By Kaviesh Kinger
Any prospective LSE student browsing online would only need a quick minute to find a disenchanting description of LSE culture on The Student Room, YouTube, or Reddit. Scathing reviews by students describe us as “cold” and “soulless,” with our reputation being “trust fund sponsored kids” wanting to “sell out.” Our university rankings this year were widely celebrated as third best in the UK, while we collectively turned a blind eye on our student satisfaction rating falling by two points to 58th place in the country.
Inside the library, surrounded by huddled students frantically pressing ‘submit’ on their spring week applications, I sat down with Stella Bongiorno, a second-year Politics and Philosophy student. Stella is one of many students I met with to discuss the social culture at LSE. Stella is part of the student team involved in starting a ‘Creative Network’ at LSE. When asked about her thoughts on LSE’s social culture, Stella noted that “if people are coming here because they want a good job and to meet people useful for their future, then LSE’s a great place to be.’’
However, “if you want to have three years [of] enjoying what you study, meeting creatives … doing interesting things for your soul,” she says, “then I don’t know if the LSE is the right place to be. Maybe it is if you find the right people, but it’s really hard to find them.”
I was subsequently interested in the unique social culture at LSE. Through closely interviewing several students and conducting a survey of 60 individuals, I explored how LSE students felt about the social dynamics and culture inherent to their university.
My starting point was investigating ‘micro-communities’ at LSE. These consist of small groups of individuals who connect over a specific point of interest. Examples include living in Bankside House, being from Delhi, or studying in the Department of Finance. According to my survey, 78.3% of LSE students met most of their friends through micro-communities. Circling back to Stella’s words, I became curious about what connects students at LSE apart from these micro-communities.
One student from the Department of Economics says: “I think we are all hustlers.” Another student studying Politics and International Relations agrees: “No one has got here easy, everyone has worked … I think that’s really inspiring.” A second year Politics and Economics student agreed, referring positively to the intellectual conversations he has on campus that “bring people together.”
But not all students agreed with LSE being a ‘philosophical hub’ and London’s very own ‘Les Deux Magots’ where intellectuals come to thrive socially. 28.3% of students agreed, and another 28.3% strongly felt that LSE students are predominantly focused on competition, networking, and academics.
One Accounting and Finance student felt especially strongly about the isolating atmosphere at LSE, describing the university culture as “very toxic” and “based around academia, spring weeks, stuff like that.” “When I first came [to LSE] it was a bit scary, confusing … a bit too office-like and professional. I think now it’s a lot better, being a second year feels so much nicer … but I don’t think LSE’s improved, I think I’ve just got more comfortable.”
Hence, many students feel that what connects them to a wider community are their academic and professional ambitions. However, multiple individuals did not feel that this connection translated into a thriving university-wide social culture. “Career prospects and progression” seems to be the uniting component in LSE’s culture, as a Philosophy and Economics student Rhea describes. Other interviewees shared ‘horror stories’ of ‘chronic networkers’ attending LinkedIn dinners every night, as well as competitive students refusing to help others with problem sets or exams.
This highlights an important point of tension underlying LSE’s student culture. On one hand, we are a university with dedicated and ambitious intellectuals. On the other hand, we are a body of young adults yearning for connection and warmth alongside our studies.
It is important to note that many students described the wonderful friendships they have nurtured within their halls, or among coursemates with whom they can have meaningful intellectual conversations. Umberto Belluzzo, President of the LSESU Italian Society, describes the LSE as the best in the UK for its “culture” and “the international community.”
For many, LSE has been the starting point of life-long connections. However, these flourishing micro-communities do not automatically translate into a flourishing university community. Rhea describes how “there are very rarely LSE wide social events … freshers is probably the last time … I’ve mixed with people from any kind of course or background.”
53.3% of students in the survey expressed that there are not enough opportunities outside of the micro-communities for people to socialise, with interviewees citing frustration over not only social, but also financial departmental divides, with the opulent Department of Finance’s funding overshadowing other departments. According to one General Course student, “I think the university’s mission is a little bit different … it’s kind of hard to understand how such an ambitious student body can come together and get along.”
Speaking to students of different backgrounds and opinions highlighted one common thread. Whether students felt positively or negatively about their social interactions at university, for the most part students agreed with the prevalence of micro-communities at the LSE: social interactions remain relatively confined to these groups. But how can we foster a university-wide social culture at LSE?
The current starting point seems to be Sway, the infamous LSE Sports Night, hosted by the Athletics Union. One student outlines these as “the only events” that all LSE students seem to go to. But is Sway enough? Even Sway, while being open to all students, is segregated on the basis of sports societies, with specific dress codes for different sports teams and ‘pres’ for each team beforehand, contributing to the fracturing of the student body into a multitude of micro-communities.
Leah, a postgraduate student who previously studied at the University of Pennsylvania, describes LSE students as “a bit jaded” towards the university and lacking the university pride she experienced at her alma mater.
Fostering a university-wide social culture may be the solution to this. One Accounting and Finance undergraduate mentioned that they enviously yearned for university-wide events, such as the freshers balls, summer balls, and silent discos that Royal Holloway hosts. This view is shared by 43.3% of students, who believe that the current university-wide social events need to be developed further.
At a university where 78.3% of students claim they have made most of their friends through micro-communities, and overall student satisfaction is declining, it is both important and necessary to view these two as connected. Rather than viewing dedication to academic rigour and fostering a thriving social community at LSE as antithetical, it may be better to regard them as complementary. After all, it is precisely those who work the hardest that need the most avenues to blow off steam. Hence, finding a balance between these two priorities, and a sustainable way of connecting them, is an important challenge that would complement the administration’s agenda.
