The Beaver - #922

Issue 922 | MT Week 5

Newspaper of the LSE Students’ Union: Making Sense of LSE Since 1949

INSIDE TODAY LSE professor addresses pro-paedophile News allegations after charity board resignation LSE pledges to stop using NDAs, page 3 Death of Mahsa Amini sparks protest in Iran, page 4

Features Students can’t find housing, page 6

Loneliness and Freshers FOMO, page 8

Opinion

The Beaver Newsroom

D

r.

Jacob Breslow, Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality at the LSE Department of Gender Studies, resigned as trustee of transgender children’s charity named Mermaids on 3 October following reports regarding an allegedly propaedophile speech he made

Why do students still love Corbyn? page 9 in 2011 at a conference held reported, “A published summary investigation by the Charity by the US organisation B4UACT. He has since issued a press release addressing the allegations and his resignation.

In 2011, Dr. Breslow, who was then a graduate student at LSE, attended a conference hosted

by B4U-ACT, an organisation that allegedly “promotes support for paedophiles” according to the BBC. BBC

& flip for...

of a presentation Dr Breslow is understood to have given uses the phrase ‘minor-attracted persons’ instead of paedophile.”

B4U-ACT has also received widespread criticism on grounds that it was founded by convicted sex offender Michael Melsheimer.

These reports emerge amid ongoing scrutiny confronting Mermaids, which is also under

Commission regarding the supply of chest-binding devices to teenagers. Dr. Breslow, who is on sabbatical leave until January 2023, had been appointed trustee of Mermaids in July 2022.

Continued on page 3

Hustle culture is to blame for study drug abuse, page 10

& WHAT’S ON BEAVER SOUND? See page 13!

FIGHT NIGHT GIRL

Meet the team photos by Jack Love Executive Editor

Aarti Malhotra executive.beaver@lsesu.org Managing Editor Vani Kant managing.beaver@lsesu.org Flipside Editor Ambre Pluta editor.flipside@lsesu.org Beaver Editor Jack Beeching editor.beaver@lsesu.org Multimedia Editor Vaneeza Jawad multimedia.beaver@lsesu.org News Editors Aysha Sarah Klara Woxstrom Features Editors Bora Bayram Alan Nemirovski Opinion Editors Sonja Belkin Alina Chen Part B Editor Anouk Pardon Social Editors Carmel Lloyd Liv Kessler Matt Sudlow Review Editor Ben Helme Sport Editors Alex Bowley Noah Poll Podcast Editors Dillon Loh Lily Whittle Head of Illustration Charlie To Head of Videography Jessy Yang Front page by Vaneeza Jawad Any opinions expressed herein are those of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the LSE Students’ Union or Beaver Editorial Staff.

The Beaver is issued under a Creative Commons license.

Attribution necessary.

Printed at Iliffe Print, Cambridge Room 2.02 Saw Swee Hock Student Centre LSE Students’ Union London WC2A 2AE 020 7955 6705

MT Week 5

In love with this coco Aarti Malhotra Executive Editor

I

f you’re reading this, we probably made it through the formatting weekend.

Bless.

Honestly, the past week has been beyond transformative, in the worst way possible.

From moments of crippling self-doubt, third-year reality checks, and political anxieties, the list is endless.

But waking up everyday with the responsibility of The Beaver

weighing over my head has been surprisingly grounding: there’s work that needs to be done and stories that need to be told. Alas, all my personal plights get put on the backburner indefinitely.

At least it’s a distraction I am proud of (?).

It’s not even reading week yet and 95 percent of my life already revolves around this paper. I guess it’s time I accept my fate. And as much as I whine and complain about it, there’s no Amy Winehouse track or first on an essay that

www.thebeaverlse.co.uk

hits quite the same way as being able to hold a new issue of The Beaver on a Tuesday afternoon. I’m in love with this coco.

And on that note, I present issue #922 to you. She’s something. Despite the short turn-around, our editors and contributors have covered a lot of ground. For one, check out Lily’s follow-up story on LSE signing the Can’t Buy My Silence Pledge (about time!). Also in news is some important coverage on fees compensation, the student mental health epidemic, and the ongoing protests in Iran.

Your job isn't ethically neutral Vani Kant Managing Editor

H

onestly? I’m in my Descartes era. I think, therefore I am, and who I am is a fundamentally conflicted person. I decided to keep myself busy over the summer by dabbling in moral philosophy and a whole lot of introspection, re: what am I really meant to do around here (earth)? Surely, it can’t be a Deloitte graduate program.

Point is, I’ve been thinking a lot about human purpose and what we owe to each other just by virtue of being alive, and I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of us need to have a good, hard think about our life choices. “There is no ethical existence under capitalism” just isn’t cutting it anymore. We can’t keep saying “capitalism bad,” only to participate in it endlessly and in avoidable ways. You’re better than being a banker, and so am I. But what do we do when a public sector job offers mere £24,000 annually in a city where you’ve got to pay to sneeze?

It’s scary how difficult it is to make a living in the we-careabout-human-life business.

It’s especially apparent at LSE,

where so many of us learn to think critically about the world before we all apply to Goldman Sachs to work in “compliance”, whatever that means. Every job is a barter between safety, greed, and duty (if you believe in that sort of thing. I do) and the current state of affairs awards only the first two.

That’s why it’s so much easier to pick some random highpaying job without thinking about what that job really means– for society, your daily sanity, and your purpose at large. What’s important is that you’ve secured a stable and sustainable income. For some, you’ve secured more than what some people will make in a decade. But the stakes are getting higher, and I believe we owe each other more than to prioritise our convenience over the safety of the weakest among us. It’s sick that we need to sacrifice “the good life” in order to help people, but you don’t need to work at Lockheed Martin to put food on the table. You don’t need to manage milliondollar portfolios to lead a fulfilling life. And I refuse to believe that hoards of people dreamt of being consultants as kids. I think we need a major restructuring in how we

ADVERTISE WITH US TODAY! For more information and rates, contact us at managing.beaver@lsesu.org

understand happiness, duty, community, and progress. All that systemic change stuff. I’m not going to talk about the corrupting legacy of Western individualism, but imagine that I have.

Trust me, I know the decision isn’t easy. And I definitely don’t have all the answers– hence why I’m a conflicted person.

I’m looking for humanitarian jobs and they don’t want me, I’m looking at legal training contracts and I don’t want them. I might still apply. Who knows. The economy is shit and I need to put food on the table. I can’t restructure society on my own, and choosing to perish under it is a great burden indeed. That’s why this editorial isn’t some moral positing; I know it’s tricky (for those of us who really do see a problem with the world, at least. Many of you are passionate about investment banking and I will never understand you.

Choose to be more.) But that doesn’t mean that questioning what we’ve been taught to value is futile. If anything, it’s more important than ever.

Media recommendation: T. M. Scanlon, What We Owe to Each Other.

2

Then, turn over to features for some very relatable content on FOMO and the cost of living crisis.

As for Flipside, I very much enjoyed Ambre’s interview with Katherine, a friend I already admire so much.

Once again, Vaneeza’s Horrorscopes do not disappoint on the horror scale (they did, however, disappoint my fragile self-esteem. Go easy on pisces pls). Oh, and definitely don't miss the much-anticipated Don’t Worry Darling review

by Rachel.

Happy reading. Hasta la vista, baby.

NEWS

News Editors Klara Woxström Aysha Sarah

3

news.beaver@lsesu.org

Prof addresses pro-paedophile allegations after charity board resignation The Beaver newsroom

F

ollowing reports by mainstream media outlets such as The Times, BBC, and The Telegraph of Dr. Breslow’s resignation and his alleged links to B4U-ACT, Mermaids Chair of Trustees Belinda Bell issued the following statement:

“We have explained that it was only on the 3rd October that we became aware of his participation in a 2011 conference that would have disqualified him from becoming a trustee. Once notified, we immediately launched an investigation and Dr. Breslow tendered his notice that same day.

“We want to apologise for the distress and concern this news has caused. It is clear that Dr. Breslow should never have been appointed to the board, and as Chair of the trustee board I am horrified that he was.”

An LSE Spokesperson told The If anyone does need support, Thea*, a graduate student at Beaver, “We have been made please get in contact with us, or the LSE Department of Gender aware of a presentation at an our advice service which offers Studies, told The Beaver, “Jacob’s external event in 2011 by a free and confidential advice.” research, from what I underthen graduate student, now stand, touches upon childhood, faculty member of LSE. We In response to the media at- sexuality … but [it] also touches have also been made aware tention, the LSE Department upon trans and queer identitiof other material reported- of Gender Studies sent out an ties. And I think people made ly by the individual. We are email to the entire department that association way too fast beinvestigating these reports.” on 5 October informing them cause from what I understand, of “extra security measures” at there is no evidence that anyLSE Students’ Union’s Sabbati- the Department due to the na- thing this man wrote is pro-paecal Officers also issued a state- ture of allegations made against dophile.” Thea also noted how ment on the situation on 13 Oc- Dr. Breslow. The email also the vast majority of media scrutober, “We find it abhorrent that stated that Dr. Breslow “un- tiny surrounding Dr. Breslow safeguarding procedures and equivocally condemns child stems from “TERF networks”, processes have been overlooked abuse of any kind” and called referring to trans exclusionary and we welcome LSE’s deci- the depiction of his research in radical feminist media networks. sion to investigate the reports the media as “inflammatory.” of Dr Jacob Breslow’s presThea explained, “There used to entation at the B4U-Act con- When asked about the enhanced be a really negative association ference in 2011 and look for- security measures at the depart- in 1970s between [queer people] ward to hearing the outcome. ment, the LSE Spokesperson said, and paedophilia, which is a very “We do not comment on specif- complicated historic association, “We also want to make it very ic security measures in place at and now, I think there’s a similar clear that Dr Jacob Breslow does LSE. However, we take the safety negative association and mornot represent the wider trans and security of all students ex- al panic being made between community and LSESU will not tremely seriously. Our security queer studies and paedophilia.” tolerate any harassment or bul- are always operating and availlying of trans students at LSE. able as needed 24/7 on campus.”

Dr. Breslow has since put out a statement on his website, “I unequivocally condemn child sexual abuse. My work is about protecting marginalised children and young people, not exposing them to harm.

“It was my understanding in 2011 that B4U-ACT was an organisation that promotes treatments to prevent offending by paedophiles. I believed at the time that the purpose of the conference was to enable better treatments and interventions that prevent harm to children. I would not have attended the symposium otherwise. I have not been affiliated with B4U-ACT since.

“I decided to resign as a Trustee of Mermaids as I did not want to distract from the good work the charity is doing to help transgender and gender diverse children.” *Names in this article were changed to preserve anonymity.

LSE pledges to stop using NDAs in sexual assault cases Lily Shield Polyzoides Contributor

S

tudent activism has secured a long-awaited win for victims of sexual violence. Last week, LSE became the 77th university in the United Kingdom to sign the government-backed “Can’t Buy My Silence” pledge, that renounces the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) against victims of sexual assault and bullying.

NDAs are legal documents that restrict signatories from sharing classified information. While they were created for the purposes of protecting information and ideas from third parties within business and trade, powerful institutions have used NDAs to protect their reputation from damage in the case of sexual assault and bullying cases. The use of these agreements in universities drew national attention in 2020, when a BBC News report uncovered that nearly one third of universities had employed

them in student complaint cases.

