Felix Issue 1103, 1998
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JP 16 Issue November 1126 1998 KEEP THE CAT FREE EST. 1949 The Students' Newspaper at Imperial College Cook cops out at last minute IC Union is slill left without a Deputy transport etc). President (Clubs and Societies) due to the By Andrew Brown With thc sabbatical post still open, withdrawal of the only candidate, Stuart the elections process will be forced to run Cook, only an hour before the close of seen as a profes• stressed that its course once again. Nominations for voting on Tuesday. sional organisa• there should be the position will be re-opened today, In his letter to the Union, he tion then its staff no speculation and will remain open for two weeks. If described his reasons as "numerous", must accept pro• about the possi• a fully seconded candidate has been but named the refusal of the Executive fessional stan• ble outcome as found by this date, then campaigning Committee of ICU to change his contract dards". no counting took can begin, and another election will take as a major one. He had asked Exec to Mr Cook's place: all of the place shortly before Christmas. Conse• allow him Wednesday afternoons free to success in the ballot papers quently any successful candidate would continue playing football for an ICU election was by were destroyed assume the post at the end of this term team. Mr Cook, a materials science stu• no means cer• immediately. - hardly a convenient time for most dent, took this as a vote of no confidence tain. Following a Among the undergraduates, who would be put out in him personally, stating that "I feel that tough examina• consequences of of sync with the academic year. I could not undertake such an important tion at St Mary's Mr Cook's late As a result, David Hellard is "not opti• position if I do not have the support of on Wednesday 4 withdrawal from mistic" that a DP(C&S) will be found for elthermy colleagues or my prospective november {Felix the election is a this year. If that is the case, then thc employers." 1125), where not insignificant duties of DP(C&S) arc likely to be split Mr Cook claimed that the change amongst other financial loss. His between Messrs Hellard and Ince, would not have meant that he worked things he con• decision to stand adding to their already heavy workload. fewer hours, just different ones. How• fessed that he down in effect Thc ICU President regretted that the had decided to Stuart Cook before his demise Photo: Joel after thc dec. ever, according to one member of the Union had lost "a lot of time and effort Executive Committee, they refused his run because he was "a bit bored" , a tions had been run has cost the Union - time and effort that could have been request on the grounds that "it would set 'New Election' victory seemed likely. an estimated £600 for the hire of ballot spent on more productive challenges. a dangerous precedent... if ICU is to be However, David Hellard, ICU President, boxes, manning polling stations and But at least he had a go." Medics reel from resignations Inside.. The chaos that has hit the Constituent various senior members of the Med College Unions this year would seem to By David Roberts School Exec. IC Union President David Letters 4 be spreading, with the resignation of Hellard explained that "tensions were one of the IC School of Medicine Union running high, causing splits to occur", Editorial 5 (ICSMSU) Vice Presidents leaving seri• and Mr Gayed backed up this opinion, ous questions hanging over the Union. noting that "members of the Union def• Columns 6 The resignation of Seif Ahmad, the initely weren't happy with each other... ICSMSU Vice-President (Internal) at Char• for the last few weeks our Exec meetings Feature 8 ing Cross, comes on top of Andy Hceps' have just been slagging matches". It is decision to stand down as ICSMSU Sec• these divisions which have been Music W retary two weeks ago and continuing rumoured to be the real cause behind Mr suggestions of unhappiness amongst Ahmad's resignation. Indeed, Mr Gayed Music Feature 14 members of the Medical School Execu• went on to say that "the pressure was far tive. Various reasons for the two resig• more than we imagined when we took Clubscene 16 nations have been put forward by senior the job on ... I've thought about resign• sources, but thc common thread of prob• ing several times". Film 18 lems caused by the on-going merger students that had been seen as unac• Certainly Mr Heeps' resignation was between Charing Cross and St Mary's ceptable by certain elements who had related to the problems faced by the Computer Games 20 runs through them all. "used it as cannon