ISSUE 236
MAY 20th 1985
THE UGC WASTES THE LSE 'S TIME
The University Grants Committee (UGC) 'visitation' process started ominously. In the face of opposition from the General Sedretary, the student delegates were simply chosen by Adrian Hall, an administrative officer of the school, before the Student Union had even decided whether to meet the UGC or not, much less had a chance to choose their own delegates democratically.
Then the guidelines for the visitation were a trifle restrictive: "While no topic is excluded, and the aim is to have frank discussions with each of the groups which the university nominates, neither...specific matters for UGC decisions, not national issues affecting universities as a whole, can effectively be dealt with on a visitation." This didn't leave much to talk about. The list of topics had to be submitted six weeks in advance to Adrian Hall so the UGC could vet them.
On the day itself we had 45 minutes to make our points. Meeting in the ante-room fifteen minutes previously, we were loudly shushed by Adrian Hall if we spoke too loudly. The Vera Anstey Room had been shut off a week before the visit so that it could be prepared (ie the tables pushed into two parallel rows, and presumably a spring-clean).
The student group started off by explaining why the UGC guidelines were absurd and hence we would not be sticking to them. The UGC responded by pointing out that the cuts in education were nothing to do with them, and it was better for them to be implementing them than some civil servants in Whitehall, thereafter we presented papers on the destruction of small departments, reductions in staff, fees and quotas for overseas students, equal opportunities for women staff and students, and the politics of cuts; discussion of the Students Union got left out for lack of time, and because student welfare was being discussed at another meeting.
Almost all responses came from the UGC Chair, Peter Swinnerton-Dyer (the rest sat there trying to look decorative). We were informed that he firmly believed that no government, including a Labour one, would give more money to higher education, so it would be foolish not to budget for cuts into the 1990's. He carefully explained that this was not a political viewpoint - he assured us that the majority of the UGC probably didn't vote Conservative in the last general election.
The response of the UGC to the presentation on equal opportunities for women was to switch there collective brains off. Swinnterton-Dyer denied that there was any discrimination in British universities; when asked why he thought women academics were in a minority (about 5% of senior staff at the LSE),he informed us
that it was because women were not capable of concentrating on one thing at a time for long periods, and hence were no good at research. When asked whether they agreed, the three women of the UGC (out of 15) declined to comment.
In our presentation we had made it clear what nonsense the School's argument was, that home students were 'subsidising' overseas students and that overseas students were getting a good deal. At lunch afterwards (to which Adrian Hall had invited only a select few), one UGC member informed a home student - no overseas students were invited — how lucky we were to have 45% overseas students here, because this meant we could raise their fees really high, make a fat profit out of those who could still afford to come, and not
Cont on page II

George Binnette and Tina Campbell with the 'No Jail For Jay' petition.
On Wednesday 20th March about 100 people from various London colleges, miners support groups and Jay's NALGO branch, but mostly from the LSE, gathered outside the Home Office to voice their dis-
approval at the nature of the arrest and sentence not just of Jay but of the thousands of others similarly prosecuted following picket line arrests during the Miners strike.
DISGRACE OVER NURSERY
Student representatives and parents attending last Thursday's Mursery Committee meeting were horrified by proposals to increase nursery fees by 10%. The annual income from fees never meets the full cost of running and it is therefore subsidised, in a joint contract, by the Student Union of the School. These subsidies are linked to inflation rates, but will prove insufficient in the forthcoming year due to extra cost incurred, including the appointment of an extra member of staff to fulfil legal requirements. Therefore there is a net-deficit of '12,356 and the anticipated contributions of the SU and School, which were '5,460 and '21,951 respectively, will have to be drastically reviewed. Further proposals to bolster the nursery's financial position were made, and it was during this discussion that the possibility of a major fee increase came to light.
It became obvious from the contributions made by several members of the Committee that a fee increase in the region of 10% was being aimed at. For a number of reasons, great concern was voiced regarding this proposal by the parent members on the committee. At present, parents, whose annual income is '7,260 or below, pay '16.20 per week to keep their child in the nursery. If a 10% rise in fees was instituted they would be paying '17.82 per week, and that's without taking the '5.50 they pay for meals into consid-
eration. In a time when increases in student grants are not even in keeping pace with inflation, when housing benefits are being cut and when transport costs are rising, what student can afford this? The implications of such a rise are obvious: students on lower incomes may simply be forced to remove their children from the nursery and ultimately abandon thier courses and naturally many of these students will be women. So much for equal access to education. An increase in fees of 10% will not only affect the lower income groups. Many people who earn '17,000 a year or more may remove their children from the LSE nursery and go in search of a cheaper alternative. But do not despair. Dr Payne, of Student Health Service fame, may prove to be your savious. In his infinite wisdon and displaying a social conscience that knows no bounds, he proposed thatthe 10% increase be solely limited to those on lower incomes. Truly making the poor pay for the crisis!
As the School may remember, the subject of the nursery is a particularly sensitive one to the Students Union. The establishment of the under-2's nursery came as a result of a prolonged student union campaign culminating in an all night vigil and three day occupation. If precedent is anything to go by, a 10% increase in nursery fees will not be accepted without a fight! J. Cooke	A. Burton
WOMEN AT RISK
In March, it was revealed that three women in Oxfordshire had developed cancer after doctors had failed to pass on the warning signs detected in their cervical smear tests. Despite what Kenneth Clark, the Health Minister, may say, these women are not the victims of an administrative error, but
rather of the flawed screening system that exists in Britain today. Following such publicised and potentially more widely spread incidents of this sort, the LSE Welfare Office is working in conjunction with the Student Health Service to improve facilities for women students at the LSE.
Inside This Issue
CHARTER FOR EMPLOYMENT:
What is the LSE's connection with this multi-party approach to unemploj'ment, that says there IS an alternative?
SPORTS:
Easter tours reports and the cricket season is underway.
CRICK AND THE MINERS:
Richard Bacon talks to broadcaster and author Michael Crick about the strike and other issues.
NUS
CONFERENCE:
LSE's delegation offers its report of the National Conference.
KEN MINOGUE:
LSE academic stalwart, Ken Minogue recently published a new book. Philip Groves discusses this and more with him.
SABBATICALS INTEVIEWED:
Elwyn Watkins and Richard Snell come under the spotlight.
Beaver, 20th May 1985
LETTERS_
LOFTY VIEWS
Dear Editors,
Not one to take pen to paper (except for writing grocery lists and pleas for mercy from some professor). I feel the need to have arisen owing to the fact that Mr Mark Eads in reviewing the Chagall Exhibit has done what few art critics ever dare to do - go through an Art Gallery without ever opening their eyes! It is certainly an interesting technique, though not one I think to catch on if Mr Eads' review is anything to go by. Indeed I wonder if Mr Eads specifically closed his eyes upon entering the exhibit, or has he always walked about without
benefit of sight, going through life with no other activity than to bump into similarly 'blind' people.
Imagine, though, what Mr Eads might have seen if he had opened his eyes. He will have observed close to a hundred years of colour, movement, technique, yet all within the context of reality, imagination, myth and even whimsy. Chagall lived through but was never totally part of the myriad of artistic, political and social movements of the twentieth century. It is from the benefit of this experience that he portrays life as multidimensional and not doctrinaire in either a left or right perspective. Indeed, his Fiddler on the Roof plays while the town burns - oppression
and destruction mixed in with music and dance, (one is perhaps reminded of Emma Groldman's statement "if I can't dance, it ain't my revolution') Moreover, the east-west dichotomy is similarly inappropriate. Chagall was, after all a Commissar of the Arts in Soviet Russia for a brief period in the 20s. He had experience of both societies, but refused to be prisoner of either one. Indeed, it is to Chagall's view of the world which deserves consideration, study and even criticism. Though to do so one must at the very least be open to what Chagall and indeed all true artists attempt to portray. Chagall has opened his eyes to the world -'tis a pity Mr Eads has shut his. Michael Loftus.
STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL
THESE YEARS.......
Dear Editor,
With the summer term now upon us third year students will soon be confronted by an appalling twin hurdle; the all but mutually exclusive requirements of finding a suitable job and/or performing creditably in their final year exams. No doubt many students have difficulty in deciding how to divide their
time in the face of this classic example of "Mortons Fork". I can only hope that such students may derive some comfort from the attached picture of another .LSE graduate whom I met at Euston Station; conclusive proof that, despite a course structure which seems designed to undermine graduate employment prospects, opportunities do still exist, particularly in such fields as vagrancy, alchol-ism, and petty crime.
Yours faithfully
John Carroll
BEAVER CREDITS
EDITORS: Giles Perritt, Gilli Wedon, Ed Richards, Societies Editor: Dayo Forster
Arts Editors: Carol Atack, James Bailey, Becky Lunn Sports Editors: Shannon Ellesmore, Caroline Falkus Photography: Mark Moore, Alan Peakall, Sean Li Advertising: Juliet Giles
Beaver Team: Eleanor Edwards, Sarah Bronzite, Lucy Cohen, Natalia Berkowitz, Richard Jones, Gail Wasson, Amanda Farn-sworth, Richard Snell.
Other Contributors as credited. Many thanks to all.
Photosetters: Gee Graphics, 15-27 Gee Street, London ECl
Published by the London School of Economics Students' Union, East Building, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. Beaver Copyright 1985
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH YEAR
As everyone no doubt knows, 1985 is International Youth Year and one of the most positive contributions to the Year is being made by the International Movement ATD Fourth World. According to the Movement, the fourth w^orld is made up of the millions of families living in extreme poverty and v^fho therefore depend on and are controlled by others, thus being unable to become fully active members of society. ATD Fourth World has sought to help these families by practical action and scientific research.
In order to celebrate lYY Fourth World young people want to show how having the opportunity to learn in school, to train and work, is more important for young people than anything else. To do this Fourth World are building training workshops where those with the least skills will be able to improve their reading and writing, learn practical skills and gain an introduction to the use of computers. To help with the building of those centres an April Tools Day was held. Youth groups, schools, churches, and individuals all did jobs in exchange for tools. The day was a great success and tools were collected from all over Britain.
The main event that Fourth World is holding for lYY is the International Gathering of Fourth World Youth at the International Labour Office in Geneva (longest established agency of UN) There will be delegates from Africa, North and Central America, the Far East and Europe. They will all be young people who have experienced real poverty and who appreciate the opportunities adequate schooling and training can provide. The representatives intend to go to Geneva 'not to gripe but to make a positive contribution to help the Fourth World'. The delegates intend to make a public statement about the importance of including these disadvantaged families in our society. They hope to make the ILO provoke governments into positive action to help the young.
ATY Fourth World still need more money to help towards expenses for the Geneva Trip, if you are interested in helping to raise money or want to make a donation, their address is ATY Fourth World, 48 Addington Square, I.v.iidcn SE5 7LB.
Francesca Hunter
THE MINERS AND THE MEDIA
Michael Crick, a reporter for Channel 4 News, was closely involved with the miners' dispute from its foundation. At the beginning of this year he published "Scargill and the Miners", a book which concentrates as much on the media's obsession with Arthur Scargill as on the man himself. Richard Bacon talked to Michael Crick about his career, the coverage of the dispute and his latest book.
As a reporter specialising in politics and trade union affairs, Michael Crick was bound to be closely involved with what is, perhaps not without reason, being called the greatest industrial conflict of the Twentieth Century. It also very nearly lost him his job.
The fact that he had had a quiet word with the Times Diary about the latest idiocy to spout from the mouth of Ian MacGregor got back to the powers-that-be in ITN. At first, he denied having used ITN facilities to divulge information to another media source, but when it was pointed out to him that six calls had been made to The Times from his telephone in a single day (ITN has a rather over-zealous computer), he had to admit to 'a fair cop'.
Michael started young. Whilst still at Manchester Grammar School he was Secretary of the Hazel Grove Young Socialists, and became an agent during local elections.
In his year off he started a 'craze' of sending articles to newspapers such as the Guardian and the New Statesman, and was astonished when they were published.He also worked for Andrew Bennet, at the tine a Labour front bench education spokesman.
At Oxford he was President of the Union, Chairman of the Labour Club, Chairman of the Fabian Society, Editor of Cherwell and founder of The Oxford Handbook.
"I went around collecting posts" he said with a lack of ruefulness which would have befitted an aspiring Tory. "I was a bit of a careerist - well, I still am".
"I used to want to be Prime Minister" he continued, although he was cagey about his current political activity. He reluctantly admitted to membership of the Labour Party, although he denied having political ambitions.
"On the whole, I like television, and the profession of politics is too ' dishonest. Journalism makes people cynical". These remarks seemed professionally cautious rather than sincere.
As a journalist, Michael is accomplished. He joined ITN from Oxford after being turned down by the BBC, and whilst still a trainee spent long periods covering the rise of Solidarity in Poland. In 1982 he was in Beirut during the Israeli siege, which he said was very exciting, although dangerous. ITN had a 'fail-safe' system for getting their newsreels back. Three cars would take off in different directions with copies of the same reel, to Tel Aviv, Damascus and Cyprus, the plan being that at least one would get through. Crick described the man who drove to Damascus, an enterprising Armenian who took a particularly dangerous route and could make it in two and a half hours, earning $2000 a trip.
"He used to give me a big hug each time. I found out recently that he has been killed."
Crick had little doubt as to the importance of the miners' strike, certainly from the media's point of view.
"This dispute has tested British television news more than any other, as a result of the criticism from the left. People would be surprised if they knew how much time we spend questioning what we are doing, discussing whether we are being fair and balanced-."Crick was equally convinced that the coverage had indeed been reasonable, if not perfect.
"One of the problems was that the NUM often did not produce figures. Scargill's personal assistant was also his press officer, and nothing went out without Scargill's saying so. If we could not reach him, the NUM side went unreported, which was especially true for the numbers of miners returning to work."
When Ian MacGregor and Scargill each did a ten minute mini-programme on Channel 4 News, Crick acted as producer for Scargill. "He is a complete professional, and it was amazing how quickly he adapted. I used to tell him that something he wanted to say would not fit into ten seconds, and his reaction was not to get annoyed, but to adjust.
In "Scargill and the Miners" Crick illustrates the planning that has gone into Scargill's use of the media over the years. He quotes Labour MP Austin Mitchell, who was a reporter for Yorkshire Television when Scargill was President of the Yorkshire Area NUM.
"Yorkshire Television created Arthur Scargill. He was just the voice of the articulate left-wing Yorkshire miner that we wanted. It was our Barnsley stringer who put us on to him but if he hadn't, I think we would have had to invent him."
A member of the Yorkshire Left, a group of Yorkshire miners founded in the early 1960s to overthrow the area's rightist executive, recalled that Scargill would arrange to record an interview for one television station in advance, and do another channel live.
"Scargill understood that if he kept his answers short, he would be asked more questions. Everything would be dropped to do television."
As a biography of Scargill the man, the book is weak, although there is a short sketch of his upbringing. Its main claim to respectability is as a condensed history of the politics of the NUM in recent years.
Crick's publishers have asked him to do second and third edition, updating the dispute, and have extended the print run of the first. His book on the Militant Tendency was highly acclaimed, and he has ambitions to write more: "I would like to do a book on the Conservative Party. I feel that I'm getting too closely identified with the Labour movement, and think there are still things to be said about the rise of Thatcherism".
Exactly what 'things' we shall have to wait and see.
Richard Bacon
Beaver, 20th May 1985
SHORT ON CHARISMA?
FIONA SOROTOS QUESTIONS NEXT YEAR'S GENERAL SECRETARY
page 3
FS: The Women s group only represents a small percentage of women at the LSE. I don't think asking them would be very democratic. Have you asked the O.S.S. what they think?
EW: Sarah talked to Percy - he doesn't mind.
FS: He is not the only OSS.
What about the rest?
EW: It is a compromise. Sarah
Pybus is the best of a bad
bunch.
FS: Many complaints of sexual harassment came from women in Carr-Saunders Hall. As President what did you do about this?
iiir II
AT THE UNION
Not a lot of people can be bothered attending Union meetings at this time of year, which is no great surprise. That fact was clearly evidenced when the AGM was declared quorate after a good deal of what is politely called 'creative accounting^.
As for those who do attend, and they do so with religious devotion, that band of hardened hacks and or drop-outs beyond the reach of examination motivation, one cannot help but wonder why they do -especially given the absence of both politics and entertainment.in this term's proceedings.
Some, no doubt, have good reason to be there. Mike Moszynski and Dave Jackson are there because they're sabbaticals, hence they've got precious little else to so. Richard Snell and Elwyn Watkins show their faces because they're next year's sabbaticals and they have to convey the impression that they are interested in what happens at the Union.
For some others attendance is a matter of almost life or death, importance. Take Julian Cooke for instance, whose whole universe revolves around the Labour Club on Mondays and the UGM on Thursdays. Similarly it's hard to imagine a union meeting wuthout that Tory twinset Kilby and Frost propped up at the front trying to look important, with alternative nodding and shaking of their heads interrupted by numerous forays to the micriphone to give us all the benefit of their considered and instantly forgettable wisdom. But, alas, Nigel was rather conspicuous by his absence at the AGM; it appears that one Andrew Williams (honorary student) administered something of a good hiding to our resident Action Man from which he has not yet recovered.