Also in March, Hands Off presented a motion to the Student LSE’s move comes after sus- Union’s Union General Meeting tained pressure from student (UGM). The motion requestactivists on campus. In March ed the implementation of four 2022, The Beaver reported that commitments to improve LSE’s an LSE student, ‘Charlotte’, sexual violence provisions. The twice attempted suicide after final commitment requested the university repeatedly failed that the LSESU lobby the unito support her as a victim of versity to sign the pledge. The sexual violence. motion was later passed into policy with double the number Charlotte told The Beaver that a of student votes required. member of LSE staff warned her that the university may subject In a final show of student presher to legal action if she pro- sure, the former lead campaignceeded with her complaint re- er of Hands Off and vocal critic garding the gross mishandling of NDAs, Anaëlle Thoreau, was of her case. She believes this elected as Community & Welwas a warning that she could be fare Officer in the 2022/3 LSESU presented with an NDA. elections. Thoreau campaigned on the policy to eliminate NDAs Charlotte’s story sparked an and used her acceptance speech on-campus protest, led by to highlight the issue as her most Hands Off LSE, the student important priority pledge. campaign aiming to improve sexual assault policy. Outside The Community & Welfare Ofthe Centre Building, students ficer commented on LSE’s sigheld banners that called for ac- nature: “I am beyond happy tion from the university’s high- that LSE has finally signed the er-ups: ‘Time to Change LSE’, #CantBuyMySilence pledge, this ‘Shame on You LSE’. is a real relief.” She added, “It’s

crucial here to emphasise that violence. We take any reports this is not LSE’s idea but once of bullying, harassment, sexuagain a successful campaign al misconduct, or violence exinitiated by students…[who] tremely seriously and any memshould take credit for this win.” ber of the LSE community who has experienced or witnessed Thoreau’s campaign to restruc- incidents of this kind is strongly ture LSE’s services is far from encouraged to get in touch with over, however. She intends to a trained Safe Contact for inforcontinue lobbying for the re- mation and support or use our maining measures from Hands dedicated online portal Report Off ’s motion. These include the it Stop it. We have a dedicated creation of an anti-sexual vio- anti-harassment support advisor lence IT platform, implementa- with expertise in this area who tion of a permanent Anti-Sexual can provide a consistent point Violence Team, and the publica- of contact for victims/survivors tion of annual reviews on LSE’s from disclosure through to any sexual violence support system. criminal or university processes.

Charlotte agreed, telling The “Anyone affected by sexual vioBeaver that: ‘‘It’s a big step in the lence can also access free, conright direction, and I hope that fidential, independent support LSE could use this momentum and counselling.” to usher further changes outlined in the Hands-Off motion and beyond.’’

LSE responded in light of this news: “We are committed to a working and learning environment where people can achieve their full potential free of all types of harassment and

4 News

Fees compensation requests may be delayed until next year During the summer, students received an email stating their complaints should be processed within 90 days and that their cases had been assigned to a member of LSE’s legal team for n 11 October 2022, an review. email was sent to LSE students who applied for Lily Whittle, a second-year Gecompensation due to the Univer- ography student expressed: “I sity and College Union (UCU) had spent most of my first year strikes’ effect on their learning. in the dark about how I was perThe email stated that investiga- forming and felt entirely undertions into their complaints could prepared when going into exam potentially be delayed until the season.” new year (2023).

Alan Nemirovski Contributor Klara Woxström News Editor

O

Students were told last year that they could apply for compensation for teaching hours lost as a result of UCU strikes, which occurred in December 2021, and over lent term earlier this year.

At the end of the 2021-22 academic year, the LSESU informed students that they could apply for a partial refund and that their cases would be reviewed on an individual basis.

“Strike action meant I waited months for feedback, even on formatives. Here I was at an elite institution prized for its high quality of teaching and learning and I didn't feel I was accessing any of it. Certainly not equated to the amount I was paying in fees.”

The second email sent to students in October stated the processing of complaints was be-

ing held off until the complaint portal had been closed by each department. This was to ensure that all complaints were received in a fair and equitable manner.

The portal shut at midnight on Monday 12 September.

The email elaborated that, given the number of complaints, LSE is aiming to issue outcomes before the Christmas break. However, some complaint outcomes may not be finalised until 2023.

“Honestly, I had completely forgotten about [the strike compensation],” says Hila Davies, a second-year Social Anthropology student. “[It] feels like it’s just been brushed under the carpet.

Or that the act of applying for compensation was just performative.”

what seems like an ongoing legal matter at the moment, please rest assured that we are doing everything in our capacity to expedite the process.’’

When asked about the delay in the timeline for responses to complaints, a spokesperson for LSE told The Beaver, “LSE aims to resolve complaints within 90 days, and often does so in a shorter period. We may not be able to resolve formal complaints relating to industrial action within

this timeframe, however, due to the complexity of cases and need to fully assess the impact of mitigations. In addition, the process is being supported by legal advisors external to LSE. This is to ensure assessment of claims for compensation or a partial refund are undertaken independently. Any relevant updates on timelines for a response will be delivered as part of the formal complaints procedure.”

Maarya Rabbani, the LSE Students’ Union Education Officer has commented: ‘‘While [the SU] is unable to comment on

Study shows growing ‘free speech’ concerns among students Niina Leppilahti Contributor Illustated by Rigona Gjinovci

A

recent study published

by King’s College London’s Policy Institute, on 29 September 2022, revealed

students are increasingly feeling that free speech is “under threat” at their institution.

While 65% of students agree

that, “free speech and robust debate are protected” at their university, 34% feel as though free speech at university is under threat compared to a figure of 29% seen in 2019.

LSE has clear policies in place to protect individual’s rights to

freedom of expression. These policies are meant to ensure the facilitation of debates and enable all members of our com-

munity to refute ideas lawfully, whether through protest on campus or other means.

The Beaver interviewed different societies at LSE on how they feel about free speech protection at the school.

Muhammad Ibrahim, President of the Labour society, expressed: ‘‘Though the [Students’ Union] are actually quite open to facilitating almost any sort of event where different views are discussed, it does seem like there is a bit of reluctance in giving students full independence when it comes to this this is based purely on the fact that we have been asked to find an academic chair for our upcoming debate against the conservative society despite all the participants in the debate being students. Other than that, based upon the preparations that a society must make in terms of planning an event that the university, through the SU, does make sure steps are taken to protect against discrimination and hatred.”

He continued: “In terms of fa-

cilitating robust debate, it does strike me as odd that the university doesn't possess a centralised platform - like the Oxford union for example - for students to engage in debate with each other and guest speakers - it seems to be left to societies to piece together themselves, which perhaps results in a setting where the true potential of debate and discourse within the student community isn't being completely optimised.’’

Mike Salem, secretary of the Hayek Society, expressed that LSE and its staff “tend to do a good job at protecting freedom of speech.” He praised the university for hosting debates on all ranges of issues with different perspectives as well as its public lectures series, which he regarded as the “pinnacle of freedom of speech on campus.’’ He added that he does not agree with introducing further top-down measures to neither protect nor obstruct freedom of speech, stating this would “shove it down the throat of all stakeholders.” He feels students should be the driving force in deciding on such matters.

Finally, the Intersectional Feminist society agrees that LSE takes “great measures to establish free speech and facilitate open discussion.’’ However, they point out that the notion of free speech often “ignores the reality of marginalisation and stigmatisation.’’

They emphasise, ‘‘[We] need to focus on the action dimension of freedom and attend to the intersectionality of privilege.

By encouraging tact, consideration, and tolerance, the LSE can play an important role in creating a new kind of freedom.’’

Last year, the Conservative Party introduced a bill which would allow the seeking of compensation for “no-platforming” of controversial speakers. The bill’s third reading was completed on 13 June in the House of Commons; it has now progressed to the House of Lords.

News 5

Mental health epidemic plagues UK universities Aysha Sarah Klara Woxström News Editors Illustrated by Rigona Gjinovci Trigger warning: This article discusses sensitive topics such as depression and suicide.

U

niversities throughout the United Kingdom are experiencing an ongoing student mental health crisis.

In 2020/21, more than 200,000 students in the United Kingdom sought support for their mental health, according to new research by the Labour Party.

On 6 October, Cambridge University launched a campaign, called Reach Out, urging struggling students to seek assistance, as the sixth student death this year is being investigated.

Reach Out was planned prior to the September passing of a medical student. His passing will be examined alongside the deaths of five other students who passed away between March and June.

Cambridge University has, prior to introducing this new service, come under heavy scrutiny for its ineffective student mental health services. The Reach Out campaign followed a review of mental health services at the university that began the previous year in response to a growing demand for additional support. Additionally, Cambridge University had opened an investigation after

the death of five of its students also save massively on costs to since March 2022. the NHS and other services.”

Meanwhile, researchers from the University of York have published a major new study that suggests Universal Basic Income (UBI) could assist in reversing the epidemic of mental health issues among young people in the United Kingdom.

Two universities in Leicester, De Montfort University (DMU) and the University of Leicester, have opened "crisis cafés" to provide mental health services to students in "non-clinical" settings.

The charity behind the initiative, Mental Health Matters, aims to open 25 cafés in Leicester, Professor Pickett, researcher Leicestershire, and Rutland that in the Department of Health provide free mental health supSciences at the University of port to anyone aged 18 or older.

York said, “UBI would raise the income floor for a lot of people, Other institutions such as Unireduce inequality and take away versities UK (UUK) have adsome of the sources of anxiety vised universities to contact key which young people particular- family members, caregivers, or ly find so challenging. It would friends if they have grave con-

cerns about a student's mental ry. I found that giving students health, even without the stu- a maximum of six sessions over dent's permission. twelve months isn't enough to get to the root of most mental health UUK has noted that although issues. Although my counsellor staff should make “every rea- was attentive to my problems, it sonable effort to secure con- simply wasn't enough to uncovsent," there are circumstances er my deeper-rooted fears and in which “a university can and self-limiting beliefs.’’ should share information with emergency services and with In April last year, an instagram trusted contacts, even where account called @lsestressed was they have not been able to se- launched as an initiative for cure consent." According to the students to anonymously share new guidance, students should their struggles with academia, register a "trusted contact" LSE’s work culture and mental when they enrol in college. health-related experiences at the university. Many of the conCurrently, the LSE has the Dis- fessions point to mental health ability and Wellbeing service struggles and pressures faced by (DWS), which offers confiden- LSE students. One such confestial advice and support to all sion from a student expresses students with diagnosed dis- how they are “fighting for [their] abilities and also includes the life finishing [their] degree” LSE Counselling Service. due to mental health issues and struggles at home.

Recently, the LSE Counselling Service has prioritised counsel- The Beaver asked students what ling appointments for students they think of the page. Maya*, who have experienced sexual a second year History student, harassment or sexual assault. commented, ‘‘LSE culture in This includes speaking with a general is just so overwhelming, safe contact and guiding the it’s crazy to see all my friends victim through the reporting at other universities who have process, if desired. Alongside much smaller workloads. Even these, other services include though [@lsestressed] helped me workshops, group sessions, and realise I’m not alone, it’s clear the peer support programmes. culture here is a systemic issue and needs to be addressed on a Amran Faysal, a second year much larger scale.’’

LSE History student said, ‘‘My overall experience with [the *Names in this article were Disability and Wellbeing Ser- changed to preserve anonymity. vice] was less than satisfacto-

Death of Mahsa Amini sparks protest in Iran Jessica Pretorius Staff Writer Illustrated by Mithalina Binte-Mohammad-Taib

F

or the past five weeks, Iran has been experiencing nationwide protests and violent clashes with police following the death of 22-yearold Mahsa Amini (her real and Kurdish name is Jina). She was arrested and detained on Friday, 16 September for not complying with Iran’s rules on women’s dress, specifically for wearing her hijab too loosely. She died in a hospital three days later.

Protests broke out across the

country soon after demanding justice for Mahsa’s death. However, they quickly morphed into protests about the treatment of women under Iran’s oppressive regime. Women have been seen burning their headscarves and cutting their hair in public, and chanting slogans such as “Women, Life, Freedom.”

Iranian authorities are responding brutally to the protests using shotguns, assault rifles, and handguns against protesters even in peaceful settings. As of Monday 17 October, 233 people have been killed. The government has largely shut down mobile in-

ternet, too, in an attempt to not only control the unrest in Iran, but also to shut the country off from the rest of the world.

