Felix Issue 0985, 1994

loo<tF The Student Newspaper of Imperiaiperiall ColleqCollegee I 3DRI8B3iaCE||olrj g 210CT94 TCCB-tSCTIONj enamings benefits of the proposal had not. ANDREW DORMAN-SMITH been adequately debated. Professor Shaw said the name of Senior academics at. the. the Department itself does not Department, of Mineral Resources overly matter, and said he was, Engineering (MRE) have called "a believer in tradition". Professor for further discussions over a plan Shaw would not say if he sup- to rename the department. Earth ported the name change proposal. Resources Engineering has However, the new head of emerged as the favourite choice MRE, and Dean of the newly for a new name, after discussions established Graduate School of between college officials. the Environment, Professor The change has been mooted Woods, is believed to think the following a letter from the proposal is a 'great idea'. His role Professor John Archer, Pro- as Dean will be to coordinate the Rector, which asks for comments departments of Imperial, and to on the new title. Professor Archer, present the benefits for research said that he has received only one of the college in line with a review negative response to his letter, completed in May by Sir John and claimed that most of the Mason. department's staff agree with the The other two RSM depart- proposal. But Professor Archer ments may also change names. said discussions are continuing - The college's chief decision mak- despite the publication of an offi- ing body, the Management cial college note which says the Finnish Embassy Planning Group (MPG), has sug- Photo by Ivan Chan change will take place "shortly". gested a change in name for the Professor Archer defended Geology department. The MPG the plans to change the name of has not. specified a name but MRE, insisting that the change Earth Sciences seems to be the Ubercracker would improve the image of the most likely name, though department, and 'incorporate a Geological Sciences has also been BY MICHAEL LjJDLAM work. It was only once Finnish philosophical redefinition' to suggested. authorities rang Imperial that the reflect the 'flagship courses' the A decision on this has not yet A hacker broke into Imperial problem was chased and solved. department has been running for been made, and the proposal College's computer network and The computer, located in the two years. would officially be discussed at froth here caused disruption to the Department of Biochemistry, was One of the Department's the next. Staff meeting. Professor Finnish University computer net- broken into permitting the hacker staff, Professor Shaw, Dean of the Worthington, Head of the work, it, emerged this week. to become a 'superuser'. As 'supe- RSM, pointed out that the pro- Department, of Geology, said During the summer a hacker ruser' the hacker could bypass all posal has not. been adequately there was a general feeling that from the United States managed security mechanisms on the discussed with students. He sug- the Department's name is a bit to gain access to computers run machine. "They could tell it to gested that the issue should be outdated, but insisted that if there by Imperial's Centre for blow it's own mind away," said debated by the Staff-Student is disagreement he has no inten- Computing Services (CCS). Via Sean Bennett of the Department committee. It was emphasised tion of forcing the proposal. If the internet, an international net- of Computing. "This fault is one that most of the staff were away approved, any change would be work of computers, the invader that is used time and time again when Professor Archer's letter made on the same time scale as was able to disrupt, Finland's by hackers to mess with the inter- was issued, and that although a that for MRE, taking effect from main University computer net- net." (Continues on page 3) change had been discussed the (Continues on page 3) Q news one&two&three editorial&credits three discussiomconstitution four the s-filesricwomenspecial seven incoming nine GodMachineinterview eleven feature:iclibraryspecial twelve&thirteen cluedup fifteen club&societies seventeen standby twenty&twentyone sevendayguide twentytwo&twentythree sports twentyfour B News Thieves Sweep Imperial College BY RACHEL WALTERS Missing ijems |nclude the ICU AND LYNN BRAVEY plaque, tlaI t wal!s screweIdd to the wall adjapent lo Beit. Arch, and A two student crime wave was the FELIX-.sign..