Meanwhile George Binette possessed the appearance of a man attending the meeting against his will. Playing second string to the new and baffling phenomenon of Beadlespeak, which has been developed to this state of incomprehensibility over a period of months in the Labour Club, the great guru gave a rather feeble performance. Speaking on GCHQ, George's face didn't redden, his hands didn't shake and he didn't even attempt a cry of "Forward to Socialism' etc.
Nevertheless, George's integrity remained intact and won for him the dubious honour of topping the- poll for honorary student at the following week's AGM. It was , however, a meeting dominated by the ghost of Ed Lucas, raised and defended by Simon Ellis, in a most eloquent and undoubtedly sincere oration. For , if Ed Lucas is a figure 'shrouded in tragedy' and 'borne down by the troubles of the world', he is a man to whose position Simon Ellis aspires.
It is to be assumed that the crucial decision taken at the AGM was the election of Archbishop Desmond Tutu as honorary President of the Union. Whether or not the archbishop will deeply appreciate the post, won for him by a coalition of Liberals and the renowned anti-apartheid campaigners of the FCS, is another matter entirely. The most striking feature to emerge from this term's dreary gatherings is the UGM's newly found ability to get through the business of the day. That should be attributed to the overwhelming apathy in evidence at the meeting rather than the abilities of the new chairperson. Since assuming the position of power. Wordy O'Driscoll has made known to all who cared to listen the deep affection which he possesses for the sound of his own West Clare brogue. But, never mind, given the current rate of attendance he'll soon have no-one to talk to but his own dear self, and that, I can assure you, he is well practised at.
Sean O'Neill
Fiona Sorotos: Your campaign slogan was "Elwyn gets things done" what are you going to do in your year as General Secretary? Elwyn Watkins: Its a hard question toanswer. Campaigns will come up. I will carry on support for the Jay Ginn case if that is still carrying on. In the past General Secretaryshave tried to do too much. I will concentrate on three things: the library, housing and the Health service.
FS: On the question of housing, on Radio Passfleld during the election campaign you said there would be a new Hall of Residence in three months, wher e is it?
EW: I said it was possible. FS: A lot of effort has ben made to improve the health service but large scale changes do not see to be possible. What do you intend to do?
EW: I will try and put more pressure on the health authority to give the LSE more money. FS: The problems are more space and demand than cash.
EW; I know about housing not the health service. I will make myself one in the summer.
EXECUTIVE
FS: Why did you think that it was appropriate for Iqbal Wahab or Rajan Datar to be Overseas Students Officer on the Executive when they are both Briish students?
EW: Iqbal wanted to be O.S.O. FS: That aside, neither of them are overseas students. Isn't it because they are black that you assumed they are OSS?
EW: No, it was Rajan's name. It was an understandable mistake to make assuming he was foreign. People think that I am Welsh - I'm not.
FS: I don't think it is quite the same. Anyway now we have Sarah Pybus, a British student as O.S.O. The fact that she has gone to school in the USA is irrelevant. She has no idea what it is like to be a foreign student in Britain. Why did you say that if she had been black people me would not be making a fuss. Do you think black equals foreign?
EW: Racism works both ways. It works against black people and white people. Just because you're black doesn't mean that you can't be racist. People should look at people for what they are not their colour. Sarah Pybus is ans example.
FS: If no women had been elected would you have sup-prted Nigel Kilby becoming Women's Officer. After all he did wear women's clothes for a week.
EW: I never voted for Nigel Kilby. I don't believe he should be involved in women's issues. FS: Isn't it easier to blur the issue and 'pretend' that Sarah Pybus is a OSS when she isn't than 'pretend' Nigel Kilby is a woman? Don't you agree? EW: I have a strong belief in democracy. The idea of co-opting an OSS for the post was not good. Representatives should not be co-opted. They have little accountability that way. In the case of Women's officer it would depend what the Women's group think.
EW: I encouraged Virginia Sal-ton to stand as vice President. One of the things she should deal with is women's safety. FS: Do you think that women's safety should be left to women to deal with? After all it is men who are causing the harassment.
EW: No, it should be everyone's concern.
FS: So as President what did you do?
EW: Nothing apart from to encourage Virginia. I didn't realise until Antonia Burroughs told me that it was a problem.
FS: What do you think of pornography?
EW: It depends what you define as porn. I myself don't partake of pornography.
FS: What would you do if, for example a SU showed porn films.
EW: I would disapprove of one section of students doing something which offended another large section of students - like the setting up of a South African society which supported Apartheid.
FS: What about Free Speech. Aren't you against putting qualifications on that?
EW: It is not as simple as that. FS: What so you think of York
Student Union being taken to court over their No Platform policy. Who would you support? EW: There are certain things which you can't compromise on. I will always defend people's right to express themselves and people's right to oppose that argument.
FS: What about your ban on a South African society then. EW: The difference is that a South Africa society would use Union facilities and funds, and that would be unacceptable. I would support someone who came to speak in a Union meeting. I would welcome an apartheid debate.
FS: Giving free to the National Front is a licence to incite racial hatred. Doesn't this place the fights of Asians and Blacks to live free of racial hatred, attacks and abuse secondary? EW: The NF is offensive to everybody. Our biggest weapon against fascism is free speech. FS: Don't you think that if a member of the National Front came to speak in a union meeting that it would be impossible for black or Jewish people to attend. After all you wouldn't want to attend a meeting to hear somebody abuse your race, colour or religion would you? EW: No Platform can be abused. Some of the strongest supporters of free speech are Jewish people having seen what happened through the loss of civil liberties in Nazi Germany. FS: Most people would agree that No Platform can be abused. But the NF abuse free speech. Don't you agree"!*
EW: Nobody has a greater interest in seeing yhe NF exposed for what they are than Black people.
CUTS
FS: What are you going to do about the education cuts at the LSE?
EW: I was the first LSE student on Westminster Bridge on the march before Christmas. I went to Downing Street and sat sown in protest.
FS: Do you think that the protest caused the government to back down?
EW: I don't know whether it was so much student protest or the Tory backbenches who caused the government to back down. But we need to fight for things.
FS: As a liberal how will you decentralise your power? EW: You have a false notion of Liberalism. It means decentralisation at a national level. At a SU level it means consultation. You must give power to those involved in decision making. FS: How about your smear campaign on the Labour Club's alleged cheating during the reelection campaign? EW: I wasn't part of a smear campaign. I said somebody had cheated. It wasn't me. I said that it was someone on the far left.
FS: So what about our British Overseas students' Officer? EW: She will involve the OSS, because they don't organise themselves as well as other people. You have to spend extra time with groups to give them the backup they need to organise events like the International Food Fair.
FS: What is liberalism? EW: It's faith in the individual (long pause) and faith in society (longer pause) and faith in the community.
FS: Should we have faith in you?
EW: Wait and see.
FS: WTiere do you get your
charisma from?
EW: I have yet to find it.
FS: Do you think that you will
go the same way as Ed Lucas?
EW: I shall not go to Germany,
and I shall not resign.
FS: What about the rumour of
you getting Cyril Smith's seat
in Parliament?
No comment.
SunimerLove Ok let us dumber in between
The dusk end d^wn of wistful
S^hen silence softly sighs unse
Andlovemal^'upforlt.ckcfligl't-
Racine-JoQues, 1985
I
page 4
Beaver, 20th May 1985
THE STATE OF THE POLICE
"Our police are the best in the world" or so they used to say. To hear this old line repeated today is indeed a rare event. More and more people are beginning to question the actions of our police and more and more of them are disturbed by the answers they get. Why then have people come to distrust our once well -respected British Bobby? Where is the laughing policeman?
The answers lie in the change seen by people in the police and their actions. The cases of St Pauls, Bristol in 1979, Toxteth, Brixton, Moss Side,011erton, Hemsworth, Ravenscraig 1984 to name but a few have all tainted the police image. Claims of police brutality and and outright violence have increased from a trickle to a flood and even the biased press have found it hard not to report some of the cases.
If the sceptics in our society want hard evidence of this brutality let them put down their copy of the Sun or Telegraph and go out and talk to people. Let them talk to the teenagers of our inner cities, the blacks, the gays and also the miners. In ny home town of Sheffield, faith in the police is at an all time low. Young children learn quickly to fear them while adults and pensioners have been shocked by what they have seen during the coal and steel strikes. The evidence came nearer to home in November 1984 when the police attacked a march on Westminster Bridge led by LSE students.
The police are becoming more and more violent and acting with less and less legitimacy. We must ask why this has happened? The police are charged with the job of regulating soci-
ety within the framework of laws that it has set itself. The police are also limited by law, in the methods they may use to regulate society. The practise, however is fundamentally different. The police are judged by results - arrests or convictions. They also have a free hand in their own regulation. The result is clear to see; the police are able to ignore the law of the country with repect to themselves in order to get the results which society expects. They are able to use violence, lies, and corruption with free abandon in order to 'improve the record and help protect their place in society'.
One of the greatest inconsistencies within the Conservative Party is its failure to apply its newly -found new right analysis to the police. The government distrusts all aspects of the State except the police. They speak of the necessity to maintain law and order as an excuse for this failure but do not recognise that it is not the police who are the law and that current police tactics create disorder!
If the current situation of an unregulated police force is allowed to persist, our society faces a grave crisis. As the younger generations grow up having no respect for the appliers of the law, so they will also lose respect for the law itself. The result will be an increasing level of disorder and crime. It is clearly time that some of today's politicians addressed themselves to the real issues of crime and disorder. It is no good making the police ever stronger or arming them as this will simply generate more violence in a society already fearful. A new system is needed which regulates both the laws we live under and, more important, the methods by which they are applied.
Nigel Kilby
NUS CONFERENCE AND THE JEWISH QUESTION
It was certainly not misplaced for LSE to send a delegate to NUS Conference 'opposing antisemitism at Sunderland Poly'. From the first day of the conference it became obvious that the issue of Sunderland Poly was going to dominate. The first significant event was the prioritisation ballot for guest speakers, in which Brian Plainer, the Chairperson of the banned Sunderland Poly Jewish Society was elected to speak on 'how it feels to be a Jewish student at Sunderland Polytechnic'. With the exception of a few hecklers the Conference listened respectfully to someone who was obviously not an experienced speaker or political hack and who had been thrust unexpectedly to the centre of national student politics. Immediately after he had finished a member of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS) demanded the right to "give the other side of the story" an unprecedented response to a guest speaker. We waited to hear how Jewish students at Sunderland Poly really felt. Instead we were given an anti-Zionist diatribe, which was not only irrelevant to the guest speech, but also missed the
point of Brian Plainer's and UJS' position on the Middle East, that is to work for mutual recognition of the national rights of Jews and Palestinians. The second important event was the prioritization ballot for emergency motions in which the Sunderland motion came top, to be discussed on Friday, the last day of the Conference. Until that time there raged a propaganda battle. There was vigorous canvassing by the Union of Jewish Students and by GUPS in party caucus meetings and in the NUS commissions and workshops. There was extensive leafletting most notably from the infamous Tony Grienstein on behalf of GUPS, who is officially banned by NUS from entering the Conference Hall because of his antisemitic literature.
The evening before the motion's debate, GUPS, fearing defeat in the vote proposed to UJS a 'negotiated' settlement, a proposal to be viewed with an element of cynicism as the last 'agreement' between the two groups was that neither should take part in the bannings of each other's societies. Talks went on all night and into Friday morning but unsurpri-
NUS CONFERENCE REPORT
This year's conference was, I am glad to say a good advert for the student movement perhaps unlike some others and this is something we should all welcome. NUS is the only body representing students in Britain today and with over 1.1 million members it has a powerful voice which we obviously need at the moment.
Given this situation the conference is an important event for all students as the conference elects the officials who will represent us both to the government and often to the general public througli television and radio. The conference also decides the policies which the Unions negotiations and actions are based on both in the education field and also through the member colleges in a whole sphere of activities.
Perhaps the key issue of conference was the problem which has arisen as a result of the banning of the Jewish Students' Society at Sunderland Polytechnic. Here more than at any other time conference showed the commitment to fight injustice and the determination to put its own house in order which is essential for a radical body.
It was also good that conference again overwhelmingly reaffirmed its support for no platform policies in all British colleges to prevent racists organising and using them to promote their views and to terrorise those that they believe are impure.
Another good note which enhanced confereces standing was the non-arrival of that mindless bunch of juveniles called the Federation of Conderva-tive Students. These boys at last Christmas' conference decided it would be a 'jolly wheeze' to disrupt the whole conference and prevent democratically elected delegates debating what they had been elected to do, in order to get their ugly mugs in the papers. Any concern for democracy is not of course something we expect from the FCS, being an organisation which preaches such things as 'solidarity with Botha' and which openly supports terrorism against the elected government of Nicaragua while supporting the totally unelected junta in Chile and indeed calling for Chile to affiliate to NATO.
HANG MANDELA?
A few of them did turn up and the son of a well-known Tory MP had to leave the hall in haste having advocated the hanging of Nelson Mandela (LSE's life President). Fortunately most of them were either
saving their energy for a bit of vandalism in Loughborough or were, like our own Nigel Kilby asleep in their hotels.
For the first time in years the conference managed to get through all the policy debates that colleges but also as stated in the motion in places like the East End of London where racial attacks become more frequent and more sickening and where the police and courts seem unwilling to help. NUS boycotting of South African products was reaffirmed as was total opposition to recruitment in UK colleges by South Africa.
cratic government and how they had hoped in vain for good relations with the US. He stressed Nicaragua's small size and general irrelevance in the cold war and of the hardship that the US was causing through its terrorism and economic blockade which has meant they have had to accept Russian aid as they are so short of vital supplies due to US action. He also talked of the great improvements since the owsting of the Samoza regime which was probably one of the most despotic of all time.
WOOLAS RE-ELECTED
NUS has 5 full-time officers including the National president and they are elected along with 16 part-time officers by
Stee/e
Whvte
Andy Whyte celebrates his election as Vice-President education with other members of the left allince.
This debate like that on gay rights and women's rights gives the executive clear directions to follow and gives a lead to those colleges which have not yet adopted similar policy. In this respect the conference is very important because due to NUS influence these policies will help to shape the views of students through out the country.
Conference also gave its support to those councils fighting to protect local services and democracy from government interference and to those 800 or more miners who have been dismissed since the end of the strike.
As usual there were several guest speakers at the conferece including a sacked miner from Scotland but perhaps the most interesting and moving was the Nicaraguan ambassador in London. He told a generally shocked audience of the moves by the US government to overthrow Nicaragua's first demo-
conference. Phil Woolas was overwhelmingly re-elected as President despite disquiet from those of us on the left at his handling of some of the campaigns particularly the PNL dispute. Liberal John Murray was elected as Treasurer as Labour students decided not to stand anyone against him. This was an attitude that I personally found disappointing. Significantly, the SDP only polled 74 votes for their candidate for the executive.
All in all the conference was a rewarding rather than a tiring business lasting as it did from 9am to 9pm with several hours of concerted hacking afterwards. Unfortunately, two members of our delegation Nigel Kilby and Andrea Bart-lett didn't see fit to attend over half the conference, including all the morning sessions. What they found to do in out of season Blackpool is perfectly obvious. Pat Hayes.
singly produced nothing except merely to fillibuster the motion out of NUS altogether on the pretext that a solution was just around the corner.
Finally, Phil Woolas, President of NUS, rose to propose a motion that called for a condemnation of Sunderland's action and to disenfranchise them at the December Conference if by that time the Jewish Society was not reinstated. An amendment submitted by Jews College London called for suspension at the end of the current academic year, so that Jewish
applicants to the Poly would know whether they had a Jewish Society to come to. This amendment was narrowly defeated, but the main motion was passed by about 60% to 40%. A mention must be made of the firm support throughout for the Jewish case that came from the LSE delegation. Particularly comforting was to see Julian Cooke and Pat Hayes take a principled stand in favour of the right of jews to be Zionist, for as left wing Labour representatives, they were perhaps most susceptible to the extremist far
left hatred of Israel that was constantly around them, and they refused to be pulled into what can only be described as an antisemitic trap. If they are representative of the Labour Club view at LSE, then the large number of socialist Jewish students here may now feel free to express their support for Zionism and still feel at home on the Labour Club, as I hope they do throughout the LSE.
Paul Lewis
Beaver, 20th May 1985
GIZZA JOB! - WHAT PRICE UNEMPLOYMENT?
Professor Richard Layard of the Centre for Labour Economies at LSE discussed the aspirations of the new Employment Institute of which he is a founding member.
To some, the new Institute for Employment is little more than a grouping of those who dislike Mrs Thatcher; to others it is a non-descript collection of intel-lectualsand politicians hankering after the consensus years of the 1960s and 1970s. As is usual with most generalisations neither view is correct, and, with unemployment still regarded as the major economic problem facing the UK and with the recent launch of the Institues fist policy discussion document ("We Can Cut Unem-ployment"), the moment seemed opportune for Richard Layard to clear the air about the purpose and objectives of the Institute for Employment.
