruang

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News Editor Sophie Donszelmann news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Opinion Editor Sebastien Ash comment@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Social Editor Amelia Thomson social@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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The Collective: A Afridi, A Badwe, A Cameron, A Dawson, A Doherty, A Fraser, A Fyfe, A Hughes, A Laird, A Manawapat, A Moro, A Qazilbash, A Santhanham, A Tanwa, A Thomson, A Wright, B Arslan, B Butterworth, B Phillips, B Rogers, C Loughran, C V Pearson, C Naschert, C S Russell, C Hu, D Hung, D Martin, D Mooney, D Poole, D Sippel, D Wong, E $UQROG ( )RUWK ) %HQQHWW * &DૹHUR G Everington, G Kist, G Manners-Armstrong, G Rosser, G Saudelli, H Brentnall, H Burdon, H Fenton, H Thompson, H Toms, I Mosselmans, I Plunkett, J Allsop, J Anderson, J V Armstrong, J Cusack, J Evans, J Grabiner, J Heeks, J Jackman, J Jinruang, J Mo, J Momodu, J Pelling, J Rosen, J Ruther, J Wacket, J Wong, K Farzad, K Kenney, K Owusu, K Pezeshki, K Quinn, K Rogers, L Hill, L Kang, L Montebello, M Akram, M Crockett, M Gallo, M Harrath, M Jaganmohan, M Neergheen, M Pearson, M Pennill, M Petrocheilos, M Strauss, M Warbis, N Antoniou, N Bhaladhare, N J Buckley-Irvine, N Russell, N Stringer, N Thangarajah, O Hill, O Gleeson, P Amoroso, P Gederi, R Browne, R Chouglay, R Chua, R Huq, R J Charnock, R Kouros, R Park, R Serunjogi, R Siddique, R Uddin, R Williams, S Ash, S Barnett, S Crabbe-Field, S Donszelmann, S Hang Low, S Kunovska, S Parmar, S Sebatindira, S Thandi, T Barnes, T Maksymiw, T Meaden, T Poole, V Harrold

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News Post Crash Economics comes to LSE Manavi Mehra

THE NEWLY-FORMED LSE Post Crash Economics SoFLHW\ KHOG LWV роКUVW $QQXDO *HQHUDO 0HHWLQJ $*0 ODVW Wednesday. Reacting to perceived shortcomings in the HFRQRPLFV V\OODEXV WKH 6RFLHW\тАл┌СтАмV IRXQGHUV KDYH ODXQFKHG a campaign to diversify ecoQRPLFV HGXFDWLRQ DW /6( :HGQHVGD\тАл┌СтАмV $*0 VDZ WKH UDWLроКFDWLRQ RI WKH 6RFLHW\тАл┌СтАмV FRQVWLWXWLRQ IROORZHG E\ HOHFWLRQV WR WKH H[HFXWLYH FRPPLWWHH 7KH PHHWLQJ ZDV ZHOO DWWHQGHG E\ VWXGHQWV IURP D YDULHW\ RI EDFNJURXQGV DQG EHQHроКWHG IURP WKH LQSXW RI 'DYLG *UDHEHU D SURIHVVRU RI anthropology at LSE and inроЛXHQWLDO DXWKRU RI тАл'┌РтАмHEW 7KH )LUVW <HDUVтАл ┌СтАм $WWHQGHHV DW :HGQHVGD\тАл┌СтАмV PHHWLQJ GLVFXVVHG WKDW HPHUgence of a national Post-Crash (FRQRPLFV PRYHPHQW ZKLFK DLPV WR TXHVWLRQ WKH SUHYDlence of neoclassical methRGRORJ\ WKURXJKRXW WKH GLVFLpline of economics. Economics departments have generally been dominated by one paraGLJP DQG LW LV WKLV ODFN RI D SOXUDOLVWLF DSSURDFK WKDW WKH post-crash economics society aims to address. The neoclassical bias is most evident in the mainstream economics MRXUQDOV ZKLFK SXEOLVK DOPRVW H[FOXVLYHO\ QHRFODVVLFDO articles. So-called heterodox HFRQRPLVWV роКQG WKHPVHOYHV LQFUHDVLQJO\ IRUFHG RXW RI HFRnomics departments and into adjacent disciplines. 7KH WXUEXOHQW VWDWH RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO роКQDQFH VLQFH WKH роКQDQFLDO FULVLV KDV XQGHQLDEO\ JLYHQ LPSHWXV WR WKH 0RYHPHQW QRW OHDVW E\ KLJKlighting the limitations and GDQJHUV DVVRFLDWHG ZLWK WKH dominant neoclassical paraGLJP 7KH роКUVW 3RVW &UDVK 6Rciety emerged in Manchester 8QLYHUVLW\ D OLWWOH RYHU WZR \HDUV DJR ZKHQ VWXGHQWV EHJDQ OREE\LQJ WKHLU XQLYHUVLW\ WR GLYHUVLI\ WKH V\OODEXV WR UHроЛHFW D JUHDWHU QXPEHU RI KHWHURGR[ YRLFHV 6LQFH WKHQ VWXGHQW VRFLHWLHV GHPDQGLQJ JUHDWHU SOXUDOLVP LQ HFRQRPLFV KDYH EHHQ JDLQLQJ ZLGHVSUHDG VXSSRUW DQG SRSXODULW\ LQ QXPHURXV %ULWLVK XQLYHUVLWLHV LQFOXGLQJ &DPEULGJH 8&/ 62$6 DQG PRVW UHFHQWO\ /6( 7KH QHZO\ HOHFWHG 3UHVLGHQW RI WKH 6RFLHW\ (FRQRPLFV DQG 3KLORVRSK\ VWXGHQW %HQ 7LSSHW H[SUHVVHG QHHG IRU FKDQJH тАл(┌РтАмFRQRPLFV VWX-

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Tuesday March 4 2013

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News &RQWLQXHG IURP IURQW SDJH Nevertheless she proposed to ‍ڔ‏LPSURYH DZDUHQHVV DURXQG joining societiesâ€? and promLVHG WR ‍ڔ‏VXSSRUW RXU VRFLHWLHV to make sure they can increase SDUWLFLSDWLRQ ‍ ڕ‏ZDV ‍ڔ‏WU\LQJ to get to know societies betWHU‍ ڕ‏DQG ‍ڔ‏WU\LQJ WR XQGHUVWDQG what they wantâ€?, particularly in terms of improving cohesion between societies themselves and with the Athletics’ Union. 7KH னQDO JURXS RI SRWHQWLDO 68 Officers were those standing for Activities and Development 2IILFHU -DVSHU +HHNV VSRNH னUVW LQ SUDLVH RI WKH ‍ڔ‏VWDJJHUing commitments made by members of our clubs and soFLHWLHV‍ ڕ‏DQG VWDWHG WKDW ‍ڔ‏WKLV HŕŽ‰RUW VKRXOG EH PDWFKHG‍ ڞ‏E\ the Students’ Unionâ€? through the Activities and Development Officer providing them ZLWK EHWWHU â€ŤÚ”â€ŹŕŽŠQDQFLDO SURPRtional and logistical support.â€? For Dennis Mooney, such assistance would best take the IRUP RI ‍ڔ‏EHWWHU FHQWUDO VXSSRUW for societies for [publicising]

their eventsâ€? and providing ‍ڔ‏DV PDQ\ IDFLOLWLHV DV SRVVLEOH for as many clubs as possible.â€? Alistair Duncan believed that this latter aim could be DFKLHYHG E\ ‍ڔ‏FKDQJLQJ‍> ڞ‏WKH old Cancer Research building], 44 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, into a sports hallâ€? which would also FRQWDLQ RWKHU ‍ڔ‏VRFLHW\ IULHQGly spacesâ€?. Connor Russell though planned to focus his efforts if he were to be elected not only on clubs and societies EXW DOVR RQ ‍ڔ‏WUDYHO DQG LQWHUnational opportunitiesâ€? and LQ SDUWLFXODU ZRXOG ‍ڔ‏RUJDQLVH exchanges through the Erasmus [Programme] funding.â€? 7KH னQDO FDQGLGDWH RI WKH KXVtings was Marnie Gill who paid VSHFLனF DWWHQWLRQ WR WKH QHHG IRU ‍ڔ‏PRUH LQFOXVLYH RULHQWDWLRQ and freshers’ programmesâ€? as well as increased collaboration between societies through an ‍ڔ‏LQWHU DFWLYLWLHV IRUXP ‍ ڕ‏ The elections for the Sabbatical Officers as well as the Part-time Officers will take place through online voting on www.lsesu.com/vote between 10a.m. on Tuesday 4th

March and 7p.m. on Thursday WK 0DUFK 5HFRUGLQJV RI WKH hustings are available on www. lsesuelects.co.uk. There will be another chance to hear from, and put your questions to, the potential General Secretar-

ies at the debate to be held by LSESU Politics and Forum Society this Tuesday at 7p.m. in the Saw Swee Hock Students’ Centre. JOSH JINRUNG

A student protester arrested for chalking on University of London (UoL) property was today cleared of assaulting two police officers but found guilty of criminal damage. 0V . 'XŕŽ‰ ZDV IRXQG QRW guilty of assaulting special sergeant Liam Suter by kneeing him in the cheek as he and another officer attempted to KDQGFXŕŽ‰ KHU RQ -XO\ ODVW year inside the University of London Union (ULU).

Candidates for Activities and Development Officer at LSESU Islamic Society and LSESU Palestine Society Election Hustings held on February 28

USA Society evaluates the Transatlantic relationship James Evans, Deputy News Editor

USA SOCIETY

LSESU USA Society invited with over seventeen speakers from the world of politics, HFRQRPLFV DQG IRUHLJQ DŕŽ‰DLUV IRU WKHLU ‍ڔ‏7UDQVDWODQWLF &RQIHUHQFH‍ ڕ‏WKH னUVW FRQIHUHQFH of its kind asking big questions about America and its foreign policy with Europe. The aim of the conference was to consider the relationship between the United States and Europe, particularly in light of the perception of the so-called ‘pivot to Asia’ by the US and how that KDV DŕŽ‰HFWHG WKH 7UDQVDWODQtic Relationship. The day was structured in three parts with SDQHOV GLVFXVVLQJ GLŕŽ‰HUHQW components of the relationship, namely the economic, political, and defence aspects of the relationship, mixed in with a number of keynote speakers. Among the speakers at the HYHQW ZHUH IRUPHU 8. 6HFretary of State for Defence,

Liam Fox, LSE Director, Craig Calhoun, Head of representation for the European ComPLVVLRQ LQ /RQGRQ -DTXHOLQH Minor and Sir Richard Ottaway, Chairman of the Foreign $ŕŽ‰DLUV &RPPLWWHH DQG 0HPber of Parliament. A senior member of the society who helped organise and manage the conference, Gregory Kist, told the Beaver WKDW ‍ڔ‏E\ KRVWLQJ WKH FRQIHUence we hoped to promote greater discussion about the United States and how it engages with the rest of the world,â€? he went on to say that ‍ڔ‏D GLVFXVVLRQ RQ WKH 86 LV RIten lacking at the LSE aside from the occasional public lecture.â€? It would appear that the society’s ambitions were achieved with a buzz of conversation about the conference circulating around campus throughout the day. One attendee, a second year Economic History stuGHQW 'DYLG 6FKRனHOG VDLG ‍ڔ‏,

Panelists from left to right: Edward Lucas, Senior Editor at The Economist; Mark Tokola, Minister Counselor RI 3ROLWLFDO $ૼDLUV DW WKH 86 (PEDVV\ LQ /RQGRQ 'U Michael Williams, lecturer of International Relations at 5R\DO +ROORZD\ )UDQFRLV 5LYDVVHDX 'HSXW\ &KLHI RI WKH (8 0LVVLRQ WR WKH 86

Chalking trial: student cleared of police assaults but found guilty of criminal damage

Goldsmiths admissions #fail Applicants to Goldsmiths this year have not received the ideDO னUVW LPSUHVVLRQ DIWHU WKH DGmissions office sent out numerous emails addressed to the wrong people. Taking to twitter and using the #goldsmiths hashtag, prospective students complained that the university was making them nervous by addressing correspondence to the wrong people. The situation was not improved when apology e-mails were sent out – still with the incorrect names. Esther Lumutenga from the Goldsmiths Admissions OfனFH VDLG ‍ڔ‏:H DUH WDNLQJ FDUH of it, we sent out some emails in error. All applicants should have been contacted informing them of the error.â€?

6XVDQ 'DQJHU 0DQDJLQJ 'LUHFWRU RI WKH $PHULFDQ &KDPEHU RI &RPPHUFH WR WKH (8 have been looking forward the most part the conference to this all term; to be able to was well attended, however interact and debate with all it was acknowledged by a those powerful people was an senior member of the society opportunity I didn’t want to WKDW IRU VRPH WDONV ‍ڔ‏WXUQRXW miss.â€? was less than anticipated.â€? Those who attended the However this didn’t come as conference were not disap- a huge surprise due to this pointed. During the defence EHLQJ WKH VRFLHWLHV னUVW HYHU panel in particular there was conference. some passionate debates A more critical member held about the role NATO of the student body did sugplayed in the world, and some gest other reasons for the harsh criticisms of the cur- ORZ WXUQRXW 5LFKDUG &OLŕŽ‰RUG rent American Administration a second year History and IR made by Former Secretary of VWXGHQW VWDWHG WKDW ‍ڔ‏LQ \RXU Defence Liam Fox who states face Americanism doesn’t sit WKDW KH ZDV ‍ڔ‏GHHSO\ GLVDS- well in such an inclusive mulpointedâ€? by the current Oba- ti-cultural university like the ma government and their for- LSE.â€? Despite this, many are eign policies. now looking towards the fuAs a daylong conference ture and asking whether the the society had big ambitions, conference will become an with speakers running from LSE tradition. 8.30 in the morning through to seven in the evening. For

ULU referendum results Following a vote on the future of the University of London Union by the Collegiate Council last year, ULU is currently to be reformed following an eight-month review. This will entail the abolition of the full-time ULU sabbatical officer positions, due to low voter turnout; only 2% of UoL’s 120,000+ students typically vote in elections. The ULU building will remain as a services centre, run by management, which claims it will continue to run most services as normal.

the

Beaver

Tuesday March 4 2013

“That’s What She Said� NUS Summit on Lad Culture Kanan Parida

RECENTLY, the NUS Summit on “lad cultureâ€? brought together Students’ Union representatives, NUS representatives and women in leading positions in their னHOGV )URP /DXUD %DWHV 7KH Everyday Sexism Project and National Strategy Ambassador to Minister for Women and Equalities, Jenny Willott, the summit constituted representation of women from all ZDONV RI OLIH 7KH 6XPPLW ZDV called after the NUS report, ‘That’s what she said – women students’ experiences of

lad culture in higher educaWLRQ‍ ڑ‏ZDV SXEOLVKHG 7KH UHport found that “lad cultureâ€?, a social construct where men are encouraged to engage in homophobic, misogynistic and sexist behaviour, is an extremely prominent issue in higher education instituWLRQV 2I D VXUYH\ FRQGXFWHG of forty female students from universities in England and 6FRWODQG னIW\ SHU FHQW LGHQWLனHG ‍ڔ‏ODG FXOWXUH‍ ڕ‏DV D PDMRU LVVXH DW WKHLU XQLYHUVLWLHV Amongst those in attendance at the Summit was LSE Students’ Union Education 2IILFHU 5RVLH &ROHPDQ $W-

The Beaver asked SU Education Officer, Rosie Coleman, about her experiences attending the NUS Summit on Lad Culture. In speaking with representatives from other universities, how do you think LSE stands in terms of the prevalence of “lad cultureâ€? on campus? Is it worse or better than others? In many ways Lse is better than other universiWLHV %RWK WKH XQLRQ DQG WKH XQLYHUVLW\ KDV FHUWDLQ policies in place, relevant people students can go to and students who are more often than not intelligent enough and respectful enough to know what LV DSSURSULDWH WR VD\ DQG GR +RZHYHU FHUWDLQ DVpects of ‘lad culture’ is just so well ingrained in society as institutional sexism, gender stereotyping and expectations in relation to characteristics RU DFWLRQV ,Q WKLV UHVSHFW LW GRHVQ‍ڑ‏W PDWWHU KRZ ‍Ú?‏JRRG‍ ڑ‏/VH LV FRPSDUHG WR RWKHU XQLYHUVLWLHV 8Qtil we can say that Lse students feel safe on our FDPSXV DQG GRQ‍ڑ‏W H[SHULHQFH GDPDJLQJ HŕŽ‰HFWV RI lad culture, then LSE and LSESU has a long way WR JR What comment did you hear at the conference that resonated with you? 7KH PRVW LPSRUWDQW FRPPHQW FDPH IURP %HQ :KLWWDFNHU +HDG RI 0HPEHUVKLS DW WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ :HVW /RQGRQ 6WXGHQWV‍ ڑ‏8QLRQV KDYH EHHQ FRPplicit in producing ladculture in our student bodies as ways to create communities, disseminate LQIRUPDWLRQ DQG VHOO SURGXFWV $W WKH EHJLQQLQJ of each year we encourage societies/clubs to elect a head of their tribe, follow their instruction and QRW TXHVWLRQ WKHLU DXWKRULW\ 7KLV LV HVSHFLDOO\ WUXH amongst sports clubs where initiations are prime evidence of that inability to challenge authority and abiding by club-set rules in order to make it LQWR WKH FOXE :H DV RIILFHUV DQG VWDŕŽ‰ WKHQ UHO\ RQ these committees/captains/presidents to spread LQIRUPDWLRQ QRWLனFDWLRQV DQG 68 SURSDJDQGD WR their members to help us communicate with a VWURQJ VWXGHQW ERG\ $QG WKHQ ZH ZRQGHU ZK\ FXOWXUHV HPHUJH :K\ SHRSOH GRQ‍ڑ‏W FKDOOHQJH comments that may be racist or sexist or homoSKRELF :K\ SOD\LQJ E\ WKH UXOHV RI DQ RŕŽ‰HQVLYH JDPH LV EHWWHU WKDQ VWDQGLQJ XS WR LW $QG 68‍ڑ‏V DFWLRQV GRQ‍ڑ‏W VWRS WKHUH 0RVW 68V LPSOHPHQW WKH same old marketing tactics for nightclub events or freshers welcome parties, as mainstream private FOXE QLJKWV 0RVW IUHVKHUV FDQ H[SHFW WR JR WR D EURV DQG KRHV VW\OH HYHQW (YHQ OVHVX‍ڑ‏V EUDQGLQJ IRU WKH னUVW ‍Ú?‏VFKRRO SDUW\‍ ڑ‏FUXVK QLJKW RI XVHG a fully dressed male headteacher (holding the obligatory cane) and a scantily dressed schoolgirl to

“ Until we can say that LSE students feel safe on our campus and don’t experience damaging effects of lad culture, then LSE and LSESU have a ORQJ ZD\ WR JR ‍ڕ‏ Rosie Coleman, Students’ Union Education Officer

tending in full capacity as the Students’ Union’s education officer, she commented that it was eye-opening to see the number of men in atWHQGDQFH DW WKH FRQIHUHQFH In terms of LSE’s stance in the presence of “lad cultureâ€? on campus, Coleman commented, “though LSE may be better than other universities, due to relevant policies being implemented, certain aspects of “lad cultureâ€? are ZHOO LQJUDLQHG LQ VRFLHW\ ,Q this respect, it doesn’t matter how ‘good’ LSE is compared WR RWKHU XQLYHUVLWLHV 8QWLO we can say that LSE students feel safe on our campus and don’t experience damaging HŕŽ‰HFWV RI ODG FXOWXUH WKHQ LSE and LSESU have a long ZD\ WR JR ‍ڕ‏ %HQ :KLWWDFNHU +HDG RI Membership at the University West London, made possibly RQH RI WKH PRVW VLJQLனFDQW comments at the summit, LQ &ROHPDQ‍ڑ‏V RSLQLRQ +H claimed that Students’ Unions are conducive to the prevalence of “lad cultureâ€? in universities, as they encourage “herd mentalityâ€? and people are dissuaded from questioning any racist, sexist or homophobic comments made

JHW SHRSOH LQ WKH GRRU :H FRQWULEXWH WR WKH LGHD that boys can go to these events to have fun, wear some ridiculous fun costume and make friends, while our female students must come in uniform, D RQH VW\OH னWV DOO RXWனW ZKHUH LI \RXU ERREV RU legs aren’t on show then you’re never going to have fun, get a free drink or get noticed by the ER\V %\ EHLQJ FRPSOLFLW LQ WKHVH VWHUHRW\SHV XQions cannot say that we provide a save space for RXU VWXGHQWV PDOH RU IHPDOH $QG WKLV UHDOLVDWLRQ LV LPSRUWDQW 8QLRQV PXVW EH WKH JROG VWDQGDUG VR that Universities have no choice but to acknowledge the gap in our provisions and match our VWDQGDUGV 7KLV LV ZKDW ZH VKRXOG EH VWULYLQJ IRU Did you attend in an official capacity as education officer? <HV , ZDV DWWHQGLQJ LQ DQ RIILFLDO FDSDFLW\ 0DQ\ $FWLYLW\ DQG 'HYHORSPHQW 2IILFHUV IURP RWKHU XQions were there also, as well as other sabbatical SRVLWLRQV IXOO WLPH VWDŕŽ‰ VWXGHQWV DQG FDPSDLJQHUV 7KH PDMRULW\ RI WKH ZRUNVKRSV , DWWHQGHG ZHUH UHJDUGLQJ WHDFKLQJ DQG OHDUQLQJ What other comments do you have regarding the event? It was excellent to see so many men at the sumPLW 8QOLNH VRPH 186 HYHQWV IRFXVHG RQ JHQGHU this summit was open to anyone irrespective of their gender or other self identifying characterLVWLFV 7KLV PHDQW ZH KDG YHU\ IUDQN KRQHVW DQG sometimes challenging debates, and I have no doubt in saying that everyone there learnt a lot IURP WKH VKHHU GLYHUVLW\ RI GHOHJDWHV What measures are being taken/ will be taken to tackle the issue of “lad cultureâ€?? Nationally, a lot of the actions are focused on LQIRUPLQJ SHRSOH RI ZKDW WKH LVVXHV DUH 0RVW SHRple just don’t know what counts as inappropriate, WKUHDWHQLQJ RU VH[LVW , WKLQN RI P\VHOI DV SUHWW\ well informed, but there are lots of things I hadn’t HYHQ WKRXJKW DERXW , UHDOLVHG GXULQJ ODVW ZHHN‍ڑ‏V summit that all those times through secondary VFKRRO ZKHQ ER\V XVHG WR ŕŽ‹LFN P\ EUD VWUDS RU try to undo it in class without my permission, that ZDVQ‍ڑ‏W ŕŽ‹DWWHULQJ DQG VKRXOGQ‍ڑ‏W KDYH EHHQ WDNHQ DV D VLJQ RI WKHLU DŕŽ‰HFWLRQ DWWUDFWLRQ WRZDUGV PH EXW UDWKHU ZDV UHLQIRUFLQJ JHQGHU GLŕŽ‰HUHQFHV REMHFWLனFDWLRQ RI IHPDOH FODVVPDWHV DQG LQVWDOOV the idea that it’s okay for boys to hurt you/embarUDVV \RX EHFDXVH \RX NQRZ WKH\ ‍Ú?‏ORYH‍\ ڑ‏RX ,W‍ڑ‏V things like this that are seen as ‘banter’ once we JHW LQWR XQLYHUVLWLHV ,W‍ڑ‏V QRW RND\ WR FDOO D JLUO D slut just because she got with your friend on a

