Friday 7th March 1980 THE NEWSPAPER OF IMPERIAL COLLEGE UNION Issue Number 547 INSIDE FELIX THIS WEEK Page 2: Letters: Security, Finniston, London Student. Page 3: Birkenhead kids at IC. Page 4: Muitigym, RCS voting. Page 5: Bicycles. Page 6: Heath at Imperial. Page 7: RCS results. Page 9: Reviews. Page 11: PG Tips, Rag. Page 12: IC Radio, Clubs and Societies. Page 13: Clubs and Societies. Page 14: Hyde Park Relay. , Page 15: Sport. On Monday, Sir Monty Finniston spoke to College. It was a In the evening, the Union staged an open discussion of speech of authority, charm and wit, but through it showed his 'Educating Engineers Following Finniston'. Taking part were fears that the report would collect dust on some minister's Sir James Menter, FRS, Lord Flowers, Mr L Heard and Prof shelf. Brown. IC AND FINNISTON ARE YOU FIT TO LEAD A DUSTMEN'S STRIKE? The City and Guilds College Dean is People then guessed as to the proportion chairing the College committee which will of their students who were qualified." be responding to the Finniston Report. He then explained the consequences of On Monday night he revealed his personal removing students after the first year and views. Professor Brown said: replacing them with new students who had "I have sat down for ten hours with ten inferior A level qualifications. He stated highly intelligent colleagues to try to "Maybe academic superiority is not the right consider how we reacted to the Finniston kind of requirement for leadership in Report and we have agreed on six words industry." "If so, an M Eng set up at IC which are "We welcome the Finniston starts to look a little sick. Perhaps what we Report, but . .". There, roughly speaking, are looking for is personal qualities, and if so we stick, because the things that we all fuss quite a lot of our intake hasn't got it! As about are quite different. Sir Monry Finniston essentially we choose them on an academic What is the impact of all this on IC? graduates now become M Eng fodder. In all basis even though all departments now Finniston proposes that there should be modesty . our students are among the interview (we look for some spark of being three streams of engineers. At IC we are best in the country, we are able in all our alive) Finniston says it can't be done at that not set up to educate the technicians, those departments to set a very high level of A stage." on the proposed R Eng (Assoc) courses. So level entry requirements and on the face of He went on to speak against the system one of Finniston's stream is not our direct it, you would think, the whole of our intake by which both streams worked side by side. education business. The other two streams ought to be in the top fifty percent of the The committee had agreed that entry are the graduate streams, the three year B university undergraduates in the country requirements would not be lowered at IC — Eng lot and the four year M Eng. Finniston and so we ought to be able to say IC is an M continuing at 3B's. He though there were no proposes that twenty-five percent ought to Eng place. guidelines to the splitting of the first year be the M Eng lot who are going to be the elite When we came to talk about this, into two streams and felt it was a socially bad and the leaders of industry. One has to departments reacted in different ways to it. thing to create second class citizens." There pause and think about this twenty-five Civ Eng has little hesitation to this . but are economic and terrible personal percent. About fifty percent of the other people were modest and said it's all problems of this system" he said. engineering undergraduates are in polys very well, but this twenty-five percent of the and it seems likely . that if this system is. total . are supposed to be destined to be set up M Eng courses will occur in a limited the leaders of industry and X Y Z in our IMPORTANT NOTICE number of institutfons and pray to God they second years are not fit to lead a dustman's If you will be away from College on are universities, they may not be. strike. So we are not happy that all our Monday and Tuesday you may vote in Making the simplifying assumption that intake . are really suited to be the leaders the sabbatical elections TODAY, by they are, fifty percent of the universities of industry. going up to the Union Office. The IC organised Hyde Park Relay was held last Saturday. Pictures here are by Mickie Marsh and Groves (A full report appears on Page 14) LETTERS Dear Colin/Roger Dear FELIX Editor by their own sweated labour. Dear Colin Can you kindly correct the We would like it to be known There have been recent reforms, You may be interested to error in my last article (issue that Henry Curwen (ME3) is the but these have been mere hear about an incident which 546): the word is AL-LAH not Pedal Car Manager for City and window dressing, and pressure occurred at about 1:20pm on ALI-TAH and I inserted the dash Guilds College Union. Not only must be continued to bring about Monday 25th February when as a pause exists there. is he the manager, he is also the real reform and end apartheid. Martin Symonds a first year Yours mechanic and has done all the Yours sincerely student in the department of Y El-saie maintenance work on our pedal Lee Paddon computing saw two youths ' Islamic Soc cars. Without his enthusiasm Physics 1 loitering at the rear of the and help, we would not now have Huxley Building where a large Dear Roger so many people interested in Dear Sir number of pedal cycles are Monday's Finniston events pedalling and in the Bristol Two items in last week's kept. Having had his own cycle represented an unusual oppor- Twenty-four Hour Pedal Car FELIX (no 546) have aroused stolen from there only a few tunity for everyone here at Race. We had a great achieve- my wrath. Firstly, isn't it about, days previously he was naturally Imperial College to discuss the ment at Bristol this year and this time someone somewhere in suspicious and reported the future of engineering with those would not have been possible the Union actually decided on matter to us. who endeavour to change it. Sir without Henry being available at a policy regarding sport and Together with Martin I spoke Monty himself defended the all times to complete repairs. then stuck to it. At the moment, to the youths and brought • relevance and importance of his Therefore we would like to at the slightest hint of a boycott them back to my office for committee's report to students express our gratitude to Henry of the Olympics there is a cry of questioning. Being dissastisfied here. It is this point that merits for all his work and encourage- "keep sport out of politics", with their answers I sent for laboring: the Finniston Report is ment. Thanks. whilst mention South Africa and the police and whilst awaiting relevant to everyone who hopes Signed by the whole of the there is horror at the thought of their arrival one of the youths to work in British industry and no C&GU pedal car team. links. Come on, play fair. If you attempted to escape through one can afford to ignore it now. boycott South Africa for its my office window but was The future of every IC student Dear Colin oppression of the blacks, then prevented from doing so by hangs in balance — the ac- In amongst all the argument you must also boycott Russia for Martin who hung on to the celerating economic decline of concerning the apartheid issue, its oppression of just about youth's legs as he hung head the last fifteen years rests many people are missing the everyone it can lay its hands on. first through the window about lesson of the EGM, ie, why precariously by the point of no Or is it a case that the people ten feet above ground level. wasn't it possible to obtain a return. Sir Monty is campaigning making the noise know which It subsequently transpires quorum, despite such important to swing the balance back in side their bread is buttered on? that the youths intended to motions (issues which the Britain's and, thus your, favour. Secondly, how the hell can steal a motor cycle and were in signatories of the petition, myself His grim forecasts ;and complex FELTX criticise London Student possession of implements for this included, obviously thought solution is of vital importance to for missing out one word, a purpose. important enough to require the every reader of this letter — mistake that, I am told, was EGM in the first place). Are there I am passing this information YOU are the future leaders of made at the printers when we get just not three hundred or so to you for publication because "British Industry — his dire .. "advising the rowing eight to people in the college who think* this is a classic example of the prophecy is YOUR dire proph- go under a different dame." and prompt passing of information ecy. It is thus your respon- Jhar Apartheid, NUS, etc, are "Last week he came face to face can prevent a crime being sibility to turn your attention Jo important, I think not.