"THE GOOD NEWS NEWSPAPER OF IMPERIAL COLLEGE UNION PAPER" 16th JANUARY 1973 FREE! No. 324 . BUT IT'S A CLOSE THING UGM rejects Rent Strike The Petition CALL FOR AN EMERGENCY GENERAL New Halls levy to continue MEETING "Thursday's 550 strong UGM voted for an amendment which said: "The demands of the Militant students at Friday's UGM the others because Of pro- tense pressure on the Gov- rent strike apart from the points which are erupted in uproar when the meeting narrowly tracted speeches from ernment to concede our part of the NUS campaign to be: i . , ii . , Piers Corbyn and Pete iii . , iv . threw out the idea of a rent strike in TC in aid claim." Gillett. On the count, the vote of the grants campaign. So long, in fact, that the This amendment — carried after a debate and was: vote by a substantial majority — assumes About 350 students turned up to vote at meeting had to be ad- there is to be a rent strike. the meeting, fifty less than attended Thurs- journed at 2.25 until Fri- An issue once voted on cannot be voted on a day. IN FAVOUR 166 second time at an adjourned meeting. We all day's meeting which had to be adjourned to know that. Gaining in inefficiency, Friday. this meeting started a AGAINST 175 So the chairman of the smaller 354 strong ad- Starting twelve minutes immediate £100 increase quarter-of-an-hour late at journed UGM on Friday was out of order to late because of the late ar- in the postgraduate grant put to the vote sections of the motion con- 1.00, but, fortunately for ABSTENTIONS 13 rival of the ICU Executive and the restoration of the cerned with whether the rent strike would take the quorum, few left for place. and general disorganisa- London weighting, and lectures at 1.30. The with- tion in the Great Hall, demanded that the NUS — very close. The other drawal of a motion by The voting after a lot of time wasting therefore Thursday's meeting really executive should give section of the motion re- of 166 for a rent strike and 175 against, 13 got under way With Mike these points equal priority Dave Brown recognising ferring to rent strikes was abstaining, was null and void. Terry, National Secretary with the other objectives "that a rent strike in Im- defeated much more sub- Especially since there was only 9 in it! of the National Union of of the campaign. perial College would not stantially. The rest of the motion supporting the grants achieve any useful pur- Students, speaking on rent Dori Schmetterling then However, a call to form campaign was passed almost unanimously. strikes and the grants spoke against the part of pose and only aggravate a rent strike organisation campaign and answering the motion which would Can a smaller adjourned meeting overturn the public opinion" in favour committee was passed — questions from the floor have abolished the 35p decision of a larger meeting? Of course notM of his speaking against the this committee will now about them. He told the per week new halls levy. substantive, and the rapid co-ordinate the grants The only fair solution is to rediscuss the mo- meeting that using the Paul Jowitt, Deputy Presi- tion as amended so far at an EGM. defeat of a Pete Gillett campaign in IC. rent strike weapon: "the dent, told the meeting that amendment, meant that only economic power we he was sure that future Following the vote, a We therefore call on the President to organise considerable discussion have": was the best way generations of students militant faction headed by an EGM on Thursday, January 18, at 1.00 p.m. (by IC UGM standards) in the Great Hall. Meanwhile don't pay your of forcing the government Piers Corbyn issued a pet- would look back in grati- Hall Bill. on the substantive was to pay students higher tude to the meeting and ition for an EGM to be possible. Major speeches grants. think that "Tin 1973 ICU held on Thursday, the Sign this Petition. Get your friends to sign. in favour came from John. Return to the Union Office." Strong concern for post- acted to get its students a 1.8th. The text of the Lane, John Murlis, Rob graduate students was ex- higher grant, yet banished statement is reproduced Armitage and Sonia pressed in the questions them to live in Wimble- in the box on this page. put to Mr. Terry, mainly don". It was further Uochfelder; speeches ag- focused on the opinion pointed out that were it ainst came from Bill Ger- that the campaign seemed not for the existence of rard, Ron Marples and to concentrate solely on the levy it would be im- Dave Brown. MOTION: Page 5 increasing undergraduate possible to finance the The motion was voted grants. Mr. Terry said building of the new that this opinion was fall- North side Hall. on in parts (all 14 of acious, and that the cam- The paragraph of the them) and the majority of paign was for an increase motion calling for the abo- it, pledging the backing of (.