Decolonising LSE, a collective dedicated to raising awareness of historic violence and encouraging decolonisation, published a statement to Sharif University of Technology in Iran on 3 October. The statement expressed that they were “inspired by the courage and power of the students and academics” and that they “stand with the student movement and progressive forces fighting against state abuses.”

Decolonising LSE also called on “our academic community to

amplify and add their voices to those of students, academics, unions, activists, and people who oppose this suppression and demand freedom.” LSE has not yet issued any statement on the ongoing developments in Iran.

The Beaver spoke to Ava*, a British-Iranian student in her third year, who said that she was surprised and also a bit disappointed by the lack of response at LSE, “I’ve only really seen Iranians talking about the protests. Maybe it’s because people feel they cannot or should not form an opinion, but in fact we need non-Iranians to speak out and help us

spread the word, particularly when people in Iran are unable to reach the international community.” *Names in this article were changed to preserve anonymity.

6

FEATURES

Features Editors Bora Bayram Alan Nemirovski features.beaver@lsesu.org

£553 per week for rent: students scramble for housing amid renting crisis Vanessa Huang Staff Writer Illustrated by Mithalina Binte-Mohammad-Taib

D

emand for rental properties in the UK is far outstripping supply, an issue that is particularly significant in London, according to SpareRoom. Data shows that there are only 15,000 rooms available for the 106,000 people currently looking for accommodation in the city on the platform, with average rent prices in the city skyrocketing to £553 a week.

The Beaver spoke to students about the difficulties they’ve faced in securing housing, finding consistent patterns of either endless rejections from landlords or being forced to endure poor living conditions.

The first hurdle comes before even viewing any properties.

For every listing that’s posted to sites like SpareRoom, RightMove, or Zoopla, estate agents and landlords are bombarded with enquiries and viewing requests – so many that it’s impossible to respond to them all. One student, Emma*, has only made it to the viewing stage for five flats, despite starting her search in May. Another student, Doug Klain, a masters student from the US, shares: “whether or not you’re able to view a flat can simply come down to luck.” He later discovered that he was just one of ten to twenty people that were randomly selected to view the flat, out of hundreds who had enquired.

If they’ve been chosen as one of the select few for a viewing, prospective tenants are often all brought in at the same time, where anything less than making an immediate offer means they lose out on the flat. At one viewing, Doug explained that the landlord informed all ten prospective tenants that whoever placed a deposit first would get the flat. “On the spot, while we’ve been in the flat for maybe two minutes, this one guy just pulls out his phone and says, ‘Alright, give me your bank details right now. I’ll do it right now.’”

Furthermore, there is noth-

ing preventing prospective tenants from placing an offer above the advertised rent, meaning that the highest bidder is most likely to get the flat. In addition to the high rent offer, these tenants often have to also pay six months’, or even a year’s rent in advance.

Doug originally placed an offer on a two bedroom flat in Camden for the asking rent, offering to pay several months of rent upfront. The agent received multiple competing offers, convincing him to raise his offer. It was when they continued to push for even higher offers that he gave up. He says, “[Landlords and agents are] just trying to milk us for everything they can get.

And they know they can get it because they’ve got an unending supply of people who will offer hundreds of pounds over asking price, on the spot with no [information].”

The near impossibility of securing housing has left students in situations that are far from ideal. Emma, who is five months into her search, still hasn’t found a flat. She’s opted to live at home and commute to LSE for the time being as she continues to look for flats, but she isn’t hopeful.

Issues persist even with those who have found housing.

As prospective tenants are scrambling to swipe up anything that’s available, standards have fallen, meaning that poorly maintained flats are still guaranteed to be snapped up. International students are especially vulnerable due to being reliant on virtual viewings that fail to provide an accurate representation of the property.

Jean-Michel Betran, a masters student from France, met his current flatmate, who was already living in the property, over Zoom. Satisfied with the video tour, as well as the conversation with his flatmate, he decided to take the flat.

Given the stress he had faced throughout his search, he was grateful to have finally found a place. This relief was shortlived. When he actually arrived at the flat, “what seemed super clean and nice and tidy in the video was a mess.”

Doug found himself in a similar situation.

Unable to secure accommodation while he was still in the US, he assumed he would only be able to find a flat once he arrived in London. “I kid you not, 18 hours before my flight from Washington, DC to London, I get a call back from an agent, saying, ‘Hi, the place that you enquired about is gone, but I have another place.

It’s available for about 10 minutes before I’m giving it away to somebody else. Here’s a couple of pictures if you want it. Tell me right now, otherwise it’s gone.’” He took it, thinking it was the best option he had, but like Jean-Michel, he arrived at a flat that drastically differed from what he was shown. The flat had been converted from a two or three bedroom flat into a five bedroom flat. Doug’s room was one section of what would be the living room, partitioned by a cheap plywood wall.

tations lowered mine … I ask myself: ‘Am I too picky? Is it just me?’” Though dejected, he’s thankful for “not [being] in the worst situation.”

Many students this year have reached out to the LSESU Advice Service. The Advice Service’s scope of work in previous years has normally consisted of contract checks and resolving disputes with landlords, leaving them illequipped to provide any solutions to students struggling to find housing beyond directing them to the usual listing websites. They often say that “you will find somewhere eventually. Just keep looking, keep looking and eventually something will come up.”

Becoming increasingly desperate to find a place, Doug contacted LSE’s Residential Services Office, hoping they would be able to offer some kind of support. They provided a similar response, advising him to check RightMove, Zoopla and SpareRoom. “The biggest help that I get is [from] paying 40 pounds a month for a SpareRoom subscription so that I have better access to send out more messages to places that probably won’t respond,” he laughs.

Because of the poor conditions in his current flat, Doug spends most of his time outside, only going back at the end of the day to sleep. “The biggest way this impacts me is [that] I don’t really have a place I can call home,” he says.

When we spoke on October 10, he was still looking for housing, describing it as “this constant buzzing stress in the Every student we spoke to understands the limits of background of everything.” any support that could come Jean-Michel was originally from LSE – there are simply hoping to move into a differ- not enough places for every ent flat, but the thought of person that’s looking. Similar yet more incessant scrolling stories from other parts of the through SpareRoom has put country have also emerged, him off. There’s also a feeling such as the students in Bristol of guilt for being dissatisfied that have been placed in acwhen so many people are still commodation in Wales, or the struggling to find a place to students in Edinburgh sleepstay: “[Other] people’s expec- ing on bunk beds in a common room.

At the same time, students have highlighted some areas where LSE can improve. Emma, for one, points to the booking system for halls of residence.

Rooms in halls of residence were quickly booked up this year – an option that many students would have gladly taken. When everything has been fully booked, the current system requires students to check back every day and book as soon as there’s any availability. By operating a waitlist instead, Emma argues, a lot of undue stress could be avoided.

Doug says he would like to see LSE expand its rent guarantor scheme. While it currently covers continuing international students who are paying up to £720 in monthly rent and have lived in halls of residence in a previous year, or secured housing through LSE Student Pad or the University of London Housing Service, the guarantor scheme leaves out many students, particularly postgraduates. Lowering the bar for eligibility would reduce the number of students forced to fork over significant amounts of money upfront just to secure a flat.

The current rent crisis is unlikely to be resolved quickly. While some have called for rent freezes, as has been done in Scotland, others argue it’s only a matter of time before prices crash. But until pressure eases on the already dwindling housing supply, housing uncertainty looks to be a defining feature of student life. *Names in this article have been changed to preserve anonymity.

Features

7

Pole fitness: ‘It’s slutty, it’s vile — never do it’ Amara Otero Salgado Staff Writer

Illustrated by Charlie To

T

he idea of pole fitness has caused a significant amount of controversy over the past couple of decades.

One example, which some may recall, is the debate sparked on ‘This Morning’ over whether or not children should be allowed to partake in the sport. From this, we enter into a spider web of gender politics, body-image, sexualisation of women and repression of them and their bodies. LSE’s pole fitness instructor, Alex Grimshaw, maintains that pole fitness is so much more than what people assume.

‘pole fitness’ in the Bing search engine to clear any doubts. Anyone with SafeSearch enabled will be presented with the following statement: “Your current Bing SafeSearch setting filters out results that might return adult content.” Now try searching ‘men’s swimming’; you will find yourself confronted with numerous images of men wearing far fewer clothes than women usually do when attending a pole fitness class, yet this is not restricted nor deemed as ‘adult content’. As Alex points out, “Yes there’s the sexy stuff, yes there’s the lingerie,” but there’s actually so much more to pole.

Alex talks about accepting and embracing the unique capabilities of your own body, rather than wishing for it to be different: “By having bigger shoulders and smaller hips it means that I can get my body upside down much easier. The other way around is much harder!”

With 61% of adults in the UK feeling negative or very negative about their bodies ‘most of the time,’ according to the UK Parliament Body Image Survey, learning to embrace

There have been many studies analysing the empowering effect of pole fitness on women.

For example, ‘Pole Dancing, Empowerment and Embodiment’ by Samantha Holland found that “women initiate agency and espouse liberation and empowerment through something as seemingly problematic as pole classes.” It can be seen as a way of reclaiming the negative stigma attached to pole dancing and femininity, our as well as an avenue for womboden to connect more closely with ies is their own bodies and sexuality perhaps something While the associations of pole - something which is vastly and systemically discouraged in sothat we, as a dancing with strippers and ciety. society, should erotic dance have vastly dibe working on. minished, this attitude is still Having danced from While many studies held by some. Stigmas attached show that negative body to female-dominated activi- a young age, Alex experienced image affects women more ties feed into the socialisation coming to than men, it still applies to all of women to feel ashamed of terms with genders, and pole fitness could their bodies. In an article enher body relbe a way to help everyone feel titled ‘Joy, Fear, and Twerking: atively early in life: “I better about their bodies.

The Glory of Amber Rose’, Olguess I went through that transWhile talking about the bigivia Cole describes this effect: formation when I was dancing gest benefits of pole fitness, “There are two kinds of wommore than pole dancing …

I’ d Alex believes that “the ability en, we are taught: women who get a lot of ‘you’re not quite to look past what you look like are pure and good, wives and small enough to be in this, not would be the biggest thing.” mothers on the pedestal of femquite thin enough maybe, tall ininity; and there are the other women, the whores, the sluts, enough? Not quite.’ But that’s Generally, Alex has noticed a the strippers. You are either one because that’s what that indus- difference between how men or the other, we are taught, and try is like.” She explains that, and women initially approach we, women, grow up believing as a result, her experience with the pole. She explains how it: setting ourselves up against starting pole was likely very women are far more hesitant, other women in a desperate ef- different to most, as she started saying things like: “Oh, mayfort to delineate between us and already in a place of acceptance be I don’t have the upper body of her body: “I noticed that I strength for this.” She notes them…” only cared about what I could that, “Especially the very first If you find yourself unconvinced do, not what I looked like... If time, you see people, you know, of this systemic repression of I can do this thing I’ve been biting their nails and they’re women, you need only search working on, then that’s, for me, trying to make themselves as at this point, all I care about.” small as possible like, ‘don’t When Alex first started pole dancing, “it was very different to how it is now”, she says. As she describes her experience with her first class, it’s clear that the stigma surrounding the sport was much worse: “I did the trial class because I was like, ‘Oh, it’s related to dance! It’ll be a really nice, you know, just a different way of moving’ … I remember I went home and I talked to my partner at the time and he was like, ‘Never do that again or I’m going to dump you; it’s slutty, it’s vile — never do it’.”

look at me, don’t look at me’.”

For men, on the other hand, she says that this kind of self-doubt just “doesn’t exist in their brain.”

Typically, men are more likely to just jump straight on the pole, without any consideration that they may not be able to perform the move.

This thought pattern is not just unique to pole fitness.

Journalist Katty Kay calls this phenomenon, ‘The Confidence Gap’. This is where, more often than not, women strive to achieve perfection whereas men are more likely to be happy with ‘good enough’.

This affects women in many aspects of life, not just in sports.

Women feel they must be 100% sure they can do a job before applying to it, whereas men settle for only 60% certainty.

