A BRmSHlffiRARVOFPOirnCAL &ECOHOttlC soaict hisi _ _ ' r* I ' 1 8J11H1990 NEWSPAPER OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS STUDENTS' UNION No.Ill OCTOBER 28th. 1971 Fists fly in the L.S.E, Union Council COUNCILLORS COWED BY VIOLENCE THE L.S.E. Union's Deputy President, Trevor Jones, went berserk and broke up the Council ' meeting on Wednesday, October 20th with his fists. Council's only reaction was to tuck its tail between its legs and go crawling back to him. "I was too scared to do anything," explained one of the officers present. "I think he must be psychotic." Jones came in at the begin- should be removed from any ning of the meeting, approached Academic Affairs V.-P. Ian Mor-ley, and asked him in an apparently calm tone of voice whether he would attempt to chair the meeting. When Mor-ley answered "Yes," Jones turned around, picked up a metal chair and struck him with it without warning. He then walked round the table to the Senior Treasurer, Simon Rabinowitz, and asked: "Does anyone else have any objections ? How about you, Jew-boy ?": without waiting for an answer, Jones struck him twice on the arm and chest. At that point "Beaver" Editor John Stathatos approached the D^.P. and attempted to restrain him. Once again without provocation, Jones turned on Stathatos with his fists. When in his turn the Welfare V.-P. tried to separate the two, he too was attacked by the cursing and spitting D.P. Jones then ran out of the room, only to return a minute later and once more throw himself on Stathatos when the "Beaver" Editor questioned his competence to chair any meeting in his present Btate. Following these incidents, the council officers present decided to postpone the scheduled meeting for an hour-and-a-half in order to decide upon the measures to be taken. It was obvious that the D.P. Vas either genuinely psychotic else attempting a power-grab to the best fascist tradition—an interpretation not inconsistent with his past membership of the Monday Club. In either case, there was, on the face of "it, no question but that he Houghton St. to be closed? Westminster city COUNCIL is expected to igree to the closure of Houghton Street to traffic at its meet-jng on October 25th. The Council's Highways and Planning Committees have decided to recommend the closure, after last year's demonstrations . at the L.S.E., and a formal request to the council by the School. If the recommendation is jassed, Houghton Street should be closed by the end of the year. post of authority and either committed or arrested. As it happened, Jones was shown to be right in his evaluation of the union officer's character; overawed by his behaviour, scared witless by this interruption of routine bureaucracy, they finally took a halfhearted decision to resign by resolution (!) and walked timidly back to the council room. When Jones came in, incredibly, no move was made to deny him the chair. The decision to resign - by resolution was brought up by a diffident Gen. Sec. some time later when he told the D.P.: "Forgetting what happened earlier, it was decided . . . that we should resign by resolution. Do you agree ?" (!!) When asked by Jones for his reasons, he an- ANGELA'S SISTER STOPPED AT AIRPORT ]y£RS. FANIA JORDAN, the sister of Angela Davis, the American black revolutionary, was detained for more than three hours by immigration officials when she arrived in London on October 12th. She came to raise funds for legal expenses for Angela's trial, which is due to start in November. Because of the delay, Mrs. Jordan was unable to attend a scheduled lunch-time meeting at the L.S.E., at which she was to speak. At London Airport, her luggage and personal documents— including papers relating to her sister's trial — were searched. The official reason for the delay was that Mrs. Jordan and her friends were unable to say exactly where they would be staying. But an organiser, apologising to the 130 students gathered at the L.S.E.'s Parish Hall, gave a different interpretation: "We were given a taste of freedom this morning," he said. Angela Davis was arrested earlier this year on murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges. Black Power supporters and Angela's personal helpers claim the charges were brought for political reasons. Next day, Mrs. Jordan spoke at a meeting of the London branch of the "Angela Davis Defence Committee." She read out a message from Angela, which referred to Attica as "My Lai revisited." A capacity audience clapped, cheered, and offered Black Power salutes when she had finished. A collection taken up to help with Angela's defence totalled £912.12. The crisis in accommodation ''J'flE accommodation problem for students in London has been worse this year than ever before. This week "B e a v e r" examines the problem, and some of the inadequate measures taken by the authorities to reduce its dimensions. On page 9, there's a report on 'University Village' —a concentration camp type set up in South East London. On page 3, John Fisk, the Welfare Vice - President, gives his view of the problem. swered: "Because some of the posts come up for re-election." The only person to come out of it without a bright yellow streak painted down his back was Nick Spurrier, who not only recorded his objections to the chainnan's behaviour, but spoke, up in the Senior Treasurer's defence when this '"officer" refused to defend himself against the D.P.'s insults. All Spurrier got for his pains was the dead silence of Council and Jones' snarled: "I'm liable to lay one on you. I don't give a damn what any of you say. People like you are gutless and weak . . ." How true, how true. STOP PRESS At last Friday's Student Union meeting a censure motion was passed against the DP by a large majority. BLACK AND WHITE CLAY Cassius Clay (Muhammed All) at the L.S.E.) A POLICY of total separation as the solution to the ^ American colour problem was advocated at the L.S.E, last week—by "the world's greatest athlete," Cassius Clay. Speaking to a capacity audience at the Old Theatre, Muhammed Ali said he was on a boxing tour of Europe and the Middle East. He was going to retire next year, he said, "after I take my title back from that ugly Joe Frazier," and then offered to answer questions. Predictably, the first of these were about boxing and his 1970 bout with Frazier in particular. Asked whether he thought Frazier was a good boxer or not, he answered : "He's not scientific like myself. . . . Next time there will be no doubt. You know, I hit that man with everything but he still wouldn't fall . . ." Muhammed was obviously puzzled about it. The questions then extended to his political activities; and he handled each of them with the easy familiarity born of long experience. On Black Power: "I don't know about a black power movement. I just know of a freedom movement. Everywhere." On the future of integration in the U.S.: "We want total and complete separation ... We think we should now go and rule ourselves. We think we should be repaid for our four hundred years of labour." On Islam: "Now that I'm a Muslim I have brothers all over the world. . . . The Chinese have Chinese names, the French have French names, but Negroes have names like George Washington. I'm free. Fm Muhammed Ali." On Malcolm X: "What he represented made him great. . .. After becoming so powerful, his head became big. "He turned against Elijah Muhammed. ... As soon as Jesus died, suddenly everyone loved Jesus. Soon as Malcolm died, everyone loved Malcolm. ..." At one point, a student asked in what way Muham-med's projected separate American Negro "country" would difl'er from a .form of South African "Bantustan" and was booed by an overly partisan audience; he was promptly defended by the boxer (once again his experience in handling this kind of audience was apparent), who went on to explain he expected territorial concessions on the part of the U.S. government to be accompanied by financial concessions : "We shall be different from the African countries because we shall be repaid." He went on to an emphatic condemnation of miscegenation, a condemnation based, as he demonstrated, not on prejudice but on racial pride; and he expected not only the Negro, but all races and nations to have that same pride : "English people should remain English. Their sons must be like them. No intelligent white man or woman would want a black child . .. No pi'ejudice ; I just love myself, I don't hate nobody." BKAVKR. Oct. 28t1i. 1971—Page Two EDITORIAL The mongol in the market place ''THE events of last week's council meeting (see story, page 1) are illuminating in more ways than one : they also have some rather sinister implications, going far beyond a simple student imion squabble. The behavious of the deputy president is not really of any great importance ; the neurotic and the barbarian will always be with us. What is of importance is the fact that there will, at times, also be people willing and even eager to be dominated by him. CRUDE Yet perhaps we should not be surprised at the sight of five students, the legally elected representatives of Union, reduced to fear and impotence by the crude ravings of a political bully-boy ; all too many dictators have been buffoons with the gift of paralysing opposition with their ravings, and there was a smell of Anschluss in the air. In any case the concept of political responsibility is one that has worn all too thin in our days, and guts are at a discount. In a way. that is the liberal dilemma: what does one do with the Mongol in the marketplace ? The Mongol knows nothing and cares nothing for democracy or the rest of the town dweller's quaint conceits, and debates, constitutions and representations will amuse him hugely. The crunch has come, and the ,burgher will have to stop playing at Neville Chamberlain or see his town come crashing round his ears. Nor should we be surprised when the Mongol comes wrapped in the mantle of the New Left's politics: to shout and scream that one comes in the people's name is the easiest thing in the world, particularly if one emphasises that the "people" must have no other voice. Your liberal today has trouble seeing facism when it stands before him, and hesitates to speak against it when it mouths the old familiar slogans. To emphasise that freedom cannot be granted but only fought for is to repeat the oldest of old saws. It may be better to remember T. S. Eliot's injunction to work "with the trowel in one hand and the gun rather loose in the holster." John G. Stathatos Inter-Action Community Alts Co-operative needs people to work as volunteers during the vacations. Training. Bed and Board within the Co-o(>erative. Chris Bailey. 