GOVERNMENT MYTH
I asked him first how the Institute actually came about. It was, he said, a response to the pessimistic, but prevalent, view
that there is nothing that can be done about unemployment. Such a view he described as a myth and although not prepared to accuse the government of deliberately perpetuating such a myth, its attitude to unemployment has certainly encouraged such pessimism. Professor Layard's reluctance indict those in governmentof personally being indifferent to the question of unemployment emphasised his argument that the Instutute is not about personalities, but about policies. I put it to him that the pressence of such people as Francis Pym, Sir Ian Gilmour and Michael Meacher (in addition to the Alliance bigwigs) was inevitably going to cause attention to be focused upon personalities, but he was adamant that the presence of such people should serve to illustrate the wide support for policies alternative to those employed by the current government, and that their individual political positions were irrelevant to the purpose of the Institute.
The Charter for Jobs itself basically revolves aroud more government spending on prboic infrastructure, a cut in employers' National Isurance Contributions and a form of job guarantee for the long term
A HUNG EXECUTIVE
Traditionally, the first meeting of every new student Union Executive (or the Flower Committee, to give its official title] is dubbed 'the carve up' which, translated from Hackspeak, means the allocation of responsibilities to the 10 newly elected members. This process, in past years, has consumed hours of political horse-trading between the warring factions with many a dirty-dealing taking place. Unfortunately, with one exception, nothing of the sort happened this year. Below is the list of the new wise persons of our Union:
Academic Affairs Matthew Greenslade (Lab)
Academic Affairs Nigel Kilby (Male Chauvinist Pig)
Welfare Officer Fiona Murphy (Lab)
Welfare Officer Alan Evans (Lib)
Services Officer Simon Bexon (Independent)
Postgraduate Affairs Rajan Datar (Independent Socialist)
Overseas Students Sarah Pybus (SDP)
Press and Publicity Iqbal Wahhab (Independent)
Societies Officer Jack Frost (Conservative)
NUS-External Affairs Gerard Macmahon (Lab)
Womens Officer Anthea Burton (Independent Socialist Feminist)
One bone of contention was raised by Iqbal Wahhab as to the viability of Sarah Pybus as Overseas Students Officer. The objection was based on the fact that although she may have spent many years abroad, was not an overseas student and as such was not in touch with the problens that Overseas Students at LSE faced. Her inapplicability for the job was further confirmed when she stated that she wished to be a member of the Finance Committee to "campaign for lower overseas student fees", even though this admirable objective was well out of the scope of Finance Committee. Given that there were this year no overseas students elected, it was suggested that a new role be created for Pybus and a member of the Overseas Students Society be coopted without voting rights onto the Executive as Overseas Students Officer. Wahhab's objection only found the support of Rajan Datar and Dave Jackson and was thus defeated, amidst accusations from both Pybus and Elwyn Watkins that the objection was only being raised because Pybus "was not black".
The Economist
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unemployed. These policies are devceloped in detail in the policy document "We Can Cut Unemployment", but I asked Professor Layard if he felt that the government would take anu notice of such policies which are all broadly in accord with those advocated by the Alliance and the Labour Party, he said he was optimistic about the government's response and felt that the Cabinet was not as intransigent as it might appear, the Employment Secretary, Tom King being, he argued a case in point.
TRADES UNIONS'BLAME
When I asked him, where he felt the blame for unemployment lay, he argued that the root problem was an insufficient level of aggregate demand, caused by fiscal policy coupled with the UK's loss of competitiveness, caused by the strength of sterling which was the result of North Sea Oil and monetary policy that did nothing to offset this. Both of these areas were he argued within the government's sphere of influence and its reluctance to combat either has been a major cause of the current level
Marxism
Aweekof meetings, discussions and debates
5-12 July 1985
University of Lo? don Union (ULU) Malet Street London WCl
of unemployment. However, Trades Unions have also got to take their share of the blame, with wage demands exceeding any increase in productivity.
Having provided the context within which the problem of unemployment must be viewed, Professor Layard went on to an altogether more contentious area of economic policy incomes policies. Here he betrayed (although not unwittingly) his-political allegiance to the Alliance through his support for an incomes policy. However, his preference is not that typical of those pursued in the 1970's (the Social Contract etc). There would, of course, be a pay norm, but if the norm was breached, those firms involved would be penalsed heavily through taxation. Yet Professor Layard made it clear that he felt it was a mistake to try to affect the spread of wages: the wage structure should be allowed to find its own level. Rather than a
minimum wage to support those on low pay, a form of integrated tax benefit scheme would be preferable.
The Alliance, according to Professor Layard, does present the best option for dealing with unemployment, but he emphasised that the Institute itself was apolitical and merely concerned with discussing and putting forward policies to deal unemployment. In this respect it was not antiThatcher, but rather proemployment, regardless of which Party pursues measures advocated by the Institute. To dismiss the Institute for Employment is not only naive, but arrogant. It provides a valuable focus for debate, but whether it will be able to achieve much in concrete terms depends very much on whether the current government will be prepared to listen. Unfortunately, the acoustics at Number 10 seem to be very poor. Tim Craddock
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page 6
Beaver, 20th May 1985
NINETY MINUTES WITH AN ATHEIST
I sat in the General Secretary's office surrounded by placards and sandwiched between a large green bicycle and the new Senior Treasurer. "No" he said emphatically in answer to my first questio. "Who do you most admire in politics," I asked, trying again. "I've never really thought about it", he replied. This was beginning to look like a very short interview. Then he paused and said, "But at the
moment Ken Livingstone". After that we talked about South Africa. Richard Snell was born in that unhappy country but left in 1978 in order to avoid military conscription, and he now has political asylum in Britain where he took an MSc at Edinburgh University before coming to the London School of Economics to undertake an M Phil and, as it turned out, a Student Union Sabbatical. We
moved onto financial matters and the ubiquitous ultra vires issue. Would Richard Snell, unlike his infamous predecessor, make payments which were deemed to be illegal? "It depends who is doing the deeming", he said, smiling for the first time, "I would try to fulfill the spirit of the mandate and if necessary I would break the law, but I would not take particular pleasure in doing so". Something which Richard Snell does take particular pleasure in, however, is his election to the office of Senior Treasurer as an openly gay person. "I don't think that my being gay affected the result, but the job will be a useful role model". What of l^ichael Moszynski, I wondered irrelevantly, had he also been a useful role model? "He has been very diligent administratively" replied Mos-zynski's diplomatic successor with a phrase that is probably politician-speak for reactionary and detestable. How can Richard Snell improve on that' record? "I am most concerned with locating the people who are losing out and helping them. The problems of homelessness, health care and under-privilege will be my priorities. They are all political problems".
We talked about some more of the political problems that might disturn the tranquility of his year in office. "I wouldn't occupy for the sake of it, but there are occasions when all other avenues are exhausted. Sitting in committees can sometimes be worthless because cooperation only works as far as they are prepared to cooperate." Of all the issues that could cause confrontation at the School, the one about which
Richard Snell seemed most concerned was Overseas Student fees: "Overseas students have tended to be marginalised in the Union and it is all too easy for the Director and the School authorities to allow overseas students to pay for the actions of the government." "Does the government really care who runs Student Unions?" I asked. "Not individually, but the election of a majority of Sabbaticals with similar attitudes towards government attempts to attack rights and liberties can probably affect them, although usually in terms of damage limitation rather than positive, achievement. For instance, I think that we sould already have student loans if it was not fr the work of NUS lobbying the government and mobilising public opinion". Does that mean the job of Senior Treasurer will be harder without a Labour Club General Secretary to work with? "Nothing becomes impossible by the absence of a Labour General Secretary, but it is not as easy as it would have been. Pre-meeting preparation becomes more arduous and there can be friction, just as there has between Moszynski and Jackson over recent months." We had spoken of the "scial viewpoint" which prioritised the needy in the financial allocations of the Union. Would '.here, I wondered, be a need to re-distribute money significantly? Many people, for exam;oe, think that the Athle-tice Union gets too much. "There are many students involved in the Athletics Union, though compared to ten years ago there are many more ares where money is needed." So, would Richard Snell consider an initiative to seek consensus
on cutting the Athletics Union budget? "For some of the money think there may be other needs which are more pressing at the moment. But there are also other ways whereby the AU can, for example, voluntarily contribute to the welfare budget."
It was getting late, even in an ofice where the clock has been stuck at ten past five since 1982 (a permanent memorial to the ineptitude of all the General Secretaries who have lacked the organisational ability even to get theirS own clock mended). We both looked at Richard's watch. "What do you want to do when you leave LSE" I said. He was undecided. "Is there anything you want to ask or add?" I said. He thought for a moment. "Are you recording this, or how will you remember it all?" he asked. It was not a question I had expetcted, but Richard had said all he wanted. Many crises will occur during Richard Snell's term of office - they always d - but his sincerity and cmmitment will not waver. Even if you find his socialist politics execrable - and, as it happens, I do - there is always the lingering suspicion that he will do a good job.
I was standing, immovably, on the train home, with the hard edge of someone'sw briefcase puncturing my spinal col-imn, when I realised that I had forgotten to ask Richard Snell if he is excited about being Senior Treasurer. I am sure he is, if not for himself, then for the opportunities the job presents to help people who most need help. I hope he is still of the same mood this time next year. History suggests that he won't be.
Andrew Cooper
ROUGH GUIDES-
SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM MOSS?
What with the Durutti faction and Irish societie's "vote early, vote often" it was bound to happen.
By now you should know the results of the elections, but the events leading to the re-ballot remain shrouded in rumour and inuendo, not to mention outright lies. So here's what actually happened. This article, unlike much of the literature left lying (oops) around concerning the need for the re-run, IS signed.
The first ballot - After a re-count the General Secretary ballot was Julian Cooke 630, Elwyn Watkins 629, with 223 papers going non-transferable. The usual jokes of "thats my 5th vote today" from some left-wing minions re-bounded when Iain Crawford asked for a check of the ticks on the register against the number of papers issued. After this count the MINIMUM number of ticks (some unclear marks were not included) fell short of the MAXIMUM number of papers issued (some were not issued because of numerator or stapler failure) by 11. If you've sat on the ballot box with a queue of 20 or 30 people clamouring for papers you'll know why Jim (O'Sullivan) and I were astonished it was such a small discrepancy, it must be easy to forget to tick someone off.
For an election to be called
into doubt does not require an electoral malpractice to have taken place, merely that you can't prove it didn't. We couldn't. Further allegations followed, that people had gone to vote and found their names already ticked off was one -strangely none of them complained on the day - and an EGM voted to re-ballot Gen Sec and Exec., but leave the other counts to stand, as 11 papers would not have altered them. The 1st Exec, count, by the way, was abandoned not because of "discrepancies", as anonymously alledged, but because Andrew Cooper and Lucy Cohen said they would object to the result. There seemed no point in continuing a multistage count if the result would not stand, and besides, the bar was open, so I sealed the papers up until the EGM had had it's say.
The second ballot - The Electoral Reform Society supervised the ballot, and were also to do the count. Throughout the day people asked me if they could witness the count as they did not trust the ERS - now that's paranoia! As they were also doing the Miners 50p and Teachers strike ballots that night we could not have any witnesses, so at 15 minutes notice, with the co-operation of the School, S.U.staff and all political groups, the count was set up in A86 and the results you know.
What conclusions can be drawn? On the face of it a majority of 76 for Elwyn implies
fairly massive vote-fiddling by Labour in the first ballot, especially as the lower turn-out should favour Labour, with their block vote. Strict comparisons are not possible as the same people did not vote, but an analysis of the first preference votes on both ballots into left and centre-and-right gives a swing to the right on the Gen Sec (Lab. and left 45.5% as opposed to 47.1% previously) but a swing to the left on the Exec, (left 52.05 instead of 50.76). Now I would, have thought that if you are "stealing" a vote on one ballot, you'd take advantage of the other papers as well, which would have led to a similar swing on the Exec vote. As there wasn't one I would conclude there was no fiddle. So where did Elwyn's majority come from? Whereas before 148 Tory voters refused to transfer to him, in the re-run only 63 felt so principled. Like I said last issue, a transferable vote is worth much more if it transfers.
Can LSE elections be run properly in future? If the ERS are not to be called in all the time, at considerable expense to the Union, there will need to be some soul-searching among our politico's in agreeing some regulations and sticking to them. If no-one will trust students to run them because of their own political affiliations then perhaps the Union staff could supervise the vote (we seem to have got the count itself fairly dispute free).
Alan Peakall
None of us need a guidebook to tell us that Amsterdam is a great place to get drugs, but some of us may like to be told where one can safely pick up soft drugs, what type of prices one is likely to have to pay, and where one stands in relation to the law.
It is refreshing to read a series of guides as frank, comprehensive and unorthodox as the Rough Guides, which include not only this type of information but also what the police are like, what the likelihood of sexual harrassment is, where free maps can be found, how one can find work, and what one needs in terms of health, insurance and visas.
Where the Rough Guides are a considerable impovement on their rivals,however, is not so much in their usefulness, although this may be the main reason why they are bought, but in their comprehensive and readable analysis of the poli-
tical, historical and cultural environment into which you are about to enter. Added to this is a glossary of useful phrases and words, and a bibliography of travel and historical works.
The Rough Guides work on the principle that although you may not have much money, you are not going to go anywhere simply to save money. You are therefore told not only which beaches are safe to sleep on but also where one can sleep near some wonderful ruin. As well as the Greek Islands and Amsterdam, the Rough Guides also cover Spain, Portugal, Peru, Mexico. Tunisia, Morocco, and Yugoslavia. However if anyone has a burning passion for or knowledge of another country, or would like to help with the revision of existing books, contributions will be welcomed -and payment forthcoming -from Mark Ellingham, do Rout-ledges, 14 Leicester Square, WC2.
Toby Kramers.
Beaver, 20th May 1985
page 7
"PROBLEM PEOPLE"? -THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE

i

racist
racist

CARL, 56 Edlthna Street, London SW9 9JP
This Tuesday, the 21st of May, sees the House of Commons play reluctant host to a National Lobby. The demonstration is in condemnation of Britains immigration policies - an issue, successive Governments have been unable to shake off, and one which has received considerable media attention in recent months.
Mounting concern all over the country is being expressed at the harsh implementation of harsh laws. Major reports by the Commission for Racial Equality (a government -funded body) and the UK Immigrant Advisory Service have attacked the conduct and practices of immigration officers at ports of entry and at entry clearance points abroad, and criticised Home Office handling of suspected "illegal aliens".
Perhaps most significantly for the Government, keen to promote a clean humanitarian image to other nation-states, the European Court of Human Rights is shortly expected to deliver judgement against the British Government. The charge is of using immigration rules which discriminate on the grounds of sex and deny women the right to a family life as laid down by the European Convention.
This relates to one most dubious aspect of the present immigration policy, (there are many others). The primary purpose rule asks the foreign husbands of British women to prove that the primary purpose of the marriage is not to obtain settlement in this country. This rule is almost solely applied to cases from the Indian sub-continent.
For a woman born and
brought up in Britain the transition back to a different way of life in the Indian sub- continent is often unacceptable, but if her husband or fiance is excluded on the primary purpose rule that is the only option left to her if she still wishes to marry. David Waddington and the Home Office clearly believe this is what women should do. In response to protests over one case of deportation of a husband, Waddington said : "(The wife) has lived in this country all her life. I note however that she has some knowledge of Urdu and despite her westernised upbringing, she agreed to a traditionally arranged marriage in accordance with Asian culture. In these circumstances it would not seem unreasonable in keeping with these customs to expect her to return to the sub-continent with her husband."
The Home Office is still recovering from the Guardian report last month of a leaked briefing which admitted that long queues were being maintained and used abroad to act as a quota system for the entry of legal dependants - people entitled to be in Britain with their amilies NOW. The average waiting time in Bangladesh is twenty-two months. This shameless device again lays the Government vulnerable to European Convention condemnation.
That immigration control policies in Britain are racist is clear enough from the very nature of the laws themselves. However one need only examine training guides given to immigration officers at UK ports of entry - in this case Heathrow Airport -for glaring evidence of racism in practise, the following was part of a guide to " problem passen-
gers" : "Nigerians and Gha-nians are wont to tamper with their passports...many Gha-nians are like lost and confused children, ill-equipped for their proposed travels with no particular reason for undertaking then and little or no incentive to return."
Moroccans, meanwhile, are described as "simple and cunning". Indeed there is an underlying assumption that all people from poorer countries are more inclined to dodge the system. This is why most applications are assumed to be bogus, most marriages assumed to be tactical ploys to get immigrants in, and many black overseas students regarded as imposters.
Furthermore the system of appeals is done on the cheap -in some cases people are detained for several nights in cells which do not meet minimum standards for police detention. Seven hundred people a year are deported without appeal.
Any true analysis of immigration control policy could not isolate this issue from either the effects on race relations in this country, or from the historical context of exploitation and discrimination against peoples from ex-colonial territories. Continual immigration scaremongering by Governments (Labour and Conservative) has ensured that in a country where there has been net emigration NOT immigration over the years, black communities are still regarded as "problem people".