This is one reason why pole fitness is seen as particularly beneficial for women: this aspect of pole fitness, combined with the reclaiming of their own femininity, could aid women in the advancement of their careers, as well as boost their confidence in everyday life. In addition, Alex emphasises that pole fitness provides “a community of women supporting each other… women who have the same body type, same sexuality, or completely opposite body type to you, completely opposite gender,” creating an environment in which women can flourish.

Alex has also noticed a difference when teaching university students, as opposed to those in a later phase of life: “You don’t know yourself yet. If you’re

in university, yeah, okay, you might know you’re definitely female; you might know that you’re a lesbian, or whatever.

But actually the reality is your body changes and you as a human being changes so much, and you have the most amount of change to go when you’re in your early twenties — I’m in my thirties and I still have change to go [through].”

In this regard, pole fitness can be about embracing your body in its current state, and how it meets your needs now, bearing in mind that it will change as you do. For university students like those attending the LSE p o l e fitness classes, this could be a very healthy habit to get into.

To summarise, here are Alex’s top three benefits of pole dancing: 1. “The ability to look past what you look like would be the biggest thing.”

2. “The ability to find your comfort level with your body and movement as well, like, are you comfortable doing body rolls? If you’re not, that’s fine!

Nobody’s going to force you to.

Are you comfortable going upside down? If you’re not, that’s fine! Nobody’s going to force you to.”

3. “A community of women supporting each other… women who have the same body type, same sexuality, or completely opposite body type to you, completely opposite gender.”

And finally, Alex’s advice to anyone thinking of trying pole fitness: “Wear SHORTS!”

8

Features

Moving past ‘small talk’: the pitfalls of Fresher’s FOMO Liza Chernobay Staff Writer Illustrated by Charlie To

F

ollowing Results Day, Freshers Week is by far the most anticipated and thrilling time for incoming undergraduate students. It is a week of polished outfits, big smiles, endless small talk and, frankly, drinking. Many LSE freshers enter this rite of passage with one goal: to make new friends. Given the overwhelming pace of social activities and an underlying pressure to participate in them, is it possible to enjoy freshers week while staying true to oneself?

Jess and Annamaria, both firstyear students, describe ‘freshers FOMO’ as missing out on “bonding experiences” and “feeling part of a community”.

The fear of being left friendless stems from a primal need for “companionship” and “connection”, which is what ultimately makes us human. Several interviewees also admitted that desire for “validation” and “social status” motivates them to zealously seek friendships during the first weeks at university as this boosts their confidence and overall happiness.

According to LSE students, the primary source of FOMO at university is social media, particularly Instagram. “Seeing stories of hall mates having drinks together or going to parties [creates an] idealised picture of having fun,” says Annamaria, which magnifies the FOMO, especially if you are “not in the mood to socialise”.

WhatsApp groups advertising society events, departmental newsletters promoting talks and networking, and hearing people simply share their plans also contribute towards making students feel lonely if they are not participating in them. More often than not, this “unconscious pressure to be part

of a community” pushes students to join in on activities which they may not need or enjoy because they associate the sense of craving for belonging with “fun”.

Effectively, this “artificial” social behaviour does not actually facilitate the connection with like-minded people that students seek at the dawn of university life. Students interviewed confirmed that what truly mattered to them were “meaningful”, fruitful conversations in a congenial atmosphere, as opposed to the “boring” and “one-dimensional” small talk which prevails during freshers week. Such profound communication is very hard to achieve in a nightclub, for instance - especially when you find yourself in company of people you don’t know. When asked about alternatives, students pointed to “pre-drinks” and “house parties” as more suitable environments for friend-making as they provide space to converse with interesting people.

As a result of FOMO-induced social behaviour, students risk losing their “integrity” in exchange for superficial relationships which can cause more serious problems further on: “I got sick, exhausted and not aligned with my authentic self,” says Annamaria. “And I don’t like not being authentic because it means that people are not getting to know the true me.”

Finding ‘your crowd’ will be

tricky while constantly pretending to be someone else, and it is also incredibly energy-draining. By socialising more than we can afford physically or emotionally, we ultimately exhaust our “social energy”, leaving us empty and too tired to spend time with the people we like, comments Daniel, another first-year LSE student.

In the words of Dr. Anjana Bala, an Anthropology Fellow at LSE: “we live in a hyper-connected world [where] there are more ways in which one knows they are missing out.” From an anthropological perspective, this “global digital culture” influences our decisions regarding how and when we socialise. As a specialist in psychological anthropology, Dr. Bala points out that sometimes, the life which society positions as “good” and appealing is not always suitable for us. We should therefore listen to ourselves more intently and choose activities which make us feel “whole”, rather than fractured and vulnerable.

However, vulnerability itself is powerful as it can be transformed into something creative.

For Dr. Bala, the anchor which helps her feel “rooted” when

restorative.

Despite the pressures and temptations which London university life has on offer, it’s

“Effectively, this “artificial” social behaviour does not actually facilitate the connection with like-minded people that students seek at the dawn of university life. Students interviewed confirmed that what truly mattered to them were “meaningful”, fruitful conversations in a congenial atmosphere...[not] small talk which prevails during freshers week.” she is “pulled into different directions” is dance. She suggests that “engaging with various types of knowledge and artistic practices that help you think critically of what’s happening around you and dig[ing] beneath the surface of commonplace assumptions” is central to re-aligning with ourselves and finding balance again. “Others might have different anchors that root them - whether that’s a family member, or their past, or a story that speaks to them.”

“It is a stereotype that freshers week is all just drinking and clubbing,” Jess says. Having lunch together with friends, exploring London by foot, watching movies, reading books for pleasure and joining societies are some of the fulfilling ‘activities of choice’ which students find motivating and

important to stay true to oneself and reclaim the power to choose how you want to spend your time. Some students are naturally ‘party animals’, while others prefer chatting over a coffee, so the question lies not in ‘where and how’ to socialise, but in consciously setting the right boundaries and not over-straining oneself. Choose activities which empower and bring happiness, seek meaningful connection with people who interest you, and don’t neglect time for being with just yourself if you feel like it.

Finally, if ever in doubt, consult Dr Bala’s signature list of questions to ask yourself before attending a social event: Is this ‘my idea’ of fun?

Does this inspire me?

Does this relax or stress me?

Does this strengthen the bonds with people I truly care about?

Does this advance me in my career/degree in a way I am comfortable with?

9

OPINION

Opinion Editor Sonja Belkin Alina Chen opinion.beaver@lsesu.org

Student politics: Why is Corbyn still popular?

Muhammad Ibrahim Contributor Photo sourced from Time Magazine

A

sI explore the godforsaken setting of student politics, one thing is abundantly clear – students still love Jeremy Corbyn. From an outsider’s perspective, this seems rather odd. One would imagine that the left-wing students, like the rest of the country, would have moved on from a man who hasn’t been the leader of the Labour party for two years now. Arguably, the only real relevance he has in mainstream politics is in the form of illfated attacks from the Tories, attempting to remind the electorate of the “horrors” that would have befallen Britain had he gained power. Nonetheless, this is no explanation for his continued presence, and indeed reverence, on university

hair to Marxism, university students have, for decades, been picking fights with convention before graduating and settling down in their corporate jobs particularly in the case of LSE. It is my belief that this resistive spirit compels students to reject established political norms and align themselves with figures like Corbyn.

The second, and perhaps more controversial, reason is idealism. Corbyn represented ideals, not strategy. As Keir Starmer recently pointed out on Alastair Campbell’s podcast ‘The Rest is Politics’, the Corbyn era of the Labour party was defined by people who thought winning motions at a party conference was changing the world. Radical stances were taken without much regard for what the rest of the electorate wanted. On the other hand, the electoral success of New Labour was in its ability to compromise with the electorate, rather than

"For all his flaws, one thing that can be said about Mr Corbyn was his profound ability to protest. [...] It certainly captivated the hearts of students across the country - for protesting is really at the heart of the university experience." campuses nationwide.

I think there are two reasons for this phenomenon, the first of which lies in the allure of protest. For all his flaws, one thing that can be said about Mr Corbyn was his profound ability to protest. Though this was not enough to get him into no.10, it certainly captivated the hearts of students across the country - for protesting is really at the heart of the university experience. University is a bohemian environment where resistance thrives.

Not limited to the political sphere, the resistive spirit of the university student is boundless.

Pictures of students doing what Corbynistas do best (holding placards) adorn the walls ofthe SU building. From dyed

becoming a self-celebrating protest party. Being idealistic is not necessarily bad in itself; as Bismarck said, “politics is the art of the possible”.

However, the rest of the quote is “…the attainable the art of the next best”. It is clear that “the possible” is only attainable through pragmatism and compromise.

Without compromise, Bismarck wouldn’t have unified Germany, and Labour certainly wouldn’t have entered government in 1997.

So, what links university students with this idealism?

Perhaps it’s our ability to be selfless. We’re cushioned by either Student Finance England or the bank of mum and dad, giving us the opportunity to think beyond our own

immediate needs. This form of rhetoric is not without its merits – it is in part to thank for Labour’s increase in popularity amongst the youth during the 2017 elections. However, as soon as we join the workforce and have commitments beyond an essay deadline, we compromise with our principles and favour practicality over lofty ideals. This is why the Tories, traditionally the party of incremental change, perform so well with the majority of the electorate.

The Corbyn obsession isn’t the only peculiarity to be found in LSE’s political scene. The other most notable eccentricity is the profound lack of a political scene at all. It seems that LSE’s political discourse is populated by a small but vocal minority who actually care and is avoided by the apathetic majority. LSE, which was once a hotbed for resistance and protest, seems to be devoid of the activism culture which is so innate to the university experience.

The cause of this is uncertain.

Perhaps it’s the transformation of the Students’ Union into an administrative body rather than a true student-run union is to blame, or perhaps corporate culture has finally triumphed.

The remedy for this must be at an institutional level; the university would certainly benefit from

a centralised SU-run debate platform, rather than the current arrangement - which involves individual societies piecing it together themselves.

This would not only help create a “campus community”, which LSE is so often criticised for not having, but would also be able to consolidate talent in one place, therefore attracting more high-profile speakers.

The recent progression of national politics is perhaps the best indicator of what lies ahead for LSE’s student politics. Starmer’s increased confidence combined with the recent ineptitude of a scandal-ridden Conservative party means a Labour majority at the next general election is becoming increasingly certain. The Corbynite faction, Momentum, struggled to get their motions passed at the recent party conference, and the National Executive Committee elections yielded mostly moderate candidates.

It would therefore seem as though things are looking bad for the Corbynistas. With their inability to compromise they have two options: join the Marxists in ideological obscurity, or the Lib Dems in the political wilderness.

Scan the QR code above to check out the Beaver Breakdown podcast and find out more details

10 Opinion The grind must stop: study drugs are the symptom of toxic hustle culture Serena Yoon Contributor Illustrated by Charlie To

I

f you have an important exam coming up in a few weeks, you might make an effort to wake up earlier than usual, eat healthier, or do more exercise to optimise your performance. However, abuse of prescription medication when preparing for exams is becoming increasingly common - you might be familiar with its colloquial name: ‘study drugs’ (i.e., Adderall, Ritalin, Modafinil, and more).

According to a report by the Times, students from top universities – including those from LSE – are “routinely using performance-enhancing ‘study drugs’ to prepare for exams”. So-called ‘study drugs’ are prescription medications used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or narcolepsy, through artificially increasing dopamine levels in the brain to temporarily improve alertness and concentration. Taking a few tablets is supposed to help you work better, study harder, and become less distracted.

However, the purported effects

making study-drug users more susceptible to addiction and various mental health side effects. This raises the question: why are we so willing to undergo all these risks for a few hours of hyper-focused productivity?

