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BRmSH U&RARY
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OF POLITICAL Am MIC SCIENC
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NEWSPAPER OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS STUDENTS' UNION
No. 194
NOVEMBER ftth, 1980
Student Unions face extinction
FOLLOWING the report last issue on the N.U.S. Campaign against the proposed change in Student Union financing, the L.S.E. Students' Union Senior Treasurer, Mr. Kelvin Baynton has made ciear some of the effects that the new system would have on the position here at L.S.E.
As most readers will be aware, the proposal of Br. Rhodes Boyson is to end the direct payment of capitation fees to the Unions by local authorities and force negotiations between Unions and their parent institutions. In other words, the Unions would have to compete with academic departments Iqr the resources of the university. Dr. Boyson iS assuming' that the average capitation fee would be £32 next year, but Mr. Baynton points out that the LSE figure would be nearer £44. Dr. Boyson's would produce' a shortfall of £42,000.
Much more important, Mr. Baynton argues, is the fact that no money would be earmarked for Student Unions. The. parent institutions would be given- an amount of money for Unions (albeit an unrealis-tically low one), but there would be nothing to compel the university or college concerned to hand over the cash. In theory, therefore, it would be possible for Student Unions to
Kelvin Baynton
be starved out of existence or, more likely, have their autonomy severely restricted by threat of withdrawal of funds.
The National Union'of Stu-. dents is trying to get this system postponed for at least one year, and is organising two marches on November 28th— one in London and one in Edinburgh—and for no lectures to be held on that day to enable students to go to one of the centres and protest. There will also be a picket of the Univei'-sity Grants Commission (situated near Regents Park) on November 26th.
At L.S.E., there will be two meetings specificially to discuss the proposals. The first, on November 18th, will be held in the New Theatre and will be a
briefing session which societies and the Athletic Union are invited to attend. The second will be held in the Old Theatre on November 25th and will be addressed by Sean Costello, General Secretary of the London Student Organisation (London region of N.U.S.) Petitions and leaflets will also appear and students will be invited to write to their M.P's urging them to take action to change the government's mind.
Mr. Baynton also wished to point out that a similar system of Union financing to that which is being proposed existed before 1975 and led to conflict between the School and the Union at L.S.E. He is hopeful that it would be possible., to. secure adequate funding at L.S.E. but nevertheless urges g. "lively participation in the protests. ¦'
KEIR HOPLEY.
S.U. FINANCING—Stop Press
The Government at last admitted on Thursday that its calculation of £32 as an average per capita fee was inaccurate. Mr Baynton see this admission as a recognition by the Government that it had been over-hasty in producing concrete proposals, and he is confident that concerted action by NUS and local student unions can delay the scheme's implementation.
FLOWERS' OUT, MEDICAL SCHOOLS' FUTURE STILL UNCERTAIN
by SiMON GARFIELD
THE future of medical education in London has once again been cast into the melting pot, following a meeting of the University Court last Thursday.
The Flowers Report published last February and the subsequent amendments by the Joint Planning Committee of the Court and Seinate have both been rejected in part by the Court. A three-month moratorium has been called to consider the cost-effectiveness of all previous proposals, and a final decision is expected at the beginning of February.
Initial plans to regroup 34 separate schools of medicine and dentistry into six schools met
with widespread opposition from both students and medical staff earlier this year. The working party chaired by Lord Flowers hoped to save £3 million by centralising what were acknowledged to be unparalleled institutions of medical education. The mergers were designed to bring teaching into line with the forecast that 2,300 acute beds would be lost within the next ten years.
Students from all the major teaching hospitals chained themselves to railings and held candlelit processions in an effort to avert the proposed merger of their schools. If plans had been implemented in full, Westmin-
ster Medical School would have been axed completely, and preclinical schools at the Royal Free and King's College as well as several postgraduate medical institutes would also have faced closure.
The Joint Planning Committee report, which first appeared three weeks ago, proposed a streamlining of the original working party plans. It noted that there was no need for the Westminster School to close if it merged with that of Charing Cross, and that the Royal Free could save its pre-clinical department if the cost of moving (Continued on Page Four)
Warden denies intimidation
WITH support for the rent strike stiil official union policy, despite 65% at Carr-Saunders, 75% at Rosebery and 80% at Passfieid having paid, the Inter-Halls Committee held its second meeting of the year at Rosebery on Friday.
Aftej the minutes of previous meetings had been approved, the committee received a delegation from the Union consisting of Ed Jacob, Kelvin Baynton, Paul Whittaker and (merely as an observer)) Paul Blacknell. In his address to the committee, .Mr Jacob eloquently appealed to the student members to reconsider their decision to accept the correct fees, asking whether or not they had seriously considered the hardship caused to students by the increases above the increase in the grant. About twenty-five people arrived to picket the meeting at approximately 2.15 pm, by which time the committee was in session,
After the Union delegation had departed, there was a discussion of intimidation which led to heated exchanges. The Carr-Saunders student representatives accused warden (and committee chairman) Ed Kuska of interviewing students individually or in small groups with a View to frightening them into paying their rents. Dr Kuska denied, however, that he had taken any action outside the normal procedures or attempted to intimidate anyone. The matter of anti-rent strike students being asked to leave meetings of the open committee was also raised, and Martin Benfield (Fitzroy Street flats and Union Executive) said that if such incidents had occurred they were regretted by the Union.
After this item, the Carr-Saunders representatives had to leave due to other commitments, and the meeting proceeded to a detailed examination of the accounts. Much concern, was expressed at the escalation of the costs of the Pass-field conversion project, and attempts will be made to minimise the amounts involved.
During discussion of the extra costs and of the problem of the repayment of the Rockefeller Endowment Fund, new proposals were put forward and, after a meeting lasting over four hours, the committee adjourned in order to give all sides a chance to consider their position. An emergency meeting will be held on November 21 to discuss the committee's submission to the standing committee.
E. MAY
Rent sfriice continues
THE Rent Strike is to continue following the decision of last Thursday's Union meeting, but support for it in halls remains weak and a majority of residents have now paid their rents to the hall authorities.
The Union meeting carried a motion calling for the continuation of the strike and attacking what it described as the intimidation of students at Carr-Saunders Hall, where the Warden has sent notices to all residents warning that they will be subject to a £1 fine if they pay their rents late.
The motion was carried by 200 votes to 160, a rather narrower majority than at the meeting at which the strike was originally called.
The news that over half of the residents at Carr-Saunders, stronghold of the rent strike, have paid their rents comes as something of an embarrassment to the organisers of the strike, especially for Union General Secretary Ed Jacob.
At the Union meeting on the 30th of October, Jacob said he woufd "reconsider" his support for the rent strike if a majority of hai! residents paid their rents. Although a majority of residents have now done so, he has given no sign that he will stop supporting the strike.
Some students have complained that they have been excluded from meetings of the open committee that is running the rent strike. Both the Union Constitution and the Committee's terms of reference make it clear that all students are entitled to attend these meetings.
Following the complaints thai certain students had been "asked" very forcibly to leave, there have been suggestions that the matter be referred fa the Constitution Committee.
S.J.
CONTENTS
Page	2	Letters
Page	3:	News
Page	4	The Union and
		Briefly
Page	5:	L.S.E. with C.N.D.
Page	6:	The Northern
Page	7;	Ireland Debate
Page	8:	Merlyn Rees
Page	9:	London Arts
Page	10	Beaver Books
Page	11	Greek student fees
Page	12:	Ents— Rockpile
Page	13	Album Reviews
Page	14:	Squashed with AU
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PAGE 2
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SUSFAS—INGRAM REPLIES
UNION EFFECTIVENESS QUESTIONED
DEAR SIRS,—As an American General Course student studying government I am intrigued by the political hotbed of activism that seems to. exist at LSE. Understanding that many claim LSE.to be politically apathetic, I find a small percentage that is extremely active. When I first arrived I was surprised to find these students so strongly connected with political parties and involved in working for such political goals. But recently I have questioned the direction of this political energy.
It seems that politically-minded LSE students see social change as being inseparable from political ideology. Students embrace the ideas: of political parties, which are based on visible value systems, and see these as solutions to present soon1. problems in themselves : a view that "the system" is a type of machine in which the ruling" .right-wing government can turn the proper mechanics to i.-reduce- social satisfaction. Tqq many times I hear, "a socialist revolution" or "a labour changed government" or ''a patient1 public under a Conservative administration" can solve the pressing problems of the day Whether this be true or not I cannot say. but . question
B 2AVER
Newspaper of the LSE
London School of Economics
Students' Union, East
Guiding, Houghton St..
London WC2A 2AE
01 -405 8594/5/6
. EDITORS:
SIMON GARFIELD and KEIR HOPLEY
STAFF:
' HELEN FAWCETT RODDY HALLIFAX ALEX WYNTER ROWENA WHELAN BONNIE HONIG SIMON JAMES RICHARD PARRACK STELLA ORAKWUE JENNY BEESTON BECKY SMITH?. RS MARGARET CAMERON-WALLER COLIN BATES
PHOTOS:
SIMON GROSSET
CARTOONS:
MAGNUS SPENCS
OPEN MEETING :
FRIDAY, 14th NOV. -
COPY DATE :
WED., 19th NOV.
. All articles and letters . welcome.	,
the student political participation in this realm.
I think student politics can be much more effective by addressing and working for specific issues rather than jumping into the political grandeur of political parties. Students do have opinions on issues that are different from those of other age or class groups. Whether our opinions are naive or creative because of our youthfui perceptions, they are nevertheless somewhat unique. I feel students should unite with a voice on nuclear power and weapons, discrimination, air pollution, economic policies, solar energy, specifically instead of joining the "'one solution ail" campaigns of parties.
Under the present structure students speak, on these issues through the Students' Union. I think this, muffles the sound. Which is more effective, the union resolving that it supports the anti-nuclear cause or a student group that makes people aware of the issue through outreach, getting activelv involved with present legislation " and putting pressure on all parties to adopt such causes?.
Why should on'y the Labour students cheer when their conference adopts a unilateral disarmament opinion ? All students concerned should cheer and make it clear that such an idea is in the interest of students. as a whole : straddling party lines as an opposition or collaborator to political parties.
Why at LSE are there eight political "societies" and not one solar energy group, one disarmament group ? Such individual groups are .more equipped to stay abreast with the issues, communicate with groups which share their view and are better able to inform students and mobilise them when the time calls for such participation.
Of course, this opinion is from a newcomer to British politics and British student politics. Maybe I am underestimating the effectiveness of student political participation. But nevertheless, my first impressions see British student politics being swept up by the national parties in an effort to gain support. I am not claiming that some students do not embrace a political party's ideology completely ;¦ I question the political effectiveness of students whose concerns are bipartisan but subsequently trapped within the confine of party ideology.
•. •;	Name supplied
Dear Sirs,
I HAVE followed with some amazement the cynical actions of this year's executive who seem to hide their shortcomings by blaming people who can't speak back. I am sure that in the interests of balance and freedom of information you will allow this letter some space in your paper.
The majority group on the Executive have made many statements and allegations that do not stand up to any serious investigation. They claim that the Gordon Young Report was commissioned without Union authority, despite the- fact that the Executive decided to commission it not the sabbaticals. It is interesting to note that the current General Secretary supported the basis of the report in the field of staffing.
Mr Staniforth was not appointed to replace Mr Bruin, as was made perfectly clear in the job description that was approved by the Executive. Mr Staniforth was appointed as a senior staff member with managerial responsibilities. a role that the Union Finance Secretary did not have. Senior members of the Labour Club knew this and
indeed supported this move as a means of allowing the sabbaticals to get on with their real job, representing students.
At all times the Admin Sub-Committee and the Executive were the decision making body, as required by the constitution, and at no time did any of the sabbaticals act unconstitutionally. If this was not the case why did the Labour Club members on the Executive wait over a year before taking any action ?
As this process was a constitutional one I fail to see why this matter was not brought up last year through the normal channels especially when the Labour Club had an effective majority. The only reason is that they wanted to wait until Labour Club candidates had been elected for sabbatical posts and the summer holiday denied any effective opposition from the student body.
What is most saddening about this whole affair has been the shabby way a member of staff has been treated, especially after the sabbaticals had said to his face that they were looking forward to working with him and his job was secure. This petty attitude in an attempt to gain short term poli-
tical mileage helps no one, and if anyone wants to know what Jeff did in his one year at LSE one only has to look at the new bar and accommodation. The Bar which has cost the union next to nothing has been built ahead of schedule by the University saving the Union at least £50,000 and its bar from closure. Jeff had already earned his salary five times over.
As a final note I would like to point out to the membership that this Union has a policy-passed at a union meeting of no redundancies and no natural wastage. It therefore must be-the duty of the current sabbaticals to readvertise the post, seek to change union policy retrospectively or resign.
I remain, committed to union policy, it's a pity the chic Hamp-stead socialists don't.
Yours sincerely
J. INGRAM Senior Treasurer 1977-9
' PS The company I work for and the Labour Club derides:
a)	Has a policy of No redundancies.
b)	Used to be the Labour party's agency until 1978.
RENT STRIKE: TWO VIEWS
Dear Sirs,
SOURCES on the staff at Carr-Saunders Hall recently told me that "over 60%" of students had paid their iees for this term. Furthermore "we could fill the places of the Rent-Strikers over five times over." Given that the Rent-Strike can. thus, now be deemed a complete failure, questions must surely arise about the future. The Strike has shown that any attempt by the students' union (or rather in this case, a minority group within the SU) to rally the residents of the halls against their will in . support of militant action will never work with the spectre of .the failure of this strike as a precedent. More importantly, in the short term, has the Rent-Strike prejudiced the chances of readmission to hall of the 25 people involved ?
It was a shame that these people did not listen to the more moderate advice offered to them at the time, for instance by our organisation, that the Strike was badly organised and could not be reliable unless started spontaneously by the halls themselves.