The duplicitous nature of British attitudes to immigrant communities is never more clearly exposed than in the way in which an expanding British economy of the 1950s posted recruits such as Enoch Powell
abroad to invite workers to Britain. By the next decade it was men like Enoch Powell who were gaining political capital from threats of "rivers of blood" and "alien culture" if black people were not repatriated. Meanwhile, as political scapegoats, black people also suffered as economic scapegoats as that decline meant their jobs were offloaded first.
In a climate where the Junior Minister for Employment, and in charge of Race Relations can speak of "bongo bongo land" as the home of black people, where a white South African single girl can leap ahead of 70,000
legitimate claimants to entry, and where black people are 40 times more likely to suffer racist attacks than whites, we cannot be so glib as to think things have changed very much.
The National Lobby of Parliament organised by Campaign Against Racist Laws, and supported by the Labour Party, the Young Liberals, NUS, and various ethnic community groups takes place this Tuesday between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm.
Rajan Datar
'Women at risk'
Cont from p I
In an ideal situation, cervical cancer is easy to detect and simple to eradicate. The abnormal cells spotted among the tissues taken from the cervix by a smear test are detected at a precancerous stage. Having established the extent of these abnormal cells, these can then be destroyed by laser. The treatment is quick, painless and has a 90% success rate. However, in the fight against this disease, vifhich has recently been described as an epidemic, Britain lags far behind many other Western countries. Given the relatively simple procedure involved, why and where is the system failing ?
Many women never have smear tests. Only 1 in 10 of the women who die from cervical cancer has had one. Among the women not having tests, are some of those most at risk; older working-class women. 85% of the women who get cervical cancer are over 35, and yet of this age group, less than 50% have smears. Doctors and clinics say that they get more middle-class women coming for tests than working-class ones.
But there is also a new high-risk group - younger women. The 5-yearly smear recommended by the government does not catch these women who are
susceptible to a recently discovered, aggressive form of the disease, and GPs are not paid by the NHS to take smears unless a woman is over 35, or has iiad 3 pregnancies. There are even many GPs who do not know how to take smears because they have not received the proper training. Overwhelmed with work, the specialists in the cytology labs, which analyse the smear tests, often complain of inadequate slides, as cells have not been taken from the right area of the cervix. The follow-up to the smear tests is often poor; the case of the three women in Oxfordshire is not an isolated one. Finally, when a victim eventually arrives in hospital, it is more than likely that she is examined by a calpo-scope provided by charity and operated on by a laser bought by fund raising — only 10 of the 80 lasers in Britain were paid for by the NHS.
The flaws in the current system are obvious, but what can be done ? Firstly, a "call" and "recall" system is essential to ensure that women have smears and return for later checks. Secondly, the recommended 5-yearly tests are inadequate. It is advisable to have a smear test every 2-3 years, preferably every 2 years if in a high-risk group. Thirdly, more information must be made readily available and young women alerted as to how susceptible they are to this rapidly spreading form of cervical cancer. As the situation stands at the moment the onus is on the
woman to arrange for a test and to obtain the result. Yet what is the government prepared to do ? Clearly, the improvements suggested demand initial expenditure, but the long-term benefits are immense - both in terms of saving lives, and also money -prevention is cheaper than cure in this instance. It costs '2 to process a smear. An operation to treat invasive cervical cancer can cost '5,000, and if radiotherapy and chemotherapy is also needed it can be as much as '20,000. To a government that claims to be concerned with saving money shouldn't prevention make more sense?
Help From The LSE '«
Too large a percentage of the women students at the LSE are at risk from cervical cancer for us to ignore the problems. If you fall into any of these risk categories :
-	sexually active from teens
-	have more than one partner
-	use the pill or coil, rather than
barrier methods of contraception which offer protection against the
virus carried in the sperm
-	either you or your partner are susceptible to genital warts
-	you smoke, thereby doubling the risk by suppressing your immune system
Then the onus is on YOU to act.
In recent discussions, Dr. Nickless of the Student Health Service, has expressed sympathy with the fears of women students and a willingness to
work with the Welfare Office to improve facilities at the LSE. Although under no statutory obligation, the Health Service has agreed to carry out smears on demand for any woman who is registered there. Furthermore, it has been agreed that a recall system will operated after 2-3 years, rather than the unsatisfactory 5 years recommended by the government. Smears will be carried out by either a female gynaecologist or a male doctor - you choose. However, if the workload of the female gynaecologist becomes too great, you may be referred to Gower Street. Dr. Nickless carries out an average of only 4 smears per week, and he is prepared to do many more and it would be helpful if female students would make appointments for either Monday or Thursday mornings. Dr. Nickless has also expressed a wish that female students would request smear tests rather than have them forced upon more reserved students.
At present a flaw exists in the back-up system at the Health Service and we are exploring avenues for improving the scheme : When a sample is sent to the lab it takes 2 weeks to be returned. If a positive result is returned, the student will be contacted and brought in for further tests and treatment if necessary. However, if a negative result is returned, there is at present no automatic notification, and the student will be told on her next visit, or if she calls into Reception. An obvious
loophole exists whereby if a smear gets lost in the lab, the present system does not provide for notification. Negotiations for a filing system and a postal recall system (after the 2-3 year gap) are presently taking place.
However, only 50% of all LSE students are registered at the Health Service. For women living "south of the river", there are no provisions and others may prefer to register elsewhere. So what are the other options ? Here are the addresses of three nearby clinincs who are prepared to carry out smears :
BROOK Advisory Centre 223 Tottenham Court Road OR
6 Manor Gardens Islington, N7
AND
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital WELL-WOMAN CLINIC 144 Euston Road, Wl.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Felicity Criddle (Welfare Staff) or Fiona Murphy (Student Welfare Officer) in E294/5.
Sarah Sammon Fiona Murphy
page 8
THE LONDON ARTS
Beaver, 20th May 1985
THEATRE
IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH.
Pravda means 'the truth', and news is the business of fleet Street. The two often make for uneasy bedfellows. Pravda is also the title of the latest collaboration by two of Britain's respected playwrights, David Hare and Howard Brenton. Subtitled "A Fleet Street Comedy", the authors privately refer to it as 'a comedy of excess', and not without justification. They also call it 'a reader's revenge', and certainly there can be few things sweeter than satirising a profession which takes itself very seriously indeed; for journahsts are a sensitive breed, and this is a veiy insensitive play. Here is a world peopled by cynical, complacent, snobbish, cowardly, opinionated and sycophantic persons, who have delusions of grandeur in no way related to their place in society, and no solidarity at all with their professional colleagues.
Into this dog-eat-dog world comes Lambert Le Roux, South African entrepeneur with ambitions of little
modesty: he plainly wants to be the sole proprietor in Fleet Street. Sounds familiar? It should, for although the authors claim that any resemblance to characters living is unintentional, they draw heavily on some of the more colourful inhabitants of the Street of Shame for their background. The result is enormously entertaining, with the one-liners flying back and forth, the famiharity of the situations lending the play a piquancy it might otherwise lack. But beneath the surface is a much more serious play, that poses some searching questions about the state of the British press. "English newspapers aren't propaganda sheets" says David Hare. "The question is, why do so many of them choose to behave as if they are?" The answer, if we are to believe that contained In this play, has much to do with the way in which power corrupts, the seduction of influence, and the need for recognition; more simply, people like to feel
RSC BARBICAN RICHARD III.
What is most appropriate for an early summer evening? Now you can do anything you like. - oysters and champagne, television and light ale, a walk in the twilight, a think about exams, a read of some good stuff or perhaps to the Barbican for Antony Sher's Richard III. What a villain is this poisonous hunchback toad! With crutches as extra limbs ' and support Sher shrinks his body into his spine creating both hump and bottled spider, but beware this man when he wants to move. Why are some men born cripples? And does the body portray the nature?
When things in the natural world are not used they wither away - did Richard suffer for past misuse?
From our first sight of the dead King's tombs we know this evil King will fall to a kind of natural justice.
Why do you stay for three hours just watching wheels turn and plots unfold? The prophecy is given by Margaret. There it is. Perhaps you have not had your money's worth yet. Anyway I stayed, and impressed I was with the coronation. A spastic crawls to and clambers upon the throne of England with all regal dignity, taking full part in the power and splendour.
This crowning makes Richard worth going to see - the rest never
lives up to Sher's clever portrayal and holds him back. Still, let's stay for the second half - the choice is ours!
The women in this play have a choice: they see the evil first, but what do they do? Do they trust their hearts, their discretion, or do they trust the words of a man who murders their husbands, fathers and sons? All this talk, this flattery and deception. Where does it get to? The consequences are worse when it is kings who ask for lies and only believe false tongues. Lear loses a daughter, kingdom and his reason. Edward loses life and gives his country an evil king and civil war. Is the message clear? Speak only the truth and use your discretion. Don't and what wUl happen? Perhaps the souls of those you murder will haunt your last night or plunge your country into chaos. Maybe Thatcher or Kinnock ought to be reading this Shakespeare man.
And for the whole man, there's wit too - a fair sprinkling. "Am I the King?...'tis so". So what do you choose? Fun's best, it puts colour in your cheeks and a smile on your lips!
Greg Thompson
important, and to have the ear of others at least as important as themselves.
There are no sacred cows in this play; "Why go to the trouble of producing good newspapers, when bad ones are much easier? And they sell better too", says Le Roux, but it could just as easily be Rupert Murdoch talking about the Sun. "Editorial freedom?...you never used it when you had it!" he snarls contemptuously at the recently sacked editor of one of his papers (Harold Evans perhaps?). "But I've just won the Golden Finger award for Best Editor!" wails the aggrieved ex. And so he has, but not from a group of distinguished and important admirers. Over here, Le Roux tells us, we make it too easy for people like him to come along and take over: "In England you can never fight because you do - not know what you believe." Or, more to the point, who?
Anthony Hopkins is masterful as this monstrous South African, which in the end, becomes a slight problem. For beside him, aU the other characters, notably the so-called 'graduate in investigative journalism' (and the voice of our collective conscience in the play), become pale, and less interesting. Brenton and Hare have also, in creating this glorious caricature of Fleet Street, given the play a central weakness: if playwrights may distort the truth to make a good play, why shouldn't journalists distort the truth to make a good story? Nevertheless, this is a timely and enjoyable play, rich in both wit and wisdom. But the last word should go to Humbert Wolfe, whose short poem makes a fitting epitaph for this irreverent look at one of Britain's more enduring institutions:
You cannot hope	But, seeing what
to bribe or twist,	the man wiU do
thank God! the	unbribed, there's
British journalist	no occasion to.
Humbert Wolfe (1886-1940)
Lucy Cohen.
"THE ROAD TO MECCA".
Fugard gives us a play about a woman who thinks, lets her own discretion be her tutor and does as she will. What matters to this lady is the sense of spirit in the visual; the magic gained from images. This is a woman whose life is spent developing her soul and her self -in which direction depends on your level of insight. See clearly and you know which way, see cloudily and prejudice is in play.
TTiis prejudgment happens all the time; "I like ..." or "I don't like ..." are good ones. I thought "Road To Mecca" woiild suffer from a squashed theatre like the I^yttleton, but the performance managed to hit the back of the theatre and widen it a little too. It's good when actors use their skills and don't lose them in the emotion of their character. You could hear every word. And each was worth hearing.
The desert is "God without mankind"; so where does the road to
Mecca take us? There is God in Yvonne Biyceland's Miss Helen, in Charlotte CornweU's Elsa Barlow and in Bob Peck's Marius. In the first it is in her sense of spirit, in the latter two in their love. Elsa's is easier to see. She has all the right views but Marius is still as strong. His love is male and Afrikaans; it exists, is known and is not given any discussion. Both know where they would place the candle that is Miss Helen, but you must be careful when you put them out.
It takes "one man to say 'no' to start a revolution" and one woman to think to change her mind, so that her mind is used by her and doesn't dictate her actions. Clever this play - freedom is a mental state, that's where the performance is. "It comes to mind when digging vegetables". That's the spirit! Surprising what one woman's discrimination and indifference can do.
Greg Thompson
THE SEVEN TEAR ITCH__
Patrick Mower and Adrienne Posta play the leading roles in this resurrection of the 1952 Broadway hit written by George Axelrod. If it rings a bell with anyone its probably because the 1956 fihn version was one of Marilyn Monroe's greatest successes (remember the billowing skirt over the sub-way vent?).
The show, directed by James Roose-Evans tells of a happily mar-
ried man whose wife goes away for the summer. He ponders and fantasises over past romantic possibiU-ties which are vividly recreated on stage. Adrienne Posta plays the agent provocateur, a young, beautiful, coy, but naive girl who moves into the apartment above and drops conveniently into his life.
Patrick Mower does not really fit the part. He is not old enough, nor convincing as a happily married man. Adrienne Posta, on the other hand, is quite charming and, although I have not seen the film

version, it is easy to see why Monroe stole the hearts of millions of salivating young men. The comedy is snappy and gets down to the point quickly but I fear that thirty years on it has lost much of its appeal. The value systems it mimics and then bolsters have long since gone thanks to the sixties and I found myself rather untouched by its sentiments.
For a piece of theatre the "Seven Year Itch" is well produced, well acted and well presented. Unfortunately I did not find myself laughing very much. Thirty years have taken their toll on what would otherwise have been a cute Uttle comedy. My advice? Theatre freaks only!
Chris Riley
HALF-TERIVI PLAY GROUP HELPERS WANTED
CONTACT THE WELFARE OFFICE
Beaver, 20th May 1985
FILMS
page 9
LEAN, FORSTER AND THE INDIANS

Peggy Ashcroft and Victor Baneijee in "A Passage To India".
Justice McDonnel, in the Clive Ponting trial, "directed" the jury that the interests of the state were the interests of the government of "the'day. It was not what the law said; he was in fact delimiting the meaning of a vague phrase in the Official Secrets Act to what he perceived it to mean. The jury were told to accept it. In this way to "direct" can be said to mean "mislead". By analogy, David Lean directed "A Passage To India" in a manner that hardly does justice to the feeling and passion with which Forster's classic novel is laced and furthermore misleads the audience in the way in which Indians and Indian life was depicted.
For those who have read the book, the way in which the "Mara-bar Caves Incident" is portrayed is so blatantly mishandled as to not need explaining. No. Lean's crimes are much more subtle. His implicit glorification of the Raj mentality vis-a-vis the manner in which he legitimates the elitist and racist
views of the British is not only wrong in itself, but also in relation to how Forster perceived the situation. As Forster said himself in a letter to his Indian lover Masood, "When I began the book I thought of it as a little bridge of sympathy between East and West, but this conception has had to go, my sense of truth forbids anything so comfortable".
Lean's portrayal of the West may have been partial, but his portrayal of the East is worse. The character of Dr Aziz, depicted by Forster as suspicioas of, and eventually embittered by, the presence of the British, is turned into a joke character. He is played by Victor Bannerjee, who during the shooting of the film had serious disagreements with Lean as to how to play the role and won a few minor concessions in the process. Heaven only knows what Lean's original intention was if after mediation Aziz appears as a fool and a groveller.
Similarly, Professor Godbole is
transformed from Forster's sagacious and learned man into Lean's bumbling, senile geriatric who mutters to himself extolling the virtues of providence. The allocation of Alec Guiness to the role begs the question as to why an Indian was not given the job. Guiness, ordinarily a fine actor, is hopeless as an Indian - his performance reminds one more of a Jim Davidson impersonation than of the role of a college professor.
Thus the two major Indian characters in the film - professionals both - are ridiculed. Racism is based on ignorance, and stereotyping is a manifestation of this ignorance. Just as Black activists in the Labour Party are now saying that they are no longer prepared to allow white people to speak on their behalf, so the Asian community will reject this film as insulting and offensive.
Iqbal Wabhab.
FAST TALKING
The Australian movie 'Fast Talking' is a story about a young man who attempts to hold on to his individual freedom which his institutionalised society wants to rape from him. This movie is a good lesson on the definition of human 'freedom', at least in a sociological perspective, as the ability of every individual born into this world to pursue his or her own path to death without conforming to a compartmentalized, neatly categorized, institutional existance of which social scientists are constantly attempting to construct a skeletal description and theory. This movie makes a strong case that it is an inalienable right of every human being to choose whether they shall go to school, earn a living via accepted or legal economic activities that fit some economist's paradigm and theoretical framework, and whether to enter into accepted religious observances and family relationships which social scientists have achieved academic fame in describing and modelling in a theoretical context.
Yes, it is true indeed that eveiy person is born 'free' in the sense
that we all have the capacity for individual and institutionally independent actions, practices, lifestyles and behaviour. However, since most of us are born into societies composed of institutions, we are denied the right to exercise our freedom by society. It seems feasible that one of the main forces responsible for human behavioural conformity and denial of freedom besides the church, the state and the family is the social scientist. For once an individual's behaviour is not amenable to theory, society is a that moment at a loss for understanding and predicting behaviour and consequently knows that it has lost its sense of security on knowing what it believes to be reality and truth.