The pressure to succeed is ever increasing for university students. The hostile job market, expensive school fees,

culture comes at the cost of every other aspect of being a human. If you’re sleeping, surely 3 hours is more than enough; if you’re eating, it's ‘work fuel’. God forbid you’re having fun, as that’ll set you back 6 more hours in the library tomorrow. Because hustle culture puts so much emphasis on being productive all the time, you might find it hard to enjoy hobbies and you may even feel guilty when partaking in activities without academic outcomes, something that will certainly take an enormous toll on one’s mental health.

stigma associated with admitting to usage, makes facts difficult to come by. Yet, personal stories shed light on the acute fear permeating student bodies.

reliance on these drugs echo the unrealistic expectations students set on themselves to be ‘superhuman’ in their academic abilities.

An astounding number of LSE students feel a sense of impostor syndrome, constantly doubting their place in the university. It’s not hard to see how such an attitude gives rise to the attraction for a seemingly harmless drug, particularly if it promises you enhanced cognitive abilities.

‘crash’ a few hours later, often including a low mood, feelings of nausea, hyperventilation and shaking.

overdose, and detrimental impacts to mental health.

Ultimately, the colloquial name ‘study drugs’ should not fool you: at the end of the day, these are prescription medications Indeed, this ‘hustle culture’ intended for treatment purposes, seems to have even trickled down not as a casual ‘boost’ for a into high school environments - distressing Monday.

I remember many of my peers taking study drugs, such as While it’s true that ‘hustling’ can concerta, for the sake of getting prove an effective motivator, it’s more revision time prior to worth questioning this mindset their IB exams. It leads one to when it leads to doping yourself doubt the possibility that good on study drugs for a competitive academic outcomes justify the edge. It’s beyond time for hustle use of these drugs, as long as it culture to change; our academic allows you to be ten steps ahead success simply cannot come at of others. Yet, this would often the expense of our physical and It’s also worth noting that over- come at the cost of a painful mental health.

“The misuse of study drugs is likely to be a symptom of our addiction to 'hustle' rather than a simple trend. [...] In a lifestyle where academic life takes centre stage, hustle culture comes at the cost of every other “It’s not hard to see how such an attitude gives rise to the attraction for a seemingly aspect of being human.” harmless drug, particularly if it promises of these ‘study drugs’ have been increasing living costs - you you enhanced cognitive abilities.” contested scientifically. Studies can’t afford to mess things up! have repeatedly disproven the link between ‘study drugs’ and increased performance in exams, invalidating any scientific basis for their misuse. In effect, whilst these medications may make some ‘feel’ more alert, they do not improve integral skills such as test-taking or timemanagement that are needed for better academic performance.

Additionally, repeated abuse of study drugs by individuals without ADHD or narcolepsy carries a strong likelihood of lower natural dopamine production in the future,

The misuse of study drugs is likely to be a symptom of our addiction to ‘hustle’ rather than a simple trend.

Also known as grind culture, hustle culture refers to a lifestyle or mindset that encourages overworking in the pursuit of success – sound familiar? LSE is known for its notoriously intense working environment and high standards (you only need to look at how many LSE students have a Pret subscription to know that they are in the library 24/7).

In a lifestyle where academic life takes centre stage, hustle

Similarly, anonymous testimonies in the student publication Varsity reveal the painful consequences after taking Adderall: “your mind goes from focused to even worse than it was before.” It’s clear that the dangerous drive to succeed is placing students in the position to abuse potent The lack of long-term research drugs, creating the potential into study drugs, alongside the for medical complications,

Opinion 11

LSE is a university, not a corporation Liv Kessler Contributor Illustrated by Charlie To

L

SE students are experiencing first-hand the marketisation of universities. Taking corporations as a model, universities have become obsessed with their brand and image, as products for future investment. Indeed, a direct link could be drawn between poor student experience and increasing marketisation - a link which is particularly apparent at LSE, where student satisfaction has always

additional issue of moving the conversation away from targeting the more systemic issue protested - i.e. fair and equitable hiring practices.

Management’s focus on marketisation is further made clear by their similarly superficial focus in the realm of mental health. One new initiative of the past Summer Term was Mental Health Week, which boasted a series of events like pottery classes and promoted LSE’s mental health services - a school bus of fun. They even brought puppies in front of the library. Along with those

"I believe that LSE has a particular place

in the marketisation of universities: the people who shape the school from the top come from corporate backgrounds themselves." been notoriously low.

Marketisation was made especially clear in the 2022 Lent Term town hall. On paper, this was an opportunity for LSE students to meet and converse with the full board of directors.

However, to me, it revealed why new management was brought to LSE and what they have sought out to build: a corporation. They are simply here to improve the school’s image and capitalise on it. I didn’t know at the time, but this was only the second town hall LSE had organised, the first being in the Lent term of 2020, only a few weeks before from the first national lockdown. The novelty of these meetings show that new ways of interacting with students were being brought to LSE. Even then, I don’t think they were really listening to us.

In reality, this town hall gave LSE management a chance to shift the blame and reject the systemic nature of the issues students wanted to address.

This was particularly apparent in the Management’s response to the discussion centred around strikes - deemed a ‘risky’ subject. The topic was instead treated almost entirely from the perspective of student compensation, a largely impossible project. This created the

awful “You’ve got this” posters in the library, these initiatives (the town hall, Mental Health week) are a part of Management’s larger goal to show that they support students beyond academics. The problem is that these changes are ultimately ineffective in combating the lack of support for students struggling with mental illness.

I believe that LSE has a particular place in the marketisa-

tion of universities: the people who shape the school from the top come from corporate backgrounds themselves. To understand this, one needs to look no further than our director. In 2017, Baroness Minouche Shafik was appointed as Director of LSE, with a new managerial vision. For context, Baroness Shafik has had an impressive career prior to her work at LSE. She has crafted a reputation as a breaker of glass ceilings, an innovator, a modern woman of the world.

As pointed out in her official LSE directorate page, ”by the age of 36, (she) had become the youngest ever Vice President of the World Bank.” Her last job before becoming LSE director was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Though she has taught at various universities, including Georgetown University in Washington DC, the bulk of her career was made in the corporate world of international institutions.

sible to its lower level employees. The faraway stage, the many rows of (mostly empty) chairs and the towering screen above us all felt like what I imagine company-wide conferences to be, as opposed to a platform for collaborative discussions. It seems that Minouch’s presence has translated into these new initiatives. These in turn help boost faltering student satisfaction ratings and improve LSE’s overall University ranking. As noted in an article posted on the school website, the rates of student satisfaction have been steadily rising since its low in 2018. The fact being that student quality of life within the university doesn’t need to improve at a deeper level for the rating to go up. Rather than making expensive, but necessary, investments for the minorities who need it most, LSE is superficially investing in the majority of its students.

Another aspect of the image

"However, my problem with many of these changes is that rather than addressing systemic issues, they perform change in student life. ” This was something I could sense at the Town Hall. In many ways it felt like a corporate conference, generously made acces-

driven obsession are projects like the Marshall Building. Shiny new buildings are much easier to market to the world than a suffi-

ciently pensioned sociology department. The prioritisation of superficial, but expensive, material improvements to the school often comes at the expense of long term investment in academics, students, and their voices.

The increased involvement of the LSE directorate in the lives of their students can be seen as a way to improve this much sought student satisfaction.

However, my problem with many of these changes is that rather than addressing systemic issues, they perform change in student life. It’s much easier to post on social media about how wonderful LSE is for having a Mental Health Week, than to provide sufficient funding to the LSE Disability and Wellbeing Service. This shift is profoundly changing what students expect of their university and how their needs are met. Instead of being provided with an education, we are being provided with an academic experience.

12 Opinion

Beaver Sound 13

Italian voting system fails the youth Simona Gallo Contributor Image sourced from The Washington Post

O

n 25 September 2022, Italian citizens voted for their new government in the general election. The party of Giorgia Meloni "Fratelli D'Italia", Italian for "Italian Brothers", won with a majority, by 26,24%. This implies that Italian Brothers will have the greatest number of seats, 199 in the Chamber and 66 in the Senate respectively.

The result of the election makes Giorgia Meloni the first Italian female premier, and it will be her duty to build the government that will face one of the most dramatic and unstable Italian economic realities to date.

It would all seem very straightforward from here, yet, there is a dark reality behind the Italian voting system. In every election, young voters are disenfranchised, and in this year’s election Italy has hit the highest rate of abstention on-record.

Only 64% of Italian citizens voted, the lowest percentage voter turnout compared to the data from the last ten years. If we look closer, we can see that the majority of those who abstained were young people: 36% of young adults under 30 did not vote. The reasons behind such dramatic abstention are two-fold.

Firstly, the Italian system does not allow people to vote outside their city of legal residence. For instance, students who have legal residence in Rome can vote only in Rome, so if they are currently studying in Milan, their only option is to take a plane or a train (at their expense) to go back to Rome to vote and return the same day (fortunately elections are held on Sundays!).

Do not make the mistake of thinking this problem affects just students, all workers employed or living in different cities suffer the same problem.

Even Italian President Sergio Mattarella had to fly back to Sicily to vote - no one is spared! Of course, people with financial stability who can meet these high expenses still have a chance to vote.

On the other hand, such a voting structure entirely impedes people with a lower income from exercising their constitutional right. Namely, Article 48 in the Italian constitution states clearly that the right to vote is a core democratic principle, and it is the government’s responsibility to make it happen. In reality, approximately 5 million citizens with the right to vote had no choice but to abstain.

Of all European countries (except for Malta and Cyprus), Italy is the only country that has not updated its electoral system. As one would expect, ignoring a third of the population has significant consequences.

Indeed, the second reason behind such colossal abstention is that young people do not feel considered as part of the political decision making process.

stance, the environment, technological innovations, career opportunities and social justice were given minimal consideration.

Today, the younger generations have different visions and hopes for their future, some of which have been entirely dismissed by most parties, led by older generations. Indeed, during political campaigns, a majority of Millennials and Gen Z reported to have been unsatisfied by the quality of discussion on topics they consider essential. For in-

As a matter of fact, the political passion of the young Italians created the committee 'o Voto da fuori sede", which means "I vote out of my city", with the aim to change this unfair electoral system. And guess what?

One of the first letters from this committee was addressed precisely to Giorgia Meloni, who at the time was the Minister

New generations are waiting for significant changes in the political mentality. Shutting down new ideas and modern perspectives always leads to stagnation.

Italy should aim for modernisation. In order to achieve this, politicians should close their TikTok accounts and truly listen to the voice of younger citizens.

In fact, from the EU Youth Policy Strategy data, we know for a fact that young people do care about politics. In Italy, young adults (15-35 years old) have one of the highest percentages of “political interest” in social activities and innovative creations.

of Youth in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth government. Since 2010, "I vote out of my city" has always been ignored.

However, on several occasions during Giorgia Meloni’s campaign, she affirmed that now politicians must take responsibility and better represent all Italian citizens, including the minorities. In her 2022 political manifesto, she promises to create “more space for the new generation” (n.7) and to defend everyone’s “freedom, dignity and choice” (n.12). We can expect that after 12 years she will make amends with young people by keeping her promises.

Unfortunately, the incoherences in her party’s ideology raises many doubts. In my opinion, the first ministers nominated by Giorgia Meloni could seriously threaten the 'fair representation' of citizens within political institutions.

In fact, the new speaker of the Senate Ignazio La Russa and the speaker of the Chamber Lorenzo Fontana are historically right-wing extremists, who during all their careers have fought to reject LGBTQ+ community integration, abol-

ish abortion and many other horrific policies.

Italian citizens can only hope that somehow this government will be effective. It is likely that Giorgia Meloni's victory would have happened in any case.

However, from now on, when we talk about young people being withdrawn from politics, we should really ask ourselves, are young people the disinterested ones or is it politics that is excluding them? Nevertheless, young people will not stop fighting to shape the world according to their ideology, after all, we are the future!

