•3 j ELECTRIC CAFE INTERVIEW VALENTINES DAY Win Reactive John Hegley talks Send Us Your Classics CD Potatoes Messages Andy Heeps: C&G Union a Joke' DAVID ROBERTS a motion commending the actions of the OMC, but At a surprisingly vocal asking the C&CU meeting of the City &. Executive to produce reg- Guilds Officers and ular reports so that ICU Members Council (OMC) Executive can monitor last Monday, a year of per- their progress. Speaking to ceived inactivity and Felix Andy Heeps, ICU incompetence from the President, said that "it C&.G Union Executive final- would be unrealistic to ly came to a head with the expect great changes this presentation of a motion year... but by recognising of no-confidence in Vivake that they have a problem Bhalla, the C8JGU OMC have made the first President. However, as Mr step to improving C&GU". Bhalla was absent from the However, Mr Heeps meeting, and thus unable pointed out that it would to defend himself, C&GU be wrong to put all of the rules forbade the proposal blame for the problems in being put to a vote, and C&C this year on Mr instead the OMC passed a Bhalla; "Vivake has been motion to convene an made into some kind of Emergency Meeting on Heeps makes his point while Jon Lambert, scapegoat, but all he's Tuesday 10 February, Council Chair, looks on. Photo: Ivan Chan done wrong is not know- where the motion of no- ing when to give in". This confidence would be discussed, threatening to push for a motion of point was emphasised by Hannah with or without Mr Bhalla. no-confidence in the entire Guilds Pearson, CfkG Association Rep, This move has been welcomed Executive. Instead ICU Council, who sees last year's elections as by the ICU Executive, who were who met on Tuesday night, passed continues on page three Boat Club Bus Found in Thames ANDY OFORI the boat club captain, who was fate. The incidents are sympto- amongst those training at the time, matic of a six month spate of van- The IC Boat Club's minibus has could only describe the experience dalism in the Putney area; clothing, recently been placed into early as "very bizarre". personal belongings and outboard retirement, after being engines have all been The found bobbing in the stolen from several nearby Thames. Vandals broke boat clubs. The crime Students' into the vehicle in the early wave has even extended Newspaper hours of a winter's morn- to the theft of a 30ft trail- ing, released the hand er from one club. at Imperial brake, and pushed the bus The police have con- College into the River Thames. ducted an investigation The following day, dur- into the incident. New ing an early morning train- security measures have ing session, a team of been installed, and patrols in the area have been Issue rowers were astounded to discover their minibus had stepped up. The boat 1 106 joined them in the water. club's coach, Bill Mason, The drenched bus had to The drowned vehicle. Photo: Ian Channing described the act as a 6 be pushed back the "sick joke" but was heart- 500yds it had drifted downstream, The boat club's minibus is not ened by the fact that high levels of February and was placed outside the boat the only vehicle to fall foul of the security have limited attacks on the 1998 club, where it has taken up perma- hooligans, a number of other cars boathouse to this solitary event. nent residence. Jules Davenport, in the area have suffered a similar continues on page three NEWS 6 February 1998 NUS to Strike News in Brief... ALOK JHA actions of the NUS will force a re- thinking of the Teaching and Higher as will Guy's. Speaking to the The NUS announced last week Education Bill, which proposes the FEES REPRIEVE Commons, Frank Dobson, the that its plans for a shutdown of idea of tuition fees and is currently Health Sectretary, said "We will Further and Higher Education being passed through the House of The new university tuition fees not countenance the closure of centres across the country has Lords. introduced by the government that great hospital which has been overwhelmingly supported Douglas Trainer, NUS presi- last year have once again been served the people of London for by a national ballot. dent, said that, "this is a fight we watered down. In an attempt to 875 years." On 4 March, over 130 universi- can win and we will defeat the ease the current higher education The closure of Bart's was first ties and colleges will close down. Government. The national shut- funding crisis, all new students are proposed in 1992 by the Student unions will be the centre of down will show our anger. Fees being asked to contribute £ 1000 a Tomlinson report, and the hospi- the campaign on the day, with over are killing access to Higher year towards their course costs. tal was due to close by 2001, with two million students taking part. Education, they will destroy our However, in the summer, the services transferred to the Royal Support will also come from other universities and colleges just as Department of Education agreed London. teaching and campus trade unions. they destroy would-be students' to make the charge means-test- Meanwhile, the merger of The day of protest follows what the dreams of higher education." ed, exempting students from Hammersmith (home of the NUS call a "carefully planned battle Government figures released poorer families from the charge. RPMS) and Charring Cross of attack against the Government's last December revealed a drop of Now, students are being offered Hospitals is to be accelerated, and plans to introduce fees" which has, 20,000 in the number of applica- an amnesty period, and will not is to include the transfer of Queen so far, included a day of protest tions to universities, showing the have to pay until January 1999. Charlotte's to the Hammersmith last November, a Week of Action in concern that many school leavers Diana Warwick, Chief Executive of site. Indeed, the report marks December, and a series of lobbies are feeling at the idea of having to the Committee of Chancellors and Hammersmith out to be devel- on parliament. pay for their higher education. Vice Chancellors (CVCP) who oped into an international centre The NUS claim that students Many universities are considering made the decision explained that of excellence, which therefore and their parents contribute various measures that will allow "Students will be invoiced when stands to benefit heavily from the enough to Higher Education, and students to pay less, such as begin- they arrive at university, and we extra £140 million promised for that business and industry should ning the courses in spring or reduc- expect most to pay immediately. the NHS in the capital. now be making a more 'formal' ing the total course length. But those students who experi- contribution. It is hoped that the ence real difficulty in meeting the full amount straight away will now PI CONSUMES have more time to pay. The student newspaper at University College London, Pi, has BARTS SAVED merged with its smaller brother Warning: Speakers The Week. Pi had been losing rev- St Bartholemew's hospital was enue in recent years and was granted a reprieve from the threat forced to rely heavily on UCL of closure on Tuesday, when the Union for support. In order to Unsound government accepted the recom- save funds, it has merged with the mendations of an independent union's 'what's on' newspaper. review of London's hospitals. The name has been retained, and TONY OFOR1 dent was then freed. Bart's will continue as a specialist the paper is now being published This was one success in a long centre for cancer and heart condi- weekly. On Thursday of last week a resi- line of attempts to con IC students tions, but will loose its A E role, dent of Bernard Sunley Hall was by a group claiming to be delivery mugged. While on his way to col- men. One hall warden described it lege, the student was stopped on as "a premeditated and organised Queen's Gate by two men who scam". Other students have also Election Update pulled up in a white van. The driver been accosted, and some have asked the student whether he even purchased the speakers, only NEWS TEAM Cherrington has yet to find a pro- wanted to buy some cheap hi-fi later to find that they are extremely poser. Felix Editor is being con- speakers. The student declined, poor quality. Papers for Sabbatical elections tested by two candidates, Alok Jha but the man persisted, so the stu- The scale of this fraudulent come down today. Anyone wish- and Ed Sexton, both of whom are dent explained that he had to go operation is not known for certain, ing to run for a position must be proposed and fully seconded. because he was late for college. but it would seem that more than signed up, along with a proposer Niall Darwin has signed up for The man offered him a lift and the one partnership is operating in the and twenty seconders, by 6pm Deputy President (Finance and student agreed, and got into the South Kensington area. The deliv- this evening. As Felix went to Services), but has yet to find his back of the van. Once inside the ery men target students and tend press, seven candidates had seconders.