fodder against Seif". Union, with Mr Gayed accepting that Wade Gayed, the ICSMSU President, Consequently, Mr Gaycd felt that hehad the cause of thc resignation was that Arts 22 accepted this problem "Last year there been forced out by certain elements at "Andy didn't want to be a part of a Union was a sabb at each site, and the students Charing Cross - both students and staff. that was failing". Whilst he accepted that Sport 25 were used to a large union all under one However, a more worrying side this was true two weeks ago, he added roof. Now we're spread across three effect of the pressures created by the that thanks to the work done in the inter• Diversions 27 campuses". This, he said, had led to a merger has been a growing personal vening time "the Union is finally getting level of apathy amongst Charing Cross animosity that has developed amongst its act together, so stay tuned". Crossword 28 2 News 16 November 1998 Activists Picket Tunisian Embassy By Ed Sexton On Saturday 7 November a protest by issue 1126 human rights demonstrators was held outside the Tunisian embassy in Kens• 16 November 1998 ington. The protest was intended to coincide Editor: Ed Sexton with the lllh anniversary of Tunisian News Editor: Andy Ofori President Ben Lai's Coup. Since he seized Photographic Editor: William forenz power there have been many arrests of I Music Edilors: Jason Ramanathan and political activists and various human Dennis Patrickson rights violations. Amnesty International film Editor: David Roberts have reported that "detainees are tor• Sports Editor: Gus Paul tured by being suspended in contorted Arts Editor: Helena Cocheme positions, having their heads plunged Games Editor: Gary Smith into buckets of water and chemicals Layout & Photo Editing: Joel Lewis while being suspended on a pulley; elec• Tunisian protesters campaigning outside the embassy Photo: Ed tric shocks, beatings especially on the head and genitals, and sleep deprivation Between fifty and one hundred peo• Oppression of religion in Tunisia has and America Tunisia is often seen as lit• for up to seven days". ple stood on the pavement by Hyde Park also been common, with women being tle more than a tourist destination. Two thousand so-called 'prisoners holding banners demanding Ben Lai's dismissed from education and work for Thc situation seems unlikely to of conscience' have gone on hunger removal from power and an end to the wearing the Islamic veil, which is improve in the foreseeable future, with strike to mark the anniversary, and the regime in Tunisia. Several police officers regarded as a criminal offence. The the last report from the Committee for protest outside the embassy was were present outside the embassy, but demonstrators feel that thc international the Protection of Journalists including intended as a show of support for their the afternoon passed peacefully and community has not done enough to Tunisia as one of its top ten enemies of action. without major incident. help the Tunisian people, while in Europe the press. BBC Play Big Brother over Space Age Mirror Makes Light Mandy's Outing Work By Ed Lanyon internal memo saying "under no cir• By Sanjay Sikdar The experiment was tried before cumstances whatsoever should allega• in 1 993, but thc mirror was not visible The past two weeks have seen a massive tions about the private life of Peter On 1 November a cargo ship docked from the Earth. However, if this test row blow up over Peter Mandelson's Mandelson be repeated or referred to in with the Russian space station Mir in proves successful and if the poverty 'outing' as a homosexual, live on the any broadcast". This internal censorship order to deliver a nine pound piece of stricken Russian space agency can BBC's NewsniQht programme. The ensu• annoyed many within the BBC and was equipment. However, come February afford it, it may be just a prelude to a ing media circus illustrated the BBC's flagrantly ignored by the Have I Got this plastic object coated with aluminium 'necklace' of mirrors orbiting the entire seemingly intrusive stance on censor• News for You team who, amongst oth• will be unfolded to form a 30 metre globe. This could lead to other avenues ship. Following Ron Davies' Clapham ers, implied that Mandelson's friendship wide mirror. Thc same cargo ship will be such as using the night sky for adver• Common escapades, Jeremy Paxman with BBC director general, Sir John Birt, used to align thc mirror by remote con• tising. was interviewing Matthew Parris, Thc might be earning him favourable treat• trol so that it will beam sun light to sev• Like most things launched into Times' political columnist, discussing ment.