Beaver Freshers' Edition 2012

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02.10.2012

Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union FREE

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A letter from Craig Calhoun, Director of LSE Craig Calhoun, Director of LSE

Greetings! As we gear up for another busy academic \HDU DW /6( , DPbJUDWHIXO IRU WKH RSSRUWXQLW\ WR ZHOFRPH DOO QHZ VWXGHQWV LQ WKLV VSHFLDObHGLWLRQ RI WKH %HDYHU IRU )UHVKHUV $V ,â&#x20AC;«Ú&#x2018;â&#x20AC;¬P QHZ P\VHOI , V\PSDWKL]H ZLWKb HYHU\RQH WU\LQJ WR à®&#x160;JXUH RXW ZKDW DOO WKH LQLWLDOV VWDQG IRU DQG ZKLFKbEXLOGLQJ LV ZKLFK b /6( Rà®&#x2030;HUV DQ HQRUPRXV number of exciting opportuQLWLHV $V WKH QHZb 'LUHFWRU I hope to share in some of WKDW H[FLWHPHQW , OHIW 1HZ <RUNb 8QLYHUVLW\ DW WKH HQG of the summer term to beJLQ WKH SURFHVV RI PRYLQJbWR /RQGRQ DQG IRXQG P\VHOI LQ WKH KHDUW RI D FLW\ YLEUDQW ZLWK GHEDWH bFXOWXUDO HYHQWV DQG RI FRXUVH WKH 2O\PSLFV 7KLV LV D ZRQGHUIXO

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IRUZDUG WRbPHHWLQJ DV PDQ\ RI \RX DV SRVVLEOH ,I \RX FDQQRW DWWHQG WKHVH HYHQWV ,bZLOO EH JLYLQJ DQ LQDXJXUDO OHFWXUH RQ WKH WK 1RYHPEHU DQG WKHUH ZLOOb EH RWKHU opportunities for us to hear from each other throughout WKHb\HDU b , ZHOFRPH HPDLOV WKRXJK , KDYH EHHQ ZDUQHG QRW WR VD\ WKLV EHFDXVH ,b ZLOO EH GHOXJHG , ZLOO SRVW VRPH thoughts on the LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s InWUDQHW VLWHb DQG , ZLOO XVH VRFLDO PHGLD WR VKDUH LGHDV DQG WKRXJKWV , DP DOUHDG\ RQb7ZLWWHU IROORZ PH LI \RX OLNH #FUDLJMFDOKRXQ DQG ZLOO GR D OLYHbVHVVLRQ RQ 7ZLWWHU RQ 0RQGD\ WK 2FWREHU IURP )URP :HGQHVGD\ WKb 6HSWHPEHU \RX ZLOO KDYH EHHQ DEOH WR SRVH TXHVWLRQV YLD WKH KDVKWDJb DVNWKHGLUHFWRU 3OHDVH GR VR b :KHWKHU E\ QHZ RU ROGHU

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JOREDO IDPLO\ RQH WKDW ZLOO VXSSRUW \RXb DQG Rà®&#x2030;HU \RX opportunities for the rest RI \RXU OLIH , DP GHOLJKWHG WRbEH SDUW RI WKDW IDPLO\ DQG ORRN IRUZDUG WR VKDULQJ D ZRQGHUIXO MRXUQH\b ZLWK \RX RYHU WKH FRPLQJ \HDUV b

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visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline

2

News

Editorial Board Executive Editor Liam Brown

editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Managing Editor Vacant

02.10.2012

TheBeaver Established in 1949 Issue No. 771

Managing@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Design Editor Vacant design@thebeaveronline.co.uk

News Editors John Armstrong Shu Hang news@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Comment Editor Alice Dawson comment@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Features Editor Gurdeep Chhina Chris Rogers features@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Social Editor Laura Aumeer social@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Sport Editors Tim Poole sports@thebeaveronline.co.uk

PartB Editor Vacant partb@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Photo Editor Matthew Worby photography@thebeaveronline. co.uk

Online Editor Vacant web@thebeaveronline.co.uk

General Manager Konrad Hughes info@thebeaveronline.co.uk

Telephone: 0207 955 6705 Email: editor@thebeaveronline.co.uk Website: www.thebeaveronline.co.uk

New Beginnings And so starts another school year at the London School of Economics, twenty weeks of teaching, and then several VWUHVV ŕŽ&#x160; OOHG ZHHNV RI IUDQ tic revision before exams are WDNHQ )RU VRPH LW LV WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW ZHHN RI D WKUHH \HDU DŕŽ&#x2030; DLU with the school, for others it LV WKH ODVW KXUUDK WKHLU ŕŽ&#x160; QDO year.

Wherever you are in your degree, we at the Beaver welcome you back and wish you all the best for the year ahead.

For freshers, we urge you to take advantage of events like Freshersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fair. It is a great opportunity to get to know what the Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many societies, clubs, and teams KDYH WR RŕŽ&#x2030; HU ,Q RXU H\HV LW is this extracurricular activity WKDW WUXO\ GHŕŽ&#x160; QHV \RXU XQLYHU sity life. Get involved, you will be happy you did!

For returning students, why not contribute to this very paper, or indeed possibly the wider media group as a whole. Everyone contributes to the campus in their own way, why not make it better for everyone involved!

The Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Media Group - which is the group that includes the LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student radio station, Pulse, the Clare Market Review, LooSe TV, and, of course, this newspaper - is an excellent way to stay informed about issues at the LSE while having fun. The Beaver has openings for writers of all persuasions, photographers, cartoonists, designers, and even web gurus! The Beaver is made up of seven sections, as such you can write for News (or take pictures), Comment, Features, Social, Sport or the cultural

section, PartB. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a section for every writer, have no IHDU RI QRW ŕŽ&#x160; WWLQJ LQ As discussed on the adjacent page, the Beaver has provided content to many major news outlets and broke stories of national and international importance. Who knows, it could be your name in the New York Times, Der Spiegel, or the Guardian!

While the Beaver has a history, we are starting this year anew. A new font, a new focus on design, and a guarantee of RXU VWDŕŽ&#x2030; WKDW ZH ZLOO GR RXU best to serve the LSE student ERG\ HŕŽ&#x2030; HFWLYHO\ DQG ZLWK WKH highest of journalistic standards. There will inevitably be scandals at the university during the year, and we will endeavor to cover them with integrity, instead of becoming the scandal.

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The Collective is The Beaverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s governing body. You must have contributed three pieces of work, or contributed to the production of three issues of the paper (editorially or administratively), to qualify for membership. If you believe you are a Collective member but your name is not on the list above, please email the Collective Chair at: collective@thebeaveronline.co.uk

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Freshers Week It all starts anew.

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Revert to old ways?

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Come one, come all! Meet our writers, editors, and contributors!

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News & Comment

The Beaver | 02.10.2012

3

News section in brief John Armstrong, News Editor

The News section is your ŕŽ&#x160;UVW SRUW RI FDOO IRU HYHU\WKLQJ WKDW KDSSHQV KHUH DW WKH /RQGRQ 6FKRRO RI (FRnomics.