SOCIAL

Pretty good pasta #2

by JACK BEECHING

EDITED BY CARMEL LLOYD, LIV KESSLER & MATT SUDDLOW

The Cultural Fanatic’s Guide to London Vol. 2

by LIV KESSLER & illustrated by CHARLIE TO Once you’ve hit the National gallery, The Tate Modern and the British Museum, where do you go? What unites all cultural fanatics is the unquenchable thirst for new things to see and explore. In this recurring feature, The National Opera I know this may seem like a highbrow and elitist recommendation, but hear me out.

The National Opera gives out free seats for under 21 year olds on most of their shows. The sign-up process takes a couple of days but is definitely worth it to get to witness some of the best opera in London. Don’t worry if you’re over 21, you get significant discounts on most shows if you’re under 35! The shows are funny and heartbreaking. With detailed costumes and sets, and glorious singing to top it all off. Finally, can you really refuse an opportunity to dress up to go to the opera, all for free? I think not.

The Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) may cost you a bit more - in the sense that it is, unfortunately, not free - but is definitely also worth the detour. A mere 10 minutes away from LSE and in the heart of Covent Garden, the ROH is perhaps even more stunning than the National Opera. If the whole opera thing isn’t your cup of tea but you still want an opportunity to dress up and feel fancy, the ROH also houses the Royal Ballet. Keep your eyes peeled for tickets, as they go fast. I highly recommend The Nutcracker ballet if you want to make your inner four year old happy. Or if you need a place for a fancy date. The Young ROH scheme means most tickets go for £25 for under 25 year olds. You can also find £6 tickets, though you may not see much of the stage. Don’t be fooled by low prices - sometimes, if it’s too good to be true, it’s a standing ticket.

After my debut recipe’s warm reception, I’ve been asked to share more pasta dishes.

This one’s incredibly simple: it takes around 15 minutes. It’s also pretty tasty; I make it weekly. Enjoy.

Garlic and prawn pasta Ingredients (serves one): 125g pasta. 200g frozen prawns (preferably raw). Olive oil. A few cloves of garlic. One chili. Salt. Pepper. Basil. Lemon juice.

1. Finely chop the garlic and chili. Start cooking the pasta.

2. Sauté the garlic and chili in a large pan with lots of olive oil.

3. When the garlic starts to brown, add the prawns. These should cook in around 7 minutes.

4. Once cooked, add the pasta to the pan and mix well to coat in oil.

5. Serve with salt, pepper, basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

CHECK OUT OUR L AT E S T A RT I C L E S

Horror-scopes

by VANEEZA JAWAD & illustrated by CHARLIE TO Scorpio Okay: it felt too good to be true, and you fell for it. You know exactly what I’m talking about.

At least this’ll give you the perfect opportunity to self-victimise, which we all know is your second favourite hobby — right after mentally capturing your friends’ concerned faces after your regularly scheduled, nonchalant trauma dumps. This is your birthday present from the universe. Yay!

Leo We are literally in the midst of a cost of living crisis. I’m going to need you to lock your Apple Pay and live like a normal person. Also, there’s nothing wrong with your hair: this is objectively the worst time to change up your appearance. Wait till Christmas.

Virgo With Mercury retrograding, you’ve been in and out of hell this month. And guess what? It gets worse! You may end up saying some hurtful things this week — yes, worse than usual — if you’re not constantly on guard. It sounds exhausting, I know, but it’s the universe’s way of reminding you what you truly are: mean!

Libra I don’t know how to put this nicely, but you need to get over whatever you’ve been obsessing over and put that energy into actually writing your formatives, because it’s not looking good right now. This week, be careful who you share your feelings with. Not everyone wants the best for you.

Sagittarius You’ve had a good month so far these transits have somehow allowed you to experience life as someone with slick communication skills, which you’ve obviously wasted on being the most annoying person in all of your classes.

Like, we get it. You’ve been doing your readings. That’s all about to change, though: Jupiter, your ruling planet, begins its month-long retrograde on the 28th, so enjoy these last few days of feeling normal. Well, as normal as you can feel as a Sagittarius.

Capricorn Guess what? The worst is over! You can finally come out of your little protective, monogrammed cocoon this week. The bad news is, you’ve effectively been replaced by your talking stage. Who knew not texting back has its ramifications?

Well, now you know!

Aquarius If — by some miracle of nature — you manage to secure a Halloween party invite despite how you’ve been treating your friends, stick to what you know and go as a ghost. Your last situationship is doing infinitely better than you. Why not reach out again and ruin their life a little? It’s only what you do best.

Pisces If there’s anyone who should spend reading week reading, it’s you. You’ve been avoiding work a little too much, and it’s bound to catch up with you. This week, try not to run after people. Allow yourself to be chased, even though no one’s interested.

Aries You’ve been louder than usual lately and it’s making people like you more. Who would’ve thought? Certainly not us. You might feel the urge to be more vocal about how you feel about a relationship you’re in. It may be hurtful, but you need to say it. Things are going to get so, so, so much worse before they get better.

Taurus First of all, stop spending so much on things you don’t need. Why do you have a whole Pret subscription to yourself? Split it with your friends like a normal person. How you plan this month affects everything. Ask yourself; do I want to graduate with a first or a third? And then do what it takes to get what you want.

Gemini Not to sound too gleeful, but this isn’t anxiety; you’re absolutely correct to feel this way. Something’s going to happen at work and you’re going to hate it.

Fortunately, you were born to thrive in the most annoying of circumstances.

Make a little ruckus, as a treat.

Cancer Tonight’s full moon in Scorpio is bound to reopen old family wounds, but when has that ever truly bothered you? Allow yourself to be emotional this week, but do it with discipline. Stop ignoring the inner work you’ve been putting off.

Nothing else is going to satisfy you.

WRITE FOR SOCIAL So here we are, the second issue of the year. The social section is edited by Carmel Lloyd and Liv Kessler, and it’s going to be iconic. There’s going to be fashion, food, life hacks, gossip, humour, socials…

Fashion articles can be about what people are wearing on campus or current student trends. Life hacks can be eco-friendly or student-friendly (basics for living in halls or in shared flats for the first time, your best panini press recipes, hacks for cleaning a gross pan...). Any kind of gossipy/LSE life humour (your Tuns experience on a Tuesday night, the best deal in the old building 4th floor cafeteria ...) or even LSE stereotypes (finance bros seem to be an inexhaustible subject right?)

If you are interested in writing about any of these subjects, reach out to Liv and Carmel on slack or at l.kessler1@lse.ac.uk and c.lloyd4@lse.ac.uk.

REVIEW

Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City

by SOPHIA APPL SCORZA

EDITED BY BEN HELME

Syed Zaid Ali’s All Time Best: 22, A Million by Bon Iver

Our immersion into a world of gods and mortals starts in a dimly lit bar, wrapped in red velvet. Lamps drench the space in hypnotising blue as wobbly wine glasses surprisingly bounce back when toasting. From the very beginning, we are lulled into the comfortable confusion of a dream, following strange creatures into the maze of The Burnt City.

For my all-time best, I’ve decided to go with Bon Iver’s third studio album 22, A Million. With its innovative sound and poetic lyricism, this album has stuck with me since its release in 2016. This album plays with textures which serve to build a unique sonic palette, shifting the band’s style away from their folksy roots. For instance, the processed saxophone of “____45_____”, and the heavy, distorted bass of “10 d E A T h b R E a s T” would have been out of place on a record like For Emma, Forever Ago. The production even gives meaning to the words sung; the glitchy effects on the vocals near the end of “29 #Strafford APTS” (“You’ve buried all your alimony butterflies”) suggest the effects of grief and anxiety. Frontman Justin Vernon also explores ideas of finding one’s self, especially with regards to religion – the opening track asks, “Where you gonna look for confirmation?”

Vernon’s lyrics have summed up my past experiences in more ways than I can count. Perhaps they even shape my future, as I have no doubt that I’ll keep finding pieces of myself throughout this record for years to come.

Expectations were high when it came to the new production of Punchdrunk, which is viewed by many as the best immersive theatre company in the world.

Drawing on two ancient Greek plays, Euripides’ Hecuba and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, the production sets out to explore the topoi of the Iliad. From the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia to her revenge, we are taken on a journey through a dark wonderland that is best described as a ballet performance within a massive art installation.

Image from Pitchfork

It would take more than one visit to uncover the treasures hidden in the vast exhibit at One Cartridge Place, Woolwich, where every corner from Clytemnestra’s royal dormitory to the precarious flats of the Trojans is designed with full commitment to detail. The manifold spaces composing the exhibition are undeniably the protagonists of the production. Most remarkably, echoing the “Walled City” of Kowloon, Hongkong, once the most densely populated place on earth, Troy comes to life as a gigantic beehive of narrow streets, stairs and Chinese lamps.

Among the dance performers inhabiting this cabinet of curiosities, the women set the pace. Even as simultaneous scenes are occurring, it is hard to look away from Omagbitse Omagbemi (Clytemnestra), an incarnation of a cunning, archaic female strength. Omagbemi’s dance following Iphigenia’s murder is dripping with palpable pain, desperation and desire for revenge. This exquisitely contrasts with the transparent weightlessness of Yilin Kong’s (Kassandra) absent gaze and light movements, which create a figure seamlessly transcending between material reality and a silent world behind objects and bodies.

While our senses are continuously absorbed by the magnetic swirl of dancers, scenes and objects vying for our attention with ever more astonishing choreography and detail, at the exit excitement drops and gives way to a sense of incomplete satisfaction.

It seems like depth of meaning has been traded off for the sake of spectacle.

The over-the-top live interpretation of the Eurythmics song Sweet Dreams at the bar adds to this feeling.

Key questions remain unanswered. Is that all there is to the epos of Troy, a dream, immersing us in “a mythical world of gods and mortals”? Why had the myth of Troy, dated to the 8th century BC, interested the directors today? How should we interpret the strong images, such as that of a half-naked, bloodstained Polyxena (Chihiro Kawasaki) hanging by her feet? It is difficult to find any clue to these questions in the production. If you are an admirer of Greek mythology and its many contemporary interpretations, The Burnt City may leave you disappointed.

While it lacks a clear, original take on the story, Punchdrunk’s new production remains outstanding. It is the most ambitious and impressive production in terms of its atmospheric scenery, aesthetic, and immersive quality that I have encountered.

Scan the QR code to check out the Beaver Breakdown podcast and find out more about this piece!

Despite the thin storytelling, The Burnt City is among the truly unique and unmissable experiences London has to offer.

Felix Barrett, artistic director and company founder once said Punchdrunk aims to “create work that leaves you spinning and seeing stars.” If this was the mission, it has been more than accomplished.

Athena

by JEREMY RICKETTS-HAGAN

Don’t Worry Darling

by RACHEL PONTING

Athena is best summarised by the quote used at the end of its first trailer.

“It is difficult to fight anger, for a man will buy revenge with his soul.”

This concept resonates throughout the film, and is particularly relevant when considering the fate of our main protagonists.

Athena is the third feature film of French director Romain Gavras. It is set within the titular Athena, an inner city neighbourhood of Paris. It revolves around the unjust killing of a young teenager of Algerian descent, Idir, allegedly by the French police. It deals with the riotous movements that follow it. The riots are orchestrated by Karim, the older brother of Idir. They are being thwarted by the brutal police regime of metropolitan Paris and by Abdel, another of Idir’s older brothers.

It’s hard to overstate how stunning this film is. Much of Athena is filmed through extended shots, with sequential cuts every 15-20 minutes creating chapters within the film. Every frame feels like a Renaissance painting, as the architecturally cold yet lively inner-city suburb is beautifully portrayed through sweeping, tracking camerawork. This directorial style, coupled with the ominous orchestral score of the artist Gener8ion, creates a grand atmosphere which highlights the tense and antagonistic relationship between the youth of Athena and the police authorities.

Gavras is perhaps best known for his direction of the Kanye West x Jay Z music video No Church in the Wild. In Athena, Garvas builds upon this past work, creating an expressive image of a grand rebellion.