The fact that a small number of people have paid into the Rent-Strike fund shows the wardens of the halls who is likely in future to be susceptible to the disruptive influences of the group that is responsible for this stirke. It can only be hoped that in the event of any discrimination next year other students will find it in their hearts to-support the victims in seeking a fair deal.
Yours sincerely,
TIM DEVLIN VICE CHAIRMAN Federation Of Conservative Students
Dear Sirs,
WE have now reached the 6th week of term and the rent strike has achieved a solid base of support inside and outside the halls from which we can begin to challenge the extortionate rent increases unilaterally imposed by the School last year. The rent - strike stall set up in St Clement's foyer over the last 4 weeks has collected over 600 signatures in support of the rent strike. Although many people have paid their rents, this was only to be expected in the first term of the strike after the Hall Wardens decided to act quickly to ensure that students were pressed into paying their rent before having a chance to listen to the arguments.
In PCL A RENT STRIKE THAT STARTED WITH 18% SUPPORT NOW HAS 80% SUPPORT AND HAS FORCED THE AUTHORITIES TO RENEGOTIATE THE RENTS.
The LSE is now worried that this could happen here. Hall Wardens have taken it into their own hands to try to break strikers' determination by petty harassment. Meanwhile the people who sold us out last year have organised attempts to smash union meetings and prevent students from holding meetings in Halls to save face over their absurd and antidemocratic actions last year.
If the rent strike fails, as the assorted rabble of Liberal and Tory hacks dearly wish, the School may well feel that next year they can push up the rents again. The point is not whether LSE can produce a case to justify their rents, they had a case for
rents of £34 per week in Halls, but that the School has an obligation to provide accommodation especially for first year and overseas students AT A PRICE THEY CAN AFFORD. The rent strike is an effective way we can ensure that they fulfil this obligation.
TONY DONALDSON LSE Labour Club
Election results
The delayed elections for the National Union of Students Conference eventually took place on Thursday, October 30 by ali-day ballot, and a low turnout produced an interesting set of results. Elected were:
Delegates:
David Johnson (Delegation Leader) (Conservative)
Helen Fawcett (Labour Club) Mark Kirby (Labour Club) Sarah Lewthwaite (Liberal)
Observers:
Peter Crockford (Labour Ctub)
Tim Devlin (Conservative) David Rose (Labour Club)
The Conference takes place H* Margate in early December, and Beaver editor Keir Hopley wilt file reports in detail.
News in brief
THE School's vacation grants will increase by roughly 20 per cent this year in an effort to keep in line with inflation. They will be available to all studying for exams over Easter, but only "special cases" will be eligible for grants at Christmas and over the summer.
Christmas grants will be approved for all those catching-up with work lost through absenteeism, and only those engaged in School-based studies may apply fer funds for part of the lengthy summer vacation.
Despite these restrictions, the Students' Union are nevertheless encouraging everyone to
apply for a grant if they foresee personal financial hardship. The Union points out that up to December '78 everyone was entitled to ask for a Christmas grant, no matter what their circumstances. Those with serious financial problems are still recommended to seek assistance from the School's independent Hardship Fund.
• Following lengthy discussion over the summer, the Students' Union have been allowed to take over the School-run Hal-dane Room bar. The Union felt that the School was receiving considerable profit from business arising purely out of Union-
funded social events. They are currently seeking their own licence, and will run the bar in conjunction with Charrington Breweries.
It now seems likely that the bar will close at the end of the academic year and move to a new site directly adjoining the Haldane Room.
• The Union's campaign for September re-sits took a new turn last week with the School's statement that they are "currently reviewing the matter". Dr Sinclair, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, doubted whether anything could be done before 1982.
General Secretary Ed Jacob expressed concern last week over how the matter was continually being put off, despite full support from the majority of L.S.E. teaching staff. He announced that the Union would put further pressure on the School's administration to speed up the implementation of this much-needed reform.
• Bad communications within the School have led to 30 armchairs being destroyed in Carr Saunders Hall on the same day that the Union put in a request for old furniture for student flats.
The action of Carr Saunders' warden and bursar has been criticised as "sheer wastage" at a time when several sectors of student accommodation are desperately short of furnishing.s
S.G.
Room with a view. Ed Jacob changes offices.
VitMMCS/'
LETTERS
Forum for the developing world
Dear Sirs,
WITH unemployment at well over two million, the situation is ideal for Britain's Nazis to grow and they have not been slow to respond. What started as a slow process after their electoral decline has now picked up momentum. Out in the streets and the gigs, the football' terraces and the estates, the schools and the dole queues, apparently isolated incidents can be drawn together to paint an alarming picture of fascist advances.
This year alone, fascists have marched in over eight major towns and a host of smaller ones.
There is increasing support for fascist groups, mainly the Nazi British Movement, support which so far has been unchallenged. Attempts are now being made to revitalise the Anti-Nazi League which has declined since 1978, when, by the admission of the National Front itself, it managed to stop the growth of fascist support.
What is important for antifascists to recognise is that people are being drawn to fascism through unemployment, disillusionment with the existing system and the lack of credibility of the main political parties. This is-, where campaigners like the Right to Work come in, linking unemployment with the growth of fascism, and it is this link which will have to be strongly emphasised over the coming year.
The L.S.E. Right to Work Campaign is mobilising both for the British Movement march on November 23rd from Hyde Park to Paddington and the Right to Work march from Manchester to Liverpool (Nov. 25th-29th), which will arrive in time for the national demonstration on unemployment on the 29th.
If anyone is interested in joining the Anti-Nazi League or the L.S.E. Right to Work Campaign could you please contact me c/o Student Union offices.
Stop the BM march !
Assemble 11.30 at Ladbrooke Grove.
UNMESH DESAI,
L.S.E. S.W.S.O.
Dear Editors,
I WOULD like to draw the attention of your readers to a newly formed society. We are a forum that is essentially radical in nature and without political affiliations. We seek to create a society that will facilitate discussions and debates on a number of very topical and controversial issues. Controversy does after all, appear to be an inherent part of our existence.
Various aspects within the international framework are expected to be covered in the coming year. No specific issue will dominate and hopefully the whole spectrum within the political and socio-economic domain will come into play. Obviously as our name clearly suggests the preponderance of the tussle within and without the developing world will be
highlighted. This element of survival concerns us all, and there is no room for nonchalance. All viewpoints are welcome at our forthcoming meetings as this will enhance the clarity (or as the case may be, blur) of the discussion in progress.
Apart from having regular dissussion sessions we hope to arrange a series of talks and lectures by relevant specialists. In addition there is the occasional bookstall portraying the views of the developing world which again we hope you will become familiar with.
Finally it is crucial that all interested do participate irrespective of your standing on the relevant issues. The growth of a lively and stimulating atmosphere is what we are looking forward to.
MAROOF KHAN
at
An alternative American uncle
I'VE been driven to write this reply to William Shebar's review of the last issue by a sense of panic created by the lack of recognition and the injustice the author paid to Alain Resnais' work. Throughout the review Shebar uses his simplistic and narrow-minded view of what he thinks Resnais is trying to do, to discredit everything the film puts forward.
He bypasses the reference to "Waiting for Godot" implicit in the title and the concept of the American uncle—the object of hope and expectation. Shebar accuses Resnais of attempting to expose the "uncle" as a delusion but what Resnais is trying to do, as Beckett did, is to emphasize the doubt and the uncertainty (recurring themes in Resnais' work) that can strike those who wait.
Shebar also disallows any possible validity Professor Laborit's theories (which are related during the film) may have. He labels them Reductionist: merely because he mentions neurones; he calls them simplistic: and I wonder how many cinema goers would be prepared to sit through a detailed discussion of Laborit's theories along with their many years of background research. Mr Shebar seems to have forgotten something that Resnais hasn't, that cinema is basically an entertainment. Furthermore in Laborit's own words, "My ideas should not be applied directly to the behaviour of the characters, they are merely presented as aids in their decoding."
The reviewer finds the rat-footage in the film insulting and believes that Resnais is trying to shock the spectator with these images of rat-men. Again, to me. this seems a gross misjudgement of Resnais' intentions. The rat-men sequences appear as counterpoints to what has gone before: nobody likes to hear a one-sided argument, and with these images Resnais takes an ironic look at what has just been said by Laborit. Resnais admits he is no scientist, his interest in Laborit's ideas is political— the- basic premise being that anything that can help man get an insight into his motivations and his behaviour is an important step towards an improvement of the human condition.
Finally Mr Shebar finds the characters shallow and unreal, I cannot but respect his personal opinion. For me they are as interesting as any in any recent film I have seen, and frequently more so. Without people like the actress (whom Shebar finds superficial), who are prepared to fight, to strive, to stick to their concept of the truth, and to keep moving with their eyes on a di-eam (a Utopia?)—mankind would be more stagnated than it is. This film which William Shebar rejected last week, is, for me, an important milestone, a new dimension, in cinema as an entertainment, and as an art.
CHRISTOfHE ARMERO
the hop
by PETER MAGYAR
ON the evening 29 October, Freshers from the LSE joined their contemporaries from the other London colleges, at the Lyceum Ballroom. The occasion: the 1980 Freshers' Hop organized jointly by the NUS and Capital Radio.
Unlike the Evening Standard's Emma Soames I did not go with any preconceptions. People were not breathing with the aid of glue-sniffing apparatus nor were they injecting themselves intravenously in the darker corners of his monument to nouveau-riche interior decoration.
Capital's Mike Allen had the unenviable task of trying to instil a "party atmosphere" among self-conscious Freshers who were wondering where to deposit their overcoats as the cloakrooms were inconveniently ' unmanned. It was only after a couple of strictly over-priced drinks and idle conversation that people decided to take to the dance floor. (Doubtless many were encouraged by Allen hurling Capital sweatshirts, T-shirts, stickers and incredibly useless mini-frisbees into the crowd).
Once reassured that all had lost their inhibitions our host managed to pluck five couples from the dance floor (at the second attempt) to participate in a truly inane game. The object was for the girls to inflate a balloon which was in their partner's trouser zip until it burst. Yes, the inevitable blow-job joke was cracked, and an anti-sexism letter was already in the post to NUS.
Mike Allen was later replaced by "our refugee from across the sea" —Greg Edwards. Smirking Greg informed one and all that disco was the only "cool" music around and therefore refused to play anything else.
By now members of the South Bank Polytechnic had rallied together chanting, "South Bank! South Bank!" with accompanying football style salutes. Not wishing to be outdone the other colleges did likewise but failed to drown them. The real "highlight'' of the evening was Greg Edwards' Beauty Contest. Petrified girls had to put on an ill-fitting Capital T-shirt and tried to look as sexy as possible. Those sitting in the balcony had to judge by levels of cheering, the "clapo-meter" born anew. The eight contestants from the South Bank were duly dismissed and a girl from King's was the deserving winner. Another anti-sexism letter ...
Nicky Home continued the festivities by playing music which Edwards had deprived us of. Freshers exasperated by the "disco-
for
fund
THE LSE Appeals Office is to hold a major book sale from the 26th to 28th November to raise money tor the School's 1980's Fundi. This will be the first event of its kind for several years, and Assistant Appeals Officer Debbie Rogerson hopes to raise up to £1,0S0 from the venture.
Alt teaching staff have been asked to donate only those books which they consider students and colleagues will wish to buy, so there wilf be no battered or out-of-date items for sale. The old union shop on the ground floor of St Clements building will be used for the* event on the 26th and 27th, and any unsold books will be auctioned on the final; day of the sale in the Connaught House boardroom.
On both days the old shop will be open all day from 9 am to 6 pm and on the second day books will be reduced by a further 10 per cent. Staff from the Economist Bookshop have offered to supervise the event and assist in pricing items. No books wilt be reserved especially tor the auction but the organisers hope to receive! a few rare or autographed: books which will go on sale from the shop on a first come —first served! basis.
Mr C. C'Mulrcheartaigh, popular statistics lecturer and "accomplished- extrovert" has agreed to conduct the auction, and as no books have a reserved price it is likely that many will go for only a few pence each. In the shop, books wilt be grouped! under each of the School's 16 departments, while at the auction several items on a similar topic may be sotct as a cheap "job-lot."
This is. at last an opportunity of picking up a sought-after bargain antf helping the School in the process^ Above ail, it is a rare- chance to find out what yo?ir tutor really reads>. One copy of The Telegraph Yearbook says more about you than The Earfy History Of The Labour Party ever can.
S.G
beat" relieved themselves by bopping and pogoing to Tom Robinson's "2-4r6-8 Motorway." Bogged down by requests conveyed on empty cigarette boxes, Home started playing Heavy Metal.
The slogan "Bop 'till you drop at the Freshers' Hop" was duly obeyed and exhausted Freshers filtered out of The Lyceum* most it seems satisfied with their taste of NUS ents.
PAGE 4
IT'S NOT FUNNY MARK
Union General
Meeting October 30th
CHAIRPERSON Mark Kirtoy quickly brought the meeting to order with a continuation of the motions from last week. The belated response of the NUS towards the Conservative Government's proposals to alter Student Union financing was sharply critical and culminated in a comparison between David Aaronovitch and Stalin.
There was more agitation over the question of LSE's refusal to charge EEC rates to Greek students. Martin Clavane declared that the LSE was acting as the "tool of the government." (Shouts from all sides.) However, LSE students, being of a philanthropic disposition, agreed to support the resolution.
The Mob soon had cause to release their frustrations when Mark Kirby announced that a two-thirds majority was re-
quired to pass on to next business. Enter Keir Hopley, who informed the UGM that a simple majority only was sufficient. (General applause). It was no great loss to scrap the "War Preparations" motion since the CND Rally had been and gone the previous week, and at any rate, there was more interest in making calls of "free speech" and "Mark Kirby is an illiterate."