IURP SRVLWLRQV RI OHDGHUVKLS In wake of these comments, FHUWDLQ VWDWLVWLFV VWLFN RXW “Lad Cultureâ€? has dangerous consequences for both men DQG ZRPHQ ,Q IDFW VXLFLGH LV the leading cause of death in men under 30 years old; this is largely attributed to their failure to uphold the expectaWLRQV WR EH PDVFXOLQH If “lad cultureâ€? is such a prevalent issue, how is it being tackled? Discussed in depth at the summit, it was concluded that even small and LQVLJQLனFDQW DFWV FRQWULEXWH to our constructed ideas of gender, which dichotomises men and women, strong and weak, protector and protected, sexual and sexy, objectiனHU DQG REMHFWLனHG $ NH\ method to break these stereotypes is by informing people RI WKHLU H[LVWHQFH 5RVLH &ROHPDQ (GXFDWLRQ 2IILFHU RI WKH Students’ Union, comments, “I really hope we at LSESU, and unions across the country, can incorporate gender stereotyping awareness or anti sexism training into our sports clubs’ and societies’ annual inductions, to tackle ‘lad culture’ issues at one of WKHLU PDLQ VRXUFHV ‍ ڕ‏

QLJKW RXW RU LV KDSS\ WR H[SUHVV KHU VH[XDOLW\ ,W‍ڑ‏V not okay to nickname girls banterous, but actually GHJUDGLQJ QDPHV ,W‍ڑ‏V QRW RND\ WR H[SHFW D JLUO to get with you in a club because you bought her D GULQN RU VDLG VKH ZDV EHDXWLIXO ,W‍ڑ‏V QRW D FDVH RI RZQHUVKLS RU SD\LQJ RŕŽ‰ GHEWV :KDW PD\ VHHP OLNH VPDOO DQG LQVLJQLனFDQW DFWV WR VRPH SHRSOH all contribute to our constructed ideas of gender, which dichotomises men and women, strong and weak, protector and protected, sexual and sexy, REMHFWLனHU DQG REMHFWLனHG ,QIRUPLQJ SHRSOH RI these things are key, because these are very manDJHDEOH WR FKDQJH RQFH SHRSOH NQRZ 2Q D PRUH local level, I really hope we at LSESU, and unions across the country, can incorporate gender stereotyping awareness or anti sexism training into our sports’ clubs and societies annual induction/ orientation, to tackle lad culture issues at one of WKHLU PDLQ VRXUFHV At the conference was it discussed as to why ‍ڔ‏ODG FXOWXUH‍ ڕ‏LV DQ LVVXH" 'RHV LW D૸HFW HYHU\one- or just female students? <HV LQ JUHDW GHSWK ,W GRHV DŕŽ‰HFW HYHU\RQH Gender stereotyping doesn’t help anyone and lad culture is a consequence of this! Suicide is the OHDGLQJ FDXVH RI GHDWK LQ PHQ XQGHU \HDUV ROG Leading research attributes this in large part to IDLOLQJ WR XSKROG H[SHFWDWLRQV RI PDVFXOLQLW\ /DG culture is not a new phenomena, in fact it occurs historically in decades when traditional position of men has been challenged, almost like an overcompensation, and whilst I don’t buy into this wholeheartedly, lad culture is damaging to men DQG ZRPHQ ,W DOVR DŕŽ‰HFWV VRPH SHRSOH PRUH WKDQ RWKHUV /LNH DOO LVVXHV UHODWLQJ WR JHQGHU LW LV LQWHUVHFWLRQDO +RPRVH[XDO PHQ IRU H[DPSOH DUH OLNHO\ to have far greater difficulties than heterosexual men, as for many the traditional masculine traits, those associated with being a ‘lad’ are not met if women are not the focus of your sexual attracWLRQV %0( ZRPHQ GLVDEOHG ZRPHQ KRPRVH[XDO women or transgender women are also more likeO\ WR VXŕŽ‰HU QHJDWLYH FRQVHTXHQFHV RI ODG FXOWXUH than white, able bodied straight women, because they are less able/willing to conform to society’s H[SHFWDWLRQV RI ZRPDQKRRG /DG FXOWXUH LV KRUrendously damaging to everyone involved, but it’s HYHQ PRUH GDPDJLQJ WR WKRVH ZKR DUH H[FOXGHG As Toni Pearce, president of NUS, said to wrap up the conference “If the only criticism to #ladculturesummit is that called ‘ladculture’ then get RYHU LW DQG OHWV VWDUW GHDOLQJ ZLWK SURSHU LVVXHV ‍ڕ‏

Tuesday March 4 2014

Poland. Europe. 2015.

Christopher Cmoch

LAST WEEKEND, the LSE SU Polish Business Society played host to one of the largest student-led events to take place on campus – the LSE SU Polish Economic Forum 2014. Over 480 delegates representing a multitude of high-level universities and companies came together in the School’s Old Building to participate in this year’s Forum, under the theme ‘Poland. Europe. 2025.’ The various keynotes and panel discussions throughout the day aimed to shed light on Poland’s future – a particularly salient topic, as the country is predicted to go from currently being the largest net EHQHனFLDU\ RI WKH (8 EXGJHW to becoming an important net contributor by the year 2025. His Excellency Witold SobkĂłw, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, began the conference with a welcome address,

in which he spoke about the important role that Polish students and young professionals in the UK will have in shaping the future of Poland. Speakers from the Polish business and political ĂŠlite discussed matters ranging from the role of Polish companies on the global stage, to the highly inspirational speech given by JĂłzef Wancer, CEO RI %DQN %*Ä˝ RQ WKH WRSLF RI what it means to be a leader. The most eagerly anticipated event of the day was the keynote address delivered by the former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Poland, Jacek Rostowski. Famous for championing the biggest and most controversial pension reform in Poland since the 1990s, Rostowski spoke to a packed Old Theatre about the possible future shape of Poland both domestically and on the international stage, particularly through

drawing comparisons between Poland and Britain. As an LSE alumnus, Mr Rostowski noted the large degree to which the School has changed since his time here in 1975, however he reacted less than positively to the aesthetics of the new Saw Swee Hock Student Centre. In his closing speech, the Chairman of the LSE SU Polish Business Society – Jakub Szewczyk (third year BSc Management Science) – highlighted how in just three years, the Forum has grown from being a small event organised by 8 society members, to being one of the largest events held on the LSE campus, providing an excellent opportunity for Polish students and professionals in the UK to meet with representatives of top companies and establish contacts which may prove to be invaluable in the future. With the undoubtedly great success of this year’s Forum, next year’s

event is already eagerly anticipated and promises to be

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even more impressive.

“Female Leadership in the 21st Century� Martha Petrocheilos

THIS PAST THURSDAY, the LSESU Women Leaders of Tomorrow, LSESU Agents of Change, Women in Business and Feminist Society, hosted an event entitled “Female Leadership in the 21st Century�. The event was hosted by Professor Linda Mulcahy, Professor within the LSE Law Department, and addressed fundamental concerns that young women often face in the workplace and beyond, their work and life balance, and

their response to a commercial world that tests their versatile nature in an everyday basis. It was divided in two SDQHOV WKH னUVW RQH FDUULHG a more academic, humanitarian aura, whereas the second one focused more on the corporate arena. Issues such as whether positive discrimination should be acceptable and to what extent women could use their femininity, came up. The speakers varied from the Director of the LSE Gender Institute, Professor Diane Per-

rons, and Chantelle Clark, an LSE graduate having created Rivers Coaching improving accessibility to education for young people from low income families to Carol Rosati from Harvey Nash and Pinku Lilali from OBE. As Pinky Lilani, 2007 winner of an OBE award, stated, the secret to success for women in the workplace is to “stay true� to themselves; which means that their femininity should not be played down, but rather used to their advantage. As Chair,

Linda Mulcahy, humorously remarked, women should not be reluctant to communicate their concerns on time management to their partner and ask for help. This seemed to follow some words of wisdom circulating amongst the panel that “the best career advice lies within your choice of who to marry.â€? The second panel, including Hannah FieldsLowes, corporate lawyer partQHU IURP 0DQKDWWDQ ODZ னUP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, WR 0DJJLH 9DQ‍ڑ‏W +RŕŽ‰ JHQeral manager of Retail IT at Shell) and Zarja Cibej (Principal in the Retail Practice of the Boston Consulting Group), focused on the impact of the new maternity leave legislation. All of the panelists noted that the passing of a law unfortunately constituted nothLQJ EXW D â€ŤÚ”â€ŹŕŽŠUVW VWHS‍ ڕ‏DQG WKDW true change was far to come. Although the new legislation places greater emphasis on men’s role in baby care, Hannah Fields-Lowes rushed to point out this often results to the man feeling “emasculatedâ€?. On the issue of mentors

coming up and the extent to which they have helped young women thrive, Yasmin Lilu’s remarks were very interesting. Acting as a Senior Manager in Accenture, she noted that her mentors have always been male; and that when females are searching for a mentor, they should go for the individual that embraces the characteristics they would “wish to develop themselvesâ€?. As to the best piece of advice from the whole panel: “Do not hesitate to take credit. Men are very good at that, and us women need to step up our act and escape the timid facade in the workplaceâ€?. The event went well overtime and combining the best names in academia and the commercial world, it was a tribute to women, through the exchange of success stories and personal experiences of independence, hard work and perseverance in developing the prismatic, FRQனGHQW DQG DGDSWDEOH QH[W female leaders of tomorrow.

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Tuesday March 4, 2014

Opinion The “Small Annoyances” Manifesto A Plea to SU Candidates: Fix the Small Things First

Photo credit: Flickr: Mal Booth

Ben Phillips I possess neither the nerve nor the guile to run as a candidate in the upcoming Students’ Union elections. For those who do, I have some advice. During the election period, Houghton Street will be adorned with posters, flyers, banners, costumes and, most importantly, promises. Most of these promises will be broad and audacious. Assurances that the cost of living will go down if you vote for X, that the LSE will be more oriented towards its students if you vote for Y, that a more united student community will develop if you vote for Z. All of these are commendable aims, but audacity is too often synonymous with unfeasibility, certainly in the short term. Year upon year, the promises made by SU candidates are too vague to be effective or too far-reaching to be delivered. Yet there is good news. There are a multitude of objectives for candidates to sink their teeth into this year. These objectives do not pertain to all-encompassing reform or systematic change. Rather, they focus on the little things; the small but frequent annoyances endured by us regular students. Let’s begin with our library’s printers. After two years at the LSE, I am no closer to understanding

the pedantic and infuriating beast which lurks inside those machines. Time and time again, I see students ready to print glorious pieces of work, their eyes ablaze with victory and relief. As they move from pride to bemusement, to bewilderment and finally to rage; it is clear that the library printers have won their vile game. A commitment to investigating the failure of so many printing attempts would produce a daily reduction in many students’ time (and blood) pressures. Printing in the British Library of Political and Economic Science should be easy, not an odyssey. The next focus of the ‘small annoyances’ manifesto is just as obvious: sort out the LSE’s student email system. Last year, we were logged out of our accounts with ludicrous frequency when using anything other than an LSE computer. This year, many of us are redirected through multiple login pages before being allowed to access our emails. The LSE computers, formerly the last surviving fortress of reliable student email, are no longer connected to Microsoft Outlook. Tasks such as attaching documents to our emails are made just a little more difficult. Neither multiple login pages nor a disconnection from Outlook wastes more than a couple of minutes per day for LSE students, but it

is the frustration of seeing these easily fixed problems unsolved which adds significance. The same applies for Moodle. Many courses now use a new and separate website for reading lists, which students can be directed to through Moodle. There is nothing inherently wrong with this and, to be fair, the new reading lists website is pretty snazzy. The little but constantly bothersome issue is that students, having just logged into Moodle, are asked to submit exactly the same details again in order to access their reading lists. This is unnecessary, maddening and could be addressed with incredible ease. The ‘small annoyances’ manifesto would be lost without a mention of the tables and umbrellas made available to students on Houghton street. During clement weather, things get mildly frustrating. The tables range from being in a bad condition to falling apart – would replacing them deal a crippling blow to the LSE’s budget? It is when the rain comes down, however, that the fun really begins. Providing only two umbrellas, one of which is so wobbly that only the most dedicated (or hard-headed) students would dare to stand beneath it, just doesn’t seem good enough for the vast array of societies making use of Houghton street.

The above issues are, in a sense, palatable. We students are capable of biting our tongues, taking a deep breath and getting on with our days in the face of an evil printer or a bureaucratic website. But to experience these problems and never tackle them is unbecoming of an institution like the LSE. SU candidates should keep that in mind. Sadly, there is a problem with the ‘small annoyances’ manifesto: it is not particularly inspiring. VOTE X FOR STABLE TABLES ON HOUGHTON STREET is not a slogan which will put fire in the bellies of politically active students. A campaign predicated on extensive change may well be more successful than one which humbly promises to fix a few irritations. It goes without saying, though, that the wisdom of a campaign is not necessarily reflected in its success. Rather, it is reflected in the tangible benefits which students should feel during an elected officer’s term. If the little problems at the LSE are fixed, the benefits will be real and daily. None of this is to say that big promises and projects should be dismissed altogether. The large-scale proposals of SU candidates are normally admirable, poignant and constructive in the long term. There are students whose ambitions for the LSE

stretch far beyond a few fixed umbrellas or a streamlined Moodle, and rightly so. But before offering these revolutionary changes, candidates should spare a thought for the smaller problems. The problems that are constantly frustrating but never fixed. This year, why not take a little time and effort to address them?

“It may not add an edge to your campaign, it may not be inspiring and it may not be what you imagined ... but consider placing a little focus on our university’s small annoyamces.” So, SU candidates: it may not add an edge to your campaign, it may not be inspiring and it may not be what you imagined campaigning for during these crucial weeks, but consider placing a little focus on our university’s small annoyances. Fix them, and students both political and apathetic will thank you.

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Opinion

Rethinkining FGM A critical look at the discourse on female genital mutilation Nick Osborn “We all talk about it: FGM. The crime of the ‘Other’. What heartless community could allow such abuse to go on. They must be weird, deranged, barbaric people. We need to try and help these women and children, they all need to be liberated and allowed their individual rights.� Despite being shortened and slightly bluntly put, these themes pulsate beneath the opinions articulated by students and human rights activists when discussing the topic of female genital mutilation. Although understandably, they represent a problematic way of viewing FGM and more chillingly, they seep into the discourse of NGOs and the United Nations.

“The aim of this article does not dispute the immorality of FGM, but seeks to show how the discourse surrounding the practice is problematic.â€? The aim of this article does not dispute the immorality of FGM, but seeks to show how the discourse surrounding the practice is problematic, and is often unable to provide local solutions because of viewing culture as an ahistorical, recalcitrant aggressor, seen as the ‘other’, needing liberation through inclusion into the Western cultural system of ‘transnational modernity’ that underlies the UN. There is a need to recognise that the UN projects an image of being ‘acultural’ yet in reality this is a veneer that masks the liberal Western Individualist project it attempts to export. The UN operates within and perpetuates ‘a particular cultural system rooted in a secular transnational modernity’ (Merry, 2003). Such policy is undeniably problematic as it ‘others’ FXOWXUH GLŕŽ‰HUHQW WR WKH OLEHUDO West. Cultures are then seen to be a problem rather than as a resource. Merry points out that there LV D FRH[LVWHQFH RI WZR GLŕŽ‰HUent understandings of culture in the UN CEDAW constitution. The view of culture as the ‘unchanging, intransigent REVWDFOH‍ ڑ‏RSSRVHG WR D ŕŽ‹XLG dynamic, unbounded idea of

culture; subject to contestations from insiders and outsiders. When the UN operates on the former idea of culture it is very problematic, a normative hierarchy is created between bounded views of traditional culture and the supposedly non-cultural Human Rights system. Such a hierarchy can at times manifest itself in a form of neo-colonialism. In the French colonial period Algerian women were ‘unveiled’ in a ceremony by French women as a symbolic act of ‘enlightenment’ of the French rule in the 1950s (Walley 1997, 424). The same concept of an enlightened, liberating ideology can be seen in modern day human rights discourse, encouraging a Salvationist ideology- not all that dissimilar to colonial rule. The United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women’ (CEDAW) is one of many initiatives to reprimand states and people condoning FGM through a policy of shaming (a carrot masquerading as a stick). Whilst this serves some purpose in pressuring states into ratifying CEDAWS regulations, it invokes an inclusion/exclusionary standard of civilisation that condemns guilty states to being seen as the ‘other’. This is damaging because it augments the hierarchy of Human Rights in relation to the local

Photo credit: Flickr: tlupic

from which spawns a homogenising Salvationist discourse. Ironically, such an approach hinders the UN and the NGOs seeking solutions to FGM. Here is why: it promotes a view of FGM practicing cultures as traditional, concrete ‘rock’ like cultures engaged in ahistorical damaging practices (Merry) in opposition to the ‘non’ cultural UN. Thus, Cultures are deemed as a problem in the construction of solutions to FGM rather than a crucial ally. Human rights needs to draw on the second notion of culture- as a dynamic, unERXQGHG ŕŽ‹RZ ZKLFK LV DEOH to be changed from within through internal and external power relations. When seen in this light, it is possible for HR to play a part in processes of cultural transformation without resorting to functioning as a law set on uprooting cultural practices. An important factor within this is the local and the HR regime being viewed on the same level- FGM not being XVHG WR GHனQH D FRPPXQLW\ DV barbaric, but recognised to be embedded in a culture that is continually dynamic, and with its own unique value system that needs to be seen as valid and interconnected to the world, just as ours is. As Dembour aptly put it ‘being sensitive to culture does not need to entail a tolerance to all cultures produce’

(Dembour, 1996: 27). Put simply, I am not arguing for cultural relativism. I am suggesting that when we understand )*0 DV SURGXFWV RI GLŕŽ‰HUHQW histories and as multiple manLIHVWDWLRQV RI GLŕŽ‰HUHQW VWUXFtures of personhood; then this allows the HR regime to be better suited to understand and help actually provide solutions to the problem of FGM – without adopting a derisive, patronising tone in doing so.

“Human rights needs to draw on the second notion of cultureas a dynamic, XQERXQGHG ૾RZ which is able to be changed from within through internal and external power relations.â€? As Merry said: The United Nations has begun to adopt such a view of culture, having UHPDUNDEO\ SRVLWLYH HŕŽ‰HFWV when doing so. In Sudan there is social change arriving from a campaign called ‘Saleema’: Arabic for whole, healthy, in-

tact. It is based on the idea that a girl is born ‘Saleema’ and so they remain ‘Saleema’, this is an initiative that has impacted hundreds of communities (The Guardian). It is essentially based on introducing a positive expression for the purity of the female body. Prior to this only ‘ghalfa’ described an uncircumcised woman that pejoratively implied prostitution and slavery. Arguably this initiative is tapping into the negative association within the cultureconfronting it through its own logic by drawing on trying to shift the manifestation of sexual purity to be expressed WKURXJK D GLŕŽ‰HUHQW FXOWXUDO idiom than Female genitalia practices- that of ‘Saleema’. Make no mistake, there are high stakes involved in the ‘hard work’ of grounding the understanding and tackling of )*0 DV SDUW RI GLŕŽ‰HUHQW KLVtories and an expression of GLŕŽ‰HUHQW FLUFXPVWDQFHV $EX Lughod,2002). Perhaps the role of Western Feminists is increasingly, to raise up, rather than to lead; to enable non:HVWHUQ ZRPHQ GLŕŽ‰HUHQWO\ constructed people – to generate discourse from the subjectivity of their own culture into the interconnected world rather than being a mere addition to the din of transnational modernity.