The extent or depth of social science, then, indicates the amount of behavioural territory over which we may all as individuals roam without appearing as nonconformists, deviants etc. As soon as an individual approaches the frontier of this social modelling, that individual is the inevitably confronted with 'normalizing', 'homogenizing' or 'persuasive'
forces (eg police, psychiatrists, teachers, parents, clergy and other social disciplinarians) to keep that individual's behaviour within the realm of what social scientists have at that time come to understand. In this way, 'free' expression by others does not make us feel uncomfortable. Such was the dilemma portrayed by the main actor in this movie.
This movie also sheds Ught on another problem in contemporary Western society. It should be evident to all after viewing this movie that the real reason we, as 'free' Western societies, are constantly pointing our fingers at the 'commies' and crying 'foul' is merely due to the fact that we do not fully understand their system; it seems to infringe upon and uncomfortably stretch the boundary of our haven of understanding and theory of social systems. I highly recommend all LSE students and staff to view theis movie and remember, don't leave your brain at the door for this one.
Mark Eades.
THE TIMES OF HARVET MILK
"Who was Harvey Milk?" you may ask with some bewilderment. For this documentary's subject matter does not immediately bring visions or memories of great deads having been accomplished. You could not be further from the truth.
Harvey Milk was a gay politician who managed, in his brief tenure of office, to raise the level of public conciousness about homosexuality in California. He arrived in San Francisco in 1971 and soon became involved in community politics, campaigning on issues like welfare, the poor and ethnic minorities. When he was elected as District Supervisor under liberal mayor George Moscone, there was tremendous joy in his adopted area of Castro. There was much work to be done in removing peoples' prejudices about gay and lesbian people, ethnic groups, and so on. However, the moral majority group soon reared it's ugly head: first in the form of senator John Briggs who failed to pass through the state legislature the infamous Proposition 6 (which, among other things, would ban gay people from teaching in schools) and, fatally, in fellow supervisor Dan White. White, a former fireman, appeared superficially to represent the values of the all-American person (in itself an illusion): he was clean cut, and was "the type of boy which any mother would like to have in their home". But, on November 27 1978, he shot both Milk and Moscone dead. In the trial he claimed he was driven to commit the murders because of Moscone's refusal to reinstate him as a District Supervisor (he had recently resigned)
put him under too much pressure. In fact, the killings were a barely concealed feeling of hatred towards the liberal Moscone and gay Milk. A sympathetic right-wing jury gave nim a pathetic 7 year sentence. Rioting followed, and over a million dollars worth of damage was done in the city.
The documentary is quite remarkable in that it succeeds in portraying a lucid, accurate profile of this most remarkable man. Harvey Milk is the only politician of whom I could say, "He has no faults." He was a talented politician, an opportunist. But that did not colour his personality. More importantly, there were no flaws in his character: he remained throughout his regrettably short career a cheerful, very genuine person. One felt like sharing in the grief and anger which swept through San Francisco when he was murdered. The candle-lit march of 45000 following his death was a deserved tribute to this very fine person.
The documentary threw up another interesting aspect about life in the States: the power of the media. The television news clips proved that in America community politics really does exist. It is no myth. And Harvey MUk ensured it's survival in American society. I hope many go to see this Oscar-winning documentary, to appreciate the outstanding qualities of this largely forgotten person. Britain, in it's present state, could certainly do with someone of his stature and talent.
R^at Kohli.
BIRDT.
Alan Parker has a reputation for idiosyncracy and this, his first film since the inexcusable "The Wall", will do little to alter it. Perhaps a lesser personality would have been disheartened by the fact that he
simply excellent as the tormented and confused Al, afraid to unwrap his bandaged face in case he looks like a "Medium-rare cheeseburger". This dependence on his mad friend is slowly, movingly revealed.
4^

f
Birdy
was also the ¦ originator of 'Bugsy Malone' and 'Fame', but Parker, undeterred, has made a film about a boy who thinks he can become a bird. 'Loosly adapted' from William Warton's novel of the same title, although hardly the same plot, Birdy relates the adventures of the manic pigeon-fancier and his friend, Al. Al nobly tries to interest Birdy in more "American" persuits such as cars and girls.
As Al is re-introduced to his friend in the military asylum where confused psychiatrists have confined Birdy, he refuses to communicate and Al is heavily bandaged after terrible facial injuries. We are shown the development of their strange relationship. These interludes are beautifully designed and filmed, the camera ofl;en taking a 'birds-eye' view with stunning effect. Birdy's obviously inept attempts to take flight are a comic treat as the desperate Al submits to Birdy's every whim and usually suffers for it. Nicholas Cage is
Of course Parker is far too quirky to leave it at that; he teasingly exploits the central characters, and indeed the lesser ones. Grotesque incidents abound, most involving unpleasant deaths for animals -Birdy and the rescue mission to an abbatoir was too gruesome to watch-though the balance between laughs and sadness is a very uneasy one. The precarious construction of the film tends to dissipate the emotion of the asylum scenes. Still Birdy is well-worth seeing, both for the performance and for it's visual beauty.
The film lacks any central viewpoint - Birdy and Al do not express their anger about the Vietnam war which crippled them, and the base of their relationship isn't really explored. Even funnier are Al's efforts to find Birdy a girlfriend, and Birdy's response - wet dreams about his canary Perta. Still 'Birdy' has has it's moments, and is a very beautiful film.
Carol Atack.
page 10
Beaver, 20th May 1985
FASHION
WHAT STATE THE TAILOR'S ART?
London has been for some while the centre of creativity in the surreal world of fashion. London's fashion week comes at the end of March, historically the lull between the Busby Berkely worlds of Milan and Paris, now elevated to wacky and wild heights. Whether the high regard of British fashion will wane as quickly as the Japanese counterparts which it superseded is difficult to judge. Is this the advent of sustained glory or a passing interest in English tweeness?
As the mainstream journals focussed attention on the major shows of Paul Smith, John Gallions and Bodyman, I headed towards Wembley and the 'Smirnoff UK Student Fashion Awards'. Maybe this event could answer some of the questions as to the possible future role of British designers?
Before the show started the old ideals of the passive sponsor faded
MUSIC-
REQUIEU.
ANDREW LLOYD-WERRER
It seems to me that this is a piece that veiy few people have actually heard, l^e general opinion appears to be that the music is to a greater or lesser extent copied from numerous other composers, that Sarah Brightman is appalling, that Placido Domingo shouldn't have wasted his breath, and that Lloyd-Webber should stick to musicals. Instead of writing an article which everybody has already read in one form or another, therefore, this article will actually look at the music for what it is, rather than from the 'purist' point of view.
The first section (Requiem and Kyrie) begins with a haunting tune sung by Paul Miles-Kingston - one that in fact reappears twice during the course of the piece. It is a beautiful melody with a fitting sparse accompaniment, which is then taken up by the full orchestra and choir for both the requiem and the kjrrie. In my opinion this is the best section as a whole of the 'Requiem'; the only thing that mars it is Sarah Brightman pushing her voice painfully hard on two or three notes - apart from these she comes across very well for somebody who, afterall, trained as a dancer. At the end of the section there is a plainchant version of the requiem; this reveals what Lloyd Webber really wishes to achieve - a sense of calmness and peacefulness. The Dies Lrae begins with an exciting and frantic short passage on the drums and trumpets followed by full choir with Sarah Brightman screeching noisily in the background. The format of this part of the Requiem seems to be invisible
away. Smirnoff had put money into this event and they wanted to make sure you knew it! From the wallpaper of adverts, the cocktaOs on sale and the twenty minute film which proceeded the show, Russian poison was the name of the game. To add further insult even one of the six dress catagories had the sponsors' name.
The competition was the rsult of over 2000 sketched entries. The top 60 had been chosen to be made-up for tonight's show under a price limit of £100. The eminent panel of judges, Paul Smith, Sheridan Barett, Elaine Farmer, Jeff Banks and Bridget Woods, was looking not only for creativity but an ability to produce well tailored garments. At
stake a cash prize of £2000, the chance to work with a chosen designer and, more importantly, the laying of a foundation stone, a basis on which to build a reputation.
Lights dimmed and the sight of flashlights and the relentless whirr of motor winders filled the air with expectation. The show was divided into sections which, although neatly labelled, contained no uniformity. This spectacle kept the eye flirting, coming to rest for only short periods until some new interest or excitement captured the imagination. At a designers show there is, obviously, often a dominant theme or shape. This parade was the work of sixty individual minds with everything to prove. No colour-,shape,texture or idea was allowed to control and a criticism would be that this show was visually gorging rather than visually satisfying.
Much-needed luUs were provided by the egotistical rantings of Paul Coia, the obnoxious Scottish presenter of Pebble Mill and the mundane electronic simplicity of music from Strawberry Switchblade. I do not decry this, Coia has his ego to inflate and Strawberry Switchblade a new single to promote. What this did do was to allow full admiration to be paid to the freshness of the student designers.
The sixty garments came and were received with a mixture of partisan cheering and avid admiration. The size of the Wembley
Conference Centre must have lost some of the subtleties of the more simple garments and it was brash flamboyance which drew greatest applause.
The original sixty were narrowed down to twelve nervous heartbeats. The Morleyesque finale could only detract from the proceedings but the five top garments were duly named and the smiling recipients dutifully collected the prizes. The winning garment was a simple tight fitting, black jersey dress which, with some touches reminiscent of early Body Map contained some of the very much 'in Vogue' sixties revivalistic elements. It should not be considered a night of win or lose but a night of optimistic euphoria. The tweeness of the English eccentric has not yet passed.
Colin Clarke
except for the fact that the actual Dies Lcae is repeated throughout as if to emphasise the occasion. None of the different tunes seem to be related to each other and there is a funny section in the middle comprising relatively modern music compared to the rest of the section: it is almost as if Lloyd Webber is just stringing tunes together without any sense of continuity or direction. In the middle of this .comes a solo for Placido Domingo, a very simple tune which doesn't seem to use his voice to its full extent. This is followed by more caterwauling from Sarah Bright-man and then a boring Rex Tremendae, which includes some unintelligible high notes from the trebles. Sarah Brightman then sings a solo which, although it has an uninspiring introduction, is a beautiful tune and is sung well. Unfortunately, once again when it comes to competing with the orchestra she tends to push her voice too hard, and frankly the last bar is awful, as she can't reach the notes.
The third section begins with a boring, whining solo for Placido Domingo which certainly doesn't do his voice justice. The Lacrymosa is a simple melody which is develop-ped into a wonderfully gentle full chorus and harp; by contrast, the Confutatis is very militaristic and foreboding, to my mind very remini-cent of the First World War era. Unfortunately this is spoilt by some funny squeaks from the trebles. This is followed by a repetition of the first tune in the section sung by Domingo for full orchestra and chorus, this time with a quasi-Spanish lilt. The section finishes with 'dona eis requiem' - a gentle ending which mercifully is not ruined by Sarah Brightman, who gets the notes spot-on.
The Offertorium begins with a beautiful a capella version of 'domine Jesu Christe', followed by
an awful passage for the orchestra which hints at the 'Hosanna' to come. The next unaccompanied section is to close to Britten's "St. Nicholas" for comfort, and this then gives way to a 'Turkish' section (all flutes and tambourines) which can only be described as horrific. The Sanctus at the end uses the same tune as the 'domine'; this is absolutely wonderfully written and sung. My general comment on this section is that the sparsly accompanied 'early music' sections are completely ruined by Lloyd-Webber trying to be original - he shouldn't have bothered.
The Hosanna is the sort of piece which, when one hears it for the first time, one cannot believe ones ears; however, it very quickly grows on one. There are three main sections to this; the.main tune (an original in the sea of hosannas which epitomises everything that they ought to be), the orchestral passage from the Offertorium set for choir, and the interruption of the Dies Irae, almost as if to remind one that the requiem is not supposed to be a joyous piece at all. I think that the Pie Jesu has .been wildly overrated. Sarah Bright-man's singing is too nasal, the Agnus Dei is too slushy, and Paul Miles-Kinston is not strong enough. However, the second time the Pie Jesu is sung the orchestration is beautiful, and the 'sempiternum' has a lovely ending cadence.
The last section is not really worth hstening to; it is mainly a compendium of bits and pieces from other section - boring in the extreme - and the concluding 'requiem' is spoilt by some unexplained chords from the organ which make no musical sense whatsoever.
Sarah Bronzite
NEW ORDER
"LOW LIFE"
A tawdry Beaver review could never do justice to the force that is N.O. If the Sex Pistols were the first rock'n'roll swindle, then these lads and lasses are truly "Part 2". N.O. finally give the lie to the myth that music can cozily be analysed and assessed, like a bloody laboratory rat. Two things hit me about "Low-life": (a) it's shit; (b) it's bloody inspired.
Explain? Okey Dokey. New Order now fill their LP covers with piccies of themselves and, gasp, the single is on the LP! Selling-out or moving on? The latter, N.O.'s great danger, was the temptation for them to be satisfied with the stage reached by "Power, Corruption and Lies" and to sit back waiting for classification by the workers you can spot at
their concerts. This would never do; not since Mark E Smith during the turn of the decade has a band so deliberately aimed themselves away from the attitude of their audience. Hence we have "Low-life", first New Order product for some time, kicking off with a ballad (?) about some bloke returning from war to wife and kiddies - hardly storm and stress, by any standards. I can just imagine the long-coated, spiky-haired, post-punkers cringing with embarrassment. This more than anything else is the key to current New Order. They have appreciated the power of a following and manipulated it, a million lightyears from the JD Mk 2 of "Movement". Music is best if it annoys and "Low-life" will (still) annoy, and that, as far as I'm concerned, will do.
Keith Lord
MICK JA6GER.
She's the Ross
After more than 21 years fronting "the greatest rock band in the world", it was about time Mick Jagger did something on his own if not to assert himself musically as an individual then simply to break the monotony.
This solo album seems to have opted for the latter. Solo however is something of a misnomer, since he has - presumably with parasitic intent - surrounded himself with such mega-beings as Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Herbie Hancock, Sly & Robbie and the ubiquitous Chic men Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. With all this talent one would have been forgiven for having high expectations of the album.
The problem is simply a lack of good songs. Most of the tracks are second-rate Rod Stewart fillers -the next single, "Lucky in Love", being a case in point - carried through almost solely by Jagger's
vocals and some occasionaly interesting lyrics.
There are however a couple of outstanding tracks. One is the current single, "Just Another Night", whcih, despite its hackneyed lyrics, is perfect for Jagger's vocal style although it does lack the energy and aggression of some of the Stones' best work such as "Jumping Jack Flash" or "Undercover". The other is a ballad, along the lines of the 1973 classic "Angie", called "Hard Woman" which I think should have been the next single. "Half a Loaf is the best of the others but is still very much an album track.
This is the first of two solo albums he is under contract with CBS to deliver, which questions the artistic motives behind it. But like with most of Jagger's other work, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than him having a bit of fum which makes it that much more acceptable.
Zia Ahmad
page 11
GUILTY OF NEGLECT?_
Beaver, 20th May 1985
THE ELECTRONIC HEROES
1
The music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, of John Cage ... meaningless noise? ... clever mountebanks posing as real artists?
These composers, truth to tell, are and remain on the horns of a musical dilemma in the arts, with the depth and influence of the Futurist and Impressionist movements. This "revolution" flowered in the early 1950s. Its aims, though often argued, sought to transmute speech to sound patterns devoid of semantics or onomatopoeia, thus opening up a textured transition between music and speech.
In the early 1950s the tape recorder had become generally available. For the first time in history sound could be economically stored, cut up, rearranged, looped and played at different speeds. Post-War scientific experiments in sound went apace in Paris and Bonn.
Bonn's Institute for Phonetic and Communication Research engendered erudite 'component' speech pieces; semantics infact. One famous, though piecemeal, composition was "Musik und Sprache". Here distinct components of the speech spectrum were converted into notes; all layers of the rhythm were ultimately synchronised, then desynchronised for a pyrotechnic tune.
Stockhousen appeared properly on the Gernab scene in 1953 when he descended on the off-shooting Cologne Studio. He had participated in the Paris experiments, concentrating on a contrast between concrete sounds (a railway engine) as opposed to electrically generated sounds. An ambitious attempt to construct concrete sound from sign-tones (the simplest synthesised sound components) were unimpressive. However the basis for restructuring sound had been set. And so in 1956 Stockhausen's masterpiece "Gesang und Jung-linge" - song of the youths in the book of Daniel, thrown into the fiery furnace — made musical history.
Extensive Criticism
Stockhausen was criticized extensively for his radicalism and the political import of the piece. As Stockhausen concluded "whenever sound events of the music become language it praises God". The words 'praise the lord' emerge periodically in
a soup of speech and sound. There is a continuum between the voice timbre of the choir boy and the machine timbre. Sound is wonderfully rearranged as the order of syllables might be in a word. There are exactly seven degrees of semantic sense between the intelligible and the incomprehensible.
Stockhausen had many followers. In particular the Hungarian Ligeti made 'Arki-lulation' in the Cologne Studio; Ligeti's modus operandi relied strictly on machine sound of sign bones in layers. A diverse sequence of vowels are interjected. It is a fitting successor.