156 Maiden Road, London; N.W.5 01-267 1422, LETTERS CAM LETT J)EAR EDITOR, Ian Camlett has now gone, thank God I He was probably one of the most humorous Presidents L.S.E. Students' Union has ever had or is ever likely to get. No-one can help admire or appreciate his humour. He took over at the head of a tottering union and just like Nero, he played his own fiddle whilst all around him fell in ruin. He sat amongst the rubble of poorly-attended Union Meetings (poorly attended quality as well as quantity wise) and he churned out' joke after joke, wise-crack after wise-crack. He annihilated all opposition not that that was necessarily a bad thing. Some, perhaps all. that he ridiculed, discredited and destroyed, deserved it. However his rnerry onslaught destroyed all proposals, good and bad alike. Union Meetings became like TV.'s "Jokers' Wild" : like a comedy interlude to a dull and boring academic life. Those who stood up and talked about Marx's concept of economic life. Lenin's contribution to revolutionary thought and their relevance to contemporary Britain were given the rough, witty and hilarious edge of our ex-President's tongue. Consei-vatives and Right-Wingers most of whom were unwilling to participate in Union Meetings anyway, had the last small remnants of their public speakers humiliated and cut down by Camlett's funny face and his devastating mouth. What of the middle ground, the moderates and the "silent majority." The latter were as ever silent if not in the majority and the moderates, well, they feared the funny man as much if not more than anyone else. Who came out of the affair unscathed ? The answer is simple—Camlett's merry band of ardent admirers. Those who clapped loudest, laughed longest, those who regarded our beloved leader with so much esteem that a Feudal King would probably have been jealous. Camlett's loyal band of followers stuck to their name— they followed him literally everywhere. People who were so aware of their own insignificance and unimportance that they had to follow him around in that they would obtain some of his prestige. Poor, demented, mindless creatures. Yet Cam- lett had other hangers-on. those who wanted to remain with the "in" crowd to further their own political and social careers. Far from being mindless this crowd knew exactly where their ambitions led them. Camlett's purge has dis-ci'edited many who deserved such a fate but others have been crushed who were innocent in all respects. However let's not be too hard on him. He destroyed much that needed destroying and on one or two occasions I actually saw him discuss something seriously for brief periods. However, Union cannot stand any more purges of any kind ; the time has now come for it to live again. So much needs doing. The Bar needs drastic overhaul,, the shop needs expanding along efficient lines, we need a Lodgings Bureau and most of all we need to fight the School effectively for Union autonomy. We had better forget the past and concentrate on the future. JOHN FISK. DARK. . DARK. . DARK. JIMI HENDRIX, they say, exploded". He had to, by all the laws he lived by. Whom the Groupies- love, it seems, die young—and whom the gods wish to destroy they first blow their minds. But is the cultural underground, herald of the great Alternative Society, about to explode also, before it has even been weaned ? There are disturbing signs that it is not just the capitalist world or racist societies that bear within themselves the seeds of their own destruction. The wonderful world of pop, pot and porn, is also doomed. ST. MICK The thought came to me from a leader of one group, the Magna Carta, who was feeting the .strain—the travail of the charts. He ticked them off on his fingers : Stones, savaged and victimised : Jagger made the St. Sebastian for his generation. E«atles, victims of their own success, torn apart by economic forces. He told me of his visit to Scandinavia (to play, not join, the Longfdrdian Voyeurs) ; there, it seems, sex between humans is a bore nowadays and only sex with beasts holds any interest. The American scene has gone even more sour: if you're wise you steer clear—it's obligatory to carry with you the price of a fix (15 dollars) to hand over every time you get stuck up. Not that anyone's safe at home, with the Groupies salivating outside your door. And it's not just Western pop culture thati feels threatened. North Africaj, which has made such a lucrative living out of the hash-markets, now feels its own culture disintegrating under the invasion. You can add to the catalogue yourself. Did all this bend my footsteps to Trafalgar Square and the Gospel according to Mary, Mugg and Cliff ? Frankly, no ! Though I'm all for Celebration, and FLYING BUTTRESS Light is what we need. But if anything I suspect that the darker side, the shadow side, of the contemporai'y scene is a good deal darker and deserves analysis a good deal deeper than the rather simplistic nice-ness of middle-class Maries and their not-so-silent majorities will allow. BALLS There is for a start the weight of "emotional balls and bigotry" sustaining those raised right arms and the cries of "PORNOGRAPHY LEADS TO CRIME" (Traf. Sq.), or "BRING BACK THE HANGMAN" (Tory Con.). With all the bank balances and property interests, the forces of fear and insecurity, guilt and repression that we have seen before unleashed on Jews and Blacks, Catholics, Communists, homosexuals, and any convenient scapegoat minority that lies to hand. Subtler, but perhaps more sinister because less understood, is the shadow side not of our capitalist system but of the pop scene itself. Here we are touching not just on ox-dinary human wickedness but on a quality of Evil with a capital "E." A renewed interest in mysticism, meditation and the transcendental (an interesting and promising development, implying a search for a deeper and less superficial dimension to life) is matched by a similar interest in diabolism and the occult which could be fare more destructive than anything so far dreamed up by the Longford Commission. Not new, you say. True. But what was once a minority obsession indulged by Sir Francis Dashwood and the Hellfire Club could under contemporai'y admass conditions become a deadly threat. But perhaps you don't believe Evil exists ? Or, if it does, that it's confined to economic systems, class-interests, Labour camps or Belfast detention centres ? I wonder whether you have ever seen Paisley or Mosley in action, and seen the effects on their audiences ? The author of this article is the Anglican Chaplain at L.S.E. UNION NEWS '"J^HE first Union meetings of the year piroduced only three decisions, of which one can claim importance. John Blair was elected as independent chairman. The motion for Union suppoi't "for the struggle of the Irish people against internment and British Imperialism" (brief summary only) with its attendant proposed amendments took up a great deal of time without accomplishing any more than a decision to lay the motion on the table. Other motions followed : For the postponement of the Presidential elections to ' coincide with those for the . Vice-Presidents. FLAT For the use of the Director's Flat as temporary students' accommodation (Laid on the table ' until the Director can be pre- ^ sent at a Union Meeting) : ^ 6 For the reaffiliation of i L.S.E.S.U. with N.U.S. (Passed i at the second meeting, since ^ there was no quorum at tlie 'd first when the time came for the p vote to be taken). The last motion requires amplification. Arguments foi", as presented by David Wynn. proposer. included the changes in the N.U.S. since we were disaffiliated and the need for united action in the face of Government threats to student welfare. Arguments against centred on the bureaucratic nature of the N.U.S. and particularly on the question of funds. However, after a speech from Ian Camlett on the irrelevance of the issue, the motion was passed thus: 106 For; 48 Against; 44 Abstentions. Mr, Blair's decision to limit the length of speeches to five minutes was a great help in keeping the second meeting short, and it came to a close after passing unopposed a motion proposing union payment of. the cost of duplicating the new Soc. Soc. constitution. NO HOPE It was clear that there has been little learnt from last year' as yet, and we must await thai-new constitution and the elections to find out whether we: can hope for a new initiative or: a. further decline. Certainly_if only 200 people thought thpse meetings important enough^to' attend there is little hope. ; a: f< ai t£ tl m f£ h b b< w fr ir ef ar sn ¦vv: th as loi m an v/i BEAVER ; EDITOR: ^ JOHN STATHATOS SUB-EDITORS : ROSIE HURST JOHN PIGGOTT REPORTERS: Christine Davis, Geor^ Foy, Stephen Kelly. Mik Mills, Joseph Sydenor, Su^ Traill, Robin Widdison. PHOTOS: Gunther Heil, Robin Wid dison. Rank Organisation. Cartoons: George Foy Calendar: Annice Mahmoud Ad. Agents: J.E.P. and Assoc., 107/111 Fleet St. Printers: RIPLEY PRINTERS LTD;, Nottingham Rd., Ripley, Derby. '0 Ur ne ab an 4 K): ni 'i' o: ^a: le )-w ^e ?on til "aci . tute hap it \\ dorr rea£ stud BEAVER, Oct. 28th, 1971—Page Three LONDON GLF FILM SO' ^ . rtiJJrO/' 'yv -¦ ¦ r . 