Thematically, Athena is a beautiful addition to French anti-authority filmography, popularised by films such as La Haine (1995) and Gang Of The Caribbean (2016).

I really enjoyed how this film uses the individual members of the grieving family as archetypes for the POC immigrant experience. Karim, our main protagonist, is portrayed as a revolutionary figure. He is tired of the corruption and racism that befalls his community and has a charismatic personality that draws legions of inner-city youth to his cause. He is young, wise, and yet undoubtedly rash. His ideological viewpoint is directly opposed by his older brother, Abdel, who is a member of the French military. Though it is clear that Abdel feels the pain of his brother’s death and sympathises with Karim’s movement, he is the quintessential “work through the system” type of character that those from marginalised communities are all too familiar with.

Athena is an excellent watch. Not only as an investigation of the inner-city tension that still permeates within discriminated communities in France, but also as a cinematically poignant tale of a family in the midst of a theoretical and very literal war.

Plus, it’s only like 90 mins. I promise you’ve got time.

Image from IMDb From rumours of Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde falling out on set to Harry Styles supposedly spitting on Chris Pine at its Venice Film Festival premiere, there has been a lot of online buzz surrounding the release of Don’t Worry Darling. This drama between the all-star cast is what motivated me to watch the film. Yet, as I hadn’t seen any of Olivia Wilde’s other works, I had no idea what to expect.

I was pleasantly surprised. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique and costume designer Arianne Phillips beautifully portray life in Victory, the seemingly utopian desert town in which the film is set.

This town appears to be an antiquated suburban dream - whilst the men leave each day to work on a top-secret project, their wives spend their days cooking, cleaning and socialising in apparent luxury. This idyllic life, though, is not as it seems. The film follows Florence Pugh’s Alice as she uncovers the ugly truth of the Victory Project. Pugh’s amazing performance anchors the movie, as she flawlessly portrays the breakdown of her reality.

The social commentary is astute and impactful. Wilde successfully illustrates the dangerous role that technology can play in upholding the patriarchy, a warning which is especially relevant in the context of the growing popularity of misogynistic male influencers such as Andrew Tate.

That being said, the plot felt poorly executed. The major reveal about the Victory Project comes in the final act of the film and makes the ending feel rushed– I was left with questions, but not in a good way.

Kiki Layne, who plays Margaret, has revealed that many of her scenes were cut from the film, which could explain some of the plot inconsistencies. However, it’s unclear whether this is also the case for Gemma Chan. Her character Shelley’s baffling actions at the end of the film remain unexplained.

The acting at times was questionable as well. After seeing that viral excerpt of Styles shouting, I’d braced myself for the worst. But ultimately, I don’t think he’s a terrible actor. In fact, his character work is strong, and he and Florence Pugh had undeniable on-screen chemistry. However, he definitely wasn’t the best man for the role and his performance at times felt flat and uncomfortable, especially when contrasted with Pugh’s.

WRITE FOR REVIEW!

Image from The Times

WEEKLY MEETINGS 3 PM, FRIDAYS IN THE MEDIA CENTRE. DISCUSS FILM, MUSIC, THEATRE, BOOKS, ETC. WE’RE NOT PICKY.

PART B

EDITED BY ANOUK PARDON

Hi there! How are you doing on the bookshelf?

by SALLY ZHANG & illustrated by XI CHEN

Have you ever wondered whether there might be a soul living inside a book?

I’m not trying to start a religious discussion or invent an Aladdin-esque myth, it’s just that this question has gradually entered my mind in recent years and made me wonder about what it really means to own a book.

As a book lover, I couldn’t wait to go to the Old Book Festival once I moved to Kyoto. Unlike modern book fairs, the old book festival in Kyoto is held in the open space of a temple. Often in autumn, on the first morning of the book fair before all the bookselling begins, the temple holds a ceremony for old books.

The monks chant sutras to express their gratitude to these old, dusty, and forgotten books that are relics of the past, and respectfully tell them that they may soon have new owners. The books become both the subject and the object of the ritual, their souls are consoled while their physical presence is offered up.

The idea that everything has a spirit is ingrained in Japanese culture. The assumption that books are inhabited by souls in need of consolation has stayed with me for a long time.

At first, I couldn’t help but imagine that, like in Toy Story, the books on my bookshelf might talk to each other at night. Maybe Leviathan would complain that I am a pseudo-intellectual and that I have never read more than ten pages.

Maybe Neruda’s poem collection would lament about how I lost his cover.

Maybe the books read each other, and talk to each other about literature, philosophy and history and go to gatherings together, like a literal ‘book club’.

I don’t mean to turn this into a delusional piece of crappy science fiction, the more realistic dimension of this idea lies in the moment I open the books. Whenever I buy a book from a bookshop, I always find something between its pages.This makes me wonder if the bookshop owner slipped it in there on purpose. Moreover, when I open books that I haven’t read in a long time on my own shelves, I always find something in them as well. For example, during the pandemic when I started rereading many of my books I found a postcard from my major crush in secondary school, a list of books that I had made for myself for no reason, and tons of notes I passed in class. I’m not sure whether the soul of the book inhabits whatever is sandwiched between its pages, but these objects do have this secret ability to suggest what made me (or the former owner of the book) happy or sad when we read it. Their cues are so pertinent and so subtle that they transcend time and space, connecting many parallel universes in this single moment when we open the book.

Each reading is so different, but there is always some emotion that connects them, an emotion that is ineffable, embodied by what is in between the pages and stirred by the little piece of soul caught in the book.

I read somewhere that today’s technological advances will make books last much, much longer than a human’s lifespan, so that the books on our shelves today will exist in silence long after we are gone. I don’t know how they will speak to other souls in the future. I don’t know if the traces of me reading them will become parts of their soul, something to be discovered by future humans or non-humans. I don’t even know if books are inhabited by souls or not, but by contemplating this idea, I think I have opened the books on my shelves more often. For perhaps, like all souls in the world, they need to be constantly affirmed of their existence in order to dispel the insecurity that surrounds them; and to affirm their existence, they need to be acknowledged, so that they can be remembered and never truly disappear.

The man who painted with his heart

by EMMA DO

“This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.”

This lyric, written by Don McLean in Vincent, has been echoing in my head since the first time that I heard the song. Even before I understood the story of the unfortunate, incredibly talented artist, I was still deeply touched by its meaning. Vincent Van Gogh was an extraordinary and gifted being- but a troubled soul. He had done so much, had gone so far in life, yet he was unable to witness the impact and the inspiration he left behind for future generations.

Van Gogh’s father described him as a redheaded boy who always looked glum and shunned away from people. Being distant from a young age, it seemed that all that mattered to Vincent Van Gogh was nature. The hours spent wandering in the woods and seeing everything throbbing with life became the boy’s earliest moments of happiness and laid the foundation for his creativity. Nature was his muse, and during his darkest time, it was flowers and the sunshine that kept him going.

Growing up, Vincent found no home in the places he had lived, the jobs he had worked, or the people he had met. He was wounded with unsaid love, broken promises and unpleasant truths that all individuals with tender hearts are fragile to. Constantly battling depression and being confined by religion growing up, Vincent was unable to express his raw feelings, and no one seemed to open up to him either. His only salvation was art.

Starry night over the Rhone was painted in 1888, showing a lovely couple strolling down the bank of the Rhone river under a peaceful starry night. When looking at the picture, one notices how Vincent made a vague distinction between water and sky. He added heavy layers of visible brush strokes using his usual intense blue palette. They are thick, dark and short and look as if he made them in a hurry. All the boats seem to have emerged into the sad night sky.

Starry Night Over the Rhone can inspire various interpretations in the viewers: a calm, peaceful night along the river, or a contemplation of Vincent’s depression. The painting - like - is melancholic and the vagueness of it could represent Van Gogh drowning in the darkness of his mind.

Throughout his life, Vincent Van Gogh put up with loneliness, isolation, and misunderstanding. Nonetheless, he stayed true to his values and deeply cared for others. He found comfort in teaching a little boy how to hold the paintbrush, and even companionship when crows picked up his bread crumbs. Art was a means to express how life was for him, full of madness, greed, sorrow, hope and beauty; it consoled him. Nonetheless, he always managed to look on the bright side of life, even when he was at his most vulnerable. This can be seen in the choice of luminous and golden colours in his paintings.

Yet, loneliness was a feeling he could not overcome. Overwhelmed by sadness and societal pressure, Vincent Van Gogh took his own life at the young age of 37, as his career was barely starting.

The pain, the sorrow and the burden Van Gogh bore went unknown to many.

The appreciation he deserved only came long after his death, when people started to listen to his stories, and eventually found comfort in his honest words.

There was more to Van Gogh’s legacy than his paintings. It was his faith, his unfiltered soul, and the unwavering passion to pursue his dreams. Vincent showed us that love can go to great lengths, and that falling in love with life, or someone, is about breaking, growing, healing and becoming.

behind glass

Written & illustrated by CHARLIE TO saltwater rippled and stirred. we flung pebbles at imaginary foes, so they’d leave us alone. that was summer held still, dying sun and dulcet breeze, birds warbling in the heat. later three gods rose and kept watch unwaveringly. ringed hand waved and all gave to a tapestry of fantasy: millions twinkling and pulsing like questions, while Sagittarius crept up behind the bringer of wonder, you. joy pierced like a matador. summer’s bright howl, now infinite, is in snaps and clicks. soon the leaves will start to fall: i guard my thoughts of you carefully (i guard my thoughts of you carefully)

Untitled

by K.A.JAMES & illustrated by FAY QIAN

standing as guard around the field relaxed. Yet, nature’s religious zeal could not pry open the insurmountable defences that locked away your feelings. We pressed on as the gap grew wider between us. The wind’s whistle spoke but the deafening silence did not break its resolve. It only felt right to break it.

Don’t you remember?

“I look at you and you never seem to be happy. I don’t understand.”

The summer breeze whistled by the both of us. Your hands were clenched to soft wings of straw, woven to the hat that latched onto your head. Around the brim was a congregation of flowers that you picked: jasmine, tulips, lilies, and daffodils. White played with pink and yellow mixed with rose in the summer glaze. Strips of sand bleached hair slipped down your shoulders, beaming its own radiant light. You always said you liked that hat.

“I’m happy. Who said I wasn’t? You look at me and believe you understand everything there is to see. You want to understand in your own special way,” you said.

You do remember, right?

The jade waves of grass folded and crushed with every step of ours; a ripple first washed through the dense blades, then came the violent crash between skin and earth, crushing the grass from head to toe. The summer breeze was there too, running in its predestined course. The supple leaves above our heads swayed in rhythm with the run of the wind. The wildlife felt it. That bee (I think it was a bee) almost stung my ear! You laughed, surprising yourself, and looked away again. The field ahead stretched out for miles, an endless expanse of emerald. Sure, it was beautiful. It wasn’t enough to rid the hazy look set in your eyes.

You really don’t remember?

In the second that lasted for minutes, raw passion and longing desire fused in an exotic mix, beating down on any remaining sense. I wanted more. More was longing for your clear blue eyes to settle onto mine. More was the soft touch of your hand to brush against mine, skin on skin, finger interlocked with finger. Perhaps, more was just to hear the slightest whisper, a fragment of sound, to leave your locked lips.

Your mouth formed abstract shapes, smiling and frowning, as the words that tumbled out meshed into a shield. A toxic mix of want and need leaked onto the surface. My eyes darting, yours steady.

Strands of blonde hair settled softly past your ear, collecting to cast its shadow around your cheeks.

The silver-grey clouds dared not appear; the emerald plains below our feet danced to the tune of the breeze; the towering trees

“You respond but you never talk. You have this far-away look in your eyes. It’s just me, singing my words to the void. I want to hear about your mornings or the random little things that make your heart flutter. I want to hear about what you draw or the flower that you like the most.”

“None of that concerns you. How I feel isn’t something that you should feel obligated to know. I keep things to myself because I want to. What right do you have to pry into my life and claim it as yours too? You want someone who wants to talk on and on like a broken record,” you replied.

