WEWSPAPER of the LSE STUDENTS' UNION Mo. use FEBRUARY tlth, 1976 FREE UUKUMEIKPT. Decision witliout consultation DECISION without consultation— this was the accusation levelled at Professor Dahrendorf at the Union sneeting held on Friday. Ken Hulme, Academic Affairs 0£Bcer on the Executive, asserted that the way In which the decision was arrived at left much to be desired. Primarily there had been no consultation with the department until after the decision has been taken and, furthermore, the School Committee conceriieQ with the problem was singularly lacking in either representatives of the department or academics who would understand the relevance of linguistics to other areas of the School, such as sociology and anthropology and psychology. At the Union meeting Professor Dahrendorf skilfully evaded questions regarding the threatened closure, in particular one which asked how much the School would actually save by closing the department. The Directors unwillingness to answer seems to point to the fact that very little of a positive nature will be gained by the closure of the Language Department. The Director's appearance at the Union Meeting marks the culmination of a week's active campaigning, and exchanges between the department and the School. Vicki Leonard, currently studying in the lianguage Department, reports on the meeting between the Director, students and staff. In an interview on February 5th the Director stated that no final decision had yet been taken regarding the closure of the Language Department. The Standing Sub-Committee of the Appointments Committee meets on February 18th to discuss the issue and the decision will be taken by this committee on March 3rd. The Director said that the Language Department's present state of insecurity arose from a normal review of all departments in December 1974. Some teaching posts were to be frozen for the time being owing to a period of financial difficulties; four out of 13 posts were vacant in the Language Department and it was proposed not to fill them. Nevertheless, two of the four posts were filled for the session 1975-76 and there were admissions for all degree courses previously offered. However there are to' be no admissions for degree courses involving linguistics, German, Spanish or Russian next session although all these were offered in the UCCA handbook for that year. The Director said this was not a direct result of the Government education cuts. It should be seen from the perspective of the LSE as a whole ajid in the light of the present financial situation. The Language Department was to be viewed as a special case; other small departments were in no danger and the Director cited the Philosophy Department which was advertising for a new Chair. The small staff-student ratio of the Language Department was very hard to defend and whereas the French Studies degree was feasible, it was impossible to obtain funds to expand linguistics as a half-degree course. No assurance was given that the two full-time linguistics staff on temporary contracts would continue to be employed to teach the existing students in the department. Dr Dahrendorf was handed a petition signed by 1,200 staff and students in their fight to retain the department and its existing degi-ee courses. Several interesting points arose at this meeting. Firstly, the Director appeared to be ill-informed on a number of issues. He implied that the academic standard of the department was low, whereas it is thought to be the highest in London University for degrees involving linguistics and a modern language. When he stated that the staff-student ratio was low he was ignoring the considerable numbers of students from other departments who choose to study language options, languages and linguistics units and English as a foreign language. He was unaware that M.A. Linguistics and M.A. French were advertised as new courses at the L.S.E. for the session 1977-78. Finally, it is difficult to see how there can have been no decision that the admission of new students should be allowed to continue until such a decision has been taken. The Director himself stated that inadequate information had been given to the staff and students of the department. It is time for the discussion to be reopened for ade- THE School's plan for the axing of the Language Department is not an isolated incident at the L.S.E.- It joins a whole series of economies in staffing, heating and teaching, dating from early 1975. There is also every reason to believe that this will not be the last cut at this college. It is clearly very important that we apply pressure on the administration now to ensure that there is proper discussion on all proposed cuts, and that the disgraceful and underhand method of dealing with the economies is ended. However, for the moment we must concentrate our efforts in fighting the closure of the Language Department. Tragically, the L.S.E.^ is not alone in suffering the effects of economies. The Government has forced local authorities to cut their expenditure, and education has been selected to absorb a large part of this saving. Specifically these have taken the form of;— 1. Shelving of plans to replace college buildings. 2. Abandonment of plans to extend medical education. 3. Reducing the number of discretionary student grants. 4. Increasing fees for overseas students. 5. Refusing to maintain the real value of Student Union Funds. This is by no means a complete list; the economies extend from primary teaching to adult education courses. The NUS joins with the Trade quate infonnation to be gathered together and for linguistics in particular to be given a fair hearing in the light of the fact that it is a new and fast expanding social science which has an important role to play at the L.S.E. We must fight tJnion Movement in opposing all cuts in education. The L.S.E. Grants Action Committee is leading the campaign at this college, and we make these points concerning the cuts;— . 1. Cuts in the education service are a particularly short-sighted way of "solving" the U.K.'s economic problems. 2. The damage that the cuts will do to the present generation in education wiU be permanent. 3. The cuts will affect the whole of society, but will hit w^orking people and for the admission of new students next session, for the posts of tfce two full-time members of the linguistics staff on temporary contracts and for the continuation cf the degree courses of the Lang«g«e Department now in jeopardy. their children hardest, since they will mean a reduction of education opportunities. 4. The treatment which education is receiving is In sharp contrast to the fiekl of military spending where cuts which were planned have not been made. We urge all students and staff to give their fullest support lo the campaign against the cuts at the L.S.E. and throughout the country and to attend the national demonstration on Friday 27th February. L.S.E. GRAFTS ACTION COMMITTEE Grants action now BKAVKB, Feb. 17th, 1976—Page Two LETTERS Abysmal lecturing DEAR EDITOR,—The vital issue "Teaching at the LSE," has finally appeared on "Beaver's" pages. Lecturing is described as abysmal, marking standards infantile. As a first year student I have come up against negative teaching at the School. In one particular lecture course, as the majority of students agree, delivery was poor, handouts were unhelpful and little consideration was given to those who had not met the subject before. In all a thoroughly demotivating influence. For several weeks nothing was done about the situation. There WHS no suggestion that we should discuss the issue as a group and as a result our problem was not communicated to the lecturer in question. Indeed there may be many other reasons why no individual went forward to complain. Worry and frustration grew like a boil which had to burst. A petition, demanding the withdrawal from the time-table of the lecture course, was drav^Ti up and circulated which the majority signed gladly. This action brought a response from staff who suggested a meeting to try and tackle the problem.. To that meeting we took demands for supplementary classes to relate to the work previously covered—the staff made this concession. The suspect lecture will stay on the timetable but a working party of students and staff is planning a new approach. Group attention on behalf of the students has been successful in specifying our problem and breaking a barrier of communication with staff to bring the matter to their attention. Finally students made constructive proposals which hopefully will benefit us and future students. If we, as students, don't ask for the kind of teaching we want, we won't get it! ALEX PRENTICE SHEIK MUJIB AND AFTER pEAR EDITOR,—Judging by Mr Sen's reply, it appears that some important points need to be clarified. In the 1970 general election. Sheik Mujib himself stated that he was fighting for autonomy, for regional self-government, and not for independence: that is a crucial distinction. Moreover, his party fielded candidates in West Pakistan also, thus showing a desire for representation in Pakistan's national parliament. The mere fact that Mujib participated in the election proves that, at the time, he supported the concept of a united Pakistan (albeit a loosely federated one), and that he wanted to be its leader. Coirunon sense tells us that the Government would not have allowed Mujib to contest on the issue of independence (i.e. the break-up of the country) had he genuinely wished to do so. The twentieth century has not yet witnessed a military government prepared to voluntarily preside over the break-up. of its own state. The independence movement and THIS BEAVER was paoduced by Sheree