Felix Issue 1103, 1998

19 If Issue October 1122 1998 KEEP THE CAT FREE EST 1949 The Students' Newspaper at Imperial College Death Knell for the NUS? MIST and Imperial College Stu• technically it is still a by Ed Sexton prices, and sometimes save an awful lot of money". dents' Unions are to hold a con• member. The decision improve on them. I le also David I lellard, while still insisting that U ference on surviving outside the to disaffiliate this academic year was claimed that Northern Services offers Ihe conference was a forum for exchang• NUS later this month. It is thought that made some months ago but, accodring "more flexibility", as universities can use ing ideas, was more forceful in his criti• the event will be attended by Union offi• to Sabih Behzad, the formal announce• other service providers as well (a scheme cism of the NUS. "UMIST leaving has got cers from many of Britain's top universi• ment will not be made until 4 November. prohibited to NUS members). "One of people thinking" he commented; "there ties. The NUS has asked UMIST to hold a uni• the advantages is it I Northern Services] is a growing discontent with the service The conference will take place on 30 versity-wide referendum on the issue is quite small" explained Mr Bibby. I le Ihey [the NUS] arc providing". Dave Hel• October at UMIST, and has been unoffi• before disaffiliating, which would be sim• denied he was going to the conference lard explained that his role at the con• cially titled 'CHESA: The Way of the ilar to the procedure followed when simply to promote Northern Services. "I ference would be informing other Future', CHESA being the 'Coalition of Imperial voted to leave the NUS almost am keen lo allow impartial decisions... I universities of "how well we do outside Higher Education Student Associations'. twenty years ago. am not going down there to slag off the NUS". When asked which other uni• It will take place in the afternoon and will The conference was initially a joint another organisation" he responded. versities would be attending the confer• be an informal affair, consisting of venture between UMIST's Students' Sabih Behzad was also quick to deny ence Dave I lellard was unwilling to speeches and discussion. Speakers Union and ICU. Help has since been the conference was an attempt lo break specify names, but did say that a lot of include David Hellard (ICU President), received from Northern Services, a buy• up the NUS. "We are not forcing people people were going, and that all the insti• Sabih Behzad (UMIST Union President) ing consortium which many non-NUS to leave", he explained, "we are there lo tutions involved were "very, very good". and Nick Bibby (St Andrew's Student affiliated Scottish Universities use. Nick discuss what the benefits arc of staying, A representative from the NUS thought Association President). Bibby, who is a member of the Northern and what the benefits are of leaving". He ii "strange lhat Imperial is talking to UMIST is currently in the process of Services Executive, explained that the thoughtfully added "Universities have UMIST". Nick Bibby's final comment was disaffiliating from the NUS, although group could match the NUS on most left... and not suffered. I Leaving] can "it's all looking quite fun". the turnout for the team trials. the swift organisation of return buses. another company over the hiring of Where Did While it was loo late to arrange The bus company was apologetic and buses for these clubs. II is hoped this buses by the time the clubs had started, sliced £50 of the bill for hiring buses in unfortunate incident has not set a prece- even though the Union were not at fault, future (which have risen from £105 to denl for the future. it was the Clubs and Societies Adminis• £180) but this will not stop them losing Those trator who remedied the situation with Inside..m Buses Go? : Letters / Editorial 7 by Duncan Hill Columns 8 fter a successful freshers' fair, Wednesday afternoon arrived, and Feature 10 Aeveryone involved with the clubs began to arrive at their various meeting Cartoons 12 points to commence with their first ses• sions of the year. Events like team trials Music 14 were arranged in far and distant parts of London, and as befits any new year at Arts 18 Imperial college, the buses didn't arrive. In total five clubs were affected by this Film 20 unfortunate oversight on the part of the bus company; Tenpin Bowling, IC Rugby, Games 20 IC Football (Mens and Womens), IC Hockey, RSM Football and RSM Rugby. Diversions 22 Of course none of them were pleased with the situation they faced, having to Sport 23 take public transport to Harlington, as well as the obvious losses in