For the first time, songs of the mockingbirds fell to a quiet hush. Overcast clouds hammered down the blue gates, spilling into the plains. You spoke once more.

“You try so hard to bend the world to your will. It won’t begin to rain just because you wish to cast your anger into the world. Flowers will not rise in winter because your happiness wills it so. You look at me as another person to conquer. Being wrong is unthinkable to you. Like a child, you grab and claim everything as yours. What am I to do with you? Should I stand here and submit to you with open arms? Is that what you want? Perhaps it’s better if I slip on the mask of the woman you think I am and play her role like an actor on a stage. You believe that an open sky or the sun burning brightly is a sign of confirmation. Spurred by anger or love, the world around you should know it, right?”

You had spoken from the heart, spitting words of venom to me at the time.

You remember now...

Find the endof the shortstory on our website!

SPORT

EDITED BY NOAH POLL AND ALEX BOWLEY

The Lionesses’ Lasting Legacy

by ALEX BOWLEY

What were you doing on the evening of the 31st of July 2022? Well if you were not glued to your television watching Sarina Weigman’s women take home the Euro 2022 title then you missed a moment in history. England football’s first major trophy in 56 years, bringing joy to every England fan after generations of disappointment. A moment that will live long in the memory of a country deprived of footballing success, yet, this win goes deeper. This win will fulfill the age-old cliche of inspiring little girls up and down the country, but this tournament has also changed the mindset of the country.

When England last won a major trophy, in 1966, the England women’s football team did not exist. This tells the story of the struggle that women’s football has faced to exist, and now they aim to reach the dizzying heights of the men’s game.

The fight for equal pay and recognition is an ongoing one. Yet, recently there have been large strides made in the right direction with the USA national team having equal pay for men and women. Maybe after this Euros win England will follow in their footsteps.

The England women’s football team having success at major international tournaments is not a new phenomenon. In the 2019 world cup, the Lionesses reached the semi-final before losing to the eventual winner, the USA. What is unprecedented however is the amount of support that the 23-man squad received from the English public.

GIAGs: A First Year’s Opinion

by ALEX BOWLEY & illustrated by CHARLIE TO

Wakeboarding, lacrosse, squash. When attending the sports fair, I saw so many sports that I was intrigued by but didn’t see myself signed up for a whole year of.

This is where the Give It A Go (GIAG) comes in.

GIAGs are one-off sessions where anybody can come and attempt a sport (or any society). They require no previous experience in the activity and are a place where you can meet other people who are interested in trying out the sport.

So why are the GIAGs so successful in getting people to join? First, it gives the students a chance to experience a sport that would have been previously inaccessible to them. Either because they simply didn’t know the sport existed, or because of the fear of embarrassing themselves in front of fellow students who have been playing since before they could walk.

Wakeboarding has been on my bucket list for a long time. So when the opportunity to give it a go appeared I took it without a second thought. What an experience it was, thrilling and exhilarating. Without the GIAG I wouldn’t have been able to try out this sport which would have required lots of planning and research had I wanted to do it in my own free time.

Squash and lacrosse are both sports that I’ve seen played, normally in highlights on social media, but ones I thought I would be out of my depth in. So, I decided that the GIAGs would be my chance to try them out without any pressure of performing well. I was introduced to the sports and taught some of the basic skills without it feeling like I was being seen as an inconvenience.

The amount of coverage of the tournament is unprecedented, both on television and in written media. The semi-final between England and Sweden was watched by 11 million people, according to the BBC. These numbers are normally only seen for men’s matches.

One of the things that was noticeable is the amount of coverage the tournament got on social media. English players both past and present were vocal in their support on Twitter and other platforms. Helping bring the women’s game to an audience that perhaps would not have engaged with the tournament otherwise.

A surprising aspect of the tournament was that Instagram football pages were covered in memes and results of the Euros. This no doubt brought a new demographic to the women’s game.

Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Ellen White. Names now known by most of the nation.

Icons of the Lionesses win. These players will join the likes of Alex Scott and Fara Williams as role models for little girls and pillars of the game. The increased visibility of these women will hopefully promote the women’s game and show the younger generation that no matter who you are, the pinnacle of sports is achievable. Seeing these women on television and in the newspaper should show the next generation of girls that football is a sport for all, not just their brothers.

The Lionesses captured the attention of a country for one month, but the changes that they have brought will last a lot longer.

Changing the view on women’s football has allowed careless comments like that of Graeme Souness to be phased out of the language used around the game.

The Euro 2022 final didn’t go very well for Gary Lineker. His most famous quote, “Football is a simple game: 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and, in the end, the Germans always win,” was proved wrong on two accounts. Germany certainly did not win, and the ball was chased by 22 women.

My advice for anyone in the first few weeks of the year would be to attend as many GIAGs as you can. My first weeks were filled with them, I probably spent more time playing sports than I did in seminars. These events do not only allow you to try sports that you have never tried before but come with no added pressure as you are trying them out with people who also have little to no experience in the activity.

Meeting people when you are at your most vulnerable, after falling flat on your face wakeboarding, is just an added benefit of the GIAGs. It allows you to meet people who have similar interests and who are outside of your course or accommodation.

Put yourself out there, step out of your comfort zone, and give it a go.

I heard about Katherine from one of her rugby teammates, our beloved Executive Editor Aarti. Katherine plays rugby, she plays water polo, she plays tennis, she surfs, she boxes, she knows taekwondo, she has swam competitively from age 13 to 18, and she’s one of the winners of the iconic annual LSE Fight Night. How could anyone not be in awe of her? If some people remain to be convinced, just watch the video of her sensational boxing match at Fight Night – nothing more needs to be said.

Katherine grew up in a supportive environment where the sports culture was really big. She went to the Canadian International School of Hong Kong where she tried different sports. “Initially, I didn’t really know what my sport was. But over time, I really got into swimming - and competitive swimming - to a level where my coach was a former Olympian and my swim mates were national swimmers.”

Katherine started swimming when she was five, and then competitively from 13 to 18. Once she entered university, she ended up joining the water polo and rugby teams. “I eventually got into boxing because of Fight Night. But the first time I ever boxed was in a summer camp when I was 12. It felt so empowering at such a young age. But when I got back home, we didn’t have boxing really available. So, I did taekwondo for four year and got to red belt.” This was Katherine’s introduction to martial arts.

She started boxing seriously in January 2022, only three months prior to Fight Night. She’d heard about Fight Night and just found it to be really cool. She felt a bit late to the game but turned up to training consistently. “I was not expecting to fight, because I was on the reserve team.” Several weeks into training, Coach Lewis, the LSESU Boxing Team coach, saw potential in Katherine and asked her to fight. “At the moment, I wasn’t thinking: oh, I’m a month behind and I’ve only got two and a half months to prepare, which is really little. All I was thinking was: this is so exciting.”

As Fight Night approached, training got serious. The boxing team would meet three times a week to spar.

“Those are quite intense and require a lot of physical fitness and also are quite mentally challenging. Just to be comfortable being hit in the head and come back up to it in a positive way.” On top of additional fitness training twice a week, Katherine also trained on her own. She ended up training almost every day, “One time I went up to six hours a day, which is pushing it a bit.”

When she started, Katherine admitted she did not feel mentally ready to fight. “That took a while for me to get over. I was also quite skinny… I was quite intimidated by everyone else, but [that was] also a reason why I wanted to learn from everyone.” She emphasised that Coach Lewis was really supportive from the get go. “He really made mental health less of a difficult topic to talk about. Because he was so kind and open.”

Katherine also asked for feedback from the Boxing Society President and Vice President, Phil Saunes and Abu Miah. She felt very grateful that they were there for every step of the way. Katherine always felt very safe while training with the LSE boxing team. “Everyone is super kind to each other. And I was the one I’d say pushing myself, but no one else was pushing me to an extent where I felt uncomfortable.”

When training by herself, she started visualising fights a lot, and shadow boxing anytime and anywhere. “I remember once I just went into the corridors in the library, hid myself in the bookshelves and then just started shadowboxing.”

Katherine was motivated by her friends’ constant support and her own determination to feel more confident. She felt scared of being in front of everyone during Fight Night and was going through family problems at the time. “I kind of used boxing as an outlet to really prove to myself that I’m worth it… I’m still good enough… I’ll show it to everyone.”

best], it can be temporary. But you should always be on to the next thing.” She explained, “The outcome is some combination of luck, a combination of your fitness, your commitment, but there’s so many factors that come into it, sometimes you win by split second”.

She concluded that it really taught her that failure is part of sports just as it is part of life.

28 March 2022: Fight Night. Katherine, representing the Water Polo Society, fought against a third year who was representing the Boxing Society. “It was quite unexpected how it turned out.”

Katherine is an advocate for mental health, and she especially wants to raise awareness toward its importance in sports. She explained that “One aspect of being an athlete is loneliness, because you’re being put into a rigid training schedule. And it’s kind of hard to talk to ‘normal’ students and make friends in that way. But I am so thankful that LSE people are so open and just so friendly and genuine in that way that I didn’t feel so much loneliness.” Many athletes are affected by eating disorders, regardless of their gender.

Athletes are expected “to look in a certain way–to look jacked or skinny or whatever. And it really puts a toll on you.”

Before the fight, Katherine was laser-focused. She had her AirPods in and was writing in her affirmation journal, visualising herself winning the fight and throwing the punches she’d practised. Her fight was one of the last fights of the night. “By the time I was getting out to the ring, that was when I felt that sensational atmosphere.” Katherine kept her entrance very quiet, without any crazy dance steps, as she tried to hold on to her focus. She took everything in: the 1000 people watching, the shouts of excitement and then Katherine’s advocacy for mental health led her to went in. “As soon as the bell went, that’s when I let work with Pomet, a social media start-up founded everything out and went for it.” earlier this year by LSE, Imperial, and Cambridge students. It’s an online platform where all students After that, everything happened really fast. “I don’t from London universities can anonymously chat remember. I can only look at the videos that all my about shared interests. She added that it has been an friends took... I felt more like a machine just regur- interesting role to be in a start-up and see everyone gitating everything that I put in training.” Katherine working so hard as a team towards building an app remembered coming out of the ring and that “All my that will impact students’ lives. friends were going nuts. They were giving me flowers, hugs and kisses. And that was what I remember. It’s As we reached the end of our interview, I asked Kaththat moment. I knew that all the hard work and all the erine if she had anything specific to add. I believe that times that we didn’t go out, all was worth it.” what she ended up saying concludes this interview quite well. “I really want to inspire people to try new Winning the fight had lasting effects. “I never really things and just go for it. It doesn’t matter, the outthought that my boxing would have such a big impact. come, the journey is what matters: make the most out But it turns out a lot of people are coming to me to of it, you only live once, take a risk, you never know learn how to box and it’s been a really good experi- what will happen.” ence so far. I often try to turn out to training sessions and just help out with everyone.”

Months after the fight, people still know her as the Fight Night Girl. “I don’t think I’m qualified to take on that name. Every single person out there was just phenomenal. And I get it. Boxing is an individual performance sport. And I’m so beyond lucky to be in this position to be inspiring girls and guys to be boxing but my performance is completely relying on my teammates and my coach because that’s who I trained with.”

The list of sports that Katherine practices seems never ending. I asked her if one had her heart more than the others. “Right now, I’d say definitely, definitely boxing because it really empowers you. And it makes you feel strong and able to defend yourself. As a girl, I’d say that’s something none other sports have made me feel.”

Katherine believes that sport has really humbled her as a person. “There’s always, always, always something that you can work on, learn from someone else, and you’re never ever, ever the best. You could be [the

KATHERINE LO

Fight Night Girl interview by AMBRE PLUTA photography by JACK LOVE

ISSUE 922

MT WEEK 5 2022

REVIEW

PART B

SOCIAL

SPORT

don’t worry darling

behind glass

guide to london

give it a go

Fight Night Girl KATHERINE LO