Dodd, Nikki Tait, Richard Blackett, Clare Lynch, Anton Chapman, Peacock, Michael Cleary, Mungo Deans, with hindrance from Paul Brown and help from Mary Butter worth. All opinions expressed ;n this paper are those of the writers. @ London School of Economics and Students' Union 1976. Pakistani repression began almost simultaneously, . in March 1971, when Bhutto and Mujib could not come to a compromise over their personal ambitions (to be the sole ruler of the entire country). Therefore, I do not deny that there was an independence movement; the vital point is that it started after the election. I would like to discuss other points raised in Mr Sen's letter. To believe that the majority of the subcontinent can transcend religion and national chauvinism is to disregard the vulgarities of human behaviour. For instance, the poverty-stricken masses of India rejoiced when a nuclear "device" was exploded within 100 miles of the Pakistan border, although this operation diverted financial resources that could have been used for alleviating some people's miseries. I agree with Mr Sen that poor people want food and dignity. He will thus, no doubt, be pleased to learn that as a result of good harvests, tough government action against hoarders and smugglers, and consequently, lower prices, everyone in Bangladesh now has sufficient food. Effective measures undertaken by the new rulers are also bringing back law and order. The utter chaos necessary for a successful communist takeover has not arisen. Anyone acquainted with the ordinary people of Bangladesh knows that more than 90 per cent of them are totally opposed to socialism (which is in complete disrepute because of the corruption and oppression of the Mujib regime, which was officially socialist). A serious attempt^ to produce a socialist "revolution" would lead to the deaths of millions, and, after the horrors experienced under Yahya Khan and Mujib, that is something which Bangladesh can well do without. To have a genuine concern for the well-being of the poor masses is not the exclusive right of socialists. A. Z. SHAH WHAT IS PALESTINE? THE facts as presented by Samir Yousif in the last Beaver are false. Consult a non-partisan history book for confirmation. Palestine was never an exclusively Arab country. There never was an Arab state in Palestine nor a Palestine Arab Nation. The Palestine Arabs never ruled the country nor did they create any form of separate political or social identity. They were never an autonomous unit. \ Philip K. Hitti, the Arab historian informed the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry that "there is no such thing as Palestine in history", and as late as May 1956 Ahmed Shukairy, later head of the PLO, declared in the UN Security Council "It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria." In 1947 the UN offered self-determination to both Arabs and Jews. Ironically, the only country in the Middle East which actively supported the creation of a Palestine Arab State was Israel, by virtue of her support for the UN partition resolution. The refusal of the Palestinian Arabs and the neighbouring Arab states to recognize the partition resolution and the war which ensued prevented the realisation of this resolution. Only-the Jewish state came into being, while the remainder of Arab Palestine passed into the possession of three neighbouring Arab countries. Gaza and the Gaza Strip were held and administered by Egypt, the town of Al-Hamma on the Sea of Galilee by Syria, and the West Bank by Jordan. This gave all three governments a motive to play down the Palestinian theme, since the constitution of a separate Palestine would have involved their relinquishing the teiTitories. ^ Official figures published by the outgoing British Mandatory Administration before Israel's independence showed that 8.6% of the land which made ui» the State of Israel, as constituted in 1948, was owned by Jews, 3.3% was owned by Arabs, while another 16.9% had been abandoned by Arab owners who heeded the call from neighbouring countries to "get out of the way" while the invading Arab armies made 3hort shift of Israel. The rest of the land — over 70% — had been vested in the Mandatory Power, and. accordingly, belonged to the State of Israel as its legal heir; 70% of the land was mostly uninhabited arid or semi-arid territory. In 26 years Israel has absorbed 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab States. In 1948 the Arab invasion of Israel made about 590,000 Arabs homeless, 400,009 being still homeless. The FLO'S view is clear: spill more blood to achieve a "secular democratic state". There is no secular democratic Arab state amongst the 21 existing Arab states. Israel, the only- non-Arab state in the area is secular and democratic. Will three million Israelis have to die to prove how the world has been misled by the sort of propaganda which the PLO is putting out and which Beaver finds fit to print in its columns? ANDRE ROSENTHi^ DEAR EDITOR, — I would like to address myself to Samir Yousli's article ,on Palestine. First, he makes the tjijical mistake of referring to the Palestinians as a "ia.ce". Palestinians are of several races, as are Israelis. Suffice it to suggest that they are a nationality (albeit currently a nationless one). Secondly, he purports that there was a war between two countries, Palestine and Israel (the latter backed by western powers, in the area now known as Israel. This is unmollified delusion. There were seven countries involved in the war; Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. The' only aid Israel got came from individual Jews in different countries — not from "western powers." Mr Yousif next contends that "the Zionists have continued along the long road towards destruction of the Palestinian nation." I hate to disillusion him, but there was no Palestinian nation to speak of. There was a land under British domain called Palestine — formerly under Turkish domain. Palestinians lived there — but under constant external rule. Further- more, modem Israel is not the charred ruin of destruction. Rather, it exemplifies an oasis in the desert; there is green -where sand once ruled. There is an extremely subtle implication underlying Mr Yousif's analysis; that the State of Israel is not secular and- democratic. He is partially correct Israel Is not a secular state. For the most part, secular states do not exist. Israel is, however, a democratic state. The mayor of Israel's fourth lai-gest city is an Arab Communist (to the chagrin of Henry Kissinger). There are other Arab members in the Knesset as well — both Moslerii and Christian. Yet beneath the illusions and misconceptions ia Mr Yousif's article there is one valid point — the plight of the Palestinians. None of the countries involved in the 1948 war, including Israel, have behaved with anything approaching decency. They are all wrapped up in their own self-righteous worlds, either ignoring or politically exploiting those w^ho most desperately need a Middle East solution. As the Palestinian case so clearly exemplifies, there is nothing remotely approaching humane thought when it comes to finding a solution to the problems in the Middle East. ROBERT BRAGER T.D. DENIES ALLEGATIONS DEAR EDITOR, — I would like to take this oppoi'-tunity to reply to Mr Keyworth's insinuations that I am not a true Conservative, and, to put lie to some of the neo-Fascist arguments that he expressed in the same letter. The fact that last November I was elected to the Executive Committee of the LSE Conservative Society without a single voice being raised against my nomination, and that I was the official Conservative candidate for the Union Executive in the recent elections, indicates that I am trusted by fellow-Conservatives at this college. This is with good reason, for since I joined the Conservative Society I have, in the words of the Chairman, worked harder than the vast majority of other members, and also made a certain contribution to its development and growth. It is my intention to continue working in the Conservative Party and thus help strengthen organisationally and politically the forces of moderation, freedom and liberty. But what I found more disgusting than Mr Key-worth's snide insinuations about my sincerity, was his open support for the fascist military junta in Chile. This government's overthrow of democracy and its absolute contempt for human rights.is, I feel, to be opposed by all individuals of a moderate political persuasion. Just as I am opposed to the totalitarianism of the extreme left, so I am also opposed to the authoritarianism of the extreme right. In his letter Mr Keyworth implied that it was 'communistic' for someone to oppose military dictatorships. Unlike Mr Keyworth, I believe in freedom and democracy and oppose any abuse of these. Unlike some I have no double standards of morality. Mr Keyworth maintained that there were absolutely no constraints on the freedom of the Press. This is sheer ignorance at its worst. Reporters are, at least, constrained by their editors' opinions. Injunctions can also be issued preventing newspapers from freely expressing their opinions, such as th» "Distillers" case. There is also the device known as a "D" notice, by which the government can ban any article from appearing if it deems its publication to be detrimental to the security of the state. It is therefore nonsense to argue that there are 'no constraints' on the freedom of the Press. However I would argue that despite these constraints there is still greater Press freedom in the UK than in the USSR or China! Not only was I disturbed by Mr Keyworth's evident snideness and stupidity, I was also perturbed by his hypocrisy. He correctly