5,7 ¦ ¦• »¦ ¦ ¦ •'r- ^ '...... €0- Ho i r'a, ^l: ^ i/ '<1-... J ^m- • 11 I mIv SUICIDE: FINAL SOLUTION I'rHE greatest problem facing . the department at present is the lack of student accommodation. The University can offer 600 places in halls and flats for L.S.E. students. The University Lodgings Bui'eau will help another 500. This leaves 1,900 stu-¦¦ dents to find accommodation privately. They use expensive agencies, and check the Press every day for one flat vacancy. In this situation many students will remain with their parents and commute over long distances. For those with nowhere to go the situation is really grim. The misery which homeless students face are difficult to believe unless one has seen victims or been a victim oneself. Sleeping on friends' floors is ¦ both unpleasant and not the best way to promote or sustain the friendship. Living rough means irregular meals, it has adverse effects on health and sleeping and has contributed to the rising suicide rate of students. RAT-RACE When a student is preoccupied with finding accommodation in this "rat-race" city all other aspects of university life become lost. Lectures are missed but, more important, friends are lost and social life breaks down. Many people are a whole term Vi/ithout accommodation. The position is especially bad for graduate students. The School has fewer than 100 I'ooms available for them and further there are only some 20 fiats available for married students. The Lodgings Bureau does all it can for graduates but manages to deal with only a hundred. This leaves 1,000 to fend for themselves. For married couples this may mean that families are split up. NEED In the first week of term it would be easy to find 300 students still looking for accommodation. This should not, and must not become a problem which goes on and on, term after term. We have approached the School concerning the problem and they have for the first time permitted students to sleep on Student Union premises when necessary. This still leaves the basic problem unsolved. More accommodation is needed for students. The School, however, will do no more than build one new Hall (the money for which was given to them by an anonymous benefactor). Even after the completion of this Hall L.S.E. will be in the bottom five universities of the student housing league. At present L.S.E. provides less accommodation than any other major college or university in England. JOHN FISK Vice-President Welfare talks on Accommodation After noting these facts one would expect that the authorities would be keen on helping but that is not the case. When asked, the Director admitted that the situation was serious, but said that the School was concentrating on raising money for the new library (some £5^-6 million) and all else had to take second place. It seems that he feels it is more important to house books than students. BUREAU If the School will do nothing this leaves us with the University Lodgings Bureau. Unfortunately the Bureau is at the present time in a sad state. At its peak in 1965 it had some 14,000 addresses on its housing list. Today it has less than 3,000. This is due to a number of factors. Increased competition with other bureaux and the famous "policy" (which prevents racial discrimination by landladies). After consultation with the University Bureau it was decided that it would be a good idea for L.S.E. to establish its own Lodgings Bureau and that is what we are planning to do at the present time. I hope we can count on the support of all students in this venture. e or . iy Jf! hf 3se to U/GRADUATES: MEET THE BOSS ............ |/)N October 13th ¦'Beaver" in-' terviewed the new Dean of Undergraduate Students, Kenneth Minogue. We knew little about him when we went in, and little more when we left. "Reality is in many cases a ^boring thing." That was something he said that we agreed Hvith. But here are some high-|ghts from the interview. They " light make reality more in-Vesting. , linogue on staff-students ' ^isemblies "I wouldn't agree that deci-^on-making should rest with taff-student departmental as-emblies... The level of argu-nent amongst masses is much lower than the level of argu- Qn students' right to reply nent to be found among small comments made in files) |committees . . . '' "The student doesn't have any *0n secret files right to reply, obviously ..." "This (the declassification of On conflict of interest "academic" files) would consti- "There is no essentia! conflict tute a pressure on tutors per- of interest between the school, haps to pull their punches, and which I take it exists to educate it would limit, I think, the free- people in the best way, and dom of headmastei's to comment students, who I presume reasonably frankly about their just want to be educated in the students." best v-ay." MINOGUE— If this is reality, Isn't it about Time for a change SERVICES HEALTH.—The health facilities are flourishing. We have a GP. in regular attendance, a nursing sister, a full-time dental service and a really good full-time psychiatrist. "We have regular visits by a gynaecologist. Men can obtain contraceptives from the toilets in "the basement of St. Clements. REFECTORY.—Another black-spot ; the food is unusually bad and we have been complaining about it for the past year. We have achieved nothing. The only thing I can suggest is that if the food is bad take it back and complain. It may be necessary to stage a boycott or some other form of mass protest. READERS FOR BLIND SOCIOLOGY STUDENT Contact John Dowling, U/G pigeonholes or— Carr-Saunders Hall, 18-14 Fitzroy Street. Tel. 580-2936. Room 503. On Minogue "The Dean must be in respect to students a soft, absorbent substance." On student militancy "I don't have any more information than you do." If you care to check on this last statement (the other seem to speak for themselves), here is the reference for his memorandum to the Select Committee on Education and Science— which is near the end of a very informative section on L.S.E., particularly useful to new students, who might want to check to see if your tutor gave any interesting evidence: British Parliamentary Papers, Select Committee on Education and Science, 1968-69, "VIII, Student Relations, "Vol. 4. A friend put our thoughts about the interview in a far more concise, less mystifying v.'ay than we may have :— "The purpose of bureaucracy is to obscure naked authority." K. JINKS & J. SYDNOR Our Student Grant: ^OQ week off the 9plistener/ As a student, you're entitled to take full advantage of this generous concession. Every week The Listener' gives you an unbiased, factual account of the news and the background to the news. It selects and presents the best of the week s BBC broadcasting. And it pays special attention to the arts, with book, film and drama reviews, and a first-class music section. For all this, you pay only 5p a copy—so you can afford to be well-informed. To take advantage of the special concession scheme, just fill in and return the coupon below. To; Circulation Manager, BBC Publications, 35 Marylebone f^igh Street, London WIM Please register me for 'The Listener student concession scheme. I will place a regular order with my newsagent at 9p per copy. Each term (or at intervals of up to one year) 1 will send you the newsagent's receipted account, and claim my rebate of 4p per copy. Name (block letters please)________ I Home Address I _ I am a full-time student at I Signed University/Ccllege/Pclytechnicetc. Date The Listener mniB 1A The swear words applied to students aren't even consistent. This term, in a weekly series starting on 10th October, The Observer writes about the student world as it really is. Not aU roses. First, Stephen Hatch, on the student housing crisis. Just how bad is it; why are so many hours spent room-hunting instead of studying; what is being done about it? About the student unions, which are now becoming big business—who really runs them? About the student press. How good is it; how soon will it go underground? And so on. An article by the former N.U.S. President, Jack Straw—an admission of where he went wrong. About the student rebels of 1968—where are they now, and what are they up to? THE OBSERVER writes about the life of a student the way it really is. QKLznmn THURSDAY October 28 : Festival 71. Oz Discussion. Tony Palmer, Felix Dennis, John Mortimer. Film Soc. Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. 7 p.m. Christians at L.S.E. Speaker: Father Lawrence. Topic : The Alternative Society. Labour Society : Speaker : Frank Allaun, M.P. Topic ; Britain's Housing Tragedy. FRIDAY October 29 ; Con. Soc. Speaker: The Rt. Hon. Robert Carr, M.P. for Mitcham and Secretary of State for Employment. Topic : The Industrial Relations Act and Beyond. 1-2 p.m. Old Theatre. Festival 71. Bridge Tournament. 1 p.m. Fun Music, etc. v\/ith Thunderclap Newman and Ruskin Spear. Tickets : 30p 7 p.m. SATURDAY October 30 : Festival 71. Feed the Tour- ists. Hallowe'en Party. Carr-Saunders. SUNDAY: October 31. Festival 71. BEWARE ! MONDAY November 1 : Festival 71. DOUBLE BEWARE. L.S.E. Meeting of Professors of Economics. 2 p.m. Building Committee. 