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COMMENT: 100 YEARS OF THE DRUGS WAR |

SOCIAL: WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S IN IT FOR ME |

FEATURES: WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RIGHTS IN IRAN

cWTQTPeTa

31.01.2012

Newspaper of the LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union

FREE

Bill Gates receives the traditional LSE cap | Photo: Nigel Stead

Students complain of overcrowded classrooms Shu Hang and Yuee Sun

Official LSE figures reveal 14.2 per cent of undergraduate classes currently exceed the official fifteen-student-perclass recommendation. This represents 223 out of 1574 total undergraduate classes.

This is a marginal improvement from last year, when 14.9 per cent of undergraduate classes topped the limit.

Three years ago, Janet Hartley, the Pro-Director of Teaching and Learning, instituted the Teaching Task Force in an attempt to address this issue. Despite this effort, large class sizes remains one of the most pressing issues regarding the teaching quality at the LSE. Figures reveal the problem affects many departments at the LSE. As it transpires, more evident cases are observed in bigger departments, such as the Department of Economics and the Department of Geography and Environment.

There is also a significant number of over subscribed classes in many second and third year modules.

Data indicated that all five â&#x20AC;&#x153;Management Accounting, Financial Management and Organisational Controlâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Economics in Public Policyâ&#x20AC;? classes have at least seventeen students each, with the largest one having 21.

Furthermore, at least half of the classes for Further Mathematical Methods (Calculus), Research Techniques (Spatial, Social and Environmental), Social Science Research Methods of Management, Jurisprudence, and many other courses currently exceed the designated maximum limit.

As the LSE has publicly declared, improving student contact time has always been one of the administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top priorities. An article published in the July 2008 issue of the Times Higher Education Supplement detailed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;after consultation with staff and students, the task force recommended that ÂŁ1.5 million a year should be spent on new lecturers, to reduce class sizes.â&#x20AC;?

At the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first

Education Assembly in 2009, Hartley reiterated these objectives, stating that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the big priority for the Teaching Task Force was to improve contact time and reduce class sizes to 15 or fewer.â&#x20AC;?

Many students feel that the large class sizes are affecting the learning process in the class.

Alex Haigh, a second year Environmental Policy with Economics student said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oversized classes mean the class teacher is far less able to interact with students personally during the class and it is much more likely that teachers miss students who are failing or are not working hard enough.â&#x20AC;?

Haigh, who had two oversized classes - in GY222 and EC201 - last term, believes that fifteen people per class is â&#x20AC;&#x153;already too many,â&#x20AC;? and the number should be â&#x20AC;&#x153;treated as a strict upper limit instead of an average.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unacceptable that classes are still oversized even after a campaign by the Beaver last year, which highlighted the institution-wide problem,â&#x20AC;? he added.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that students who fail to turn up

Âť6

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and cofounder and former CEO of Microsoft, outlined his vision for tackling world poverty while speaking at the LSE on Tuesday 24th January.

Hans Rosling, co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation and advisor to the Global Poverty Project, spoke alongside Gates at the event.

In his address, Gates covered the key themes of his 2012 Annual Letter, focusing on the importance of agriculture and health, which he described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;intrinsically connected,â&#x20AC;? in the fight against global poverty. He specifically pinpointed the lack of development as â&#x20AC;&#x153;whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holding people backâ&#x20AC;? in the developing world. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most of the poor are people with very small farms who barely grow enough to feed their families. In tough years, they are extremely malnourished,â&#x20AC;? said Gates. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So health ties very closely to agriculture. The reason why kids die of diarrhoea and pneumonia is because their bodies arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t very strong. If they had proper nutrition, the death rate

would be dramatically lower.

Gates said that scientific investigation into better understanding plant genes may help lower crop blight, as well as aid the discovery of new methods of tackling human diseases. In particular, he highlighted the importance of working on a scientific innovation to protect cassava, a major staple food in the developing world, from brown streak disease.

Turning to the issue of health, Gates spoke at length about the successes of the campaign to eradicate polio, which was launched in 1987.

Today there are only ten nations worldwide left with polio, though Gates accepted that they will be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;toughest countries,â&#x20AC;? to eradicate the disease in. However, India, which Gates considered to be the greatest challenge, has now gone a year without a single case.

Gates ended his address with a warning that despite the tough economic times, it is important that the developed nations do not neglect the developing: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are many things going on in terms of the Eurozone crisis and budget cutbacks that would make it easy to turn inward and reduce financing.â&#x20AC;?

It is important that â&#x20AC;&#x153;we keep doing what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doingâ&#x20AC;? to eradicate poverty, and that

The LSE is involved in a joint research programme, Policy Incentives for the Creation of Knowledge: Methods and Evidence (PICK-ME), with a consortium of universities including Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology.

This week, Lois Clifton, LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Environment and Ethics Officer, chaired a meeting addressing the issue of the LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collaborative role in the project. The aim of the meeting was to decide whether action should be taken to boycott the scheme.

Technion is a research university based in Haifa specialising in science and technology research and development. Founded in 1912, it is the oldest university in Israel and engages in collaborative projects with the government.

Technion has been at the centre of recent criticism for its involvement in the creation and design of military

Timeless! Âť 6

technology. Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting raised the issue of their connection with Israeli military research. Technion has conducted distinguished research in the field of robotic weapons systems, and in recent years has developed the latest innovations in unmanned aerial drones and unmanned combat vehicles.

Clifton, along with Layla Auer, member of the LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Palestine Society and Michael Deas, a member of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, provided a â&#x20AC;&#x153;platform for discussionâ&#x20AC;? on LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research collaboration with Technion.

Clifton, argued that Technion is â&#x20AC;&#x153;implicitly implicated in Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occupation of Palestineâ&#x20AC;? and the LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s links with the Institute â&#x20AC;&#x153;normalises Technionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions.â&#x20AC;? The Environment and Ethics Officer outlined a range of projects Technion has been actively involved in and expressed concern over its relationship with the Israeli government.

Technion has developed a

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Dissatisfaction among Graduate Teaching Assistants John Armstrong

A recent survey has revealed wide spread discontent among Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and Guest Teachers at the London School of Economics (LSE). From the 600 members of staff asked to answer to the survey, 123, representing nearly every Department responded. While the survey outlined the various teaching roles and qualifications they possess, it also raised serious questions over workload and insufficient remuneration.

The LSE website states that teachers are expected to work between â&#x20AC;&#x153;three to five hours per week.â&#x20AC;? The current system allows for two of these hours to be assigned to class seminars and lectures, with the rest allocated for preparation and marking. The survey, which was carried out in Michaelmas Term, revealed that 78 per cent of the respondents felt that the two hours assigned for class preparation are inadequate with 42.3 per cent stating that they spent five hours or more

SOCIAL: TRUTH ABOUT LIES |

FEATURES: BEAT EATING DISORGERS

cWTQTPeTa

21.02.2012

Newspaper of the LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union

FREE

SNP Leader speaks at LSE

Jack Tindale Staff Reporter Alex Salmond MSP, leader of the Scottish National Party, addressed a packed Sheikh Zayed Theatre on Wednesday evening. The talk by the First Minister of Scotland formed part of a nationwide speaking tour aimed at extolling his vision for Scottish independence. The lecture, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Independence and Responsibility: the future of Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was chaired

by Professor Paul Kelly, Head of the Department of Government.