Excellent vocally biased experiments come from the Milan Radio Studios at the same timv^. Two outstanding personalities are Luciano Berio and Luigi Nono. More than even Stockhausen they realised possibilities of extending the use of words and the voice in a hybrid medium - though Stockhausen's later 'Kontakte' (1960) and 'Momente' (1962) bear some progress in this medium.
Berlo's 'Joyce' and Nono's 'Illuminated Factory' (1964) have stood the test of time for sheer technical excellence. Their synchronicity is unrivalled. Joyce's 'Ulysses' provided custom-made sounds and meaning of language - Joyce's words are sound sources. Each word is enhanced until no longer recognisable; words echo in the abstract to insist on multiple and maverick meanings. Chirping throughout the piece is accelerated noise.
Just a set of instructions
Two American masters also deserve mention; John Cage and Steve Reich. Cage is known for random and diverse works of the serialism school. His music is often just a set of instructions for constructing the piece. Colours such as brown indicate nasal sounds for vocalising. Most output lies in the performers hands. Cage's 1958 tour of Europe brought him into contact with Stockhausen and Berio. His 'Aria with Fontana Mix' twists jazz rhythms. The text swings exotically between Russian and Armenian. An aria may or may not be sung. Its spontaneity is true. Steve Reich's 'It's gonna Rain' from 1965 is a parody of the protest rhetoric of the 1960s. Phase shifting is used on a voice - two sounds begin together and slowly move out of synchronisa-
tion. It is the culmination of 1964 hell-fire preaching in Union Square. Reich's 'Come Out' 1966 is more refined and is a variation on the spoken testimony of youths from the Harlem riots. This powerful piece becomes a 'sound accusation' with its repetition.
Protest was a feature of Nono's 'Dialectic Counterpoint for the Mind' (1968) where the middle vocal register is purely electronic. Noises of fish markets in Venice and the bells of St Mark's are phased in - they become crowds protesting against Malcolm X's murder and the evil of Vietnam. Poetry and documentary are wedded together.
The electronic heroes are not only composers but poets, docu-mentarians, phoneticists, human conscience itself They prove a non-separation of musical sound, environmental sound and noise. Such music needs not only understanding but emotional response. The Electronic Heroes can only live if their audience is prepared to work towards this.
David Gregory
Cont from page
have to suffer the effects of the cuts. Our 'unprejudiced' friend didn't explain how the overseas students were to avoid the effects of the cuts; presumably the UGC will now inflict bigger cuts on the LSE because we have this simple solution to the problem.
At the welfare meeting afterwards, the UGC were obsessed with drugs and alcohol, despite these being outside their own guidelines. Travel, accomodation problems, and money difficulties were of no interest. The question was: were there lots of hard drugs on the campus? The reason they were convinced there was such an excess at the LSE (they informed us - first that I've heard of it) is because of our high overseas student population, since overseas students take more drugs... On extreme student policy, they all agreed that this was made up for by the fun of living in a capital city...!
Before the visitation there had been strong arguments in favour of boycotting it as a protest at the cuts. After the meeting, one of the students who had been most strongly in favour of meetin the UGC said: "It was even worsd than I had expected. We shouldn't have wasted our time..."
Richard Snell
There are, at any one time, about 40 disabled students at LSE, Some have relatively mild handicaps such as dyslexia, others may be deaf, blind or have limited mobility. All face problems which the able-bodied are rarely aware of.
LSE is by no means a leader in the field of facilities for the disabled. In June 1984 Sally Sainsbury, Adviser to Disabled Students, reported "there is evidence that until this session the National Bureau for Handicapped Students advised disabled persons to avoid the School, partly because our buildings appear particularly hazardous, and partly because in the past we made no formal recognition of the needs of the disabled. This may explain why we have less than half the number of disabled students we might expect in an institution of this size."
More positively, the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) reported LSE as having the highest proportion of blind students in any higher educational establishment; blind persons and/or those with restricted mobility may find the cramped quarters of LSE easier to manoeuvre than the large open spaces of a campus university. Furthermore, improvements have been and are being made.
In October 1983 Sally Sainsbury was appointed Adviser to Disabled Students. Her appointment was partly due to pressure from students and staff members and partly because Eileen Barker (Dean of Undergraduate Studies), who had to deal with the problems encountered by disabled students, recognised the need for a separate adviser.
Much of her work, in conjunction with Felicity Criddle, has centered on the problems and/or complaints of individual students. Disabled students can now take their bags into the library and have access to free student union photocopying, and brighter lights have been installed in many areas.
More recently a Society for the Enlightenment of the Able-bodied (SEA) has been formed. It aims to promote understanding among all students of the capacities and needs of disabled students. This society acquired funding as a result of the failure in 1984 of Houghton Street Harry and the Equine Alliance to persuade the student body to use the DHSS rebate (£3000 over three years) to buy a racehorse, the money going instead to provide a fund for disabled students.
The society functions largely on a self-help basis. Chairperson, Chan Yau Chong, for example, has taken on the mammoth task of brailing all lifts at the LSE and in the Halls of Residence. Will Elliot has produced a "How to get Around LSE" tape for blind students and Phil Wood (Secretary) is attempting, through the working party on accommodation, to make disabled students a priority group for LSE accommodation, which at the moment they are not.
Other plans include the setting up of a tape library. Negotiations with the Library have been contining and hopefully this wijl be established by the end of the year. Presently blind
students borrow taped books from the RNIB, but there are always difficulties with specialised texts. At the moment this need is met by students reading onto tapes. A tape library would allow these to be stored and catalogued for use by future students.
Work is also being done on an "alternative, alternative prospectus" for disabled students to be included in the Student Union Handbook and the Alternative Prospectus (if it ever appears). Felicity Criddle (member SEA) is also negotiating with the Athletics Union over sports facilities for the disabled and proposals for the Staff/Student Building Committee are being considered.
Despite all this, LSE is far from ideal. Most of the improvements currently in the pipeline arise largely out of the efforts of the SEA. Other universities have tried different approaches to facilities for the disabled. Many London colleges, like LSE, face problems in attempting to convert old buildings. Student welfare officers in London do not seem concerned about the difficulties of disabled students; many seem embarrassed that they have not done more to help disabled students.
Michael Arthur, Student Welfare Representative at Imperial College was quite positive about facilities there. IC has good wheelchair access with ramps all over the college. There is also a special room for disabled students, complete -with specially designed bathroom. Unlike LSE, they also have a policy of granting priority for accommodation on medical or psychological grounds. Both University College and Birmingham University also give disabled students priority for accommodation.
The University of Birmingham actually has a Staff/Student Committee dealing specifically with the problems of the disabled. They also offer sports facilities for disabled persons. ULU is currently trying to get involved in disabled sporting events along with Loughborough University.
Sadly LSE will never be easily accessible to those in wheelchairs - bar nocking down and rebuilding the entire complex. There are however many small improvements which would help. SEA has suggested lifts should be equipped with signs listing which floors and/or buildings are accessible to wheelchair users from that lift. Further suggestions include rush matting in front of the lifts in Clare Market building and the installation of induction loops for the deaf in the Old Theatre.
There is a trend towards integration rather than separate schooling for disabled children in Britain. Hopefully this will mean more disabled people being able to take advantage of a university education. A new, more positive attitude on the part of both the School and the Student Union towards provisions for the disabled could do nothing but enhance the LSE.
To learn more come to meetings of the SEA every first Wednesday of the month at 12-1pm in the Welfare Office, E294/5 or contact Felicity Criddle and Phil Wood.
Natalia Berkowitz (Member SEA)
page 12
Beaver, 20th May 1985
IN THIS
ALIEN ENVIRONMENT,
SPACE TECHNOLOGY IS OUT OF ITS DEPTH
Inspecting underground gas pipelines for faults may not sound like the ultimate high-tech challenge. But, in fact, the task proved to be beyond the 'state-of-the-art' technologies previously available — even in military and aerospace applications.
PROBLEM:
Design a vehicle which can travel inside the pipe, carrying equipment capable of identifying any significant defect, and pinpointing its position to within a metre in a run of up to a hundred kilometres or more.
SOLUTION: THE INTELLIGENT PIG
The Intelligent Pig, developed by the gas people, is a vehicle carrying highly advanced sensing, data processing and recording equipment ..Driven through the pipe by the gas pressure within it, the Pig can be used without taking the pipe out of service.
What is more, it can not only pinpoint any defect on the inside or outside of a steel pipe, but even describe its nature.
HOW?
Using strong magnetic fields or elastic waves propagated at ultrasonic fi^equencies, different types of sensors can detect corrosion; cracks, impact damage or distortion of the pipe. But the real challenge lay in processing the hundreds of millions of signals produced by the sensors in an average run.
THERE WASN'T A COMPUTER SMALL ENOUGH AND TOUGH ENOUGH
Many of the pipes to be inspected are less than 305mm in diameter. To fit sufficiently powerful data processing equipment into the tiny space available, hybrid microcircuits incorporating custom-designed silicon chips had to be developed. And since the space restrictions also limit battery size and therefore power, many of these highly advanced electronic components have to operate at the very limits of their specifications. What's more,theenvironment inside the pipe isn't exactly friendly. All the highly sophisticated equipment carried by the Pig has had to be designed to tolerate or be protected from extreme vibration, mechanical shock, dirt, and gas pressure of up to 70 atmospheres.
A'TOMORROW'S WORLD'TAPE RECORDER
The sheer volume of data to be stored inspired the development of what is probably the most advanced ultra-miniaturised tape recorder currently in
existence. Making extensive use of sub-miniature hybrid microelectronics, new types of recording heads and ultra-precision mechanical engineering, this little marvel can store up to 500 million readings on a single reel of standard one-inch tape, with an accuracy of better than one-thousandth of one percent!
FROM REEL TO REELS
Once the Pig has finished its run, the next job is to prepare the data for analysis by powerful, advanced computers such as the VAX 11/780. There's so much information in the Pig's tiny recorder that many reels of computer tape arc needed to receive it,and many hours of computer time to analyse it.
THE RESULT
Britain's underground gas transmission network is a multi-billion pound asset. And the technical pyrotechnics we've just described have a thoroughly down-to-earth end result-they help the gas people to maintain this asset more efficiently and cost effectively.
WHY THE GAS PEOPLE LIVE IN THE FUTURE
The fact that gas is Britain's most popular domestic fuel-and a powerful and growing force in industry, too—is the result of many years'foresight, planning and massive investment by British Gas scientists and engineers. And they're still working for the future-to meet Britain's energy needs in the next century.
THE GAS PEOPLE-WORKING FOR TOMORROW'S WORLD TODAY
Beaver, 20th May 1985
page 13
HALL NEWS
CARR-SAUNDERS
STEPPING INTO ANOTHER
WORLD
Apparently there's some exams a few days away so Barry and Jules have asked me not to write anything too entertaining in this week's issue, in case it drags any weak-willed students from their revision schedule. Seriously though, Barry you did put 'Firefox' on for a bet didn't you? Entertainments have been so thin on the ground that many enterprising bods have taken to providing their own, a certain 4th floor resident especially. Fiona Murphy has been so bored that she's taken to arranging late night committee meetings with a certain other Labour Hack, who's name escapes me but always looks as though he's deliberately washed his hair and then gone straight to bed. Q. Which Hack is the biggest dickhead? A. All of them.
Enough of this let's move onto Jim Mclnally, Hall President, general clever dick and scrabble expert ("no,no, you can get 567 points for xenophobia"). '01 Tubby', as he's doubtless known by his TUC chums, has been wearing his new badge of office with, ill- concealed pride, despite the fact that no one can bring themselves to take him seriously. Meanwhile ex-president Elwyn Watkins has been hitting the bottle again, throwing pre-electoral caution to the wind.
Spring is in the air, a fact that doesn't seem to have been lost on the female half of the Ramsay Hall balcony collective, and who's complaining? Very few people actually, as most are occupied with the thought that post exam celebrating could encourage them to "come on down' to the bar a little more often (like every night?)
Meantimes, the race is on for the post of Bar Managers. The main scrap seems to be between
that man of mystery Andy 'Bungle' Shingler and (no) 'Chesty' West versus the truly faultless Sally combined with Virginia, who's partial to the odd tipple now and again (watch out Bar stocks!). Being, of course, a totally impartial observer, I reserve judgement to the worldly wisdom of the Bar Committee.
Speaking of the 'man on the 6th floor' (which we weren't) young Chris Riley continues his battle for justice against the ludicrous fine imposed upon him for the heinous crime of shouting out of the window at, gasp, 11 o'clock in the morning! This writer wishes the best of luck to this George Jackson of Maple Street.
Does anyone remember J.Ed-dleston? (does anyone care?) Well apparently the self same has managed to lose one of his front teeth. Apparently he lost it while visiting his young lady in Newcastle (no doubt a result of her reaction when she realised he hadn't brought a sleeping bag). As a result a replacement has been drafted in, although it tends to look as if it's been washed in Persil, as opposed to the others in "ordinary washing powder!"
Congratulations go to John Nolan who ventured all the way to Rotterdam with good reason. Other than all the above, pretty much sod-all's been happening, the first-floor, smoking, wood-be Sloanes (but of course, committed Socialists) are as much of a pain in the arse as fucking ever. Hall-life has been remarkably similar to recent Liverpool form, patchy but with moments of inspiration. Need I say more? Well, I'm not sodding going to.
Goodbye,
Barney Rubble
ROSEBERY HALL REPORT
For years now, the mere mention of the name of the Rosebery Bursar has been enough to send residents rushing for the Valium bottle. Her remarkable ability to reduce grown men to quivering wrecks with a single glance combined with her utter disdain of students has made her a figure of legend. Thus it is with profound disbelief that we report the slow, but unmistakable 'Thatcher-style' softening of image. No more are we witness to the sight of Mary, nostrils flaring and dresses billowing, stalking the corridors, striking fear into all. Instead, we have a light perm and attractive blouses! Unconfirmed reports indicate that 'She who must be obeyed' has taken to addressing residents with terms of endearment! We find all this all totally unnerving. Please Mary, go back to the old tyrannical Bursar we all know and love!
'Mad' Martyn Thomas marked the beginning of term by announcing to all and sundry he was dispensing with the services of his long suffering girlfriend. Hardly had the tears dried in her eyes, when the lustful youth began an unremitting pursuit of his amour propre, Kay 'Hie!' Rossiter. He managed to succeed in persuading Miss Rossiter to accompany him on a trip to his home town of Sheffield, the apparent highlight of which was to be an introduction to his uncontrollably flatulent grandfather. Evidently Thomas considers
this the way to impress prospective partners.
Suffice it to say Miss Rossiter returned home a day early complaining that nothing of any note occured, and that even Grandad did not provide her with the entertainment she anticipated. Thomas, undaunted, continues his disgusting lechery.
By the time this column is published (or not!), the fate of the FA Cup will be known and if Phil Hague has kept his work, Rosebery residents will have watched it on the large video screen. Originally Carr-Saunders were to have had the screen for this event, but their committee agreed to let Rosebery have it in return for ensuring that the dates of our respective Rag Week discos did not clash. Rosebery duly altered its disco date but the conduct of the C-S committee since then has been outrageous. Jim 'Hoots Mon' Mclnally states mysteriously that the deal is not binding. Elwyn Watkins denies all knowledge, (so what's new?), he's lying. John Eddlestone, whose recent operation to have his brain removed was effected by an incision to the rectum, at least admitted knowing about the deal. His response to our
enquiries was.
of you
C***s, we're 'aving it." The intellectual depth of this argument defeated us all.
Phil Hague has assured the RH committee that we shall have the screen. If this was not the case, we suggest you throw
Most people will have heard of Madame Tus-saud's. By now it is a world famous name and one of London's major tourist attractions. Frommer's Guide to London describes it as "a weird, wonderful, moving, sometimes terrifying collage of exhibitions... which manages to be most things to most people." Yet a great many rumours surround the Tussaud's Exhibition, its history, and its modern day methods of producing figures. Few people really have the time of patience to absorb the whole exhibition in one visit.
The lady behind the legend was an admirable character. Madame Tussaud was born in Strasbourg in 1761 and she first rose to prominence as the art tutor of the sister of Louis XVL After the revolution she was assigned the grisly task of taking death masks from the decapitated heads of guillotine victims. These later fromed the centrepiece of the 'Horrors' Exhibition. Some of the original death masks can still be seen at Tussaud's to this day.
Madame Tussaud was 40 when she left her husband and first moved her exhibition to England. Her stamina must have been boundless, as at this stage she was constantly touring from one town to the next
beer at him in the Tuns.
Jeni Fancy must sorely regret her decision to invite her mother to spend a night in Rosebery Hall. The good lady was witness to typical Saturday night's entertainment at the partyin Jeni's room. Steve Ban-toft cast drunken eyes longingly at Helen Radcliffe, (Has he?; will he?; should he?; can she?), while she enlivened his interest with occasional glimpses of her black pop-socks. The other ladies present, Ms Arnold, Ms Taylor, Ms Pybus and Ms Carey drank themselves into blissful oblivion; and well they might, for the eyes of the males were drawn inexorably to the delectable Mrs Fancy. This despite the fact the inebriated louts would have trouble raising even an eyebrow between them!