5 p.m. TUESDAY November 2 : Con. Soc. Speaker : The Rt. Hon. John Peyton, M.P. for Yeovil and Minister of Transport Industries. Festival 71 ; Debate, Discussion ; "Workers' Democracy." Speakers : John Cousins (T.G.W.U.), Len Formby (D.A.T.A.), S. Gervasi. Film Soc. Oedipus Rex. L.S.E. Standing Committee 5.45 p.m. WEDNESDAY November 3 : Festival 71. Women's Lib- eration. Shirley Rowbottom Folk Rock Concert. Juliet Lawson, Johnston, Accrington Stanley. L.S.E. Academic Board : 2 p.m. Research Committee 4.30 p.m. THURSDAY November 4 : Christian's at L.S.E. Speaker : Jeremy Bray, M.P. Topic : Integrity An Impossible Ideal ? ism in the 70's. Labour Soc. Speaker: Len Murray, Asst. Gen. Sec., T.U.C. Topic : Trade Unionism in the 70's. Film Soc.: Airport Festival 71. Speaker: Norman St. John Stevas, Andrew Neil (Chairman F.C.S.), Bob McKee (Chairman, N.A.O.S.), Peter Hain (Young Liberals). L.S.E. Accommodation Committee 4 p.m. FRIDAY November 5 : Festival 71. Raffle Draw, Jumble Sale. Disco Fireworks at New Maiden. Liberal Society Regular general meeting for members. L.S.E. Committee on the Welfare of Overseas Students : 2 p.m. SATURDAY November 6 : Festival 71. Pop Concert with Steeleye Span and McKendree's Spring. SUNDAY November 7 : Festival 71. Helpers' Party. MONDAY November 8 : L.S.E. Refectory Advisory Committee. 4 p.m. TUESDAY November 9 : Film Soc. The Marx Brothers Go West, Monkey Business. Liberal Society. Speaker : Guy Clutton Brock. Con. Soc. Speaker: Norman St. John Stevas, M.P. for Chelmsford and Hon. Sec. of the Federation of Conservative Students. Topic : The Permissive Society. Tawney Society. Speaker: Dr. Patricia Knight. Topic : The 19th Century Feminist Movement and Attitudes to it. WEDNESDAY November 10 : Standing Sub-Committee of the Appointments Committee. L.S.E. Scholarship and Prizes Committee : 11 a.m. Library Committee: 4.30 p.m. THURSDAY November 11 : Christians at L.S.E. Speaker: Lord Longford. Topic : Christian Attitudes to Censorship. Labour Soc. speaker: Sid Bidwell, M.P. Topic : Labour Party & Socialism. EVERY DAY The Islamic Society. Daily Prayers: Room D105, Friday Prayers: Room D105 Watch Prayer Board for Prayer timings. CLARE MARKET Review on Europe "The economics of the Common Market is a puzzle to many people. They are increasingly aware that joining the Market will be a costly business for Britain, and that no clear benefits can be expected in compensation; but they find it difficult to escape the notion that somewhere, at the end of the Common Market rainbow, prosperity waits ..." —Peter Oppenheimer. A RE you interested in "The Great Debate" ? Do you know what European Monetary Integration holds out for the LTnited Kingdom ? Can one really say that the formation of the E.E.C. has done nothing for the living standards of the Six and is unlikely to do anything for ours ? Have you understood the Politics of the Common Agricultural Policy ? What is the state of Anglo-European Relations today ? What is the state of relations between Western Europe and Eastern Europe ? Disarmament : Do you know the diplomacy involved ? Russian influence over Europe : A myth or reality ? Capitalism + Communism = Convergence ? Answers to these and other important questions of contemporary interest will be found in the latest issue of the London School of Economics & Political Science Students' Union journal CLARE MARKET REVIEW ¦'On Europe." Limited stock available from : Union Office, S102, Beaver/Clare Office. S116, The Economists Bookshop, St. Clement's Building. PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION The Photographic Society in association with BEAVER is organising a photographic competition with three first prizes of ten, five and two pounds respectively. i The competition is open to ail students of the school. Black and white prints only are eligible ; no size is specified, but very small prints will be at an obvious disadvantage. Prints should be handed in to the BEAVER offices or left at Union office, clearly marked "Photographic Competition," by November 25th at the latest. GAY LIBERATION Statement of aims THE FLOWER GIRL GETS HERS THE Gay Liberation Front ¦ is fighting the oppression of homosexual people. We are neither wicked sinners nor sordid criminals ; we attack the journalists, bishops, politicians and psychiatrists who slander us. We repudiate the liberal attitude of "Some of my best friends are homosexuals, so long as they don't try making a pass at me." We ARE different, we ARE a threat to family and society. We challenge the sexual stereotyping of women and men. As homosexual men and women we seek a radical restructuring of society to end our oppression and that of all oppressed people. We seek the liberation of les- bians and male homosexuals from the feelings of guilt and self-loathing that distort our lives. We seek alternatives to the advertiser's world of sex-objects and sexual exploitation, and to the jealous and possessive relationships to which we are driven by insecurity. We demand freedom for homosexuals to meet with each other freely and without harassment. L.S.E. G.L.F. meets Thursdays at 1 p.m. usually in room S.067. London G.L.F. meets Wednes-nesday at 7.30 p.m.. All Saints' Hall, Powis Gardens, W.ll. Phone the ollice (5 Caledonian Road, N.l—telephone 837 7174) for details of functional groups, women's groups, demonstrations, dances and discotheques, ROBERT MELLORS (L.S.E. G.L.F.) (Cert. 'X' (London) Cameo Victoria A CCORDING to the publi-city handout, this "fantasy sex film" constitutes Producer - Director R a d I e y Metzger's "greatest triumph to-date," which may be true if only because I don't think he can have made any worse films, ever. LIMP This limp updating(?) of the Alexandre Dumas classic, "The Lady of the Camellias." stars, among others, the ex-wife of the .son of the dictator Trujillo. I wouldn't mention this, but the film comany seem to think it may be a selling-point. The story is set in Rome, "a lavish world inhabited by professional party-goers'' where "the doomed courtesan" is "a fun-loving girl living off I'ich Italian noblemen who eventually falls in love with a hard-some (sic) commoner." The updating seems to consist of a transparent bed, plastic sheets, other modern furniture and lots of drugs. The drugs are to replace old-fashioned tuberculosis as a way of killing off the heroine, and their introduction gives rise to some memorably awful dialogue: "Don't get too high, the Duke will certainly be here in the morning . . ." and "Don't you ever come down ?" "Not if I can help it." LUMPS Lumps of the original story and its atmosphere have been left in, which must explain such lines as "Go now, but in the meantime, take this red camellia." However, there is no more than a token attempt to provide a pedigree for what is in fact simply a titillation exercise including rather rushed oral-genital sex (face of passive partner visible) : and one sequence where the need to conceal all sight of male pubic hair necessitates gymnastic manoeuvring which brought forth spontaneous applause and laughter at the Press show. MIKE MILLS. BKAVKR. Oct. 28tli, 1971—I'age Six FiKfnFiBEaani GAMES PEOPLE PL A Y 'j''HE London School of Economics Ltd., like any company ehgaged in manufacturing, uses raw material, passing it through various processes over a three-year period, interspei-sed with grading and sampling tests till three years later the finished product rolls off the assembly line. Thus the B.Sc.(Econ.) has been the most popular line now for many years. Don't fool yourself ; you can't really dupe the system for if it was severely upset it would merely be changed. Three choices ai-e open to you : 1) You can either go through the process and emerge proudly (though of course dialectically unaware) with its stamp ; "2) You can throw a few spanners into the works (a) conscientious liberal type ; or (b) Bourgeois Marxist variety; Screw it up completely for a while and be I'e'jected by it. BLACKBURN One now carrying a famous epitaph is Robin Blackburn, or as he was later known (Blackburn bye bye). At the L.S.E., being the happy jovial community it is, no expense is spared to keep its mmates amused. A special annual attraction is the ever popular ''let's boycott Pt. 1 -xam game," consisting of two players, us and them, with the v.'inner . . . them ! The rules of the game are as lollows; about a month before the part one exams when you're .;etting fairly worried about your chances of spending another glorious year here, you aet together with a few friends and start a petition with the "subtly" hidden threat of a boycott. Now get some facts e.g. a) that Pt. Is have over a 95 per cent pass rate. b) That they are merely a qualifying test which you quite rightly assumed you'd already taken ('A' levels). c) That they greatly limit the variety of your first year and subsequent years because examinations presuppose certain limited knowledge geared towards them. (d) That you've done no work and might fail, no, better forget (d). MARXISTS Don't use your Marxists yet, keep these merry little chaps as your piece de resistance. With their fundamental understanding of the entire situation coupled with their soft spoken articulatory ability they should be kept well hidden (though spares are available if necessary) and used for more important things like tea making. Having met and completely vanquished some of the academic anachronisms you will finally aspire to the dizzy heights of Martyrdom and Sancticity by leading your worshipping followers into and under the bird dropping palace of Alexandra (near Bounds Green) for your crucifixion. Hoping that you. like myself and others last year, spend many happy hours of amusement and fun advising advisory committees to advise other advisory committees to remember to put the kettle on. IAN MORLEY. CHARITY ^HARITY organisations certainly owe a debt of gratitude to Til Uelenspiegel for trying to ransom a Vermeer against money for the Bangla Desh refugees. Obviously the masses and the "Evening Standard's" editors have reached saturation point on the "Starving Wog" story, even in full belly-bloated Technicolor. Not to