The speech, which was broadcast live by the BBC and other national networks, largely focused on the

economic basis for the First Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s independence movement, attracting attention from a wide audience from outside the London School of Economics (LSE) community.

Salmond, who became the first leader at Holyrood to win an overall majority in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parliamentary election, opened his lecture with praise for the LSE, albeit tempered by his Keynesian views rather at odds with the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traditional Austrian ethos.

Praising the recent publication of Beatrice Webbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journals by the LSE Library, Salmond cited the LSE founderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s then-contemporary criticism of global financial institutions and the results of research carried out by the Grantham Research Centre for Climate Change and the Environment as a basis for the Scottish National Partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

(SNP) vision of a low carbon Scottish economy based around renewable energy.

Commenting on the recent downgrade of the British economy by the credit rating agency Moodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, the First Minister began by critiquing the fiscal policies of the Coalition government, calling for renewed investment by the Treasury in order to promote growth.

Salmond has adopted a resolute opposition to current austerity measures, often referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Plan McB,â&#x20AC;? and few in the audience seemed surprised by the First Minister using the podium to promote an alternative perspective.

Citing free university education for Scottish students, a compulsory apprenticeship program for school leavers and the recent establishment of a Scottish Investment Bank, Salmond

argued that his governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s record on youth unemployment stood robust against that of the coalition, dismissing their â&#x20AC;&#x153;passive acceptance of the consequences of austerity.â&#x20AC;?

Salmond began his main argument by debunking a number of myths perceived as being spread by the pro-Union campaign, principally that regarding currency. The First Minister made no reference to the SNPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long-standing policy of joining the Eurozone, especially his view expressed two years ago in the Telegraph that Euro membership offered a â&#x20AC;&#x153;strong argumentâ&#x20AC;? for independence.

Instead, the First Minister spoke in favour of the continued membership of an independent Scotland in the Stirling Zone. Stating that â&#x20AC;&#x153;no nation can stop another from using a fully trade-

Alex Peters-Day, Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union General Secretary, getting gunged for charity as RAG Week took over Houghton Street | Photo: Matt Worby

Data published by the LSE has shown strong similarities between the attainment of General Course students and that of all LSE undergraduates.

The data, taken from exam results of the 2010-2011 academic year, does not show significant disparity in the results of General Course students in comparison with LSE as a whole.

Rather, the failure rates of both are consistent with each other, at around 6.5 per cent (General Course: 6.8, LSE Undergraduates: 6.6), whilst there is also only a two per cent differentiation in the amount of 2:1s received by each group.

One notable difference between the two groups lies in the amount of 1sts and 2:2s achieved. 19.3 per cent of all LSE undergraduates achieved firstclass honours, compared to only 13.2 per cent of General Course students, whilst exactly ten per cent more of General Course students achieved 2.2s, at 31.5 per cent. Though, when the amount of 1sts, 2:1s and 2:2s are considered as a whole, the percentages are almost identical at around 78 per cent.

Overall, the data demonstrates a general equality in grades attained between the two student groups. This comes despite significant differences in the overall degree process; General Course students are assessed differently and the admissions procedure is similarly varied.

Mark Hoffman, General Course Dean, explained that General Course

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preparing for each course.

Teachers are paid hourly for the estimated hours the School expect them to work. However, almost 76 per cent of GTAs and Guest Teachers agree with the statement, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am paid for fewer hours than I actually work.â&#x20AC;?

For the current projections, teachers are allocated around twenty minutes to mark and give constructive feedback on each essay, yet many feel this is inadequate with one source suggesting that â&#x20AC;&#x153;this is simply not enough time.â&#x20AC;?

Ian Rudolph, LSE alumnus and graduate teaching assistant, said that his â&#x20AC;&#x153;feedback as a teaching assistant was emailed to me for me to study or ignore; there was no acknowledgement for above-average performance, nor would I fear sanction had I performed poorly.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to work in an environment where feedback for teachers are valued like marks for students. Exceptional performance should be celebrated for the transformative impact it has in line with LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core mission,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Paul Kirby, Representative of the University and College Union (UCU), outlined the problem of departmen-

tal variation suggesting that â&#x20AC;&#x153;some Departments have been very reluctant to pay for lecture attendance, even though the guidelines say they should when GTAs are required to attend them.â&#x20AC;? Similarly, Kirby highlighted that â&#x20AC;&#x153;some people have even reported being asked to help with lectures and course design for no pay at all.â&#x20AC;?

These recent developments come only one year after teachers at LSE were left unpaid for months. In an article published in the Beaver in February 2011, â&#x20AC;&#x153;a survey of 100 GTAs, across thirteen departments, revealed 34 per cent of those who had taught at the LSE during the 2009-10 academic year had not seen an increase in pay.â&#x20AC;?

Yet similar problems remain prevalent among GTAs this year. The Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy dictates that pay should rise in accordance with experience each year, regardless of where the experience was obtained. However, this often does not happen and in the survey which is still open to for any GTAs and Guest Teachers, 44.4 per cent of those with previous teaching experience at

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Ian Rudolph, London School of Economics (LSE) alumnus and graduate teaching assistant, has filed a petition to the Graduate Studies Sub-Committee demanding the reinstatement of the Department of Management course â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;OR431: System Dynamics Modeling,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; for the next academic year. Filed on the 14th December, the petition was signed by forty current students and fifteen alumni.

Last summer, the Department of Management announced through its website that the OR431 course would not be available to students during the 2011/2012 academic year. This suspension has caused disappointment and â&#x20AC;&#x153;bewildermentâ&#x20AC;? amongst the alumni of the course, who fear it will eventually be permanently cancelled.

The courseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popularity was closely linked to the its teacher, David Lane, who in 2005 and 2008, was among the five members of the teaching staff at the LSE to receive an LSE Excellence Teaching award for his instruction of the OR431 course. According to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Teaching Award Special Newsletterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; published by the School, students have described Lane as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;outstandingâ&#x20AC;? professor who â&#x20AC;&#x153;makes you think more profoundly about everyday phenomenaâ&#x20AC;? and has a â&#x20AC;&#x153;rare ability to hold attention and promote curiosity.â&#x20AC;? One student claimed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;his enthusiasm and passion for the subject has inspired me.â&#x20AC;?

According to Rudolph, he and sixteen other students attended a meeting for the MSc program in September, where they â&#x20AC;&#x153;share[d] the impact that OR431 had on their experience and â&#x20AC;Ś express[ed] their disappointment that it had been cancelled.â&#x20AC;? However, the students claim that their input, like the petition, has not been taken seriously and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;no official response has been received.â&#x20AC;?

