Felix Issue 1045, 1996

The student newspaper of Imperial College elix Issue 1046 F January 19th 1996 Medics threaten to Students unite against fees BY ALEX FEAKES block BMS planning bid A rallying cry for a day of student action was raised this week BY ALEX FEAKES by the President of Durham St Mary's Hospital students have University's Student Union, called upon ICU to make a rep- Emily Baldock. resentation to Kensington and In a letter sent to every uni- Chelsea Borough to try to block versity's union in the country, planning permission for the new Miss Baldock urges students Basic Medical Sciences building. everywhere to oppose any move They are continuing to raise toward top-up fees by universi- objections over the small alloca- ties. The fees are proposed by tion for student social space in some institutions as a means to the new centre. Mm claw back some of the money However, representatives of cut in last November's budget. St Mary's, including President The cuts commonly amount to Sarah Edwards, said at Tuesday's about 7% of a university's Union Council meeting that they income, and could mean up to were keen to avoid antagonis- £500 being sought from stu- ingthe College by making an dents. appearance at the planning meet- The DSU's President goes ing. She suggested that they on to say that the aim of the should continue talking to action day, scheduled for 29th College and build on the progress February, is to 'establish a that they had already made national campaign to get the toward better student facilities. recent budget cuts into the news The medics are complaining and make the general public about the reduction in the alloca- aware'. She has suggested vari- tion of student space from well ous non antagonistic methods of over 800m2 in the original plans achieving this, including organis- to little over 600m2 now. Ian ing demonstrations, collecting Caldwell, Director of Estates, PHOTO: ALEX FEAKES signatures for a petition from has said that he 'has difficulty Piledriving! Contractors have begun to lay out foundations of the the public and lobbying the non- Continued on page 3 Continued on page 3 new structure, starting with a seven metre deep shaft. RCSU turfed out AUT fears job losses Rag comes clean The RCSU look likely to be The Association of University Rag Chairman, Jon Lambert, moved on from their accommo- Teachers said that they were has finally revealed what every- dation in the Biology depart- expecting job losses due to the body already knew: that Rag ment at the end month, perhaps cuts in next year's HEFCE fund- Week only made a fifth of last before their new premises are ing. Universities are struggling to year's total. Mr Lambert blamed ready. page 2 find money. page 3 the weather. page 4 two . Felix Friday January 1 9th 1996 News RCSU anger News in brief BY THE NEWS TEAM Basics nor Southside Bar. However, the ex-Linsteadians over office move Security deputy- amongst the group wholeheart- Kenneth Weir, who took the job edly condemned the service in BY ANDY SINHARAY out of storage in Southside, of Deputy Head of Security at Linstead's dining room. The Royal College of Science although they later relented on the beginning of this term after Clearly most students here Union has been voicing concern the grounds that there was Terry Briley had to take an keep their money under their over its move to the Civil nowhere else to put the equip- extended leave of absence, has beds, as a high proportion rated a Engineering Department. The ment and that the storeroom urged students who have lost bank as being the most important old office was located at the back would require "at least 12 man- property to check with them. retail outlet to have on campus. of the Old Chemistry Building, days" to clear out. Items waiting to be claimed are Surely "that Bank"'s advertising which is due to be demolished to The RCSU office is set to kept for three months before can't have been so low-key? make way for the new BMS move out of its current premises they are disposed of, and there is After the bank, a chemist and a block. A temporary office was set at the end of the month. Initially a lot of property yet to be Post Office were the most popu- up in the Biology department uncertain of their office's new claimed which will soon reach lar amenities. before Christmas, but this must location, Mo said, "My impres- the disposal date. Students were offered an be vacated at the end of the sion is that we'll be homeless", Mr. Weir also stressed that incentive to reply to the ques- month. They RCSU will then though he has since learned that lost swipe cards are liabilities tionnaire, in the form of a prize move to new offices, currently work at the Civ Eng site is pro- until they are deactivated. He draw for a £25 gift voucher. Felix being prepared in Civ Eng. gressing well and may be com- added that security should be can reveal the winner as P The RCSU President, Mo plete by the the time the RCSU informed at the earliest opportu- Linkshwaran from Civ Eng. Dulloo, said that initially the office is required to move. nity after losing one - if found, Congratulations, P. plans for the move had been well Talking to Felix, workers at cards can easily be reactivated at organised. "Estates figured out security control. IC Prof on TV the plan last term, and the plans Professor Michael Rowan- for the office [in Civ Eng] were Student survey Robinson of the Physics depart- pretty damn smart... on the A student survey conducted at ment was on television on whole it was good." However, he the beginning of last term could Tuesday evening talking about was concerned that College was form the basis for how the South the Hubble Space Telescope. proceeding very quickly with the Kensington campus looks in a The telescope had been left on development at the expense of few years time. The survey ques- for ten days pointing at the same full consultation with the RCSU. tioned returning second year stu- place, and had caught an amazing Problems first surfaced over dents on their opinions regarding 1500 galaxies on film. Professor their Motor Club garage, in various aspects of life at IC. The Rowan-Robinson was called on to which their fire engine, jez, is survey asked questions on the explain some of the features of stored. "At that particular point quality of the student accommo- the photograph, and its relevance in time, they assured us that Jez dation, and the services provided to his research group's work. wouldn't have to be moved," Mo around college. said, and added that on the last The results of the question- Dropout rates up day of term, the college Fire naire have been released to Felix National newspapers reported PHOTO: ALEX FEAKES Officer, Graham Cox, told them and make interesting reading, the this week that student drop-out that they would be able to move An electrician putting the final sample of approximately 700 rates across the country were up the vehicle to a Chelsea garage in touches to a fuse box in the students representing a return of by 10% on last year, and those January. new RCSU office. 39% on the survey. leaving due to failed exams grew Then on December 19th Although the majority by 20%. they were told that Jez would the site were keen to complete thought that student rents in The main reason for the have to be moved the iollowing the garage area by this Friday, west London were too expensive, increase was said to be financial day: "they pulled a fast one on us and the office itself in a couple of they were unwilling to share pressures, which forced students big time... It took a whole day weeks. rooms in order to save money. to work to raise extra cash and with a dozen people, and at such The RCSU President never- However, most of the students therefore spend less time on short notice... it was fucking stu- theless remains angry with the wouldn't mind doing their own their studies. pid." He added that some ex-stu- manner in which the Estates cleaning if it meant paying less dents had taken the day off work Division have handled their rent, and most would want to It's... YOU! to come and help out. move. He said, "We'll move, live in halls again in their second Someone, somewhere at IC has It has also emerged that dur- we'll move again, my concern is year. 60 students even preferred won an awful lot of money ing the Christmas Holiday, that we have a working office." not to clean their rooms at all! (£90k) on the lottery. It seems Deputy President (Finance & He assured Felix that the The college catering service that scientific method might be Services) Matt Crompton, was RCSU's administration and did not come in for as high praise the best way to choose those asked by the Estates Division to organisation of events had been as the halls, a considerable pro- numbers. move the RCSU's equipment unaffected. portion having used neither Fancy buying us all a pint? News Felix Friday January 1 9th 1996 . three Top-up fees face student opposition continued from front page that they would prefer the uni- essary to establish an "equitable ter had been drafted, to be sent academic world through various versity to take fewer students and fair system of student finan- to the Committee of Vice- media.

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