Mrs Fancy duly departed for Mauritius in the morning replete with monumental hangover, leaving behing four males astonished by the sight of their first real woman.
and rarely rested. A middle-aged woman, alone, and speaking very little English, her achievement was remarkable. Depite poor mass communication, her exhibition soon won itself a reputation of national proportions.
The fascination of Madame Tussaud's continues today. It is said that Larry Hagman, on being asked if he was happy with his replica in wax, replied, "Are you kidding? That's having arrived you know, to be at Madame Tussaud's". Not every-one shares this opinion however. Some people are unnerved by the accuracy of the sculptures and perhaps through superstition of a desire for privacy, are opposed to being modelled. It was for these reasons that two people refused to be modelled. One was a speedway rider and Sean Con-nery as James Bond was apparently very reluctant to be a subject.
In some ways this seems understandable since many of the figures are uncannily real. Some are dressed in the uniforms of attendants or shop staff and many an unwary tourist has been seen indulging in conversation with a lump of wax and plaster. Every new employee when taken on is warned that he or she must not object to being prodded throughout the day when standing on duty.
These members of staff are busy before the public ever gets near the statues. Between 8 and 10 every morning all sculptures are dusted down and their hair is tidied. Two or three figures are removed for maintenance. It is at this stage that strange items have been found around the statues. One morning, for example, a thoughtful visitor had left Mao's 'little red book' at the foot of his replica. Even more bizarre, a cheese and tomato sandwich was retrieved from Charlie Chaplin's trousers.
The accuracy of the figures is very rarely a question of luck. If necessary Madame Tussaud's will fly a sculptor around the world for a sitting with an important politician or celebrity. When a sitting can not be given because a subject is dead or simply too busy, Madame Tussaud's own researchers collect large files of photographs as well as contemporaries' descriptions. Exact replicas of clothing are also obtained. In the case of Sophia Loren, she simply walked over to her wardrobe after her initial interview and selected her favourite dress. Her personal tailor then made a copy of the garment and it can be seen on her statue today.
Curiously one section of Tussaud's, "The Chamber of Horrors", is noted for the coopera-
tion extended by prospective models. It may seem a little distasteful but modern criminals often crave the notoriety that Madame Tussaud's can bring them Perhaps they view the attention of the world's most famous wax museum as in some way a justification of their motivation to evil. Ever since Charles Dickens first commented that it would be a terrible thought to have to spend a night in The Chamber of Horrors, there has been a rumour that a reward of '100 would be given to anyone who could do so. This however is untrue.
The Chamber of Horrors has always been one of the Exhibition's biggest attractions but now it has a rival with the opening of the new "Superstars" Exhibition. Included are new figures of Michael Jackson and Boy George in modern displays with audio visual accompania-ment.
It is a new step for an Exhibition which derives of its success from its sense of history, but realises the need for modern appeal and constant improvisation. Madame Tussaud's is now almost as much a part of London as Trafalgar Square and carries the responsibility of representing the country.
G.W. Buchanan
TWINNING
On Friday 26th April, a motley bunch of students gathered on the steps of the Old Building for the first Student Union visit to our adopted pit community, Ferrymoor Riddings. Unfortunately though, the trip was over-subscribed. Fifteen people failed to turn up. It was later agreed that this was their loss and in future a deposit will be charge.
We left for Yorkshire in the hands of our coach driver, John. The party included seasoned campaigners such as Dan Duncan and George Binette, for whom this was by no means their first trip north of Watford, but this was for some their first trip outside London.
Relations with the Coal Board are still sour at Ferrymoor. (There was a sympathy strike for three ex-strikers recently sacked at nearby South Kirby.) This meant that the promised trip down the mine was not to be.
Students split up to stay with their hosts on Friday night. Saturday was spent at the Northern College in Barnsley. There were talks on the geology and early development of the Yorkshire coalfields by miner turned historian, Robbie Roberts, and on the North coalfield by academic, John Field. Then followed a meeting with women from Barnsley Women Against Pit Closures.
On Sunday, recovered from the Social on Saturday evening, we left for a guided tour of the South Yorkshire coalfield, including a stop at the notorious Orgreave coking plant, where miners spoke of their experiences during the strike.
Finally, following lunch, there was a meeting with the Mayor of Grimiethorpe, and a discussion focussing on the police occupation of Grimethorpe during the strike.
The trip is only the beginning of the relationship between ourselves and Ferrymoor Riddings. Look our for further developments next year.
Dave Jackson
page 14
Beaver, 20th May 1985
ALIEN POWERS An Interview with Kenneth Minogue.
Kenneth Minogue, Professor of Political Science at the LSE, first came to London in a boat from Australia shortly after the Second World War. He seems to have found it hard to leave the place since! A member of the Government Department since 1956, his main interest lies in the structure of political argument. He has written "The Liberal Mind" (1963), "Nationalism" (1967) and "The Concept of a University" (1974) and he contributes frequently to academic and popular journals. His latest book, "Alien Powers : The Pure Theory of Ideology" (Weidenfield & Nicolson '16.95), recently published throughout the English-speaking world, is a scintillating work of provocative analysis which combines precision and wit. It was thus with considerable enthusiasm that, one late April morning, I went to
interview its author.
What is ideology ? To Professor Minogue, it is "a pur-postedly scientific doctrine which reveals the secret of the human condition." It arose out of the Enlightenment and, in particular, a Utopian belief in human progress. Its essence is belief in a struggle in whcih oppressor confronts oppressed, an encounter which Professor Minogue observes with supreme detachment. Is the oppressor to blame ? According to strictly ideological argument, he isn't; for evil is seen not as the result of human failing but as evi-dence of a structural imperfection which encompasses the whole of human existence. Professor Minogue recalls Eric Voegelin's comment on Voltaire : "He takes the abuse for the essence."
Ideological criticism is given great attention in the book where it is seen as using specific evils of life as evidence of a total structure of domination. This model of society centres on the revelation of an alien power -capitalism, patriarchy, etc. -which is said to enslave us all. The persona established for the critic is that of a liberator. Theory merges into action and vice versa, facilitating the exercise of the ideologist's dual purpose ; to interpret the world and to change it. Marxism is seen as the paradigm of this technique and is given substantial treatment by Professor Minogue.
The Minogue view of ideologies is that unlike science, which explains appearances, they correct appearances by theory. They are alternative cultures for which newtrality is an impossibility. Thus, a feminist will assert that all men are implicated by a single rape. While Professor Minogue cheerfully admits that "this is no doubt what happens up there in the nightmare of patriarchy" he goes on to argue that the complexity of reality invalidates this vision. As for the ideological concept of conditioning, it is exposed to mean that a lapsed feminist "does not disprove but rather exemplifies everything that feminism asserts"! For the ideologist, every event becomes confirmation of out need to be set free from an alien power.
PG : What prompted you to write "Alien Powers ?
KM : It arose out of an interest in the strategy and tactics of argument. Many years ago, I was struck by the difference between the rather floppy, inconclusive arguments of politicians on the one hand and the tight, logically-elaborated arguments of radical critics of society on the other. I used to find them extremely impressive. I have since spent many years reading and thinking about the patterns of political and moral argument.
PG : In "Alien Powers", you certainly give quite a tight definition to ideology : you describe it as a revelation of the secret of the human condition through which we are asked to believe that there exists an objective structure of oppression - based on race, gender or class — from which we are to be liberated. This definition, however, would appear to exclude creeds like fascism and liberalism which have frequently been described as ideological. While the "structure of oppression" model identifies a type, is it an adequate explanation for all ideologies ?
KM ; My definition of ideology is not the same as that of most other people. This is because the whole field of ideology is extraordinarily amorphous and ideological doctrines are advanced at every possible level of sophistication, sometimes in those infantile slogans you see carried on banners by people chanting things. The problem, therefore, is to discover if there is any logical centre to all of this and my answer is that there IS a logical centre. The difficulty in discovering what it is comes from the fact that ideology necessarily adopts a remarkable kind of protective coloration : it looks as if it is a political doctrine, and ideologists, who want to transform the human condition, talk and sometimes act as if they were politicians. It seemed to me that, in understanding this extremely confusing field, the key lay in marking off the revelatory and logical parts of this talk and screening on one side the ordinary political vocabulary. When you do that, you discover a central core from which everything else can be derived.
Your question was also concerned with why fascism and liberalism are not prominent in my ideologies. I think that fascism is an ideology but it is one that is mixed up with many other elements from the edges of politics like nationalism and a principle of leadership. Kence while it contains very strong ideological elements, it needs to be understood — rather more than does Marxism - in terms of its local circumstances. As to liberalism, it is not an ideology in my sense; nor do I consider conservatism or social democracy as such to be ideologies. The reason is that none of these three doctrines actually aims at transforming the human condition. What distinguishes an ideology is the belief that you cannot make a serious improvement in human life without transforming absolutely everything.
PG : What does an ideologist mean when he claims to be able to see beyond reality to a complex structure of domination?
KM ; He means that everything we think and believe at the moment is very likely to be an illusion because it will be mediated by the ruling ideas of an
Cheery old Uncle Ken
oppressive society. This theory is the basis for that "click" which the ideologist gets when he thinks that he has penetrated this veil of illusion and discovered the reality underlying it, a reality which is always understood in terms of on6 overriding concept like sex or race or class.
The Trick
PG : In Chapter 4 of your book, where you explore the explanatory model of ideology, you point out that for the ideologist, social being determines consciousness and not vice versa. The problem you then identify is one of how the ideologist can step out of the universal structure of alienation to see the truth on behalf of us all. Is this the chief weakness of ideology and how would an ideologist try to get round it ?
KM ; Well, it is certainly an interesting trick to discover a position from which you can declare that virtually everything else that has been thought or asserted by other people is wrong, distorted and subject to your correction because you have the key to reality. This is a source of excitement for ideologists and it depends upon the fundamental doctrine, expressed in Marx, that being determines consciousness. In a way, my book can be regarded as an analysis of the rhetorical power, which is enormous, of this single doctrine. What happens is that everything in the realm of ideas is asserted to derive from some external non-intellectual source of being. In Marxism, of course, this is the mode of production and man's experience as a producing creature. One might imagine it in terms of Atlas carrying the world on his shoul-deis, the world being everything we think and Atlas being the outside determinant like race or class. The effect of this doctrine is that whoever possesses the true theory of being is logically in a position to knock off every conceivable thought or objection which may be brought against him just so long as the
ideologist can impose on other people a belief in the base-and-superstructure analysis.
Metaphysical Grandeur
PG : Is ideology a recent phenomenon ?
KM : In the rather precise sense that I have been describing it, it belongs to the last 200 years. Many of the elements of ideology can be discerned in some of the more radical Enlightenment philosophes but there is no doubt that the great exponent of this remarkable mode of thought was Marx, and the group of socialists of the 1840s who brought together Enlightenment ideas with the romanticism flowering at the time. It is in this combination that ideology has swept the world. One might mention the belief in pain and struggle ; one of the interesting consequences of ideological ideas is that people who have never been out of breath in their lives describe their experiences in terms of incessant struggle! This is a romantic idea and it is one of the ways in which otherwise banal activities like attending committee meetings and making speeches can be given a kind of metaphysical grandeur. On the other hand, from the outside, these activities do look remarkably parasitic and unproductive.
Christianity and Ideology
PG ; Early in Chapter 2, you point out that ideology can play a similar role to religion in a person's life. Nevertheless, you tend to view Christianity as characterized by a passive acceptance of our fallen nature whereas it might be suggested that, like ideology, Christianity is a radical plan for the active transformation of the world -but with its roots in the spiritual as opposed to the material. Would you agree with this and do you see a link between the rise of ideology and the decline of religion ?
KM ; I certainly do not think that Christianity is a passive
acceptance of man's fallen condition; indeed, the very word passive has strong ideological overtones of disapproval. Nor, on the other hand, is Christianity in any way a programme for the transformation of the world. I would have thought that one of the central objects of Christianity is to lead people to accept their fallen condition and not to engage in exhibitions of the sin of pride which consists in "~believing that human beings can by their own unaided efforts transform human life. The fact that Christians are taught this entails nothing whatever about their active or passive attitude towards specific problems in the world around them. It is, of course, notable that a civilisation dominated by Christianity has been the most active and transformational the world has ever known.
With regard to the second part of your question, I suppose there must be a link - or many links - between the decline of religion and the rise of ideology. The obvious point to make here is that it was part of Marx's genius to observe that if you wanted to create a completely new order in the world, you had to do it by intensifying conflict and bringing the world to a climactic struggle : if you want to do that, an important move is to eliminate religion because religion, whatever its truth or falsity, is a large imaginative world which allows looseness and flexibility in the conflicts of the present world. So, by declaring religion to be mere fantasy, the opium of the people, Marx transformed politics into a straightforward fight over material things. This conception of politics as a zero-sum game is designed to bring about in the shortest possible time, revolutionary upheavals. The important point to be emphasised is that ideological theories are quite explicitly action theories whose point is to intensify conflict and bring a new set, of people to power.
Misleading Ideals
PG : The philosopher, Anthony Quinton, reviewing your book for "The Listener", thinks that you are not untouched by the ideological vice you so well identify. He accuses you of taking the worst sample of a disliked kind as typical and suggests that generous impulses play their part in ideologies as well as the lust for knowledge and for power. What is your response ?
KM : When he says that generous impulses play a part in ideology, he is undoubtedly right about the real world we live in. There is no doubt that many adherents of ideology of every kind have been marked by generous, reforming, idealistic impulses. But I am concerned to isolate a specific type of thinking, because as a pure idea, ideology represents a nihilistic rejection not only of Western civilisation but of everything that is good in Western civilisation. This point needs to be understood, and is difficult, because ideologis often present themselves in terms of the ideals of our world. This is categorically misleading, for ideologies want to transform that world out of all recognition. Hence, none of the ideals by which ideologies operate could have any place at all in the remote future envisaged in which the structure of domination would have been completely superseded.
Cent pl5
Beaver, 20th May 1985
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page 15
FOOTBALL: IRELAND REVISITED
As the coach came to an abrupt halt near Lincoln's Inn, we suddenly came to the realisation that the LSE tour of Ireland had ended. The condition of the people on the coach was simply beyond description. Some were still wondering where they had left their bottles of unfinished duty-frees. Others, tired of being incommodiously cramped for so long, fled the coach with great pace.
Recollection of the tour itself can at first be difficult. An attempt, however, will be made.
Having arrived in Ireland on a midnight ferry, the two football teams together with the ladies'
hockey squad were taken on a rather long trip to Galway where their first fixture was scheduled in the afternoon. Plagued by tremendous fatigue, all three teams provided little opposition for Galway University. In his desperate bid to stay awake however, Elwyn Watkins, ignoring the passionate pleas made by Greenpeace,
mercilessly took a dip in the sea.
The next port of call was Dublin, the capital city where the tour was supposedly to end.
Haunted by the idea that there was definitely a Guinness surplus at St James' Gate, the LSE players bombarded almost every 'drinkable' pub in town.
These LSE-ites stormed the Guinness Brewery itself the next day and memory of what actually took place within those premises is unfortunately
Sing song on the boat home.
extremely vague. The players' afternoons were either spent at Mulligan's (renowned for serving the smoothest pint of Guinness in town), or at the Trinity College refectory where food was relatively cheap. As for the remaining matches, LSE did manage to record one victory : a combination side skippered by Jim Mclnally and inspired by Nigel Parsons, defeating University College, Dublin 4-1. I would like to thank, especially on behalf of my team, the organisers Jim and Nigel and all those who made the tour enjoyable by preaching the philosophy of "leave out the games and get on with the Drinking".
Jimmy Toh
Cont from pl4
The Secret of Ideology
PG : At the end of "Alien Powers" you write : "The ideologists have tried to transform the world. It is difficult enough trying to interpret it." In a similar vein, writers like Lesek Kolakowski have said that an ideology like Marxism neither interprets the world nor changes it, but is merely a repertoire of slogans serving to organise various interests. What, then, explains the fact that one third of humanity lives under governments which derive their raison d'etre from Marxist-Leninism or some variant ? What is the secret of ideology ?
KM : In asking that question, you force me to recognise that there is at least one similarity between me and the ideologist: I suppose I am attempting to reveal the rhetorical secret of how an ideology works. I have suggested that one of the sources of rhetorical power for ideology is the idea that it is revealing a secret which powerful forces in out society are trying to conceal. As for Marxism, I think that it is a theory which must be understood as revolutionary praxis : it is not at all an academic theory. Academics seek to explain the world and, having so frequently been wrong, are sceptical and cautious in their claims. The real experience of Marxism has been revolutionaries taking power in many countries. They have done so because they have promised modernisation. No doubt such governments have some achievements to their credit, but none of them so far has communicated to non-Western countries the secret of Western technological inventiveness and high productivity. It can also be argued that they have also given stability, and some measure of equal distribution of material goods to these countries. On the other hand, they have also killed a lot of people.