Michael Fischer, a former MSc Decision Sciences student, expressed his frustration regarding the suspension of the course: â&#x20AC;&#x153;when interviewing for internships with alumni of our program, whenever I mentioned system dynamics, their faces lit up with great memories of OR 431 and David Lane.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sad that people wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to experience one of the best courses in my program, much less the school, and one of the best professors Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever had,â&#x20AC;? Fischer added.

Rudolph, who graduated from the LSE with an Msc in Decision Sciences in 2011, claimed that the course has â&#x20AC;&#x153;consistently been one of the most loved courses in the programme,â&#x20AC;? adding that he credited it with â&#x20AC;&#x153;changing my life and the way I think.â&#x20AC;?Rudolph described the courseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;sudden disappearanceâ&#x20AC;? and possible cancellation as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;mystery.â&#x20AC;?

Alumni of the course are not the only

students to have expressed disappointment over the suspension of the course. Leo Furtado, a current MSc Decision Sciences student, told the Beaver he felt cheated by the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Last year, all my colleagues from my first year of the MSc recommended me to take OR431,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have raised the fees from last year and taken out OR431! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like our favourite restaurant eliminating one of the best options of the menu and increasing the price!â&#x20AC;?

Under School policy, proposals to add or cancel courses must be put forward by individual departments to the Graduate Studies Sub-Committee to be approved. The committee is comprised of LSE academics and a student representative in the form of an elected member of the Taught Graduate Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Consultative Forum.

The positive feedback the course has received throughout the years has led Rudolph to question the Department of Managementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision. He felt that this incident reflects a bigger problem with student feedback at the LSE. Rudolph, who co-teaches OR405, said that his â&#x20AC;&#x153;feedback as a teaching assistant was emailed to me for me to study or ignore; there was no acknowledgement for above-average performance, nor would I fear sanction had I performed poorly.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to work in an environment where feedback for teachers are valued like marks for students. Exceptional performance should be celebrated for the transformative impact it has in line with LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core mission,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Amena Amer, the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Education Officer, expressed similar sentiments, feeling that studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinion was â&#x20AC;&#x153;ignoredâ&#x20AC;? in the decision to suspend OR431.â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is clear that students really enjoyed this course and given my correspondence with students and staff I find it hard to understand how this decision was made,â&#x20AC;?

Amer said.

The department has also been criticised for failing to give applicants enough notice period before suspending the course. Amer described the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions as â&#x20AC;&#x153;extremely unprofessional.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was informed that a message was sent out in July regarding the cancellation of this course for the 2011/12 academic year,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At this point many who have applied had to accept this change given that undoubtedly they had already received their place at the LSE.â&#x20AC;?

Current students were recommended to take MN419: Systems Thinking and Strategic Modelling, as a substitute to OR431. Rudolph, however, felt that the two courses were not interchangeable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;MN419 is aimed at management students and so teaches no formal modelling. Those seeking technical modelling training would have to take a weekend course running ÂŁ985

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COMMENT: THE POLITICS OF GENOCIDE | SOCIAL: SEX, LOVE AND THE HUMAN RACE | FEATURES: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOMEN?

cWTQTPeTa

06.03.2012

Newspaper of the LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union

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Elections herald new Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union

able currency,â&#x20AC;? Mr Salmond defended his view of a monetary union with a rump United Kingdom, speaking in defence of the large-scale oil and gas resources that would fall in between Scottish and British territorial waters by a ratio of around 90 per cent to 10 per cent, respectively.

Since Scotland currently stands as the third most prosperous region of the United Kingdom after London and the South West, the First Minister expressed the view that an independent nation would easily be able to maintain a currency pegged to the Pound.

The First Minister also expressed his vision for an independent Scottish economy in terms of giving the British government â&#x20AC;&#x153;Six of the Bestâ&#x20AC;? with regards to establishing competi-

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Equality seen in attainment Timothy Poole

LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union

visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline

visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline COMMENT: SOMALIA - THE FORSAKEN â&#x20AC;&#x153;HORN OF AFRICA?â&#x20AC;? |

14.02.2012

Newspaper of the

Shu Hang Staff Reporter

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Questions raised over LSE links with Technion John Armstrong

cWTQTPeTa

Students petition to bring back suspended course

Bill Gates tackles issues of global poverty Bethany Clarke

COMMENT: LSE MEMES - PREDICTING GREAT EVENTS | SOCIAL: THE TRIALS OF TWEETING | FEATURES: LGBT HISTORY MONTH

Winning candidates for Full-Time Sabbatical Officer. From left to right: Jack Tindale (Community and Welfare), Matthew De Jesus (Activities and Development), Duncan McKenna (Education), and Alex Peters-Day (General Secretary)

exam results were mainly consistent with other LSE undergraduates, but that various factors affected General Course results. He commented that there is a high failure rate in quantitative courses such as EC220, Introduction to Econometrics, though this failure rate is lower than that of LSE undergraduates in the same module. In qualitative courses, Hoffman revealed that General Course students often struggle to adapt to the different style of essay-writing, but once this transition is made, the top-end of results are often better than that of other LSE students.

Several measures have been taken to reduce the high failure rates in courses such as the aforementioned EC220. An important change has been to introduce the requirement to have the permission of the course tutor to enrol, while many students are directed to MN203, Social Science Research Method for Management, as an alternative.

The need for permission to enrol in a particular course reflects the general admissions process that General Course students undergo, which is rather dissimilar to the UCAS process. Hoffman explained that the General Course admits around 300 students per year, with 308 admitted in 2011-2012. Some of the students, who attend American universities with longstanding ties to the LSE, undergo internal selection procedures at their home universities; such procedures are fairly automatic and result in a much lower level of applications.

The biggest contingent of General Course

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visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline

Nona Buckley-Irvine Staff Reporter The Lent Term Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union elections ended tensely as Alex PetersDay secured a second term as General Secretary this week after beating Mohammed Morley by a small margin of votes.

In the first round, Peters-Day won 834 votes against Morleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 810, and after votes to Re-Open Nominations (RON) were distributed in the second round, Peters-Day strode ahead of Morley with 902 votes to his 874. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am so happy, and so completely overwhelmed,â&#x20AC;? said Peters-Day of her re-election as General Secretary. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our tactic was to win vote by vote, and I have been supported by great campaigners and great friends. I love this place, I love this university and I love this Union.â&#x20AC;?

Peters-Day had led a campaign based on continuing her work with the new Director, overseeing the new students building and continuing her work on her brainchild, the Only Way is Ethics campaign, by establishing a new permanent Ethics Code and â&#x20AC;&#x153;leading the fight for the education you deserve.â&#x20AC;?

Jay Stoll, newly elected to the Democracy Committee, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;there are no words to describe how I feel about [Alex Peters-Day].â&#x20AC;?

Morley, who was campaigning to make the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union a â&#x20AC;&#x153;political unionâ&#x20AC;? was distraught after having lost the elections.

