Issue 38

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The Cheese Grater THE OTHER MAGAZINE OF UCL UNION Issue 38 — Summer 2013

SHAME ON ULU? This and more in our elections round-up

GRANT MUSEUM We delve beneath the moustache to exhibit his life’s work

KOALATY TIME Departing big shot editor goes Down Under

www.cheesegratermagazine.org

GOING OUT WITH A

BANG

BULLY BOYS Undercover report into UCL’s exclusive dining club

COX-A-DOODLE-DO Sexy TV physics professor opens a petting zoo

SUCCESS STORY A smooth operator tells you how make friends and influence people Oscar Webb UCL is selling off its reputation to arms manufacturers and mining conglomerates. Companies such as BAE Systems and Lockhead Martin have been setting up research institutes, which college management are only too happy to lend the UCL name to for the right price. With an increase in private investment, UCL’s research is at risk of becoming less critical and more driven by corporate interests. The Cheese Grater has delved into the murky world of UCL’s private financiers. Semi-private institutes are increasingly sprouting up at UCL. In November 2008, the former Labour Defence Secretary John

Or how UCL learned to stop worrying and love the bomb Reid, supported by arms manufacturers, announced the establishment of the Institute of Security and Resilience Studies. The ISRS began operations in April 2010, and the appearance of keynote speaker Tony Blair at its inaugural conference in November last year drew large protests outside UCL. The Institute gets its funding primarily from two arms companies, Ultra Electronics and EADS. Ultra Electronics develops drone technology, describing itself as a “key partner” in the US Predator drone programme, while EADS is currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, following allegations of bribing Saudi

Arabian officials to the value of £14.5m to secure arms contracts. EADS is a key partner in the development of the Eurofighter jet and drones for the French, German and Spanish armed forces. The ISRS’s appointed fellows and advisory board reads like a who’s who of the international defence and intelligence industries. Among the board’s members are Professor Phillip Bobbit, director of the US national security council under President Clinton, and Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security under George W. Bush. Furthermore, the advisory board is chaired by none other than the chairman of Ultra Electronics, (Cont’d on page three)


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