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Tuesday March 4, 2014

Opinion

What Is Morality Without God? A response to those who say we can live morally without God Jasim Malik Can you be Good without God? - A question that has been posed since the dawn of mankind. I respond to my counterpart’s article in two parts; First, by challenging the ability of human rationality alone to account for a coherent morality on a societal level. And second, by scrutinising the morality of the individual in relation to God. The ability of man’s rational pursuit of a moral code to spawn a coherent account of morality has fundamental flaws. In the debate, it was argued that our rationality, intuition, and compassion ground our own objective morality, which we use to derive law independent of God. However, when people get together to determine morality independently, they each come to it with a distinct mind-set, rooted in their respective experiences. There can be no doubt that our views on society, and how it ought to develop and change, are hugely influenced by our experience of it; our individual intuition and rationality are inherently subjective, contrary to the claims often made. The ‘objective’ principle of compassion cited by those who argue against God is by definition emotional and quite clearly selective as well. The argument that when we pool our thoughts together we can overcome this, too, can be made to look tenuous in light of recent historical experiences. Even as groups we have prejudices, vested interests, emotional attachments and severe limitations in our ability to be purely rational, or impartial. In Europe we have seen in modern history that a com-

bination of difficult circumstance, propaganda, and politics culminated in Nazi rule in Germany, despite it being one of the most sophisticated nations of the time. Think about it, have you ever heard ‘populist’ as a reference to an intellectually sound policy? Our collective rationality can produce a sensible moral code on occasion- but very often it does not. God transcends the shortfalls of mankind; without law rooted in Divine guidance, morality is a social convention that is subject to

“Our collective rationality can produce a sensible moral code on occassion- but very often it does not. change. What we thought was right even 20 years ago we now condemn as wrong; who is to say what we think is right now will not be rejected by even our own children? Explaining the origin of current human morality by saying that over time moral societies tend to prosper, whilst others whittle away, is an interesting assertion. There have been many great civilisations throughout history and across the world, with varying degrees of justice present. It is a purely Western phenomenon that in the period before the Renaissance were characterised by significant moral decay and backwardness, only to be replaced by a seemingly linear progression towards increasingly good moral order today. Many other regions of the

world have had previous more successful civilisations, but are now plagued by societal corruption and decay. In the Islamic world, there have been a plethora of morally upright empires starting from over a millennia ago, which have only more recently given way to less moral societies. It is truly difficult to argue mankind is collectively on some perpetual upward moral trend, given that the 20th century featured the greatest loss of life to war in human history. Where, then, does the sense of morality we do have come from? Is it not curious that no matter that your background, culture, or ethnicity we all have a strikingly common appreciation of fundamental morality? From the tribesmen of the Amazon to the residents of Buckingham Palace, who doesn’t recognise honesty, kindness and bravery, for the virtues that they are? Importantly, the assertion

Photo credit: LSESU Islamic Society

of a common innate perception of morality does not deny any role to environmental pressures; as alluded to above, human beings can be manipulated by their circumstances. And so our differing moralities pose little challenge to the miraculous reality that we nonetheless all share a fundamental appreciation of the same core values. It is arguably logical therefore, to claim that this is external in its origin- an input from God into man.

“I see no need to let the removal of God from the moral equation go unchallenged.” Finally, those that strive for a moral existence without God should be allowed to do so. Indeed, it has been a cen-

tral tenet of Sharia Law that minorities are protected and allowed to practice their differing faiths, or lack of, in the Islamic Empires of the past. This is why many thousands of Jews fled persecution in Europe to Muslim Spain and the Ottoman Empire for centuries; a tradition that has recently been reversed, unfortunately. Nonetheless, I see no need to let the removal of God from the moral equation go unchallenged. Whilst some may see this as a moot point, for me it is the most concrete. Can we truly be moral, in the holistic sense of the word, whilst ignoring the Being that brought us into existence when we were nothing, and sustained us every second thereafter?

This article is a reponse to “Who Needs God To Be Moral?” by Liam Hill, published on Tuesday February 18. All articles can be found online at www.thebeaveronline.com.

Tuesday March 4, 2014

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Opinion

Venezuela’s Forgotten Struggle The world is struggling to keep up with developing Alison Cameron The outset of the Venezuelan protests has been somewhat lost amongst the other breaking news stories on our television screens over the past week. In the midst of awards season and the Ukrainian protests, a number of the major news agencies seem to have forgotten completely about the developments in South America. The reality in Venezuela that the news agencies have only just been getting up to speed with, is one of protest, both for and against the government. It is a reality of instability for the Chavista government that no longer has its figurehead; a government that blamed the unrest on the specific actions and proclamations of the opposition leaders and threatened to expel CNN from Venezuela because they might not have been portraying the ‘reality’ of the situation. At the time of writing, 17 people were dead, and in the last 24 hours, another 41 people had been arrested after renewed protests in Caracas, bringing the total up to around 500 detainees. Eight of those arrested were outsiders, denounced by the Presidential Press Secretary on her Twitter as the agents of “international terrorism.” The action has reached the point where other countries have felt the need to declare their position in the protests.

In the United States, Senators Menendez and Rubio presented President Obama with a resolution set to impose sanctions against those in Maduro’s government who hold assets so that the voices of the people can be heard.

“With protests taking place on both sides of the barricades, and both sides calling out for people to support their version of democracy, where is there a solution?” Argentina, on the other hand, has demonstrated its staunch support for President Maduro. And of course she would, it is no secret that Ms. Fernandez was on good terms with the late Chavezsomething that makes her constituents more than just a little nervous. Argentine students that are more informed about what is taking place have presented a much stronger support for one of the leaders of the opposition, Leopoldo Lopez. There was a massive online outcry from this demographic when he was arrested, and

Photo credit: Andreas Lehner 2014

the distribution of his video message to the Venezuelan people was circulated on a massive scale. South American students even at the LSE have been heard to say that Lopez has vision and that if Venezuela does see change in its government, then it could mean the start of significant change in the rest of the continent. These are the very same people that joined the rally that took place in London on February 22 outside the Venezuelan embassy to support their ‘Venezuelan brothers’ in a fight against dictatorship. For every hopeful, however, there is also a

skeptic who, whilst wanting to see change, does not believe it will ever happen. So where does this leave the Venezuelans? With protests taking place on both sides of the barricades, and both sides calling out for people to support their version of democracy, where is there a solution? Will these protests, as the skeptics claim, dissipate in a few weeks and have everything return to the status-quo? Will they continue and instigate some form of change? And if they do, is this country and those people who are proposing to replace the current govern-

“There are so many queries that leave the hopeful dreaming and the realists shaking their heads and expecting nothing.” ment ready for that change? There are so many questions to be answered. So many queries that leave the hopeful dreaming and the realists shaking their heads and expecting nothing.

the

Beaver

11

Tuesday March 4, 2014

Opinion

Russia, Ukraine, and Europe Ukraine faces a deeply uncertain future

Photo credit: Flickr: snamess

Martha Petrocheilos Obama warned Russia that if they intervened in a military fashion, there would be “costs.” But Russia has gracefully ignored those threats. Maybe letting the Ukrainians choose between them and the EU is a decision they that will be make for them instead. With Russia using gas prices as a blackmail weapon, with a fairly heavy dose of military intervention, Ukraine is at the moment in the middle of political turmoil. Some remain convinced this is a people’s revolution whilst others assign the protesters a neonazi rioter status. According to the latter, those hooligans being ruthless and killing policemen under duty, by no means represent the other 45 million Ukrainians. Had this stunt be attempted in Britain or the U.S. for instance, it does not require a great degree of imagination to realise how this would have ended. In a hypothetical scenario whereby crowds gathered in central London, throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks, brandishing iron bars and demanding the overthrow of the government: would they be described as protesters, offered new elections or a constitution limiting the powers of a corrupt government spying on its own citizens? I highly doubt it. I believe that if such upsurge of violence did indeed take place in the streets of London, and not Kiev, the media and the people would unanimously condemn the people involved as rioters and terrorists. Instead of welcoming

the offer of an amnesty, they would call for savage retribution. Contrary to Ukrainian belief, the EU is not some sort of unconditional safety zone. The corrupt system in their country, makes it almost implausible for them to join the EU now. If the police or doctors demand bribes to carry out their particular function, if mayors are only interested in enriching themselves and if you don’t go with it then you end up dead somewhere, what are people supposed to do if it is the system’s fault, not the people’s? The Ukrainians have put up with bureaucratic disasters for a very long time. Deceit is arguably Ukraine’s middle name; the country has undergone the change of three administrations over the last 15 years— with Tymoshenko having been arguably the worst of the lot. Therefore, it lies within their democratic right to wish to exit Russia’s sphere of influence. Such a system of corruption, strays further and further away from any viable system of democracy. Is it just the East facing such a challenge though? Or is the situation pretty much proportionate in the West too, only armed with the talent of putting on a far more convincing show? One of the greatest considerations at this point, is the effect on Russia if they lose their hold on Ukraine. It might seem unimportant and overwhelmed, but the population and industry of Ukraine inevitably turns Russia into a great power. Without it, Russia remains a

purveyor of raw materials, nothing but a petrol station, somewhat of a Libya with nuclear weapons. But is this an exaggerated view of reality? The east and south of Ukraine would break away before allowing the western provinces to waltz off in the direction of Europe— where they are unwanted anyway. This, however, would be a burden that Russia could not bear on its shoulders. Taking over those provinces with their 9.5 million people is no more viable than the EU affording the burden of the western provinces. The CIS would collapse as all the other countries sought refuge from the Russian bear, and the result would be a crippling economic blockade.

“Without it, Russia remains a purveyor of raw materials, nothing but a petrol station Realistically, Ukraine’s future lies as an independent country, having established trading links with Europe, but much closer political and economic ties to Russia. Ukraine is naturally aligned to both and should not be forced to choose. Nevertheless, at the present moment it is argued that there is no path to Europe open for her. The current situation is a real mess, witnessing the country being torn between two kinds of authoritarian rule (one paternalistic, one fascist-corporate). In order to be consid-

ered for membership, they would need to implement tremendous economic reforms and address corruption on a massive scale. Premature entry would simply destabilise the rest of the EU, while doing very little for Ukraine either. At the present moment, the state of Ukraine suppresses virtually all forms of dissent, using restrictive legislation and abusive practices to impede freedoms of association and assembly. The media seems to portray the EU as an optimal strategic power, whereas Russia as an authoritarian empire. Those biased portraits seem convinced that the former is nothing but benign, true to the current anti-Russian and anti-Putin hysteria. Quite frankly, the EU is not going to pay Ukraine higher wages or pensions; despite what people have been told by their government. Similarly, European taxpayers are not going to pay to modernize the factories that Ukrainian oligarchs acquired for a song during privatisation. By all means, Ukraine can overthrow their rotten leaders and try to pave the way to a different future mending the damaged relationship between the east and the west of the country; but honestly, there is no path to Europe open to Ukraine just yet. It might seem like a nonsequitur, but I stand persuaded that the EU elite have realised that their current economic and social crisis is due to the lack of a European “demos”. In other words, there is no collective group of “European people” with

a common culture and notion of belonging, let alone language. While social and economic factors certainly contributed to the unrest, the main root of the problem seems to be the unfinished nation-building due to the Soviet period, and a lack of answer to the questions “What is Ukraine?” and “Who are Ukrainians?”. Comparisons with ex-Yugoslavia are very apt, and hopefully they will be wise enough to prevent a slide in violence that took place in the Balkans during the 90s. Russia is trying to lure Ukraine back into its scope, by reducing gas prices in exchange for public spurning of EU treaties. However, as pointed out in the Washington Post, with oil and gas being 60% of the Russian government’s revenue, if the EU stopped using it, then this could cause immense problems. Aware of its relative vulnerability, Russia has moved its troops into Crimea. As we speak, they are trying to get access to command posts and take over the Ukrainian anti-missile aircraft bases in Crimea. As Russia is engaged in a desperate effort to keep Ukraine away from the embrace of Europe. What Europe needs desperately is something to bind its people together. And the current crisis in Ukraine makes sure that the message is loud and clear for everyone to absorb.

This article reflects events up to February 28.

Opinion

Tuesday January 28, 2014

the

12

Beaver

VISUAL ARTS

ANDY WARHOL, DAVID LYNCH, WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Visual Arts

The Photographers’ Gallery’s latest series of exhibitions include work of US artists Andy Warhol, David Lynch and Williams BurURXJKV FRVWLQJ RQO\ e IRU VWXGHQWV DQG UXQV IURP WKH WK -DQXDU\ WK 0DUFK 7XFNHG DZD\ RQ D VLGH VWUHHW RŕŽ‰ EXV\ Oxford Circus, the Photographers’ gallery’s converted Edwardian warehouse is a perfect location for the contemporary photography of the three artists. 2Q WKH WRS ŕŽ‹RRU 'DYLG /\QFK 7KH )DFWRU\ 3KRWRJUDSKV LV H[KLELWHG ZLWK WKH OLJKW VWUHDPLQJ LQ IURP WKH VWULNLQJ ŕŽ‹RRU WR FHLOLQJ windows. It also accompanied by the murmur of the sound composition created by David Lynch, part of the artist’s characteristic ‘Lynchian style’. Lynch’s many occupations range from directing, acting and as a visual artist. During 1983-1992 Lynch’s interest in photography led him to the north of England where he photographed the changing industrial landscape which his exhibition depicts. Lynch touches on an important part of industrialised nations history and the implications and legacy of the now degraded industrial VHWWLQJ 7KH VXEMHFWLYH QDWXUH RI /\QFK‍ڑ‏V SKRWRJUDSKV HYRNHV SHUVRQDO UHŕŽ‹HFWLRQ RQ WKH FRQQRWDWLRQV RI WKH GHVRODWH EODFN DQG ZKLWH SKRWRJUDSKV )RU /\QFK KH VWDWHV ‍Ú?‏, ORYH LQGXVWU\ 3LSHV , ORYH ŕŽ‹XLG DQG VPRNH , ORYH PDQ PDGH WKLQJV , OLNH WR VHH SHRSOH KDUG DW work, and I like to see sludge and man-made waste’. The pictures are taken from a variety of cities in the USA and the UK, Poland and Berlin. Lynch’s photographs possess a dream like quality and in some photographs; drifting smoke obscures some of the rigid black buildings. Down the stairs away from Lynch’s understated and peaceful exhibition is William Burroughs. Burroughs provides a contrast to Lynch in his attitude and aim of photography. Burrough describes himself as ‘’I drifted along taking shots when I could score. I HQGHG XS KRRNHG‍ ڑ‏5HŕŽ‹HFWHG LQ WKH H[KLELWLRQ LV %XUURXJK‍ڑ‏V FKDQJLQJ DQG H[SHULPHQWDO XVH RI SKRWRJUDSK\ DQG FROODJH %XUURXJK‍ڑ‏V exhibition includes around eighteen series, displaying a wide variety of styles, composition and themes. The series ‘self-portraits’, LV SHUKDSV RQH RI WKH PRUH IDVFLQDWLQJ DV RQO\ WKUHH RI WKH LPDJHV GHSLFW WKH DUWLVW VWUDLJKW RQ ,Q RWKHUV KH LV PHUHO\ UHŕŽ‹HFWHG RU REVFXUHG LQ WKH LPDJH %XUURXJK‍ڑ‏V GHSLFWLRQV RI KLPVHOI RŕŽ‰HU DQ LQVLJKW LQWR KRZ KH IHHOV DUWLVWV WKHPVHOYHV DUH RYHUWO\ SUHVHQW LQ their work. In contrast Burrough’s series ‘portraits’ seemed more straightforward, personal and candid. In series such as the ‘inனQLW\ SLFWXUHV‍ ڑ‏%XUURXJK‍ڑ‏V H[SHULPHQWDO FROODERUDWLRQ RI SKRWRJUDSK\ DQG FROODJH LV HYLGHQW +H ZRUNHG ZLWK PDWKHPDWLFLDQ DQG engineer Ian Sommerville using techniques to reduce multiple images down to a singular picture. The series ‘New York accident’ DOWHUQDWLYHO\ IRFXVHV RQ SKRWRJUDSK\ DV D ZD\ RI GHSLFWLQJ DQG UHYHDOLQJ WKH FRPSOH[LWLHV RI HYHQWV +H VWDWHV ‍Ú?‏WKH SRLQW LV WR PDNH the camera your eyes and take what your eyes are scanning out of the larger picture’. 7KH னQDO H[KLELWLRQ E\ $QG\ :DUKRO GHOLQHDWHV IURP :DUKRO‍ڑ‏V HPSKDVLV RQ SKRWRJUDSK\ DV DQ DUW IRUP :DUKRO VWDWHG ‍Ú?‏, WROG WKHP I didn’t believe in art, that I believed in photography’. Classically Warhol’s distinctive patterns of repeated images are facilitated well by photography. Warhol’s ability to catch the mundane and ordinary and create provoking pieces of art is evident in the series. )RU LQVWDQFH :DUKRO‍ڑ‏V FDSWXULQJ RI ZLQGRZ VKRS VFHQHV RU PDUNHW VWDOOV LQ EODFN DQG ZKLWH DSSHDU VWULNLQJ +RZHYHU WKH H[KLELWLRQ also includes iconic images such as a picture from a Gay Pride Parade or Tina Turner performing at the American Music Awards. All three exhibitions provide an interesting insight into alternative approaches and products of contemporary photography that can vary widely in technique and focus. MARYAM AKRAM

WHAT'S ON 16 October 2013 – 9 March 2014 Tate Modern- Paul Klee 12 February 2013 – 22 March 2014 Thomas Dane Gallery -Glenn Ligon 15 November 2013 – 22 June 2014 Design Museum- Hello, My Name is Paul Smith 6 February 2013 – 1 June 2014 National Portrait Gallery Bailey’s Stardust 20 November 2013 - 23 March 2014 Saatchi Gallery Body Language 5 Gebruary 2014 - 27 April 2014Tate Modern- Richard Deacon

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Alexandra Lulache partb@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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All photos: Photographer's Gallery

13

The Beaver 04.03.2014

14

04.03.2014 PartB

DEVELOPMENT =PROGRESS? PANEL DISCUSSION, CLM 4.02, Thursday 06/03, 7 pm LSESU Terra and LSESU Development will bring together professors from a variety of disciplines to discuss the ideology of development this

Thursday at 7pm in CLM 4.02.

Our panelists are: Dr. Shah (Anthropology), Dr. Stock (History), Dr Putzel (International Development), Dr. Brett (International Development). Afterwards we will get together in the pub for free drinks and lively discussion.

LSESU LENT TERM

All Photos: LSE in Pictures

ELECTION GUIDE 2014

ii

the

BEAVER Â Â ELECTION Â GUIDE Â 2014

How did you decide to go for GenSec? I genuinely believe that LSE SU could be a lot better than it was, which is what I wanted because I had an affinity with the institution as a whole, not the SU but the LSE; I thought the student experience should reflect the actual status of the university. I’m quite an exceptionaist when it comes to the LSE; I think it's one of the best universities in the world and it should have a union that reflects that.

year. So they’re two huge things that didn’t make the cut before elections.

Have you achieved making the LSESU as good as you wanted to? We set out our stall at the beginning of the year to the point that our campaign OneLSE was criticised for advertising the job that we should be doing anyway. But I thought it was the fundamental path we had to go down. I think we have done that. You look at what the candidates this time are saying now and its like 10 times more on student issues and not on international issues. That’s not 100% me. But the conversation has shifted. And we have great new facilities

Is that close to being confirmed? No where near. We have strong allies in the relative decision making bodies but the scale of capital building that is going on within the school at the moment, all these things are on-going so the school isn’t going to stomach it. I’m really disappointed with our progress on international students. I’m not going to criticise our partime officers but maybe this is a reflection of our lack of a full time international students officer that progress hasn’t been as consistent. Or at least a part time paid one

How much did you have to do with the new building, because the plans were finalised before you got here? There was still a lot to do with the transition to the building. Some things were out of my control- particularly with the night club. The aim for me with the move was to make it an instant home, an instant draw for students on campus because you obviously have a history of Houghton Street as a campaigning street with our dingy house in the Quad. Whereas the thing about this was making it the focal point

TTF has been a long battle with the school. As far as I’m concerned we’ve won the argument on class sizes. I can respect Paul Kelly’s position, in terms of getting full time faculty in front of students- which is a noble one- I disagree with removing the upper limit, I think it sends the wrong message and I think when we’re trying to set up a basic floor of provision, I think it’s a dangerous move.

You mentioned oneLSE, how have you fulfilled that? It was about celebrating who we are. The SU rebrand created a synergy between the school and the SU. Parts of the campaign have been more successful than others. The motivation behind it was self-explanatory. Despite being so diverse, why shouldn’t we present that as a unifying thing? But some of the things are still very much in progress, the rent guarantor stuff I going through the finance committee in the next couple of months, that’s been delayed because of the school’s inaction. The housing network’s been done but that’s had to have been far more collaborative than we had hoped but that’s happening as well for the start of next

Other stuff: sports was always going to require more grass roots involvement. That’s been seen through the AU budget motion. We’re creating a conversation with the school that never previously existed. For sporting facilities you can’t forget the gym in the new building but the big aim is the threestorey basement at cancer research and we want that for a sports hall.

You have to work with school staff. Do you find working with them a fruitful process? It’s a mixed bag. Sometimes you feel like a token member, sometimes you have a lot of leverage. For example, with the class size debate, that ability comes from the ability to get that message out, as in TTF can be published and the its tweeted and the school don’t have that capacity of response that we do. How do you engage with students? i.e. BME, Masters? We’ve made no more efforts than other Sabbs. We had orientation groups, that focused not just on drinking and nights out which by the way were successful. Whatever’s said during the election campaign, it was our decision to integrate with RAG. That’s what has given

ROSIE  COLEMAN So‌ one year on from being elected, more or less. 51 weeks. God, yeah. How did you decide to run for Education? How did you end up here? I ran to be education officer because of the things in the school I wanted to change. I’d never really thought about how the union had a role for that until pretty late on. I was one of those typical students who would say they weren’t involved with the union. My first UGM was Hustings, which was shit scary because I’d never been to a hustings or a UGM. My annoyance with the school, the reason I had an issue with the school, was because my second year went really wrong, and a huge part of that was my department sort of fucked us over. That’s certainly how it felt at the time. Yeah. And that department was? International relations. I didn’t feel like

I got very much support and I didn’t feel like they listened to what students wanted. I remember at the time my Dad said ‘You’re really angry about things. How do you change it? How does that work in the school?’ I was like ‘I really don’t know’. I already sat on all these committees, and because I knew DunFDQ >0F.HQQD b 5RVLH‍ڑ‏V SUHGHFHVVRU as Education officer] from a previous life. I forgot about it for six months and then in February I was sat really late in the library one night and an SU staff sent me the emails and I was like ‘Yeah. Ok I’ll do it.’ It was really spontaneous. It was the kind of thing I remember having to tell my friends. I really didn’t know what they were going to say about the whole thing because none of us had been involved in the union at all. But they were really supportive. It was all great and they were the bulk of my campaign team. It was lucky they were onside.