No Union Meeting wouid be complete without the weekly mud-slinging contest between Ed "It's not funny Mark" Jacob and Richard Shackleton, doyen of Passfield Hall. Having sue-, cessfully deferred the vote on -Ed's report on the Jefl Stani-. forth Affair, it was the Rent Strike that provided the main fodder for their battle. Answering Richard's question about the number of people* on strike, Ed declared that 49 people had paid into the Strike Fund, but stressed that many had opened their own accounts and that a further group were supporting their efforts. There ensued a call from the gallery saying that Ed had got his figures wrong, and this prompted Richard to propose a vote to consider abandoning the strike since support was clearly on the wane. After the shouting had subsided, Ed declared this move totally unconstitutional, and Mark Kirby, obiously keen to move away from this contentious matter (particularly for him), moved to next business.
Paul Whittaker, who has maintained a relatively low profile at recent UGMs, re-emerged this week with a new cause — "Charter 80". He introduced the sister of one of the hunger strikers in 'H' Block, who described the degrading conditions under which her brother is living. Her emotional speech re-suited in the motion to support the strikers being passed overwhelmingly. However, issues were obviously becoming too serious for many with hunger pangs themselves and the mention of Kings College prompted a mass exodus at a faster than average rate.
MARGARET CAMERON WALLER
BRim Y
LEAP
FORWARD
;IT has come to my attention that certain persons of the Ents organisation are indulging in even more peculiar activities than usual. A case in point is the airborne activities of new Disco Manager David Bearman. Mr Bearman, worthy winner of this year's Ingram Award, decided to pursue a group of children on to the roof at City University during one of that organisation's social functions. Naturally aggrieved at this treatment, the drainpipe decided to sever its liaison with the wall, and Mr Bearman was forced to leap on to the roof. Not content with scaring the drainpipe into drastic direct action, the aforementioned disco manager then terrified an innocent soul from City who also happened to be on the roof.
FUN AT ONE
Union General
Meeting November 6th
PLEASE God and Richard Shackleton, last Thursday saw the end of the. two longest running comedy spots in our weekly. Union Meeting. (Or "Fun At One" as Matt Picton insists on calling it.)
Firstly, Richard Shackleton
pronounced the Filial Rites over that longest-running of soap operas, the Staniforth Affair. (The story so far: Old Jeff Staniforth, an itinerant Union Manager, is taken on by kind-hearted Squire Ingram. However, the Squire's evil successor. Edward, and his henchmen the Admin Sub - Dulux Company, turn Jeff out . . . )
Ed Jacob's long-delayed report on the matter, held over from the previous week, basically explained the problem by blaming it all on Ed and Kelvin's predecessors. This has had Richard Shackleton screaming blue murder for the past month, largely because he is one of the predecessors in question.
This week, however, he called
LEAP ASIDE
it quits, pointing out that if it hadn't been for his championing of the issue, no-one would ever have heard of it. At this point I thought that I saw Ed's lips move, but didn't quite catch what he said- . . .
And so to the rent strike. This was at the other end of the agenda, and with the (now obli-. gatory) list of constitutional amendments in between, we would never have got to it if the Anti-Rent Strike Committee up in the balcony hadn't moved •'Next Business" on four successive motions. That led to the sudden re-emergence of Krish Maharaj, Albanian Stalinist Extraordinaire, waving a bour-
geois document entitled "The Constitution".
The fascist hyenas of the front row immediately let loose the redoubtable Keir Hopley, who wrestled Maharaj to the ground in a welter of subclauses and points of order.
The debate was, for a nice change, good knockabout stuff, but it didn't tell us much that we didn't know already. The vote was 200 for the strike, 160 against, which tells — surprise, surprise — that most people think that a rent strike in Pass-field, Rosebery and Carr-Saund-ers is a good idea. Except for most people from Passfield, Rosebery and Carr-Saunders.
GUY FAWKES

Ho\» USt£N
teCdTLPIbtCi
.&NS.TITUTKW • • *
I
% 2(c) \	^ *
Medical Schools' future-
Dahrendorf
sees major fight ahead
it from its Hunter Street location to the new Hampstead site remained low. .
The changes were less far-reaching than many schools had hoped for. The major difference between the two lay in the time period in which the
Such are the activities in Ents; it would never have happened under Governor Rose's regime.
LEAP BEYOND
This column feels it tactful at the moment not to describe the later activities of Mr Bearman, but Governor Rose has shot to the fore again with the launching of a new publication FACT. I extend a warm welcome to the new magazine and wish it every success for the future- Copies are still available from Governor Rose, price lOp.
I regret to announce that there will be yet another Executive by-election, thus bringing the number of all day ballots so
far this term to three. Mr John Gage, the FCS member for the Athletic Union, has resigned for personal reasons. This column will keep readers informed of any further developments in Fairyland. As the elections for the FCS Committee take place in the near future, it is not difficult to predict a resurgence of interest in elfs and goblins et al.
FUTURE LEAP
Chief Goblin Mr Paul Browning, the Publicity Officer on the Executive is considering the possibility of producing an alternative prospectus for next year's prospective students. Such a document would require a great deal of work and, while investigations into the viability are at a relatively early stage, Mr Browning would be most grateful if anyone interested
(From Page One)
proposals would take effect. The J.P C. report talked of "evolving unified management" as opposed to any rusted, ill-considered mergers. Both reports acknowledged the need for stringent economies, yet stressed that the standard of teaching would not be affected. They admitted however, that while pre-clinical training (in such subjects as anatomy and biochemistry) should simply become more centralised, students would have to venture further afield for much of their clinical experience.
The Flowers Committee talked also of a reduction of 80 preclinical places in South East London.
could contact him through either the Union offices or this column.
LEAP SICKLY
As anyone who is closely involved with the work of the Union will know, there has been an influenza virus laying low Union officials and staff ever since the beginning of term. Mr Baynton, the Senior Treasurer, was ill last week and would like to make it clear that he was not suffering from lead poisoning or other diseases suffered by painters but by common or garden 'flu.
K.H.
L.S.E. Director Ralf Dahrendorf, a member of the Joint Planning Committee, said that he saw "no reason why first-r a t e academic departments should close," and correctly predicted a strong fight when the Senate met to discuss the J.P.C. proposals on 29 October.
The Senate meeting concluded that no medical school should be forced to close or merge against its will, and awaited the Court's ratification last Thursday. It was here that the Court decided to commission yet another report on the capital's medical teaching facilities.
Thus celebrations at many schools two weeks ago appear to have been premature. Although it is now likely that the Westminster and Royal Free Schools have seen the worst of the threats outlined in the Flowers Report, talk of a "total reprieve" must await the decisions of the 10-man Working Party on Medical Costs to be made public early next year.
Lord Annan, Vice-Chancellor of London University, said that he hoped a conclusion would be reached by February 18th to tie in with the Department of Health and Social Security's plans to announce its London health service provisions after that date.
Until that time, despite two unsatisfactory reports and a wave of vociferous anti-Flowers protests, the future of London medical education still hangs in the balance.

PAGE 5
100 LSE students march with CND
Report by Julian Flanagan Ellen Sweet-Escott
SUNDAY October 22 saw the public rebirth of the 22-year-old Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Founded under the shadow of nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific, it created a non-political peace machine working for unilateral disarmament beginning in Britain. The Partial Test Ban Treaty (ensuring that all further tests would take place underground) of 1963 was not only a victory for CND but also a reason for its decline in popularity, a trend which continued in the 1970s (a similar march last year found only 600 supporters). The present Government's policy of increasing defence expenditure by 3% per annum, the presence of 106 American military bases in Britain and an increase in international tension and the arms race has led to a large increase in support for nuclear disarmament and the CND.
Hence the presence of 70,000 demonstrators at Speakers' Corner on Sunday October 22, amongst whom were 100 LSE students. Although the Union banner was last year's, there was a megaphone, much to the delight of Messrs Whittaker and Rose.
After a period of slight confusion the march left the park for Trafalgar Square at 12.15. It was still moving four hours later. Besides the complete range of ages and and types, the proliferation of banners and badges, leaflets and newspapers indicated the wide base of support for the march.
Besides the ubiquitous Labour and SWP presence were groups ranging from the Young Liberals to the Communist Party of Great
Paul Whittaker et al with CND.
Britain, the Spartacists to the Fabians, not to mention the "Good fellowship Society Against Nuclear Arms", a large number of Union contingents and the "Anti Hunt League Against Nukes". Sectarianism was put aside for one day.
The great bulk of numbers ensured that the white ribbons and yellow beacons that marked the route were knocked over while the thin line of police and photographers that lined the path maintained a tactful distance. In fact, due to the geniality and good order of the crowd the persons in blue were needed only to direct- traffic.
Chants such "One-two-three-four we don't want a nuclear war" and "Two-four-six-eight we don't want to radiate'' were beaten for consistency by the orange-robed Bud-
dhist monks with their continuously beating drums. The marchers became a spectacle for camera-clutching tourists and newsmen while guests at the Park Lane hotels regarded them with an amiable distrust.
But underneath the demonstrators' joviality was a touch of desperation (to be mirrored by the speakers later on). A feeling that if they did not act now in their thousands against the Government in particular, nuclear war would become a terrible inevitability.
When the march reached Trafalgar Square via an infuriatingly indirect route the central area was already full and the main LSE group split up. An anonymous band played its revamped version of Jerusalem to the puzzlement and
amusement- of the densely-packed crowd,
At 1.15 it seemed inconceivable that the square could accommodate 45,000 more people, but it did. The pavements, steps and every legal vantage point in the square were taken. Eventually, all the traffic was stopped and the demonstrators continued coming.
The north-facing base of Nelson's Column became a stage for groups . and speakers while stewards and police attempted to ensure that only the authorised were allowed behind the barriers. Guarded on the other side by tall columns of loudspeakers, the performers were for most spectators an amplified voice or a distant figure.
The speeches (and they were too numerous to list completely) were mostly of the "We believe'' variety, given by the representatives of unions, parties, interest groups and religions, the most original of all being a Buddhist prayer chant.
Neil Kinnock began the CND collection and made a few anti-Tory cracks for which he had to apologise; Susannah York was impassioned and serious; Ron Todd of the TGWU (and probably the best speaker of the day) called for unity (take note, Neil Kinnock). "No man is an island" was quoted several times as were endless lists of facts and statistics. Not surprisingly. Tony Benn, having been greeted as a saving Messiah, made the most . popular, though by no means the best, speech.
Despite the speeches, slogans and proclaiming banners, the strongest argument for the campaign came from the large number of children present. The argument they pro-
posed ,wss pictured on the large placard behind the "stage": it showed a crying baby in the middle of a mushroom cloud.
By 5.30 Trafalgar Square was empty except for the stewards picking up litter. To say. that the day was a success is an understatement. What the demonstration had done was inform hot only the public that the CND was alive and fighting, but also the Government that people would not be nuked for Thatcher or Healey, Brezhnev or Carter and that they had to stop their "nuclear madness" before it was too late. Anyone interested in joining an LSE branch of the CND should contact Jonathan Prigg through the pigeon-holes.
i - <
E. P. Thompson speaks to CND in Trafalgar Square

SOCIETIES
societies

societies
SOCIETIES 3
aedtto" societies SOCIETIES ^
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
KOSHER MEALS
Every Thursday and Monday, 1.00 p.m.
Room A386 £1.10 each
To order put a note in the LK pigeonhole in the Law & Acc. Room two days in advance or contact Russell —. 387 5336.
"FAR too few undergraduates have anything but the haziest idea of what industry is about," commented Sir Michael Ed-wardes, chairman of BL, in The Magazine, Liverpool AIESEC. Indeed, should this remark contain any truth at all, it would be vital to promote some better understanding between the student, business and academic communities, and to prepare competent managers and future leaders in the business world. This is exactly what AIESEC's International Traineeship Exchange Programme is aiming to achieve and has been doing so in the past thirty years.
AIESEC stands for the International Association for Students of Economics and Management. It is an international, non-political, student-run organisation which includes 58 member countries on six continents. Hence AIESEC's International Traineeship Exchange programme presents the possibility of working in many different
cultures—a rare chance that nobody can afford to miss ! Each year over four thousand students are exchanged throughout the world — G.B. exchanges about eighty; the number depends mainly on local committees in raising jobs in their own area.
Now comes the crucial question of how you may get on the exchange programme. First of all, I shall provide a general outline of the scheme as to what takes place, and then a few hints on how to obtain a better chance of going abroad to work this summer.
The first thing to remember is the exchange programme is carried out on a head-for-head basis, so that by raising a job for a foreign student in G.B., you are creating a very good chance for yourself to work
abroad. However, the demand for jobs is always greater than their supply, and so the applicants will have to be "screened" by a review board. This is simply a short interview to find out if you are a suitable candidate and if so you will then be given a pink form to fill in. Your form is checked and together with three other copies and a £20 fee they will be coded and prepared for the Congress, the largest of AIESEC's international meetings where the computer programme Match is effected. If you are given an offer, there should be a reply concerning "the match" by the firm abroad. An acceptance by the company will mean . . . well, congratulations on behalf of AIESEC LSE, and off you go to the country where the AIESEC members there will be looking after you.
01' course, there is always an element of luck involved, but most of all it depends upon the amount of work you are prepared to put into raising trainee-ships in G.B. As the Exchange Controller of AIESEC LSE, I will be only too willing to give you the necessary advice, which also applies to all the other committee members within AIESEC.
If you are interested in the programme, simply come along to the next AIESEC meeting (we have a weekly regular meeting on Tuesday at 12 noon in Room S680) and we are available to answer any questions you have on it.
See you in the next meeting! VIRGINIA WONG, Exchange ControEler LSE AIESEC
LSE MUSIC SOCIETY Shaw Library at I p.m. TUESDAY, NOV. 18th
THE HANART ENSEMBLE
Judy Falkus (Baroque Violin) Clare Shanks iBaroque Oboe) ¦lane C'oe (Baroque 'Cello)
Paul Nicholson (Harpsichord) An established ensemble, which has performed several times at the Puicell Room and Wigmore Hall, offering a programme of Baroque chamber music using authentic instruments.
