18 issue January 1132 1999 KEEP THE CAT FREE EST. 1949 The Students' Newspaper at Imperial College Union to Expand into East Beit The Union looks set to dramatically Ihe additional basement space increse its facilities in August next year, By David Roberts means that the Union can now go with expansion into both the East and ahead with a comprehensive redevel• West Wings of Beit Quad now opment plan, aimed lo provide more approved by College. adequate provision for club meetings Although the Beit basements were and better student services. Conse• theoretically gauranteed for student quently, the East Wing basement will use two years ago, controversy become home to a new Union Job errupted in November when initial Shop, alongside the Advice Centre and plans for the Beit Hall redevelopment College Chaplaincy, plus RAG and CAG suggested that the net gain for the offices. On the other side of the Quad, Union would be negligible [Felix] 127). a new Media Centre will house Felix, IC However, the last meeting of the devel• Radio and STOIC (student TV), plus prac• opment committee appears to have tice rooms for College bands, and the overturned this decision, favouring Science Fiction Society library. The final increased social and recreational space, act of the renovation will see the pre• in line with the reccomendations of sent Beit Hall Bar converted into a ne\¥ the 1996 Committee on Social & Recre• home for the Islamic Prayer Room. ational Space. Photo: Jonas The East Wing basement as It presently stands - not a pretty site. Although at present only in the According to senior sources, credit planning stage, work on the Quad is for this dramatic planning turnaround committee of the benefits (both social son is then believed to have taken up due to begin this July, with the new hall rests with ICU Manager Mandy Hur- and financial) of the change in outlook, the Union's cause at higher levels, and Union facilities opening in summer ford. Having persuaded the planning committee chair Professor Alan Swan- resulting in this week's key decision. 2000. Perfect Power Plan Set in Motion Inside..m Few people can have missed the bright to be economic. Letters 4 red temporary boilerhouse in Dalby By Gareth Morgan The project is due to be completed Court, but why is it there? It is the inter• over the summer, and will be handed Editorial 5 mediate stage in a project to modernise will cost around eight million pounds, it over to College in November. The boiler the college's energy supply, which took will save over £800 000 a year. There is house in Dalby Court will be removed in CartOOn - Justin Trudlng 5 a significant step towards completion in also the promising ppossibility of selling September, so that a new car park can be the week before term, when two new surplus electricity to the Grid if this proves built underneath it. Columns 6 Combined Heating and Power (CHP) engines were installed below the Elec• Science - Ecstasy 7 trical Engineering building. For the past thirty-seven years, the FiCtiOn - Toys in the Attic 8 College has been heated by an oil-fired boiler plant, supplemented with hot Clubscene 10 water from the Natural History Museum. The current boilers have reached the RAG pullout 11 end of their working life and are now being replaced. The new system will Music 16 generate 7.75MW of electricity, enough to meet most of the College's needs, as Film - Win Cinema Tickets 18 well as providing enough steam to heat the campus. Electricity from the National Games 20 Grid will also be used for peak demand and overnight. The new gas fired Sport 22 engines are 20m long and weigh forty tonnes each; they are expected to Crossword 24 reduce the College's C02 output by 7500 tonnes per annum. Although the project Photo: LES The forty tonne engines are lowered Into position News 18 January 1999 Meningitis Strikes Again KEEP THE CAT EREE The lethal meningitis bacteria has once panicking". again afflicted campus, hospitalising a By Andrew Ofori A "well attended" hall meeting was issue 1132 first year chemist. called, where Dr Weinreb (chief doctor The student returned home having sion to light. Within 48 hours the stu• at the IC Health Centre) addressed the 18 January 1999 celebrated New Year's Lve in lizard dent was placed on the wards having Tizard community. She reassured them Hall, with friends. Later the following made a significant recovery and is now that due to the amount of time that Lditor: Ld Sexton week he called his girlfriend, also an expected to return to full health. has passed "the extra risk is now Assistant Editor & films: David Roberts IC student, and complained of ill Dr John Hassard, Tizard Hall war• absolutely minuscule" but emphasised News Editor: Andrew Oforl health. When he described his symp• den and the Department