Following the results, Morley said on his Facebook: â&#x20AC;&#x153;it was a good campaign and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so grateful for the support I received. I hope the elected

representatives will listen to the students and hopefully move the union on to bigger and better things.â&#x20AC;?

Meanwhile, Jack Tindale, chair of the Union General Meeting, won the post of Community and Welfare Officer surpassing both Pallavi Bansal and Rosina St James.

The voting required two rounds; in the first round, Bansal received 246 votes, against St Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 547 and Tindaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 789, eliminating Bansal. In the second round Tindale was declared the winner after storming ahead with 862 votes, against St Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 547.

Tindale described himself as â&#x20AC;&#x153;relieved more than anything,â&#x20AC;? and mostly concerned with â&#x20AC;&#x153;just getting a result.â&#x20AC;?

A pirate-themed campaign based on â&#x20AC;&#x153;Making Your Union Ship-Shapeâ&#x20AC;? saw Tindaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign team take to Houghton Street wearing pirate hats.

Jack Curtis, a key individual in his campaign, said, prior to the results announcement, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think his memorable campaign videos and slogans will contribute to his success.â&#x20AC;?

Results for other key positions remained extremely close. Only a handful of votes determined Matt de Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s succession as the the new Activities and Development. De Jesus stood against Damini Onifade, who came in second despite receiving more endorsements from societies than De Jesus.

There was only one vote between the two in the first round of voting, with De Jesus edging ahead with 775 votes, against 774 for Onifade.

Spectators were tensely silent as RON votes were redistributed in the second round, where De Jesus won by six votes.

Describing his win as â&#x20AC;&#x153;amaz-

ing,â&#x20AC;? De Jesus said he â&#x20AC;&#x153;always knew it would be closeâ&#x20AC;? and that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;believed in himself all the way.â&#x20AC;?

De Jesus is is eager to get working â&#x20AC;&#x153;straight away,â&#x20AC;? highlighting the enacting the LSE Equality training as his immediate priority, something he described as being â&#x20AC;&#x153;needed to be doneâ&#x20AC;? for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;long-time coming.â&#x20AC;? De Jesus praised his opponent, describing him as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;great competitorâ&#x20AC;? that would have been â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfectâ&#x20AC;? for the job.

Good spirits were not amongst all rivaling candidates. Lois Clifton, who lost to Duncan Mckenna in the race for Education Officer, promised to continue to â&#x20AC;&#x153;challenge Duncan McKenna on campusâ&#x20AC;?, and predicted a â&#x20AC;&#x153;movementâ&#x20AC;? to do so.

McKennaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign, which garnered 848 votes against Cliftonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 689 votes was focused on tangible improvements to the daily education of LSE students, such as better teaching feedback and reforming LSE100.

McKenna stood out on Hougthon Street for several days with a board asking people to offer their thoughts on how to improve education at LSE and promised to incorporate such feedback into his aims if he were elected.

Clifton, known to be a member of the Socialist Workers Party, led a more politically driven campaign, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Education for the 99%,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; in response to the recent government cuts to education.

Upon winning, McKenna said the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Education Officer is about LSEâ&#x20AC;? and he wants to â&#x20AC;&#x153;make education better at LSE.â&#x20AC;? He refuted Cliftonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claim of a movement to challenge him, claiming that his â&#x20AC;&#x153;entire campaign was based on what students wanted.â&#x20AC;?

Results remained close for the post of Athletics Union President,

contested by three candidates, Nicole Mateer, Matt Stimson and Ben Johnson.

Stimson was eliminated in the first round of voting, and Mateer won by seven votes against Johnson, receiving 593 to 586.

Johnson offered his congratulations to the winner: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nicole had a solid campaign, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure she will do a cracking good job.â&#x20AC;?

Apprehension was less palpable during the part time officers results announcements, since more than half of them only had a single candidate.

Josh Still, Returning Officer and the Master of Ceremony for the evening, reminded everyone that â&#x20AC;&#x153;RON will be running in all the elections.â&#x20AC;?

The posts of Anti-Racism Officer, Ethics and Environment Officer, LGBT Officer and Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Officer were secured by each candidate with RON receiving a few votes in each case. Mohamed Harrath, Naomi Russell, John Peart and Alice Stott won each of the respective posts.

Jay Stoll won in the first round of the Democracy Committee elections, followed by Joe Anderson, Hassan Arif, Sherelle Davids, and Rachel Quah. The five Athleticâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Union Executive positions were won by Steph Moffat, Robert Martin, Jack Curtis, George Melhuish and Hannah Richmond.

Sophie Newman became the newly-elected Disabled Officer by a fair margin of 644 votes to 461 against Jade Symonds.

On her plans for the year ahead as Disabled Students Officer she said she wants to â&#x20AC;&#x153;campaign for people to gain awareness of disabilities on campusâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;to improve conditions for disabled students, and fight against cuts, since that will eventually affect

negatively the conditions for these students.â&#x20AC;?

Diana Yu won International Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Officer against Jan Ladzinski, a source of celebration for some.

Ladzinski was another member of the Socialist Workers Party who failed to be elected.

There was a visible lapse in the jovial atmosphere as Jason Wong entered the Quad. After being disqualified from the Trustee elections, he ran a RON campaign against the remaining candidates.

Lukas Slothuus, Diva Vaish and Mehak Adil all won positions on the Student Trustee Board, but the fourth position went to RON, beating Rayomand Ratansha Gilder.

This means that there will be another election for the fourth place on the Board, which Wong plans on running in.

Still said â&#x20AC;&#x153;I received complaints from people regarding anti-semitism, and referred these to the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Executive. I had no choice but to recommend expulsion.â&#x20AC;?

Wong consequently wrote on Twitter that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Josh Still will make an excellent returning officer for the Zimbabwe pretend elections.â&#x20AC;?

Although the date for the next election is unknown, Still said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m thinking of standing myself, or if not, I will campaign for the moderate with the best chance of beating Wong.â&#x20AC;?

Additional reporting done by Jon Allsop, Nona Buckley-Irvine, Goreti Faria, Arisa Manawapat, and Connor Russell

visit us online at thebeaveronline.co.uk and at facebook.com/thebeaveronline

Beaver front pages from the last academic year.

Looking ahead at Comment Alice Dawson, Comment Editor

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4

Info Pack

02.10.2012

| The Beaver

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Info Pack

The Beaver | 02.10.2012

5

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;12/â&#x20AC;&#x2122;13 Priority Campaign /6(68 6DEEDWLFDO 2ૻ FHUV

When the LSE was founded in 1895 its founders were convinced of the power of education in not only lifting their fellow citizens out of poverty but also of such citizens understanding, participating, and in WLPH RŕŽ&#x2030; HULQJ DQ DOWHUQD tive form of society. They ZHUH ŕŽ&#x160; UP EHOLHYHUV LQ VR cial justice, activism and working to eradicate the world from its ills. And that is a legacy we are proud to continue to this day.

LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fabian founders would be aghast to see the state of education today. The Government have slashed teaching budgets by 80 per cent, scrapped EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance for students aged 16-18); raised tuition fees to ÂŁ9000 and opened the door for private education providers to begin operating in the UK. This has led to education EHLQJ UHGHŕŽ&#x160; QHG DV D SULYL lege not a right. The forcing through of a two-tiered system of universities, serving to further cement the idea of top universities as being reserved to only

the elite in our society; and a shift towards the conception of higher education as a market place with students as consumers, left with little rights and a false illusion of real choice. :H DUH WKH ŕŽ&#x160; UVW JHQ HUDWLRQ WR EH ZRUVH RŕŽ&#x2030; than our parents. There are over 1,000,000 unemployed young people right now and with unpaid internships only serving to widen the gap in equality, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s harder and harder for XV WR JUDGXDWH DQG ŕŽ&#x160; QG WKH job we deserve. We work for nothing to compete for jobs that donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist, and at LSESU we think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time we did something about this.

Though lots of improvements to teaching at LSE have been made things still are not good enough. The majority of your teaching at the LSE is done by Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) as they are continuing their studies. GTAs often do large amounts of unpaid overtime and we think that our teachers deserve better. LSE undergraduates are paying huge sums of money in fees, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re drowning in debt yet we cannot even get satis-

factory feedback on our ZRUN 6WXGHQWV RIWHQ ŕŽ&#x160; QG the teaching experience at the LSE is impersonal and many feel that the LSE is seemingly more interested in research than teaching.

Feedback is essential for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; learning progress and though some departments do it very well, it is by no means entrenched.

LSE students have been at the forefront of movements and change throughout our history.

One of the key reasons why the LSE Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union has such representation and such a strong voice within the School is partly down to the mobilisation of thousands of stuGHQWV IRU WKH ODVW ŕŽ&#x160; YH GHF ades here at LSE, standing up for what we believe in and enabling real change within the school and the wider world. From campaign to ensure LSE divested from apartheid South Africa; pedestrianising Houghton Street; ensuring LSE adopted the OLYLQJ ZDJH IRU DOO LWV VWDŕŽ&#x2030; keeping Wednesday afternoons free for students to partake in societies, sport clubs, campaigning.

So through the year weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be doing a number of activities. From ZRUNLQJ ZLWK /6( VWDŕŽ&#x2030; DW all levels to improve the conditions of our teachers and the feedback we receive on our work; having regular meetings and debates on issues from postgraduate fees to the scrapping of the post-study work visa; to lobbying and demonstrating nationally.

There are two huge demonstrations coming up this term - on October 20th over half a million people from around the country will be coming to London to join the Trade Union Congress in marching against austerity. On November 21st the National Union of Students is marching against Higher education cuts and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very excited to join tens of thousands. Demonstrations are just one way in which we as students can stand up and have our voices heard.

Uniting as one with thousands of students from up and down the country, LSE students have a real opportunity to shape discourse nationally and internationally about how

we want our university to look. Demonstrations, campaigns and protests have a history of creating change and creating debate.

So if you believe university is for a greater social good, if you believe the EHQHŕŽ&#x160; WV RI D XQLYHUVLW\ HG ucation cannot be summed up in graduating starting salaries, if you believe university is a key tool to enabling social mobility and justice in our society, if you believe our teachers should be paid a fair wage, if you believe that we should receive a quality educational experience and if you believe that we have a right to have our voice heard and be listened to, I urge you to join us in defending education. Sign the pledge card, come to RXU ŕŽ&#x160; UVW SODQQLQJ PHHWLQJ (Thursday 11th on October at 5pm in Clement House 4.02) speak to one of us on Houghton Street over the next two weeks and get involved in Defending Education. Defending education nationally, defending education at LSE, defending education for all those students yet to come.

6

Info Pack

02.10.2012

| The Beaver

Introducing the Sabbs Matthew De Jesus A&D

Matthew De Jesus. Activities and Development Officer. Graduated 2012.

Badminton player extraordinaire (even though my frame is more suited to rugby). Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what many of you should, or already do, know about me.

I stood on a platform asking everyone â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What Would De Jesus Do?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Before I tell you what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing this year I should probably tell you what I have been doing before I became a Sabb.

Since coming to LSE I got involved in the SU through playing sports. I played rugby for a year and then decided to revert back to what I was good at; badminton. I then got elected onto the AU Exec in 2011 and became the treasurer. The role gave me a huge insight into KRZ SHUVRQDO DQG ŕŽ&#x160;QDQcial support makes a mas-

Jack Tindale

VLYH GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQFH RQ KRZ students can improve their university experience. This became one of the main reasons to why I ran for Activities and Development Officer.

So now â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What Will De Jesus Do?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Well, this year is starting with a great Orientation Week with one of the events being the Community Festival on Friday, October 5th.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be loads of societies and clubs on Houghton Street giving away freebies and doing performances, the gym ZLWK ŕŽ&#x160;WQHVV FKDOOHQJHV and a run around Lincolnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ,QQ ŕŽ&#x160;HOGV LQYROYLQJ PRUH than 100 participants, including the LSE director, Craig Calhoun.

For the two weeks following Orientation Week the Student Activities Coordinator and I have been organising â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Give it a Go.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; This will run from the 8th until the October 21st and it aims to encourage students to try it out a club or society by attend-

The Incal and a biography of Joseph Chamberlain) but I also enjoy writing, anime and manga, fellCommunity/Welfare walking, the operettas of A summer into my posi- Gilbert and Sullivan, coftion, I have come to the fee and the odd drop of conclusion that my role real ale. Politically, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m within the Union is basi- rather complex, so just cally the Sabbatical equiv- think of me as LibertarDOHQW RI +XŕŽ?HSXŕŽ&#x2030; +RXVH ian Socialist Neo-GaitskIn her juvenile fantasy ellite National Liberal novellas, J.K. Rowling in- One-Nation Tory. My long forms us that Gryffin- term plans are somewhat dor was created for the of a work-in-progress, Brave, Ravenclaw for the hence why Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just focusWise, Slytherin for the ing on the year ahead. &XQQLQJ DQG +XŕŽ?HSXŕŽ&#x2030; Nevertheless, as the for â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Rest.â&#x20AC;? Accord- standard-bearer for the ing to the author, inhabit- Badger, I am pleased to ants of that fair House are enter Freshersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Week sometimes described as having actually managed being â&#x20AC;&#x153;kindâ&#x20AC;? which to my to make progress on some mind is a somewhat ris- of my manifesto commitible complement, ranking ments. The Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Unalongside being a Virgo ion have drafted a workor having hypolactasia. ing paper to establish a Prior to being elected scheme where the School as Community and Wel- would act as a guarantor fare Officer, I was an for rental agreements, undergraduate studying which should help to reBSc Government and His- GXFH WKH ŕŽ&#x160;QDQFLDO EXUGHQ tory. Outside the heady many members have with world of student politics, housing contracts. In adI have a rather esoteric dition, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m starting to get mixture of hobbies. Read- to grips with other mating is one of my main in- ters with regards to acterests (at the moment commodation, not least Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m working my way forming a student led through The Fatal Eggs, halls strategy that accepts

ing one of their sessions.