mention the "Bleeding Guerilla' 'and the "Plague-stricken Village" . . . SPECTACLE What is obviously needed is a charity spectacular, with a Hijacked 747 for Wounded Viets, a Shotgun Killing of Five for the Calcutta Homeless, a House of Lords Sex-Scandal Spectacular for the Sudanese Ethiopians, the Rhodesian Blacks, the Haitian Democrats. And many, many more . . . George Foy. COURSE 132—PROF. WALTERS: METHODOLOGY OF COST BENEFIT STUDIES OF THE LOCATION OF AIRPORTS SHORTIES .QNE of the basic rules for students at L.S.E. is that in the third year you must drop everything and work. This has the effect of filling the library with row upon row of hopeful firsts staring at their books and daydreaming of pleasures to come. "I'm a third year" becomes the classic excuse for doing nothing, other than sitting in the library and feeling maudlin. Since we are said to have come to the University to work, and once the thin political veneer is stripped off this will apply in nine out of ten cases: sitting, however, is not working. There has to be at least one Ph.D. awaiting the person who makes an analysis of how much third year time is actually spent working, and how much goes towards building up a feeling of self-satisfaction. After the fall of any empire, a great deal of general debris is left floating around. Such is the case with L.S.E. at the moment; following Camlett's short-lived reign, remnants of his fan club continue to drift from group to group hoping to find a new hero to latch on to. New idols, anybody ? J.A. NEW WAVE ^ CARRYING a couple of cases and a bottle of whiskey for the warden, I boldly step through the main entrance and into my exciting new life as a student. A copy of "Agitator" is promptly waving in my face ; I drop my case to take it and the guy starts screaming "Fascist" at me, the case has just crushed his big toe ... so what's the matter with just plain "ouch," huh ? Umpteen cigarettes later: sprawled in the Old Theatre, sleeping through a lecture on classes (whassat ?) which pre-ceeds the real, live Union Meeting. The Union People climb onto the rostrum and start their ritual incantations; the words "class" and "bourgeoisie" bob up five dozen times in as many different contexts . . . maybe they were expecting some reaction, say a hall full of gaping, bemused admirers on an adrenalin jag, but most of us just sit and doze . . . Somebody digs me in the ribs. "This school ought to be working class," the guy says. "Yeah, when do classes begin ?" my neighbour comments sadly. That night I go through half the whiskey . . . maybe I could give the warden the other half. Next day when an old friend said the Conservatives were not too bad. I screamed "Fascist" at him ... It sort of just slipped out . . . J.S. GREAVING People who say that L.S.E. lacks a funny side are merely looking in the wrong places, such as in the pages of 'Beaver'. Good laughs can be found everywhere :— In the last Union meeting where the two Soc Soc proposals on the agenda called foi', respectively, support for the I.R.A. Provisional Wing and occupation of the Director's office. Also in Dr. Greaves "British Government; An Introduction to Politics" lectures. "I hope you are not getting confused." No prizes for other finds. G.F Are you a 1972 SUEDE - CAT ? Suede/ieather skins direct from the manufacturer. Make your own suede gear—clothes, bags, hats, belts, etc.. with our full fashion colour range. 15 per cent discount tor bona fide students. Mail order enquiries welcomed. SUEDE & LEATHER SHOP, Sheepscar Tannery, LEEDS, LS7 2BY. (Tel. Leeds 621005) STTfre. . jv \\\Xv/D£A __"_i' Ci\ ^ ' /:/. •/ 7?>LIT tw rf SCIENCE 2 0 / T/ i V n 'M Y'/ DoWr BoTTHis ^CMooU P.ATH£»^ GEORGE FOY BEAVKR, Oct. 28th. 1971—Page Seven m In every field of study, new thinking is continually being absorbed into student courses. The many Penguin Education series reflect these developments in a wide range of attractive, up-to-date paperbacks available at inexpensive prices as required course material or your own choice of informed reading. Modern Sociology Readings Kinship Edited by Jack Goody, Fellow of St John's College and Director for African Studies, Cambridge University 55p October Political Sociology Edited by Alessandro Ptzzorno, Professor of Sociology, University of Urbino 55p October Modern Sociology Monographs The End of Inequality 7 Stratification under State Socialism David Lane. Lecturer in Sociology, University of Essex 40p Education Specials The Politics of Education Anthony Crosland and Edward Boyle in conversation with Maurice Kogan 35p Spare the Child : The Story of an Experimental Approved School W. David Wills 40p October Five Specials from America Compulsory Miseducation Paul Goodman 40p Essays on Education Jules Henry 50p School is Dead: An Essay on Alternatives in Education Everett Reimer 40p Teaching as a Subversive Activity Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner 4 5 p 36 Children Herbert Kohl Papers in Education Speech and the Development of Mental Processes in the Child A. Ft. Luria andF. la. Yudovich 40p October ^ern Economic Readings lonomics of Information and inowledge Edited by D.M. Lamberton, Senior Lecturer in Economics. Cape Western Reserve niversity. Cleveland. Ohio 60p October I ne Theory of the Firm Edited by G.C. Archibald, Professor of Economics. University of Essex 65p Modern Economics Texts Analytical Welfare Economics D.M. Winch. Professor of Economics. McMaster University. Hamilton. Ontario 50p Urban Economics Harry W. Richardson. Director of the Centre for Research in the Social Sciences. University of Kent 50p Modern Psychology Readings Attitudes and Behaviour Edited by Kerry Thomas. Lecturer in Social Psychology. Birkbeck College. University of London 60p October Early Learning and Early Experience Edited by W. Sluckin. Professor of Psychology. University of Leicester lOp October Motivation: Second Edition Edited by Daibir Bindra. Professor of Psychology. McG/// University. Montreal, and Jane Stewart. Professor of Psychology. Sir George Williams University. Montreal ^ 75p November Modern Psychology Texts Psychology at Work Edited by Peter B. Warr. Deputy Director, Medical Research Council. Social and Applied Psychology Unit. University of Sheffield75p November Inquiring Man; The Theory of Personal Constructs D. Bannister. Head of the Psychology Department. Bexley Hospital, and Fay Fransella. Research Associate of the Medical Research Council Unit. Bexley Hospital 50p November Science of Behaviour The Development of Behaviour W. Mary Woodward 50p The Growth of Sociability H.R. Schaffer. Professor of Psychology. University of Strathdyde 50p October Socialization Kurt Danziger. Professor of Psychology. York University. Toronto 45p October Small Group Psychotherapy Edited by Henry Walton. Professor of Psychiatry .University of Edinburgh 35p November Foundations of Law Family Law Margaret Puxon. Barrister-at-Law 60p November Law and Society Family Security and Family Breakdown John Eekelaar. Lecturer in Jurisprudence, University of Oxford i.\ .00 October Two New Developments this Autumn Open University Course Readers Decisions, Organizations and Society Edited by Francis G. Castles Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, David D. Murray, Professor of Government, and David C. Potter. Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, all at the Open University 67p Revolutions 1775-1830 Edited by Merryn Williams. Lecturer in History. The Open University Sociological Perspectives Edited by Kenneth Thompson and Jeremy Tunstall. Lecturers in Sociology. The Open University 85p Penguin University Books This new series from Penguins will make available in paperback works of majof importance, whose main readership will be In higher education. It will include a high proportion of books appearing in paperback for the first time. Fundamental Questions in Philosophy Stephen /Cower £1.00 The Social Construction of Reality Peter L. Bergerand Thomas Luckman 75p y^mmm BEAVER, Oct. 28th. 1971—Page Eight REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS ROBBINS CURE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN ECONOMIST Lord Robbins (Macmillan 1971, £4.50) "There was an old Baron of note, Who felt he had reason to gloat. When disturbed by unrest, He fled to his nest And his autobiography wrote." IT used to be the custom to carry, in times of plague, pomanders filled with spices and herbs, the sweet odours from which took one's mind from the unpleasant realities of death, disease and bad drainage. Lord Robbins, by his own admission, undertooii the writing of this memoir largely as an antidote and a distraction during what he calls the "squalid happenings" of 1968 at L.S.E. when he witnessed "the reputation and decent order of an institution which I loved, being menaced by a handful of rebels, many of them from outside, some indeed from foreign parts, anxious to .seize the place as a headquarters for general revolutionary activity." Certainly the writing of this chronicle of his orderly progress from success to resounding succe.ss over some half century must have provided more than a little comfort. It also provides the opportunity to graciously thank helpful friends and to gently rebuke the few, obviously shortsighted critics of a "Liberal, liberal. Epicurean economist" to quote the Times Lit. Supp. The reviewer cannot suppress feelings of remorse for being unable to regard this book in a kindly light, but the plain fact is that it is poorly written. If one could disregard the fact that its author would seem to have had considerable influence on public attitudes and expenditure in the arts and education, and on national economic strategy at particularly crucial LENNON IN KEY ¦ l^ESPITE advance warning. John Lennon's new album "Imagine" *ill take most people by surprise. He has discarded the grating voice and honky-tonk piano backing; instead, he sings more melodiously, the piano and drums are more intricate, and the Plastic Ono Band is joined on most tracks by some ¦of the finest artists in the land. Special mention should be made of the late King Curtis, who excels on "It's So Hard" and "1 Don't Wanna Be A Soldier. Mama." As for the content of the songs. "Imagine" shows John Lennon in a more subtle light than the pain and bitterness of "John Lennon Plastic 'Ono Band." Only on "How Do You Sleep" does he bitch about Paul FILMS '•pOIVATE ROAD" (Nottinu Hill. Gaumont) is the story of a relationship between a young writer called Peter (Bruce Robinson), and Ann (Susan Penhaligon), the disillusioned daughter of a wealthy jniddle class businessman. Ann's .affair with Peter begins as a snub to her parents, but miitiu'es into a fuller relationship by the end, culminating in marriage. I suspect that the director has tried to convey his impre.s-sion of the iierfect anti-hero, and to achieve absolute realism on the screen. Indeed, the Central Oflfice of Information could not have made a better job of producing such average characters in such typical situations. The climax of the film revolves periods, then the meagre evidence of insight, and the self-justification and .