BE A VER
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The
cannot Hold:
H Eioete'"
A family
Debbie Devenny is the sister of Kieron Smyth, one of the "H Block" prisoners who is on the "blanket" and "dirty" protests. She talked about her brother's ordeal.
"When he was 16 he was arrested at our house in the early hours of the morning. He was taken to Castlereagh interrogation centre. When we next saw him he was badly bruised, had broken fingers and said that a policeman had danced on his back.
"The Diplock Court sentenced hsm to 21 years for burning &uses. They didn't have any arms or explosives and no one was hurt. 21 years for burning empty British buses. The Prison Authorities reduced it to 14 years because even they thought that it was too much.
"He gets two visits a month. Before and after each one he has to have a mirror search. The screws spread him over a mirror and search his back passage to see if he is trying to smuggle anything in or out of the prison.
("THIS IS COMMON FOR ALL PRISONERS WHO ARE ON THE PROTEST ALTHOUGH NOT FOR OTHERS EVEN THOUGH ALL PRISONERS MUST HAVE TO SMUGGLE CONTRABAND THIS WAY.)
"They even searched my mother's sanitary towel once because they said my brother had passed something to her.
"Last winter he got frost bite. The smell is so bad in there 'hat they break the windows. His toe nails went septic so he had to pull them out.
"They keep a bright light on all the time. He has bad eyes. On a shift from one cell to another he broke his glasses. The screws won't let my mother bring him some new ones. He won't go to the prison doctors because then he would have to wear a uniform.
"He is only 20 but last time that I saw him he looked about 40."
"WE are not criminals and we are ready and willing to meet an agonising death on hunger strike to establish that we are political prisoners." With these words seven men in the "H Block" of Long Kesh began their last protest on 27th October. They whys and wherefores of the situation are incarcerated in the propaganda of both sides. Although it is in the interests of all sides to find a solution Mrs Thatcher has already stated that there will be no concessions—"none at all."
The issues. The protesters have five demands: the right to wear their own clothes, to abstain from prison work, to free association with other prisoners, to organise their education and recreation and to full remission of their sentences. These demands are the basis for the "blanket" and "dirty" protests. They are not demand-
CHARTER 80 was launched to coordinate with the hunger strike in the "H Block." Their intention is to rouse support for the strikers' cause in Britain. They say that the essential issue is one of human rights. In support of this they offer illustrations of the human rights aspects of the situation.
The recent troubles started with a demonstration by Catholics against the discrimination suffered at the hands of the protestant majority. Although this is supposed to have been rectified, Northern Ireland is still the poorest part of the UK, has the highest infant mortality rate and shortest life expectancy. The brunt of this is still felt by the poorer Catholics. For four years men on the "dirty" protest have lived without basic facilities, the use of toilets being ing denied!
Army interrogation techniques have been condemned by four separate inquiries: the European Court of Human Rights, the European Commission, Amnesty International, May 1978 and the Bennett Report, June 1978. Allegations of torture by police at the Castlereagh Interrogation Centre have run into the hundreds. This has been substantiated by Police Doctors.
Doctor Robert Irwin wrote to the authorities about his concern and ultimately in January. 1979 he went on "Weekend World," an ITV programme.
So far however no policeman has been convicted of malpractice. Allegations of beatings at the Maze Prison have also heen numerous and brought to the Authorities' attention. Again no convictions have been upheld. Although there are two wardens on trial now.
Moreover many of the "terrorists" are extremely young. Heavy unemployment and continued harassment by the security forces drives them into the Paramilitary organisations.
However the credibility of Charter 80 as a purely human rights, campaign is stretched severely when their phone number is the same as the "Troops Out" centre!
ing return to "special category" status granted by William Whitelaw in 1972 and retracted by Merlyn Rees in 1976. However, they do want symbolic recognition of their difference from ODC's (ordinary decent criminals, as identified by Merlyn Rees).
The history. Hunger striking is an ancient form of non-vio-lent retaliation for the Irish : an aggrieved individual would stage a fast on the offender's dooorstep. The Republican tradition stems from the protest of Terence McSwiney, a lord mayor of Cork who died in an English gaol in 1920. The "blanket protest" also has its precedent at Portlaoise Gaol in 1946. That culminated in the death of Sean McCaughey after a hunger and thirst strike. In all twelve Irishmen have starved themselves to death this century. After Delores and Marion
Price's successful hunger strike Roy Jenkins announced that the Government would no longer use force feeding to keep strikers alive. This policy still applies.
The causes. Cardinal O'Fitich and Bishop Daly had held talks with Humphrey Atkins, Northern Ireland Secretary, on the first of the prisoners' demands : the right to wear their own clothes. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) granted the "concession" that the prisoners could wear "civilian type" prison uniforms. Bishop Daiy said: "During our discussions, civilian clothes was always understood to mean the prisoners' own clothes. I am convinced that concession would have gone a very long way to not only avoiding the hunger strike but tcc ending the dirty protest itself." The eventual offer was sufficient to cause out-
Common criminals • .
THE so-called political prisoners in the Maze are people who have been convicted of criminal offences. The Northern Ireland Office's official statement of 1978 reported that "more than 80% have been convicted of murder or attempted murder and more than 80% of explosive offences. They are members of organisations responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, the maiming of thousands more and the torture, by kneecapping, of more than 6C0 of their own people."
These prisoners claim that the fact that their crimes were "politically motivated" makes them political crimes and as such they should be accorded political status in prison.
Although rnanv of these crimes may have been politically motivated, some were committed as much for personal or financial reasons as for political beliefs. The problem then seems to be why are these people tried through the Dip-lock courts and not by common criminal procedure ? a look at the history of the problem helps in understanding this but as one Northern Irish Protestant student of LSE put it, "Northern Ireland's problems are rooted in its history. In order to solve the problems you have to look at then you see the problem."
the history, but that its history i
In 1969, the British govern-Brendan Hughes (32V § j0hn Nixon (25)
ment had a policy of internment in Northern Ireland. It worked in that known terrorists, both Protestant and Catholic, were detained but it was politically counter-productive as it alienated the Catholic community from the security forces. In 1976, Merlyn Rees abolished internment and these cases were remanded to the courts of law. Problems immediately ensued. Jurors received threatening phone calls and attempts were made to influence witnesses. As an LSE student, formerly resident in Belfast, said, "No one wanted to have any part of a process that could end up with firebombs being thrown through their window." Trial and sentence by judge were seen as the only alternative. No other means were viable as a result of this corruption of due process.
The charges of inhumane conditions in the H Block are being made at this point merely to obscure the political issue and to appeal to a broader base of support for the hunger strikers. A large part of what is labelled by these supporters as inhumane conditions are in reality circumstances created by the prisoners themselves in the form of a blanket and the dirty protest.
Eighteen prison warders have been shot dead in horrifying circumstances, one while he was walking with his three year old daughter. Another was mur-
rage in the Loyalist Camp but insufficient to stop the hunger strike.
The contentions. The NIO
and the Government believe that any concession would be exploited. Overt recognition of political status would elevate the terrorists' self-esteem and encourage the belief in an eventual amnesty thus aiding IRA recruitment. However, the fifty per cent remission granted by Merlyn Rees in 1976 is an amnesty in itself, IRA prisoners have always believed in an amnesty when the "war" is over—it is part of their tradition. The women in Armagh wear their own clothes already.
The authorities' strongest case is that a crime is a crime is a crime. A view also held in the Republic. They rightly point out that more than 80 per cent of the prisoners have been con-
victed o charges, that the 374 men self-gove witnesse ment po did but were ch; 1976 you tical sta'
Consec have de Nor then cial catf dant his contrary ruled bj Special martial in all powers force si emergen Rees he tary fori tions wi
IRISH PO
Do you think	Are you in
that hunger	favour of
striking is an	political
effective tool	status for
to achieve	the Irish
political	prisoners? ends ?
YES	39%
NO	54% DON'T
KNOW	6 5%
39% 58.5%
2.5%
Do you tl that it wi increase support fi their caus amongst I British public ?
22.5°
76%
This poll was compiled from a random s and lecturers at the LSE.
Troops there
I talked to one ex-soldier who had been in Northern Ireland in 1973.
"Nice and juicy then. Bloody Sunday was just two years before. I was in Aldershot when they blew part of it up. We were having dinner with the para's when "bang" and all the windows shattered. This old guy who had two tours in N.I. just said 'gelignite', he could tell what it was. They had wired up the Padre's car. It exploded when he opened the
door. ¦ W "Som< young; i in to g< or what 18 to go one kid, day. He "The : ists. Not if they haven't
"Wher I just V not, my
dered with his wife. Violence is rife within the H Block. The intention here is not to condone that fact. The conditions are appalling, but the fact is that similar incidents of brutality have been found to be present, although perhaps less common, in many prisons throughout the world.
What is peculiar to this situa-
tion is involved British a ton, said political Ireland." political here and how sop human change t
Tom McFeeley (S
6 Tom McKearney (28)
Ray McCartm

These men on hunger strike in the H-Block are now entering their third week without food.
PAGE 7
Dave Wright in St Clements foyer.
I: bloody gyrations off Irish history
icted of murder or explosives barges. No one is suggesting lat they are angels. However, 14 men who live in virtually ;lf-governing compounds are ¦itnesses to previous Govern-lent policy. It is not what you id but when you did it. If you ere charged before 1st March, )76 you have the right to poli-cal status.
Consecutive governments ave denied that prisoners in orthern Ireland are in a "spe-al category." There is abun-rnt historical evidence to the )ntrary. The six counties are iled by special methods. The pecial Powers Act imposed lartial law in the ghetto areas l all but name; emergency Dwers have been in constant irce since 1921—a 60 year nerg'ency ! Both Whitelaw and ees held talks with paramili-.ry forces, the latter's negotia-ons with the IRA were de-
tailed and prolonged. Is this normal between gaoler and gaoled ?
IRA adherents are fired with the will to murder, suffer foul degradation and to kill themselves. Whether their motivation is patriotism or crazed zealotry is not entirely relevant. It exists and has effect. That their methods are more hideous than the authorities' is also not at issue. Knee-cappings, poisonings, the shooting of wardens in front of their children are undeniably repugnant. They are also abnormal. The existence of Diplock Courts and the "conveyor belt" system of conviction is proof of the success of IRA tactics of intimidating witnesses rather than Imperialist injustice. It is however special.
Unionist interest dictates against their support for any "special status" even though it
would apply to Loyalist paras as well as Catholic but even Ian Paisley talks about the "war" in Northern Ireland. Potentially Protestant extremism is more dangerous than Republican. Their organisations have the doubtful distinction of causing the first post '68 explosion, (the Silent Valley reservoir was blown up on April 28th, 1969) the first murder. (John Scullion died of stab wounds, June 11th, 1966) and the killing of the first policeman (PC Arbuckle, October 11th, 1969). As Loyalist prisoners see the British soldiers guarding them (there are five Loyalists "on the blanket" in Long Kesh) they begin to wonder if the Crown they are loyal to gives a damn. A society of warring factions alienated from the central authority is not a normal situation. Recognition of this and the need for a political not military solution is a prere-
CREDITS
I his report was compiled by Rowena Whelan
with additional reporting by
Bonnie Honig Colin Bates
THE prisoners now held in the notorious H-blocks of the Maze prison are officially categorised as criminals. Had they been convicted of the same offences before 1st March 1976 they would have had the "Special Category" status they are now asking for. At present ! there are 374 prisoners in Northern Ireland convicted before that date who still have this status so the prisoners' request is not a new concession. The Charter 80 organisation supports these demands for the basic Human Rights of these prisoners.
comparison with Charter '77 is deliberate. The recent violence started from a human rights demonstra tion in 1968. Orange thugs and Loyalists responded by instituting a programme against Catholics.
Q: Isn't that extreme? After all Charter '77 was about freedom of expression.
A: So is this. For example, six women came over from Belfast to publicise the Armagh women's campaign. Pour of them were arrested and two are still being held (Thursday Oct 30th). There is freedom of expression in this country so long as you don't want to talk about Ireland. If there is anything like a concentration camp in the UK it is Long Kesh.
Q: The deprivation of human rights is self inflicted.
A: Not really. The dirty protest came out of a ruling by the Prison Authorities that anyone not wearing uniform could not use toilet facilities so they had pots. When the orderlies came to clear up they would "acidcntally" knock them over. The prisoners smeared them on the wall rather than having, to sleep amongst it on the floor. They have now gone on hunger strike to force the issue. They had come to the end of the line.
Q: Don't you think that the Provo's are simply making a propaganda point? .
A: No. The IRA don't want to force the issue. This will cause more sectarian violence which in turn leads to military involvment. There is no military solution. The problem isn't ?ivos and punmen but the deep divisions in the society.
Q: Do vou think that your hunger strike was a success?
A: Yes. A hunger strike grabs people's attention, it is a spectacle. It got people talking about the issue which is the whole point. We got 250 signatures on our petition.
3OLL	
you think	Do you think
t it will	that the
rease ,	Government
iport for	will be under
ir cause	more pres-
ongst the	sure if one
tish	of the
jlic ?	strikers dies ?
22.5%-	74%
76%	21.5%
1.5%	4.5%
idom sample of 200 students
>or. 'We had to clear that up. "Some of the soldiers are very >ung; their parents send them to get a trade, engineering 1 whatever. You have to be to go over there. They sent le kid. out on his 18th birth-iy. He was dead the next day. "The I.R.A. are just terror-;s. Nobody will listen to them they throw bombs. They tven't tried any other way. "When I had to go next time just went absent. Well, it's >t, my war, is it ?"