JAY  STOLL them the platform that they have had this year. But we made sure there was a focus on people who don’t see that as their entry point into their social life at University. Tours around London were hugely successful, events for people living at home were hugely successful. Work on BME we have a lot to thank our staff. LSE doesn’t struggle with diversity issue, making people eel included is a constant battle. I don’t think you’re doing the job if you think it’s won. There are structural issues with LSE that it’s going to take- like look at LSE’s current intake from low participating backgrounds, it’s shocking. What time do you get into the office It’s sort of 9 or 7. Sometimes I’m in early dealing with something like the saucy crisis. I get requests from everyone and I feel obliged to respond because there isn’t enough done to delineate between a sabs personal and their work life. What would you like your successor to focus on? Our biggest failure has been cost of living. Because the union has come from such a precarious place financially, about three years ago and was bordering on insolvent, we’ve been very very conservative with the capital we’ve consumed. So the gym is more expensive than we’d like it to be, the food is more expensive than we’d like it to be but because of the increase in the block grant from the school in previous years because of its successful commercial outlets we’re in a better place now to start talking about the cost of living. Why does it cost more for a coffee I the first floor cafÊ than it does it costa coffee? We can really get to grips with that issue and I really want to see the next person take that on. Because I know from my background that that’s what they need to focus on.

ticular backgrounds at LSE, have they’re been any steps taken to recruiting students from these backgrounds? The school is continuing with its outreach to students who are coming from a household income of less than £7000 a year, mainly in the north east, are still able come. The conversations are going ton n the Council, which is the highest decision making body in the university, which I sit on. The conversation on widening participation is bigger here than it is anywhere else, I have very much been pushing the case that we need to humanise our outreach programs. We’re doing very well in the London area but when it comes to having an ambassador scheme up north, it’s non-existent. You need people there who have been t the school. How do you think LSE can compete with other top universities? I think Craig’s biggest challenge in his first term is to really redevelop and restructure the funding system at LSE, just as a matter of comparison, Harvard’s endowment per year is about $34 billion, LSE’s is about $400 million, maybe even less. And that’s not an unfair comparison; it’s the kind of place we should be competing with. And until we start bringing that in we won’t be able to have these huge bursary schemes and scholarship systems that American universities have. Anything else? Online voting has been great success. Look at the turnouts. I wrote in the Beaver last year that it was dead beyond being saved but it’s now working again. It’s now accessible again. And next year I expect there to be bigger more strategic questions on the union’s direction as a result of those decisions. Like are we going to stay affiliated to the national union of students- who knows. People now have the platform.

You’ve said that there are under represented students from parSo you came to Education having had issues, things that you wanted to change. How much success have you had? I always say there is two sides to my job. One is things you change within the school. The other is things you change within the union. On the school side, the curveballs they have sent this year have been ridiculous. But I think we’ve had a lot of success in responding to that and raising the profile of changes, and raising the profile of Education officer in general really. I very much believe that had it not been me, it could have been somebody else who had exactly the same response, but had I not been there when they decided back in October that they were going to change everything, they would have just put it through and it would have just happened already. My approach to student union politics, because I was new to it, and my politics in general and my views on representation are very much like ‘I’m not even prepared myself to make this call’. But students just don’t know this stuff is happening. I think because I had come from just being a normal student in the school. I think we’ve done a lot of raising awareness. A lot of the things that I’ve wanted to do have been reliant on the school making a decision about stuff this year so I guess my real frustration is that they still haven’t bloody put Teaching

Task Force to the academic board. All the things I know students want are at ground level. So different types of assessment and even the reading week debate and all of those things are very much reliant on knowing where decisions are made and this is the point of TTF2. They are moving the goalposts of where decisions are made. Until they decide that, those conversations are in lockdown, which is the great thing about whoever takes over next year. All those doors open. Next year is the year to watch. All the discussions are coming. I was expecting those discussions to come up last January, but they haven’t. In November when I realised the school weren’t going to budge on this is that they are two ways on changing things. Get the school to change it or get the union to sort it themselves. My main gripe with LSE while I was here is that they just didn’t listen to student views and the SU didn’t seem to have an effective way of hearing students either. So I’ve been working quite a lot to try and strengthen representation and thinking of news ways of getting students in a room and getting students to discuss things, bringing issues to them rather than waiting for them to come to us. People don’t know who I am. Some do, but not everybody. I think that’s been really successful and we’ve had great successes

with that. The fact that we can now get about 60 or 70 course reps in a room at a time is a big success. We had focus groups this morning and there were too many people! We had to say we’ll pick you rather than struggling to get people to come and bribing people with food. We don’t do that anymore. Bringing education back into the union has been successful. I’ve done well on that. There are a lot of committees at LSE. How much influence do the committees have, like the SSLC? How much impact do those conversations have higher up and on eventual decision making? RC: Currently, none, is my honest answer. There’s a hierarchy of the committees. I sit on a lot of them. There’s a hierarchy within them and a hierarchy of them. Some of them have loads of importance. Navigating which ones are really worth pushing in is a challenge. And they change. Department head’s forum has been really important this year and no even knew what that was before. We’re not formally invited, but it has a big say. Currently, SSLCs are important at a department level, but that varies. Some listen loads, some completely ignore. They feed into a So Anneessa, how have you found your year as Community and Welfare Officer? It’s been a really, really good experience. Both in terms of being able to give back to the LSE community and in terms of my own personal development. What did you study? I did an Undergraduate degree in Management What made you decide to run for the Community and Welfare role? Well a lot of people were telling me to run for a sabbatical position, which was obviously quite nice. I ran for trustee in my first year. I am Queen of the Trustee Board; it’s quite exciting and I love it to bits. I was on the trustee board for two years, but I certainly didn’t think I’d be running for a sabbatical position. I decided less than a week beforehand, and I still remember writing my manifesto up until the deadline. I don’t know why I decided to run, but I guess that there were some things I was really annoyed about at LSE. What annoyed you about LSE and have you managed to tackle them? Yes. One of the things that really annoyed me was just how intense the exam period was. And that is a really complex problem. On the one hand you’ve got to negotiate with individual departments to think about how they’re teaching, learning and assessing. On other hand you’ve got to think about how to make the exam period less stressful; I know of people who’s suffered panic attacks and had complete breakdowns during the exam time. LSE is a world class institution with world class students, but some of them aren’t even staying afloat. I felt that the way in which students were supported left a lot to be desired. Trying to solve these issues is quite interesting. Normally whenever there’s a committee held in the school there’s a sabbatical officer present, but that doesn’t give us a chance to influence the agenda - all we can do is agree or dissent. We decided that possibly the most effective way of combating this problem - at least in the short term - is looking at how students feel in exam time. So this year we’ve held the first committee between the school and the SU that the SU convenes. In a way our relationship with the School has been moving away from a child-parent relationship to one between critical friends. We’ve now got an informal working group looking to improve student wellbeing at LSE and we’ve found money for wellbeing cam-

ELECTION GUIDE 2014 committee above that, and the minutes from that will be collated annually and read out in a two minute at Academic Board. And that’s student representation! Which is a joke, and it’s disgusting. [AB meets five times a year and they’re two hours, but always go on longer than that.] b If I’m honest, the reason I don’t want the job again next year – there’s a huge number of reasons I would want to rerun – is I can’t deal with the bureaucracy any more, and I can’t deal with them ignoring student issues in that way, because it just takes the piss. But we’re getting there, and will be better by the end of the year. I guarantee it. I didn’t say how much better but it will be a bit better. b Richard Serunjogi wants to ask you this: could you name three things you’ve done that provide concrete proof of what you’ve done rather than just words? We’ve got online lecture capture to be changed. Before, it used to be an optin system, and that’s now changed. It’s the other way around. Which is really good. We started up the course rep congress, which now happens the

week before every Academic Board and course reps come and they discuss the agenda of Academic board. It brings the board back to the people who truly should be in it and we go representing what they say. I’m not going to use the consultation because we use that all the time and what good’s asking them if it doesn’t make any difference? But we did ask a lot of people. I set up the graduate journal, which has finally extended the uni’s provision to PhD students. In past years, the only other things we’ve done for them if give them drink vouchers or campaign for GTA pay. I’ve set up a postgraduate journal. There’s now a full working committee set up by PhD students, two editors and they are looking to publish in the next few months, and we’ve got high profile academics on board. Craig’s on board. Conor Gearty’s on board. Danny Quah’s on board. So I think that’s been really good because it’s a part of the student body we’ve neglected in the past. b Another question was put forward which was what time do you get into the office in the morning. RC: It varies. Yesterday, it was seven. Today I got in at half-past ten. Yesterday I didn’t leave until seven. Today, I’m

ANNEESSA MAHMOOD paign. It’s a huge step forward for the Community and Welfare Officer to have achieved. So what concrete plans can we look forward to seeing during the upcoming exam period? Officially we have Destress Fest, which takes place during the Summer Term. I’ve focused on finding out students’ stress triggers. Generally they include not getting enough sleep, not getting enough healthy food, not getting enough exercise, and leaving things until the last minute. So to tackle these problems we’ll be talking to students about healthy living and healthy eating. We’re planning to start a food coop to make sure people eat healthily. I’m also currently speaking to gym staff about how we can get free exercise classes outside of the library. Essentially students would be able to exercise without getting changed, so long as they wear some form of comfortable shoes. I’m also speaking to student services about issues like mitigating circumstances, and how we make students really aware about the support that does exist. Is there anything you wish you could have done in the last year maybe something you hope your successor carries on pursuing next year? Probably the community spirit stuff. At the beginning of my term there ZDV D VFKRRO VSLULW SURMHFW bJURXS WKDW thought about all of things that could be done to improve school spirit. Out of that huge list the Union chose a few things to resource. For me, everybody would say “this will be really good when we move into into the new building, and things will just happen”. In the first few months there was a build up to the move really. Moving forward, we’re researching communities and community building at LSE: What are the existing communities, how are they built/formed. Do we need to create an overall sense of community? I personally think lse is a community of communities, and people who don’t belong to a community fall through the cracks.,

and that can make the university experience quite a sad one. I’d like my successor to continue work researching what makes community resolve union’s role in community building. So is there more we should be doing to tackle very specific communities? You’ve mentioned community spirit, and possible the lack of it. How do you think union can tackle it? On school level there are diverse, sometimes very distinct communities. There’s also a divide between the school and students, so between its staff and its students etc. Unless the School and the Union work together on building a sense of community, the work of the Union alone isn’t really going to have much traction. The Union and the School need to work together to think about how we build a community. For example, how do we engage alumni in the LSE community? We now invite alumni to talk about what it means to be part of an LSe community during graduations. There’s some stuff we can do when people come to the school, and there’s stuff we can do afterwards. But in between the Union and the School need to work together. We’ve seen clashes between the School and the Union this year, often in the pages of this paper. How have you found working with the School? The Union is a political entity, and we have a right to disagree with what school does. It’s one of the tools we have to influence the School. But we don’t have to disagree with them... At the end of the day, you do what you need to do to get stuff done. I don’t have it as hard as some of the other sabbatical officers as most stuff I suggest I agreed with by the School. The only difficulty really is the resource implications of what we do. The Union is independant of school, but they give us our funding. How do you feel you’ve worked with ethnic minorities to get them involved? The question of underrepresented

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gonna leave at three. It varies because we don’t formally get time off. But we work ridiculous hours sometimes. We get paid well but nobody should be working seven to seven every day. I don’t think students expect us to do that. It varies. But it’s actually brilliant us all being in the same office now, because it means we all hold each other to account in terms of when we get in. b So you like being in the office with SU staff? I love being in the same office as the SU staff. b What have you don’t to engage ethnic minorities? This is the part of my job I never really considered I would have. I always knew I’d have education and committees and that would be my remit. I never considered all the great things I’d do as a Sabb and being part of a team and of the strategic direction of the Union. That’s lovely. I like that stuff a lot. Committees are quite dry. As much as Paul Kelly is occasionally okay, in huge quantities even that’s a bit difficult. We had a Chinese new year event.

groups and those less engaged with the Union is very interesting. After all, does everyone need to be engaged? Not necessarily. We’re working on a project with Postgraduate students and Chinese students, trying to find out what they want from the union and how we do this. We’ve also done some research with BME students, involving focus groups featuring a broad range of students. On a campaign front we’ve been campaigning on the immigration bill. We may be working on an NUS campaign to fix international student fees. We also had our international week, where we collaborated with societies to create the global village in the Venue. It was one way of getting cultural societies and other societies like AIESEC, Itchy Feet involved with diversity. In a typical day, how long do you spend in the office? Generally I get in at 10am and leave at 5pm. But you work to the job; I’ve been here until 7pm some days, even 8pm on others. In a typical day, how long do you spend in the office? Generally I get in at 10am and leave at 5pm. But you work to the job; I’ve been here until 7pm some days, even 8pm on others. Finally, tell us about your One LSE Campaign from last term. One issue you highlighted was housing. Have you had any progress? We have had some progress. LSE residences have a couple of things happening. Firstly, the rent guarantor scheme is going to the finance committee in March. This is a scheme to allow returning students to have the university as a guarantor. It’s another thing we’re doing that’s particularly good for international students, as many have to pay 6 months rent up front. We’re also doing a virtual network, which lets you rate your landlord and post properties you’d want to pass on to other lse students. Essentially it makes the private market more accessible for LSE students. We want to dispell some of the myths that exist about the London housing market, and not just for international students - my parents asked about me looking for properties in February for the following academic year. That just isn’t how the housing market works in London.

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14BEAVER Â Â ELECTION Â GUIDE Â 2014

HANNAH  RICHMOND Why, all those months ago, did you decide to run for a&d? In all honesty, part of it was because I didn’t have any other jobs lined up. I saw this as a really great way of getting an insane level of experience - which I’ve gotten. Also, as my involvement in the SU during my time had predominantly been with the sports clubs, I wanted to create less of an “us and them� relationship between the AU and the SU. I was also aware of some of the problems that existed between the Societies - that I hadn’t been as heavily involved with - and the SU, and I wanted to do something about it. And have you managed to solve any of these problems? Yes and no. I think I’ve focused quite a lot on the sports side of things. We got the AU funding motion passed, which wasn’t something I was pushing for massively when I ran, but I’ve also been working behind the scenes on the facilities side of things. We’re nowvery close to getting confirmation on sports facilities on campus. We’ve worked very hard to make sport more accessible for LSe students. We’re also in the process of making a Sports Active bid., and are doing research to find out what people want out of sport in LSE. We want to broaden the range of sports/services on offer. Another reason I ran was that I struggled a bit in 1st year; LSE’s such a weird place. This year we’ve really tried to shake off the idea that you come to LSE and then have no social life. You mentioned sports facilities earlier. Can you officially say if they’re on their way? It’s hard to say? We’re hoping to receive confirmation is that we’ll get some form of sports facilities in the new 44 LIF building. It’s really up to SU staff and future sabbatical officer to push for incredibly high standards of facilities. You can see that the Saw Swee Hock building that it wasn’t always thought through as well as it maybe could have been. I feel it was built to be a building rather than as a space for students. As a Sabbatical Officer, how much influence do you actually have on building design? Obviously societies are being hit by the renovation work. Have you heard about the problems with Music Society? I’ve been working quite closely with music - they’ve had difficult year, with an obvious example being with the Music Practise Room. LSE Conferences put chairs into the Music Practise Room, and Music Soc doesn’t get proper warning about it. Even worse, if the event overruns the chairs get left there. There’s nowhere else on campus for students to practise. What would you say about the AU controversies that have happened this year? :HOO WKHb$8 DOZD\V KDV WKH SRWHQWLDO WR be difficult. I’ve worked hard to shake up the “them and us� attitude between the SU and the AU. It’s generally been very positive to have a dialogue between us and clubs. We wanted clubs to come to us so we can facilitate event, maybe by providing a safe area where the Daily Mail won’t pick you up. But we’ll say to clubs, “here’s the line. If you cross it we won’t support you�. Clubs have really gotten on board with this - the FC in particular come and check

with us before doing events to make sure they’re staying on the right side of the line. Harold Craston has been great as AU President in getting conversations going between the SU, the clubs, and the liberation officers. We’ve had some great collaboration events with the Women’s Officer and LGBT Officer amongst others. Hopefully doing so will help us shake off this idea that the AU is comprised of sexists, alcoholics and homophobes. This in turn lets us focus on sporting achievements, with schemes like Sporting Ambassadors and Focus Teams. What is Focus Teams? :HbDSSOLHG WR WKH $QQXDO )XQG IRU PRQ ey, because whilst we’re now supporting individuals, we realised we weren’t doing the same for successful teams. For example, our tennis club have been SURPRWHG WR WKH b SUHPLHUVKLS ZKLFK is amazing. Focus Teams gets money to these teams to give them space to develop. Teams can apply if they’re on cusp of moving to a top, top league. They could get a coach to come to a game, or a Go-Pro camera to record games and get professional analysis. They could pay for top level conditioning or nutrition, to help them make the step up to the next level of competition. How do you respond to the accusations that these sort of schemes have an overreliance on the Annual Fund? It is a massive issue. Obviously Annual Fund money isn’t not guaranteed year on year, but events like the Sports Ambassadors Launch have provided XV ZLWK D bSODWIRUP WR JR WR VFKRRO bWR ask for more funding. We could look to external sources of funding, but there could be problems regarding sponsorship and branding issues etc. But I do think that the lack of sustainable is a massive problem. But it’s about managing clubs’ budgets in a sustainable ZD\ b $V DQ H[DPSOH 8/8 ERDW FOXE pay £200 membership, whereas ours pay £30. Obviously we have to try and be sustainable within the constraints of our budget. Can you name 3 tangible things \RX‍ڑ‏YH DFKLHYHG WKLV \HDU"b Well, it’s probably best if I just list some of them. There was the Sports Ambassadors Launch. We got £70,000 more from the Annual Fund this year, thanks in part to our promotion of it. For the first time ever we’ve used up all of the activities committee money that’s available. It means two things: Societies are pushing out the boat on events more than they ever have before, and we’ve helped them become aware of this money that’s avaiable. Similarly the travel fund that had been unused for a few years has been taken advantage of so that students can go aborad when otherwise they might not have been able to afford it. How are you reaching out to groups who don’t traditionally engage in the SU? :H‍ڑ‏YH JRW Db ORW RI WKLQJV FRPLQJ XS like the postgrad festival that’s coming up. We’re running focus groups to hear what postgraduate students want. There’s things like the Christmas Cup where you can get involved with sport without feeling obliged to go for a drink afterwards. I would like to do more, but it’s difficult as there’s so much to do on a daily basis. We’ve actually got a lot of exciting things coming up.

iv THE  SU  IS  FAILING  ITS  INTERNATIONAL  STUDENTS  AND  THESE  ELECTIONS  WON'T  CHANGE  THAT  LAURA  MAI How can it be that in a university where 69% of the student body is international, in consecutive years only two people are putting themselves up for the post of International Students' Officer? And if you happen to be an international student, do you recall ever having contact with the International Student Officer, or, for that matter, even know who currently holds that position? This Office is a total misrepresentation of student life at the LSE. Modelled after other Student Unions in the country, where international students might indeed be a fairly well-integrated minority that can somewhat adequately be represented by a single person, the situation at the LSE is completely different, and the failure of the SU to acknowledge that in the structure of the Union has only led to a further disconnect between the SU and the majority of its student body. When I came to the LSE, all four Sabbatical Officers were British. They held weekly UGMs with British-style political debates in which one had to submit a „motion“ and then apply to argue either in favour or against it – concepts literally foreign to most of the incoming students, with no attempts by the SU to make this procedure understandable or attractive to students from counnries where democracy and student participation might be non-existant or practiced LQ D GLŕŽ‰ HUHQW IRUP , UHPHPEHU FRQFHUQHG GLVFXVVLRQV LQ WKH %HDYHU DQG HOVH where about the decline of the UGM and the SU in general, as attendence at UGMs reduced to the small core group of (again, British/European) students who are familiar with the system. It was attempted then to attract more people to UGMs by giving out snacks to everyone who came along, but it didn't come to mind that the structure of these meetings might be inadequate for student interests. It's not a secret that the overwhelming part of LSE's students, mostly those IURP RYHUVHDV LV QRWRULRXVO\ LQGLŕŽ‰ HUHQW WR 68 SROLWLFV -XVW WDNH D ORRN DW WKH candidates for this Election and see how many people you can spot that are not British or have been in the British education system (as stated in some manifestos). 69%? Not even anywhere close. The SU fails to attract involvement of its international students, who prefer to aggregate in national societies who serve as closed-groups home-away-from-home, and have no interaction with the SU (who cannot claim to serve that function) except for bureaucratic administration. It is dangerously wrong to assume that this is because overseas students are not interested in SU politics, and they somehow can be made interested if we MXVW RŕŽ‰ HU WKH ULJKW LQFHQWLYHV E\ SXWWLQJ D FODXVH DERXW LQWHUQDWLRQDO VWXGHQWV rights somehwere in the next main SU campaign, or allowing national societies to „showcase“ their culture in a food festival. This will only further entrench the understanding that international students should be organised in their respective national societies and only turn to the SU Officers for administrative purposes. Getting international students to actively seek out the SU to demand their rights, campaign, or voice their opinion will require more than the next ,QWHUQDWLRQDO 6WXGHQW 2ŕŽŒ FHU It will require more than mere incentives, but a real structural change in the way the SU is organised so that it isn't just accessible for the small group of predominantly British students who are currently involved in it. The SU needs to go beyond re-electing the same positions over and over and hoping for betterment, but face the internationally isolated bubble reality that LSE is, and attempt to make the system more suitable and understandable for overseas students. Concepts like „campaigns“, „motions“ and „endorsments“ need to be better communicated with national societies, revised to be less bureaucratic and made less infused with British political jargon, for the SU to even begin truly serving its 69%.