pointed out that the Conservative Party stands for freedom and liberty, yet I do not find his name on our membership lists! TERRY DONALDSON BEAVER, Feb. 17th, 1976—Page Three Union news and views STV unravelled A LOT of misunderstanding has arisen from the election results declared on Tuesday, February 3rd with strange tales of individuals having two votes not one and other fallacies. To subdue the restless Masses before open revolt against ¦Mie student union erupts, I will attempt to explain the results using file tables of votes for the by-«lection. Firstly it must be mentioned that ne did not have one but three vacancies to fill and therefore three candidates from the five had to be «lected. I will not go into the dis-Kdvantages of the past bloc vote Bystem as these can be surmised by JMOst people. If the single tranferable vote •ystem (not sexually transmitted TOte as members of the Beaver edi-¦lorial board thought) the result attempts to reflect more accurately ttie true wishes of the peasant masses. To this end it tries to find the candidates least hated amongst the contestants, thus pleasing few tout harming hardly any, as opposed k) the old system which would please even fewer and harm all the rest. As all you people out there who voted know (all those who didn't, •why not?) you marked your ballot eheet in order of preference fii-st, eccond, etc, stopping when you got bored, didn't prefer anyone else or got up to five. To explain further ¦we must look at the results. Firstly the votes were counted and any spoilt ones removed, and 4his was checked to see if it tallied with the numbers recorded during the election. The result of this was 462 votes cast 5 invalid 457 usable votes From the number of usable votes we then proceeded to find out what the quota was. Now before I confuse you let me explain what the quota is. This is the number of votes a candidate needs to secure to obtain election; this is needed as there is more than one vacancy as well as many other complex reasons. The quota is assessed in the following manner: — out by the following equation votes to be distributed 23 votes 138 = 0.167 total of usable votes no. of vacancies + 1 + 1 = quota Prom looking at the figures we can work out that the quota is 115.25 (the fraction being disregarded). Now any candidate attaining that number of votes or more is declared elected. That is the end of the simple part of STV. As you can see from the table the Broad Left candidate, Jackie Rushforth, received 138 first preferences and she was declared elected as she had exceeded the quota of 115. Now comes the complex part, for, as she has 23 votes more than the quota these votes are distributed to the other candidates. To do this all Rushforth's votes are divided according to her second preference, but as she has only 23 votes to redistribute each second preference is not worth one vote but a fraction, so that all the distributed votes when added up come to 23. This fraction is worked Therefore each of Rushforth's votes distributed to another candidate is worth 0.167. This was distributed as shown in the table to give the second row of totals. However, as you can see from the table, no other candidate has achieved the quota of 115 and so the bottom candidate is eliminated, this being the Libertarian (anarchist) Fabian Thompsett. His 58 votes are distributed by using his second preference and are each worth one vote as he has been eliminated from the competition. But the votes he gained from Rushforth are worth only 0.167 each as they are Rushforth's third preferences being distributed, not his own personal second preferences. This resulted in the thh-d column. It can now be seen that Anton Chapman, . Independent Socialist, has exceeded the quota by 1.5 votes and he is declared elected and joins Jackie Rushforth on the Executive. It can now also be ascertained that Terry, the Tory, Donaldson has no hope of catching up Jackie Gladden as there are only 1.5 votes to distribute, and therefore Jackie Gladden is declared elected, as the third and final member, to the Executive. Anton Chapman (Ind Socialist) 74 87.5 116.5 Elected Terry Donaldson (Conservative) 88 88.5 99 Eliminated Jacky Gladden (Independent) ... 99 101 111 Elected Jacky Rushforth (BroadLeft) ... 138 — — Elected Fabian Thompsett (Libertarian) 58 63 — Eliminated Spoilt/no transferred votes 5 2 13.5 (N.B.: These are approximates only, omitting fractions if possible) This system has one great advantage over the old system of Executiwe elections because it will take much less time to announce the results, due to the old block vote system taking so long to count each individual's votes. This article has probably confused you even more than before and it has certainly confused members of the Beaver staff with whom I spent two hours explaining the benefits of the system. J. INGRAM Bucharest mystery ON 14th December 1975, delegates from our national union met those from 20 other national students' unions in Bucharest to discuss the democratisation of education, the role of women in society, European Security and co-operation, and anti-fascism. This is common knowledge and you may also have heard that oin- representatives took such a pronounced Moscow line that even the Rumanian and Bulgarian delegations were surprised, to say nothing of the Scandinavian Unions. In the euphoria of the post-Helsinki detente it was agreed that ULU should be twinned with the Union of Moscow State University for the purpose of sporting, cultural and political exchanges. Soviet athletic superiority at college level has already proved the futility of sporting exchanges, and our own limited resources make it likely that the nature of the chosen "cultural" and "political" groups will be at the discretion of the Russians, although as yet the source of funds for the exchanges has not been revealed. In fact, it is impossible to give full details of these agreements because NUS has refused to disclose them. Inquiries to the International Department have revealed some inefficiencies since both Trask and Stewart are abroad, and the remainder of the staff have shown a somewhat unco-operative attitude towards enquiries. In the "Main Mail" of 10th February, it Wixs announced that while the agreement awaits final ratification by the International Policy Group, it is available for inspection. Regardless of this, the International Department still refuse to disclose any information, excusing themselves on account of administrative bungling. Meanwhile the text of the Bucharest agreement remains a mystery—perhaps some people hope it will remain so until after the closing date for NUS policy motions. If you can't wait until 22nd February (provisional publishing date) to see what NUS says on your behalf, then ring Pat Ramsay at NUS for a full and frank exchange of views. MUNGO DEANS Committee action IT has been quite a while since anything about the School Committees has been mentioned in "Beaver". You may remember that a motion was passed at the UGM of October 10th calling for Union to take up its places on the School Committees. Little has happened since then because the School refused to accept representatives from the Union floor; rather the School requires them to be elected on a departmental group basis, which would take the initiative away from the Student Union. Not surprisingly . the Student Union rejected such proposals. A period of inactivity followed which finally ended at the Union meeting of 30th January. Crispin O'Brien came up with the stunning proposal that the representatives should be elected from the Union floor anyway and a fait accompli presented to the director. This would give the Union a basis upon which it could build its campaign for Student Union participation on the School Committees. Accordingly, representatives were elected to the Building Committee, the Library , Committee, the Careers Advisory Committee, the Accommodation Committee, the General Puiposes Committee and the Court of Governors. It is imperative that the Union now campaigns for the School to recognise these representatives. S.D. 'A union of the streets and on the streets IF you were to ask a random sample of students what a student union is for, the chances are that most of the answers would fall into one of two categories: either those which emphasised the student union's service role as a sort of glorified social club, or those which emphasised its "ti'ade union" role as an agency for furthering students' interests. Now the fact that Student unions play this second role, and that many students jecognise its importance, is itself a lairly recent phenomenon—it dates enly from the 1960s. The rise to prominence of this second role for student unions is Itself a direct consequence of the changing nature of the system of 'higher education in Britain. Prior ¦to the Great 'War, and indeed, in Many respects, right up until the Second 'World 'War, universities were essentially designed to provide a liberal education for the children •f the ruling class, the "Young barbarians at play ' as Matthew ¦Arnold described them. But since 1945, and in particular since the publication of the Robbins Report in 1963, the universities and, to an even greater extent, the polytechnics, have been increasingly concerned to train the expanding numbers of skilled intellectual workers necessary to the efficient functioning of a technologically sophisticated, modern capitalist economy. This change in the social purpose of the higher education system has led. above all, to an increasingly functional conception of the nature of university education, to a concern not with that education for life which the children of the ruling classes used to get, but