>n is the political issue volved. Peter Jay, the former •itish ambassador to Washing-ti; said in 1978, "We have no litical prisoners in Northern ;land." It is the campaign for litical status that is at stake re and no attempt, no matter w sophisticated, to call it a man rights campaign can ange that.
cCartney (24) • Sean McKenna
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Humphrey Atkins.- has said he will "not make concessions on the principle of political status . . . All have been convicted by the due processes of law." This is clearly nonsense:
(1)	The prisoners have been convicted by the extraordinary "Diplock Courts" set up under the Emergency Powers Act of 1975. These "Courts" have no jury, with the Judge deciding guilt and sentence. A number of these Judges are ex-Unionist politicians. Evidence may be submitted by military personnel who may remain anonymous.
(2)	Prisoners must prove to the Court that confession was taken under duress. This point goes against UK legal tradition embodied in the "innocent until proved guilty" %oncept.
(3)	Diplock Courts have a 94 per cent conviction rate, 89 per cent of which are secured by confessions, many given at the Castlereagh interrogation centre. The British Government Has been -condemned by the
(26) m T,cn Often (27\
. . • freedom fighters
European Court of Human Rights for the use of degrading and inhuman treatment of prisoners in Northern Ireland.
Clearly suspects are convicted by special -judicial processes so it is wrong to deny them special status as prisoners. On top of this, dis'-turbing questions are raised over the nature of gaining the convictions.
Besides the denial of the right of political status, other Human Rights are being violated in retaliation to the prisoners' protests. For refusing to wear prison uniform they are not only given a mere blanket to wear but also denied the right of using prison toilets. Instead they are given chamber pots so they can relieve themselves, but prison staff have clumsy feet so these pots are "accidentally" knocked over. Since prisoners sleep on a mattress on the floor this makes conditions intolerable and so has provided the impetus for the Dirt Protest; the smearing of excrement over the cell walls.
Other violations of Human Rights include regular beatings and the use of the "mirror search," an examination of the anal passage for offensive weapons, contraband etc.
Before the troubles of the last twelve years, Northern Ireland had a crime rate well below the UK national average. Since then prison figures have increased four-fold from 1968's figure of 727 to 2,848 in 1975. This increase cannot be put down to a massive upsurge of ordinary crime since it has not been matched across the rest of the UK. This increase in numbers can only be Dut down to politically motivated activities.
Clearly the offences of these prisoners are politically motivated, are treated by. special judicial procedures, and basic Human Rights are being denied. This gives a just and unequivocal case for giving the prisoners of the H-blocks the political status that they are campaigning for.
quisite for lasting peace in the region.
The consequences. An increase in sectarian violence is inevitable. After four and a half years with the "blanket protest" the people of Northern Ireland were bored, now the paramilitary groups can charge the region with emotion and tension. On October 26 ten thousand people marched in Belfast in support of the hunger strikers. On November 5 The IRA reappeared on the Fails Road checking cars. The threat to bring the war to the mainland is real and imminent. As the crisis reaches its climax around Christmas, the apparition of London tube bombings, will rear its horrific head.
It is now, before there is death in the cells or on the streets, that a face saving and workable solution is still—just —possible.
Wright on solidarity
DAVE Wright, a student at LSE went on a three-day hunger strike from the 27th October.
Q: Why did you go on hunger strike?
A: As an act of solidarity. It was meant to coincide with the strike in the H Block and to bring the situation there to people's attention.
Q: What sort of response did you get?
A: People did want to know about it. For three hours solidly on Monday and Tuesday we had people arguing about Northern lie-land. Once they started they didn't stop. At first they came out with cliches from the press but once I explained that it wasn't so simple they stopped to think about it. Some did change their minds and sign the petition.
Q: How can you justify supporting the IRA?
A: This is a major point. I was not there to support the IRA. It was to promote Charter 80 which is a human rights campaign. The
PAGERS
I THE^RLUmnUS IK1TERUIEUI
Merlyn Rees is not so much a controversial politician as a man who has been involved in highly controversial issues; official secrecy, Northern Ireland and race relations, to name but three. Neither, it should be quickly added, he is often described as a liberal and he is unsure whether to describe himself thus: "In Ireland, I PASSIONATELY believed that you couldn't lock people up without going through the courts first, therefore am I a liberal?" but "I'm PASSIONATELY against saying that prisoners can have political status, so does that make me not a liberal?" Either way, his reputation is that of a tough, hard-nosed administrator who, through his handling of problems like Ireland, Immigration and the deportation of CIA diarist Philip Agee, has become something of a Left bugbear.
In a sense, this was inevitable. Once taken on, the jobs of Northern Ireland secretary and Home Secretary tend to shape their occupants in an illiberal mould; both are very much concerned with enforcing rules, especially the latter. Rees feels that it is "almost impossible" for a Home Secretary ever to appear liberal . . . "Most of the cases where you are able to show compassion never reach the public eye, unlike the ones where you aren't. But I think I had a good reputation among MPs concerning cases ¦which they brought to me direct." As the Guardian's Derek Brown put it in a profile of Rees two years ago, "Being Home Secretary has never been a soft number, especially since liberalism became all the political rage."
But Rees is not really concerned with the liberal-authoritarian spectrum and is not worried that a perceived severity on some issues tends to obscure his humanitarian feelings about, for example, British prisons. On this subject he speaks passionately. "The prisons are where I did not succeed. I wanted to take 4,000 to 5.000 people out of jail but, with a minority government, with the papers full of 'law and order' and complaints about the government's being weak on
THIS week, former Labour Home Secretary MERLYN REES talks to ALEX WYNTER Rees was at the LSE from 1946 to 1949—his main subject was economic history ; he has been Labour MP for Leeds South since 1963 and has been Parliamentary Under Secretary of State' m the¦ Ministry of Defence, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974-1976) arid Home Secretary (1976-1979). He is now Shadow Home Secretary.
law and order, 3 couldn't do what I passionately waxited to do, which incidentally I wouldn't have regarded as an act of liberalism—it is just utter nonsense that we put so many people in prison in this country. Now you don't have to be a liberal to see that." In addition, Rees advocates a more humane system of treatment within the prisons which, he freely admits, "are a disgrace" and he regrets having done "practically nothing about it".
Rees' ckreer possibly illustrates the political truism that the left-right spectrum exists independently from the liberal-authoritarian spec-rum. William Whitelaw, a former Conservative Northern Ireland secretary and present. Home Secretary, has long survived as a softliner in an increasingly conservative Conservative Party. It is ironic that it was Whitelaw, Rees' predecessor as Northern Ireland secretary, who introduced the "Special Category' (i.e. political) status which Rees was later to remove along with
down after being abroad for five years and I found a bit of a night-school atmosphere about the LSE. But there was a lot of interest in politics and as far as academic standards were concerned it was a thrilling place for an ex-serviceman to be in." Of course, these were the first years of the Attlee Labour government and the introduction of the welfare state. "It was a positive period of catching up," says Rees, "and there was a general feeling that you were participating in a pretty quiet revolution."
A 14-year gap between leaving LSE and entering Parliament followed. It is a reflection of Rees's commitment to the Labour Party that he fought a difficult seat (Harrow East) three times before finally being offered Leeds South in 1963. Rees then spent three years as an Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence under Denis Healey before taking on his first big post as Northern Ireland secretary. But his involvement with Ireland has actually
'Being Home Secretary has never been a soft-number especially since liberalism became ail the political rage."
detention without trial in the Province and which the current H-Block hunger strike is all about. But more about Ireland later.
Merlyn Rees's commitment to politics is one ©i long standing. His father was a founder member of the Labour Party and Rees himself was involved; before the war. "I'd been active in the labour Party long before I came to the LSE in '46 and I carried on being active in the Party outside the LSE. I was also President of the Labour Society at Goldsmith's in 39-'40 and I didn't, want to repeat that performance at the LSE, though I don't mean that in a pompous way."
Just after the war, with the fur-their education scheme for ex-servicemen, a large number of LSE students came here more or less straight from one of the forces. "My impression was that, with very few exceptions — Bernard Levin might have been one— we were all ex-servicemen and we all wandered around in ¦uniform." remembers Rees. "It wasn't very easy settling
been longer than that of any other secretary since he was also Opposition spokesman from 1972 to 1974.
"I took a Conservative-led delegation over to Northern Ireland to look at the Maze Prison at Long Kesh and from that moment onwards I have never been out of interest with Ireland and I visited it regularly, went over once a fortnight, met all the prominent politicians and the IRA or Sinn Fein on two occasions and was heavily involved and will never get it out of my system.
"I did everything I could to help the Heath government to get a new form of devolved administration in Northern Ireland but it didn't work. I then inherited the situation and just as the Catholic population brought down Stormont (Northern Ireland's devolved parliament), the Protestant population brought down the (power sharing) Executive. They were both equal and opposite in different ways and they can veto each other.
"I know fully that we are not going to solve the Irish question
Former Labour Home Secretary Merlyn Rees.
but the corollary of that is not that you then move out but that you move, in my view, slowly. You've got to get a situation in which North and South talk to each other because in terms of talking we (British) are irrelevant and do not understand. I'm firmly against pulling out; firmly in favour of reducing the role of the army firmly in favour of getting some governmental process going over there."
Merlyn Rees' commitment to unity is simple: he believes not that it is undesirable but that it is impossible. Any British attempt to introduce it, he says, would lead to an independent Ulster. "If you had asked me 10 years ago whether Irish unity was in the long run desirable I'd have said yes. And it fits in with beliefs I've had in the past. But I find this an irrelevant question now that I know what the place is all about—it just isn't on. But wouldn't it be nice to have your name in the history books and say I achieved what Mr Gladstone didn't achieve?"
Rees's position on Ireland ultimately rests, like that of so many others v.- ho support a continued British presence in the Province, on the belief that the Protestant
THE recent parliamentary Labour Party elections have taken place against a background of acrimonious debates about constitutional Issues which in themselves are so Important that they touch on the crucial issues of political philosophy.
Assuming that LSE students would have their fingers as firmly on the political pulse as ever, we ventured to ascertain the feelings of the various tendencies within the School on PLP elections and the candidates involved. Krish Maharaj of the London Students' Movement took the view that the Labour Party was the party of monopoly capitalism and consequently it would not make the slightest difference to the working class which of the candidates became leader.
This rather sectarian position was not shared by Tom Kennedy of LSE Communist Students who
acknowledged the froportance of personalities In LaHsew Party politics, but felt that rm>r* importantly the leadership contest gave Left activists the nuppuNrtiimty to raise fundamental iisswes aSmut the whole nature of Oe JLP. Mr Kennedy generously	Healey as an enemy «f tup people and spoke of Mr in wily slightly less glowing terms.
Paul Whttt&feer ©f SWSO had little to say about the present candidates but when pressed to comment on the apparently radical nature of Tony Benin's politics and their relevance to the future of the Labour Party he expressed doubt as to whether Benn wouiit actually be able to implement what he was presently preaehHrns. He noted that every Labour prime minister since Macdonald had been a so-called radical. Benn fell into this category and would find himself faced with the familiar pressures from the CBl and the IMF and would
be forced to moderate his ambitions.
Perhaps you would expect a Labour Party man to view the protagonists in the drama in a more sympathetic light but Steve Pound was equally cynical in his appraisal of the candidates. After slandering Healey as a "bruiser, a basher and a bully boy", he ruthlessly dismissed Silkin as a "plastic John Bull who saw himself as a socialist Churchill". Mr Foot managed to escape the crippling invective pouring forth from Mr Pound's merciless tongue and Mr Benn got away fairly lightly as "best of a bad bunch".
To ensure that we obtained a fairly comprehensive cross-section of opinion and to indemnify ourselves against any accusations of political bias we felt compelled to include the Anarcho Cynic Tendency (ACT) in our survey. We approached its most eminent member, the very flamboyant Mr Toby
Views from the LSE Left
Rose, and asked for his views on the candidates. Uncharacteristic as it might seem, Toby confessed that words failed him when it came to Shore and Silkin. Thankfully this was only a temporary lapse and when asked to comment on Denis Healey, Toby eloquently denounced him as a "bastard monetarist" and added that "every time I took at Healey I see a metamorphosed Ted Heath". The ACT celebrity felt equally repelled by "the darling of the trendy left polytechnic sociology lecturers Mr Benn". Michaei Foot is the man for Toby.
The general mood was felt to he one of indifference towards this caretaker election. Of the candidates a begrudging pereference was shown for Mr Foot and revulsion towards Mr Healey. The overall feeling was that it would be the election with the widened franchise early next year which will be of crucial importance to the future of the Labour Party.
PAUL WANE
majority in Ulster will not now and will never accept unity with the South and that it is Britain's responsibility, effectively, to keep the two Ulster communities apart. It is noticeable that during his tenure as Northern Ireland secretary he was under threat as much from Protestant extremists as the IRA and he claimed at one point that an attempt had been made by a Protestant group to assassinate him. This is summed up in a laudatory review of the Rees era in Northern Ireland by Christopher Walker of The Times: "It was based on the premise that it was no longer worth trying to impose solutions on the uncompromising people of Ulster."
Rees switched to the Home Office in 1976 just after the Notting Hill Carnival riot of that year. His period as Home Secretary was dominated by the issue of race and his handling of the problem has drawn some criticism and is, perhaps, the origin of his authoritarian image. He admits to believing in immigration control but wants the most humane system possible and says that the patriality clause in the 1971 Immigration Act is "racialist" although the Labour Party has hitherto done nothing to repeal it.
Again on the "sus" laws, Rees says he would like to have removed them but did not have enough parliamentary time. "As far as 'sus' is concerned, you've got a law that is only used in one part of the country—London, and a little bit in Merseyside but in other parts of the country it's not used. I hadn't realised that when I was looking at it. If I had, I would have had words with the police."
Rees also blames consistent government failure to repeal the controversial Section 2 of the 1911 Official Secrets Act on lack of parliamentary time, low Cabinet priority and squabbling lawyers. He would like to see "open government" in Britain but "would not have the American system" here.