EDUCATION  HAS  BEEN  THE  KEY  ISSUE  FOR  THE  STUDENTS’  UNION  IN  THE  PAST  YEAR,  IN  THE  WAKE  OF  TEACHING  TASK  FORCE  TWO  (TTF2),  AND  IT  WILL  LIKELY  CONTINUE  TO  DOMINATE  IN  THE  YEAR  AHEAD.  Perhaps the most-discussed issue so far has been class sizes. Rosie and the SU have been quick to strongly oppose the potential for class sizes to increase to 70, as it has been portrayed, and the impression I got from Thursday’s election hustings is that all the candidates for Education Officer would continue to battle in this vein. How the SU proposes to get the school to back down on such proposals is not entirely clear, and Rosie’s successor will be at the heart of this heated debate upon taking office. In my view, however, the SU needs to be a little more objective when informing the student body about what TTF2 represents. Indeed, the report’s recommendations are a little more nuanced than the impression of a blanket increase in class sizes that many students I speak to have been left with. I would welcome an Education Officer who presents to students the trade-off between the benefits and potential costs of TTF2’s implementation, thus building on Rosie’s initial good work with the union-wide survey. Feedback is another topic raised in the Teaching Task Force which is often a central concern among students. TTF2 is somewhat vague over plans here, as it essentially recommends a very limited school-wide minimum level of feedback. The more comprehensive minimum feedback levels that SU representatives proposed to the task force committee did not make the cut for the report’s official recommendations. The new SU Sabbatical Officers will thus need to think about how they can continue to ensure better feedback, as most candidates are promising in their manifestos, in this context. Related to TTF2 are recommendations over changing the structure of the academic year. One victory the SU and other student representatives can point WR KHUH LV WKHLU VXFFHVV RQ JHWWLQJ D VFKRRO ZLGH UHDGLQJ ZHHN ன UPO\ RQ WKH agenda. With regards to term structure, a consensus appears to be emerging DPRQJ GHSDUWPHQWV IRU DQ ZHHN VWUXFWXUH ZLWK HDFK RI WKH ன UVW WZR (teaching) terms that are currently in place being supplemented by a mid-term reading week. There are two things the new Sabbs may wish to ponder on this topic. Firstly, this 11-11-8 structure represents no true increase in the amount

HOW Â DOES Â IT Â ALL Â WORK? Â

In elections where there a multiple positions up for grabs, like on the Students’ Union’s Democracy CommitWHH KRZ GRHV \RXU YRWH DŕŽ‰ HFW WKH RXW come? It is complicated, but bear with us. Understanding it is an achievement of which you can be proud. First of all, a threshold is set. That threshold is calculated by dividing the number votes by the number of positions available plus one, as in votes/ (positions + 1). For example, if 1200 votes are cast and there are 5 positions available, then you divide 1200 by 6 to get 200 as the threshold. Are you still

ELECTION Â GUIDE Â 2014

with us? So if any of the candidates reach that threshold, they win. If that happens, the votes they won beyond the threshold are redistributed among the remaining candidates, proportionally. So if candidate A wins 210 votes LQ WKH ன UVW URXQG WKHLU YRWHV DUH UH allocated to the remaining candidates. Say 105 of candidate A’s voters gave their second preferences to candidate B, candidate B would receive 5 votes, half of what A won above the threshold because B won half of the second preference from A’s overall vote. Keeping up? Now, it may of course be the case

WKDW LQ WKH ன UVW URXQG QR FDQGLGDWH reaches the threshold. Should no candidate reach the required threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes are eliminated from the race and their voters second preferences are redistributed to the remaining candidates. Because there are no thresholds involved, this process is somewhat simpler because second preferences from all of the eliminated candidates’ votes are taken into account. When the votes of candidates who have passed the threshold are reallocated, other candidates can end up with votes in deciPDO ன JXUHV VLQFH YRWHV DUH UHDOORFDWHG based on the proportion of second pref-

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erences received. If all of the candidates for whom you express a preference pass the threshold or are eliminated then your vote is ‘exhausted’ and no longer counts, and the threshold is duly reduced to take account of fewer votes having an impact on the eventual winner. So ranking more of the candidates by your order of preference will make your vote count more. In hard fought campaigns IRU PXOWLSOH SRVLWLRQV WKH GLŕŽ‰ HUHQFH between winning and not can more often than not be measured in tens of votes rather than hundreds, so every vote counts.

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vi

GENERAL SECRETARY ABI ARYAN

No manifesto submitted

SAM BARNETT

This is what Backing Barnett will do for your union: INTERNATIONAL: More foreign exchanges. Students come from all over the world to go to LSE – LSE students should be able to go all over the world. Push to create a paid international students officer role. ENTERTAINMENT AND COMMUNITY: A wider range of events – all kinds of music, comedy and drama. Create an Entertainment Committee, including elected reps, RAG and AU to hear event ideas from students. Sports and film screenings in the Tuns and Venue. LIBERATION: Proper set of procedures for dealing with problems of racial, ableist, sexual or homophobic abuse. EDUCATION: Fight to ensure we get reading weeks without losing teaching time. More coursework options will help students get a fairer hearing based on all the work they’ve done over their degree. ENGAGEMENT: Hold regular drop-in sessions so the SU can deal with student problems and take up student issues. CAMPAIGNS: Have an external campaign we choose as an SU – we are a fighting union. Make sure all staff receive fair pay and are not exploited. A candidate who will deliver: Society Founder and President, Academic Board Rep and Inbetweeners lookalike.

NONA BUCKLEY-IRVINE

We need an SU focused on STUDENTS. I’ve delivered as your RAG President and on Academic Board, now I’ll deliver as YOUR General Secretary.

STUDENT COSTS: FREEZE HALLS RENTS. Halls are costing £180 on average. I will work to reverse this. FIX INTERNATIONAL FEES. I will campaign to guarantee a fixed rate for international fees for your whole time here. FOOD. I will campaign for affordable food; including halal, kosher and vegetarian options. STUDENT LIFE: SOCIETIES. I will get increased funding, online promotion and a full Freshers Week calendar that works for you. CLUBS. I will push for fairer funding and facilities closer to campus. COMMUNITY. I will make liberation campaigns prominent on campus, host debates about divisive issues and develop a more positive LSE atmosphere. STUDENT REPRESENTATION: SU TRANSPARENCY. I will publish budgets with every penny accounted for. SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY. We deserve better teaching standards: quality feedback, smaller classes, and a student-teacher rapport. STUDENT CONGRESS. I will unify our student representatives in termly meetings to directly take the school to task on big issues.

MENGXUAN LONOY GEE

If selected as the new general secretary of the LSESU, I can guarantee that I will make the best use of my power to give you a Student Union that can be proud of! Speak to the school easier with my help? I am your voice to the student Union and the hand holding it with the school. LSE cares about the feeling of every student, and as a general secretary my job involves negotiating and setting agenda with our school. Need more support of your own rights? I will also act as an advocate of the Students’ Union’s, protecting your welfare, promoting your activities and improving every student’s experience. Shout to the world that we are from LSE? General secretary is always the external face of the SU and the School, to deal with press enquiries and media requests, I represent the Union when liaising with external organizations and am aiming for making the name of LSE greater and greater to the global. Give your precious vote to the one who you believe in, and my enthusiasm, my ability and my effort will promise to make all of the above come true!

MUSTY KAMAL

The LSESU needs change. LSE is made up of 160 nationalities, 20 different religions and 9000 different perspectives but for too long has the SU served as a bubble for a small group.

Our 3 step plan for change: 1. Cost. LSE has a lot of money and too much of it is wasted on non-essential initiatives. In protest of the wastage Musty is putting all of his salary towards a bursary scheme, we’ll ensure that more people can receive the education we’ve been lucky enough to get. He will live on student finance like most other undergraduates. Food and drink on campus will be subsidised because we refuse to pay more for a coffee on campus than in Costa. 2. Education. The academic board has failed us. LSE remains an exceptional and world-class destination for academia because of the efforts of our students alone. More full time teachers. Smaller class sizes. No compromise. 3. Housing. Enough broken promises about housing. The excuse that “it’s London” isn’t good enough. Musty has spoken to leading estate agencies and is in talks to implement a housing network which would give LSE students first preference treatment for both private and student accommodation.

JACK KELLY

My name’s Jack Kelly and I’m a 2nd year studying International Relations and History. I’m running for General Secretary because I want to devote a year of my life entirely to LSE. I currently work at LSE as a Student Ambassador and Representative, volunteer as an SSLC Member, Peer Supporter, and Hall Committee Member, have been elected to the Court of Governors and Council, and founded and captain the LSE Judo Club. My experience and passion for bettering LSE will allow me to enact real positive changes by developing LSE’s strengths while working on its weaknesses. Forget personal politics, as General Secretary, I’ll listen to, lead, and fight for every single student at LSE. My three focuses are aimed to increase unity and school spirit on campus while making life more comfortable and enjoyable for the entire student body. Technology: Revamp the LSE SU App Demand higher standard of IT Centralize and streamline Fresher’s Week via web-page

JASON WONG

Students are tired of a SU that spends more time banning newspaper and songs than serving and representing students. In this election, we can vote to reject the politics of the past and opt for a more efficient and less politicised union.

PROVEN RECORD: As Student Governor, I passed the Societies Funding motion which made available £15,000 for societies. On free speech, I defeated the pro-censorship ‘No Platform’ motion. I also worked through the Library User’s Committee to bring free access of the FT and The Economist to students. CLEAR PLAN: Education: Introduce study abroad, make LSE100 optional & freeze class sizes at 15 Societies: Eliminate SU bureaucracy for societies by replacing in-person form submissions with a more effective website, whilst increasing society funding Library: Relocate the new Women’s Library away from Library to ensure study spaces for students Political: Repeal ban on The Sun and Blurred Lines and constitutionally safeguard free speech. Cut Sabbatical Officer’s salary, including my own,

ELECTION GUIDE 2014

EDUCATION NATHAN BULLOCK

No manifesto submitted

PATRICIA GRACE DE LARA

*EXPERIENCE* Department representative, I have already engaged in academic committees at the LSE. An international student with overseas teaching experience, I also have 5 years’ familiarity with UK higher education. *VOICE* I know the current issues: class sizes, changing the academic calendar, exam feedback. I always listen and represent all sides fairly. I ensure that decisions are justified and followed through, as I’ve done on Consultative Fora. *INITIATIVE* A well-trained leader and persevering negotiator, I’ll handle the bureaucracy so you don’t have to. I won’t just tell you about opportunities; I’ll make them for you. *Undergraduate votes* will bring consistency across Departments for what affects your interdisciplinary studies. *Master-student votes* will guarantee that students know everything the LSE has to offer from the start, not when it’s too late. *PhD-student votes* will promote the Graduate Journal and secure your teaching workers’ rights. *I will:* 1. Keep class sizes small where it matters most. 2. Improve the library environment: Education is about the pursuit of truth, not the pursuit of quiet study space or working printers. 3. Develop relationships with and between many students and teachers: Everyone will know the face of Patricia Grace, and Patricia Grace is the student face.

TOM MAKSYMIW

I WILL: IMPROVE AND EXPAND STUDY SPACE -Work on the planning of the new campus buildings and fifth floor of the library to ensure space for students is maximised. -Make the most of the space we already have by getting working plugs fitted on every library desk and use some of the space in the new students’ centre as study space during summer term. GUARANTEE BETTER FEEDBACK FOR STUDENTS -Get all students basic exam feedback, so they know exactly what they need to work on to improve. -Work with departments to ensure standardised quality feedback on essays and move towards getting the opportunity for at least one draft of each assessed essay to be marked. ENSURE MORE ESSENTIAL READINGS ARE AVAILABLE Put as many required readings online as possible and ensure there are more copies of the books that can’t be. -Get departments to provide students with printer credit. GIVE STUDENTS THE CHOICE ON HOW A READING WEEK SHOULD BE INTRODUCED -Make sure students’ voices are heard in choosing how the term should be structured to include a reading week. CHOO, CHOO, CHOOSE THOMAS ‘THE TANK ENGINE’ MAKSYMIW #1 FOR EDUCATION

DAN MARTIN

Time for change: For guaranteed education quality / to tackle the teaching task force recommendations / to ensure students adapt to studying at LSE / to say no to unnecessary 9ams I led the fight against the teaching task force on the Court of Governors; I’ve been a course rep, a peer supporter and I founded a society that is influencing the agenda on graduate careers. I know what’s wrong with LSE, what we could do better, and what should be celebrated. We can: Stop the teaching task force devaluing our education and instead use it as an opportunity to present an alternative that guarantees the standards we expect Support freshers adjusting to studying here, with initiatives like a ‘How to study at LSE’ guide providing practical tips, advice and contacts to ease students into life at LSE; to make it a little less daunting, to allow students to take advantage of opportunities, and get to grips with their degree early on Make timetabling work better for us, so that the School takes our circumstances into account, and ensures classes are at appropriate times, with students’ learning in mind

JAMIE PELLING

LSE has a proud history of world-class education based on the principles of small class sizes, high staffstudent ratios and a liberal social-science education, where students are free to choose to study a broad range of disciplines.

These traditions are now under threat. I would end the unnecessary rules which prevent students from choosing the modules they want. Language learning is absolutely essential and should be encouraged in each and every department, across Postgraduate and Undergraduate levels. I would stop departments offering “forced” half-modules, where students do not have the freedom to choose what they want to learn. Most importantly, I would re-build a liberal arts environment in which interdisciplinary learning is encouraged and not forbidden by over-regulation. Students should choose what to study, but also where to study. Every department should provide study areas for their students. This means introducing departmental libraries, new quiet and group study areas in all new buildings, and common rooms where students can relax with their fellow students. I will end the departmental lottery where students in one department receive better teaching than in others. I will end the under-investment in LSE

JASON WONG

Students are tired of a SU that spends more time banning newspaper and songs than serving and representing students. In this election, we can vote to reject the politics of the past and opt for a more efficient and less politicised union.

PROVEN RECORD: As Student Governor, I passed the Societies Funding motion which made available £15,000 for societies. On free speech, I defeated the pro-censorship ‘No Platform’ motion. I also worked through the Library User’s Committee to bring free access of the FT and The Economist to students. CLEAR PLAN: Education: Introduce study abroad, make LSE100 optional & freeze class sizes at 15 Societies: Eliminate SU bureaucracy for societies by replacing in-person form submissions with a more effective website, whilst increasing society funding Library: Relocate the new Women’s Library away from Library to ensure study spaces for students Political: Repeal ban on The Sun and Blurred Lines and constitutionally safeguard free speech. Cut Sabbatical Officer’s salary, including my own,

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BEAVER ELECTION GUIDE 2014

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COMMUNITY & WELFARE HEBA AL-NASSER

SEB BRUHN

No manifesto submitted

Giving Back Having been involved in various societies, committees, and sports at the LSE, I have come to deeply admire and appreciate our community and its amazing work. I feel compelled to give back to all the people who have given so

much to me. Experience As president of the 2012 Rosebery student committee and committee member of various other societies, I have distinct practical knowledge about the needs and challenges of students both in halls and in societies and also have considerable experience cooperating with RAG and the Students’ Union. I have also followed the school wide welfare policy closely and will work to build further on it. Equality, Support, & School Spirit I would work resolutely to promote and increase equality, support, and school spirit throughout our student body. I would push for integration between the university’s counseling and support services, while also advocating for more and larger scholarships and budgets.

NATHAN BULLOCK

No manifesto submitted

JADE SYMONDS

As a Society President and as Disabled Students’ Officer, I know our Union can do much more to make LSE students happier. If elected Community and Welfare Officer, I will take concrete steps to make our Union happier. I will… -Increase awareness of the LSE’s financial assistance, and lobby for more; -Introduce a SHAG Week and Ball, raising awareness of Sexual Health and Guidance and reiterating the importance of consent; -Expand the Community Festival – this is a great way to bring students together, but it could be even bigger and better; -Recognise that it’s Time to Talk – LSESU needs to talk more about mental health and wellbeing, and further develop the DeStress Fest; -Strengthen and simplify harassment complaints procedures – I will work with the School to make it easier and quicker for students to report harassment, making LSE safer for all; -Organise alternative careers fairs for more sectors, including non-traditional ones; -Rate Your Landlord; giving students the chance to feedback the issues they’ve had with housing; -Launch a cross-party voter registration campaign. Despite being eligible to vote, only a fraction of LSE’s Home, EU and Commonwealth students are registered. VOTE JADE #1 FOR COMMUNITY & WELFARE!

ACTIVITIES & DEVELOPMENT

ALISTAIR DUNCAN

ARRANGE – I will arrange better events alongside your societies. Facilitating communication via a committees Facebook group we will be able run events with the maximum cooperation and inclusion possible. New community events, improved use of our media group and a greater incorpora-

tion of RAG are all on the agenda. DEMAND – I will demand more from our school and develop our local sports facilities. By lobbying the school I would aim to convert the three-storey basement in the newly acquired building in Lincoln’s Inn Fields into a multi-purpose sports hall including new squash courts. ADVOCATE – I will advocate the inspiring community of students that make up our SU. Making films showcasing the shows we produce, the events we host, our student volunteers as well as our sporting talent such as the Sports Ambassadors. DREAM – I will dream big and achieve bigger to improve the student experience. I believe creating an Events Officer within the SU could allow us

MARNIE GILL

TRANSPARENCY of existing funding, promotional materials and resources through better training of executives and committees to increase awareness of what is available, and how it can be pursued. INTEGRATION and collaboration between sports clubs, societies, media and volunteering through establishment of ‘Inter-Activities Forum’. DIRECT COMMUNICATION with your SU facilitating discussion through Sabb Surgery, #AskTheSabbs twitter discussions, online query forms, and facebook groups. EVENTS & ENTERTAINMENT in an all-inclusive programme geared towards our diverse student body including non-alcoholic events, post-graduate events, bigger and better names inThe Venue and an unforgettable Freshers Week. INCLUSIVE sporting culture which celebrates the achievements of our competitive teams, introduce flexible, recreational sports widening AU participation.

JASPER HEEKS

It is exciting when the ambition and potential of LSE students is unrestricted and fully realised. Achievement and development in sport, societies, volunteering and fundraising requires dedicated administrative support and I will encourage and reward active and committed students with logistical, financial and promotional help to ensure success. We need guaranteed plans for suitably equipped sports and arts facilities at LSE to properly serve students, enhanced publicity and recognition to boost awareness of events, and better Activities Committee and Annual Fund grant assistance to make sure clubs and societies get easy funding. I believe in the goodness of extra-curricular activities and whilst running Music Society have led new activities and worked with a number of people to improve and push opportunities. I have enjoyed the bringing together of undergrads, postgrads, alumni and staff and witnessing their delight as they participate. I would like to continue this work and take it to the next level with a bigger organisation and alongside the AU Executive, Media Group, RAG and other societies.

ELECTION Â GUIDE Â 2014

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BEAVER Â Â

DENNIS Â MOONEY

More Mooney, Fewer Problems More Mooney, Fewer Problems. Here’s how: Support for Societies – I would ensure better SU support and publicity for society events. Centralised coordination between the A&D officer, SU staff and society committees would make both of these much easier. I would also get the media group more involved in society and AU events. Provide Facilities – I would continue Hannah’s efforts to get the best facilities we can for societies and clubs, especially during the upcoming period of building work around campus. AU Priorities – I would help ensure new funding is used to sustain sporting success across the AU, whilst working to further expand accessibility by appointing an AU exec member to be responsible for social sport. I would continue to work towards a more inclusive and diverse AU. Revamped Society Training – Current society training is incoherent and ineffective. I would work with the SU to communicate the essential information to committees in concise, easily applicable form. Link Societies To Employability – Being part of societies gives you skills employers want. I would work closely with LSE Careers to make it easier for you to capitalise on this, as well as to bring you better sponsorship opportunities. #MoreMooneyFewerProblems

CONNOR Â RUSSELL

As the president of Itchy Feet and founder of Social Mobility society, I have extensive experience making things happen in the SU. I know what works and what doesn’t. You need quality time off and experiences around your degree – for the sake of sanity and your future. I will arrange a wide variety of travel and exchange opportunities at LSE, fighting to improve access to funded study exchanges through Erasmus and organising joint events with other SUs across the world. LSE deserves top-class, international extracurricular opportunities. I will help anyone interested apply for extensive European funding for their SU activities. I will produce clear guidelines on how to access SU funds, how to claim back expenses and fight for a second weekly payment run. I’ll work with AU captains to improve access to local facilities. I’ll meet the founders of every new society and club, arrange a networking dinner at the start of both terms for presidents/captains to get to know each other and invite potential sponsors. I’ll organise the best ever Freshers’ Fair with high profile Give it a Go events.

ANTI-RACISM SAMIHA Â BEGUM

As Anti-Racism Officer of LSESU, I will work to make sure that we are at the forefront of celebrating racial diversity, whilst also working hard to combat racism. Make academia more diverse I pledge to tackle the issue of underrepresentation, by campaigning to increase the number of BME academics. I would also campaign to widen the scope of what and who we study (e.g in GV100, all the 17 philosophers studied are white men). Raising awareness I will continue SU led campaigns such as Islamophobia Awareness Month, Black History Month and Israeli Apartheid; and will collaborate with a range of societies. I will also commit to doing more events on combatting anti-Semitism and the rise of the far right. Intersectionality I pledge to work with the part time liberation officers on intersectional issues. I will also work closely with other groups on campus such as faith societies and the AU.

ESTHER Â GROSS

This very year, a minister in the French government was called a “gorillaâ€? on TV, for the sole reason that she was black. 7KLV PRUH WKDQ DQ\WKLQJ VKRZV WKDW WKH ன JKW DJDLQVW UDF ism must not stop. My aims: (GXFDWH VWXGHQWV E\ EULQJLQJ LQ VSHDNHUV IURP GLŕŽ‰ HUHQW organizations aiming at stopping racism, such as Coexist, with whom have worked for two years; - Hold regular meetings with heads of religious and cultural societies to promote dialogue and ensure that no group of students ever feels threatened, both on and outside campus; - Organize interfaith and intercultural events for a better understanding of the other; - Put coexistence and tolerance at the forefront of my campaign, and make them widespread values at LSE - Be as available as possible to students from all origins, in order to help them evolve in a safe and comfortable environment.

