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What is The Beaver?
The Beaver is the award-winning student newspaper of the London School of Economics, published by the LSE Students' Union. It covers campus news, student life, commentary and analysis, and it also looks beyond LSE to wider issues affecting students.
What it publishes
- News reporting on LSE and the Students' Union, such as suspensions and disciplinary incidents involving student societies or sabbatical officers.
- Analysis of policy changes that affect students directly, for example UK Graduate Visa and settlement rule changes and what they mean for international students.
- Commentary and opinion pieces, alongside illustrated features and campus-focused writing.
Who it is for
Its primary audience is LSE students and staff who want reporting on their own institution. It is also useful for prospective and current international students tracking visa and immigration developments, and for anyone outside LSE who wants a student perspective on UK higher education and politics.
How to use it
If you are deciding whether to study at LSE, or you are already there and want to know what is happening in the Students' Union, read the news section first, then the commentary. As a student publication, its reporting reflects student editors and contributors rather than professional newsroom staff, so treat opinion pieces as opinion. For official university information, cross-check with the LSE website and the Students' Union; for national coverage of the same stories, compare with BBC News or The Guardian.
How can I submit a news tip or article to The Beaver?
The Beaver is the London School of Economics Students’ Union’s student newspaper, covering campus news, student politics, commentary and analysis. For a news tip or article pitch, the most reliable route is to contact the editorial team directly through the paper’s official website, The Beaver, rather than posting details publicly on social media.
What to send
- News tip: a short summary of what happened, who was involved, when and where it happened, and why it matters to LSE students. Include names or documents only if you are comfortable sharing them.
- Article pitch: a working headline, two or three sentences on the angle, the section it suits (news, comment, features), and your connection to the story.
- If you are offering a completed piece: say whether it is already written, roughly how long it is, and whether you have any relevant images or data.
Practical next step
Look for the “Contact” or “About” section on the paper’s site and use the editorial email address listed there. If you are unsure who to write to, address it to the editors and mark it clearly as a tip or pitch. For sensitive stories, say at the outset whether you need anonymity or want to discuss protections before sharing documents.
Decision criteria
Send a tip rather than a full article if the story is breaking, legally sensitive or still developing. Pitch first if you want to write the piece yourself. If you are a current LSE student, mentioning that helps editors judge campus relevance, but it is not a requirement for a tip. Expect student papers to be run by volunteers, so follow up once after a week if you have not heard back.
For context on the kind of coverage the paper runs, its recent headlines include graduate visa changes and LSESU disciplinary news, so campus policy, student welfare and union governance are clearly within scope.
What is The Beaver's editorial stance on UK government policies affecting LSE students?
The Beaver is LSE's student newspaper, and its coverage of UK government policy is framed through the direct impact on LSE students rather than a single party-political line. From the evidence available, its editorial posture is critical and student-advocacy oriented: policy changes are presented as burdens imposed on students, with strong language and personal testimony used to convey the consequences.
What the coverage suggests
- Framing: The headline "A Slap in the Face": Changes to the Graduate Visa and a Narrower Path Forward for International Students signals a critical stance toward post-study work restrictions. The piece explains that international students will be limited to an 18-month Graduate visa rather than two years, and treats that shift as a narrowing of opportunity.
- Method: The article pairs reporting with illustration and named authorship (Alba Azzarello, illustrated by Serena Fadil), which is typical of student journalism that mixes news with commentary and lived-experience framing.
- Scope: Campus governance and student welfare also feature, such as coverage of an AU President and LSESU Men's Rugby Team suspension. That shows the paper's editorial attention extends to how institutional decisions affect students, not only Westminster policy.
How to read it
Treat The Beaver as a student-run outlet with an advocacy tilt: it is useful for understanding how LSE students experience and contest government policy, and for finding campus reaction, but it is not a neutral policy digest. If you want the paper's specific position on a particular bill or visa rule, search its archive for that policy by name and read the full article rather than the headline alone. For official policy detail, compare against GOV.UK; for sector-wide student positions, see LSESU and The Beaver.
How do I join The Beaver as a student writer or editor?