Had Merlyn Rees come out of the Northern Ireland and Home Offices and been described as a liberal then he would be a liberal indeed, for there is a repressive element inherent in both jobs. But he is probably not the authoritarian he is made out to be by many, just a man who has been unable—for one reason or another—to do as much as he would have liked about some of the most controversial issues of the day.
PAGE 9
David Edgar's adaptation of Nicholas NiekSeby returns, this week to the Aldwyeh stage as the theatre prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary
PERFECT NICK!
DICKENS, some say, invented Christmas. An occasion of immense warmth, pleasure, faith and rare understanding, coupled with heightened poverty and inequality presents itself on the Aldwych stage until the beginning of January, and detailed comparisons may be drawn between the two.
Dickens of this stature has rarely been adapted for the theatre. A Tale of Two Cities appeared as "The Only Way" at the turn of the century, and versions of Oliver Twist continue to sell ¦ out today, but seldom has a theatre director possessed the guts or the resources to produce a work that might compare favourably with the location opportunities of film or the serialisation format of fireside small screen drama. The sheer thickness of Dickens' volumes on the shelf and his uncontrolled love of "sketched" characters provide ample reasons for this apparent neglect.
Despite personal failure as a dramatist many of Dickens' major characters retain melodramatic proportions. Trevor Nunn and John Caird have shown that not only is such adaptation possible at a time of Arts Council cuts but that the portrayal of a cast of almost 150 in over eight hours theatre spread over two nights can be, by turns, one of the most alarming, delightful, moving and emetic evenings on the London stage.
These words have not been chosen with half an eye on the newly-scrubbed theatre billboard. The possibilities for diversity lie in its length and the rapid yet seemingly effortless scene changes. Movement from a vicious caning at Dotheboys Hall to a job interview at a London milliners, from an embarrassing tea party in the wilds of Yorkshire to a fashionable West End dinner party, and from a spastic yet comic simpleton to a flamboyant and repul-
SPECIAL TREA TMENT
"SPECIAL TREATMENT" is at once a classical satire upon hypocrisy and a sharp, if playful analysis' of the nature of repression. A doctor with a passion for Wagner, fresh air and the benefits of the more outmoded physical jerks (performed by his charge to the accompaniment of Die Walkyrie) sets himself the Sisyphean task of "curing" his alcoholic inmates of their venal sins. An educational visit to a brewery provides the necessary comic background for the horseplay that becomes burdensome at times. Nevertheless, there are some superb scenes in which Paskaljevic shows great artistry, and one scene in particular, quite worthy of Moliere, comes to mind; an old slavering drunk turns upon the zealous medic (whose hip-flask, it needs be added, is tucked discreetly into the folds of a well-filled waistcoat) and cries in response to the latter's moral reprimands, "So
you'd insult an old man ! Shame on you ! Shame on you !"
And here is the moral dichotomy of the whole piece : a weak but lovable humanity and a zealot of the flesh whose own sadistic and repugnant egotism manifests itself as the film progresses. Paskaljevic shows that this well drawn character relies upon the weakness of his patients for his own moral stability and apparent strength. Shades of Nietzsche! Yet I would not wish to give the work too much psychological import, for it is at times comedy of a near vaudeville nature, based on the rather overworked theme of temptation and gratification. This aspect of the film is incongruously woven into what proves to be some fine and moving acting, all of which go to make it a provocative, though often unbalanced piece of cinema.
BEAVER wishes to apologise to Ms Jane Kleiner for the appear-1 ance of her review at the Royal Ballet's "Triple Bill", which duel to a technical error at the printers, was published omitting crucial| sections of the article which thus distorted the sense of the article! and misrepresented Wis Kleiner's views on the ballet.	=
In addition, due to a printing error Ms Ellen Sweet-Escott wasj I	not credited for her review of the "Wild Duck".	=
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APOLOGY
Roger Rees and Edward Petherbridge in the R.S.C.'s "Nicholas NicKleoy .
sively uninhibited "infant phenomenon" show the fullness of the first evening alone.
A huge amount of love and dedication must have gone in to get such variety and entertainment out. A sprawling set enables the cast to mix with the audience through the centre of the first ten rows of the stalls and an extended balcony stretches as far as the Dress Circle. In the same way as the National's Cottesloe enables actors to walk in full soliloquy throughout the theatre, so too does the Aldwych ; considering size and the treble tier seating, the achievement is remarkable. The message seems to be : "if you're in the theatre you're in the play". Such, no doubt, is the dream of almost all directors and playwrights.
David Edgar rarely strays from the original text. His creation of the Crummies
Troupe's fifteen minute mock Romeo and Juliet forms his biggest diversion, but would have delighted Dickens as it delighted Aldwych audiences when the play first appeared in
June. True "popular demand" brings this production back in two days' time. You have just under eight weeks to find out why.
SIMON GARFIELD
TONY BENH and Robert Jenkins
will be signing copies of their books
ARGUMENTS FOR
SOCIALISM
(Penguin £1.50)
and
TONY BENN: A Political Biography
at the Economist's Bookshop
from 1.15 to 2.15 p.m. Wednesday, November 19th
PAGE 10
From Failure to Fact
Beaver looks at new paperbacks from Stephen Pile, Nancy McPhee and
-the LSE's own Toby Rose
"The Book of Heroic Failures", by Stephen Pile (Futura Publications, 220pp., 95p) STEPHEN PILE is that scurrilous chap who scoops around deep enough in the dustbin of social graces and comes up with the witty, amusing anecdotes that form Atticus every week at the back of "The Sunday Times". As such, he is somewhat of a social success himself. Strange then that "The Book of Heroic Failures" (out this month in paperback from Futura Books) should have the author it does.
Each week Mr Pile invited readers to write to him with their lists of dismal but dashing disasters.' Each week readers responded with tales of how, in 1978, a French television pro-grame was watched by no viewers at all, of how a Dr Coward bad won the "Most Boring Lecturer" contest with a Marxist explanation of a joke about coconuts and of how re-
views of • O'TOole's Macbeth might look tame next to reports of Robert "Rome©" Coates —* the widely - acclaimed worst actor in the world. Pile informs that few of the productions in which he figured ended without a riot.
Of course Pile has concocted much of the stylish wording himself and has produced the ultimate heroic irony : a successful book. For his trouble he has already been banned from The Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain (of which he was founder member) and is currently mistrusted wherever he goes. He has only one last hope : that the imminent sale of "The Sunday Times" is blamed solely on his attempt at destructive journalism. A weekly' columnist who singlehandedly puts thousands out of work is not to be sneered at.
"The Book of Insults", compiled by Nancy McPhee (Futura Publications, 160pp, 95p).
If failing is your way, then the use of snappy, disarming insults may be srour key to instant acclaim. Nancy McPhee
has brought together some of the best - known verbal put-downs from the time of the Bible to the present day.
Sadly, most of the entries are unrepeatable in conversation today not only because of their
Yooiue K» oLi H
/ "TVtfc W\LL6
comments that four-letter words were less popular thirty years ago than they are today are likely to be misconstrued.
"Fact" (published and produced by The Men of Straw Collective, 14pp, lOp)
In the light of insults and four-letter words, the Anarcho-Cynic Tendency's dazzling publication "Fact" appears this month on all adult book-stalls. Priced at 10 pence or £2.00 depending on your political leanings, cynics Rose, Smithers, Jacob, Hopley, et al, have pro-
duced a masterpiece of libellous scandal-mongering.
We learn not only oi' the shocking tfuth surrounding the General Secretary's love bites, but also of Mr Baynton's Hawaiian tailor and sex - kitten Davinia's tug-of-shopping drama in a well known high-fashion, high-price London store. Few are sacred in this carefree analysis of all the news "Beaver" dares not print.
Mr Rose's case comes up Thursday.
Simon Garfield
age, but also because of their specific in-context relevance. Try saying one of Wilde's funnies at tea tonight and see how many laughs you get.
As a light read, the astonishing repartee of the famous continues to* amuse. Yet the collection consists predominantly of humorous out-takes from those in the public eye. McPhee laments that our decade will not see their like again, although
NEWS IN BRIEF
(Continued from Page Three)
Mr Jacob has written to the N.U.S. and I.U.S. with regard to the assassination last month of an Iraqi student in Beirut. Mr As'ad Lu'Alby was opposed to the Baathist regime in Iraq and both Jacob and External Affairs Officer Paul Wh ttaker fear far-reaching implications in this country for all like-minded opponents of the regime.
This letter follows an earlier request to leading members of the British Government for protection for any who may oppose the situation in Iraq. Mcn-Baathists have been physically attacked in London, Manchester and Swansea in recent months, and press reports have disclosed pro-Baathist plots to attack students in London with firearms.
The Reagan landslide: What tfie papers
BEAVER CROSSWORD
THE victory or projected victory of Ronald Reagan, depending on the time the various papers went to press, acquired lead story status in all papers except one. The "Daily Star" did the more patriotic thing in giving more space to the Parliamentary Labour Party election.
Most of the papers had the same story with sensationalised headlines. The "Guardian's" "A landslide makes it President Reagan" was rather staid compared with the "Sun's" big white headline on a black backdrop—"THE LOSER", subtitled "Carter weeps as Reagan storms to the White House". "The Times" was rather less sensational and more news-based when it described the results as "Mr Reagan sweeps to victory in Presidential election." The actual slant of "The Times'" article was more on Carter's loss and his misery.
The "Daily .Mirror" had its full report completely surrounded by black obiturial lines, with the popular picture of Carter blinking back his tears. (The "Sun" had a similar layout to that of the "Mirror".) The "International Herald Tribune" called it an election issue and carried, mercifully, a different photo ©f Carter, this time with Rosalyn looking grim in the background.
The "International Herald Tribune" was the only paper to mention that Reagan was the first divorced president.
Carter was generally described as miserable and sorry for himself. Most papers emphasised the fact that he was the fifth president not to have completed two terms in office and the first elected president since 1932 to have lost- a bid to be re-elected.
However, in the reporting of this fact, some papers made blunders. The "Daily Telegraph" said that Carter was the first president to have lost since 1932, forgetting the defeat of President Ford in 1976.
The "Sun" implied that Kennedy died willingly when it was reported that Carter was the "fourth successive president to be shifted unwillingly from the White House". It explained that Lyndon Johnson had resigned over Vietnam, Nixon due to Watergate and that Ford was beaten in 1976. Unfortunately it forgot Kennedy.
by Alok Vajpeyi
The "Sun" was, however, the one paper which came out with irrelevant facts, such as "Among the don't-knows was one Reagan Carter who said, 'I'm truly undecided who to vote for'."
The analysis of Carter's defeat was attempted by some papers. The "Guardian" merely raised | the issue without any explanation — "The appa-rant size of the Republican victory went far beyond the forecasts made by the opinion polls —large numbers of voters who had wavered until the last minute had gone in the Reagan camp."	;
"The Times" used an NBC poll to arrive at the conclusion : "All the excitement of the past few days, in which it seemed that the hostages were about to be released, and would thereby save the President, worked the other way. Mr Carter lost by his behaviour." The "Daily Telegraph" put the blame on Carter's mishandling of the economy. The "Daily Mail" said that Carter's attempts to label Reagan as a warmonger backfired. The "Sun" backed the TV debate as the cause of Carter's defeat.
The financial effects of Reagan's victory were only noted in one morning paper and that was the "Sun", which said that "The dollar picked up brightly on the Tokyo Stock Exchange." Of course, The "New Standard" had more to say. It mentioned that defence companies' shares went up by 8p. Ferranti, Racal, GEC were some companies which gained. Gold shares rose by $3. Bullion jumped up to $660 before settling at $650.
None of the papers tackled the effects of Reagan's election on world politics.
However LSE students, especially Americans, ventured opinions and. seemed disturbed by the result. One American woman actually said "I am now depressed/' However these people might usefully refer to the "New Standard's" story — "The oldest man to take office". It describes the next oldest president ever, William Henry Harrison, who was elected in 1840 and was 68 when he took office in 1841. "Weary from the campaign, he caught a cold on Inauguration Day and died a month later."
CLUES ACROSS
1 Tailless pest flies about a point <5).
4 Refers to those who belong (9). 9 Clumsy but not the bishop at dinner <9).
10	Burdened in Aisla Den (5).
11	Beliefs, Elizas tin in camp (6).
12	Gently the French go trendy (8). 14 Speaks with many tongues (10). 16 Noose turns pool into small hole
<4).
19	A jeolous envoy has nothing to lose (4).
20	Athlete in front is first old bean 110).
22	Acid cleaner <8).
23	Sola shed down in Los Angeles pool? <6).
26	Smelt by a native? in a. European capital <51.
27	Watch for a period and a bit (9).
28	Feigned, prior to being nursed
(9).
29	Horrible tennis pro (5).
DOWN
1	Good sport-at Cambridge (5, 4).
2	Daisy helps to make one for the gang (5).
3	Mrs Pucet gave a lightwave (8).
4	Deer up on the river bank (4).
5	Seems Mr Ide was influenced
(10).
6	Dole about in My Music (6).
7	Wren died with nothing for bedding (5, 4).
8	Sounds like my boy on a good day (5).
13 Donkey and secret service with nought but Edward for company (10).
15 Mon revere shattered, it will not happen again (9).
17	Plum coloured sauce shaken with intent (9).
18	Leap high and squash <4, 4).
21	Godfather consumed his gift (6).
22	Murphys vice? (5)
24	National emblem sounds like plumbers task (5).
25	Maid upset in company (4).
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0
LSE stings Greek students for full fees
ON May 28 1979 Greece signed a treaty concerning her accession to the European Economic Community, which would be entering into force on January 1 1981. This was ratified by the Greek Parliament on June 28 1979.