rather with a training in "useful" skills, that is, in those skills which will contribute to the profitability of the economic system. It has led, too, to a greater emphasis on cost-effectiveness. The ruling class was quite prepared to indulge in lavish expenditure on its own offspring, but is'hardly prepared to display the same generosity towards the children of the lower middle classes, and even, increasingly, of the manual working class. In such a situation, there have emerged a whole series of contra- dictions between the demands which the capitalist economic system places upon higher education, and the real interests of students. For students are still concerned, in the first place, to "get an education", and in the second place to ensure for themselves decent conditions of work and a reasonable standard of living. This central set of contradictions can'be expressed in a general theoretical form. Marxist economics has long distinguished between "exchange value,'' on the one hand, and "use value" on the other. Paradoxically, the new functional conception of education emphasises not "use value" at all, but rather "exchange value," that is marketable, saleable value—and, of course, poetry, philosophy, and even "knowledge" do not necessarily fetch particularly high market prices. So there exists an endemic contradiction between what students tend to want, and what the economic system expects of them. This has been considerably exacerbated by the present economic crisis. In the face of the recession, successive governments have been concerned to "cut costs," which means, quite simply, to cut the services offered by the higher education system. The 1972 'White Paper spelled this out for all to see; "unit costs cannot be allowed to go on rising and scope must be found for economies of scale." (para 125). The result has been worse staff-student ratios, college closures and amalgamations, a freeze on new building, and so on. ¦We can see this process at work here at LSE in the recent proposals to close down the Languages department.. Paced with such prospects, we students have only two real alternatives. 'We either knuckle under and accept the erosion of the real value of the grant, the deterioration of our conditions of work (for example, the changes in the system of obtaining books from the stack in the Library) and the "rationalisation" of oin- education (first goes the language department, but who's next?—apart from management mathematics, business economics, industrial relations and accountancy, is anything safe?). Or we fight. And that is why we need both a National Union of Students and a local student union which v;ill fight, which will sit-in and occupy, march and demonstrate, organise rent strikes and refectory boycotts, which will recognise, above all, that our interests are different to, and in opposition to, those of the state and of the state's representatives in the universities, the Vice Chancellors. And that is why Pete Timmins. accountant extraordinaire, and Crispin O'Brien, nice-guy-of-the-year, and all the rest of the independents and Tories, are just not good enough. It is doubtful that the Broad Left, with their obsession for feasting Stalinist diplomats from Eastern Europe and their obsequious allegiance to the "left" of the Labour Party, provide any real alternative. For that alternative we have to look to the revolutionary socialists who led the struggles here at the LSE in 1968, and again in the early i970s. 'We shall be fielding a slate of candidates for the next full Executive elections. LSE INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST SOCIETY / BEAVER. Feb. lltli, 1976—Page Four Problems of London This is slavery—savage men Or wild beasts within a den Would endure not as ye do But for such ills they never knew. (Shelley) PERHAPS when wandering through the thoroughfares of our capital city you have come across a most disconcerting sight. Amongst the people hurrying to and fro, you see a gentleman not hurrying ; he has. nowhere to go. While the well-dressed hordes rush ever onwards, he will be clothed in rags. A coat tied up with string, torn trousers, battered boots and maybe even an old hat. He will be rather unkempt i« appearance, smelly and', "more often tharr not, under the influence of drink. All in all he presents a most puzzling picture, but you have seen his like often enough, so you hurry on and forget about him. After all he's nothing to do with you, it's probably his own fault and (the final line to try and salve your conscience) what the hell can you do ? But you know these arguments are all lies. He smells because he hasn't had a bath recently; not because it is natural. He is dressed in rags because he hasn't the money to buy new clothes. He lives on the street because he has nowhere else to go. These are people discarded by society, they have a problem or a series of problems and society throws them out. As these casualties are so widespread, surely the problem cannot be the fault of the individuals themselves. Instead the blame lies with the society which forced them out. So you try and say it's all their own fault. WHAT is their fault ? At the root of their present situation lies a problem —a disease, an accident, some unhappy circumstance—is this their fault ? They lose their job, their family disowns them or perhaps they never had a family^is this their fault ? They cannot get a job and live on Social Security. They become disillusioned, take to drink, start begging -and live on the streets (remember the poverty trap is psychological as well as material). Ah, this must be their fault. Surely '"normal" people upon losing a job and family due to unfortunate circumstances wouldn't sink into apathy: Unfortunately the pathway is not so much a matter of personal fallibility but more of inevitability. If these- people were weak in character or of generally 1 o w intelligence, would that seal the matter ? It is unfortunate but true that in any society you will get people of below average intelligence or weaker than average character, so laying the blame on these factors seems slightly irrational. Society wasn't created for the above average, not even students. Anyway, I don't believe that these people are less intelligent or of weaker character than any cross-section of the Community. Try reconciling this with your image of the vagrant population. If you accept that these people are no different than the rest of us (except in luck), then I hope that the next time you see one of the homeless you will not automatically pass him by. Remember the "there but for the grace of God" syndrome. In the end these people are human beings, and as such they deserve a realistic attempt to find out about their problems and hardships, and to try to rectify them. DESTITUTI(r * L. does a'^l quicker (and often cheaper) of departing from reality. Not only social- diseases; fluence the level of destitution, inhuman mechanism of the lal market operates a tremei degree of influence. Inc: unemployment is leading growth in destitution and most affected are the over 45s are the least desirable sector o' labour market. reput )melessn( ime, soc fundai dd Sta ¦t the rking [eet Offi this Ids of c i*t begg dal dep: The vagrant population is miacy," th up of large numbers of natii new of minorities, such as Scottish i Jg. Otl Irish, which reflects the attracti jrking of London as a labour market 4lude "1 how this promise is unfulfilleij SO what are the original problems which put people on the inevitable path to vagrancy? The root problems can be seen as family problems, background troubles or .just plain difficulties fitting into a competitive world. But these manifest themselves in many forms of diseases. Firstly there is alcoholism, a common enough social disease but in certain conditions (for instance the lack of a sympathetic family background) it leads to destitution. It's a common enough reason for a man being unable to hold down a job. Alcoholism may also be a result of destitution itself—for those living in poverty-stricken misery drink is a necessity, not a luxury. .Alcoholism tends to reinforce the public's view of vagrants as "criminal elements." Arrests for drunken offences add to this: in 1972 there were 90,000 arrests for drunken offences, and 3,000 imprisonments resulted—mostly for non-payment of fines. As far back as 1905 the National Congress on Prison Management was told that "no prison system yet devised has effected any improvement in the drunkard." Yet alcoholics are still imprisoned while the Home Office loudly proclaims its desire to make cuts in penal expenditure. Question for Sir Keitti A Home Office Working Party in 1971 realised that "habitual drunken offenders are in-fact alcoholics and social casualties from poor socio-economic backgrounds with few work skills and frequently homeless." There was an ironic last line to the report; ' We believe there is a duty to act constructively and to act now"—which was followed by a dazzling spell of inactivity. In 1972 Sir Keith Joseph, the Secretary of State for the Social Services, talked about "meeting the need of the drunken offenders" with a comprehensive alcoholism service. In 1973 he told the Magistrates' Association that detoxification centres would be established before long. Perhaps it would be a good question to ask him why these well-meaning projects weren't put into practice when he next visits LSE. Let's face it, the subject of homeless alcoholics is politically light-weight and certainly not a v^te-catcher. However alcoholism affects only about a quarter of the homeless vagrants. There are almost another quarter suffering from mental diseases and personality disorders. Schizophrenia