froma special cvurrespondent
gh hie ada ee has been issued by L.S.E, students: We invi © you to help create the Open University. The j i as a continuation of our student protest over the arn Gaia pensions of David Adelstein and Marshall Bloom, It continues as’ such, and has also become a forum and focus for the wider issues = the frustration and disappointment So many of us have felt with the educational process and atmosphere at L.S.E. A university is not a factory. Nor is it a place where students should be seen and treated as unruly schoolchildren (such ‘treatment is more a reflection on the maturity of administrators than that of students). We think that formal education can be an enlivening and exciting experience. We think that it should be. At L.S.E. now it only rarely is. The Open University is our attempt to diagnose in depth what has gone wrong; and to explore as fully and meaningfully as we can what some of the real alternatives are,
We are trying to create an atmosphere conducive to critical discussion - to recreate the atmosphere of the sit-in where perhaps for the first time we realised that our thoughts and our actions did matter; where for the first time we felt the beginnings of a genuine community at the L.S.E. A university can a thrive only in a spirit of free enquiry; it must start with the assumption that no ideas or institutions are too sacrosanct for critical examination. The Open University starts with just this assumption. In its implementation, the Open University will emphasize the dialogue rather than the monologue (i.e. away from situations where an expert teacher SPEAKS THE T-UTH to a group of passive note-taking students). It will be a place which stresses involvement, where we all try to learn with and from each other, Our hope is that our efforts will lead directly to the sorely needed improvement in the quality of education at the L.S.E. The format of the Open University will grow and change to adapt to the needs and wishes of those who are participating. But we are beginnins with discussions in three general areas: The first will be explicitly to do with the educational process itself. We will attempt systematic critiques of disciplines as they are taught at the L.S.E.; and on a more general level discuss underlying philosphies and sociologies of education, and the role of the university and the student in the society at large, both on domestic and international levels. In the second area we will explore in practise some alternatives to the existing modes and contents of education at L.S.E, We will discuss a wide range of topics, from moral codes to trade unions to the politics of South-East Asia. We hope to run a series on 'The Experience of Tyranny', with first-hand accounts by people who have been victims of political fascism, and of the psychological dominance of the mental hospital and parts of the psychiatric establishment. We hope to uncover the tyranny of some of our own contemporary myths (the nation-state, drug-scares, anti-communism, etc.) We will be inviting outside speakers, and recently disenfranchised editors and priests. ‘Some of our own, and faculty members from other universities will be participating with us here. And a number of students will be heading discussions on topics of interest to them. Our third area will be more directly to do with the arts. We will discuss and demonstrate the relevance of the arts and their relationship to society. The Agit-Prop group will be rehearsing at the L.S.E. A number of poets, writers, and musicians are being invited. A large number of films will be shown. We are thinking of writing and staging our own drama to express the spirit and
substance of recent events - a satire about the L.S.E. Our thinking and planning thus far has focussed on the above three mentioned areas. But we would emphasize our commitment that this be an OPEN university. We will discuss and exchange views on any subject that anyone is interested in learning about or speaking about. Our invitation extends to myone and everyone, of any age and background, who is interested in learning and participating with us in our educational endeavor. Your ideas, suggestions, and criticisms are very welcome and necessary. The Open University will be held at the London School of Economics 2h hours a day throughout the Easter holidays - until April 26, During the vacation the Rules Committee and the Staff-Student Committee called for in the Union resolution of Tuesday March 21 (to look at 'the structure of the school and related matters') will be meeting. Reports of these and of all developments in our continuing protest over the two suspensions will be brought to the Open University for discussion and criticism.