The entry of Greece into the EEC implies a reduction of fees for Greek students in Britain from the overseas to the home rate. Specifically, at LSE, instead of paying £2,000 (new entrants) and £1,200 (for continuing students) the lee becomes £790 (approx).
What has LSE's reaction been? Despite its knowing about the entry of Greece into the EEC nineteen months before January 1981, it is now charging Greeks the full overseas student amount until September 1981. It claims that its hands are tied by the Government, that the decision is "certainly not the School taking action." True enough, on July 1, when the House of Lords debated "the Greek student fees'' the Minister of State for the Department of Education and Science (Baroness Young) said:
"The intention is that Greek students should be treated as EEC students and thus qualify for the home rate of fees with effect from September 1 1981. I think it is fair and reasonable that the concession should apply in the first full academic year after Greece becomes a member of the European Economic Community."
When another "noble lord" questioned the Baroness on her decision, by saying that it would surely be more just to charge overseas fees until January 1 1981 and then home fees, Baroness Young had this to say.
"The fact is that tuition fees are normally fixed In advance for a full academic year. That Is why the concessions to Greek students will be given in the first full academic year after the accession of Greece to the EEC."
But as we pointed out above, the accession of Greece to the EEC was known 19 months previous to January 1981. Surely arrangements could have been made by our administration to charge Greek students home fees for the second and third terms of 1981.
Further, is the House of Commons' decision binding on LSE's administration policy? It seems not. It is just indicating that the Government will not be subsidising Greek students if they pay home fees. It IS claimed by the NUS President, David Aaronovitch, that Rhodes Boyson said it was up to each college/university to charge the fees it saw as appropriate.
To imply then, as LSE does, that
, PAGE 11
its hands are tied by the Government sounds suspicious. It seems that it Is not the Government that is determining LSE's policy, rather the School's financial position. And what might that be?
Despite a loss of about £3 million last year due to government blocks on the UGC expenditure (a reduction for LSE from £9m to million), the increase in overseas student fees to £2,000 and the larger number of overseas students seem to have made up the loss.
If the School charges home student fees for all Greek students (70 in number) it would not lose more than £70,000, perhaps less.
What is happening in other universities? Numerous colleges and schools are discussing the issue: Leeds has implemented home student fees after January 1981—so much for the claim that the Government dictates university policy.
What then should we, the student body, do? This attack on the Greeks should not be taken in Isolation—rather, it is part of a recurring pattern of attacks on overseas students in general.
The half-term playgroups
HAVE you ever stopped to think how many parents there are at the LSE ? The need for a nursery has underlined their existence, and parent-student numbers at the L.S.E. have increased to the extent that they can no longer be ignored.
The difficulties they have to face are not confined to everyday situations such as being able to collect the children from school and reconciling study with bringing up a family and giving them a home. Imagine the concern of parents when half-term holidays approach. Who will care for and look after the children ?
Five years ago when Elana Ehrlich took her job as LSE Student Welfare Officer, a few parents told her about their problems, and consequently Elana set up the first playgroup. She runs it using volunteer students on an hourly basis, caring for some eight to ten children
on the Friday morning it was quite evident that everybody was enjoying themselves, especially as it had just been revealed that the "Guy" they had made brought them £1.20 ! The atmosphere was rather hectic with children actively engaged in some sort of activity. Any
pB
xeey

It started with the Increase in overseas student fees from £700 (April 1979) to £940 (September 1979) to £2,000 (September 1980). Now the Greek issue has arisen. A new complainant has appeared: Hong Kong students, who, being members of the Commonwealth, are entitled to home student fees. Yet they are being charged overseas fees!
Students should fight united: it shouldn't only be the Greeks; it shouldn't be the overseas students exclusively; it should be the whole LSE student body, because it is only through organisation and numbers that we can »ffect any measure of change.
We should direct our discontent not at the Government, but at the LSE administration.
Our demands are not outrageous, they are not unlawful, and their consequences are not catastrophic. All we are asking for is this: Greek students to pay home fees for the second and third terms 1980-81, and, following this, those who have paid the full fees in 1980 should receive a partial refund.
On Tuesday, November 11 the Student Governors are meeting with the Standing Committee to press the Issue.
A. K. Diamantopoulos
in the very first group, to about 20 by the end of the year. Elana came to realise that a playgroup could not be run efficiently on a voluntary basis. The following year she put up a request to the Students' Union for a budget allocation under Welfare of around £50-£70 a week to provide a service for parents during half-term holidays. This would involve employing a full-time teacher as well as providing for essentials such as paint and brushes. In addition to this a Union insurance policy was amended to deal with the bureaucratic side of having the children on the premises.
This year's first playgroup took place in the new TV room in the East building, looking after about 20 children. It was run for two days by a crafts teacher and for three days by a music teacher. They were helped by two schoolgirls, Dily and Lisa, aged 12 and 14, who have been coming along to the last four playgroups because they enjoy it.
When I visited the playgroup
happy. Do you like coming here ?" Brief pause to think : "Yes . . . It's nice." "Why is it nice ?" Look of amazement as if I had asked a ridiculously obvious question : "Cos it's nice !"
Apart from arts, crafts and musical activities, thanks to the Athletics Union, the children were able to use the gymnasium for one hour, apparently the highlight, the most looked-for-ward-to hour of the day.
The parents of the children are immensely pleased with the service. Their eagerness to keep the play group going is demonstrated by their willingness to donate things like paper and paint.
It is not often that the children of parent students are acknowledged, in fact it can be the other way around. Did you
'The children love it, and it provides an opportunity for them to identify with the parents' environment and workplace.'
##
student walking in could not possibly resist feeling some nostalgia for those early schooldays : the walls were covered with paintings and drawings, the two large tables were littered with different coloured paper, paints and pots of glue.
It was difficult to spot the teacher: she was closely surrounded by kiddies avidly eager to impress her, draw her attention or simply ask for help. In one corner of the room, from which emanated the sound of music and fairy-tale-like conversation, a number of children seemed to be huddled around in a circle. This aroused my curiosity and having decided to take the plunge and intrude I discovered what the big attraction was : a record player, lent to the group by Judie Collingwood, the new welfare assistant. The children used it for listening to the story records, whilst munching peanuts and smarties.
I left the listeners to their listening and pursued a conversation with an aspiring Leonardo da Vinci. "You look very
know for example that during the half-term period last week parents collecting their children at lunchtime from the playgroup were prohibited from taking them to the Beavers' Retreat, owing to a formal complaint against the children on a particular day.
Although parent-students are a minority at the LSE they are not a tiny minority. There are numerous groups of people at the LSE with difficulties and needs of one sort or another. However, as Elana Ehrlich pointed out to me, the least vocal of any group it seems are parents of either nursery age children or school age children. The Students' Union has acknowledged and continues to acknowledge the needs of this section of its membership which is unable to benefit from other facilities at the School.
As one mother told me with regard to the playgroup, not only is it convenient, not only do the children love it, but it also provides an opportunity for the children to identify with their parents' environment and workplace.
LORNA VASSILIADES
PAGE 12
?EMS*
Does LSE have a drinking problem ?
Introducing the regular column from our infamous ex-Social Secretary and well-known typographical error Toby Pose.
WELL, when I was a lad (Yorkshire accent and Hovis music in background), it was possible to get a pie 'n' ar pint at the 'aldane Bar in two seconds flat. These days I can hardly see the bar top for all the squashed lemmings. I don't like to feel the previous good service was due to the lack of punters at the gigs, even though the Mod Nite and the Rock 'n' Roll Disco attendances might have been described as sparse.
The Elder Statesman's Column
?/i l\V^
My personal opinion for what it's worth is that there are a few problems with the service behind the said Haldane Bar. I note with interest the compulsory issue of cotton wool balls for the ears of the bar staff, to ensure that orders have to be repeated at least eight times. Another familiar problem is the staff shortages—it's as depressing as London Transport. They ought to have a blackboard at the end of the counter relaying such information to customers as "The 9.25 lager has been cancelled due to a derailed barrel in the stockroom. Customers are advised to take the 9.20 Sovereign line."
My God, when I go into the Bar Area, the crunching of glasses and hollow grinding of the empty Pils bottles sweeping gracefully across the floor in semi-circles make me realise the squalor of our Ivory Tower (LSE, you ignorant lot). These hallowed battlements only
A legend
in our iunchtime
WHILE the individual popularity of Edmunds and Lowe fluctuates from month to month, Rockpile retread the college circuit regardless. Crawling from the wreckage of a Lyceum gig the night before, Rockpile appeared on the Old Theatre stage at a time when some lectures had just finished, when a few were just beginning and when most students were sitting down to their mid-week lunch.
"We're not too accomplished in these midday things," admitted Lowe. "We just want you to enjoy this. "We'll play anything you want to hear."
At once it was clear why their live appearances sell out while their records line the chain store bargain bins. Personal attraction lies in the cuddly appeal of an inadequate schoolboy, and their live success stems from experienced musicianship and boundless enjoyment.
When Nick Lowe filled in while the others retuned, his "James Bond Theme" and tarnished jokes reflected a man pushing forty who would gladly trade in all his early Stiff production credits for the chance to be This Year's Model just for a day. So at a time when
recently breached by the malicious British Movement should be made more civilised by the improvement of the watering holes. I mean, with that disgrace to greet them, even ordinary human beings turn into cattle. This is the claim of a certain of the more dubious discos run by the Hospitals and the Institute of Education, where you can hear the lowing all the way up in Senate House Library.
So ... if you think the Three Tuns is bad, just look at the Haldane Bar. Sometimes I think its only function could be to throw the Tuns into good relief. For all those interested in the demise of the name, the new Tuns competition entries can now be revealed! The reason for their disappearance was their universal mediocrity. Here's a selection of some of the worst:—
"The Fawcett Inn" submitted by K. Baynton
"Hack 'n' Picket" submitted by S. Gallant
, "The Nuclear Arms" submitted by M. Bird
'The Beaver's Arsehole" submitted by Anne Obscenity
Well, boys and girls, it's time for me to dash off to a meeting —until the next issue, Happy Drinking! . . . .
GOVERNOR TOBIAS F. ROSE
In conclusion, just for the record, I would like to register my disapproval of the Ents. Room hieroglyphics here in my column instead of in the customary fashion, i.e., with felt-tip on the magnolia walls in E.206.
RockpiJe, Old Theatre, 29th Oct., 1 p.m.
even the new album "Seconds of Pleasure" proves to be an embarrassing misnomer, live appearances continue to enthrall.
While "It's So Easy," an ironically placed opener, stressed the band's delight in performing fairly uneventful cover versions, it seemed that sound, atmosphere and alcohol levels
DAVE EDMUNDS
¦ ¦ ¦ one sings
had all been locked at their zenith. Despite the ground-floor seats and lack of efficient ventilation, the Old Theatre provides a concert venue at which vocals, for once, are fully audible. The bootlegger's paradise has come to rest at the LSE.
It was now possible to hear the weary tales of "Switchboard Susan," "Deborah," "Girls' Talk," "Trouble Boys," and "Singing the Blues." One could learn more of the social graces and upturned fortunes from "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" and "The Queen of Hearts" than from an entire year in a social science course. Even cover versions sounded extraordinarily good. Few, if any, left the theatre disappointed.
Few, also, had seen anything very new. As a one-off lunch-time treat the band were an overwhelming success. Paying customers had received fine value for money, Rockpile seemed happy and LSE Ents made a comfortable profit. As an attempt to branch out musically, however, the band scored low. How long they'll continue to delight audiences without
COMING SOON
THURSDAY, 27th NOVEMBER-
RADIO NEWS QUIZ
In the OLD THEATRE with
ALAN COR EN (Editor of 'Punch)
RICHARD1 INGRAM3 (Editor of 'Private Eye') SIMON HOGGART (The Guardian' Political Correspondent).
A lighthearted look at current affairs
SATURDAY, 29th NOVEMBER—
Robert Fripp's LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN
Plus "THE MARTIAN SCHOOLGIRLS"
Tickets: £1.30 in advance; £1.50 on door.
FRIDAY, 5th DECEMBER—
DON'T MISS THE
CHRISTMAS BALL
with ROY WOOD, THE HELICOPTERS and SUPPORTS ... and DANCERS Fun and Games and plenty of surprises
Tickets for all events available from the Ents Stall, Concourse, St. Clement's Building. Support your Local Ents Committee !
any marked innovation is open to question. The same point may have indeed been raised five years ago.
If they are criticised for sticking to guns tried and tested, then they must certainly be credited with hitting the target. Yet in a period when musical tastes are changing rapidly, sooner or later the target will begin to disintegrate.
Simon Garfield
NICK LOWE
the other doesn't
Film Society presents..
TUESDAY 11th November. The Boys in Company C.
Thursday 13th November. Bobby Deerfield, directed by Sidney Pollack, starring A1 Pacino and Marthe Keller.
Tuesday 18th November. Death in Venice, directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Dirk Bogarde.
Thursday 20th November. Slaughterhouse Five, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Michael Sachs and Valerie Per-rine, definitely unmissable.
All these films are projected in the Old Theatre at 7 pm. We recommend you arrive early, specially to the more popular films. The films are free to members and membership can still be obtained (at £3) at most of the projections.

?HITS*!
PAGE 13
Springsteen
CROCODILE TEARS
Max Sledge takes a look at the latest vinyl
CROCODILES - Echo & ihe Bunnymen KILIMANJARO - Teardrop Expodes
SPRINGSTEEN remains one of America's few successful artists to retain his integrity and remain aloof from the bland conformity of the American charts. After a two-year wait he returns with a double album rooted in the traditions of rock 'n' roil, permeated with its various styles and drawing inspiration from the fertile and trusted ground of urban life. "The River" is essentially a melting-pot of the past and Springsteen manages to bypass originality by giving the old mixture fresh appeal.