of Public that the "season for meningococcal Music Editors: Dennis Patrickson toms, she suggested he seek imme• Health have located those who came infection is still with us till the Spring & Jason Ramanathan diate medical attention. As a result he into contact with the individual and and I urge everyone to be vigilent. Arts Editor: Helena Cocheme was admitted to the Intensive Care antibiotics have been administered. The important thing to know is that the Games Editor: Gary Smith Unit of the Royal Surrey Hospital on Dr Hassard viewed the student's recov• disease can develop very rapidly, Clubscene: Giles Morrison Thursday 7 January exhibiting a num• ery as "very good news" and felt it sometimes within a couple of hours. cS, Joel Lewis ber of the danger signs: a severe could be attributed to "decisive action, Early symptoms may be similar to those Sports Editor: Gus Paul headache, disorientation and an aver- recognising the symptoms and not you get with a flu or hangover". Photographic Editor: William Lorcnz Winter Wonderland Library Theft: Arrest included a snow board machine, woman who had been working on the By Sanjay Sikdar though judging by people's efforts it By Ed Sexton third floor of the library. The police was quite easy to see why there is still were called to the scene and arrested On 18 December, despite the capital's a dearth of winter Olympians from this A handbag stolen from the central library the man who had been in possession of numerous attractions, Christmas rev• country. Ihe chill out room was ele• last Monday (11 January), was later recov• the bag. Barry Woodgate, Chief Security ellers flocked to the Union in a record gantly adorned with various drapes ered by security. The incident resulted Officer for IC School of Medicine, attendance for the newly expanded depicting scenes from the chronicles of in one arrest being made by the police. reminded all members of the College venue. Narnia. The Tarot card reader for the Suspicions were raised at around not to leave their belongings unat• dB's played evening resided 4.30pm when two men, who were not tended when on College property at host to two live there and was members of the College, were noticed any campus. bands, the first continually wandering around the library. Security Referring to the incident in the JCR of which was engaged by were called to investigate and stopped at the end of last term [Felix 1131 ], Mr Specimen A. Imperial stu• the suspects for questioning. One of Woodgate stated that police were still Initially disen• dents keen to the suspects was found to be in pos• investigating the case. As before, any• chanted with confirm their session of a lady's handbag, which he one with any information should contact the infamous lucrative careers. had hidden underneath his jumper. The the police officers listed in last week's IC apathy, they The casino bag was later found to belong to a article. succeeded in in the Union filling the floor gym was a major with their big attraction as beat and high were the tat- Medical RAG octane compo• tooists. The only sitions, this problem was place this evening (Charing Cross, 7pm), was followed that nobody was By David Roberts deisigned to conclusively prove which by the Repli• prepared to campus is best. Tuesday night sees a cants and true have one done Last Sunday saw the beginning of the soiree (Mary's, 6pm) and a revue & hyp• to their name in an unusual first ever IC School of Medicine Union notist (Charing Cross, 7pm), whilst they produced location despite Rag Week, with a Rag Dash to Edin• Wednesday sees an 'Invasion of Lon• thought pro• the sincere burgh. don' in the early hours, followed in the voking inter• requests of The week combines events which evening by a Battle of the Bands Bop pretations of Felix's ace pho• traditionally formed part of either St (Charing Cross, 7:30pm). I inally, Thurs• various famous tographer. The Mary's or Charing Cross RAG, and day sees a horde of medics descend on covers. The gambling pro• should hopefully raise tens of thou• an unsuspecting London for the Circle band's rendi• duced many a sands of pounds for charity. A variety of Line Pub Crawl finishing up at a post tion of one cel- drunken loser, fundraising events will take place crawl bop (Mary's, 11 pm). e b r a t e d Photo: Brett You' regret It In the morning especially on the throughout the week, culminating in a For more information about the Nirvana song Russian roulette. ball at the Shepherds Bush Empire on week contact the ICSMSU RAG Chair inflamed the passions of those in the Some went for the all or nothing prin• f riday where the Medical School Presi• Mike Smith on 0181 846 7048, or drop mosh pit and several Union stewards ciple while one inebriated gambler dent, Wade Gayed, will be guest DJ.