Has democracy spoken?
**Democracy! Warwick’s equivalent of the Athenian ekklesia, the All Student Meeting, seemed like a very low-key affair. The meeting had the air of a gathering in a train station, with a lot of background noise and many comings and goings (which had absolutely nothing to do with this columnist arriving fifteen minutes late after going to the cinema). **
An elderly man waiting for a bus, cleaners and a woman eating a lolly comprised the strange sights, as even some booming Lusophone Student Councillors were drowned out by a jazz band practicing upstairs.
{{ quote How dare we take a stance against murderous dictatorships when these people might give me a job?! }}
Many relevant points were made, including why big corporate-funded departments like Warwick Manufacturing Group look like the palace from Blade Runner whilst the Humanities building looks like the Chinatown of the same film. The array of flags around the atrium made the place feel a bit like the UN General Assembly, what with the indicative-only votes and domination of arms companies. And they were dominant. “How dare we take a stance against murderous dictatorships when these people might give me a job?!” fumed many a science student, seemingly determined to be to big arms what economics students are to the shameless financial elite.
Warwick wouldn’t be Warwick without this curious mix of idealism and naked ambition. Or the contradictions: Union boycotts don’t cover Costcutter, someone pointed out as this correspondent sheepishly hid his shopping bag (which luckily contained no weapons or Bacardi).
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