WOMEN'S FATHIA Â BEGUM

As your Women’s Officer, I pledge to tackle a culture of widespread sexism that leaves female students feeling humiliated and intimidated, thereby also tackling the “Lad Culture� at LSE. INtersectionality: I will work with the other liberation officers to discuss where sexism intersects with, for example, racism. I realise that most women at LSE are not only met with constraints due to their sex but, indeed, are faced with more than one institutional barrier (myself, for example! A women of colour and religious minority). INclusivity: I will strive for greater representation and ensure more women are invited on panel events. I will urge more international student involvement to make feminism more accessible. Feminism shouldn’t come with a stereotypical stigma attached. INdependent: I am not affiliated with any strands of feminism, having the ‘outsiders’ perspective. I pledge to bring a new approach to the role outside the existing structure.

GEE Â LINFORD-GRAYSON

***1) Regular one-on-one dropin meetings, forums for all students and community caucusHV VHOI GHன QLQJ ZRPHQ WR GLVFXVV LVVXHV ZLWKLQ WKH VWXGHQW body. This makes my role more accessible to those I represent and guarantees that everyone’s voices are heard.*** ***2) Include groups of women who have felt excluded in the past by working with societies associated with nationality, culture, faith and the LGBTQ community. *** ***3) Cooperate with the AU Executive to encourage the celebration of women’s sports and ensuring that the actions of the minority are dealt with without tarnishing the reputation of the majority. *** ***4) Working with the SU Executive to make sure gender equality is at the heart of our activity.*** ***5) Create a platform to showcase the work of women at LSE, be it academic, artistic or political, therefore showing the diversity and talent of women at LSE and ensuring their opinions are better represented.***

DISABLED Â STUDENTS' MARK Â MALIK

My priorities: ABILITY TO SUCCEED ‍&ښ‏DPSDLJQ IRU VXPPHU UHVLWV WR EH RIIHUHG FRQVLVWHQWO\ across departments in exceptional circumstances ‍ښ‏,W LV GLVUXSWLYH DQG XQIDLU LI VWXGHQWV KDYH WR UHSHDW WKH year if illness or disability affects exams ABILITY TO TAKE PART ‍ښ‏:RUN ZLWK WKH $8 WR RYHUFRPH GLIILFXOWLHV WKDW GLVDEOHG students’ may face to participation ‍ښ‏:RUN FORVHO\ ZLWK RWKHU /LEHUDWLRQ RIILFHUV WR HIIHFWLYHO\ deal with overlapping issues ABILITY TO BE HEARD ‍ښ‏2UJDQLVH HYHQWV WR UDLVH DZDUHQHVV DQG UHGXFH VWLJPD about different disabilities amongst students and staff ‍ښ‏2UJDQLVH IRUXPV ZKHUH GLVDEOHG VWXGHQWV FDQ KLJKOLJKW concerns *Report back to the School and SU *Follow up to ensure action is taken I have a close relationship with the Disability and Well-Being Service and am involved in the Time To Change Campaign about mental health. I will represent all students with all disabilities – visible and invisible – to the best of my ABIL-

ITY. Endorsements Liberal Democrats

MARIE Â WHITE

Who am I? A repeating first year Law student who wants to improve the LSE experience for current and future disabled students. What Will I do? - Increase awareness of all disability within the LSE community. - Improve awareness and implementation of ISSAs by both Academic Advisors and teaching staff. - Form a network for disabled students to meet as frequently as necessary. A forum where any issues within the school can be addressed and any other relevant topics discussed. - Campaign for the improvement of the Disabled Students Allowance, which is currently unfit for purpose and unequal between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Every year the DSA funding presents great difficulties for a large number of students, with several having to interrupt or even leave university due to not having essential learning aids.

HARI Â PABU

, ZRXOG PDNH LW D SULRULW\ WR ன JKW against ‘casual racism’ and persuade people that casual remarks contribute to a wider atmosphere of prejudice and ignorance. 2. I would continue the work of the current Sabbatical Ofன FHUV WR SURPRWH PRUH HQJDJHPHQW LQ VWXGHQW SROLWLFV among black and ethnic minority students. I will analyse and try to implement the recommendations to come from the current Students’ Union Engagement Project. 3. I would look to improve awareness and appreciation of the linguistic and cultural diversity at the LSE through such things as increasing the accessibility of language learning resources and language sharing schemes such as Tandem and working with national societies to share their culture with more than just their members. 4. I would aim to convey ethnicity to students as being fundamentally a social construct and as something that is becoming increasingly complex in a more globalised and cosmopolitan world.

LGBT ALEX Â LEUNG

Hey guys, I’m Alex. I’m the current LSESU LGBT Alliance Undergraduate Officer; now running for the LSESU LGBT Officer. I do it because I care about the LGBT community. I will make the LSE LGBT community better and the campus more inclusive and LGBT-friendly. Coming from an international background, I understand different nationalities have different cultures so there are different concerns on LGBT issues. I will be the representative to all LGBT students, ensuring that the sexual minority’s voices are heard (i.e. Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual etc.). I also aim for more diverse and inclusive community at LSE. I have the strength to stop homophobia in campus, as I have experienced it first-hand. Currently, the School doesn’t have a specific measurement on how to deal with the situation. Setting up some specific policies would be a good start. Therefore, I will improve the transparency on how school deals with LGBT issues.

ENVIRONMENT Â & Â ETHICS

NADIA Â RASLAN

As YOUR Environment and Ethics officer, I will focus on 3 main

aspects: Cutting unethical links: I will ensure that only tax-paying companies can be invited to Freshers’ Fair and Houghton Street and societies sponsored by unethical and exploitative companies will be scrutinised, for example Sparks@LSE’s ties with Wonga. I will regularly do Freedom of Information requests to ensure LSE has no links with any oppressive regimes. Reducing unnecessary energy usage: The amount of unused computers and lights being left on around campus is a drain on our resources. As your officer I will ensure this changes. I am also for cutting down paper usage in general and during elections, using none in my own campaign. Engaging with environmental issues: I will organise more educational campus events and competitions, as well as helping to facilitate second-hand exchanges at LSE by holding more clothes, stationary and books swaps and sales.

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BEAVER Â Â ELECTION Â GUIDE Â 2014

RAG Â KATIE Â BUDD

I’ve loved being part of RAG during my time at LSE. As Vice-President I’ve seen it develop into a central part of campus life, but there’s a long way to go. As RAG president I will create‌ A more successful RAG So far this year we’ve raised £35,000 for charity. Next year we’ll beat that and stay London’s #1 RAG. We need proper funding, new events and new challenges. I have the experience to make it happen. A more social RAG I will make sure Team RAG expands but remains an inclusive community. RAG should be more than just fundraising - we’ll hold regular socials to reward our members for their incredible work. A more integrated RAG I will work closely with societies and properly facilitate their fundraising. I will also strengthen our relationship with the AU, SU officers and other RAGs across London. RAG will be BETTER WITH BUDD. Endorsements Liberal Democrats

MENGXUAN Â LONOY Â GEE

If selected as the new general secretary of the LSESU, I can guarantee that I will make the best use of my power to give you a Student Union that can be proud of! Speak to the school easier with my help? I am your voice to the student Union and the hand holding it with the school. LSE cares about the feeling of every student, and as a general secretary my job involves negotiating and setting agenda with our school. Need more support of your own rights? I will also act as an advocate of the Students’ Union’s, protecting your welfare, promoting your activities and improving every student’s experience. Shout to the world that we are from LSE? General secretary is always the external face of the SU and the School, to deal with press enquiries and media requests, I represent the Union when liaising with external organizations and am aiming for making the name of LSE greater and greater to the global. Give your precious vote to the one who you believe in, and P\ HQWKXVLDVP P\ DELOLW\ DQG P\ HŕŽ‰RUW ZLOO SURPLVH WR make all of the above come true!

AU Â EXECUTIVE JOSHUA Â ALEXANDER-PASSE

Who am I? -As a captain this year I am aware of the high demands and expectations upon the captains of the teams within the AU. With new clubs emerging, and the growth of smaller clubs, I plan on providing an effective support system between captains and the Exec in which to help each club achieve their true potential. -As Sports Ambassador at LSE I know the true value of sporting participation within education. I plan on widening participation within the AU, aiming to increase inclusion and integration during sporting and social events, aspiring to see events such as 'The Christmas Cup' take place more frequently. -As an individual who has represented his country in sport at the highest level, I completely understand the importance of financial backing in order to achieve success. I plan on helping to ensure that funding is distributed in a transparent manner to where it is needed most.

MOLLY Â BRIEN

At the recent UGM, where the AU tabled a motion for an increase in our budget, we were accused by the opposition of being ‘nasty’ people. If elected onto the AU Exec, I would ensure that the LSE Athletics Union and its members remained committed to being NICE: Numerous- push to increase AU membership and general sporting participation. Inclusive- continue the work of the AU to engage with RAG and liberation groups (feminist soc, LGBT, disability and welfare) as well as promoting inter-hall and inter-departmental competition. &RVW HŕŽ‰HFWLYH HQVXUH WKDW WKH $8 EXGJHW LV GLVWULEXWHG HIனFLHQWO\ HQVXULQJ WKDW DOO FOXEV ELJ DQG VPDOO DQG PHPEHUV of the AU are able to train and compete at the highest levels. Excellence- continue to promote the fantastic sporting achievements of the AU as something that LSE should be proud of. More Beaver reports and support AT matches!

MONOPOLY Â CHRISTIAAN-RAKUS

Who am I? I’m really enthusiastic about the AU, I’m always bouncing around with endless energy, and I’d love to put this to use. I’ve loved the responsibility and variation of being Social Sec RI +RFNH\ IURP WKH ULGLFXORXV RXWனWV IRU &$52/ WR FDULQJ for distressed/intoxicated teammates. Being a Tough Guy

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INTERNATIONAL Â STUDENTS' KABU Â SEPAPITAK

A PLACE YOU CAN CALL HOME - Lobby against government legislation tightening visa regulations and promote awareness of visa applications and information on working in the UK - Making international student experience before/during Orientation to easier transition towards UK/LSE life by creating ‘’A guide for International Students", included in packs distributed during Orientation UNITED WE STAND! - Promote international diversity within student fora and increase international student activism and representation in union politics - Organise SU-wide platforms/events promoting international integration, cultural awareness and cultural exchanges to break ethno-linguistic barriers and promote diversity MONEY MATTERS! - ?Campaign for increased scholarships, financial aid and hardship grants towards academically talented international students constrained to enter/continue university due to financial insecurity - In conjunction with ISOs in UoL universities, campaign against rise in international students tuition fees Experiences: Gubernatorial elections, Co-founded political

party, SSLC, Student Ambassador, Head of School Council, Michaelmas elections, Societies' Committees Endorsements

INDO Â VICKERSON

Liberal Democrats Having been brought up in a bi-lingual household under a Chinese tiger mom and a Canadian father, schooled under a British system all my life and lived in three separate continents, I’m quite the mixed mutt. My vision is to strengthen the engagement of the international community with the student union as well as increase the mixing between international and British local students. The work starts from within with‌. Cultural evenings of performance, food and dance A discussion forum for students to give their take on topical issues of their home countries – as seen from the inside A locals guide around London, trips to explore hidden gems you might not otherwise get a chance to see. I would fight to lobby for‌ Scholarships for International Students Career development loans for international students, WORK while STUDY opportunities Campaign against rising international student fees

AU Â PRESIDENT MENGXUAN Â LONOY Â GEE

If selected as the new general secretary of the LSESU, I can guarantee that I will make the best use of my power to give you a Student Union that can be proud of! Speak to the school easier with my help? I am your voice to the student Union and the hand holding it with the school. LSE cares about the feeling of every student, and as a general secretary my job involves negotiating and setting agenda with our school. Need more support of your own rights? I will also act as an advocate of the Students’ Union’s, protecting your welfare, promoting your activities and improving every student’s experience. Shout to the world that we are from LSE? General secretary is always the external face of the SU and the School, to deal with press enquiries and media requests, I represent the Union when liaising with external organizations and am aiming for making the name of LSE greater and greater to the global. Give your precious vote to the one who you believe in, and my enthusiasm, my ability and my effort will promise to make all of the above come true!

TAYLOR Â RAMPTON

***TERMLY DEPARTMENTAL CUPS*** The Christmas Cup was a roaring success, with many Departmental teams competing in social sport. I will increase this to bi-termly competitions with an increased variety of sports. ***ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PERPETRATORS*** Using sanctions and formal warnings, individuals will be held accountable for any discriminatory actions. Anyone voicing concerns about the AU will be invited to engage in constructive

I’m willing to take on any challenge and don’t give up. I’m always up for getting involved; never missed a Zoo, intend to go on all 3 Tours and my permanent ass-print in C120. As part of the exec I’d try to: ‍ ښ‏+HOS WKH $8 EXGJHW ‍ڔ‏SDVV JR DQG FROOHFW QXPHURXV ÂŁ200’sâ€? for funds. ‍ ښ‏$LP WR LQFUHDVH VPDOOHU FOXEV‍ ڑ‏UHFRJQLWLRQ JLYLQJ WKHP D ‍&ڔ‏RPPXQLW\ &KHVW FDUG‍ ڕ‏ ‍* ښ‏LYH WKH $8‍ڑ‏V UHSXWDWLRQ D ‍*ڔ‏HW RXW RI MDLO IUHH FDUG‍ ڕ‏WR prevent others thinking that we’re a ‘clique’. Let’s be honest, this is your perfect chance to finally create a difference between the ‘Gruesome Twosome’!

CARWYN Â EVANS

‍ ښ‏$ PRUH LQFOXVLYH $8 68 YLD greater AU involvement in the

Media Centre: R :HHNO\ YLGHR KLJKOLJKWV RI VSRUWLQJ ன[WXUHV SURPRWLQJ LooSE TV o Return of sporting talk shows to Pulse Radio R 'HWDLOHG OLVWLQJV RI XSFRPLQJ FOXE ன[WXUHV LQ WKH %HDYHU o Monthly inclusion of BUCS tables in the Beaver to showcase teams performance o These should encourage greater supporter attendance at ELJ ன[WXUHV H J YV .LQJV

‍ ښ‏$ SXVK IRU VXEVLGLVHG WUDYHO IRU WUDLQLQJ HQFRXUDJLQJ greater attendance especially for clubs such as Snowsports, Rowing, Tennis, Cricket and Rugby. ‍( ښ‏QVXUH DFFHVV WR DOWHUQDWLYH 6TXDVK FRXUWV RQFH WKH (DVW Building and LSE’s only courts are demolished. ‍( ښ‏QFRXUDJH JUHDWHU SDUWLFLSDWLRQ LQWR VXPPHU VSRUWV VXFK as Cricket and casual sport after exams including the AU Summer Sports Day. ‍' ښ‏LUHFWLRQ RI H[WUD $8 IXQGLQJ WRZDUGV LPSURYLQJ HTXLS-

discussion with the Exec. ***INTER-SOCIETY INTEGRATION*** This year the AU has formed great bridges with other societies, such as LGBT, FemSoc and RAG. This progress must continue in order to open up the AU further, getting rid of the perceived ‘clique’. I will give MusicSoc more opportunities to perform at AU events and regularly organise talks alongside societies across the SU. ***CLUB CAPTAIN BUDGET INVOLVEMENT*** Club Captains should have greater say in budget allocations, with each Captain presenting their funding ideas for the upcoming season. Endorsements Liberal Democrats

JONATHAN Â ROOME

REBRANDING: The LSE AU has been subject to negative press, both deserved and some exaggerated. I will stand up for the character and integrity of members of the $8 ZKLOVW EXLOGLQJ RQ FROODERUDWLYH HŕŽ‰RUWV ZLWK JURXSV such as LGBT Alliance and FemSoc, to promote integration with the rest of the SU. EVENTS: Wednesday nights and other LSE AU events deனQH RXU WHUP DQG RXU XQLYHUVLW\ H[SHULHQFH 7KH QHZ 9HQXH represents untapped potential; events that are bigger, better and more exciting. In particular, I want to restore the traditional link between the AU and RAG. Additionally, I want to promote inter-university sport. WIDER PARTICIPATION AND GROWTH: Women’s rugby shouldn’t be an exception; smaller clubs should be allowed to grow and encouraged to do so through increased practical support. I will expand the Captain’s email to reach the whole AU, and stage ‘office hours’ to encourage problem resolution and increased participation.

ment for all clubs; desperate need for Judo mats, matchballs in Football, and water bottles for most clubs. ‍\( ښ‏HEURZV

LITTLE Â SAM

*****More INTEGRATED within the SU***** The AU needs an improved relationship with the wider student body. The Christmas Cup, LGBT and FemSoc nights have shown that the AU can and must INTEGRATE with the SU. *****More INCLUSIVE with minority clubs***** With just under 3,000 members the AU is huge. Carol showed us that the AU can be socially more INCLUSIVE so let’s make this a regular thing. *****More INVOLVED with Club Captains***** The CCs and AU Exec are currently too separated! The Exec needs to be in constant communication with clubs to get the most out of the increased AU budget, starting this summer. Get the CC’s of all clubs more INVOLVED! *****More FUN with new social nights***** Bored of pre-drinking in student houses? Bored of Zoo? I FHUWDLQO\ DP 1HZ RQH RŕŽ‰ VRFLDO HYHQWV LQ GLŕŽ‰HUHQW FOXEV day/night trips away and an AU radio sounds like FUN.

ISABEL Â STEPHENSON

VOTE ISABEL STEPHENSON #1 FOR

AU EXEC As an Au Executive member I would endeavour to: -Vitalise a greater involvement with RAG- events such as mini fashion shows, or calendars, using members of our beautiful AU can produce amazing results and a dose of good karma. -Organise well-loved events such as ‘Take Me Out’ and

ELECTION GUIDE 2014

‘Fight Night’ -Take time to encourage greater integration between clubsthrough socials and inter-club matches -Encourage equal levels of funding for clubs of relative size I’m ‘believ’n in Stephen’ because I am: -Dedicated -Passionate -Proactive -An active member of the AU

LAURENCE SUTTON

The AU is an integral heart of the LSE. For years it has provided LSE with an array of social events of all sizes to provide us with the university experiences we

desire. Wednesdays nights have gone down in LSE lore with the exploits of the AU frequently heard throughout campus, and on the pitch our achievements are fantastic and ever improving. However, there are improvements to be made. As such I will do these things for YOU: -Work closer with societies for greater integration with the SU -Introduce an 'Ask the AU' page where you can pose questions and suggestions to be discussed and answered by your exec -Ensure minority clubs get the recognition they deserve -Introduce alternative socials, to cater for a wider audience -Open up events planning so clubs and individuals can plan and host their own events, funded in part by the AU

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-More inter-club activities

MADDY WRIGHT

BEAVER 15

Your AU. Your Vote. Choose Wright. Views towards the AU are extremely polarised. Therefore if elected I will: -Advocate a positive image of the AU to the wider LSE community - Continue to build upon AU collaboration with FemSoc, LGBT, RAG and other societies - Promote proper representation of clubs regardless of size - Ensure that successful teams have their achievements properly recognised so make the Wright choice and vote Maddy #1 for AU Exec.

FOR DEMOCRACY COMMITTEE AND TRUSTEE BOARD MEMBER CANDIDATES CHECK OUT: LSESUELECTS.CO.UK

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All Photos: LSE in Pictures

VOTING IS OPEN until 5pm Thursday

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16

04.03.2014 PartB

THEATRE

PYGMALION: FROM UNCOUTH PLEB TO DEBUTANT The main cast were abley supported by a diverse grouping of secondary characters. With Eliza’s father providing alcohol fuelled philosophy while Mrs Higgins was shown to be the very epitome of matriarchal concern and disapproval. Cameo’s from an accented Hungarian linguist, Eliza’s love interest and snooty party guests were also well received. This production was one of the most enjoyable and well directed that I have seen at the LSE. I look forward fondly to LSE Drama Society’s next production.

Eliza Doodlittle was played with aplomb and her cockney accent and constant refrain of “I’m a good gurl’ honest gov” seemed drawn straight from the rough East End upbringing of her character. Her characters interDFWLRQ ZLWK 3URஉHVRU +LJgins, particularly the slow transformation of their relationship from trepdiation to exasperation to ஋LUWDWLRQ ஊQDOO\ HQGLQJ LQ desperation, formed the backbone of the show.

All photos: LSESU Drama Society Facebook page

Last week LSE Drama society performed Bernard Shaw’s Pygmailon, a tale of a young, cockney ஋RZHU JLUO DGRSWHG E\ WZR professors who aim to turn her from uncouth pleb to debutant in a matter of months. The play was a resounding success powered by the leading acting triumvirate who were able to draw every last drop of comic and shock value from the plays satirical take of the British class system. The actor playing Henry Higgins turned from endearingly odd to unnervingly psychopathic with alarming ease within scenes , ensuring the audience were capitavated throughout. Colonel Pickering assumed the assiduRXVO\ SROLWH DஉHFWDWLRQV RI his character appearing to the audiences as if he had walked straight from a 3XEOLF 6FKRRO SOD\LQJ ஊHOG or private members club. 7KH GLஉHUHQFHV EHWZHHQ their teaching styles provided the stark contrast DURXQG ZKLFK D VLJQLஊFDQW number of the plays comic moments revolved around.

By Thomas Meaden

UPCOMING!

SPARE ROOM University of London Theatre Project Presents SPARE ROOM, a comedy drama that explores the culture and identity of London students. SPARE ROOM is a unique piece of theatre devised by students from Universities across London who have decided to depart from more traditional student theatre and create their own piece about modern London student life through a long collaborative process. It combines real stories and hilarious anecdotes to shed some light on three very unusual academic years. LSE's Rebecca Wong is also participating in this project so feel free to come and support her!

Photo: ULU Website

Performances are on Thursday 13th and Saturday 15th March Doors open at 6:30pm Performance starts at 7:30pm Entry: £5 Ticket on the door, £4 online Location: The Venue, ULU Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY

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Tuesday March 4 2014

Features The Pocket Philosopher: The Principle Of Fairness When can people be coerced into contributing?