seems the most common form. Epilepsy is also exceptionally common and is a complaint about which there is still an aura of silence and distrust; so .much so that the victim is not a sufferer but a social outcast. Another social disease with which they are afflicted is drug addiction —mainly from barbs caused by doctors over-prescribing. Now many are realising that dope is a Who are the real Baddiei^i What sort of people are vagrants? Each of the popiiU] held beliefs of them being rii untrustworthy, feckless and s«t I believe to be untrue. A iiii of misery could make some twisted inside but this rarely pens. Such fallacies can best refuted with reference to the London Mission. The woS there trust the vagrants and J trust is rewarded. Amongst vagrant population there is to be more than usually hon( mises is": the y repr( avioin' |e vagri oy the or e' ,rk. The atmosphere at the mil one of molten misery; so human suffering, illness poverty crammed into a few sail basement rooms. Yet the vagi behaviour hardly fits their piSi( image. Queues for soup and are orderly and a library (m«8! box of books) is organised. nothei ant iple art ial sec ed fc [ost case ,se of so :t—therf ch th( 'fjrely n urity unfoi cy it i vagi ther 'The The* vagrants are not mn allowed to suffer quietly, for lie: , experience constant harassmml i. They also suffer constant , tion from the law. Under thelR and 1935 Vagrancy Acts, 400 peopl were convicted for sleeping ™?Lon( in 1973. Yet not one local auHi rity was taken to court for del in its legal duty to house hoi people. CHAR (Campaign for Homeless and Roofless) wants tl Vagrancy Acts abolished, singe treat the vagrants not only au; particular section of the populate but also as a criminal section. Tltji use such terms as "idle ffli disorderly persons," "rogues aii vagabonds," "incomparable rojw' 4 TO 8e& HEtf 8UY A Qun This feature is dedicated to the people who work across the road at the Mission and to those people who believe that the problem is not inevitable. Finally thanks to Ian Clark and Nick Broadhurst for helping in its preparation. PEACOCK What Welfare State? HOW does our present medical system fit the needs of the vagrant population? Do the homeless fit in with a system of "friendly family doctors" or disciplined hospital wards. What does the vagrant do with the pills whose instructions read take two after each meal when he's lucky to get one meal a" day. Apart from the general ailments which most people suffer from, the homeless suffer from other forms of ill-health resulting from their mode of life. St. George's Men's Care Unit report an average age of death of 52 years. The most frequent complaint is bad feet (swollen, blistered, cut or ulcerated). You also have the more serious medical problems, mainly respiratory diseases. The incidence of untreated pulmonary tuberculosis is disturbingly high, chronic bronchitis is also common. The diseases are exacerbated by hypothermia resulting from the appalling living conditions. It's not just the physical diseases which characterise the vagrant population but also mental diseases, affecting as much as one quarter. These are a cause rather than a result of destitution, though the resulting sense of social ahenation can hardly help personality disorders. The medical services do their best to ignore, these people, little effort is made to take X-ray units to them cthese can diagnose tuberculosis—a major killer). Under one half of volimtary projects do not have the services of a G.P. and G.P.s are extremely reluctant to treat homeless people. Systems of rotas, appointments, waiting room procedure and National Health cards are quite inappropriate to the vagrant. In theory the NHS should not leave anyone without the services of a doctor but they refuse to help the voluntary projects let alone provide a direct service to the vagrant, the doctors find that it is not very remunerative helping the vagrant population. Voluntary services go to great lengths to get medical facilities such as faking emergencies to get a man to hospital. One worker called in his own doctor to visit a chronically sick man, the worker was given a note to take him to hospital. However the man was too ill to be moved and two days later he died. Casualty departments sometimes treat vagrants but they are aware that he is probably more in need of a bed and warmth. They appre- re jui idst i drav iversi ty, doe rms F ffl lad, di ciate that it will be difflcult^Ki jte, sh throw a man out. j,|j^ p|( However the medical facilities n not of any real use when proriidl ^ At 1 The bad conditions will ensure eg the effect of the "cure" will S(» be reversed. To show wliat col be done, an experiment was set i.. at the St. George's Men's Citff The Unit in the East End. A man lament I em anarchist) offered his serviee;liere ar working for just pocket money. 4||ywhe room was set aside for hirq |_ontl working for just a few hoursada^j^j ^ he provided much needed primar^. medical care, e.g. for injuries; prej "O"" ventive roles—bad living conditilt^''8 tc turn ordinary sores into potenCily- At ( dangerous infections. g^d the For one hour's nursing a #90li shame, and spur them to acta,, F'"" Reaction from the National Henilould si Service—absolute Silence. 'Ihe nex BEAVER, Feb. 17th. 19-fi—Page Five 7 body care? »ffreputed thief." By identifying jlessness and poverty with society can avoid tackling ' lundamental problems. T I Standards of Criminality the moment a Home Office king Party on Vagrancy and It Offences has been set up but d this seems to have odd stan-(iJls of criminality. While saying begging "is a symptom of il deprivation and social inade-the Party wish to bring in i* offence of persistent beg-Other offences which the ;iiig Party wish to Introduce le "being found on enclose 1 lises" or being "suspected per-these are peculiar insofar as ^represent attempts to control 4ivimit not in itself criminal, vagrant will not be able to the right of looking eccen-dr even falling asleep in a ither source of trouble for the it is the DHSS. Homeless' lie are given 95p a day, but the security system was not deled for the homeless and in cases of hardship' it is not a of someone falling through the •there simply isn't a • net to :k them. It is not just the ily monetary side of Social iinrity which produces hardship (il;.unfortunately like all bureau-[lO)' it is basically inhumane. To U: vagrant it represents just t^er institution pitted against li( - him. Social workers have to cross an immense barrier to be trusted by vagrants and even attempts to do so are met with suspicion. Meanwhile the problem of vagrancy is becoming worse with rising unemployment and the increasing loss of cheap beds in hostels and lodging houses (6,000 between 1965 and 1972). Yet no steps are being taken to combat this. CHAR has found that public opinion cannot be mobilised in support of the vagrant population, as it can for young homeless families. Indeed any attempt at mobilisation tends to lead to an adverse reaction, For example in Southwark recently the .local authority tried to provide more services for the vagrant population—instantly the local residents were up in amis, say^ ing that it would attract undesirable elements into the area, lower the price of houses, threaten their children etc. ad nauseum. At the same time, • amidst such modern humanitarian concern, the vagrants are dying, helped on by the cold, lack of food, lack of medical facilities and general harassment. The West London Mission knows of three men who have d-ed this winter; one had acute alcoholism written on his death certificate. The people at the Mission know he was not an alcoholic; their soup was the only food he got a day. In the end he became incapable of looking after himself and died of malnutrition. II I ission ingsway) hdraw on an analogy between the student and the vagrant, the fifiversity student upon crossing the border from school to univer-I'i),does not seem to lack in disillusionment and apathy. In these lim Florries comes a very close second to the Mission across the (niil, diflering only in terms of poverty and misery. If Society's shepherded and coaxed can feel apathetic about Its future, how easy it is for an old man with genuine problems. d At times the student attitude towards the vagrant population ^ irors the inhumanity of society in general. I saw people who "'rejust enjoying the warmth of Carr-Saunders being thrown out idst great shock at their intrusion. 