It is a mixture of poignant ballads, straightforward rock 'n' roll and passionate desperate pleas. Some of the songs are simply exercise in producing good-time music while others focus on more meaningful issues with Springsteen's "street philosophy"' overtones. The title track is a beautiful ballad with its atmosphere of despair and "Independence Day'' is a touching story of the parting of father and son. In contrast there is the pumping rock of "'Ramrod" with its early 'sixties organ sound and the orthodox contagious rock of "Hungry Heart . "Jackson Cage" pursues Springsteen's favourite theme of isolation and being a victim of pressures — "Into a row oi houses she just melts away/like the scenery in another man's play". Love still remains Springsteen's ultimate escape.
Some of Springsteen's themes are becoming a little tired and worn, particularly the glory of the street and the overworked expressionism of the car. But then they are balanced with the realism of such songs as "Point Blank"—"These days you don't wait on Romeos/You wait on that welfare cheque''.
Springsteen is essentially about commitment: in "Crush You" he sings "My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room." The production is a loser, less dense sound with a live feel while the E-Street Band maintain their excellence but never lose their edge. Springsteen's delivery ranges from controlled understanding to anguished, raw appeals.
It could be argued that it is tired, dated, escapist rock 'n' roll with no place in today's modern music. However, Springsteen's conviction and passion Override his limitations and lack of experimentation. In the wake of some of today's supposedly cerebral music with its artistic pretensions his straightforward approach appealing to the heart rather than to the head is refreshing. Though he's not saying anything new he's saying it as well as it has ever been said before.
Edward Lewis.
IT'S not unusual in rock music for certain "scenes" to spring up in different areas. In the early 'sixties, one of the most famous "scenes" was the Liverpool one. Apart from The Beatles (a pop group?), there were The Merseybeats (who ?), Gerry and the Pacemakers" (honest!) and Freddie and the Dreamers, who of course had a huge influence on just about everyone. Freddie went on to conquer America, and we all know the familiar story of how this brilliant human being destroyed himself with drugs, Japanese Geisha girls and net washing.
Well, lo and behold, it's the 'eighties already and what's this ? Another "scene" from Liverpool. Super! Even the names are just as groovy : Echo and the Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Pink Military, Wah ! Heat! Don't you ju't love them already ? Apparently all the people in the above out-
The Teardrop Explodes.
fits are well acquainted with each other as they hang around in the same cafe (the one Elsie Tanner did a stint in), making up original names for bands, They also probably share a mutual respect for a certain Mr Bowie, and they all happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Here we concern ourselves with Echo and the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes. Both have just released their debut albums (well. Crocodiles is about four months old, but we'll overlook that, thank you). Both bands had showed sufficient potential in their live gigs to warrant patronage by the "next year's big thing" crowd. Both
THE LSE Drama Society's major drama production this year is a challenging play by the Italian playwright of great renown. Written in the early part of this century it presents an exciting new perspective on theatre itself, and the conflicts that arise between the personality of the actor, with his idiosyncrasies and various abilities, and the "real" nature of the character he portrays.
Yet Pirandello does not let i this tension dominate the play, and it is highlighted by humour, and even farce. The play has been edited extensively to eliminate the more cumbersome elements, making it very well-knit, a tight and smooth-running script.
bands had also shown a great deal of scepticism about the tags that people were trying to stick on them—"post modern", "psychedelic". In a way they have played up to this nonsense (surrealistic lyrics and album covers, dry ice at gigs etc), but the music they have created is novel and unique, not to say brilliant enough to render these considerations superfluous.
On Crocodiles, Echo and the Bunnymen carefully create a dark and mysterious atmosphere which slowly melts its way into your consciousness. The band's music has been compared with that of The Doors, and while this is not entirely true, it does give some indication as to where their direction lies within the New Wave. Ian McCulloch's vocals are as richly idiosyncratic as Jim Morrison's as they slice their way through the dark layers of sound served up by the band. That's not to say they can't write a good pop tune, as "Rescue". one of last year's catchiest
I don't know, bit the production on Kilimanjaro seems to be deliberately simple, as if the band are scared stiff of being labelled self-indulgent, as some unkind critics are wont to do. Having said that, I still believe that this is one of the better albums in the fie'd of "pop" music around at the moment. If you haven't got the singles the album is a must; if you have, hard luck—ail foiir of them (albeit remixed) are included. "Treason" and "When I Dream" are in their original form, which is just as well, as they are all you could want from the three-, minute pop . song. "Bouncing Babies" and "Sleeping Gas" are given a fresh treatment which is disconcerting at first (if you are familiar with them), but I think it finally works.
Julian Cope is a far more romantic type of lyricist than Ian McCuiloch, although his view of love, and the intricacies! thereof, is just as alienated. "When I Dream" is a notable exception, however, as it is a
'Six
characters in search of an Author'
by
Luigi Pirandello
singles, proves quite amply here. This album has more than its fair share of strong hooks and riffs. Live, the band have still got a few problems in trying to re-create the excellent studio sound of their recorded work.
The opposite situation occurs with Teardrop Explodes. I've seen this band a couple of times and they've never failed to impress. While Echo languish in the darker regions of life, Teardrop prefer things bright and breezy. Their music fairly bubbles with optimism and, dare I say, innocence. Live, this comes across very well, but in the studio it sometimes sounds a trifle flat and naive.
What's causing this problem ?
very straightforward, as in mushy, love song. Somehow you get the feeling Cope is mocking the genre as he sings "I've been sad and never sadder. I've been living, living far away. Now it's you, I think it's true and I am running, running back to stay." Oh yeah, have a banana, Julian. Nevertheless, these albums should definitely not be judged on their lyrical content when so much music is there to be savoured. And to all the aformentioned critics who have muttered about pretentiousness, there's a final statement from Mr McCulloch : "I don't know what's wrong with this world." I believe him.
'Max Sledge
What in fact occurs is that a rehearsal by a group of actors is interrupted by the arrival of six people, purporting to be characters created by an author who then decided not to write the play. Suspended, as it were, in life, without being able to act out their own drama, they take over the theatre and demand that the producer stages their drama. Unwillingly at first, but with growing enthusiasm, he gets caught up with the idea and a few of the scenes are then rehearsed, with tragic consequences.
Directed by Nisha Pillai, of "Dick Whittington" fame (last year's highly successful pantomime), the majority of actors are new to the LSE, and have brought with them a great deal of talent, and much work has been put into the staging of this production.
The play will be on in the Old Theatre, Monday 24th, and Tuesday 25th November, starting at 7.30 pm, and tickets are available at the door, or in the week before the performance, for 59 pence.
MIKE ZO&HiBif
PAGE 14

RUGGED
thFl ¦s.e. 1st xv overcame the first obstacle in the Universities' Cup by defeating Sussex l-g-9 at a blustery New Maiden. The victory was further enhanced by a' stirring triumph in the Boat Race, engineered by the somewhat dubious technique of Simon Brayshaw. The scoring was shared evenly between backs and forwards, Rick Cress-well and Chris Barratt heroic-
SUSSEX
SUCCUMBS??!
At this time every year LSE "sports persons" emerge from their respective nooks and crannies and black holes to pit their incomparable talents in the UAU competition.
This year Sussex University were the first to succumb to the awesome professionalism of our respective teams.
The results were as follows :
1st XV	RUGBY	WON	16-9
2nd XV	RUGBY	WON	3-0
1st XI	FOOTBALL	LOST	1-2
2nd X!	FOOTBALL	LOST	1-2
3rd XI	FOOTBALL	LOST	0 2
	MEM'S HOCKEY	LOST	0-4
	WOMEN'S HOCKEY	LOST	G-3
	NETBALL	LOST	12-40
	BADMINTON	WON	
	TABLE TENNIS	LOST	
ally battling inch by inch to cross the Sussex line, and Ceri Da vies landing eight of the luckiest points seen in the history of the club . . . "well, one was pretty good really, but he still owes me £2" — Paul Hendry. On the whole, a good day for the lsts with Neil Concrete confidently predicting "I think we might win next week if we're lucky. ..."
Meanwhile, the 2nds played one of those free-flowing high-scoring games the sport badly needs. Action and tension were needed to work out the dramatic final score. In the end, it was Mark O'Gorman's kick which decided the game making the final score 3-0 to L.S.E. Carwyn Harwood commented "This was the kind of game which could bring back the crowds" whilst the referee was somewhat less enthusiastic: "I've had more entertainment watching the test card" being his parting comment. Thus at the end of the day the Rugby Club had scored a memorable double, the results of which were witnessed by those in the Three Tuns later in the evening. "Baggy Trousers ! !"
A hooligans' game played by gentlemen.
GOLF
LOST (but damn unlucky)
Eager for further conquests, we depart for Guildford where, > irrespective of results, we will get totally "pissed."
CAMPAIGN FOR BRiTiSH WITHDRAWAL
FROM IRELAND
NAT5QNAL MARCH Assemble Embankment (Tube Stai'on) SAT., NOV. 15th, t p.m.
Soccer stories
LAST Wednesday the L.S.E. Football Club took on the might of Sussex University on the field and lost . . . but won in the bar. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd XIs lost 2-1, 2-1 and 2-0 respectively, but they had reason to rejoice in the bar later when Mike Hussey, Stan Walters, Derek Thomas and Matt Taylor helped, the L.S.E. boat race team to a memorable victory.
Back in league action, the 3rd XI continued their winning ways with a 6-3 away win at Guys'. However, the 3rds' disciplinary record is causing some concern, with John Rhodes booked, Dave Bothwick sent off .and Chris Kyneston- arrested with only half a term gone.
The 2nd XI, despite an obligatory Matt "the cat'' cock-up, still managed to beat I.C. 2nds 5-3 (Roy Coles scoring four goals, as usual), while the 1st XI suffered a surprising setback to their championship hopes with a 3-2 defeat against I.C. 1st XI, causing a major shake up in the 1st XI squad.
The 4th XI have been unemployed for the last two weeks while the 5th XI, under Sergio, flew the tube to Heathrow only to go down 7-3 to I.C. 7ths.
Soccer-
pseud
style
by Martin Lunn
PICTURE the scene : the sky is Grey, well Taylored Macintoshes are essential for Walkers, the Knights are drawing in over the Green fields of New Maiden, South Lunndon. The Spires in the distance are a testament to the harsh reality of the U.A.U. The causer of this is a marauding mob from Downie Brighton who Cox-ed Goodwins from the L.S.E. 1st, 2nd and 3rd LXIs. But Whi-take-care not to be Browned off. In the Barr-at the end of the game there are plenty of Cummings and goings with the L.S.E. drama production, the Romans enjoying an up-Serge of interest. On the way home we saw animals at play in the fields ; yes. we Met-calfs.
Ah attempt at athleticism
EVERY morning, breathless and tired you arrive to find it booked. Solid for the next three eons. Maybe tomorrow; but in your heart of hearts you know there's about as much chance of getting a court as there is of pulling a partner at an A,U. disco. So what is it that attracts the mighty hordes; what activity could possibly exert such a heavily addictive influence over its devotees? It's Squash (or "I can make a louder noise than you just by hitting a rubber ball around a room that looks like a padded cell without the padding.").
i think virtually everyone at university must have tried Squash at some time in their lives. The quintessential middle class sport with built in convenience (you don't have to run for the ball when it goes out) has now become less of a status symbol due primarily to a widening in its audience participation.
After the initial novelty wore off, people became increasingly aware that as a spectator sport, Squash was a dead duck. For a start, nobody can see the ball: it's either going too fast or the
frenetic players obscure its path across the court. And even if they can see it they're too busy involuntarily covering their faces in anticipation of being hit, to appreciate strategy or finesse. So they thought they'd all have a go. After all, anybody can maniacally bash a ball as long as it's guaranteed to comeback . . . can't they? Well, no. Many found the experience disillusioning (1, They couldn't hit the ball: 2, They could hit the ball but it kept on going above that bloody stupid red line). While others found it downright agonising (couldn't hit the ball, but the ball kept hitting them). A minority even had the pleasure of a cracked skull, by carelessly placing their head in the path of a fast approaching racket. Gouged eyeballs have been known to occur but I can honestly say I've never seen it. (Neither did the people with the gouged eyeballs come to think of it).
Apart from the physical discouragement that the above serves to illustrate, Squash has also disappointed the "happy go lucky" type who enters the
court under the laughable impression that he is about to engage in friendly competition with his partner. Not only is conversation impossible (it's like trying to talk to a dolphin) but the very nature of the game is designed to crush any feelings of humanity or altruism towards your opponent that might have existed prior to the match. It's a totally egocentric act of controlled, and sometimes not so controlled aggression, which can leave you feeling murderous or universally superior depending on how well you're doing.
There's only one thing worse than going into a squash court with somebody who's a million times inferior to you, and that is going in with someone who's a million times better. In the case of the former, it is difficult to know what to do. Do you lose a few points here and there just to keep them interested, or do you annihilate them and then go and alter your Christmas card list ? Promising friendships have been known to collapse immediately after these barely disguised massacres, and it is the sudden-death, head-on
confrontation intrinsic in the nature of the game that exacerbates the mutual antipathy up to homicidal proportions. Standing in a squash court being outmanoeuvred, outwitted, out-staminad and, in essence, outside, is a soul destroying experience. In short you're squashed. Which is quite a coincidence really.
So what does squash have to offer ? Well I like it, but I'm not sure why. The mere sensation of hitting something very hard is in itself distinctly pleasurable. It could conceivably be a catharsis of the subconscious : let's take it out on the ball/op-ponent. If it is a release of pent-up aggression, then ultimately, it only makes me sad that we still haven't devised a way of living which nullifies the need for aggression and its release, controlled or otherwise.
If by this article I have put anyone off the game, then let me say here and now that it was purely intentional. You see, I'd like to be able to book a court for next week.
E. M. RICHE
Printed by Ripley Printers Ltd., Ripley, Derby. Published by Loncioh School of Economics and Political Science, Students' Union, East Builtiint,