« IKI»0\ bsi:i:« i: for all students. (Our poli- lition of the levy was ICU to the demands of tical correspondent, how- forthwith removed from the NUS for higher grants ever, points out that it is the motion by an amend- and a new grants struc- significant that little if any ment that was passed ture was passed over- mention of postgraduates overwhelmingly. whelmingly. was made at either the The meeting then The decisive moment NUS conference at Mar- moved on to consider am- came when section F2 was gate last November or at endments to the motion. arrived at: "ICU resolves the Campaign Co-ordinat- To save time the presi- ing Committee's first dent, John Lane, who to use the only economic meeting in December). An proposed the substantive power we have, the ability amendment to the motion, motion, accepted large to withhold house and 'One thing, though: This stuff should soon be down to £4.50 a bottle. passed by an overwhelm- parts of these; but consid- hall rents, to force the col- ing majority, called for an erable time was spent on lege authorities to put in- Page 2 FELIX January 16,1973 Phosphorous MARTIN'S BIT the Jobrot How many times have you thought that complaints about any aspect of IC one aspect of the Union Activities was Union: which reminds me of a true and misguided. story: Do you ever think that we aren't doing "Once upon a time in a jar off land a Ferocious Din something we should? dictator awaking one morning decided that he wanted to know what the people I want to know what you want out of thought of him. He thus made a procla- Imperial College Union. mation. Part five of a serialisation of the book by Complaints are useful to us to know "I am a dictator, hut I am a benign what it wrong, but it is even more useful dictator and I want to know what S. J. Swailes to know what the cure is. you think about the regime. Please write to me and tell me. People have been complaining about By order, "Felix". What sort of articles, informa- THE STORY SO FAR: Having escaped from the fairground, and from floating tion or stories do you want to see in The Dictator." in mid-air, by use of the partially-invisible gumboots, Phosphorous, together with "The Newspaper of Imperial College." Now the people did write to him, but so Have you enjoyed reading "Phosphorous many of them wrote that he didn't even Ferocious and Twigworm, are trying to escape the clutches of the Luigi Rabbit bother to read the letters and decided the Jobrot and Ferocious Din", for ex- organisation. They have just met the plane on the beach. Now read on . that he would stop being a friendly dic- ample? tator and dictate a little, because it was The Luigi Rabbit Organisation was coming "Bue we are over the sea." obvious that the plebs didn't know what steadily nearer, waving its arms and shout- "Um," pondered the plane, "Perhaps you've Do you go to Ents Concerts, or the Fri- they wanted and he knew much better. ing. got a point there. I must admit that thought day Night discotheques or do you spend And HE lived happily ever after". "A tfuilther problem," said Ferocious. hadn't occurred to me." Ferocious was used to Phosphorous' brain, so he was not des-< every evening in the Bar because you I am not a dictator, but I will read every "Don't just stand there waffling," snapped peraitely shocked. letter and take note of what you want the plane, "get in and we can go. It is don't like the entertainments the Union after all what I have been waiting for all "Perhaps it would be a good idea," he — and we might even get something suggested, "to look for somewhere to land?" provides? this time." done about it. "Smart thinking", murmured Ferocious, "Perhaps you're right," conceded the plane, And until then, I remain as they clambered into the cockpit. For all "I will keep an eye out." I want you to write to me in the Union the plane's size, the cockpit was not very Hardly had he spoken than a small, black Office with your suggestions, ideas and Martin C.