-, ......... stopped in its tracks when a hap- Rag Collectors have been less duo found themselves locked blamed for the disappearances inside the Department of which occurred during a Rag Electrical and Electronic party. The party had been organ- Engineering department last ised by Mencap to thank the Rag Saturday. Collectors that had travelled from The youths, from Warwick all around the country to London University and the University of to participate in the IC Rag Westminster had to call security Monopoly. when locks supposed to keep The ICU sign was removed them out kept them in instead. from the front wall of the union The two were so hopelessly lost security lodge. The lodge is that they had to describe their manned 24 hours a day. surroundings to college staff One theft was foiled by a before they could get out. Union Steward. At approximately When security searched their 11.40pm the steward noticed that bags, the department's signing-in the ICU doormat, which is usually book, and an assortment of mail sited in the entrance doorway of taken from the post-graduate the Union Building, had been pigeon holes were recovered. The taken. Following a patrol the mat students arc being dealt with by was located and locked away in their own University disciplinary the Union Office for safekeeping. proceedures. Terry Brilcy, Deputy It. is estimated that around 1200 Head of Security, commenting on people attended the party. The the event, stressed the need for Union has discussed the thefts Playtime: A ragster and friend during Monopoly identification before holding open with Mencap. Lucy Chotia, ICU swipe-card doors for strangers. President emphasised that they replaced.' Chairman Ian Robertson admit- In another incident last were not taking the idea of charg- Souvenir stealing by ted, "We've not been totally inno- Saturday, brass plates outside the ing the charity 'lightly' but, added 'Raggies' is fairly common on cent of it in the past!." Union Building were stolen. that, the sign 'obviously had to be these excursions and IC Rag Medics Give RCS Problems BY ANDY SINIIARAY Charlie Bell, President of the get involved with the motor club Guilds' veteran car. RCSU both said that nothing def- and end up devoting half their There is concern too over the The Royal College of Science's inite had been heard. They added lives to her." potential fate of the RCSU office. vintage fire engine, affectionately that, any movement of the fire He added that Jez could not However, the Imperial College known as Jcz, may be evicted engine away from the College site be simply put 'anywhere', as tool Director of Estates, Mr Ian from her present garage if plans would deny many students the space and maintenance facilities Caldwell, assured FELIX that to replace the old Chemistry opportunity to work on Jez in are required. The present garage he is "sensitive to the needs of the building go ahead. their spare time. is located directly beneath the Union". He added that though Although plans lor the Jez was donated to the stu- RCSU office, and was specially the current priority was to obtain replacement of the building with dents of the RCS in 1955 for extended to accomodate the vin- official approval from the Higher a new Biomedical Centre have what was described as her 'edu- tage vehicle. The official presi- Education Funding Council and not yet, been officially approved, cational value'. Mr Turner said, dential transport of the RCSU, Jez the Department of Health for the the RCS Union and its Motor "She's been kept going since - by has already been present, at the new building, the RCS would be Club have expressed concern students and ex-students, most of Fresher's Fair, the RAG consulted in January. No work about, the demise of the building, whom work for engineering firms. Tiddlywinks and was even used would begin until next summer at. in which the RCS Union office is She commands that, much loyal- as the jail van in the RAG the earliest. "But. we've got. a also based. In interviews with ty...she really is a labour of love, Monopoly last. Saturday. Jez will responsibility to house them FELIX, Mr Jon Turner of the and she's very pretty. She's not also be going to Brighton in somewhere," he said. RCS Motor Club and the Mr- called Jezebel for nothing. People November with Bo', City & liTM FELIX 2I0CT94 News and Editorial (Ubercackcr from page 1) which means that they sent pack- The hacker managed to shut- ets of information to a machine down part of the Finnish equiva- on the network. The machine at News In Brief lent of Britain's JANct system by the receiving end in Finland, act- stopping all e-mail reaching it. It ing as a nucleus for the university BY PETER LANIGAN, IAN DAVEY AND RACHEL WALTERS caused the Finnish network to network, contained a bug that disappear off of the computer can be manipulated to make the Union Disciplinary treated as personal and would not map and is known by computer machine stop 'talking' to die net- Two students have been banned reveal any names. He declined to experts as, 'a major denial of ser- work.

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