Alexander Howells

Photo credit: Flikr via Elliot Brown

Suppose that a small community asks every one of its citizens to spend one hour per day and make a stockpile of communal coffee, available to all citizens. You have convinced the community that you don’t like coffee and therefore they don’t expect you to assist them. They assume you won’t want any of the end product. In reality, however, you love coffee and late at night sneak out in order to take a per-

sonal supply. Are you obliged to make some form of contribution, similar to the one the farming citizens had to make, in order to benefit from this product of their labour? It would intuitively seem so and this is, in essence, the Principle of Fairness; an idea conceived of by H. J. Hart in 1955. The principle, as formulated by Hart, reads “When a number of persons conduct any joint enterprise according to rules and thus restrict their liberty, those who have submitted to these restrictions when

required have a right to a similar submission from those who have benefited by their submission.” It’s quite a mouthful. In short it says that if a group of people have come together and made some kind of sacrifice (financial, temporal, literally anything) to produce an outcome, anyone who benefits from this outcome should be obligated to pay a similar sacrifice. This seems intuitively kind of just. It’s hard to argue against you owing some form of compensation to the community above for utilising their coffee supplies, without contributing to their production. Indeed it seems very much unjust for you not to pay such a contribution. But in this case you are actively pursuing this benefit; you must actively seek out and take it with some forethought. What if you were to only be receiving it passively, with no choice but to receive it? This is where Robert Nozick, in his book Anarchy, State and, Utopia, takes issue with the principle. Nozick gives a number of examples of people receiving passive benefits, at the expense of someone else’s labour, where it seems that the principle doesn’t hold. For example, he asks us to imagine that everyday a different person, on your street, sweeps the entire street. When it comes to be only you who has not yet swept the street, are you obliged to do so? Even if you value the freedom of your day over the cleanliness of your

street? He asks whether you are a free-rider (someone who benefits from other’s actions without contributing) unless you imagine there being dirt on the street. Otherwise it seems impossible to avoid benefitting from this joint enterprise of others; you can’t not benefit from the cleanliness of a street you have to walk down. Nozick states, using situations such as these as examples, that a group “may not charge and collect for benefits [they] bestow without prior arrangement.” He augments this with a simple example; you can’t thrust a book into my hands and then demand that I pay for it. Nozick’s argument has been called the limiting argument. It does not completely negate the Principle of Fairness, only limit it to range over cases involving ‘active’ benefits. But as one might expect, from a limiting argument which cuts off all passive benefits, there are limiting arguments to it as well. What of passive benefits which the recipient cannot help but desire. Passive benefits given which would be impossible to argue they weren’t desired. George Klosko points out that all of Nozick’s examples consist of benefits of relatively little importance, goods which he calls ‘discretionary.’ He suggests that the Principle of Fairness will continue to range over passive benefits which are ‘presumptive goods.’ Benefits which are, in the words of John Rawls “things that every man is presumed to

THE WEEK IN NUMBERS 2The hours 20 minutes Average Length of a

Best Picture oscar winner

£100k

Newcastle Manager Alan Pardew’s fine, after he headbutted Hull player David Meyler

18

the number of years ago the queen dined at Chequers until last firiday

want.” For example, imagine that you live in a small town being sieged by bandits. There is no escaping the town, the only way to survive is to fight them off. The town asks that everyone join an improvised militia to do this. You notice that there are a sufficient number of people in the militia for the defence to succeed and that, in the panic, no one will notice that you’re missing. So, upon noticing this, you instead decide to hide in your house and passively receive the benefit of security without contributing towards its production. This seems far more unjust than the examples of passive benefits given by Nozick so perhaps the Principle can range over some passive goods. But why is this important, why discuss this at all? Well, some claim that the Principle of Fairness can be a sound basis for an obligation to follow the law. One must sacrifice one’s liberties by abiding by the law, as everyone else does, in order to receive the benefit of a lawful society. But a more practical interest is its relation to climate change. Are all countries obliged to contribute to the combatting of climate change if others do so themselves? If avoiding the effects of climate change are universally desirable then other nations, according to Klosko’s point, would be obliged to make similar sacrifices to those who do in order to combat it. Is the compulsory reduction of carbon emissions an enforceable international obligation?

£7,500 The amount of money donated by

Lord David Owen, former foreign secretary and SDP founder to the Labour Party this week in support of union changes

61% 86% Percentage of Delegates at of English and Welsh Labour’s special conference want Scotland to who endorsed Ed Miliband’s in spite of union remain in the UK party shake-up scepticism

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Tuesday March 4 2014

Beaver

Features

39% Philosophy

31%

26%

1617

2009

2002

2012

2189

2013

2999

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1516

LGBT

1541 1654

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1611

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1661

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1496

DC

1476

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1641 494

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1716

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Lies, Damn Lies & Student Union Election Statistics

Population Voters

by degree level For more info, go to lsesuelects.co.uk

Tuesday March 4 2014

Diary of an LSE Student

social@thebeaveronline.co.uk

LSE events and gossip - know something is going on? Email us.

MEME OF THE WEEK

From the Beaver Archives

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Classical, cultural and creative They say classical music broadens the mind and indeed the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Brahms Double Concerto for violin and cello and Bruckner Symphony No. 2 at the Royal Festival Hall was enlightening. Vladimir Jurowski conducted the LPO in a spellbinding performance which left you wishing that you could listen to the whole concert again. Julia Fischer (violin) and Daniel Müller-Schott (cello) performed the Brahms incredibly and with great attack. An encore performance just between the two musicians was also an excellent surprise of evening. The LPO truly showcased their talents during the Bruckner with the romanticism of the piece really pulling at the heartstrings. At only £4 a ticket through the NOISE scheme for students this truly was excellent value for money and something us students should exploit. Not only will it prove to be an evening of fun, culture and interest but it might just help one to concentrate more on work!

Amelia Thomson

LSE Tweets

To read the complete Beaver archive please visit: http://digital.library.lse.ac.uk/

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Tuesday March 4 2014

Kuster & Wildhaber

Travel

The ‘T’ is silent but Metz is a place worth making noise about

Sebastien Ash

A mere hour and a half away from Paris on the TGV, Metz is the forgotten city of the east of France, like a dry and vaguely Germanic Atlantis sunk deep in the heart of Lorraine. And yet it is a city that has much to the offer to anyone willing to give it a chance. It is high time that it was brought back up from the depths to be rediscovered by the world outside of France. Like all places of true cultural value, what matters most about Metz is how big it was in the seventh century when the city was larger than Paris and the political capital of the Frankish realm. The most prominent remnant of Metz’s high-Medieval splendour is the Place St. Louis, whose subtle charm is the first step to discovering what is essential to Metz’s appeal. Today, the Place St. Louis is nothing but the unassuming host of the annual Christmas markets, huddled amongst a few specialist foreign language book stores and a perennially dormant fromagerie. But the slanted façade of the arcade, mashed together in a wonky row strongly evoke the urban mess of a medieval market town. The narrow and angular backstreets have likewise, long been covered over by pavement and new building century on century. What remains of medieval Metz is nothing more than a subconscious road map. Yet, with a penetrative eye, a discerning visitor can still appreciate how their expe-

Centre Pompidou by Alexandre Prévot

rience is being guided by the ghost of history. Often overshadowed in eastern France by the kitsch beauty of Strasbourg or the high-French splendour of Nancy, Metz has something to offer that these tourism hotspots do not. There, the past has been gagged by commercialism or the destructive line of the eighteenth century architect. But in Metz each year that passes has added another layer to the city, leaving it deeply and disorderedly inflected by the lives of its previous inhabitants. When visiting, you can find the small building just off of Rue Taison where Rabelais stayed. Or perhaps consider Rue des Tanneurs, now a pleasant street dotted with local commerce, but once a flooded thoroughfare designed to assist in the tanning of leather- hence the name. Yet whilst a street name may tell a story, the changes in Metz have been part of an epochal narrative. All the way up to the modern Metz has been at the centre of change on the European continent. Sidled up against the border of present-day Germany, Metz has vacillated between Gallic and Germanic rule. The scene of one of the more climactic battles of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and consequently annexed by the newly formed second Reich, Metz has been profoundly influenced by its time spent under Imperial rule. Bearing testament to this history is the famous Quartier imperial. The heavy sand-

stone buildings contrast the light touch of Nancy’s whitewash bourgeois terraces but do not fail in having their own particular appeal. It is their muscular Teutonic architecture- a foreshadow of the brutalism of the twentieth century, that has been artfully with a certain Nordic whimsythat makes buildings like soon-to-be UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Gare de Metz, iconic. Through and through, Metz’s ascendancy over its more well-to-do neighbour is established by the exquisite eclecticism of its past. And this is all without mentioning the intricate gothic immensity of the Cathedrale St. Etienne. An

iconic Messin construction and a prime example of French architecture that compares well with its counterpart in Rouen much admired by Monet. But for those less enthralled by the romance of faded glory, Metz is moreover a modern cultural capital. The city is homefrom-home to the Centre Pomipidou, Paris’s centre of modern art. The Centre receives a frequently changing exhibition of modern art featuring exclusive oversized pieces from the museum’s collection that could otherwise not be exposed elsewhere. And alongside this, through developments attending the arrival of the museum,

Metz has been transformed into a green and vibrant local metropole. With quick and easy access from the capital linking Metz to the rest of France it should be booming, drawing in visitors from all over l’Hexagone as well as the wider world. And yet still it is too often forgotten; stigmatised in France by the history of heavy industry in the area and lost on the wider world, Metz is waiting to be rediscovered and enjoyed by anyone intrepid enough to give it a go. Perhaps you have been inspired enough by what you have read to give it a shot.

General view of Metz by the Esplanade, with the cathedral in the background by Christophe photo-graphy

Left: Gare de Metz, Right: Place St. Louis by johann j.m.

Tuesday March 4 2014

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branded as dodgy/suspicious/someRQH ZKR VKRXOG EH DYRLGHG 7KLV was, as I’m sure you can imagine, quite a shock, given that not saying good morning to every fellow dogwalker you meet would give you the YLOODJH UHSXWDWLRQ RI EHLQJ ‍ڔ‏UXGH‍ ڕ‏

Listings

RAG presents: AU Wax 9PM/ The Venue

Indigenous Genius Week

Thursday (6th)

Tuesday (4th)

5K\PH DQG 5HDVRQ 5Hŕ­ž HFWLRQV RQ FOLPDWH change Black Tie Ball in celebration of International 7PM/ The Three Tuns Women’s Day 6:30PM/ The Rembrandt Hotel in Knightsbridge Friday (7th) LSESU RAG raids Brighton RAG Promise Auction Monday (10th) LSE SU RAG teams up with LSESU Development Society to see some of LSE’s most distin- Women’s self-defence training JXLVKHG VWXGHQWV‍ ڑ‏DQG PHPEHUV RI VWDŕŽ‰ WLPH 8PM/ LSE Campus EH DXFWLRQHG RŕŽ‰ This is free training, all that is required is that Chamber Music Concert \RX DUH D PHPEHU RI WKH )HPLQLVW 6RFLHW\ 6:30PM/ Shaw Library

Avenue Q - The Musical 7:30PM/ Old Theatre Presented by LSE SU Drama Society and tickets ÂŁ5 for non-members, ÂŁ3 for members Wednesday (5th) Avenue Q - The Musical 7:30PM/ Old Theatre Presented by LSE SU Drama Society and tickets ÂŁ5 for non-members, ÂŁ3 for members

Saturday (8th) TEDxLSE 2014 World’s Architects 10AM - 5PM/ Old Building

the

Beaver

23

Tuesday March 4 2014

Social

Beaver Games

Mae I Help You?

Crossword

Send your questions to social@thebeaveronline.com

Dear Mae, I feel so scared right now. Recently I was drunk DQG IRU WKH ୽ UVW WLPH HYHU I had unprotected sex with a girl who I later found RXW KDV KDG QXPHURXV SDUWQHUV RYHU WKH \HDUV and unprotected sex nuPHURXV WLPHV 6KH KDVQ‍ڑ‏W EHHQ WHVWHG DQG QRZ , DP so worried about HIV but I cannot be tested apparentO\ IRU PRQWKV , OLWHUDOO\ feel sick at the possibility WKDW , KDYH +,9 DQG WKDW , ZLOO KDYH WR ZDLW VR ORQJ , UHDOO\ DP SDUDQRLG QRZ and just depressed. Not sure what to do next. -Regretting One Night 6WDQG Dear RONS, I am hoping that my response can calm your nerves a bit! These last few weeks of term are already stressful enough; you shouldn’t have to be worrying about this on top of it.

www.alberichcrosswords.com ACROSS 7 Article missing from collection of antiques? Investigation results (7) 8 One Flemish artist or another abandoning Germany for Spain (3,4) 10 Composed – a term essentially used for it? (6) 11 Drink and drive recklessly? (8) 12 Composer renounces his nationality, we hear, for her (4) 13 Shrub is planted in the verge by westbound main road (10) 14 Knock back drink with airman after opera, but not too much (2,3,6) 19 Record collection containing jazz mostly is feature of column (10) 22 Close companion at last given attention (4) 23 DJ is so tense, needing to become healthier? (8) 24 One has no time for Spanish food (6) 25 Fate of a play about love making comeback (7) 26 Reportedly is acquainted with person that’s patient for plastic surgery (4,3)

Set by Alberich DOWN 1 Important card game for Spooner is to LQĂ LFW FULSSOLQJ GDPDJH

2 Be sexually aroused by an unpleasant woman, a Swede (8) 3 Associate skins up, to become unconscious (6) 4 So a grass is mistaken for seaweed (8) 5 Children’s author and playwright retires, heading for Tasmania (6) 6 A Conservative has to demand enthusiastic welcome (7) &KXUFK¡V UHDOO\ HPSW\ KROGLQJ Ă€ UVW VHU vice of the festive season (11) 15 Ordered John to be at work (2,3,3) 16 Quiet Spanish woman hiding new engineer’s glasses (5-3) 17 Inspiration encompasses depth and comprehensiveness (7) 18 Become very fond of female sporting Ă RUDO FORWKHV

20 Hard gangster can cry (6) 21 Use English Master’s tactic (6)

First, I want you to know that most of the time waiting 4-8 weeks after unprotected sex is enough time to get an HIV test. If you want to be even more sure, 97% of people can get tested after 12 weeks with an accurate response. So if you’re really worried, get tested in about a month. If you want to be reassured after that then feel free to get tested again at that 3 month mark. It can’t ever hurt to get tested too many times! Secondly, I hope I can make you feel a bit more calm here. Transmission rates for HIV from females to males are quite low. Only 5 in every 10,000 exposures to HIV from female to male vaginal intercourse will result in transmission. That’s a really small amount, RONS! (in comparison, 67 out of 10,000 will get HIV from sharing needles and 50 of 10,000 will get HIV from receiving anal sex) What you should actually be a bit concerned about are other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For instance, gonorrhea is currently on the rise, and as always chlamydia, genital warts and genital herpes are risks as well. I am not telling you this to scare

you on another level, but just to let you know that these STIs are a bit more common. My advice would be to wait a month and get tested for all of the STIs you can: do a HIV test as well as the tests for these other STIs. It will be good to have a sound mind that everything is okay. Even if you hadn’t had this one scare, it would still be important to get tested! People under the age of 25 are most at risk for STIs and therefore when we’re at uni it is really important to stay on top of testing. So, RONS, I hope I calmed you down a little (it does no help to freak out!) but I also hope you learned some lessons. First of all, it is extremely important to ALWAYS USE A CONDOM. I know you know this because you’re so freaked out for not using one, but we could all use a reminder. RONS, it is good to be nervous about STIs – it shows that you know there are risks – but don’t let this experience turn you RŕŽ‰ IURP VH[XDO H[SHULHQF es completely. There are risks in almost every activity we do. You don’t avoid cars because of the risks of car accidents, do you? No. You wear a safety belt and drive anyway. Condoms are the same thing. They are there to make something fun more safe. Secondly, I hope you learn that testing is important, even if you don’t have a similar slip up again. For example, genital warts and genital herpes can still be transmitted even if condoms are used. Also, condoms can slip or break sometimes without us noticing. Risks are always there for transmission. So, as young adults, it is important to be tested about once a year, or if you change partners. If you are someone who dates around and is sexual with more people it is probably a good idea to be tested more often. I know getting tested can be scary or intimidating or even embarrassing but it is an important part of being an adult and being sexually active. For more information about sexual health visit: http://www.nhs.uk/ Livewell/Sexualhealthtopics ----------------------------------

24

04.03.2014 The Beaver

PRIVATE B ‍ڔ‏+RPH RI VHOI GH૽QLQJ KDFNV‍ڕ‏

BME Students Take Control of Media Group in Coup

This week's edition compiled by Geraint apDafydd Martha Lover

Left to Right: Hacky, Mystical, and White- Dearest and most beloved leaders of the media group Instigated by accusations that the Media Group was too mystical students from minority backgrounds forcibly took control of the hack hive. Interrupting a session in which the editorial board were challenging each other to down pints of mushroom risotto, washing it down with libations of Pinot *ULJLR D னQH YLQWDJH with earthy notes and a robust bouquet that complemented the umami of the mushrooms) the new leaders stormed WKH RŕŽŒFH Collective Chair, Liam Hill, in the room at the time commented on the clique coup: “It was really, really rude. We were talking about how much the Wu-Tang Clan

spoke to our issues as young people when they stormed in, turned our &' SOD\HU RŕŽ‰ DQG WKHQ asked us to leave without even saying please.â€? “It was just uncouth.â€? Out of nowhere LooseTV came forward to take control of the heights of the LSE media Group. When asked about the new Loose leadership, head of The BME-var, Josh Jinruang said, “it would have been nice to have a TV station all year. At least they’re here to claim all the glory now.â€? “When the hacks attack again, we’ll be UHDG\ WR னJKW EDFN ‍ڕ‏

Jay Stoll Sex Doll Get them before they go! Limited Stock! Now self-congratulates on a job well done when squeezed! WARNING: Promises much, PD\ OHDYH \RX GHૺDWHG (*Yes we’re recycling satire but at least we’re not recycling sex dolls)

Tuesday March 4 2014

the

25

Beaver

6 Nations; Wales’ Title to Lose Ceri Morgan - Wales Fan

This Sunday, England face :DOHV DW 7ZLFNHQKDP LQ D ன[ture that has decided the last WZR 6L[ 1DWLRQV &KDPSLRQVKLSV and may well do so again. The YLFWRU ZLOO EH LQ DQ H[FHOOHQW SRsition to secure the title in the னQDO URXQG RI PDWFKHV EXW GHfeat for either side will almost certainly end their chances. A match renowned for its hostility, WKLV \HDU‍ڑ‏V PDWFK SURPLVHV WR EH DV னHUFH DV HYHU England will head into the match buoyed by their narrow victory over Ireland which showed that Stuart Lancaster’s young team are maturing into a

side that can close out big games. An undeserved defeat against France is the only blemish on their record thus far and with VWURQJ SHUIRUPDQFHV WKURXJKRXW WKH WHDP VXSSRUWHUV RI WKH UHG URVH KDYH PXFK WR EH RSWLPLVWLF DERXW ,Q SDUWLFXODU WKH OLQH breaking of Mike Brown at full EDFN 'DQQ\ &DUH‍ڑ‏V TXLFN GLVtribution at scrum half and the WHQDFLW\ RI WKH WLJKW னYH PRVW notably the second rows) has demonstrated that there is amSOH WDOHQW LQ WKH (QJOLVK UDQNV Moreover, last year’s hammerLQJ LQ &DUGLŕŽ‰ ZLOO SURYLGH DGGHG motivation as they seek revenge on home soil. However, they have lost to the men in red three

times in a row and there are still concerns about their ability to GHDO ZLWK WKH VKHHU னUHSRZHU RI the Welsh. Wales come into the match on WKH EDFN RI DQ LPSUHVVLYH YLFWRU\ over the French. The 27-6 victory was testament to Warren GatODQG DQG KLV SOD\HUV‍ ڑ‏VWUHQJWK RI character after a dismal showing LQ 'XEOLQ DQG DQ XQLQVSLULQJ YLFtory over Italy. The Welsh have EHHQ WKH QRUWKHUQ KHPLVSKHUH‍ڑ‏V QXPEHU RQH WHDP RYHU WKH SDVW few years but doubts about the FRQWLQXLQJ HŕŽ‰HFWLYHQHVV RI VHQLRU SOD\HUV VXFK DV $GDP -RQHV *HWKLQ -HQNLQV DQG 'DQ /\GLDWH have not been resolved yet. Furthermore, there is a sense that

SK\VLFDO DQG PHQWDO IDWLJXH PD\ KDYH FDXJKW XS ZLWK WKHP DIter so many of their contingent toured with the Lions in the sumPHU (YHQ VR WKH\ VWLOO SRVVHVV WKUHDWV DFURVV WKH SDUN DQG ZLWK a backline containing George 1RUWK -DPLH 5REHUWV DQG /HLJK +DOISHQQ\ WKH\ FDQ RQ WKHLU GD\ blow teams away. Were England to win on SatXUGD\ LW ZRXOG UHSUHVHQW WKHLU ELJJHVW VWHS IRUZDUG VLQFH Stuart Lancaster took charge. Doubts about a mental block against the Welsh would be banLVKHG DQG WKH\ ZRXOG IHHO FRQனdent about their chances in the VDPH ன[WXUH LQ WKH :RUOG &XS JURXS VWDJHV QH[W \HDU :HUH

Wales to win, it would go a long way in showing that the Irish SHUIRUPDQFH ZDV D PHUH EOLS and that they are still the best in (XURSH ,QGHHG LI 6DP :DUEXUton’s team won and then went RQ WR VHFXUH DQ XQSUHFHGHQWHG third title in a row then they will go down in Welsh rugby folklore alongside the team of the 1970s. 6LQFH WKH னUVW LQWHUQDWLRQDO between the two nations back in 1881, both teams have won 56 WLPHV , H[SHFW 6XQGD\‍ڑ‏V PDWFK WR UHŕŽ‹HFW WKLV KLVWRULFDO SDULW\ with only one score between the WZR VLGHV 0\ SUHGLFWLRQ &\PUX L HQQLOO R EXP SZ\QW (Sports Ed. He reckons Wales will win by 5.)