There are over 35 sessions in the Michaelmas session so thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sure to be something for everyone.

Alongside events and our priority campaign of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Defend Educationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; I will be working towards

their ideas and experiences between each other.

0\ ŕŽ&#x160;QDO SULRULWLHV IRU the year are L.S.Equality and the implementation of a LSE sport strategy.

L.S.Equality will primarily be an advisory committee formed of the Sabbatical and Part-Time Officers who work on the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; behalf to advise the School on any discriminatory issues or incidents that may arise within the SU. It will do this by reinforcing the responsibilities of Captainsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and Presidentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to stop such instances from happening.

In the unfortunate case when something does happen then it will either be resolved by the committee and the students involved or the committee will advise the school on how students wish the incident to be resolved.

Now we come to the LSE sport strategy. There isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t one! However, the SU already has a sport

strategy written up but if we want to school to commit to their promise of getting LSE to the same standard as the top urban universities in London, then you can probably see how important that one is implemented by the School. The LSE is known for its academic excellence but it also has the potential to excel in sport. We have a range of students who compete in sports: from the beginners and social players to the national and international athletes. Because of the range of sporting needs it is vital that we look into expanding LSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sporting facilities to cater for the 3,000 Athletics Union members.

So thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s me and what I aim to do. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible throughout the year and I hope that by next June some of you will be able to answer the question â&#x20AC;&#x153;What Did De Jesus Do?â&#x20AC;&#x153;

was overruled) will take place. It all forms part of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;warm and cuddlyâ&#x20AC;? nature of my brief.

There is similar scope to improve the breadth of the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Interfaith Forum as well. Although Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a rather limp Anglo&DWKROLF , ŕŽ&#x160;QG WKDW RQH RI WKH EHQHŕŽ&#x160;WV RI EHLQJ DW the LSE is the number of GLŕŽ&#x2030;HUHQW IDLWKV DQG SKLORsophical viewpoints that are represented here, so I would encourage you to make the most of debating religion and metaphysics as often as possible. Working with the Chaplaincy and the various faith groups on campus, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m delighted at the number of events that we are planning for the year ahead.

The Westminster Abbey trip is always a treat and be sure to come along to students feel stressed, our roundtables as well. depressed or perplexed.

Regarding liberation Fortunately, your SU issues, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really looking hopes to target the is- forward to seeing what sues surrounding men- campaigns and events tal and physical health our Part-Time Executive with gusto. Over the next are already starting to IHZ ZHHNV WKH ŕŽ&#x160;UVW IHZ organise. As Communievents of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;De-Stress ty and Welfare Officer, I Festâ&#x20AC;? (broadly speaking, have a duty to help with I despise ungrammati- organisation and discuscal contractions, but I sions with the School and

I would hope that the formation of cross-liberation alliance will help to facilitate this. I would strongly encourage you to attend as many events as possible that our hard-working Part-Time Executive put on throughout the year as well. We have a very rich community at the LSE, and as it comprises 50 per cent of my title, I see promoting that as a key component part of my position.

In other respects, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m delighted to have had the opportunity to serve you all for the year ahead. Do feel free to pop into the Kingsley Rooms next to the Quad whenever you have the chance, especially if you have an idea for how the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union can better serve you. I take Randolph Churchillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maxim that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Continuous HŕŽ&#x2030;RUW QRW VWUHQJWK RU LQtelligence is the key to unlocking oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potentialâ&#x20AC;? to heart, so make sure to give me all the prodding you can to make sure that your time at the LSE is as enjoyable and as stressfree as possible. Enjoy yourselves, the School is a ŕŽ&#x160;QH SODFH WR OLYH DQG VWXG\

the cross-promotion of clubs and societies. I hope that this will enable more clubs and societies to join together, making their events even more successful whilst sharing D JURZLQJ QHHG WR RŕŽ&#x2030;HU a cheaper alternative to the current residences.

The welfare of our membership forms a major part of my remit. In such a pressure cooker environment comprised of political hotheads, sporting rivalries and constant career fairs, it is hardly a surprise that so many

Info Pack

The Beaver | 02.10.2012

3DUW WLPH 6DEEDWLFDO 2ૻ FHUV Nicole Mateer AU President

If you are new to LSE and looking to join a society with a great bunch of people, great sporting opportunities and a reputable social life – the Athletics Union is for you.

This year my main focus is to place more emphasis on the success of sport at LSE, it is important that the student body are aware of the amazing sporting talents and abilities of the AU. We are hoping to increase the publications of sporting results using social media mediums – particularly using twitter and features in Beaver Sport.

This year we are extending our collaborative work with LGBT and the intention is to invite rugby player Ben Cohen onto campus and hosting ‘An Evening with Ben Cohen’. His campaign covers the issues of bullying and homophobia within sport. Not only is he an admirable sportsman but his campaign is one which is inspiring and important in our union. We are also working closely with RAG again this year and there

Mohamed Harrath

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Whether you’re a fresher or a returning student, the year ahead will be an exciting one for us all. The school is turning a new page this year and we have a promising new Director in Craig Calhoun. A number of wider changes to Higher Education in the UK DUH DOVR FRPLQJ LQWR Hஉ HFW – and we’ll have a lot to say about that later. Now, perhaps more than ever, it is crucial that we, as students, play a bigger and more vocal role in shaping our student experience and learning environment.

We all know that famous phrase – “in unity there is strength” – and this is what will determine the impact of our campaigns and initiatives in contributing to campus life as students.

Much will be said to you about the LSE Students’ Union as you experience your 1st, 2nd or 3rd orientation week, but ultimately our purpose is to provide you with a voice and that’s what my (and the rest of the exec’s) job is. In my role as the SU’s Anti-Racism officer I’ll be focusing on a number of campaigns.

are already several ideas on the table. The Community Festival is already taking Rஉ DQG KRSHV WR UDLVH HYHQ more money than last year.

This is something which the AU features heavily in; it all NLFNV Rஉ LQ )UHVKHUV :HHN and it is something really worth getting involved in.

The AU Exec has been working hard over the summer planning this year’s social scene. This year we have Rugby’s George Melhuish in charge of special events, Netball’s Steph 0Rஉ DW LV OHDGLQJ WKH PDU keting aspect of things, Rugby’s Rob Martin responsible for regular events, Rowing’s Jack Curtis is your AU treasurer and Netball’s Hannah Richmond is in charge of communications. There is a lot to look forward to this year – the ஊ UVW ELJ HYHQW EHLQJ WKH $8 Welcome Party on the 17th October. In honour of London’s 2012 success we have themed the party Ancient Olympics, where of course togas are required. One event we have big plans for this year are Fight Night.

Last year was a huge success and so this year we are hoping to take it up a level.

It’s Black History Month, so come along to our exciting events!