The Beaver publishes student-written news, commentary and analysis for the LSE community, so the practical route in is through its student editorial team rather than a public application form described on the homepage. Start at The Beaver, look for a "Join," "Get Involved," "Contact" or "About" link in the site menu, and email the section editor whose coverage matches your interests.
A realistic path
- Read several recent pieces in the section you want to write for, so your pitch fits its tone and length.
- Send a short pitch: two or three sentences on the story, why it matters to LSE readers, who you would interview, and when you can file.
- If you want editing rather than writing, say so and mention any relevant experience, such as newsletter, society or blog editing.
- Expect a reply with word count, deadline and style guidance; student papers usually run on tight weekly cycles.
Writer or editor?
| Role | Best for | Typical first step |
|---|---|---|
| Writer | Building clips, flexible commitment | Pitch one news or comment piece |
| Section editor | Organising coverage, commissioning others | Volunteer after contributing regularly |
| Copy or production | Accuracy, headlines, layout | Ask the editor what needs help each week |
If you are new, pitch a campus story you can report directly, such as a department change, a society event or a student cost issue. That is easier to verify and more useful than an opinion piece with no reporting.
What types of content does The Beaver publish, such as news, commentary, and analysis?
The Beaver publishes student journalism centered on the London School of Economics and the wider UK higher-education world. Its three main content types are news, commentary, and analysis, supported by campus-focused reporting and opinion.
News
- Campus events and institutional decisions, such as student union disciplinary actions or suspensions.
- Policy changes affecting students, including visa and settlement rule updates.
- Coverage that names specific people, bodies, and timelines rather than general trends.
Commentary
- Opinion and argument pieces, often with a strong first-person or advocacy angle.
- Responses to campus controversies and national policy debates.
- Writing that takes a position rather than only reporting events.
Analysis
- Explanatory pieces that connect a policy change to its practical consequences for students.
- Context on how national rules play out at LSE and for international students specifically.
- Longer-form work that goes beyond a single news event.
The site also uses standard newspaper furniture, including headlines, author and illustrator credits, and advertisements, which suggests a conventional editorial format rather than a blog or personal site. Its tagline describes it as an award-winning student newspaper, so the intended audience is primarily LSE students, staff, and alumni, with secondary reach to prospective students and anyone following UK higher education.
How to use it If you are an international student weighing visa changes, start with the analysis and news items on that topic, then check the commentary for competing arguments. If you want to understand campus governance, the news section is the more reliable starting point; the commentary section is where you will find opinion rather than verified reporting.
For a concrete example, a prospective postgraduate student could read the graduate visa coverage for the rule change and its timing, then read related commentary to see how students and staff are reacting. That combination gives both the factual update and the interpretation, which is the main trade-off of a student publication: strong on campus relevance and lived perspective, less comprehensive than national outlets on broader policy detail.
How has The Beaver covered recent changes to the Graduate Visa for international students?
The Beaver's coverage frames the Graduate Visa change as a direct blow to international students rather than a neutral policy update. Its headline — “A Slap in the Face”: Changes to the Graduate Visa and a Narrower Path Forward for International Students — signals that framing, and the article is written by Alba Azzarello with illustration by Serena Fadil. The reported substance: following changes to UK visa and settlement rules, international students in the UK will no longer be eligible for the two-year Graduate Visa, replaced by an 18-month Graduate Visa starting 1 January. That is the core factual claim the piece rests on.
What the coverage offers a reader
- A student-perspective angle. The Beaver is The Beaver, LSE's award-winning student newspaper, so the piece sits within campus journalism rather than migration law reporting. Expect the impact on LSE students and graduates to be the organising concern.
- Policy plus reaction. The "slap in the face" framing indicates the article pairs the rule change with commentary from affected students or observers, not just a summary of the announcement.
- A narrow path, not a closed one. The headline's "narrower path forward" suggests the piece treats the 18-month route as reduced but still usable — worth reading closely if you are weighing whether to stay in the UK after graduating.
Where to go next
If you are an international student planning around this, read the Beaver piece for the campus-level reaction, then check the primary rules directly with UK Visas and Immigration, since eligibility dates and settlement rules are the parts most likely to shift again. Use the Beaver article to understand how peers and the student union are responding; use official guidance to decide your own timeline.
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