^elf-congratulation rampant herein could be discounted as of little importance to anyone, but such is not the case. PRIDE The tone throughout is one of pride in the achievements of a secondi'.ry school-boy. The only reason he didn't go to public school was that his father had been exposed to unspecified temptations at his own unnamed alma mater. Repeatedly there are references to the thrills of sharing the Common Room.s of Oxford and L.S.E. with the (other) great minds of his generation(s), but unfortunately the great mind's comments and reflections on important events since the 1914-18 War are no advertisement for the benefits of such experience. The General Strike receives one mention—with reference to his own appointment to the staff at L.S.E. (Has he really been collected with the place for 45 years? Why?). The 1939-45 War elicits: "... in 1940 he (Hitler) gave us a clear alternative for action, either to win or to die—it was just as easy as that. I often think that some at least of the peiplexities of the present younger generation arise from the absence of any such experience. Seldom in history has there been so colossal a simplication for so many." His many public offices appear more or less as episodes in a one-man campaign for rignt-thinking in the face of widespread hostility. So almost singlehanded, he would .seem to have saved L.S.E.. the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery. L.S.E.. the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Higher Education, and latterly, again, L.S.E. TEARS In all, I think the flavour of this remarkable 330-page volume is best captured in the following passage, concerning a visit to Paris circa McCartney; "A pretty face may last a year or two. but pretty soon they'll see what you can do." The title track is a calm statement of his views on the ideal world, which contrasts with the driving demand of "Gimme Some Truth." However, Lennon still seems rather confused within himself, asking "How can I go forward when I don't know which way I'm facing?" His only .sanctuary seems to be his love for Yoko and "Oh Yoko " is a shining tribute to the person who has surely done most to bring out John Lennons previously stifled talents. All in all, another brilliant album, several steps forward from "Plastic Ono Band," which will be proved by his certain progression to the top of the charts. NIGEL WtLKIE 1920, during a period of personal indecision; "Here I would sit morning after morning, gazing in rapture at Cezanne's 'Vase Bleu' a revelation to me of the possibilities of conveying emotion through colour, or reading, often with tears in my ears (sic), the harrowing pages of Dostoevsky's 'Posse.ssed,' which was my self-imposed literary assignment for the visit, or staring out over the Tuileries Gardens contemplating the pickle in which I found myself." I can't wait for the film. MIKE MILLS WIFE'S EYE VIEW "SEAN," by Eileen O'Casey (Published by Macmillan. £3.25). r pHERE is no other playwright. ^ alive or dead, who has managed to combine tragedy and comedy so well as Sean O'Casey. His characiejisations of the Irish working-class during the "troubles" provides some of the finest theatre imaginable. p'Casey after all was one of them and understood their personal feelings and aspirations. In his youth he had been converted to the cause of .socialism and a united Ireland independent of England and he remained true to both causes throughout his life. I.R.A. With the helping hand of Lady Gregory. W. B. Yeats and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin he was transformed from an I.R.A. pamphleteer to a fine playwright with his first production of "The Shadow of a Gunman" in 1923. This was quickly followed by. the successes of "Juno and the Paycock" and in 1926 "The Plough and the Stars." Early in 1926 in New York. Eileen Carey, an English actress of Iri.sh parentage, read "Juno and the Pay-cock" and was so overcome that she resolved to return immediately to London and meet the author. She did .so and in 1927 married him, DEATH Their marriage was to last until Sean's death in 1964 and it is this part of his life that Eileen O'Casey is chiefly concerned with in this bineEtiDti.v^. Sbfi.recounlA .tbfi-times and experiences they had together and Ihe many great artists who crossed their threshold to meet the famous Irish playwright. She also describes sensitively the tragic death from leukaemia of their son Niall whilst still a student at the L.S.E. and the terrible impact that it had upon Sean. Indeed this entire biography is written with honesty and affection in a very ea.sy and readable manner which provides many insights into the life and mind of one of Ireland's greatest playwrights. PRIVATE ROAD around the loss of Ann's baby. This may be taken as an indication of the level of drama in this lilm. If this has been the intention of the director, then I feel that he has been successful. If not. then the film disappears under a sea of cliches. Judge for yourself. Technically, there is a fair amount that can bo said for the use of dialogue and jshotog-raj)hy. The dialogue is oi'ten amusing, but in essence, is subordinate to the theme of realism, and the charactei^s manage to produce a series of banal statements, far removed from the "Goodnight .sweet prince" mold. The photography ranges from Estelle Kohller (on right) getting the moral point of " OCCUPATIONS." OCCUPATIONS THEATRE — The Place, Dukes Street conventionally di'.ll to conventionally brilliant. Composition is carefully controlled most of the time, and the effect is pleasing. Note the whole .sequence of shots taken in the wilds of the South-West of England, particularly the distance shots, and the use of sunlight over the lake. Colour is skilfully, rather than lavishly used thi-oughout the film. My overall impression is thnt ''Private Road" is a film xvorth going to see. both from a technical point of view, and as a representation of the latest step in the never-ending search for the mythical anti-hero. ROBIN C. WIDDISON OCCUPATIONS, by Trevor Griirith, is one of three plays at "The Place" this season. Each experiments with the art of inspiring audience participation. For this purpose. "The Place" has had a redesigned interior, just for this season. Set in Turin in the 1920s. "Occupations" tells of the cooperation between an executive of the Communist International, called Kabac (Patrick Stewart) and the brilliant dwarf Gramsci (Ben Kingsley). Gramsci is interpreted superb-¦ ly' by"Ben "ts.ing'siey \ino. most of the rest of the cast, is a senior member of the Royal Shakespeare C o m tj a n y. He brings out the intellectua' ability and rhetorical powers of Gramsci as well as the fatherly re.gard he had lor the Turm Communist Party. The highlight of th^ play is the re-creation of Gramsci's speeches, v.hich roused the workers to do his bidding. Every effort is made to persuade the audience to join in the thunderous acclamations, but v.ithout success. My audience m^reH' DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST (Paris Pullman) Director: Satyajit Ray I JAY'S film is a cai-efully ob-served study of modern Indian society. Centred on Calcutta, it is the story of four yo ing men who go from the cit.y by car to spend five davs' holiday in the forest. Their attitudes to the people they meet there and to each other are carefully drawn and finely balanced. It is essentially a realist film. They finally meet two young women from a m'ddle-class family also on holiday from Calcutta and romance develops with two of the men bringing some unusual complications and drama. clapped politely, throwing guarded looks aroimd them to make sure that nobocy was unduly embarrassed. The nude scene (presumabl.v obligatory for Theatrical success). although a pleasant surprise, did not seem to be roriily relevant to the dramatic elTect. MORAL Trevor Griffith has incorpo;a-ted a moral in the iast scene of his play. Agelica EsteUe Koh-ler). dying from an overdose of cocaine, recalls in her hysteria some of the bea.rty of pre-revol-ulioD.. Russia. The n.oint presumably is th'.t the Bolsheviks (and other revolution-tries for that matter) have a habit of crushing both cjod and bad in their po'itical steami-oHering. "Occupations" :« a good play, with a high standard of acting and some sound cr.^Tiatic techniques (and some not-so-sound ones). To achieve a measure of audience iiarticipation. the play needs an uninhibi'ted audience. Without this, the p^ay lo.'