John Barnes (Former Liverpool and England Footballer) and Clarke Carlisle (Chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association) will be here on the 17th October to discuss racism in sport and what we can do to about it.

We’ll be screening To Kill a Mockingbird on the 11th October as part of our BHM Film Night.

We’ll be discussing and debating all things race with students from Imperial College London, UCL and a number of RWKHU GLஉ HUHQW XQLYHUVL ties at our Black Ascent Event on the 29th October.

Our joint Election Results and BHM Open Mic Night will take place on the 1st November.

Stay tuned throughout the rest of the year for BME recruitment events, campaigns on PREVENT (the government’s troubling counter-extremism strategy), and Genocide Awareness Week in Lent Term to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and the genocides in Srebrenica, Rwanda and Burma.

Those are my plans for the year in a nutshell!

John Peart

7

GHஊ QLQJ /*%7 VWXGHQW Our AGM will be on 11th October and details can be found on our new website: www.lsesulgbt.org.uk. We’ll be treating those who come along to a few drinks in the Three Tuns afterwards, so everyone’s a winner! )RU WKH ஊ UVW WLPH LQ years, we’ll be running camSDLJQV DLPHG VSHFLஊ FDOO\ DW improving the lives of LGBT students, run by LGBT students. The LGBT Students for Equality campaign will touch on a broad range of issues including same-sex marriage, and faith in the LGBT community. We’re starting by asking people to sign a pledge supporting same-sex marriage and asking you to contact your representatives to get them to support it too. You can sign the pledge at the Orientation Fair, or again, on our website. More details will follow in next week’s issue of the Beaver.

On the social side of university life, we’ve organised an informal welcome

event for LGBT students on October 4th at 2PM in the Underground bar on campus. ‘LGBTea and Scones’ is your chance to meet the rest of the LGBT community at LSE in a safe environment; and your chance to get free cake! We’re also organising several parties this term including a Welcome Party in Soho, a joint event with Oxford and Cambridge and the return of Pride Crush. Best of all, most of our events will be completely free to attend.

Look out for more details around campus.

Perhaps the most important part of being LGBT Ofஊ FHU LV PDNLQJ VXUH \RX IHHO safe and secure during your time at university. That’s why we run ‘Ask Any Questions’; LW‫ڑ‬V D IUHH DQG FRQஊ GHQWLDO peer-support network run by other LGBT students at LSE. If you have any questions at all, do get in touch and we can arrange for someone to help you. Again, look out for more details on campus soon!

from the start. Orientation week will feature a welcome event for interHaving housed some of national students as a the most brilliant foreign way to introduce them to academics and world lead- the school, and outings in ers in the past, LSE exem- London to introduce them SOLஊ HV WKH FRVPRSROLWDQ to the city. London can be nature of a UK education. a very intimidating place In fact, LSE would not be to new students. That is LSE without its mix of cul- why I am planning some tures on campus and the social events that also unique perspectives each incorporate sightseeing brings. Our international around London. I hope to VWXGHQWV KDYH WKH EHQHஊ W extend this through the of a top-notch UK year and possibly organeducation, while entirely ize future trips dependenriching the academic ing on interest. I will also and cultural experience continue on from my preon campus beyond that of decessor Hannah Geis’s a normal university. LSE work on strengthening truly is evidence of how the community feel on vitally important interna- campus through events tional students are to the like International Week, UK. Therefore, at a time the highly popular Interwhen international stu- national Football Tournadents across the UK may ment, and Language Day. not be feeling the love it’s As another priority, I important we make sure also want to make sure that our students are. international students Thus, one of my high- have all the academic supest priorities this year is port they need. LSE has a making international stu- plethora of academic tools dents feel at home right available to students. The

Language Centre for example provides linguistic support and essay-writing help for students who may be having difficulty adjusting to LSE’s (veryVSHFLஊ F VW\OH RI ZULWLQJ Throughout the year, I will work to make these tools more visible to students, possibly through an advertising campaign. Moreover, I will try to identify other areas where international students might want support, which the school may not yet provide.

Lastly, I plan to work very closely with the SU’s Defend Education campaign this year. When education is neglected as a priority by the government, both students and the quality of education VXஉ HU DV D UHVXOW %HFDXVH the attack on international students is central to the government’s crackdown on education, this campaign has high importance to LSE’s international student body.

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At the core of the Students’ Union’s mission for LGBT people is the aim of improving the welfare, careers and social opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans students on campus (or anyone else that doesn’t identify as “straight” in the traditional sense). I’m John Peart, and as LGBT Officer, my aim is ensure we do all three, and more.

To enable this, we’ve created the LGBT Alliance.

Sign up at the Orientation Fair or online at www.lsesu. com to be part of the representative body for LGBT students at LSE. Over the course of the year, the Alliance will be organising events and representing LGBT students to the School on a broad range of issues. You control what we do as members - more parties, more careers events, more campaigns; it’s all up to you. You can also run to be part of the LGBT Alliance committee as a self-

Diana Yu

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Sport

Sport

The Beaver | 02.10.2012

8

Coming up

‫ښ‬/HW‫ڑ‬V 7DON 7DFWLFV ‫)ښ‬URP WKH H\HV RI D *LQJHU ‫ښ‬/6( 6SRUW

An introduction to the Beaver Sport section Timothy Poole, Sports Editor

writing. So if you happen to play sport at the LSE, then it

ly any university sport too; from Rugby to Chess, this sec-

couldn’t be easier for you to start writing regularly for the section. It can be on absolute-

tion will give it column inches - and if you lack the time to write, just send in anything

Photo: Beaver Archives

Welcome to Beaver Sport the Sport section of the LSE’s student newspaper. Here, we aim to achieve the unenviable task of blending together news from the various forays into the sporting world of our student body and superb analysis of current affairs in sport. And not to worry, we will also be keeping you abreast of all the latest gossip from the various ‘activities’ that occur during both matches and the weekly wednesday AU night all the while.

So if you enjoy watching sport and then either venting your frustrations with the written word, or explain-

ing exactly what went wrong in a specific area of a match, this is the section for you.

Last year there were several featured columns - notably the successful “Let’s Talk Tactics”, which delved beyond the surface of some of the sporting events that matter to us most.

If you have an eye on a regular spot, we can most certainly accommodate you and who knows - if you think you know your birdies from your googlies, you may end up with a column sooner than you’d think.

Here at Beaver Sport, we’re also looking to expand the quantity and quality of our sports reporting - something we encourage as one of the fundamentals of sports

from a scoreline to a match timeline and we’ll do the rest!

While football is a popular topic for writers to ruminate upon and cast wide predictions, assertions and explanations, it is by no means the be all and end all of Beaver Sport. Frequent topics last year included covering events in the tennis and rugby worlds, the cricket (traditional test matches or the shortformat T20s) and the NFL and NBA (for those of you with an American heritage).

Indeed, if you have a passion for sport and want your writing to get out there, just email sports@thebeaveronline. co.uk and discuss it with our sports editor, Timothy Poole.