attendance; Crossword 24 Men's Hockey lost up to fifty percent of A witty young man visibly demonstrates the lack of buses on Prince Consort Rd. 2 News 19 October 1998 Queen to Open New issue 1122 College 19 October 1998 Editor: Ed Sexton Photographic Editor: William Lorenz Music Editor: Jason Ramanathan Building News Editors: Andy Ofori and Joel Lewis Film Editor: David Roberts by Ed Lanyon Games Editor: Gary Smith Arts Editor: Helena Cochemc Her Majesty The Queen is to visit Impe• Sports Editor: Gus Paul rial on Wednesday 21 October in order to officially open the new Sir Alexander Charing Cross: Fleming Building. Designed by Sir Nor• man Foster & Partners, the £65m, 22,000 Queen's visit on the 21 October, the pro• square metre building will house 2000 ject goes ahead undeterred. Bio-Medical Sciences (BMS) staff and Massive Loss As funds from the college are ulti• students. mately intended to improve the college The visit comes as part of a royal As reported in Felix sidised £45, with non- for the students and lectures alike, their tour of South Kensington including an 1120, Charing Cross By Andrew Brown students paying opinions were sought. A small survey exhibition at the Royal College of Art and and Westminster Med• approximately £75. highlighted the fact that an over• the final unveiling of the refurbished ical School's farewell Summer Ball has However, few of the 400 tickets allo• whelming majority of the students Albert Memorial. ended with a massive financial loss, with cated to non-students were sold, and thought that the idea was "pointless" and While in the building Her Majesty estimates ranging from £40,000 to some of them were made available to "a waste of money". "You only need to will be shown examples of current £55,000 now seeming conservative as students at the reduced price, further look along Imperial College Road to sec research including work on cancer, trans• the investigation into the somewhat compounding the loss. that on this part of the campus more plant immune responses, and biological suspect book-keeping continues. The situation worsened when, at [trees] aren't necessary" was one rhythms. A special committee was set up to the end of the evening after all of the response. The lecturers on the whole dis• The number of non-BMS students organise the ball consisting of repre• medics had gone home, the event's bar played a more cautious opinion saying allowed into the building has been very sentatives from College, CXWMS Alumni takings were "unaccounted for". Cash that in principle the idea is a good one limited, but there will be an opportunity committee, IC Alumni committee and of the order £10,000- £14 000 was taken but questioning the justifiability of the for everyone to see Her Majesty as she the CXWMS student union, not just and is yet to be recovered, with the bar expense. There may be some people arrives and departs along Imperial Col• CXWMSU as was previously incorrectly manager on the night seemingly the that think that this venture is sensible but lege Road at around 6.00p.m. and reported. The ball cost in the region of prime suspect. John Green, who was in Felix was unable to find any. 7.00p.m. respectively. It will also be pos• £85,000, including £28,000 spent hiring charge of 'mopping up' the day's debris, Unable to find someone in the first sible to attend the re-opening of the the largest marquee in the country, said that the matter was "still under survey who wholly believed that the Albert Memorial (in Hyde Park) at £7,000 on champagne and £3,000 on investigation" but refused to comment idea was a good one, Felix approached 7.45p.m. which will close with son-et- fireworks (the resulting display being further while David Hellard, ICU presi• as many random people as possible lumiere celebrations. described as "bloody excellent"). dent, said that he "cannot confirm or with the sole intention of finding a Students and staff should note that The event, held at Cobham, was to deny" these reports. believer, but to no avail. Some judged a car-parking ban will be enforced along be the final send-off before the com• Several things remain unclear: What the idea of planting more shrubbery the entire Imperial College Road (includ• plete merger with IC. The financial prob• happened to the bar takings, what is the around college as a good one but none ing outside Civil Engineering and Chem• lems appear to have largely arisen from total amount lost (the sums are still thought that £110,000 was a reasonable istry) from 6pm on Tuesday until 11pm many of the tickets allocated to CXWMS being done) and, perhaps most impor• figure for it.

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