-es its point. ROBIN' WJDDfSOM The third man falls in love with a village pn'l and ;,;ets robbed by her boyfriend. This event has the highest dramatic change and, typical of Indian films, has a far creater impact than the action aione would warrant. Ray has not lost the mysticism of old India, nor misjudged the natural acting abilities of his cast. Photography is superb, carefully chosen for effect. The music, Ray's own, ;s light and adds unobtrusively to the total naturalness of his creation. The programme ;s preceded by a short film on Bangla Desh. There are three shows nightly at 3.30 p.m.. 6 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. Monday through to Friday. SUSAN TRAILL BEAVKH, Oct. 28th, 1911—Page Nine ISLANDS To have read"Islands" by Edward Braithwaite is to have travelled through the concentrated ritual and colour of the Caribbean, and to have suffered the torment of a mind in doubt and to have been the incidence of great experience. The volume consists of five sections, echoing the indiscriminate but dedicative pastimes and ritual of the i-estless Afro-Caribbean mind. The poetry of the primary sections lie complementary to the latter sections. They tend to assess in pattern the fragmentary observations of the poet, as such they are the mirror to his pattern patience and insight. CAMP PROFITEER man even greater chance to expose with scientific thoroughness the "uncreated conscience" of his race. Conscious of and incisive to himself and men, Edward Braithwaite has written a volume of living spectacle and tepid ritualism in which only doubt instils the tongue with cruelty. as such . .. "Today god came to church, like an lame old man upon a crutch." On to this plain the poet hurls a storm of tidy passionate gut-terings of emotions, and here builds a poem—"Islands," a work of such dedication and intent should hold a like audience. DAVID BURN In the first half again, the message lies under a forceful rhythm and constantly reminding us of the sinister voodoo ritualism embedded in the Caribbean mind, the poet's fascination and cynicism of the subject affirms itself. It is with special reference to the first three sections, that I -advise Braithwaite-'ites' and 'nons' alike to study the subjects. Slow ly and assuredly through "Islands" the poet illuminates the Word ... he had earlier groped for, and with greater confidence in his beliefs and art creates in section 4. the great of this age. Here an old fisherman spins the net of the world, the gods walk the earth in hand with men and the haunted voice cries. "It is not enough" ... a de.spairing "Wolf" to our tightly-held values. Technical and verbal, stylic barriers offer up to this crafts- HOMECOMING \ walking bone v without flesh cannot travel too far. S And so without my cloth, ^ shoulders uncovered \ to this new doubt ^ and desert I return S expecting nothing; a my name burnt out, I405 0700/6431 Special attention to orders by post or 'phone BEAVER. Ocl. 3t8h, 1971—Page Eleven THE ATHLETIC UNION PAGE THE SILENT DUSK ^ - A K-8 high perrormance glider coming into Lasham airField at dusk. Tliis tvpe of glider is capable of soaring flights of over seven hours at a stretch when thermaling conditions will allow it in the summer. Most members of the LSE Gliding Club find themselves qualified to operate a similar glider after a winter's training at the Club's operational centre at Lasham, an hour's drive from I.ondon, in Hampshire. Basic training consists of three to four hours in the Faike, a motorised glider which takes off and gains height under its o«ii power before switching the engine off and converting to a regular glider. This system, only recently introduced in England, allows the time required for familiarisation and basic training to be cut by at least half. I'upils then go on to the K-13 tandem glider, flying with an instructor, and are generally competent to solo after about 30 launches, in the course of which they are taught how to deal with cable breaks, stalls and spins. After the .A and K latings, single-seater K-8's come next and go on to longer soaring flights. X-COUNTRY SUPERMEN STROLLING TO PARIS 'I'HE pre-season trials have been very encoui'aging and we expect to enjoy a successful season. There was considerable enthusiasm among freshers and they claim six first team places against Surrey in the persons of Kettle, Varley. Horsthuis A. (he's not as stupid as his brother)—we thrashed Surrey. Thus the team has a good blend of experience and youth ( someone told me to say that). The second team, under the incomparable leadership of Steve Baumgartner (Taff's note : 'That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever read"), also looks strong. Unfortunately, Monsieur le Captaine has injured himself whilst training (or so he claims!!!!), and v.'ill be out for three weeks. The infamous Strollers are still around and look to have a stronger side than usual. They are still a breeding ground for filth and corruption and need a captain to maintain this high standard. Read- our next report to find out about our exploits at Oxford, Warwick and gay but "never the sanie again" Paris. IWAN MORGAN Alleged obituary The A.U. are very sad to announce the unexpected loss of our pi-esident. John D. Burnside. He was a much-loved, talented first year student last year who made his presence felt on the Rugby Club and Athletic Union, HE BOUGHT IT IN THE UNDERPASS. Please send all condolences and f.owers to; Flat 5-5, Fitzroy St. flats, Fitzrov Street, W.C.I. VACANCY Athletic Union has a vacancy for a part-time secretary. The job consists of some typing, answering the telephone, and general administrative work. The hours are 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10.00 p.m. to 12.00 p.m. on a Wednesday, Wage is negotiable, depending on ability. Anybody interested come to SllO and ask for Keith Turner. SIMMON DS UNIVERSITY BOOKSELLERS Our shop is not the biggest in London, but it is aniong the best. And it's a 'place where you will obtain individual attention. 16 FLEET STREET LONDON, E.C.4 (opp. Chancery Lane) 353 3907 HO is that extraordinary being who combines the genius of an Einstein, the strength of a Hercules, the determination of a Genghis Khan, and the glamour of a Rudolf Valentino ? Who is that marvellous man, whose fame is setting the whole world alight (Tafl's note: "It can't be Andy Crompton?"). Who else but the L.S.E. X-Countrj' Club runner. Braving the snarling traffic of Victoria Embankment, the treacherous man-eating quagmires of Hampstead Heath, and the ferocious beasts of Richmond Park, the L.S.E. superheroes have blazed their way to glory. From the heights of the Post Office Tower to the depths of the Three Tuns, the name "X-COUNTRY CLUB" is spoken with awe and veneration. Last year these mighty men of steel fought their way with amazing skill and determination to the U.L.U. Championship Cup, the G.P.O. Tower Trophy, the Crown Jewels, the Lincoln's Inn Pancake Trophy and the L.S.E. Club of the Year Award. This year the now legendary team will set ofT on a new campaign of glory, blazing a trail from Leicester to Brighton Pier and Canterbury, with daring forays abroad to South Wales, Isle of Man and Dytchleys. And if this were not enough, during the summer the hardy Harriers turn to athletics. L.S.E., the only College club with enough stamina and tcilent to turn out beardless, grease-pole climbers, shot-putters and rock-bun gobblers, competes in the tough strength-sapping 50 Counties League. If you're a man both staunch and true, A hurdler or a harrier too. The Cross-Country Club is just for you. ANDY CROMPTON CLIMBING CLUB ¦yy'^ELL, you've seen L.S.E. and parts of London and it's getting a litlte boring so you want to get away for a weekend. Join the Climbing Club. Weekend trips are arranged frequently to North Wales, Derbyshire and the Lakes. There will be a week in Cornwall this Easter, the weather is hot and the beer is cheap. At Christmas a meet may be fixed for Scotland, possibly Skye. Last year the Athletic Union subsidised expeditions to Spain and the Lafoten Islands. The standard of members varies from the novice to the expert, and hence everyone is welcome, man or woman. Basic equipment is supplied, so if you are interested, see me or put a note on the board. BRYAN SMITH, A message from your leader YOU'VE been in London for a fortnight, been thrown out of most pubs, strip clubs, and Chinese restaurants and you're now getting cheesed of! with the place. You fancy doing something completely different but your grant has run out and you can't afford it. Come to see us. We do everything from canoeing through to gliding, with a few horses slung in the middle for flavour. Ever fancied sailing, or judo, even (if you're a masochist) cross country running? If so come to the Athletic Union, SllO, and we'll help you out. All our clubs concentrate on beginners because the experts now are last year's beginners. Everything is cheap, costing 25p per club for a whole year. The significance of sport is that it gives you a break from L.S.E. and there is the prospect of travelling throughout Europe for next to nothing. The most important aspect of the Athletic Union is the opportunity to develop a good social life outside of L.S.E. Our office is on the first floor above the bar. K. TURNER, Acting President. BADMINTON CLUB For those that were in any doubt, the Badminton Club is alive and well and can be found in the L.S.E. gym, dressed for battle, on Wednesday afternoons and on Fridays from 4 until 8. Membership is again thriving, with places in the two men's teams, the mixed and the ladies' teams to be fought for throughout the season. COLIN SPEAKMAN WOMEN ARE YOU FAT! TIRED OUT OR AT A LOOSE END! WE CAN SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS. The Athletic Union intends, after the success of last year, to restart Keep Fit classes. Unfortunately, the women who worked so hard to keep the club alive have now left us for better things. In order to begin these classes we must have 15 - 20 regular attendants. If you are regular and want to keep fit come along to the Athletic Union, SllO, and we will help you out. Neil Lockwood leads the first pitch on a 300 ft. slab of the Anglesey Cliffs, Gogarth. NOTICE Nominations for the post of Treasurer of the Athletic Union open on Monday, October 25th. and close on Friday, October 29th. The election will take place on Tuesday, November 2nd, from 12 to 2 and 5 to 6.30. in the Concoui-se area. Anybody interested should submit their names to Athletic Union Office, SllO. DEVLIN A T LSE BK.VVER, Oct. 28tli, 1971—Page Twelve STUDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT PART I EXAMS CONDITIONS SLAMMED AT the end of last term, Part 1 students were complaining bitterly about the conditions under which they had to sit their examinations at the Alexandra Palace in North London. Complaints were numerous, but by far the most serious concerned the lack of travelling facilities. No extra buses were laid on, and students travelling from Finsbury Park tube station found long queues for a bus service which at the best of times is notoriously unreliable. The situation became even worse after the examinations with thousands of students attempting to board buses at the same time. The result of this confusion was that many students were late in arriving at Alexandra Palace through no fault of their own. Not just L.S.E. students were involved, but many other London University students. One student travelling from Croydon was forced to begin his journey before 7.30 a.m. in order to travel through the peak hour rush and arrive before 10.00 a.m. BUSES There were also complaints about the lunchtime bus service: students were unable to catch buses home for lunch and return in time for the afternoon session. One student who waited for half an hour in the pouring rain for a bus eventually gave up and returned to Alexandra Palace, where he found that the queue for the food shop was a hundred yards long. After an hour's wait he received some food—ten minutes before the start of the afternoon exam. "Some students," he said, "did not get any food." FOOD Other complaints about the food were the fact that just two women were serving and only cold meat pies, chocolate biscuits and tea was available. This one shop was expected to cater for around 4,000 students. Girls spoke of the poor toilet facilities and queues yards long. Conditions in the boys' toilets were also bad, with no soap or handtowels. The Examination Hall itself was freezing; the rain leaked through the roof on to the floor. Pigeons flew around the large hall crapping over exam, papers whilst anyone wanting to go to the toilet faced a quarter-mile trek on a stony floor with the sound of their footsteps disturbing everyone. Complaints are numerous and it would certainly appear that Part 1 students are justified in being angry at the conditions in which they are expected to concentrate and pass examinations. Obviously there are difficulties in arranging for thousands of students to sit exams, but putting everyone into the same hall is a ridiculous idea. Perhaps next year they might consider Wembley Stadium I ALL-NIGHTER LARGE crowd turned out on Friday, October 8th for the all-night concert, probably the most important social events at L.S.E. in many yeai's; six hundred of them were actually L.S.E. students. The entire affair was a massive success both for the audience and the artists. Barclay James Harvest played one of the best sets ever at L.S.E. without being the least bit overshadowed by Procul Harum who are now giant-killers in America. Perhaps more important was the success of the fringe acts. Andy Roberts and Mike Absalom achieved a perfect rapport with their audience; likewise the Incubus Theatre Group performed brilliantly and found communication very easy. Unfortunately the size of the Old Board Room restricted the number present, and many people were unable to get in. This was the first all-nighter for years, and it is to be hoped we shall not have too long to wait before the next one. NEW BEAVER EDITOR NO PHONE J Jl^ UNDREDS of students were seriously inconvenienced during the fir.st week of term by the annual L.S.E. telephone crisis. Three of the School's seven public phones were out of order by the third day, and the 3,000 students who were forced to share the four that worked waited for ap to 20 minutes to use them. During the Summer vacation the School had an extra phone installed (they asked the G.P.O. for two) but four phones working instead of three, is hardly an adequate solution to the problem. ECONOMIC SURVIVAL jJOCTOR N. KALDOR, distinguished economist and professor at King's College, Cambridge, gave a Grimshaw Club sponsored speech in the O.T. on Friday, October 18th dealing with Britain's entry into the E.E.C. - In his speech the learned Doctor put forth the view that a community made up of such disparate economic and monetary entities as the E.E.C. had to choose between evolution towards complete economic, monetary and political union, which would appear unlikely in view of the nationalistic, attitude of its less affluent members, and regression towards a species of mere E.F.T.A. fiee-trade association. Membership in this free-trade area would on the whole benefit Britain's economy but would at the same time only afford so many more opportunities of negating all the social reforms of the welfare state by turning British economy jpack into the "survival of the fittest" cutthroat capitalism of the Victorian era with all its inherent social injustices. G.J.F. 'J^HE L.S.E. Union Council has appointed Miss Maggie Wellings to be the editor of "Beaver" from its next issue. She was chosen from five candidates. The other four, including the present editor, John Stathatos, were appointed associate editors, but Stathatos has not accepted the appointment. Miss Wellings is a former editor of "Agitator,"- the Soc-Soc publication, and is still a member of that organisation. The three remaining associate editors are also Soc-Soc members. Many students rely on the phones to make accommodation inquiries and other urgent calls, especially in the early part of the year. When is the School going to take this problem seriously, and exert some real pressure on the G.P.O. ? J.P. J^ERNADETTE DEVLIN as well as John Gray and Eamonn McCann of the Anti-Internment League spoke to a packed audience in the Old Theatre last Wednesday. The meeting followed closely the news that 400 students at Queen's University, Belfast, had occupied part of their college to protect Mr. Tomias MacGiolla, President of the political wing of the Official I.R.A., from a detachment of British troops and Special Branch policemen who were seeking his arrest (his presence in Northei-n Ireland being a crime under the Official Powers Act). Miss Devlin spoke of the need for similarly radical student action in this country to protest against the intei'nment of Opposition leaders in Northern Ireland and against the situation in Northern Ireland generally. It was pointed out that L.S.E. students had a fine record 6f concern and action over many distant issues such as Vietnam but that once the situation was closer to home the student movement as such had done little to show evidence of its solidarity with the oppressed people of Northern Ireland. All three speakers discussed the consistency of the British Press in failing to make evident the true situation in Ulster as well as the stark human tragedy of internment, clearly illustrated by many named individuals who have in fact been in prison many times over the past, without ever having been brought to trial, for daring to oppose the reactionary policies of the Stormont Government and now of the British Government itself. As was pointed out by John Gray such policies have as their fundamental objective the policy of divide and rule. Oniy by fully taking the side of the Stormont Government could Britain and the British ruling class specifically maintain its supremacy over the province. Thus the British Press have consistently portrayed all the internees as "mad gunmen," the ruthless assasins of women and young children, they have rarely mentioned the thirty thousand people in the province who have indicated their opposition to the conditions which rule their lives through 100 per cent solidarity in rent and rate strikes, they did not reveal the facts concerning the torture of internees by the British authorities until the middle of October even though the documented evidence of such atrocities had been in their hands since August 20th. All three speakers stressed the important role of the I.R.A. in defending the working-class areas from the British troops who had previously stood back when these areas were under Protestant attack, thus belying their official position in the Province as "peace keepers". It is because the British troops have acted so consistently to maintain the repressive Faulkner regime that the armed self-defence of the Catholic areas by the I.R.A. has become necessary. The mood of the lunch-time meeting was a militant one and it is to be hoped that L.S.E. students will give evidence of their displayed convictions by supporting the Queen's University students and by marching in solidarity with the Anti-Internment League on October 31st. ANDY JACKSON SUPPORT FOR FESTIVAL 71 — MUHAMMED ALI at L.S.E. (See Page 1) Printed by Ripley Printers Ltd., Ripley. Derby. Published by L.S.E. Students' Union. St. Clement's Building. Claremarket, London, W.C.2A 2AE