The LSE Government Society is a student led initiative which aims to integrate students with the department, giving you opportunities to socialise and attend academic events with political thinkers both from inside and outside of the LSE. Matt Panton and Maisie Jenkins explain more about the aims of the Society and how to get involved.
What are the main aims and objectives of the new LSE Government Society?
We intend to run events aimed at Government Department students but open to all, so students can socialise with each other and with staff. It’s a good way to meet people on the same programme who do different modules, or people from programmes outside the Department who take Government modules. We hope the Government Society will allow students to get involved, and enjoy their time more at LSE.
As founders of the new society, can you tell us a bit about yourselves?
Maisie: I’m a third year BSc Government student originally from Newcastle. Academically, I’ve taken modules from a number of different departments at LSE, such as Anthropology, Social Policy and of course Government, but in my final year I’m focusing more on social psychology. I’ve had jobs in social science and health, and hope to go into further study about the social effects of the internet.
Matthew: I am a final year BSc Government student and I am originally from Warwickshire. My academic interests include political psychology, political geography and delegation. I have worked in several politically related jobs and I aim to build a career in politics or the public sector.
Is the society open to students outside the Department of Government?
Yes, we are open to all to join. We thought it would be good to include students outside the Department who take Government so that they have a chance to meet other Government students and staff. Events run by different departments are currently not open to these students, so we felt this would be a great way to include them.
How can students get involved?
Follow the link on our website (www.lse.ac.uk/government/lsegovsoc) to the sign up form. After filling this in you become a member! It’s completely free, and we’ll send you emails from then on updating you on our future events.
What type of events are you planning to organise?
We hope to have a mixture of social, academic and career evens. Our social events will be varied and will include both non-drinking and drinking events such as our Introductory Quiz social. We also plan to host several speaker events that will be related to Government but give an alternative perspective than what is experienced in the academic program at LSE.
In what ways do you envisage students will benefit from joining the society?
We hope that the society gives students a chance to meet each other outside of lectures and classes, and make more friends across different courses and year groups. We think students could benefit from attending events organised by other students, and hope the guest speakers and academic events are interesting. We are always open to comments and suggestions from members for future events and what could be improved!
Maisie Jenkins is a third year UG BSc Government student, who is focusing on social psychology in her final year, and hopes to go into further study about the social effects of the internet.
Matthew Panton is a third year UG BSc Government student who academic interests include political psychology, political geography and delegation. Matthew hopes to build a career in politics or the public sector.
Note: this article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Department of Government, nor of the London School of Economics.