England Optimistic Ahead of Wales Clash Jon-Rhys Foster - England Fan

LDQ EDFNOLQH RŕŽ‰HUV D JOLPPHU RI KRSH <HW IRU WKH WLPH EHLQJ ERWK sides remain irrelevant. Ireland will dismantle the Italians with ease at home in Dublin. AlWKRXJK 6FRWODQG ZLOO UHSUHVHQW more of a challenge for a stereoW\SLFDOO\ XQSUHGLFWDEOH )UHQFK side, it is hard to see them being a threat for the full eighty minutes. This is best symbolised by WKH VXVSHQVLRQ RI /RXLV 3LFDPRles. Whilst not doubting the fact 3KLOLSSH 6DLQW $QGUH LV D PDQ ZLWK UHVSHFW IRU WKH JDPH WKH French coach is also a realist. :HUH KLV WHDP SOD\LQJ ,UHODQG WKLV ZHHN LQVWHDG RI QH[W LW‍ڑ‏V XQOLNHO\ ZH‍ڑ‏G VHH 3LFDPROHV VHQW WR the stands. With victories for Ireland and France on the cards, the URXQG DQG SRVVLEO\ WLWOH FRPHV down to England vs. Wales at Twickenham as it always seem destined to do so. It will be a titanic, arm-wrestle of a game, the last at HQ before the two sides meet there in the 2015 World &XS :DOHV ERXQFHG EDFN ZHOO against France and there’s no GRXEWLQJ WKH TXDOLW\ RI *DWODQG‍ڑ‏V side. But there is something building in this England team. They are in no way as green as they were twelve months ago.

They are at home and they will be on hunt for revenge. Boosted E\ WKH UHWXUQ RI 0DUODQG <DUGH DQG FRPLQJ RŕŽ‰ WKH EDFN RI YLFtory against Ireland and learning from the 30-3 humbling of twelve months ago, England will navigate a very tough test. ,W ZLOO UHTXLUH D PRQXPHQWDO HŕŽ‰RUW (QJODQG KDYH QRW RQO\ failed to win but also failed to cross the try line against Wales in the Lancaster era. Wales will KDYH ERWK $OXQ :\Q -RQHV DQG -RQDWKRQ 'DYLHV DYDLOLDEOH DJDLQ DQG ZLOO EH FORVH WR னHOGLQJ D IXOO strength side. But England will ZLQ WKH\ DUH VPDUWHU WKDQ WKH\ RQFH ZHUH 7KH IURQW னYH KDYH the ability to starve the Welsh backline of ball. Even without WKH ; IDFWRU RI %LOO\ 9XQLSROD (QJODQG EDFN URZ DUH FDSDEOH RI FORVLQJ RŕŽ‰ WKH EUHDNGRZQ DQG shutting down Wales in the same way Ireland did last month. With victory over Wales, England will still be in the hunt come the last weekend where the only WKLQJ WKDW ZLOO PDWWHU LV SRLQWV ,WDO\ DZD\ LV QRW DQ HDV\ JDPH however it is a game England will win. For the Azzuri, England PD\ EH WKH ODVW XQEHDWHQ 6L[ 1DWLRQV WHDP EXW WKH\ DUH VLPSO\ QRW \HW XS WR WKH WDVN (QJODQG‍ڑ‏V

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I feel I should start this article with a disclaimer. I am unashamedly an England fan. However, as an England fan whose னUVW H[SHULHQFH RI LQWHUQDWLRQDO UXJE\ ZDV WKH :RUOG &XS and who has since lived through eleven years of hurt and freTXHQWO\ HPEDUUDVVPHQW , OLNH WR WKLQN , KDYH EHFRPH DFTXDLQWHG with the realities of test rugby HQRXJK WR RŕŽ‰HU LI QRW D EDODQFHG WKHQ DW OHDVW D UHDVRQHG RSLQLRQ :KLFK LV ZK\ LW LV VXUSULVLQJ WKDW after a decade of sorrow, there is VRPH RSWLPLVP EUHZLQJ RYHU DW WKH FDEEDJH SDWFK England will win this year’s 6L[ 1DWLRQV ,W LV D IRXU KRUVH UDFH DQG LW ZLOO EH ZRQ RQ SRLQW GLŕŽ‰HUHQFH EXW LW LV (QJODQG ZKR ZLOO HPHUJH IURP WKH SDFN :H KDYH VL[ JDPHV OHIW DQG DV KDV become customary, Scotland and Italy are irrelevant. That is not to say both sides are not SURJUHVVLQJ DOEHLW HYHQ VORZHU WKDQ H[SHFWHG DQG ZLOO EHJLQ WR FKDOOHQJH LQ WKH QH[W FRXSOH RI years. The imminent arrival of &OHUPRQW FRDFK 9HUQ &RWWHU ZLOO PDNH D FRORVVDO GLŕŽ‰HUHQFH WR what could easily be a very good Scotland side, whilst the materialisation of a reasonable Ital-

IRUZDUG GRPLQDQFH ZLOO SURYLGH 'DQQ\ &DUH ZLWK WKH EDOO QHHGHG to unleash what is a slowly blossoming backline. It will not be D FULFNHW VFRUH ,WDO\ KDYH LPSURYHG WRR PXFK DQG WKH GD\V RI UDFNLQJ XS HLJKW\ SRLQWV DUH long gone. But England will win and will do so convincingly. Both Ireland and France will go into WKH ODVW JDPH RI WKH FKDPSLRQVKLS NQRZLQJ ZKDW WKH\ QHHG WR GR %RWK ZLOO EH SOD\LQJ IRU WKH title, and France will be doing so DW KRPH )UDQFH ZLOO SOD\ ZHOO not in the devastating manner of old but well enough to make it FORVH DJDLQVW DQ LPSURYLQJ ,UHland side. Under the lights of the Stade de France in the last

PDWFK RQ 6XSHU 6DWXUGD\ , H[SHFW D FUHDNLQJ )UHQFK VLGH WR VTXHDN LW ,W ZLOO EH FORVH DQG ,UHland will do well, but it will not EH WKH VHQG RŕŽ‰ %ULDQ 2‍'ڑ‏ULVFROO GHVHUYHV 7KLV LV VL[ QDWLRQV ZKLFK SHUKDSV PRUH WKDQ DQ\ other has come down to home advantage in the big games, and , IXOO\ H[SHFW )UDQFH WR SURYH WKH rule. With the title coming down WR )UDQFH DQG (QJODQG RQ SRLQWV GLŕŽ‰HUHQFH WKHUH LV RQO\ RQH ZLQQHU <HV WKDW PLJKW VRXQG ELDV DQG LW LV YHU\ PXFK WKH SUHURJDtive of an England fan to be naLYHO\ RSWLPLVWLF %XW IRU WKH னUVW time in a while, it genuinely feels as if there might be something to EH RSWLPLVWLF DERXW

Canoe Polo; Paddles, Boats and Balls Canoe Polo Correspondant

6RPH PD\ QRW FDOO LW D VSRUW but I guess that’s the same debate as whether LSE teaches science or not. With election camSDLJQLQJ LQ IXOO WKURWWOH LW ZRXOG be refreshing to have candidates QRW RQO\ SXVK IRU PRUH IXQGLQJ for the AU but also widening the UDQJH RI VSRUWV IDFLOLWLHV RŕŽ‰HUHG /6(‍ڑ‏V DFDGHPLF H[FHOOHQFH XQIRUWXQDWHO\ LV QRW UHSOLFDWHG LQ WKH VZLPPLQJ SRRO SULPDULO\ because LSE does not have one but also because there is an HPSKDVLV RQ PRUH WUDGLWLRQDO VSRUWV &DQRH 3ROR LV D VSRUW WKDW KDV been around since the 20th century when canoes had only just HPHUJHG ,W ZDV PRVWO\ SOD\HG LQ wooden boats on rivers far and wide. The birth of the modern VSRUW KRZHYHU ZDV QRW VXGGHQ

LW GHYHORSHG DV D PHDQV WR H[HUFLVH SDGGOLQJ VNLOOV ZKHQ VSDFH was limited by using balls. In WKH *HUPDQ &DQRH )HGHUDWLRQ LQWURGXFHG ‍Ú?‏NDQXSROR‍ ڑ‏ Following from Germany’s bold PRYH 7KH &DQRH &OXE RI )UDQFH introduced canoe ball games to WKH FDQRHLQJ IHVWLYDO SURJUDPV in 1929. Goals sat on the 2 meters above the water and still do, with 5 boats in each team. It was soon introduced as a VSRUW DW WKH &U\VWDO 3DODFH ([KLbition, London in 1970 and has VLQFH VSUHDG ZLWK RYHU FOXEV LQ (QJODQG SOD\LQJ WKH VSRUW RIficially. By the end of the 1970s, England, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Australia, the 1HWKHUODQGV DQG 6SDLQ SOD\HG VRPH IRUP RI FDQRH SROR 7KH LQDXJXUDO ,&) :RUOG &DQRH 3ROR &KDPSLRQVKLSV KHOG at Sheffield, England in 1994 VKRZFDVHG WKH VSRUW ZLWK HLJKW-

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Tuesday March 4 2014

the

26

Beaver

LSE Judo Takes Title in a Chokehold Basketball Team Correspondent

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Women HockeyтАЩs тАШInvinciblesтАЩ Go Unbeaten Monopoly & Minerva Rakus

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the

Beaver

27

Tuesday March 4 2014

LSE Trumps Kingston 70-56

BEAVER SPORTS FANTASY FOOTBALL Every week we’ll print the top three, the bottom three and the best performing team.

The TOP... The Moose Knucklers (Conor Rohan) 1748 Points Mutant Ninja Skrtels (Joshua Goldman) 1703 Points Strutting Edge (Chris Edgington) 1701 Points

And the BOTTOM... Zlatanthropology (Dennis Mooney) 1078 Points Golders Giants (David Lewis) 1073 Points Ivan Campesinos (Gabriel Everington) 1071 Points Think you can do better?

970297-228156 SPORT IN BRIEF

Gio Graglia

At the end of a match that the LSE dominated from beginning to end, co-captain David Lok walked back to the bench with tears in his eyes. The only thing he managed to say was “man, I just wish Macej was here todayâ€?. Macej Halbryt, after recording an incredible career-high the previous week, didn’t show up for our game against Kingston. He was at a conference. Or maybe he was sick. Or maybe his back hurt. Or maybe something else. The Beavers built a 15-point OHDG LQ WKH ன UVW TXDUWHU PRVWO\ the result of good defensive roWDWLRQV DQG HŕŽ‰ HFWLYH EDOO PRYH PHQW RQ RŕŽ‰ HQVH DQG QHYHU looked back. With the game’s result never really in discussion, players had a chance to pad their stat-sheets: Dominic Rizzo – undisputed top-scorer RQ WKH WHDP DQG TXHVWLRQDEO\ self-proclaimed assists leader –recorded 23 points, building XS RQ KLV SRLQW HŕŽ‰ RUW LQ WKH previous game against Kingston. Greg Sawyer once again led the team in rebounds despite his 3-inch vertical while also maintaining an impeccable hairstyle, and co-captain Kevin Luk spent most of the game sitting on the bench and talking on his phone (he was probably trying to re-schedule our team picture). The win allows next year’s captain Salim Benhachmi to dream big. The Moroccan/Canadian point-guard is in fact working on a sponsorship deal with Fleet River Bakery to en-

sure a steady supSO\ RI KLJK TXDOLW\ cappuccino and carrot cake. Reportedly, he is also putting the ன QLVKLQJ WRXFKHV on a large-scale project that will see the Old Theatre turned into a basketball court. :KHQ TXHVWLRQHG by his teammates about this drastic restyling of Houghton Street’s ன QHVW EXLOGLQJ Salim simply replied “Craig said it’s OKâ€?. In the pressconference after the game, Donald Gribbons stole the show. He dedicated his amazing sky-hook in WKH IRXUWK TXDUWHU WR 'HDQ .D men “the dude who invented the Segwayâ€?. He later went on a long tirade against train delays caused by banana peels. 7R WRS LW DOO RŕŽ‰ KH GHVFULEHG his pre-game routine (which includes mixing red wine with mango and passion fruit smoothies) which was met with disbelief by the – rather conservative-looking – group of interviewers. Jacob Salant was also meant to talk to the press after the game, but he decided at the last moment to ignore the journalists’ pleas and instead started running towards Central London. The team hasn’t seen him since. Jake, if you read this: we love

you, we hope you are safe, and we really want you back (also, Gio says his PB at Highbury Fields is still one second lower than yours). The team is now pumped for next week’s game against London Met. The last match of the season will see the return to action of some fan favourites: Renè Kuusvek and Bastien Fabing, who will again seduce the crowds with the former’s piercing blue eyes and the latter’s sexy French accent. Daniel Segoin will prove again that he’s the only player on the team whose leaping ability actually allows him to touch the rim (not always, but SUHWW\ IUHTXHQWO\ $QG PRVW RI DOO 6KDZNDW 6KDPL ZLOO KDYH ன nally found the way out of the LSE gym’s changing

rooms – where he has apparently been trapped since week 3 of Michaelmas Term – and will re-join the team (if not for the game, at least for a couple of drinks afterwards). As for the author of this article, well, I’m about to have my last basketball game with the LSE and it feels weird. I’ve had seven wonderful years here, winning multiple national championships and taking – and sometimes making – an awful lot of three-pointers. If anyone actually kept track of stats, I’d probably retire as the school’s all-time leader in games played and points VFRUHG $QG ,‍ڑ‏OO GHன QLWHO\ UH tire as the league’s all-time leader in Italian swear words yelled.

Squash Aces Reach Cup Final

FOOTBALL Manchester City won the League Cup 3-1 after falling behind to Premier League strugglers Sunderland. SNOOKER Ronnie O’Sullivan won the Welsh Open with a commanding 147 break. He won WKH ૹ QDO DJDLQVW Ding Junhui.

Tom Bearpark

/6( PHQ‍ڑ‏V VW VTXDVK WHDP enjoyed a successful week, beating both Kent 1st and be-

ing given a walk over against Kings 2nd team, bringing us WR WKH ன QDOV RI ERWK WKH 6RXWK Eastern Conference cup and the LUSL cup. The week took

our season statistics to 21 games played, with 20 victories. Wednesday’s match against Kent was full of excitement.

Numbers 4 and 5, Alex Veness and Andrew Porter dispatched their opposite numbers with ZHOO SUDFWLFHG ன QHVVH 3HWHU Griffiths was next to go on. Reliable as usual, he beat his opponent 3-0, ensuring that his opponent had no chance to get into the game. Ethan Thornton had an epic 3-2 win against his brother, Shaun, the Kent number 2. At one point in the match, facing 4 match points against him, success looked so unlikely that club captain Alex was tempted into a bet that Ethan was to lose. However, this must have spurned Ethan, as with a burst of energy, and as the desire not to lose against a sibling kicked in, he took the next 3 games in a row to deny Alex a free pint. I was last on, and got soundly beaten 3-1. This was good to keep us humble. Good captaincy comes ன UVW With the season drawing to a close, our training and team spirit continues to intensify. %ULQJ RQ WKH ன QDOV

Squash Aces Reach Cup Final

Women Hockey’s ‘Invincibles’ Go Unbeaten

Sport

the

LSE Judo Takes Title in a Chokehold

Beaver

Tuesday March 4 2014

Yes, it FREE! IS a r eal sp ort!

beaveronline.com/sport

LSE’S SPORTING WINNERS A sample of the many victories LSe has experienced in the past week. BASKETBALL Kingston University Mens 1st 58 - LSE Mens 1st FOOTBALL St George’s Mens 1st 0 - 4 LSE Mens 1s NETBALL LSE Womens 5th 22 - 16 LSE Womens 4th. RUGBY LSE Mens 1st 29 - 13 University of Hertfordshire SQUASH LSE Mens 1st 4 - 1 University of Kent

Red Hot Pawn Hits West Brom Anup Desai

On the weekend of the 22nd RI )HEUXDU\ VRPH RI /6(‍ڑ‏V னQHVW DWKOHWHV VHW RŕŽ‰ WR :HVW %URPwich to take part in this year’s %ULWLVK 8QLYHUVLWLHV‍& ڑ‏KHVV $VVRFLDWLRQ %8&$ 7HDP &KDPpionships. Since their unprecHGHQWHG WKLUG SODFH னQLVK LQ ODVW year’s tournament, LSE have become a force to be reckoned with in the chess world and this ZDV FRQனUPHG E\ WKHLU IRXUWK place seeding in this year’s tourQDPHQW $ VLPLODU ORRNLQJ WHDP to last year was made up by vetHUDQV -DPHV :HL $QXS 'HVDL 6K\DPDO 3DWHO 7DULT $PUX DQG -LPP\ &KHQ ZKR ZHUH MRLQHG E\ SRVWJUDGV 5RODQG 'DDPHQ *DU\ Petrov and Santiago Fernandez to contest (what some had been FDOOLQJ WKH PRVW DQWLFLSDWHG event of the year so far. )RU WKRVH IHZ ZKR UHDG ODVW \HDU‍ڑ‏V WULS UHSRUW LQ %HDYHU LVVXH \RX ZRXOG UHPHPEHU that the location was the bleak and barren landscape of High :\FRPEH 7KLV \HDU KRZHYHU the organisers opted to move WKH WRXUQDPHQW WR :HVW %URPZLFK MXVW D VWRQH‍ڑ‏V WKURZ DZD\ from the infamous James TurnHU 6WUHHW $ WRWDO RI WZHQW\ னYH teams from all over the country gathered at the questionable YHQXH WR னJKW LW RXW IRU WKH WLtle, with LSE represented by two teams. There was no time for the SOD\HUV WR HQMR\ WKH KRWHO SRRO or to get a last minute gym session to train their playing arms, DV WKH னUVW URXQG EHJDQ VKDUSO\ MXVW DIWHU PLGGD\ Shoulder-length greasy mops DVVHPEOHG LQ FRQIHUHQFH URRP % as chess players from throughRXW WKH 8. WRRN WKHLU SODFHV DW the boards for Round one. In the Plate Tournament the LSE 6HFRQGV ZHUH SDLUHG ZLWK %DQJRU 8QLYHUVLW\ ZKR ZHUH PDNing their debut at the event. Just before starting the game, WKH %DQJRU WHDP UHYHDOHG WKHLU ‍&ڔ‏KHVV SOD\HUV DUH DOZD\V UHDG\ to mateâ€? t-shirts which was received by rapturous applause from all. This was to be the only KLJK SRLQW IRU WKH :HOVK RXWனW DV they went on to get trounced 4-0 by the more experienced LSE Seconds. There was a sterner test for the Firsts in the form of Southampton, a must win game LQ WKH &KDPSLRQVKLS LI WKH\ ZHUH looking to challenge for the title. Outstanding performances from

Tariq and Roland helped them to a 3 ½ - ½ win and a near perfect start for the LSE contingent. Round two saw the LSE 6HFRQGV WDNH RQ WKH :DUZLFN Second team who were the second highest ranked team in the Plate competition. Strong performances on the higher boards ZHUH FDQFHOOHG RXW E\ $QXS‍ڑ‏V lack of quality as he went on to draw a game from a winning position. This meant that the Seconds could do no better than draw 2-2. The Firsts were unlucky to be paired with Imperial who were the strongest team in WKH &KDPSLRQVKLS DQG ZHQW RQ WR ZLQ LW $ FORVHO\ IRXJKW JDPH saw Imperial run out eventual winners by the narrowest of margins but credit must go to Shyamal who played excellently to earn a win over a must stronger opponent. The last round of the day took place in the evening when the LSE team were boosted by WKH DUULYDO RI WKH &ULFNHW &OXE FDSWDLQ 5LFN\ 8SSDO ZKR KDG WUDYHOOHG XS WR :HVW %URP WR support the LSE teams from the sidelines. Ricky is a huge fan of FKHVV DQG KLV DUULYDO FDPH MXVW LQ WLPH IRU WKH /6( 8&/ GHUE\ match. The Firsts made short

work of our local rivals, beating them 3 ½ - ½. The Seconds were frustrated by the slow play of a rather average Nottingham side and were unfortunate to run out ORVHUV D VFRUH QRW UHŕŽ‹HFtive of the quality of the play on all four boards. $V QLJKW IHOO LQ :HVW %URP and the players emerged from behind their boards, the fun really began as ten-pint-Tariq looked to live up to his name. The chess was combined with alcohol to create an exciting drinking game which went on until the small hours of the PRUQLQJ :KR VD\V FKHVV SOD\ers don’t know how to have fun? :DNLQJ XS WKH QH[W PRUQing was a struggle for the whole team and tough games for both the Firsts and the Seconds was not the best hangover cure. The )LUVWV ZHUH PHW E\ &DPEULGJH and they went on to earn a 2-2 draw thanks to an outstanding win from Roland on board two. 7KH 6HFRQGV IDFHG WKH 'XUKDP Second team and fought their way to a 2 ½ - 1 ½ win despite $QXS JLIWLQJ KLV RSSRQHQW D draw from yet another winning position. The win for the Firsts meant that they were, for the second year running, in conten-

WLRQ IRU D WRS WKUHH னQLVK LQ WKH &KDPSLRQVKLS ,W ZDV DOO RQ WKH னQDO URXQG The Seconds fought hard to earn D GUDZ DJDLQVW %LUPLQJKDP who were one of the strongest teams in the Plate tournament. The First team were drawn against York and a win would JXDUDQWHH D SUL]H 'HVSLWH DQ outstanding draw from Tariq against the highest ranked player in the tournament, LSE Firsts could only earn a 2-2 draw which meant that they narrowly PLVVHG RXW RQ WKLUG SODFH $ VSHcial mention, however, must go WR 7DULT $PUX 5RODQG 'DDPHQ DQG -DPHV :HL ZKR ZHUH DOO awarded ‘board prizes’ for their excellent performances across WKH னYH URXQGV 'HVSLWH QDUURZO\ PLVVLQJ RXW on third place, the weekend was a great success for LSE chess. +DYLQJ னQLVKHG LQ D KLJK SRVLtion for two years running, it seems like LSE have really made a name for themselves in the FKHVV ZRUOG +RSH னOOV WKH DLU RI LSE chess sessions now as next year we could even win the competition. If you play chess or are interested to learn, come along WR D /6(68 FKHVV FOXE VHVVLRQ

BUMPER SPORTS EDITION!

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