'I , . r( There is some positive contribution which you can make. The 1 illeman who runs the mission across the road assures me that 2 re are more vagrants in central London per square metre than ^ (Where else and I think he is right. Unfortunately the facilities " London are virtually non-existent. To pressurise the Govern- nt a survey will be carried out. it will involve little more than g hour's free time one afternoon. If you wish to help please come ing to "Beaver" S116 and leave your name. ) At one stage there used to be a connection between the School lithe Mission; this presents a great opportunity for the LSE i4tical groupings to demonstrate their humanitarian orientations. B^tTrots' might be able to fit the vagrants into their transitional >%amme. Perhaps the Christians could demonstrate that Chris charity is alive and well at the LSE? J Finally, the great apathetic majority (that's you and me) bkld simply spare one hour of their plentiful time. It might make JmxMim^^oi^^pas^^^ieggar^Mitth^^e^^ PARLIAMENT DECLARES WAR ON WOMEN IN the Press last Tuesday, you may have noticed vague references to "screaming young girls" who chained themselves to the Public Gallery of the House of Commons. If you were lucky you might have beeen informed that this was in protest against moves to "tighten up" the abortion laws. What the distortive Press will NOT have said is that this was just a small part of the afternoon when hundreds of women lobbied their MPs and rallied in Central Hall to try to persuade Parliament not to reconvene the Select Committee, whose terms of reference include the abolition of social grounds for abortion. Anyone who thinks we live in a democracy run by responsible people should ti7 lobbying their MP, or sit in the Public Gallery some time. Women and men who had travelled 60 miles were kept waiting for two hours only to receive a scribbled note. "Not available" from MPs 100 yards away in the ¦'powerhouse", who did not have the guts or respect to face those they supposedly represent. Reg Prentice was caught slipping away at tea-time Uie's anti-abortion anyhow, so just as well). My own MP wasn't there, and someone from Shirley Williams' constituency was sent away with a note "Write in" — Shirley (another anti) at least abstains. After lobbying, most of us trekked over to Central Hall where NAC organisers, Anna Rae-bum, folk singers and speakers from the floor helped us to keep calm until we heard the result. A system of runners from the Public Gallery was organised to report on the debate every half hour. From the early news we realised that the tone of the debate was downright flippant, and any serious talk came from James White and Jill Knight who insisted that "Babies for Burning" had not been refuted (a blantant lie; the Sunday Times ripped this despicable publication apart at least a year ago). At the rally an encouraging message from Shirley MacLaine was read out. Then women bravely faced the T'V cameras to describe their sufferings at the hands of backstreet and private abortionists, before the 1967 Act or as a result of unsympathetic NHS doctors. The sad tales of girls forced into prostitution or theft to pay for abortions and the desperate struggles of married mothers wrought anger in many, tears in some. Later on we had a collection, as the NAC fund-raiser said, "We don't have any vested interests to pay for this campaign, so we have to do it ourselves." Another pointed out, "At least w^e don't come here because someone in a pulpit has ordered us to get on the coach at the church door. We don't need to exploit little kids for our cause." As reports confirmed that the house was filling up, our hopes began to rise, but if the latecomers thought their votes would be enough they were foolish — where were they when White was seducing the "don't knows" without contradiction? Many of us had also been uneasy at the conspicuous absence of SPUCers at the lobby, maybe their elitist supporters had already secured the outcome over a gin and tonic? The vote came, 17'2 against i'e-convening the Select Committee, 313 for. We were set back nine years and probably more by that result, what did YOU do to prevent it? We lit torches and poured into the streets, through Parliament Square and on to Downing Street where cordon upon cordon of police protected our respected Prime Minister from having to listen to our chant. Was he afraid to take responsibility for his government's sham of democracy, afraid of what we "mere women" would do? A delegation was sent to the door, and speeches rang out . . . "Now we're going to have to do ten times more work than in the last six months. "We're going to go to the women, the ordinary women we work with every day, in the schools and colleges, the playgroups, the women on the housing estates, we're going to knock on every door and get them onto the streets, we're not going to be pushed around anymore, no one else is going to decide for us, not her not him, but every woman's right to choose!" DEMONSTRATE, SATURDAY APRIL 3rd, Speakers' Corner, 1.30 p.m. "'-1 \ g® S/OTI I c V V ' NJ»jCS I'm >)o.gfwA \S VJVTHIM 1 )>« m Up to 40% off for parties-and the leader could go free! 40% off for parties of 10 or more full-time students and under 21'$. 30% off the return fare for undergraduates travelling to a holiday course at a French University, subject to certain conditions. 30% off too, for everyone in a party of 25 or more; 20% off for 10 or more. Inter-rail Card. If you are under 21, £65.00* will buy you a month's unlimited travel in 19 countries. You travel completely free as the leader of a party of 15 or more fare-paying passengers. Budget Holidays in Paris and the French Riviera. Ask for details of these 'all-in' holidays, run in conjunction with French Railways. Don't forget, midweek travel means extra comfort. "Price correct at time of going to press. Please send me details of the following: Tick brochure required. General Timetable and Fares List, including students reduced fares ? Inclusive Holidays ? Motorail Services ? n I I I L' Name Address FRENCH RAILWAYS 179 Piccadilly, London WIV DBA BEAVER, Feb.l7th, 1976—Page Six Grad yourself a job ¦ T'HE University of Lontion Careers Advisory Service, known until 1970 as the Appointments Boai-d, was founded in 1909. The sole purpose of this article is to give a brief description of the facilities the present-day service offers to students and graduates of the University. These cover a very wide range and although every year many thousands of students make use of the service there are still some who are unaware of its existence. The work of the service is geared entirely towards providing students and- graduates with the maximum possible help towards reaching decisions on their futures and finding employment. Thus the staff includes a fully-trained team of v-ofessional careers advisers backed up by information, employment and other specialists. The Central Office cf the Careers Advisory Service is located at 50 Gordon Square, telephone number 387 8221, and any student experiencing difficulty in getting advice should contact this office. However, as is explained in the next paragraph, the service has sub-offices in nearly all of the schools and colleges of the University so that the majority of students are enabled to get help locally. The University of London Careers Advisory Service faces two major problems which do not occur to anything like the same extent in other universities. The first of these arises from the size of the student body and the second from the wide geographical spread of the constituent institutions of the University over the London and home counties areas. To have a sufficiently large staff is the answer to the first difficulty but it is the solution to the second problem which is of special interest. For many students, the cost in time and money involved in making journeys to the Central Office is considerable and to some would act as a deterrent. To over-, come this the Field Service Scheme, which involves the careers advisers in regular visits to the constituent schools and colleges to see and ad-Vise students, was introduced in 1964 and has since been developed to such an extent that sub-offices of the Careers Advisory Service are now established in Bedford, Chelsea, Imperial, King's, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, University, Westfield and Wye Colleges, the London School of Econo- Basketball HAVING played five other university sides, the L.S.E. basketball team qualified for the final round of the U.A.U. championships held at Birmingham Univereity. This involved them in a really arduous life, with three full games played on the Saturday, seeing them through to the semi-finals against Manchester University on Sunday morning. What proved to be a really "sizzling" game ended in victory mics and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Appointments to consult careers advisers can be made through these sub-offices in which large stocks of careers and employment literature may also be found. Students are encouraged to have interviews with careers advisers in their second year at University for this gives them more time to consider the vast range of employment opportunities open to them before the pressure of final examinations makes itself felt. However, it is never too late for the uncommitted to seek advice and careers advisers are available throughout the year and not just in term-time. Apart from careers advisory interviews, the facilities offered by the service are such as to meet the needs of most students. These include extensive sources of information on careers, job functions, employers, training schemes, opportunities overseas, postgi-aduate courses and other further study, grants and awards, current employment vacancies lists and much else besides. In addition, at the Central Office, audio-visual equipment is available together with a range of video cassette films which depict various types of work and enable viewers to gain something of the flavour of particular employment fields. Also located at the Central Office is a psychMnetric testing unit. Every year, the service oi-ganises an extensive prpgi-amme of seminars and familiarisation com'ses, examples of the latter being the three-day courses on "How the City works", "Management in industry" and the one-day course on "Personnel management". Introductions to employers can be effected at any time during the year but in particular recruitment visits by employers to the Central Office and to some of the bigger schools and colleges are aoranged on a large scale during the period January-Marcli and again in J^ne-July Such visits by employers to conduct interviews with students at the University form part of what is known as the Graduate Recruitment Pro-granmie (ORP). At the time of writing the GRP 1976 is in full swing and it is worthy of mention that the employers who have visited so far have all remarked