Intellectual Self-Absorption
PG : Let me move now to the relationship between ideology and social science. You have noted that for the ideologist, there is a conflict between scientific determinism and the role of voluntary human agents, one tending to invalidate the other. This conflict would appear to have implications for the so-called "social sciences" which, as Sir Karl Popper has observed, are often used for laying claim to objective models of analysis which are non-testable and which imply that history is somehow predetermined. Is not the very concept of social science a fraud behind which the ideologist takes cover
KM : That question involves so much that it requires a book! No, I do not think the idea of social science is a fraud although I would regard quite large areas of social science as being intellectually rather arid. A social science like economics, for example, studies the laws or law-like relationships between the consequences of individuals freely exchanging, producing and consuming. This is a perfectly legitimate, indeed fascinating, subject of enquiry. Political scientists study the contours of a self-conscious activity devoted to managing the public business of states. Sociologists are interested in the conventions and rules governing social life. This is all man studying the thing which most fascinates man : namely, man himself Now we come to the notorious problem : the more we study these things scientifically, the more we assume that human actions are determined, whatever our feelings of freedom when we actually act. This is one kind of problem in the social sciences but it is a different problem in the revolutionary praxis of ideology. In ideology, the claim is made that there is a science of social
'KILLER BEES' LADIES HOCKEY 2nd XI
The LSE Ladies Hockey 2nd XI strode forcefully onto the pitch at Galway. After a lengthy practice, the team took up their positions, teeth gritted ready to do honourable battle for victory. The whistle blew ... and the hopes and asperations faded abruptly in the reality of an impressive opposition (sprinkled with a few Internationals) on a fast, all-weather pitch. An indication of the balance of play can be found in the sought of some local lads knocking a ball about in the Galway University goal. However, Julie Oldroyd had what must be the game of her career in goal, against a frustrated opposition which could not believe how often the ball eluded the back of the net.
The LSE Ladies Hockey 2nd XI strolled onto the pitch at NIKE in Dublin in the glow of a late afternoon sun. Even though the Captain of NIKE had dubbed us the 'killer bees' for our spectacular black and yellow stripes, there seemed little chance of victory. Unexpex-tedly, it turned out to be an exciting game, especially as LSE pushed forward in the dying minutes of the second half Julie, caught up in the infectious zeal, cast aside her
pads and rushed forward to assist the attack. Although a little shocked at the disappearance of the goalie, Monica and Annabel coped admirably in maintaining the defence.
The final game of the tour is memorable mainly for the injuries sustained - particularly for Mel Roberts who caught a painful knock which later enabled her to develop the quintessential Elvis sneer. In terms of mere results it is fair to say that the tour was, well, successful; yet whatever our success rate on the pitch, it was a highly enjoyable tour. The Irish were friendly and hospitable - the home teams providing a meal in Galway and Dublin, and the locals politely refraining from comment on loud singing in a Galway pub.
Whilst Mel Roberts and cohort were pickpocketed in a seedy amusement arcade, the other girls were showing a distinct lack of entrepreneurial acumen, by turning down an opportunity to make the trip entirely self-financing. Jim Mclnally hustled them quickly out of the bordello which the hostel had recommended as suitable alternative accommodation.
I know that the whole team would like to thank Jim and Nigel Parsons for organising the trip,and inviting us all along. Caroline Paterson also deserves great praise not only for doing a beautiful cleaning job on the studs she never used, but also for being such a good captain.
In conclusion, there are a few secrets which I would like to be privy to — like what did Caroline Paterson have in her eye that took Adam so long to remove on the London-bound coach? Does Annabel ever stop smiling, or Lorna talking, or Shireen singing? Who bought the first bloody chomp bar? And finally, what on earth was Elwyn Watkins doing on a football tour?
Caroline Falkus
LSE HOCKEYTOUR TO HOLLAND
Despite the absence of the administrative eccentricities of Graham P., the assorted novices, junkies and alcoholics comprising the LSE Tourists managed to create their own mayhem. Chris R forgot the team shirts and in retaliation the team 'forgot' to pack his luggage.
An exhausting journey meant that most of the group(ies) were incapable of appreciating the boat trip around Amsterdam. A multi-lingual guide garbled on about gables whilst a happily oblibious team 'floated' down the canal.
After the first game it looked as though the team's ambitions of inebriation and playing success would both be fulfilled as the team won 5-0. The success, however, was short-lived, the hangover wasn't. Hyped up by their success, LSE faced Bloemendaal 3rds and ran out comfortable 8-0 losers. Humiliation was complete "when our gallant heroes were caught in no-man's land during a Dutch-German food fight. Worst affected was Chris' white jacket, as womaniser of the tour Andy O cowered behind it.
The coup de grace was a 2-1 defeat by Bloemendaal 9ths, despite the Stirling efforts of John "more veg please" Patten and Keith L's unexpected goal.
Thanks to the afi'able and inept Mark Dorey who led us confidently into the abyss. Special thanks to Tim R and family for their hospitality and all at Bloemendaal HC.
R.L and C.R
development which the ideologist understands and this science must, of course, be entirely deterministic. There are, indeed, all sorts of hedging devices which prevent the allegedly scientific character of ideology being tested. On the other hand, the imagination of ideologists is essentially melodramatic : ideological demonstrators will be found cheering one set of heroes and snarling at the villains they have detected in social and political life. Indeed, ideologically speaking, the whole global scene of international news in one vast pullulating melodrama in which evil men, heroic liberators and victims imtermingle with each other. Much of this is of a positively grisly simplicity, the kind of thing that belongs on the slogans outside the Brunch Bowl. But when ideologies like feminism and Marxism, are elaborated in academic terms, they look like competitors with the social sciences. In academic life, such theories can only be hypotheses subject to the bruising and battering of criticism. When, however, these theories occur in strictly ideological discourse, they are revealed truths which must be immune from criticism.
Student Power
PG ; You give many examples in "Alien Powers" of the hostility of ideologists to the academic world and I cannot resist giving two more. The first comes from Professor Stephen
Rose, of the Open University, who has written : "Scientists must understand and struggle against the undemocratic nature of science as an institution (its hierarchy - all power to the professors ; its elitism - all power to the experts; its sexism - all power to the men; and its racism - all power to Western modes of thought.)" The second comes from a booklet for students, called Student Power, from the infamous Polytechnic of North London, which states the objective : "So long as the universities and colleges provide some sort of space which cannot be permanently policed, they can become red bases of revolutionary agitation and preparation." How great a threat do you think ideology represents to an academic institution like the LSE and how might what I have described be tackled ?
KM : I suppose this question can be discussed historically. The last quotation about liberated red bases describes precisely the fantasy which became marvellously current in the late 1960s throughout the Western world and led to many enthusiastic confrontations in universities. If you ask survivors of that time, you will find that their eyes glaze over with remembrance of the excitements of those charming days. On the other hand, you will also find that the majority of them have a strong sense of futility about those events. They wasted a great deal of time and
had very little permanent effect on universities. This is partly because students who pass through universities in a few years, are very unlikely claimants to total power in universities. You would need the peculiar circumstances of some Latin American countries before you would find a situation where universities could become revolutionary sanctuaries from which the rest of society could be taken oyer. If this did happen, the consequences would be as nasty as in all previous revolutions : a lot of people would get killed, many more would be put in camps and there would be entrenched in power a new set of tyrants of the Castroite model. The Stephen Rose quotation is a typical ideological utterance. The main point to be made about it is that it illustrates the obsessional quality of ideological thought which revolves around one very simple idea; that of domination. An ideologist takes for analysis any feature of modern social life and arrives at this one absolutely prefabricated and unavoidable conclusion : all is domination.
PG : Finally, what are your plans for the future ?
KM : I would really like to move into a better class of intellectual company but I fear that I shall always have a lingering affection for the warm, intimate slumminess of ideological discourse !
Philip Groves
page 16
Beaver, 20th May 1985
BEAVER SPORT
HOCKEY LADIES' 1st XI
Overall this year has been a successful one for the Ladies' 1st XI. We entered the 1st Division, and depite losing eight of last years players who had put us there, established ourselves at the top until early March Our success was mainly due to the fact that we had virtually the same team members all season. The forward line was completely revitalised by newcomers Caroline Falkus and Sally Dunkelberger, our dynamic wings; Shannon Ellesmore, who as centre-forward, scored the most goals of the season; and Stephanie Walsh, who scored crucial goals especially in cup matches until she became ill with glandular fever. The halfs were Rachel Siviter, who nobly refused to play for ULU, and received our Player of the Year Award; Melanie Roberts who will be captain next year after having done most of the work this year, and Susannah Umbers who proved to be an exceedingly efficient fixtures Secretary even though she spent most of her time in Nottingham.
The backs were Jenny Otter-well who spent a great deal of the time telling the forwards to stop messing around and score some goals; and Claire Murphy who started the majority of matches with a hangover. Julie Oldroyd was fantastic in goal and thwarted the opposition consistently throughout the year.
John Patlon and Peter Williams wereour long-suffering referees, but at least they were paid for it and got free meals.
My thanks to everyone and good luck next year.
Anne Renton
Ladies Hockey l.st team high in spirits!
2nd XI
This being our inaugral season, my job as captain was to see that it wasn't our last!
After a promising start in the UAU's we were unlucky not to do better. Undaunted, we attacked the league fixtures leaving behind us a memorable trail of injuries, postponements, team practices (!) and the occasional victory.
Our style of play may have at times been unorthodox, but this has not hampered our enthu-siasrT'. which was most evident in the highlight of the season -the tour to Ireland. This managed to prove beyond doubt that our team spirit is alive and we'll invade any hockey field!
Squad 84/85 - Sandra, Anne F, Anna H, Monica, Jo C, Jojo, Annabel, orna, Debbie, Cathy, Catherine, Shireen, Frances, Geri and myself
Special thanks to Catherine Gilmartin, our Fixtures Secretary.
Caroline Paterson (Captain)
MENS 2nd XI
On the whole it has been a pretty groovy season. Well actually the hockey hasn't been that good but we've had a few good laughs anyway.
Memorable moments included a 7 - 1 thrashing of some Pharmacutical School in the middle of nowhere. In fact, in the optimistic days of January and February we conned ourselves into the belief that we could actually achieve promotion! Ha bloody ha. This boyish enthusiasm was soon to be replaced by a general aura of consternation in Blitzkrieg Headquarters (myself, A1 Summers and John Patton) as the seconds began to take on the apearance of Napoleon's defeated army. Special thanks must go to the deserters who screwed up many a Wednesday afternoon. Where were you? We could have conquered the universe!
Thanks must be given to the undying faithful - Issan 'the mad axe-man' Quasim (who actually learned the rules
HOUGHTON STREET HARRY
With the 1000 and 2000 Guineas going to close finishes we now have perhaps the most "Open Derby in years" to look forward to. Form books were turned around once again in the Mecca Dante stakes on Wednesday 15th with Damister over perhaps its best distance beating,- in soft ground, second favourite for the Derby Les Arcs along with Reach and Royal Harmony. Les Arcs, from the in form Michael Stoute stable, is sure to stay the Derby distance being a half brother to that top class performer Electric, but this defeat cannot be overlooked and he may not even run. Slip Anchor has now been installed as favourite after an impressive win on Saturday but this horse was, on its first time out, beaten by Les Arcs. With all this and faltering confidence in Shadeed
I still stick with Royal Harmony who, although held up in his training earlier this year, was running on well in the Guineas and will be suited by the longer distance. If the going is good then I go for him to win with Sabona the best each way bet. In the Oaks on 8th June, Oh So Sharp is favourite to win after the 1000 Guineas victory but Bella Colora will certainly be there or thereabouts.
before the end of the season), the long-suffering John Patton who refused to be ruffled by anything and of course A1 Summers, the administration brain (?) behind the team. If it were not for A1 we would have played fewer games (as no-one else could decipher the fixture card) and we would have had no-one to laugh at either. Good luck to A1 as he takes control of the UL Hockey next yea.t as Fixtures Secretary and God help the rest of us.
Thanks to all who attempted to desert from the scum of the 1st XI to the ranks of the Jedi. Having to play left wing was adequate retribution to the rats.
We expect big things from the seconds next year. Until then this year's command element are searching for new victims who can assist us in advancing a world conquest.
CRICKET
KENT V LSE (U.A.U Championship, 1st May)
KENT 204-9 60 overs,
Jones 74, Smith 51.
Troy 2-24, Daw^son 4-83.
LSE 171-10 55 overs, Dawson 57, Arkle 29, Dougall 25, Bull 3-63. LSE almost produced a miraculous win after collapsing to 37 for 6 chasing Kent's 204-9 in 60 overs. Successive 50-partnerships between Dougall and Dawson, and Dawson and Arkle caused Kent to begin to panic until LSE lost their last two wickets just 30 runs short of victory.'
Earlier in the day Kent won the toss and elected to bat. Tom Troy made two early breakthroughs dismissing both openers. However Kent recovered and began to bat steadily on an easy paced pitch. This was despite a ferocious spell from Howard "you can't arrest me. I'm a Law student" Slone. At lunch, with LSE spinners bowling economically, the game was finely balanced with Kent at 100 for 3 off 37 overs. After play was resumed Kent's skipper, Jones, opened up with some fine strokes to score 74 and take Kent to 204 for 9, which appeared to leave the game
wide open.
Unfortunately, the Kent opening bowlers bowled out LSE's first six batsment to leave LSE shell-shocked at 37 for 6. Then Dawson, Dougall and Arkle showed determination sadly lacking by the earlier batsmen taking LSE so near to victory
LSE V CITY (UAU Regional Match, 8th May)
LSE 238 all out (60 overs) Castle 86, Faryab 42, Bull 34. CITY 77 all out Dawson 5-29, Bull 3-13, Slone 2-22.
LSE won by 161 runs.
LSE stormed through to the knock-out stage of the UAU Championship with a comprehensive 161 run victory over City University. The match followed the pattern of other recent games at New Maiden as LSE batted,first, piled on the runs and then skittled the opposition batsmen.
The City skipper having won the toss, was fooled by the green appearance of the pitch into putting LSE in to bat. After losing skipper Sadler early on, Faryab and Bull began to play' LSE into a strong position until both got out when well set. LSE lunched with the score at 130 for 4 off 37 overs. The game hung in the balance, and the next hour was crucial.
Dave Castle returned from lunch to play a powerful, commanding innings of 86. Tim Dawson and Steve Newall pro-
vided good support as LSE reached 238 all out.
Inspired by his innings of 0 not out, Howard Slone charged in to bowl like a man possessed. A ferocious opening spell brought him 2 wickets and exposed City's fragile batting line-up. Then Tim Dawson (5-29) and Rob Bull (3-13) wrapped up the match as City were bowled out for 77.
LSE V CHELSEA COLLEGE
(ULU CUP 1st round, 5th May).
LSE romped through to the second round of the ULU Cup by beating Chelsea by 181 runs. Chelsea spent 40 overs "chasing leather' as LSE amassed 297-2. (Bull 106, Castle 115 not out). Then steady 'Del-Boy' Smith and Rick Shaw took three wickets each as Chelsea were dismissed for 98.
Nigel Cardus
LSE V SUSSEX (UAU Regional Tournament, 4th May)
LSE 241-8 60 overs.
Faryab 123 SUSSEX 124 all out Bull 6-42, Dawson 3-14 LSE won by 117 runs.
N.U.A.S. ' SPORTASIA
This year's competition was held at Aston University, Birmingham and brought together over 300 students, originating from the Indian sub-continent, from universities and polytechnics from all over England. Ten N.U.A.S regions were represented at the weekend, and the Inner London region was represented by teams from LSE and PCL.
LSE's team of eight performed exceptionally well and reached the finals of badminton, table-tennis and volleyball. Rajan snatched the badminton men's doubles title in a very closely contested game and lost narrowly in the singles final. Our table-tennis team of Mandy, Ketan and Pureet reached all the finals and won the ladies' and men's doubles titles. Dilesh narrowly lost the final game in the squash men's singles semifinals. His spirited comeback from 1-8 down to 9-9 all was not enough to get him through to the finals. Reaching the volleyball finals was a bonus for us as we were not one of the better teams in the competition. Although we were convincingly beaten by Wolverhampton Polytechnic, our team of Redza, Tina, Rajan, Dilesh and Deepak put up a good fight. The Inner London region were declared overall runners-up of Sportasia 1985.'Congratulations to all the competitors from LSE and PCL for a very successful weekend. Apart from the sports competition, a cultural evening comprising of music and dance was also organised. Finally, a big thank-you to the LSE India Society Supporters' Club, without whom the weekend would have been very dull!
S. Shah
AU OPEN DAY SAT 22nd JUNE
All welcome to the annual extrvaganza at New Maiden.
Attractions include football, tennis, rugby, hockey, netball followed by a disco.
Refreshments available all day. Commentary of the day's events will be provided by John Nolan in person.
Coaches will leave Rosebery and Carr-Sauvders at 10.30am. Trains from Waterloo leave every half hour.
Entry posters will be put up in the TV Room by Florries for tennis and six-a-side football.