on the high quality of applicants this year for the boys, and the promise of fame and glory in the finals, to be held at 3 p.m. that afternoon. The squad seemed in just the right frame of mind to tackle the formidable Leeds team. However, the first half of the match proved "disastrous and after 20 minutes L.S.E. were 30 points down. At the start of the second half we came out fighting and some excellent ball play ensuea. Leeds continu-ed to play beautiful basketball and though we snatched back a vital 9 pts., the 30, point les^d. proved too much and the thorough way in which they have prepared for interviews by studying job functions and the explanatory literature made available by prospective employers. Since the Press conference, held at the Bank of England on January 14th under the auspices of careers sei-vices and employers, on the subject of the likely supply of and demand for graduates in 1976 many comments about the general position have appeared in the media. Total requirements for graduates this year are calculated to be about ten per cent down on 1975, this drop being almost entirely concentrated on the public sector and in particular in local government and the public utilities. On the other hand, industry and commerce have set their sights on a somewhat higher level of intake than last year. All in all, it is anticipated that there mil be at least as many jobs available for 1976 graduates as were taken up by graduates in 1975 when, in many cases, employers did not attain ¦ their recruitment targets. The outlook is thus not as bleak as many have been led to believe. As long as there is not a sudden change for the worse in the economic situation it would seem that the prospects of employment for the graduates of 1976 are reasonably good. Nevertheless, it would be wise for all students to follow the lead of' the thousands' who have already arranged interviews with employers, through the GRP 1976, for vacancies are almost certain to be snapped up earlier this year than is usual. Thus students who delay considering possibilities until the summer may find things somewhat more difficult. The LSE is included in the list of schools and colleges visited by staff of the Careers Advisory Service, which appears above. The careers advisory office at the LSE is situated on the first floor of Midland Bank Chambers, Portugal Street. Those students of the LSE who have not already made contact with our staff are warmly invited to do so without further delay. The visiting careers advisers are Anne Avant and David Paffley, assisted by Anita Scholz and Joan Blewer. They will welcome your enquiries. KENNETH DIBDEN, Director, ULU Careers Advisory Service even for such stars as the L.S.E. .could provide. The final score was 68-89 to Leeds. I guess we must wait till this time next year for our revenge. Many congratulations to the team and their coach. TEAM: Randy Sunshine, Mike Craverlock, Hilary Deveaux, Mike Sullivan, Chris Flannery, Murray Aust, Bahram Pesarai, Joe Rosdice, Wolfgang Kazda and Captain, Dave Van Zandt. ¦k -k ? What was Noel Patterson doing wearing a suit in Carr-Saunder's Bar? Has S. K. finally been upstaged by 'natty Noel' ? HANNiE GAULDER Tuesday, Feb. T7th Raquel Welch, Diana Dors. Ernest Borgnine, Christopher Lee. A TRIO of moronic outlaws carry out a bank raid, and whilst on the run kill Jim Caul-der. His wife Hannie Welch (these film stars have all the fun) decides on big revenge. A titillating mixture of brutality, sadism and comedy with a big pair of female stars. PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW Thursday, Feb. 19th \ngie Dickinson, Rock Hudson. A college football coach combines his official duties with another type of job. Following the death of one girl the police begin investigating (slight irony in that policewoman Dickinson -gets knocked off). When other girls get killed, suspicion is directed towards poor old Rock. Nice bit of sadism and sex. FUZZ: Tuesday, Feb. 24th Raquel Welch, Yul Brynner, Burt Reynolds. Somehow all the efforts of the 87th Precinct cops seem to end in ignominious failure. Cases which go wrong include those of the deaf man who kills important officials if ransom money is not forthcoming; delinquents who set fire to local meths drinkers and a variety of petty crime. In one stroke, however, the Fuzz finally meet up with the Deaf Man and his gang, the petty crooks and the pyromani-acs in an ending of sheer pandemonium. FOR too long now, LSE has been a 9 till 5 establishment, a place of work where active student societies have been restricted to the several political groups, ethnic societies, the bridge club and the film society. Only the last mentioned allows a large number of students to participate in an activity "after school." Ents also bemoan the fact that their concerts are not often well attended by LSE students. It may be that there is not enough choice of activities in the evening provided at the School. The Film Society monopolises two nights every week and such a routine tends to become monotonous. Concerts are relatively frequent but they tend to attract HANNIE CAULDER Another, good sex and vid-^ lence epic headed by a broad leading lady. VANISHING POINT Thursday, February 26lh Barry Newman, Dean Jagger, Cleavon I>ittle. Kowalshi is a loner, a man with his-own peculiar sense of humour. He is employed delivering cars between Denver and California and to him the most complete sense of freedom comes with limitless speed. This love of speed brings him int6 conflict with the police of several states who try to outrun and manoeuvre him. The result is an action packed thriller which shows the American law for what it is. FILM SOCIETY PARTY: Mond.Ty, March 1st. This tei-m we are holding another free piss-up. All members are invited to sample the free, food, free drink and free disco. the same people every time. What else can be offered ? This Wednesday and Friday (February 18th and 20th) at 7.30 in the Old Theatre, the newly reformed (after years of absence) -Drama Society is performing the contemporary play "Claw," by Howard Barker. This should appeal to a wide cross-section of people for it has a strong political theme, yet is humorous in . places and highly provocative. -? We think it will make for an ¦]. entertaining and worthwhile evening. Howard Barker is a well respected writer; "ClaW" was first performed at the Open Space and the second part of his trilogy, "Stripwell" was highly , successful at the Royal Court last year. We think it is important that LSE provides a greater variety of activities. Why not come along on Wednesday or ^ Friday and show you agree ? Spm'ting Beaver Claw-a play for today ENTSNEWS THIS term has proved to he quite exceptional so far for Ents in terms of the quality of the shows presented. In the flrst place there was the Henry Cqw Concert of which guitarist, Fred ' Fingers" Frith said in Melody Maker; "You should have seen us at the LSE! One of Our very best recitals". Then there was the lunchtime appearance of "Strange Daj-s" which really caught the imagination of the audience — even the porters were impressed by the excellent music played. Finally we were graced by the appearance of one of the Continent's top acts — "Ange" — who beautifully presented a show, full of tension, drama and excitement, bringing the audience to their feet. Anyhow — the rest of the term promises to be just as good. The next Concert features Gordon Gil-trap in a free lunchtime event in the Old Theatre on February 20th at 1 p.m. Gordon Gilti'ap. pictured opposite, has been playing in clubs and colleges throughout the country for seven yeai's. During this time Gordon has perfected his own unique style and become recognised as Britian's most accomplished acoustic guitarist. Although he has played in several bands and with many other well-known musicians. Gordon is better known as a solo artist and now has four solo albums to his credit. The last two years especially have helped Gordon establish a firm base^ from which to work. He was special guest on the Decameron and Amazing Blondel tours and tlien, with his own backing band, Gordon headlined his own college tour. At present, Gordon is recording his fifth album. In many ways it should be regarded as his first for in the past he has been imder pressure to present himself as the conventional siager-songwriter. Now he is doing what he wants to do — an instrumental album — as the composei^guitarist he has always considered himself to be. The feel and concept of the album, "The Visionary Suite", is unique. Totally instramental, it combines all the modem musical forms ranging from jazz and heavy rock through to folk and blues. The album is sure to be an outstanding success. Gordon is also working with John Renboum as well as recording a second Guitar Tutor album which will be released with a book illustrating the way Gordon plays, For the future: Febnaary and March will see Gordon working in Europe before the release of the new album in April. To coincide with its release. Gordon will undertake a short tour with a band of about twelve musicians, although to gain a true representation of the album at least fifty would be needed! Next time you see Gordon m concert or on television, watch his right hand. Although crystal-clear notes flow from his instrument at an amazing rate, only his little finger and a flat-pick are used to produce them! A style which is unique. The term finishes with the appearance of two Irish bands — Horslips on March 5th and Fruupp oh March 6th. Full details in the next Beaver. Gordon Giltrap RCS presents Henry IV, partsl & II Parts 1 and 2 are very impressive both visually and verbally and I recommend them to everyone who enjoys good theatre. The two parts are also extremely funny, especially the Gloucestershire scenes in Part 2 vi'hich is not surprising because these two plays contain FalstafT one of Shakespeare's great creations. Brewster Mason breathes much life into the character who is apprehensively approaching old age and tries to relive his revels of the past. Trevor Peacock deserves a special mention for his playing of Poins and more so for his portrayal of Silence which is hilarious. Alan Howard as the wayward prince who becomes temporarily reconciled with his father, lapses into his former ways and then fully realises the position he has been born into, is marvellous and Emrys James as the king, creates a very sympathetic man. There were so many good performances that it is impossible to list them all but Sydney Bromley as Shallow and Stuart Wilson as Hotspur were just right for their parts. The final scene is very emotional and is a fitting climax. A.C. Peter Brooks 'Ik' THERE'S still time to see "The Ik", on at the Round House, Chalk Farm, until 21 February. This fascinating and unusual play, is performed brilliantly by a cast from the Royal Shakespeare Company of varying backgrounds. Malick Baga-yogo, born in Bamako, Mali, has been acting from the age of twelve when he joined a group of players who travelled from one village to another acting- legendary stories di-awn fi'om the traditional culture of his- island. Joseph Towles, the technical adviser, took his doctorate in Social Anthropology in Uganda. He is planning to visit the Nuer tribes of the Southern Sudan later this year. Peter Biffck, was fascinated by the story of the Ik as told to him by past fellow student, Colin Turn-bull. Tunibull went to Northern Uganda to study the Ik, a nomadic African tribe, eighteen years after, they had been forbidden to hunt and to gather wild fruits and vegetables. Although it has taken some societies hundi'eds, of years to change from hunting and gathering to agriculture, the Ik had' been expected to do it overnight without instruction. The result was that not only did they starve, but they lost every quality supposed to differentiate man from animals — friendship, hope, love. They think ?t funny to torment their children, think it virtuous to steal, and show-no pity for the weak. Turnbull, immersed himself in the situation of the Ik, and found that by the time he left he too had adopted their attitudes. His experiences are published in his book "The Mountain People". M.S. The Left in Britain 1956-68 David Widgery THIS book tells the story of the British Left (or the Far Left as Hugh Scanlan ai-gued on a recent "Read All About It" programme) from the split in the Communist Party in 1956 to the growth and decline of the Vietnam Solidarity Movement in 1968. It also encompasses the development of the New Left, the CND Movement, student politics and the civil rights lobby. David Widgery has an original and interesting method of presents ing his analysis, since he introduces each chapter with a studied narrative and backs up his arguments with reproduced pamphlets, documents and articles of the period. He stated in the foreword: "I have tried to cut away from the mounds of yellowed newsprint, writing that will show something of how the working-class movement woke up. after forty years of hibernation. The aim is to rescue the tracts, manifestoes and analyses of the far Left from the contempt and restricted currency with which official society would like to treat them." What may be of interest to the common (non-political i student f.t the LSE is the account of the troubles at our hallowed institution in 1968 which Widgery admits with insight has 'an inflated reputation for super-militancy." This is a valuable addition to the history of politics in the mid 1950s to 1960s, preserving intact the ideas and writings of the participants from the far left of the political spectrum. SJ0. Elizabethan House of Commons J. E. Neale THE House of Commons as v.-e know it today emerged in the sixteenth century. A backwater in the medieval constitution; by 1640 it was of sufficient stature to engage the Crown in civil war. Professor Sir John Neale has produced an enthralling portrait of the House during this crucial period of its development. He studies its procedures; analyses its membership describes electoral practices; and looks at personalities that shaped the House. In addition the book aims at conveying a picture of the House of Commons at work; of its officials; its ceremonies; its manners and conventions, even the style of speaking there. This is not only an invaluable study of a great parliamentary age. but a broad colourful view of the social fabric of Elizabethan England. Sir J. Neale was one of the great Tudor historians of this century. His biography of Queen Elizabeth 1 was first published in 1934, and his other books include 'The Age Of Catherine de Medici', 'Elizabeth 1 and her Parliaments', and •Essays in Elizabethan History'. G.L. Economics in brief "WHAT'S going on?" is a question many students of economics might ask, faced with the paradoxes of recent British economic history. A very concise and readable answer is provided in a booklet of the same title, produced by The Economist, containing 10 briefs on the British economy. The booklet was originally produced for Upper Sixth economics students, but is equally suitable for undergraduates, and first-year students in particular. It features a unique combination of economic analysis and up-to-date economic information. Very few economics textbooks can boast the same degree of relevance to the present economic situation. Indeed, for this reason the booklet has been read widely at all levels among those interested in economics. The topics covered are incomes policy, unemployment, banking, international finance, the balance of payments, the effects of the rises in oil prices. Critiques of three major schools of economic thought (Keynesian. monetarist and the "new Cambridge") are also in- Jam (lOp) AN intervarsity booklet produced by King's College in an effort to remedy the lack of artistic communication between colleges throughout the country. It makes for interesting reading being akin to the curate's egg — Better in some parts than others. The first issue contains two ' interviews, one with Simon Gray, author of the successful play "Otherwise Engaged", and with Eric Mottram. the celebrated poet. Sarah Burns's serial "The Adven- cluded. All of these are well-documented and clearly argued, featuring a palatable I mixture of verbal and graphical analysis. While the first brief, in setting out the economic weapons and targets of the Government, perhaps raises more questions than it answers, it is a stimulating introduction to the more detailed macroeconomics articles which follow. "The oil story" and ''Unemployment in Britain'' are particularly well done and of topical interest. Every article contains a full quota of telling statistics and illuminating graphs, making the booklet a useful reference as well. It is on offer to students for £1.25 — equivalent to only 12ip per brief — which compares favourably with other economics pamphlets and government statistical pubr lications. If you are also an admirer of The Economist's thoroughgoing style, and care to take out a subscription for 6 rrionths or more at student rates, the booklet is oa offer for only 60p. At that price, it's a must. M.C. tures of Bullcross College" leaves much to be desired in terms of literary content and imagination. If you manage to buy a copy of this book turn to page 20 to read Rick Pacey's excellent analysis of Pier Pasolini, entitled "Intellec-tualism and Disillusionment". One final point, anyone can contribute to "JAM", — articles to Theatre Workshop. Macadam Building, King's College. Copies, are on sale in the Union shop. C.L., R.B. BKAVKR, Feb. 17(h, 1!>76—Page Eight Grants, cuts and you THE present series of cuts have been well documented. starting from their origins in the Barber budget of 1973. Since that time these savage blows have, been dealt with ever greater force. From an initial situation in which education as a whole is underfinanced, the cuts are irrevocably damaging the possibility for just pi-ovi-sion of education at all levels. Here at L.S.E. we have clear indications of what these cuts can mean. The Language Department is under threat of closure. Such action stems from the drop in efl'ective grants to all universities, when economies are taken to mean cuts in staff — both teaching and non-teaching—and refusal to replace obsolete equipment, some of which is needed for postgraduate research. Under these circumstances a proper and sensible development of Strand House is inconceivable. We have very clear directions for our anti-i'uts campaign. But we must be aware of other national problems for further education : (1) Closure of numerous institutions. (2) Reduction of the building programme to one-fifth of its former level. (3) Ri.ses in student fees (particularty for overseas students). (4) Refusal to maintain the real value of student union funds. 45) Shortening of the academic session. Bound up with the campaign against cuts is the demand for GRANTS to be fixed at a real- istic level. Whether increased expenditm'e for the student comes in the form of higher fees, rent, meals, or the effects of -inflation, it inevitably leads to a drop in student numbers; with, as usual, the worst sufferers' being applicants from lower income groups. The fight over grants is not selfish insistence by union members from the university sector. Implicit is : (a) Full grant for ALL. That is, the end of means testing. (60 per cent of .students do not receive the supposed parental contribution).